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. . . . . . . . . . . . . Glory, glory, how the angels sing, Glory, glory, how the loud harps ring, Tis the ransomed army like a mighty sea, Peeling forth the anthem of the free. Ring the bells of heaven, there is joy today, For the wanderer now is reconciled. Yes, the soul is rescued from the sinful way, And is born anew a ransom child. Glory, glory, how the angels sing, Glory, glory, how the loud harps ring, Tis the ransomed army like a mighty sea, Peeling forth the anthem of the free. Ring the bells of heaven, spread the feast today, Angels swell the glad triumphant strain, Tell the joyful tidings, bear it far away, For a precious soul is born again. Glory, glory, how the angels sing, Glory, glory, how the loud harps ring, Tis the ransomed army like a mighty sea, Peeling forth the anthem of the free. So, just some announcements here. First of all, I just want to welcome the Love family that is visiting us this morning. And so, if you get a chance, if you haven't already, say hi to them. And then brother Dan has been here at least, I know at least once, but maybe a couple of times. I can't remember. Yeah, so I know you've been to some soul-winning marathons and stuff like that. But definitely glad to have some visitors this morning. And then just everything as far as the service time, it's all the same this morning that we have on there. So, after the service, obviously we have some time to where you can get some lunch. And then we're going to meet up or get paired up for soul-winning for 1 p.m. So, we're going to try to get paired up before 1 p.m. and then go out soul-winning at 1 p.m. today. But don't forget, obviously, if you can't do it on Sundays, Tuesday, brother Charles leads up the regional soul-winning time in Morgantown. And so that's at 6 p.m. And then if you're on the WhatsApp, I know that a lot of times other people are going out at different times throughout the week. So, you can always meet up with someone there. Upcoming events. We have men's prayer meeting at the end of this month. And then we have the Lord's Supper on the 28th. So, the way I'm doing this is that we're going to have the Lord's Supper after the afternoon service, which is typically how we do it. But it's the week before Easter. So, I would do it on Wednesday. But I know that a lot of people with work and everything can't make it on Wednesday. So, I'd rather do it on a Sunday where I know most people can try to make it. But we're going to do the Lord's Supper the Sunday before Easter. And then Easter, we're going to do a fellowship between the services. So, we usually have our soul-winning time there. And I'm not saying you can't go soul-winning on that time. But we'll probably try to maybe do some soul-winning the day before, on that Saturday. And then just have that time between the services for fellowship, food, all that fun stuff. So, we'll have a sign-up sheet as far as what everybody wants to bring. But this is not just finger foods. Like, I'm talking I want ham, mashed potatoes, rolls. I want to be able to be struggling when I'm preaching after that. No, but we'll figure all that out. And you don't have to bring anything. So, if you just want to come, this is not something that you have to bring anything. If everybody's just like, I'm not bringing anything, then the church will get something. We'll provide and we'll pick up something so where we can have food. But just mark down on your calendars there. That's April 4th. Our chapter memory for this month is Psalm 19. So, Psalm 19. So, not a huge psalm there, but a good psalm to have memorized. So, try to get that memorized this month. And then Galatians 2, 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteous has come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. That's Galatians 2, 21. So, a good verse to have memorized, obviously for soul-winning, and just in general to defend the fact that we're saved by grace and not by works. As far as birthdays, I don't think anybody's coming up yet. So, I know my mom's on there and Allison's on there. But we're not to the end of the month yet. We do. No, is it? Next week. I thought we had an anniversary. So, next week we'll get the crandles. And then the pregnancies, be in prayer for those on the pregnancy list there. Specifically my wife, because we're at 36 weeks now. So, we're kind of in that safe realm to where everything's developed and all that. But as you know, we've kind of had some false alarms and going back and forth with that. So, now he'll probably be late after all of that. He'll probably be like 42 weeks and all that. But just be in prayer for that. Obviously, we want the baby to come when God wants the baby to come. But then also obviously for Miss Joyce, Miss Tabby with the pregnancy. So, that first trimester a lot of times, from what I hear, I don't know from experience, is one of the harder parts of it because you're usually, you know, morning sicknesses and all that stuff. Or some, it's just like all the way through the whole pregnancy. So, but be in prayer for those on the pregnancy list. And then be in prayer for those that can't make it because of sicknesses, stuff like that. And so, yeah, so just be in prayer for all those. And I think that's it for announcements. I think the only thing I didn't mention is we have the offering box in the back there. So, we don't pass around the place, but we just have, it is screwed to the wall. So, no one's going to take it off like a football. And then the mother baby room's in the back here. The one right behind the wall there where the bookshelf and all that's at, that's for mothers and babies only. Obviously, mothers, if you need to take your bigger children in there, then obviously that's fine. If you have a baby that you're going in there with and everything. The other two rooms are for any parents that need to take out their children. But we want to reserve that for the mothers and babies, you know, with the feeding and just all that stuff. So, no men in there unless you literally are having to like grab your child and get them out of there. So, that's it for announcements. Brother Dave's going to come and sing one more song. And I think brother Jason, right, you're going to be reading Exodus chapter 17 for us this morning. All right, take your song books and turn to song 191. Song 191, we'll sing, In My Heart There Rings a Melody. Song 191. There rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody of love. I love the Christ who died on Calvary. For he washed my sins away. He put within my heart a melody. And I know it's there to stay. