Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: Oh my God, help us to learn. These things are written for our example so that we don't make the same mistakes. God wants to manifest his life in you and through you so that you can become a vessel unto honor so that you at the end can bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ and that's the lesson for us this morning.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. We're glad you've joined us for our continuing examination of what it means to walk closely with Christ in faith-filled obedience. Pointing to the mistakes made by Moses and the Israelites, Raul will challenge us to learn from those who have gone before us in our pursuit of a God-glorifying life. We'll see that as we represent the Lord to a watching world, our witness can draw others to his heart. Let's join Raul Ries in the book of 1 Corinthians with the lesson Christ the Rock.

Raul Ries: He begins this way in chapter 10 verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud and they all passed through the sea, that is the Red Sea. And they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And they all ate the same spiritual food which was manna. And they all drank of the same spiritual drink which they drank, the spiritual rock that followed them. And that rock was Christ. With most of them, God was not well pleased for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

And all these things became our examples to the intent that we, Christians, should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down, they ate and they drank and they rose up and they played. And now he says, nor let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did. And in one day, God killed 23,000. He says, nor let us tempt Christ as some of them did as also tempted and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor murmur as some of them also became murmurers and were destroyed by the destroyer, the angel of death.

And now all these things happened to them as examples and they were written for our admonition on whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. So Paul's writing to warn. And then he said this. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to men. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with every temptation he also will make a way of escape that you may be able to bear whatever you're going through.

Notice what he says. It seems that as Paul is writing to the Corinthians, the Corinthians are being warned by the Lord. And the way he does it is that he's taking them back into the past, something that already has happened, that already has been written so that we have an example. So it's not just saying this happened, but it's not recorded. Everything that happened is recorded in the Old Testament. Paul is reminding the believers in the city of Corinth who had become very strong through the teaching of the word of God and in faith that they would be careful not to grow overconfident.

And Paul says, be careful because when you think you're strong, he says, that is when you fall. Paul also is using the nation of Israel as his example to warn every mature believer that their experience must be balanced with much caution. Caution how you live for Jesus Christ. Three warnings he's bringing here in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10. In verse 1 through 4, he's warning that privileges were no guarantee of success for the future. I like that. Which means that we have to walk carefully, cautiously every day of our lives because the enemy Satan is trying constantly.

He's come to rob, to steal and to kill. Second warning is in chapter 10 verses 5 to 12. And this is the warning that good beginnings do not guarantee good endings. There's a lot of people that have started their Christian life very strong and they have failed when they get old. This is what Paul will talk to us about. And then thirdly, the warning is this that God can enable us to overcome temptation if we are obedient to the word of God. That's the condition. Being obedient to the word of God, that is listening to the instructions God has given to us not only in the New Testament, but going back into the past and looking at the Old Testament saints.

We are going to be reading not only from Corinthians, but the lesson really is going to come from the book of Numbers. So turn with me to the book of Numbers chapter 20 beginning with verses 1 through 13. The first warning that we want to deal with this morning is with Moses sinning against God. And the sin that actually Moses committed was a great sin. Moses had been walking with God after he got saved and when he got thrown out of Egypt, when he killed that servant and he fled from the Egyptians for next 40 years, God broke him and God trained him and God saved him.

And then the next 40 years of his life as he was on his way to Canaan, he actually led the people of God through the wilderness and God blessed Moses and God did very well because he was leading a bunch of people, 3 million people that were constantly murmuring and complaining. And as a leader, sometimes if you have that kind of a congregation, it can become very discouraging. And so Moses was very discouraged by these people constantly. And yet Moses in not only knowing God and knowing the ways of God, Moses at the end of his life, starting out so strong and so solid, came to a place in his life where now he was coming to the end of his life, 120 years old.

And they were actually on their last 38th year of wandering to the wilderness. They had come out of Egypt. They came across the Red Sea which speaks of the believers' baptism. And then they came over into the wilderness area and then they began to wander because of unbelief. Instead of an 11-day journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, it took them 38 years to wander. And the reason for that is that God literally took the first generation of fathers and mothers and grandfathers and grandmothers and he wiped them all out before they got to the Promised Land because every one of them had unbelief in their hearts.

And the only people that were able to enter into the Promised Land was Joshua and Caleb and every child of the age under 20 years old and under. And the rest of the generation perished in the wilderness because of unbelief. They did not believe the promises of God. I was going through my concordance on my computer and I was amazed at how many references in the Bible it speaks of Christ being the rock. I just took a few of the songs. Let me read to you what he says, about Christ. Psalm 18:2 says this. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust, my shield and my horn of my salvation and my stronghold.

