GRATEFULNESS SEES NO COMPLAINTS
Exodus 16:1-15
PRACTICE BEING GRATEFUL IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
V:1. The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, \”If only we had died by the Lord \’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.\”
A. You can take the man out of slavery, but you make never get slavery out of the man.
1. Freedom comes with responsibility.
2. The first responsibility of freedom is gratefulness
3. Freedom comes because of the conviction and labor of someone.
B. The Israelites cried out to God because of their slavery in Egypt.
1. They witness the power of God through the 10 plagues and the
death of the Egyptian army in the Red sea.
2. Two months later they complained about their freedom.
3. In Slavery, all the choices are made for you.
4. In freedom, you have to make choices and be responsible for
self and family,
C. Complaining focuses on you, and gratefulness focuses on God.
1. Complaining blocks your view of the blessing in front of you.
2. Gratefulness opens the door to the wealth of God.
3. The same God that brought them out of slavery will protect
them in their freedom.
BLESSINGS ARE DESIGNED TO TEST OUR OBEDIENCE
V:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, \”I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way, I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day, they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.\”
A. God hears our complaints as well as our praise.
1. We must remember that Israel was just beginning their history
with God as free people.
2. Two months earlier, they knew about God But did not recognized
Him as God of their lives or the miracles was His
work on their behalf.
3. Before we judge the newly freed Israelites, consider our
history when we first met Jesus.
4. We heard about Jesus from someone, but we had to learn to trust
Him.
5. I would be willing to bet, that you did not have complete trust
in Jesus, two months after you accepted Him as your personal
savior.
6. It was not until you left home and got on your own that you
learn to call on Jesus.
B. As for me, I had some years of touch times, after I tried
all I knew that didn\’t work before I decided to trust Jesus
1. I had some growing up time in the Lord.
2. Their grumbling at Moses was really at the Lord who freed them.
3. That sounds like me.
4. I complained about not having enough to eat when I had a full
loaf of bread in my hand.
5. I could see the end of the bread, but could not see the hand that
gave me the bread.
6. You know you are maturing when you see the last piece of bread,
but trust God to give you another loaf.
C. Every day, God rains down blessings on us.
1. The question is, do we see God in the blessings?
2. The newly freed Israelites would have to learn to trust God.
3. God started their training by answering their grumbling
with enough bread and meat for a day for six days in a row.
4. On the sixth day, they were commanded to gather enough for
the seventh day.
5. This would the start of the Sabbath memorial.
GIVE GOD THE CREDIT FOR THE GOOD IN YOUR LIFE
V:6. So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, \”In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?\” 8 Moses also said, \”You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord .\”
A. God gives us pastors to remind us of His Words and His works.
1. Pastors are given to us to hear God\’s instructions for our lives.
2. When we complain against the Pastors, we are complaining against
God.
B. It is the job of the pastor to bring attention to the Word, so you can see
The glory of God at work.
1. God had performed 11 miracles to bring Israel out
of Egypt.
2. They did not see God in the miracles.
3. Moses gave The Israelites a specific Word from the Lord
that they would have meat in the evenings and all the bread
they could eat in the morning.
4. Some time for you to take God seriously, He will do something
specific to satisfy your need.
START YOUR DAY WITH THE LORD
V:9. Then Moses told Aaron, \”Say to the entire Israelite community, \’Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.\’\”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 \”I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, \’At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.\’\”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.
A. When the Lord speaks, you will know that it is Him working in
your life.
1. The Israelites, a million-plus people was in the desert where there was
no abundant life.
2. Yet quail covered the ground at night and bread covered the ground
in the morning.
3. Let’s state it again, they were in the desert, there was nothing to
eat.
4. Birds don’t flock together where there is nothing to eat.
a. The first miracle was a large number of birds coming to the ground
where there is nothing to eat,
b. It is believed that migrating quail flew at night and hid during
the day.
c. The second miracle is they were in large enough numbers to
feed a million-plus people.
d. The third miracle is the quail didn\’t fly away when humans
came toward them.
5. This was clearly the glory of God.
B. The next event was a miracle that had never happen before.
1. In the morning, thin flakes appeared on the ground
after the dew dried.
2. The flakes were in abundance enough to feed a million
-plus people.
3. God provides what we need to draw us close to Him.
GOD KNOW HOW TO GET YOUR ATTENTION
V:15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, \”What is it?\” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, \”It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.
A. The Lord is the bread of life,
1. The true bread is the Word of God.
2. Each time we study God\’s Word we are eating spiritual
bread.
3. Digesting the spiritual bread strengthens the mind.
B. Each time we study God’s Word we ought to have questions
That leads us the deeper investigation.
1. Reading the Word ought to wet your appetite for the wisdom of
God.
2. The wisdom of man is full of deceptions, miss information
and selfish desires.
3. The wisdom of God promotes unselfish behavior, humbleness, and
the righteousness of God.
4. When the Israelites saw the work of God, they wanted to know
what is it, because all they knew was the evilness of man.
C. They had to labor for food in slavery.
1. But the Lord gave them food at no cost.
2. God\’s salvation is free to us. All we have to do is open our
and receive it.
THANK GOD FOR HIS TENDER MERCIES
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst. Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North
Houston, Texas 77041
For more lessons, follow me on facebook and vist my
Blogs; revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
