Guided By Grace

Good to see all of you. Thank you, Teresa. She headed out into the warehouse. I'm not sure where she ended up. She's coming in the back doors there. She appreciated the special music. A beautiful Sabbath day message. Wonderful time to be together, isn't it? What a blessing that God gives us that we can take this time together, worship Him, praise Him, and come together as His people as well.

There's an interesting sentiment that most Christianity today has a tendency to think. There's this idea that the Old Testament is all about law, and the New Testament is all about grace. Is that true? I think it's a common misconception among most mainstream Christianity today. I mean, can you parse the Bible in that way to think, well, the Old Testament fits into this very neat little package, and the New Testament fits in this different kind of package? I think if we try to do that, it is a great disservice to the Word of God, because in fact, it is just not true. The Old Testament is absolutely saturated with the message and reality of God's grace. That is, He favors His people. We don't deserve that favor, but yet God is generous, God is loving, and He freely and totally and completely loves us, even though we don't deserve it.

Now, of course, I think this time of the year especially reminds us, or should remind us, of that very fact, because God demonstrated that in the past, especially as we think of the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and where it all began. Because this time of the year certainly reminds us that that 10th plague in Egypt took place, and the firstborn died. Every firstborn died, and God poured out His wrath upon Egypt. But they weren't the only ones that were deserving of God's wrath.

In fact, the Israelite firstborn deserved death as well. But God gave them a means of escape, and so He promised to pass over every home that put the blood on their doorposts. And so the Israelites were saved, and then God gave them instructions to get out of Egypt, to leave. God was going to take them on a journey. And we begin to recognize it's not just about the story and the events, but what those stories and what those events represent, what they symbolize for us, because there is deep meaning in those events for us today.

Good reminder of that is found over in Romans chapter 15 verse 4. Take a look at Romans chapter 15 verse 4 reminds us about not only these events, but all the other events that took place in the Old Testament as well. Romans chapter 15 verse 4. New Living Translation says this, such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. So there's something we can learn from these examples. In fact, it goes on, and the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled.

Of course, those Israelites were on an expedition. They were going to head to the Promised Land. This passage reminds us we're on an expedition as well. We are on a spiritual journey, not a physical one, but there's spiritual lessons we can learn from their journeys, from their events, the circumstances that took place in their experience can teach us tremendous spiritual lessons.

So I thought it might be helpful this afternoon to take a little bit of time to notice how God leads us on this spiritual journey of our life. And how does He do it? By grace. God leads us by His grace.

Now, thinking of the example of the Israelites leaving Egypt on their way to the Promised Land, we begin to recognize the symbolism there. We know Egypt itself has this connection to representing sin, Pharaoh connected to Satan himself, those demons that would come against us. He is the ruler of that dark system that the Israelites had to get out of. And where did they go? They left. And they went out into the wilderness. We know that has a representation of the world we live in.

We live in the wilderness of this age where God is almost unknown, misunderstood. Those Israelites were heading to the Promised Land, the land that was supposed to be flowing with milk and honey, physical promises to a physical nation. And yet the symbolism for us, we have a different kind of Promised Land. We look forward to the Kingdom of God. And so we see all these connections between what happened physically and the spiritual interesting connections that are made there. The spiritual implications are there.

And so like us and those people in the Old Testament, we have been called on a spiritual journey. And I suppose you could say we live somewhere between the Red Sea and the Promised Land, symbolically speaking, that is. And of course, on this journey, it can be pretty tiresome.

There are heavy responsibilities that we face. We can feel insecure in the challenges that we face in our wilderness today. Insecurity may abound. We may feel vulnerable, maybe sometimes even afraid, not knowing what's going to come next. Maybe you've even wondered, God, where are you? Where are you? Do you realize what I'm facing today? I don't sense your presence. And so like the Israelites, we may have those thoughts come to our mind.

But it's interesting as we look at the examples and the situations and the circumstances that they went through, they show very plainly God never left them alone. In fact, instead, He drew near to them. When they were wandering, God was right there to satisfy His weary people. He was there to strengthen them. He was consistently and constantly there to sustain them as they went through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.

And He gave them the grace that they needed to face the situations that they encountered every single time. And there's a beautiful example, I think, that really illustrates this point physically for them spiritually for us. It's found over in Exodus 17. If you'll turn there with me, right at the very beginning of that chapter, we have what may be a familiar circumstance that took place really not all that long after they had left Pharaoh's rule. Exodus 17, verse 1 tells us of a specific situation that they were challenged with.

