Radio Antioch

This teaching is an excerpt from our Podcast Episode 6, Lessons from the Desert.
You can click on the player above to watch this short segment or you can view the full teaching HERE.

How many of you remember how immature in the Lord you were when you were first saved? I sure do. And yet, as time went by, and you were discipled and taught, and you grew in faith and knowledge.
Your identity began to be molded from sinner to saint. How many of you have started to understand your new identity- Who you are in Christ? To do this we have to get rid of our “Stinking Thinking” where the thoughts we have about ourselves or our situation do not line up with what God has said about our lives. Sometimes we just have to stop and say “wait a minute! That’s not what God says! That’s not the truth over my life, that’s not what the scripture says”….and our thoughts and expectations began to change.
When the Lord delivered the people in Egypt, they rejoiced. But their mentality was that of a slave. As soon as they had some adversity, they began to grumble. In exodus 15, they grumbled when they had no water. And here they grumble because there is not enough food to be found out in the desert. I believe that in this time in the desert, the lord wanted to change their mentality from that of a slave to that of a child of the king. And the first step in this training is learning to follow instructions.
How many know that if you have a king, that the king expects to be obeyed. But some subjects go beyond mere obedience and serve the king out of love, respect and honor. The slaves in Egypt understood obedience, because all they knew is the whip. And that is how the devil treats those in this world, with a whip of sickness, disease, lies and deception. But our God and King wants us to know Him not only as the awesome ruler, but also as that loving King who deserves love, respect and honor.
I believe that one of the transformations that had to happen during this desert time is the transition from a slave who is driven only by the whip to a people who are beginning to know their God and to follow him in love.

Exodus Chapter 16:

[6] So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, [7] and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” [8] Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

Moses is reminding them- “Don’t accuse me because you are upset- It is the Lord who is leading you, and you will know this when he provides meat for you to eat in the evening and bread for you in the morning.

[9] Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’ ”
[10] While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.

This was to become the pattern, to follow the pillar of fire, and the cloud, so that the people would remember Who it was that brought them out of Egypt. The people blame Moses and Aaron, but the Lord here defends them, saying that through these signs they would know that it was the Lord who brought them out of Egypt, and who would provide for them. They were getting their eyes on the wrong thing. Moses and Aaron NEITHER brought them out of Egypt, nor was it their responsibility, and it was certainly not within their ability, to feed that huge crowd, probably numbering almost two million people.

Lesson Number two- We often look to man for our provision, and look to man to assign blame for our circumstances. While sometime man may be part of the picture, we need to learn that it is the Lord that shapes our lives and is ultimately responsible to provide for us.

[11] The Lord said to Moses, [12] “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

The Lord shows His mercy here, meeting them at their point of need. If hunger was the big issue in their lives that causes them to stumble, then food is where He would meet them. He would provide for them in a way that was miraculous, incredible, in such a way that they would have no doubt that it was the lord who fed them. Not only were they provided for in their hunger, they were also being taught to look to the Lord with their problems, and not to man.

[13] That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. [14] When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. [15] When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. [16] This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer 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, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.

Notice that it literally says that the man who gathered much did not have too much, and that the man who gathered a little had enough. If you believe this scripture as being literally what happened, this means that there were thousands of “little” miracles that happened, impacting thousands of people. In the “economy” of heaven, it probably would have been more efficient to do one big miracle. But I believe that the Lord was performing individual miracles to teach them that it is His intention that they look to him for provision, on an individual, and very personal, basis, Each had just enough.
One thing that we often forget as Christians is the Intentionality of God. The whole universe was created to fulfill God’s intention. We forget how much God intends for us to be his children, and to know him as the loving father, to know how much He intends to reveal His glory, and how much He wants to show Himself to those who want to know Him. Do you know how much He intends for you to reach your destiny in Christ? He is the most intentional being in the universe. God knows what He is doing, Do you?

Episode Five of Radio Antioch is a sermon by David Cranfill entitled Wrestling With God, recorded at the first Live Radio Antioch meeting on October 18, 2008.
Jacob had a promise from God concerning his life. But his character was at times a contradiction with the destiny he had in God. During his many years, Jacob slowly came to align his will with the Lord, and became Israel the Patriarch.

0:00    Intro
0:33    Opening of the first Live Radio Antioch meeting
10:08  The Inheritance of God
16:59  The Promise and the Contradiction
28:22  The Teachable Moment
34:41  Wrestling With God
43:30  Credits

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