Praise God for deliverance from enemies and wise counsel from godly father-in-law’s. Moses had one as we see in this morning’s reading.
Exodus 17: Water from the Rock
1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Therefore the people quarrelled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?"
3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
4 So Moses cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me."
5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarrelling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
Israel Defeats Amalek
8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
9 So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."
10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,
16 saying, "A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
Exodus 18: Jethro's Advice
1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home,
3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"),
4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh").
5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
6 And when he sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,"
7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.
8 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people."
12 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.
14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God;
16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws."
17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,
20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace."
24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.
Things to think about…
Moses had to deal with a complaining congregation in Ex 17:1-7. One of the hardest things I hear from pastors is when their congregations are complaining and arguing, their job is made far more difficult. I praise God for the unity and freedom we have at CBC. But please don’t take it for granted, Satan does not give up that easy.
Note that the Lord stood before Moses at the Rock of Horeb, Ex 17:6; 1Cor 10:4. Christ stands before us and the Father. We have access to the Water of Life only through Jesus. Christ was struck for us, Ex 16:6 and His water of life flowed for us.
The pastor can’t do it all folks. And the spiritual Amalek will never give up, Ex 17:16. Like Moses, pastors need spiritual Aaron’s and Hur’s to uphold them in the battle in prayer. Pastors are required to pray for their congregations, but sometimes their hands get tired, Ex 17:8-16. Praise God for godly leaders that support them. I thank God for Doug and Graham, modern day examples of Aaron and Hur for me. Let’s hold each other’s hands up in prayer and see the Lord’s deliverance.
Look at this man Jethro, Ex 18. He is a Midianite, yet he rejoices in the Lord and makes sacrifices to Him when he hears all that the Lord has done through Moses for the people of Israel as he confesses that the Lord is greater than all gods and sacrifices to him, Ex 18:11, 12. It is wonderful when the historical enemies of the Lord come to faith. We have heard stories where leaders of Hamas have even turned to Christ. Praise the Lord!
Just because you are a godly man and you have been mightily used by the Lord it does not mean that you have the gifting or skills within administration. Moses clearly did not have the gift of administration as is evidenced by personally handling all the difficult cases that came to him. Jethro came up with the ideal solution, Ex 18:14-27. Training up leaders and those who express clear character traits that honour the Lord is a requirement of the church. Please pray for those who are being set aside as cell group leaders, ministry leaders and those within the church leadership. Praise the Lord for the godly families he is raising up and bringing into the church.
Vision Point for Cell groups
CBC's Vision "To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission".
Cell group’s on break for 2 weeks.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for our “Beirut Blessing” fund. Will be sent off this week. $1200 raised.
2. Lockdowns in Vic and easing and travel bubbles with NSW for QLD.
4. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6. Sunday’s messages. The message this week – “Fed with bread and water” Exod 16, 17. Pr Jay.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. New visitors and worship on Sunday. Thank you boys.
2. Finances continue to be maintained.
3. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thank you Jesus.
4. Donations to Café roof ($5,175) and Blessing Beirut ($1200). Thank you!
5. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
6. Praise God for all those who serve at CBC.
Announcements
1. Prayer meetings on break for 2 weeks. Please continue to pray for CBC however.
2. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed on YouTube. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we have an overflow in the cafe.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
