FRESH MANNA
Ex. 16:4,20
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: TWO DOG JOKES
1. DOG DRANK GASOLINE
“When I was 12, my father told me a terrible story that had happened at the gas station that day. “I was pumping gas when I noticed this small dog licking up a puddle of gasoline off the ground,” he said. “All of a sudden, the poor thing started running around the car as fast as he could. He kept running and running until he finally just dropped to the ground right in front of me.” I gasped, “Oh no. Was he dead?” Dad shook his head. “No, he just ran out of gas.” Dad was quite pleased with himself over that one. [Bill Woodman]
2. BEWARE OF DOG
a. As the stranger enters a country store, he spots a sign: "Danger! Beware of Dog!" Inside, he sees a harmless old hound asleep in the middle of the floor.
b. "Is that the dog we're supposed to beware of?" he asks the owner. "That's him," came the reply. "He doesn't look dangerous to me. Why would you post that sign?"
c. "Before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him."
B. TEXT
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. 13… in the morning…14 thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor…. 15 Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer [2 quarts] for each person you have in your tent.’” 17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little….19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” 20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. 21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. Ex. 16:4,13-21 NIV
C. THESIS
1. There is a spiritual famine in the land. Amos 8:11-13 says, "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to East, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it."
2. People are staggering everywhere, looking for the presence of the Lord. But thank God we don’t have to do that. God says, "I will pour floods upon the dry ground...."
3. We’re going to look at what manna symbolizes, 3 important lessons about it, and why we must get “Fresh Manna.”
I. THE MANNA REPRESENTED GOD’S WORD & JESUS
A. THE WORD OF GOD IS OUR MANNA
1. Moses said in Deut. 8:3; “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna…to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
2. The Lord Jesus echoed this thought in Matt. 4:4; “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (also Luke 4:4)
B. ALSO, JESUS IS THE TRUE MANNA
“33Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness….I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven…34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty….I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” John 6:33-35,51.
C. SUMMARY
1. So the manna that God gave the Israelites represented God’s Word and the life-giving presence of Jesus Christ. Both are essential to our spiritual life.
2. Both are available to us, but also, our effort to seek them out is expected by God, just as it was for the Israelites. If we would keep our spirits alive, we must seek out God’s manna. We can’t live on physical food alone – we must have spiritual nourishment.
II. THE 3 GREAT LESSONS FROM THE MANNA
A. THIS TEACHES US GOD’S CARE FOR US
1. First, they learned God is their God, they were His people, and that He would work to provide for them. Think of the care that God showed each one of them: every individual was provided for personally by God. Every morning there was the correct amount supplied for each.
2. Also, the heavenly supplies were always close at hand, exactly at the spot where they pitched their tents and spent the night. He not only cares for us every moment, but He’s tracking our footsteps, and looking after our needs.
B. SHOWS US THE GREATNESS OF HIS PROVISION
1. God showed this by the incredible quantity of the manna He provided. 2½ million Israelites each received two quarts of manna 365 days a year for 40 years! That’s a lot of manna – 182.5 billion pounds worth, or 91.25 billion long tons.
2. And this abundance happened while they were traveling in a dry, barren desert (not a plush, green area). Each morning 12.5 million pounds of manna appeared on the desert floor and all they had to do was go out and gather it. What a God we serve! And the price was right – it was all free!
C. FIVE REVELATIONS ABOUT THE MANNA
1. IT WAS DELICIOUS TO THE SOUL/TASTE. It was like wafers made with honey. It was like fresh oil. God didn’t give them convenience store food. He “rained down bread from heaven” for them. Heaven’s bread undoubtedly was delicious to the taste. Ezekiel said the scroll gave him to eat was as sweet as honey in his mouth. The Psalmist called it “angels’ food” (78:25), and food that falls from the table of cherubim and seraphs must be incredible!
2. IT WILL ALWAYS SATIFY YOU. It was always the right amount. “He that gathered much had nothing over and he that gathered little had no lack.” The manna seemed to shrink or swell to be exactly what was needed to satisfy the hunger. God’s Word & Presence will always be enough; “My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
3. IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE ANYTHING GRAND. The manna was a small, round thing, like coriander seed, or like the hoarfrost. Though it seems insignificant, just a little bit of God’s Word packs an unseen power. If you only find one new thought or one fresh idea, pick it up, and put it into your soul. You will find that your spiritual hunger will be satiated and your strength renewed!