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody of love. It will be my endless theme and glory. With the angel I will sing. It will be a song with glorious harmony. When the courts of heaven ring. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody with heaven's harmony. In my heart there rings a melody. There rings a melody of love. All right, if you would take your Bibles and turn to Exodus chapter 17. We'll have brother Jason read that for us. All right, Exodus chapter 17. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore d'ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is it that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massa in Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not? Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose out men, and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses and Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him. And he sat there on, and Aaron and her stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi. For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for this church, Lord, and I pray that you would just be with Pastor Robinson this morning. I pray that you would fill him with your spirit and give him the words to speak to us today. In Jesus' name I pray. So you're there in Exodus chapter 17, and I want to preach a sermon called That Rock Was Christ. And this is a familiar passage where they are basically just coming out of, the children of Israel that is, were just coming out of Egypt. And chapter 16 actually you have the manna story, the bread that came down from heaven. And in chapter 16 you get into the idea that they need water, and they you know, God basically brings this water out from a rock. Now, notice what it says here, where they were at all this, obviously this is after the parting of the Red Sea. So they've come over through the Red Sea, all of Pharaoh's army has been destroyed, you know, like as far as all his chariots that were coming after them were destroyed. Verse 1 there it says, And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin. After their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? Now this is something that just happens on and on and on again with the children of Israel in the wilderness. They did the same thing as soon as the Red Sea parted, actually even before that. But then they're going to do it again, later on, and just again and again and again and again. So he's just tempting the Lord constantly, the children of Israel, and notice what it says in verse 3, it says, And the people thirsted there for water. And the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will send before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel, and he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? Now go to 1 Corinthians chapter 10, because that's the story that you see here, that basically God told Moses to go out to this rock that was in Horeb, and he was to smite the rock. So he was to take his rod, and he was supposed to smite this rock, and then the waters came forth from the rock. So 1 Corinthians chapter 10 actually mentions this story, actually it mentions a lot of stories, and notice what it says in verse 1 here, it says, Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat. So this is actually all in chronological order, if you think that chapter 14 is where you have the crossing of the Red Sea, and chapter 15 is just a song about that, chapter 16 is the manna that came down from heaven, and you say, Well, how's that spiritual meat, because Jesus said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. So Jesus is literally saying, I am that bread of light. So that's another sermon from another day. But it says in verse 4 there, it says, And did all drink that same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. So you say, well, what's the point of the sermon? Well, obviously, that physical rock that he hit with a rod was not Jesus. It was not the Christ. But it obviously pictures Christ. So this rock that was in the wilderness, that the waters came forth from, that is obviously a picture of Christ. Just as much as the manna that came down from heaven was actual bread, that they actually ate, but it also pictures Christ coming down from heaven, the bread of life, the word of God that came down from heaven and was made flesh, and we are to eat the word of God, and we're obviously supposed to drink the water of life, and all this stuff you can see the spiritual application. But notice in verse 5 there, it says, But with many of them was God not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after these things as they also lusted. So the point is, you say, well, what's the point in bringing up this story? How is that relevant to us today? Well, listen, everything in the Old Testament is for our admonition. And I just want you to see that this story of the manna coming down from heaven, the crossing of the Red Sea, this rock with the