Lesson 1
“Will you trust Me?”
The Challenge of living the FAITH-REST LIFE
Intro Observations:
We know that we are new
creatures in Christ. (1 Cor. 5:17).
The ramifications of
this are that :
We share the life of Christ which is eternal life.
We share the righteousness of Christ which is a
perfect righteousness.
We share His destiny.
We share His heirship.
We share His sonship.
We share His election.
We
share His priesthood and many other things.
We
know we have a perfect and complete position in Jesus Christ.
There is a place of joy or inner happiness! A place of strength! A place of stability! A place of power! A place of impact! No matter what happens, no matter how
difficult the external circumstances, no matter how great the pressure,
adversities, or the problems of life, we
can have this “peace of God which passes all understanding” (Phil. 4:7).
THE FIRST MERIBAH
INCIDENT
Exodus 17
In Exodus, chapter 17, we come to a crisis in the
history of the children of
There is a principle
which must first be followed. This
principle is the basis to the solution to any problem that any believer will
ever face. You must remember, as you
face your problems, the greatest problem in your life has already been solved.
It was solved at
There are certain
important provisions which are now yours in Christ.
You have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who when
empowering your life provides the basis for illumination of the Word of truth.
There is a provision for sin committed in time
after salvation to receive forgiveness and cleansing. (1 John 1:9)
There is the provision of fellowship which you can have with the
Lord in time, in your everyday life as you reflect on the Word you know.
There is a way in which you can honor Him and
represent Him in life as you live out the Word known.
There is a way in which your life can count for
Him.
Exodus 17:1
Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed
by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to
drink."
God permitted this for
one purpose. God said to that
generation, as He is saying to us as believers today, “Will you trust Me?”
This was the greatest
thing He ever did for you. It cost Him infinitely more to send His Son to the
cross to be judged for your sins than anything else He could have done. If He
did the most for you at the cross, will He now do less for you as a believer?
How often do we get upset, fall apart, and get
disturbed? Yet, if there are any people
on the face of the earth who ought to be calm and courageous, exhibiting peace
with joy, strength and impact in the midst of adversity, it ought to be every
person who knows Jesus Christ as Savior.
Verse 2. What do we find in verse 2, “Therefore
the people quarreled with Moses.”
"Why do you quarrel with me? [Why do you meribah against me?]
Why do you test the LORD?" [that is, tempt the Lord to remove you from this life]?”
Verse 3. “But the people thirsted there for water;.” It was a
very real thing, a very real problem.
The people “meribahed” they grumbled and
complained against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from
Verses 4 and 5. “So Moses
cried out to the LORD.” Here is a picture of
a great man. Moses did not enter into rebuttal. Moses did not enter into
argumentation. Moses did not even try to justify himself. He cried to the Lord
for help saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they
will stone me.” “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pass before the people.”
Thus, Moses obeyed his
commanding officer and went before the angry mob. Then the Lord added, “and take with you some of the elders of
Verse 6. Notice
what the Lord says to Moses
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come
out of it, that the people may drink.”
verse 7 He named the place Massah
and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of
Now I say to you as a
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, “Remember
the Meribah!” Remember the warning of unbelief,
of failure to crack the faith barrier!