Psalm 18:31 says this. For who is God except the Lord? And who is a rock except our God? Psalm 18:46. The Lord lives. Blessed be my rock. Let the God of my salvation be exalted. Psalm 27:5 says, for in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he shall hide me and he shall set me high upon a rock. Notice the importance there in the scriptures of Christ being the rock of our salvation. When Moses was called to lead the people of God into the wilderness, Moses already was under instructions.

And Moses had done very, very well with the people of God, but it seemed that the people of God were constantly not only harassing, but constantly murmuring and complaining against the things that God had done. And God was leading them to the Promised Land. But because of their unbelief, they had to actually wander for 38 years in a semi-circle until every one of those people that did not believe in God was wiped out by God. And God produced a generation through the miracles and the wonders and the walk of faith to believe in their God.

And that was Joshua and Caleb and every one of those children under 20 years of age that went into the Promised Land and began to conquer the land that God had given to Joshua, the prince of peace. So it's so beautiful when you study the scriptures and you see these lessons that can be identified even today with our own lives.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Don't forget that we're here to strengthen and support you on your spiritual journey. Visit us at somebodylovesyou.com to look through our many resources. And Raul's 10-lesson series titled Called, Chosen and Committed is available on CD and USB. Now back to more with Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: Look how it begins in chapter 20 beginning with verse 1. He begins with the death of Miriam, the sister of Moses. This is now so you get the picture. This is not 38 years after they came out of Egypt. And then the children of Israel and the whole congregation came into the wilderness of Zin. In the first month, the people stayed in Kadesh and Miriam died there and was buried. So they had this funeral procession and they buried Miriam which was the older sister of Moses. And now they're continuing on in their journey. It says this in verse 2.

And there was no water for the congregation. So they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. Now the people of God here should have known that God already had provided for them water and meat and bread. They should have known that God once again would provide for their needs, but they became murmurers and complainers against the leadership that was leading them into the Promised Land. And Moses and Aaron should have ignored it, but they didn't. They actually sinned against God and against the people of God. We'll see that in a moment. Look at the contention in verse 3 of chapter 20.

And then the people contended with Moses and spoke saying, if only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord. Notice the attitude of the people on grateful of what God has done for them. How easy we forget the blessings of God, how God has blessed us in such a way. We forget that God is on the throne. And in the sermon on the mount and speaking to the disciples, Jesus said, he says, if God cares for the birds or the sparrows in this world, then how much more will he provide for you? Think about that.

How much more does God give to us that have souls and a spirit and a body which animals do not possess that? They have no spirit life. And yet God provides for them. I watch the sparrows in the summertime without permission helping themselves to my fig tree. I didn't give them permission, but they do. All of the squirrels and the rabbits and the deer. And yet if God provides for nature, how much more will he provide for you and for me? And these people were not ignorant. God already had given to them manna from heaven.

God had given to them meat. Quails came at a low place and they battered them down and they got meat and they ate meat for the rest of their 40 years until it came out of their noses, he says, and out of their ears. God says, you want meat, I'll give you meat. Until it comes out of your nose, I'll give you meat. And so God had provided for them, but they did not learn the lessons. And many times we do not learn the lessons. Look at verse 4 and 5, the complaining against Moses. He says, why have you brought us up this congregation of the Lord into the wilderness that we and our animals should die here?

And why have you made us come out of Egypt and bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain and figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there any water to drink. Notice how unbelief grips the heart of the people. How sad. When a person has unbelief in his heart, he cannot see what God has prepared for those that love him. They couldn't see that just a few miles away was the Promised Land. God already had blessed them. But they were not willing to receive the blessings of God. How we need to be careful of instead of murmuring and complaining to actually praise and bless God for what he has done and for what he intends to do with each one of our lives completely.

It is not your time. It is always his perfect time when he will do it. That's what's wrong with these people. They did not recognize the timing of God. Look what they do, verse 6. And so Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And they fell on their faces and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them. The Shekhinah glory of God, the presence of God came over Aaron and Moses to reassure them that God was with them. I love that. And then the tragedy comes, the sin of all sins.

Verses 7 through 8. We see the Lord first of all giving his instructions to his servants. And then we'll see in verses 9 through 13 the leaders' sin. Verse 7. And then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, take the rod, you and your brother Aaron and gather the assembly together and speak to the rod before their eyes. And it will yield water. Notice that. And thus you shall bring water from them out of the rock and give them drink in the congregation and to their animals. Now the first thing that we see here is what?

God giving perfect instruction to Moses. That's what he was seeking. The people were discontent. They were murmuring. They were complaining. And God says, all you have to do, Moses and Aaron, you go out, you talk to the people, you go up to the rock and you say, rock, bring forth water and the water will come forth. But it seems that as he came out, the first thing he does is he starts yelling at the people. You guys want water? I'll give you water. Follow me. But he forgot all about what God said and he got so mad.

