THE ROCK IN
THE WILDERNESS
INTRODUCTION:
A. Denise and I took the opportunity to go up to
Spring Green,
1. We went there to see an attraction known as The
House On The Rock
2. The complex covers 200 acres with many rooms
of wonderful artifacts
3. The most interesting room is one made of 3,264
windows: it is 218 feet long and when you get to the end of it you may look
down through a glass coffee table to the valley floor 156 feet below you!
4. But the whole thing started when a man by the
name of Alex Jordan built the original house a top a 60 ft chimney rock!
- And people
wanted to see it – they would say they wanted to see “The House on the Rock”
5. Thus the name House on the Rock
B. As nice and interesting as this is, the rock
upon which the house sits only became an item in the late 50’s
1. There is a more interesting Rock spoken about
in scripture that is over 1900 years old and refers back to a rock that is over
3500 years old, at the very minimum.
2 In 1
Cor 10:4: Speaking of Israel
Paul states that they …did all drink the
same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them:
and that Rock was Christ.
3. Of
course Paul is making reference, how be it in a spiritual sense, back to the Exodus
and the passages recorded for us in the book of Exodus.
4. And that leads us to our passage for this
morning.
5. Turn to Exo
17:1-6 And all the congregation of
the children of
C. My desire this
morning is to show you how Paul could make the leap from a rock to the Rock of
our salvation– he sees the rock as a metaphor
1. A metaphor is the application of a word or
phrase to an object or concept it does not literally denote, suggesting
comparison of that object or concept.
2. In this case, the rock in the wilderness to
the Rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ!
3. So lets pray and ask God to make the Rock,
from upon which our salvation ushers forth abundantly, clear to us this
morning.
PRAY
Lets look at the Rock as seen in the book of Exodus. There was
I. AN URGENT NEED
A. They Dwelt in
a
1. Search as they may they could not find what
the soul longed for - the place was barren – there was no water
2. And so
3. This barrenness brings a problem to our
attention
- The problem was spiritual as well as physical
4. They did not notice the barrenness of the
land until their thirst came
5. Not only did they not have water, but they
did not trust in God
B. I could not help seeing the irony, they were
in the wilderness of Sin
1. And their souls were thirsty - without water
the people would perish - they had an urgent need
2. Psa
68:6... states, the rebellious
dwell in a dry land.
3. We are all in the wilderness of sin: We live in a world of sin – we have all
sinned – we are all sinners
4. And
until we come to thirst we will never notice the barrenness of our lives and we
will continue to live in a dry land.
5. A man once said "This world itself can never supply the wants of a human
soul. Its cisterns are broken."
6. They came to realize, as we must, that the
water of satisfaction could not be gotten by digging - such work is useless
7. You may be here this morning with the
realization that you are lacking something
a. You have been searching – but not found that
which satisfies your soul
b. It was Jesus who said, whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water
that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life. John 4:14
8. I want to encourage you to listen on, for God
will show you what you need.
9. It
is interesting to note what Matthew told us in Mat 5:6 Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Not only was there as urgent need, there was
II. AN UNEXPECTED
SOURCE - Exo 17:6 Behold, I will
stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock,
and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did
so in the sight of the elders of
A. The Source Was A Rock - there shall come water out of it
1. This was not the expected place to find water
a. Dig down in the ground – dig a hole – dig a
well
b. Find an oasis, river, stream, pool, lake
c. But not a rock
2. God
does not always do things the way we think it would be done: For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
LORD. Isa 55:8
3. Worldly wisdom would not have chosen or
thought about this source of supply
4. And Christ was not the source of redemption
that
a. Do you remember the words of Nathaniel when
Phillip told him that they had found the Messiah, it is recorded in John 1:46 Can there any good thing come out of
b. The
world is looking everywhere but where it can be found – are you? Surely what I
need can’t be found in a crucified Nazarene, can it?
c. There is more concerning this rock
B. It Was A God-Possessed Rock - Behold, I will stand before thee there upon
the rock in Horeb
1. This rock, by itself could do nothing, God however
in the rock could do all things
2. Our rock Jesus Christ was totally human - but
he was totally God: this is the miracle of the incarnation
a. Humanity alone could do nothing but Jesus as
the God-man could do all things including providing our salvation.
1)
2) John
10:30 I and my Father are one.
b. Folks,
Jesus is God!
We have seen an Urgent Need and an Unexpected Source. We now look at
III. AN UNLIKELY
MEANS
A. The Rock Was To Be Smitten (wound, punish,
strike or kill) - Exo 17:6 and thou shalt smite the rock,…
1. That which God provided was to be smitten
a. God could have chosen any other way he wanted
to bring forth the water, but he chose to have the Rock smitten
b. Isa 53:5 But he (that is Jesus)
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
2. This is the lesson of John 3:16 For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
B. The Rock Was To Be Smitten With A Rod - Exo 17:5-6 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before
the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith
thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon
the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock,…
1. A rod is mentioned in connection with
judgment many times in the Bible - it speaks of judgment
2. For instance, it was used to turn the waters
of the
3.
Likewise, God judged our sins in
Christ, for …it pleased the LORD to
bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, Isa 53:10
C. The Rock Was To Be Smitten In Full View
1. Exo 17:5-6 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before
the people, and take with thee of the elders of
2. Jesus our Rock
was smitten before the elders of
3. In full view of all
D. Jesus Christ
was crucified to take our place
1. God must judge sin – He is holy, and since
Jesus lived a perfect life, He became the perfect sacrifice, in other words He
took our place.
2. Hence Paul writes, that Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. This
was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God
He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the
present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26 (Explain)
Having seen an Urgent Need, an Unexpected Source, and an
Unlikely Method, we come to the grand finally
IV. THE ULTIMATE
PROVISION
A. The Supply Met the Need
1. The people had their need met by that which
flowed from the rock - water for their thirst and to wash with
2. When Christ was smitten - the nails pierced
his hands and the spear pierced his side -
blood and water did flow
3. His blood cleanses us from our sin
a. Eph
1:7 In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace;
b.
Rev 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that
loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood
B. The Supply was Abundant
1. Psa 78:19-20 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can
God furnish a table in the wilderness? 20 Behold, he smote the rock, that the
waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed;
2. Christ's death not only provided for our sins
but for the sins of the whole world
a. 1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and
not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
b. Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.
C. The Supply Was Free - that the people may drink
1. The only thing necessary was to know that they
were thirsty.
- Then they could come and drink from the
fountain that would never run dry
2. That which our Rock, Jesus Christ, provides is
free
a. Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
b. The only requirement is to realize that you
need what He has provided
c. You can not work for it, you can not buy it,
you cannot steal it - it is free
IT IS FOR
YOU!!
CONCLUSION: In
conclusion, Matthew wrote,
A. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a
rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall
be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Mat
7:24-27
B. Have you come
to the Rock
1. You have heard the words of the Lord this
morning - will you do them?
2. A life built on this ROCK will never be
shaken and brought to ruin
C. Paul said that this rock followed them
through the wilderness
IT IS
FOLLOWING YOU - DRINK FROM THE ROCK OF AGES AND LIVE!