4. HUMILITY. It was always down low. Imagine seeing the Israelites go out of their tents seeking manna. You would see them stooping down to pick it up. Most of them would be down on their knees gathering it. That’s the way God wants us to gather our heavenly food – to gather it on our knees, stooping low with humility and in prayerfulness. May His Word be sweet to our taste!
5. BORNE OF THE DEW, or HOLY SPIRIT REVELATION. Before the manna formed, a heavy dew would come from God. This moister kept the manna supple. The dew represents the Holy Spirit. He reveals the Word, He anoints the Word. As one old preacher said, “If you have the Spirit without the Word, you BLOW up. If you have the Word without the Spirit, you DRY up But if you have the Spirit AND the Word – you GROW up!”
III. GOD’S WANTS US TO HAVE FRESH MANNA!
A. NOT YESTERDAY’S BLESSINGS!
1. When God fed the Israelites "manna" in the wilderness, some of them tried to save up some of it for the next day but it bred worms and stank. LESSON? YOU CAN’T LIVE TODAY ON YESTERDAY’S BLESSINGS! Many people had a relationship with God many years ago and don’t think they need to do any more seeking. That’s wrong!
2. We don’t have to PRODUCE our daily bread, but we do have to go out and GATHER it. God is not the patron of idleness/ laziness.
3. The Israelites were up early to gather the manna which fell in the mornings. If they waited until the sun got hot, it melted away/ disappeared. Then they had to go hungry. You see, that’s the way the Holy Spirit operates: if you don’t act when the Spirit is moving, if you don’t move when the opportunity presents itself, then you miss out on God’s best! If we fail to read the Word and fellowship with Christ at the beginning of our day, we’ll find this loss can’t be made up at other times.
4. And if we get something from God today, it won’t sustain us tomorrow. Each day we MUST acquire a little more grace from God, a little more forgiveness for sins. If we don’t, our sins will begin the accumulate and, like the old manna, begin to stink!
B. WE NEED “FRESH MANNA”
1. DEFINITION OF “FRESH:”
a. New to one’s experience; not encountered before.
b. Recently made or produced; not stale or spoiled.
c. Having just arrived; new.
d. Revived or reinvigorated; refreshed.
2. WHAT FRESH MANNA WILL DO FOR YOU:
a. To those discouraged by circumstances: will encourage.
b. “ “ weary with over-work: will restore.
c. “ “ old and physically tired: will refresh.
d. Those who’ve lost their vision: give new purpose.
e. Brand new Christians? Will train up correctly.
3. To have THE NEW LIFE God wants you to have, you need fresh infusions of God’s grace every day. Developing a life of relying on God causes you to be spiritually victorious.
4. Lord Jesus in Rev. 2:17 promised; “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna…”
5. In Ex. 16:33 God had Moses put some of the original manna into a jar and put it into the ark of the Covenant “for the generations to come.” In Rev. 2:17 it’s said this sacred portion, symbolizing eternal life (Rom. 2:7), will be given to those who overcome. May we prove worthy of this honor!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. There was a wealthy business man with an only son. This son was undisciplined and couldn’t seem to keep a job. The father put him on a yearly stipend, but the father noticed that the son only came to see him when he wanted to pick up his yearly check. The father missed him and was sad.
2. One year the son showed up & received a very small check. He went into his father’s study and said, “What’s the deal? This check is really small. Don’t you care if I have enough to eat?”
3. The father answered, “It’s not because I DON’T care, but because I DO CARE about you! I’m restructuring your payments to once a month. You will have to come over and spend time with me every month if you want to get your check!”
4. At first the son was angry, but after a few months of hanging out with his dad, he realized how much his dad loved him and his heart went out again to his father. Eventually his father became his best friend and he changed his life to one of honor. This is a picture of how God is treating us.
5. Why does God require that we go to Him each day to get our daily bread? Because He’s mean? No! It’s because He loves us and wants us to spend time with Him. The only way we’re going to be changed will be by being in His presence!
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you want to begin a new discipline of gathering the fresh manna every morning?
2. How many want God to change some areas that haven’t had change in a while?
3. How many want to begin to walk with Jesus? Prayer.