They had just left the desert of sin or the wilderness of sin, not literally sin, but that was the name of that place. And that was the place that just a chapter before this, in chapter 16, where God gave them manna, gave them food to sustain them. That had just happened in chapter 16. Now in chapter 17, verse 1, we pick up the story.

It says, then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the Lord and camped in Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink.

Therefore, the people contended with Moses, and they said, give us water that we may drink.

So Moses said to them, why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord? Verse 3 goes on, the people thirsted therefore water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, why is it you brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, what shall I do with this people? They're almost ready to stone me. And so we have this amazing circumstance that takes place. And as you begin to consider the situation here, how did they get to Rephidim?

Were they just kind of strolling around? And, well, here we are. That wasn't at all, was it? How did they end up there? God led them there. God led them to this place. God was constantly leading Israel at all times on their journey to the Promised Land. To the Promised Land. And in this case, God led them where there wasn't any water.

Does that seem kind of odd? I mean, you see their reaction. They weren't exactly happy about it, were they? Not at all! Not at all! It began to cause them to doubt God. And they tempted God and contended with Moses. But, wait a second, wasn't this the same God that promised He would always supply their need? I mean, they didn't have to look back very far to see those fulfilled promises, did they? I mean, it wasn't that long ago He passed over every one of their homes because of the blood of the Lamb on their doorposts. It wasn't very long ago they walked through the sea on dry ground. Talk about miraculous events. What happened to Pharaoh's army? Wiped out. Wiped out as the sea closed in on them. It was just two chapters ago that God had cleaned up the waters at Mara. There were bitter waters that were poisonous. And what did God do? Miraculously purified the water so they could drink. Oh yeah, just a chapter ago, they demanded quail. God gave them meat to eat.

But God, why did you lead us here? How could you do this to us? You see, they quickly forgot about those things, and their response was far more than just whine and complain. That's not what they were doing. This is a great sin against God. I mean, it might not come across that clearly in the English, but it says they contended with God. That's the Hebrew word, reb. It's R-I-Y-B. Reb. They rebed against God, which means they were quarreling against Moses. They were, yes, complaining. But that word really takes on the meaning of a rebellion because they wanted Moses dead. They wanted to kill him. They wanted to stone him. So Moses goes to God and says, they're about to take up the stones to kill me. They are an utter rebellion against Moses. And so really what's happening here is they are challenging Moses' leadership. They're saying, Moses, if you're really God's leader, you better come up with the water. We are thirsty. You think you're in charge? Show it. Prove it. Let's see you justify your leadership, and you better make it quick and pour out the water because we are thirsty. We're not sure you should even be in charge. Did God really put you in charge? Come up with the water. You make us happy or you're dead. That's really what's going on here. They wanted him to prove that God had given him the authority, and he better come up with that water quick. Now, it is interesting. Moses makes a deeper connection here. It wasn't just the fact they were complaining and rebelling against Moses. Moses makes the connection here. He's saying, they're not just challenging me. They're really tempting God. The real dispute they had was with God himself. And so in the English it says, they tempted God. That's nasah, the Hebrew word nasah. It's n-a-c-a-h. They tempted God. Or some translations say they tested the Lord. They challenged God. But really, that doesn't really get to the heart of the meaning of that word either. That word really takes on the connotation is that they were putting God on trial. They were putting God on trial, and they were rebelling against God. They're tempting God by saying, well, if God's really among us, then he better prove it by giving us water right here, right now. He better make that happen. And so you see how great a sin this really is. They were so arrogant and so proud. And yet, distrusting the God who had brought them out of Egypt and done so many miraculous things up to this point, they discount it all. And they turned to this sinful attitude. I mean, here you have the creation, those that God created demanding that their creator jump through the hoops, especially for them. I mean, think about how serious this sin really is. Think about the fact that this makes no sense. No sense. Even though they didn't have God's Holy Spirit, it still makes no sense. They're questioning whether God was there among the people. I mean, imagining putting God on trial. But yet, they could just look up. And what would they see? Well, if it was daytime, they'd see the pillar of cloud. If it was nighttime, there was the fire right there. Never left them. There is an illustration of God's presence with us. And yet, they said, God's not here. God's not. Let's put him to the trial. Let's put him to the test.

