The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 28th September by Robin Hawkins
Water From The Rock - The King's Church, Ilford - 28th September 2008
EXODUS 17:1-7
I love this opening sentence - "The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin (this is it's geographical name, but it gives us preachers a great play on words!), travelling from place to place as the Lord commanded." This was a people on a mission. They had a purpose. They had left the Desert of Sin behind. The problem was that sin hadn't left them. In spite of all the miracles they had seen, the sin that dominated them was Unbelief. Nevertheless, the Lord was trying to lead them forward to fulfil the mighty plan that He had for them.
We too are a people on a mission, and God has a mighty plan for us - it's one that will affect eternity. Lives being changed forever. We've seen the outworking of this purpose this morning as Laura, Michael and Julian have announced in Baptism that they are leaving the Desert of Sin behind them also, and joining us on our pilgrimage to the Promised Land.
Thirst is a powerful motivation. In this country, it's not just about water, people are thirsty for all sorts of things. They're thirsty for life, for meaning, for fulfilment, for purpose. The problem is that they're looking for it in the wrong places. Many of us are thirsty simply for pleasure - sexual pleasure, shopping pleasure, gambling pleasure, eating pleasure, drinking pleasure - the list goes on and on. The fact is these things don't give lasting pleasure and satisfaction. The fact is life is not so different from a desert. It's full of mirages that promise much and give little. To call it the Desert of Sin is pretty apt.
Picture yourself in this desert. You're desperate for the water of life. This is a picture of a longing in our hearts. You see this mirage of an oasis in the distance, and you go chasing after it - but it's just an illusion. The waters of life elude you, and you're still thirsty.
The people of Israel needed literal water - H2O. In their desperation they turn on Moses - well he's supposed to have all the answers, isn't he? He's the one with the hotline to God, and he's not come up with the goods. He's the one who brought us into this place, and now we're going to die. Moses, wisely, replies with a soft answer that turns away anger. "Why quarrel with me? This is between you and God." But this doesn't satisfy them, and they start to mutter about doing Moses in! People have amazing expectations of leaders.
Moses didn't have any doubts that God would provide water, but he wasn't so sure about the people! "What am I going to do with this lot, Lord? They're about to kill me!" That kind of pressure doesn't half sharpen up your prayer life!
Too many of us wait until we've tried everything else before we turn to God. He comes to us when we're desperate for Him, but so often, that's when we've run out of alternatives. We need a Moses kind of faith that goes straight to God. Again, Moses is given something to do in obedience which seems a bit silly, but he's learnt by now how to use this walking stick of his, and he struck the rock as God told him to, and water gushed forth.
Later in the Bible, people saw this rock as a picture, or type, of Jesus. He is often referred to as the Rock of our Salvation. It's a great image. A rock is solid and unchanging. It's stable and dependable. People build houses on a foundation of rock, because it will support it, and the house won't fall down. Jesus taught us about the Wise Man who built his house upon the rock of God's Word. What He was saying was that if we will build our lives upon the teaching of God's Word, then we'll be able to withstand the storms of life, - illness, bereavement, unemployment, hardship, suffering, loneliness, - and we won't end up bitter and twisted. Rather, we'll keep hold of God's peace, even His joy in the midst of difficulties. We have the hope of life beyond the grave. There is a purpose to our lives now.
Jesus warned us of the foolish man who ignored God's Word, and built his house (or life) on his own view of things, & his own values. We all need to heed this warning because although it certainly applies to unbelievers, it applies to any of us Believers who don't go on and build their lives on the principles of God's Word. We're liable to end up with our lives being tossed around in the storms of life, and sometimes even our work being destroyed.
So here we are, like the Israelites, out in this desert. For them it was a real sandy wasteland. For us it's the desert of life. But all of us have a thirst for the waters of life. For them it was real water. For us, it is what makes life worth living: purpose, meaning, fulfilment. For all of us, it is God who has the answer. That rock which Moses struck looked pretty ordinary - until he struck it. For us, Jesus appeared like any other man until He too was struck - upon the cross. Isaiah says He was struck by God... pierced for our sins... crushed for our wicked deeds.... and the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him. But when Jesus died upon that cross for us, power was released that would change this world forever; power that broke the hold of sin in our lives; power to save us from eternal destruction; power to give life instead of death. When Jesus, our Rock, was struck dead upon the cross, living Water started to flow from Him that gave life to all who asked. And that's all it takes - a prayer offered in faith - to release the Water of Life that quenches our thirst.
We have to come to Him in prayer, tell Him we want to leave this Desert of Sin in our lives, receive His forgiveness, and from now on seek Life in Him only. It means we'll have to live in obedience to Him, following Him wherever He leads - because He's got the Water of Life that we need and long for. So will you do it today, and start to build your life on the Rock of Jesus and His teaching? It's up to you.
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1