He looked at his brother, took the rod from his brother and he took the rod and he hit the rock once and he hit the rock twice. And the water came forth and he must have been stunned when he saw that. And of course, the people were glad. But the Lord said, Moses, step into my office. Got to talk to you. Consultation time. And Moses went before the Lord and and the Lord said, Moses, now remember we were talking. Now did I make a mistake here? Did I say, go out and beat the rock to death?

Or did I say, speak to the rock? And I could just hear Moses like me, but Lord, you don't understand. When I left your presence and I saw those people and they were looking at me and they were smiling, kind of mocking, Lord, I could not help myself. Moses, I got to tell you something. Because when you went out to meet the people, you were representing me. You see? As a high priest. So what happened is when they looked at you, they were looking at me. So when you went out and you yelled at them and you verbally abused them and then you beat the rock, what did you do?

You showed them that God was angry with them. When I was never angry with the people. How many times you and I have mis represented ourselves and God to our children and to those that we love. Think about it for a moment because it's going to happen. It will happen once. It will happen twice. Because we're all carnal people. We're flesh and blood. And Moses must have made hundreds of excuses to God. But he said, look at Moses, this is the situation. You went out to the people as if I was angry. You beat the rod.

And by the way, the rock represents who? Jesus Christ. It represents me. And going back now from the wilderness experience 38 years later and then looking to the future, Jesus Christ would become the rock and he would be smitten not twice, but only once. He died only once on the cross, not twice. So what happened? He misrepresented God in his representation to the people of God. That's a great sin before God. You say, how great is it? So great that Moses could not go into the Promised Land. That's a great. He could not cross. As I was searching the scriptures and going through all the scriptures here, I found six things that Moses failed in.

Number one, he failed by taking the credit for what God had done in his life. In verse 10, look what it says. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together and before the rock and he said to them, hear now, you rebels, must we circle that, must we There he's taking the credit. He's not giving the credit to God. So the first problem with Moses is he forgot the greatness of God, that God is the one that instituted everything in his life. Secondly, in verse 11, he disobeyed God by not speaking to the rock, but by beating the rock.

In verse 11. Thirdly, he lost his temper and he struck the rock twice instead of speaking again to the rock. No self-control. Moses was guilty of unbelief. Look what it says, because you did not believe me in the eyes of the children of Israel. Moses, it wasn't them, it was you and Aaron that did not believe my word. Why? Because if you would have believed, you would have spoken to the rock and never beat the rock. He did his own thing. And then fifthly, in verse 12, Moses failed to glorify God before the people. Look at verse 12, to hollow me in the eyes of the children of Israel.

God is telling him exactly where he failed. And then sixth and lastly, and this you have to move ahead in chapter 20 to verse 24. Look what it says. It says this in verse 24. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and he shall not enter the land and I will give to the children of Israel because you rebel against my word at the waters of Meribah, which means quarreling in Hebrew. What was the next sin? The sin of rebellion against God. Oh my God, help us to listen. Like Paul said, to learn. These things are written for our example so that we don't make the same mistakes.

So that we're not kept out of the Promised Land, that is of the blessings that God is preparing to those that love him. He's not talking about heaven, but God wants to use you. God wants to manifest his life in you and through you so that you can become a vessel unto honor so that you at the end can bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the lesson for us this morning.

Guest (Male): As you consider the negative impact of Moses' misrepresentation of God, we hope you'll remember to learn from those mistakes and glorify the Lord in each of your daily decisions. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's teaching was titled Christ the Rock. We've made an unedited copy available to you for a donation of $5 or more. To get yours, just call us at 800-634-9165. And for more insight into what it looks like to live a fully devoted life, we'd like to tell you about a 10-part series from Raul titled Called, Chosen and Committed.

It's available on CD and thumb drive. Rich with assurances of God's unconditional love, this study will inspire you to give your undivided heart and faithfully follow wherever he leads. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's 10-message study Called, Chosen and Committed. We'll send you the CD set for $22 or if you prefer the flash drive for just 13. The number again is 800-634-9165 or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, PO Box 4440 Diamond Bar, California 91765. Be sure to join Raul on the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel every Tuesday at 10 a.m. West Coast time for Straight Talk, turning the lens of the Bible onto relevant life issues.

And to get podcast of these programs, check us out on iTunes and Spotify. Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries is completely listener supported. We are grateful for your partnership as we share the good news of Jesus Christ. Next time on Somebody Loves You Radio, we'll continue the series with more encouragement to anchor your heart on the solid rock of Christ and the truth of God's word.

Raul Ries: This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.