Here, God revealed His glory to them, led them to this place by that pillar, and basically was hovering right there in His sight. And yet, that didn't matter to them. That didn't matter. And so, God answers Moses, if you look down to verse 5 here in Exodus 17. And I think it's a phenomenal point that God makes with Moses. What did the people want to do? Well, we've seen their stories before. Oh, it was so great back in Egypt. It was so wonderful. They fooled themselves into believing somehow that was better. So, maybe we better go back, or maybe we better just get out of this place. But God tells Moses, much in the same way He tells us, there's no retreat. There's no going back. No matter what is going on in life. No matter what's going on in our life. No matter the circumstances, there's no retreat from God's way. And God illustrates that point in verse 5. Notice what He tells Moses. The Lord said to Moses, Go on! Go on!

Don't hold up. Don't halter. We've got to go forward. Go on before the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also, take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. Don't hold back. We've got to go. Verse 6, Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.

What did Moses do? Exactly that. He followed God's instructions, and so he did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So Moses obeys God, follows his instructions, recognizes there's no way to go back. We must follow God and go forward. And so, verse 7, he called the name of the place Masah and Meribah because of the contention, the the Reeb of the children of Israel, and because they tempted, Nasah the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?

And here's where we see just a miraculous event take place. And it wasn't the water. It wasn't that he gave them water. What did God give them? I mean, did he give them what they deserved? I mean, for that rebellion, they deserved death. For sin, we deserve death. Did they get what they deserved? Nope. Despite their rebellion, Moses followed God, struck the rock, and water began to flow. In fact, in such an abundance, it was more than they could possibly even drink, meeting their needs. And so this place now becomes known as the place of test and temptation and quarreling and argument and strife and contention. And yet, what was really poured out at Masah and Meribah? Grace.

The grace of God was poured out upon them. God favored them, even though they did not deserve it. You talk about unmerited, undeserved favor. What a beautiful illustration of that. Is God generous? Did God love the people despite the fact they turned against Him? I mean, this is beautiful, total, unexpected, undeserved love that God gave to them. And this example in Scripture becomes a powerful lesson, not just here in Exodus 17. If you do a study on Masah and Meribah, you will see it show up time and time again throughout not only the Old Testament, but the New Testament as well. Over in Psalm 95, we see this connection. Turn with me there, if you will. Psalm 95 verse 7. Because oftentimes in Scripture, we'll find the reference to the rock.

And many times, maybe you can even say more often than not, it's referring to this event where the water came out of the rock. Psalm 95 is certainly one of those examples. And notice the connection, the spiritual connection to God's mercy and love, and especially His grace. Psalm 95 verse 7. It says, For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested me, they tried me, though they saw my work. Though I passed over them, though I allowed them to plunder Egypt, though I led them through the sea, though I destroyed Pharaoh's army, though I fed them with manna, though I gave them with water, though I gave them me, though they tested me, they saw my work, and yet I gave them grace. And so when you read Psalm 95, don't harden your hearts as in Meribah. That's the word for rebellion. The Hebrew word there is Meribah, as in the day of trial. That's Masah, in the day of Meribah and Masah in the wilderness.

And so this reference throughout Scripture certainly points to a greater spiritual lesson as well. The idea of contention and strife and questioning God, the idea of contention on the journey is something that wasn't just for the Israelites. I think because we see it throughout Scripture, it's reminding us this is a common problem to every generation of humanity. This idea really is a universal problem, a universal problem for mankind, not recognizing the true grace of God. Now, if you turn over just a couple of pages, Psalm 81. Psalm 81 is another one of those passages that have this very connection as well. So in Psalm 81, we have a Psalm of Asaph. David wrote about this. Asaph writes songs about it. We find it mentioned throughout Scripture. In fact, we sing these words oftentimes here at services. This is the song, in fact, I think we sang it on the last day of Unleavened Bread. Praise the eternal with a psalm. Sing to the God of Jacob. This is it. This is it. In fact, we pick it up in verse 2. Verse 7 here, verse 2 in our hymnal. It says, You called in trouble and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah. Consider that. What's the depth of spiritual meaning there when God says, I tested you at the waters of Meribah? Boy, at Meribah, there were no waters. Masah, there were no waters. But miraculously, God gave them water. So he says, think about how I answered. Think about the journey, how I deliver you, how I am there when you call in time of trouble. Verse 2, Hear, O my people, hear my word, I will admonish Israel. Right? That's it. O Israel, if you will listen to me, there'll be no foreign God among you, nor shall you worship any foreign God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to cause you to die in the desert.