water coming out, this is all supposed to be for us. It's all profitable. So you don't look at the Old Testament and be like, well, yeah, that happened. So you don't look at the Old Testament and be like, well, yeah, that happened back then. That's the Old Testament. We don't need to worry about that. No, this was all written for us. Notice what it says, keep reading there, it says in verse 7, Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them, as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day, three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for in samples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Listen, God could have given them water any way he wanted to. Does that make sense? Like, he didn't have to do it that way. He could have literally just brought a stream through somehow, or made it that way. From the foundation of the world, he could have just made it to where there was water where they were going to be at, and could have just made it that way, but the reason you've probably heard this, that everything in the Bible, there's nothing that's accidental, incidental, or coincidental. Meaning that when God puts something written down in the Bible, there's a reason for it. Now, that means that story has a reason. There's a reason why he had the rod. There's a reason why he smote the rock. There's a reason why it was a rock. There's a reason why there was water coming out of the rock. So all of this has a spiritual application, and also this shows you too that Christ was in the Old Testament. This whole dispensational argument that, well, Jesus, the Christ, that's only New Testament. They believed in God the Father back then. They just believed in God, but they didn't believe in the Christ. No, they had to believe in the Christ. And it says that that rock was the Christ. Meaning that obviously the spiritual application of the rock was there, but even there, it says that they tempted Christ in the wilderness. So if Christ was nowhere to be found, or there was no Christ before Jesus came on the scene in the flesh, then that wouldn't make any sense. So that dispensational argument falls out the window when you read this chapter. But go to Isaiah chapter 48. And this may have sparked my thought as far as going into this because we just covered this chapter. And I kind of talked about this just for a second on Wednesday night. But the Bible covers this story. This isn't just some mythological story. This is something that's being brought up over and over again. So God literally brought water out of a rock. That happened. And obviously it's a miracle. It's something that man wouldn't have been able to do that. Just as much as the parting of the Red Sea. And people are constantly trying to figure out naturalistic reasons why things happen. Like, well, the parting of the Red Sea, that was really the Reed Sea. And it didn't really part. It just recedes. It's kind of like a tsunami. If there's a tsunami, it recedes. The oceans will recede back or whatever. So they'll try to naturalistically explain it away. But the Bible says that by the blast of his nostrils. It talks about how basically through God's, it doesn't say sneeze, but basically just like his exhaling is what parted the Red Sea. That was not some naturalistic thing that happened there. It was something that can't be explained with the physics of our world today. And the same thing with the water coming out from a rock. That is not something that just man is going to be able to do. Now obviously I know that there's a water table underneath of us. I know there's water that's underneath the earth and that there's rocks around. So you say, well, I can get water from a rock and it's underneath the earth or something like that. But that's not what we're talking about. He wasn't literally just drilling down through the crust of the earth here and finding some big well. He was standing talking to people and smiting a rock that was on the surface of the earth. So in Isaiah 48 and verse 21, notice what it says. It says, And they thirsted not when they led them through the deserts. So this is talking about the children of Israel, just from context here. It says, He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. He claved the rock also and the waters gushed out. So let's go to Psalm 78. I just want you to see some other places where it mentions this. Sometimes it may give you a little more detail about what happens because basically it just tells you that, hey, water came out. It doesn't tell you exactly how the water came out. But what we're going to see is that it came out like a river. We're talking just gushing out and flowing out. And if you imagine, I know the armies, both numbers, whether you're talking about going into the, which obviously this case right here where he smites the rock, we're talking about the children of Israel that came out of Egypt and there was about 600,000 men that were apt for war, right, that were ready, able to go to war. So that's 600,000 men that were ready for war. So you're dealing with definitely over a million people. I mean, easy that you're dealing with here that you're having to give water to. And talking about feeding their cattle as well and giving water to their cattle. But Psalm 78 here in verse 15, Psalm 78 verse 15, it says, So you can definitely see, okay, this wasn't just like a little bit of water that came out. We're talking about, if you imagine when you think of the flood, right, Noah and the flood talks about the fountains of the great deep broke open, and I'm paraphrasing that's not exactly how it says it, but basically there's water that's underneath the earth. There's obviously a lot more water that's now on top of the earth because of the flood. But there's still water underneath the