July 31, 2022
The Rock of Christ
Pastor Ricky Smith
Sermon Notes
I. So Close, and So Far Away
Exodus 17:1-3
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
We are not entitled to God’s generosity
II. Sufficiency of Christ
Exodus 17:4-6a
So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.”
A. The Rock of Christ
I Corinthians 10:1-6
Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did.
John 7:37
“If any man thirst,” he says, “let him come unto me and drink”
Christ is sufficient to redeem our past and secure our future
B. The Servant of God
III. Symbol of Mercy and Grace
Exodus 17:6a-7
And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Deuteronomy 6:16
You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.Psalm 95:8-9
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
God is full of grace even when our trust is empty
Next Steps
- I admit my sin and turn to Jesus as my King.
- I confess that I doubt God’s presence in my suffering.
- I choose to face my fears with boldness and trust the Lord to provide.
Deep Dive
- Why do you think God’s people were so ready to disbelieve his promise and doubt his provision?
- Read and discuss Philippians 4:19.
- What are the things that ought to encourage us today in the belief that God will meet all our needs?
Springboard
- Share how Christian relationships have played a role in your faith journey.
- How does our practice of spiritual disciplines prepare us for spiritual battles?
- What is one spiritual discipline you’d like to develop and why?