No, it doesn't say that, does it? We left the Egypt of this world on this spiritual journey to the kingdom of God, the true spiritual promised land. And what does God say He's going to do on this journey? He says, Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. And whether it's quail, or whether it's water, or whatever it is you need, manna, I will fill it. Now, problem, people wouldn't heed. Israel would have none of me, verse 11, so I gave them over to their own stubborn heart to walk in their own councils. So the point is, either we walk by grace and allow God to guide us by His grace, or we walk with our own stubborn hearts and we refuse to see, we refuse to listen. Because He makes this point, not only here, but when we look at Psalm 95 or Exodus 17, He makes a point. I mean, think about it. Why wasn't there water? It was by design. It was by God's divine design. Yeah, you could say God was testing them, and it should cause us to ask ourselves, what is my response to adversity? What's my response when my circumstances aren't what I want them to be? What I think God should cause them to be? When I'm not being blessed the way I should be, because after all, I'm following God. Why isn't He blessing me? Why isn't the way that I think it should? Where is God? Where is God in my life? He should be here. How could He allow this? And those thoughts penetrate our thinking. But the point is that it was good for God to do this. This was a very, very good thing.

Because for one thing, it showed their sinful hearts. It showed who they really were, the condition of their hearts and their mind. Revealed the fact they really were unwilling to trust God. They were lacking in that ability to trust Him. And it revealed something very powerful.

It revealed the character of God as well. Because God had consistently blessed them all the way. Bless them. And what was the basis of that blessing? Was it because they put blood on their doorposts? Or was it because they got their carts and their animals together and they took off out of each... Was the blessing based on their actions? Not at all. Not at all. Those blessings were based on the grace of God. That was the basis. It wasn't their actions. And that's the message consistently throughout Scripture. That God led them there for their own good.

Do we see adversity like that? Do we see challenges in our life from that perspective? Or do we have that tendency to wonder, what are you doing, God?

Another example of this that certainly stresses this point, Deuteronomy 8, verse 11. Deuteronomy 8, 11. Of course, Deuteronomy, kind of that summary chapter just before they're going to enter the Promised Land. Before God has them go into the Promised Land with Joshua, He rehearses His way, His will with the people. Before Moses dies, God goes over what His expectations, what His promises are all about. In Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 11, we see this reminder. And what a reminder it is.

Deuteronomy 8, verse 11, it says, Beware that you don't forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments. Certainly, we have to follow God. Follow His judgments, His statutes, which I command you today. Lest when you're eaten and are full, you've built beautiful houses and dwell in them. When you're herds, your flocks multiply, your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied. When your hearts lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who led you through that great and terrible wilderness in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water, who brought water for you out of the flinty rock. Oh, Masah, Maraba, instantly coming to mind. Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn't know, that He might humble you and test you and cause you to fail and fall. Oh, wait. No, that's not what it says. Verse 16, He fed you in the wilderness with manna. Your fathers didn't know this stuff, but that He might humble you, that He might test you to do you good in the end, to do you good in the end. And God's just showing how He had proven Himself over and over and over again through the amazing miracles, not only when they left Egypt, but all through the wilderness. And so they had no lack of evidence and proof that God was certainly with them and leading them by His grace. But they did lack something. They lacked faith. They lacked faith. They didn't really believe His promise. And we see that theme come up so many times throughout Scripture. Certainly, they had influences against them. I don't doubt the fact that there was probably great forces coming against them, evil forces that were trying to lead them to think in this way. Because we have a very similar circumstance that took place at the beginning of Christ's ministry. Do you remember what happened when Christ was about to begin His ministry?

He went on a journey into the wilderness and He was tempted by Satan himself. He was put on trial by Satan himself. Yep, pretty much the same Greek word that ties in with the Hebrew there. Massa and Meribah certainly came to the mind of Jesus Christ when Satan tested Him. Satan said, look, you jump off this pinnacle of the temple and the angels will bear you up. You won't dash your foot.

Do you remember what Christ answered? He shall not tempt the Lord your God. Meribah, Massa came to his mind. Satan was saying, Christ, you are so unreliable. We can't believe you. You have to prove yourself. And that just started a continual pattern against Christ. Didn't the Sadducees do the same thing? Didn't the Pharisees do the same thing to put Christ to the test? Boy, what a reminder. We better not put God on trial. We can't do that. As we journey through life, we have to take this lesson of Meribah and Massa to heart and recognize no matter how bleak things look, no matter the circumstances in our life, no matter if they're great and wonderful, and we have these tremendous blessings. Whether we face just difficult, horrible trials, or disappointed, or we're such anxious people, we need to look at the example that God gave us and recognize He always protected them. He always provided for their needs. He's promised to deliver. And so faith trusts God no matter what. We recognize God's grace. And realizing this story at Meribah and Massa will certainly tell us God would never have allowed His people to die of thirst. Never! It wouldn't have happened.