earth. There's still, you know, underground water and all that stuff that's down there. And it's basically saying that that's how it came up. It came up as if there was like this just springing of water that came up from underneath the earth and it came out like a river. Verse 20 there, so you're in Psalm 78, look at verse 20, it says, Okay, so that's a rhetorical question. Because he's basically saying I brought water out of a rock, okay. You know, God brought bread down from heaven, just rained it upon them. And it's just showing you that, hey, God is able to do that and if He has to, He'll do it in a supernatural way, you know, in a miracle. Go to Psalm 105, Psalm 105, just to show you some other places here dealing with this. Psalm 105 and verse 41. Psalm 105 and verse 41, He opened the rock and the waters gushed out. They ran in the dry places like a river. Go to Psalm 114, Psalm 114. So it's really clear how these waters, they gushed out, okay. And, you know, you probably heard the old phrase now I'm going to mess it up. It's like that time that I was talking about my I'm not even going to try it, because I'm going to mess that one up too. Because I'm getting all these mixed up, but I'm trying to say you can't like squeeze juice from a rock. Is that the phrase? Never mind. I'm messing it completely up. So, but I think about that phrase even though I can't think of it off the top of my head right now as far as the idea that when you think of getting water you don't think of like, okay, I'm going to pick up some rocks over here and get some water out of it. Right? You can think of like, okay, I'm going to go find, you know, like even a tree branch, right? You think about a tree branch has some water in it, you can kind of squeeze it out of there, but a rock, that's usually pretty dry. Okay? And so the idea is just, it's absurd to think about it, honestly. The fact that, hey, there's this dry rock and there's just going to be this river flowing out of it. Okay? Now, in Psalm 114, verse 7 it says, Tremble thou, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters. Okay? Now, I want you to just remember these phrases as far as it's a river of water, it's a fountain of water, because all this is going to have a spiritual meaning. Okay? Like I said, this wasn't done accidentally, you know, God did this on purpose. And it even says that these things happened unto them for and samples, for to be an example. Okay? So that means that there's certain things they went through just because God wanted to make this an example for us to read about and to learn about and to have a spiritual application that goes with it. Okay? And so, they were physically going through it and it physically happened to them, but obviously it has a spiritual meaning. Go to Zechariah chapter 13, Zechariah chapter 13, and the first thing that I noticed when you deal with this story is that God tells Moses to smite the rock. Okay? So he's basically saying, go get your rod and smite the rock, and this immediately you think about, if that rock is Christ, that means that Christ had to be smitten. Okay? And so this is very you know, just foreshadowing. And if you think about those two men that are going on the road to Emmaus, okay, and God is just basically opening their eyes to the scriptures concerning himself, I mean, Genesis alone, I don't think they can get through that. You know, by the time they got to Emmaus, the road just isn't long enough for Jesus to go through all of that, that's even in Genesis. But think about Exodus. You just got done with the Passover. You know, that is obviously talking about Jesus, you know, the Passover lamb, but then you have this idea of the water, you know, the bread that came down from heaven, you know, and then this water that's coming from the rock, and the fact that that rock represents Christ. Okay? But that rock had to be smitten. Okay? And it talks about him cleaving or claving the rock, and it talks about Jesus' body being broken, right? Now obviously no bone was broken, but it talks about his flesh, you know, basically the stripes and all that stuff as far as what happened to him before he was going to the cross, as he was on the cross, and all that. Now, go to Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 1 there. It says in verse 1, And for uncleanness. You say, what day are we talking about? Well, go down to verse 7. Now, Zechariah is obviously a cryptic book, okay, so I'm not saying like this book is just like straight up, you know, giving you timelines, events, because it kind of goes back and forth between his first coming, his second coming, and all that, but we know that verse 7 is talking about Jesus' first coming because it's quoted, Jesus quotes this off, you know, right before he goes to the cross. Notice what it says in verse 7, And against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. I will turn my hand upon the little ones. Now, go to Matthew chapter 26, and I'll show you where Jesus is quoting this, and this is when he's in the garden of Gethsemane, and this is where Judas obviously betrays him, and they're taking him, and all his disciples flee from him. So, this is where you're dealing with smite the shepherd, okay, and this is where I believe obviously you're dealing with smiting the rock, okay, which is Christ, and this is where it all begins if you think about it. The garden of Gethsemane, this is where they start buffeting him, and they take him to, you know, obviously to Caiaphas, and to Herod, and then they take him to Pilate, and there's all kinds of stuff that's going on. They're mocking him, they're hitting him in the face, they're blindfolding him, they're scourging him, all this stuff is happening to him from this point, okay, and obviously we know the garden of Gethsemane, he was praying, and he was in agony, okay, but no one was physically afflicting him yet. No one was physically smiting him at that point until right here, and Matthew chapter 26 and verse 3, or I'm sorry, Matthew 26 and verse 30, it says, and when they had sung in him, he went out into the mount of Olives, then said Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad, but after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Now obviously, he's quoting this, but it doesn't happen until they're in the garden of Gethsemane, right? So that phrase comes true because he says everybody's going to be offended of me tonight, and that's where Peter's like, I will never be offended, I'll die before I'm offended, and then obviously he tells them that you're going to deny me three times before the cock crows. So the idea here is that that happened when everybody fled. That scripture was fulfilled, that all the sheep shall be scattered, and then Jesus is smitten. Go to Isaiah 53. So I just want to show you some places where it talks about Jesus being smitten. Now time would fail me to go to all the places, but I'm just trying to make this point here, that when you're dealing with this rock, or water gushed out, it first had to be smitten before the water gushed out. And it talks about, even in Zechariah, that there's going to be this fountain that's opened in David, and it says to the house of David, and obviously Jesus is of the seed of David, he's going to sit on David's throne, and all that's true. Isaiah 53 and verse 4. Surely he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. So why was he smitten? Because he had to be smitten to take our sin. And this had to happen. Okay, so God was specifically telling Moses, you're smiting the rock, you're doing this for the waters to gush out. For the fountains of waters to come forth, for the river of water to come forth, unto the children of Israel so that they won't die, so they don't die of thirst. This has to happen, you have to smite the shepherd. Go to John chapter 4, and you say, well how does the water represent, no one in here is saying that. I don't think anybody in here is like, what does the water represent? I think most people, besides Navy children, know what the water the water of life, right? You're talking about salvation, you're talking about eternal life. So the spiritual application is that obviously the water they drank they're going to thirst again. Because they did later on, and they had to put the tree in the water because the water was bitter, and all that happens even right after this. But the thing is that the spiritual application though is that when they smote Jesus and that water came forth, that's everlasting life, that's everlasting water. That is something that you'll never have to, it says you'll never thirst again. And so if you think about it, this rock was smitten, and it talks about that from the flint, the flint was turned into fountains of waters. It was turned into a river of water, and here we have the woman at the well. Notice what it says in verse 10, so John chapter 4 and verse 10, the children are trying to escape. Must be rough in there. Verse 10 there it says, Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. What is the gift of God? For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And it says here that if you knew the gift of God, you would have asked me for it, and I would have given you living water. And notice in verse 11, The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? Okay, so she's thinking physically water, right? And obviously when you're talking about this story in Moses Day, I'm not saying we need to go find this rock, and it's like we're gonna go on an Indiana Jones excursion to go find the Holy Grail so that we can live forever, okay? No, that's obviously just a physical representation of what happens spiritually when Jesus died for us, rose again, and gives us living water, okay? But this woman is basically looking at it as the physical, okay? And the world does that, don't they? They literally are like, we need to find the cup, we need to find the Ark of the Covenant, we need to find all this. It's like, no, we don't need any of that, okay? All that was representing the true anyway. Not the Holy Grail, okay? So, you know, the Bible never says Holy Grail, it never like talks about it, it's never like, that's never like even a vocal point at all as far as what the cup was or anything like that. It was always about what was in the cup, okay? Now, in verse 12 there, it says, Art thou greater than our father Jacob? I'll answer that, yes, okay? Obviously he's greater than Jacob, which gave us the well and drank thereof himself and his children and his cattle. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into what? Everlasting light. So it's very clear that the picture of this rock in the wilderness that was smitten and then the waters gushed out, that rock was Christ, that same spiritual drink. And it's funny because dispensationalists want to be like, well, you know, they believed something different back then, they didn't believe in the Christ back then, or, you know, obviously they didn't have the name of Jesus back then. That was given when Jesus was born. But at the same time, it says that they all ate of that spiritual meat and they all ate, or they all drank of that spiritual drink. Okay? So you say, you're just spiritualizing. I'm not. Paul did when he wrote 1 Corinthians, okay? And obviously that was under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so it's stating that, hey, they tempted Christ in the wilderness, they drank of that spiritual drink, they ate of that spiritual meat, and by the way, it was the church in the wilderness. You know, it's, you know, Jesus was there. He was the angel