But it had to be on their terms, in their timing. And yet God says He was going to provide for them. And so what a great spiritual reminder for us. God is certainly with us on this great spiritual journey He's called us to. God is with us. The incredible power that He exhibited to Israel should have led them to the fact that there's no way they could doubt His presence and His power.

Should be the same for us. It should be the same for us, recognizing the amazing grace of God as He leads us. In fact, there's an interesting passage over in the Gospel of John. John 1, verse 17. Familiar verse here, but sometimes I think misunderstood. John 1, verse 17, sometimes decided by those who misunderstand the grace of God. They misunderstand and have that conception that somehow Old Testament is strictly about law and requirements, and the New Testament is only about grace. Well, that's just not the fact at all. John 1, verse 17 is certainly a reminder of that. And yet, some misunderstand. John 1, verse 17, it says, For the law was given through Moses.

I told you Old Testament is about the law. Well, wait a second. What's the rest of the verse say? But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Now, the common misunderstanding is, well, Christ showed up, He was born, and that's when grace began. How silly!

Who was the Lord that was leading Israel? Who was the one that was present with them? It was the one who would become Jesus Christ. It was the Word. It was the Logos. And so grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. And it came to those in the Old Testament, just as much as it comes to us. And it proves that point. They were not worthy of God's grace, not Moses, not the Israelites, not me, not you, none of us, because that's what makes it grace. That's what makes it grace. In spite of the great sin of the people, in spite of the fact they disputed with Moses and they put God on trial, God still provided for them abundantly, abundantly. And in fact, if we remember the story in Exodus 17, what did God say? What did the Logos tell them? What did He tell Moses when He said, go forward? He told them, I will stand with you at the rock. I'll be right there! Yes, grace and truth were right there all along, all along. Christ was present with them. In fact, the Apostle Paul puts an exclamation point on that in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 3. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 3, also a reference to Masah and Meribah. Let's notice at 1 Corinthians 10.3, a familiar passage, but certainly emphasizes the spiritual side of things. 1 Corinthians 10.3, it says, they all ate the same spiritual food and they all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.

And so there's no doubt the rock that interacted with ancient Israel was Christ. And when we recognize this, it almost has this amazing paradox, kind of an irony when you think about it. At the very point when the Israelites doubted that God was with them, when they disputed the presence of God, were shown very clearly. He was right there. He was right there, and they missed it. And you can't help but wonder why was there perception of reality so far off? They didn't get it. They didn't see it. And I think it certainly is such a reminder for us because we have to ask the question, do I really sense the presence of God? Do I sense His grace on my journey? Because even when it may not be evident, there is no doubt by the rule of Scripture, He is there. There's no doubt of His power and His presence. But the challenge is, don't look at the circumstances because that'll tell us there's no water, there's no hope. We're going to die of thirst. Don't conclude that when things aren't going exactly right or when you're faced with a difficult trial that somehow God must not be there, that's just not the truth. Could God lead His people into difficult times in hard circumstances?

Scripture says, yeah. Meribah and Masah teach us an important life principle. And that's the fact that God often reveals His presence through circumstances where it may seem He's absent. Where are you, God? But that's when He actually shows His power and His presence and His provision right when the time seems that He's not there. He's not there. And of course, Exodus 17 isn't the only example of this. It happens time and time and time again as they journeyed to the Promised Land, which kind of tells us we may face those circumstances in our life time and time and time again. But you know what we can count on on this journey? The grace of God. We can count on His grace to see us through. And we can be confident that He is absolutely present with us.

I mean, doesn't the fact that even His names say it all?

Don't forget that. You know, when He made His appearance as God in the flesh. Amazing notation here in Matthew 1, verse 22. Let's remind ourselves. Let's remind ourselves, do we have an ever-present God that we can trust? That by His grace, even though we don't deserve it, He is going to be with us and help us and guide us and lead us?

Well, the appearance of the Savior tells that story. Matthew 1, 22. Matthew 1, 22, it tells us, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. So prophecy tells us of Christ, 2 Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son.