that brought them forth into, you know, he's the one when Joshua met the captain of the host and he had to take off his shoes because he was upon holy ground, the Lord Jesus Christ was standing there and led them into the Promised Land. So, but that being said is that we're dealing with everlasting life. That's what we're dealing with. So that's a pretty easy picture to see, you know, if you think about it. The fact that Jesus is the rock, you know, obviously there's other verses on that, but the solid rock I stand, the fact that he's the stone which the builders rejected, the rock of offense. So we obviously know he's likened unto a foundation, like a foundational rock. But at the same time, he's also just likened unto this rock that water came forth from. And even the church was built upon the rock, right? Upon this rock, I will build my church. So all that's true, but he's not just a foundation. He's the rock which life comes forth. Living water comes forth. And they thirsted again in the wilderness. But if you drink of the living water that Jesus gives you, and you say, how do you do that? Believe unto the Lord Jesus Christ now shall be saved. He that hath the sun hath life, and he that hath not the sun of God hath not life. He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the sun shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Just over and over again he that believeth has everlasting life. That's how you get that living water. And go to Numbers chapter 20 though, because this story is obviously an awesome story, but did you know, and you probably did, that there's another event where there's water that comes out from a rock. So they end up doing this again. Now, I believe this is a different area, and I'll show you why, that they're at. I don't believe that they're at the same rock or at the same spot. But now, just to get you some context here, at this point in Numbers chapter 20, you're pretty much getting to the point where Miriam just dies. At the end of the chapter, Aaron dies. I mean, we're at the point where they're about to go into the promised land. So we're dealing with that second generation. First generation that died in the wilderness, that's who we were talking about in Exodus chapter 17, that were chiding with Moses about being thirsty. Guess what? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree because that next generation is chiding with Moses again for water. And notice what it says in verse 1 here. So Numbers chapter 20 in verse 1, it says, Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zinn in the first month, and the people abode in Kadesh. So the area where they're at is Kadesh, and they were in Rephidim. So I don't believe they're at the same exact location. But it doesn't really matter. I don't think it's about some physical rock. Like I said, we don't need to go on some journey to go on this rock. And I know there's all kinds of cases where we think we know where it's at, it's in Saudi Arabia, and we see this rock where there's this split in it. It's like, great. I'm not saying it doesn't exist. I'm not saying that wouldn't be cool to see and be like, yeah, that's the rock. But I don't think you could ever validate that. I don't think you could ever know for sure that that was the rock that he smote with the rod or whatever. In the end, I don't think it matters. I don't think we need to go on that type of journey. And by the way, atheists, that will not cause them to believe. You can find all the physical evidence that you want of biblical stories. That's not going to get them to believe. The power of God into salvation is the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you're going to win someone to Christ, it's going to be by the word of God and by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And no amount of physical evidence is ever going to convince anybody because they'll just explain it away. Now, in verse one there, we see that they're in Kadesh, and it talks about, it says, And Miriam died there and was buried there. Verse two, it says, And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord? And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt to bring us unto this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink. So it's funny because they keep, do you not know by now the reason why you're wandering for 40 years is because your parents essentially didn't have faith to go into the promised land, and then he says you're going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that whole generation dies. And the fact is that this isn't the land that was promised to them. It's almost like they're saying you're bringing us into this land, isn't this the land you promised us? It's like, no. Is anybody saying that this is the land that they promised them? And so they're obviously angry at Moses and Aaron and it says in verse six, it says, And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Now notice this, I want you to read this very carefully, okay, as I go through this. Because what happened on the first time? He said, Take your rod, smite the rock, and water's going to come out. Notice what God tells Moses to do. Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes. Does it say smite it? See, every word is important, and you need to listen when God tells you to do something. Because we're going to see that Moses doesn't do this. It says, Speak ye unto the rock. It doesn't say smite it, it says speak ye unto it. Because you know what, it was already smitten. Now, go and keep reading there, it says, And it shall give forth his water. I don't know why, but I just love that. You know, because it's using like a neutral pronoun to talk about this rock, but then it says, his water. Because obviously we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, we're talking about the rock. We're talking about the Christ giving forth his water. It says, And thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, so thou shalt give the congregation and their beast drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he commanded him, and Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Here now ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand with his rod, and with his rod he smote the rock twice. And the water came out abundantly and the congregation drank, and their beast also. Now did he do what God told him to do? It's like when you're reading about Balaam, and he goes with those guys and God said, you know, if they call you, go with them. And then he just finds them and goes with them, and you're like, wait a minute, God said he can go with them. No, he said if they call you, go with them. And they didn't call them. And the same thing here is that, well, he told them to go to this rock, yeah, but he didn't tell them to smite it, he told them to speak to it. Everything is important when it comes to God's commandments. You need to look at the details as far as what he's telling you to do. And you say, well, he told them to smite it before, yeah, but he didn't tell them to smite it this time. And there's going to be a reason why. This is a picture, again, these things happen for our admonition and for our learning. Where God wouldn't be pointing back to this, especially, he wouldn't definitely be repeating it in New Testament and be like, hey, look back at this. Now, notice what it says in verse 12, because now we're going to see the condemnation that comes down on Moses. It says, and the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, because ye believed me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I gave, which I have given them. This is the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with the Lord and he was sanctified in them. Now, why don't you notice in verse 13, because a lot of people think, well, this is the same place. It says this is the water of Meribah. It doesn't say this is the place of Meribah, right? And so in the first case where we saw there, it says that they called the place Meribah and Massah, I believe, right? Am I saying that right? Yeah, Massah and Meribah. And it says this is the water of Meribah. The reason they called it that was because they were chiding with them. So it's basically talking about this water that they chided for. That's what it's basically talking about there. But we see here that he smites the rock twice. And again, I don't believe anything is coincidental, incidental, or accidental. I believe it said that for a reason. You say, what's the spiritual significance of this? Because Jesus was only supposed to be smitten once, not twice. Go to Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. And I believe this story will help you understand maybe this passage a little more. And so there's actually two lessons you can learn from this story about the rock and the water. This rock which was Christ. The first story is how Jesus saved us. How did he pay for our sins? He was smitten for us. He was smitten so that we'd have living water. That's pretty simple. That's the basic, you know, this is the meaning, right? He was smitten. This fountain of water was opened up. And you know what? We all live that receive it. Whosoever will, let him take up the water of life freely. So it's not that it's hard to get it, but Jesus being smitten is how it was accomplished. Now Hebrews chapter 6 here, and this is a passage that a lot of people try to use to say you lose your salvation, or whatever the case may be. This is not what it's talking about. This passage is clearly talking about people that God has rejected, or people that have been given up to a reprobate mind. And there's a passage in here though, and I've preached on this before, so it's not like most of you probably don't know where I stand on this, but there's a portion in here where you're just like, what is this talking about? What does this mean? Why does it say it like that? Well go to Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 4 it says, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance. So essentially what this is saying is that it's impossible to renew someone unto repentance if they fall away after they've been enlightened and tasted of all this stuff. Notice it keeps saying taste, taste, taste, taste. It doesn't say they accepted it or received it. And that's another sermon for another day to prove that point. But notice what it says right after that. It says, Seeing they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. You say, what is that talking about? Well I believe this correlates with what Moses did foolishly in the wilderness. The fact that the rock was already smitten and he smote it twice. And what it's doing is it's giving you a picture of putting Christ to an open shame. You're basically crucifying him aflesh or smiting him afresh. Now what's afresh mean? It means again. You're doing it again to him. You say, well how would this apply or what does this mean to crucify afresh or why would he have to be crucified afresh? Because you're dealing with people that are twice dead. That's why. Keep reading there in Hebrews chapter 6 because it gives you a dichotomy of I believe children of God and children of the devil. Now what it says in verse 7 here, it says, For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh off upon it, and bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God. So we're talking about the earth bringing forth good things. Herbs are good. Obviously you can think of basil and parsley and all these different things that come up from the earth. But a lot of times it's even just