Yeah, but for our journey, that's only part of what's so important.

But look at what else tells the remainder of the story. They shall call His name Immanuel. And what does it mean? It's translated, God with us. His very name speaks grace to us. He will never desert us. His name promises that He's here. And just like the Apostle Paul said, he was at Maribah, he was at Masah. And in fact, even in the Great Commission, we're reminded of that after the crucifixion, the resurrection. Turn over a couple of pages to Matthew 28, 19. He doesn't want us to forget this. He doesn't want us to doubt for a second that we are guided by His grace. Matthew 28, 19, sometimes called the Great Commission. You probably have part of this passage memorized. Yes, we sing these words, go ye therefore into all the world. That's the Great Commission. And that's what it says, go therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded to you. Yes, we have to obey, no doubt. There's no doubt. We need to follow the rock. We need to obey God.

But does God leave us alone and say, good luck doing that?

Nope. He guides us and leads us by His grace. Notice what He says there at the end of verse 20, "'I am with you always, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" Amen. So be it. Undoubted. Absolutely. No question about it. That's amen. Absolutely. And so He puts an exclamation point on this spiritual journey that He's called us to, that even in the difficulties, we are under the grace of God. We are under His watchful care because ultimately, who's in charge? Who's in control? Well, God is. God is.

God definitely is. And whatever this spiritual expedition may bring, we can recognize it's not beyond the eyes of God. It's not beyond His touch. In fact, like Maribah and Masah, it may just be that God led us here to produce something good for us and probably more importantly, something good in us, something good in us. And so this trip between the Red Sea and the Promised Land will certainly bring challenges. And we may be afraid and we may be anxious and fearful. It's going to challenge us, maybe even feel like it could overwhelm us. But when we take to heart what God promises, we're told He doesn't leave us. He will not leave us. He could never forsake us. In fact, instead, what did He do? He drew near. He drew near to the Israelites. He provided for them. He gave. He gave. And it wasn't just the physical water in the desert that He gave. I mean, think about the spiritual ramifications of that. God confronts sadness in our life with comfort. When we are faced with anxiety, God promises peace. When we are weary, when it seems we just don't have what it takes to go on. He promises strength. And even when it seems we don't deserve it. I stand guilty before God. I can't get out from under this shame.

We find mercy and grace and love. And in fact, He is our provider and He provides patience when we're struggling. He provides friendship when we're lonely. God can provide fullness, even in loss. And God can certainly provide forgiveness when we fall short. And so by His grace, He strengthens us and He satisfies us and He sustains us. And so when you consider the Israelites and their journeys and their challenges and the difficulties and yet all the miraculous things that God did, what do you think would be the greatest gift that God gave them on their journey to the Promised Land? What would it be? Mana? The quail? The red sea? The water? None of those things. It was His presence. It was His presence. And that was His promise. His promise was no matter where they journeyed, He would be their God. They would be His people. He would undoubtedly be with them. But they overlooked the gift. They missed that gift because the plain facts, the reality is God was right there at Maribah and Masah, right where they were at that place, at that time. And He was there to give them what they needed the most. And what an awesome lesson for all of us today because He's here to give us what we need most. God is there for us. And what do we need most? We need Him. We need Him. And as we travel a spiritual journey, yeah, we're told we have even more precious promises. So how much more is God willing to draw near to us? How much more is He willing to meet our needs and give of Himself? Romans 8, verse 31, I think signifies this very point. Romans 8, 31, we see this powerful lesson really stressed here in Romans 8, verse 1, kind of a summary passage because the Apostle Paul begins this thought by saying, what shall we say to all these things, to God's plan, His purpose, what God is all about? What about these things? What about the spiritual journey that He's called us on? Well, Romans 8, 31, it says, if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him us up for us. How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? I don't care about the charges. I don't care about putting us on trial because look at our defender. It is God who justifies. And so we can take that to heart. How far did God go for us?

He was willing to allow His Son to be crucified and tortured on our behalf so that He could give us what we need most. He gave of Himself so that we could experience the presence and the power of God. So consider the rock at Masah and Meribah. It certainly can be considered a symbol, not only for something in the past, but on our spiritual journey to the Kingdom of God. It is a symbol of God's presence, of His promises, of His power among His people and His presence in our life. And so let's allow God to lead us by His grace so that we can boldly come to that throne of grace where we find mercy and grace in time of need. And let that unrelenting grace lead us to be a living sacrifice, knowing God will never give up on His people. Never.