talking about just plants in general. Now verse 8 there says, But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned. So we're talking about that which is a blessing and that which is rejected. So you're dealing with two different groups of fruit here. The good herbs that are a blessing on the earth and then the thorns and briars is a curse upon the earth. And it says they're rejected and nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned. Go to Jude. Jude in verse 12. Jude in verse 12. Essentially, if someone's rejected by God, they are what the Bible calls twice dead. Or as Jesus was talking to, he was rebuking the scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites, it says, you can pass sea and land to make one proselyte and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. And so this person's made twofold more the child of hell than themselves. That means they're children of hell, twofold the child of hell, but they're twofold more the child of hell. So I don't know how they're basically saying your fruit's even worse than you. But it's twofold. How do you become twofold the child of hell? How do you become twice dead? I think Hebrews 6 is explaining that. This is how that happens. It's not that you just are like some person that's ignorant of the gospel and you're just going through life thinking you gotta be a good person to go to heaven. That's not who you're dealing with here. And that means most people in the world are not that. We're talking about a small group of people but these people do exist. And it says in Jude chapter 1 in verse 12, it says, So it's very similar to the fact that these are thorns and briars that are rejected nigh in the cursing whose end is to be burned. So they're basically just waiting to be destroyed. And the same thing would apply here but you see the same thing that happens where you think about the rock being smitten twice and you almost look at it and be like, man, it seems like God was overreacting. Because this means Moses didn't go into the Promised Land. That was his punishment. You say, why didn't Moses lead him into the Promised Land? Because of that right there. Because he smoked the rock twice. You'd be like, man, that seems so minor, right? He just got a little angry. Because you can understand where Moses is coming from. They're like trying to stone him all the time and he's just like a messenger. He's trying to lead these people through the wilderness. They're already obstinate as it is when it comes to anything that God is trying to tell them to do. And so he gets mad at them, calls them rebels and he's smiting this rock. But that whole thing was supposed to be a picture. It was supposed to represent something. It was supposed to sanctify the Lord in their eyes. But he messed it up. And, you know, it's interesting because the Promised Land, a lot of times it's a picture of salvation. It's a picture of going into heaven. And it's stating that you smoke the rock twice you don't go into heaven. That means that won't save you. That means that there is no hope for those that are trying to crucify the Son of God afresh. And that's what would have to happen. You're saying, well can these people get saved if Jesus is crucified again? Because we're dead in trespasses and sins. They're twice dead in trespasses and sins. Now go to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. This is the last point I'm making here so believe it or not this is going to be a shorter sermon. I always say that and then I go off on this rabbit trail and it's like over time or something like that. But, I just thought that was interesting because I think most of the time when you think of the story you think of that first time where he smites the rock, the waters come out and I think most people have probably seen that picture of Jesus being smitten and the water of life. But I've never really heard a sermon I'm not saying it's not out there. I've never heard a sermon where they're talking about the second time and how that applies to Christ. Because it says you're supposed to speak to him, you're not supposed to smite him. He is already, he's done. He's done dealing with sin. He's done being smitten. And there's many verses on this but I think Hebrews 9 encapsulates this in verse 27. Listen, he's not going to be dealing with sin anymore. It talks about this in 1 Peter chapter 4 that he is no longer dealing with sin. He is no longer in the flesh dealing with sin. He is in a spiritual, glorified body. He has put away sin and he is done with it. And when he comes a second time he's not dealing with sin anymore. Now what I mean by that obviously he's going to be dealing with sin and punishing people that are sinners. But he's not taking the sins, he's not bearing the sins of the world on him anymore. That's already been done. And he's not going to do it again. He did it once, not twice. And those that are twice dead or twofold a child of hell, you'd have to bring, you'd have to smite the rock twice. You would have to crucify, and what does that mean? You'd have to crucify the son of God afresh. And what does that do? Bring him to an open shame. So when Moses did that in the wilderness, he was bringing Christ to an open shame, figuratively. Okay, obviously Moses is saved. He's in heaven. Okay, he was literally at the mount of transfiguration. I'm not here to say that Moses was a reprobate. But what I'm saying is that obviously saved people can mess up the picture. They can mess up that explanation or that allegory or whatever is taking place. But you know that God preserved it. Even though Moses messed up, God preserved that picture by what he did to Moses. Remember Moses, he's just like, I want to see it. He basically wants to go into the promised land, and God is just like, alright, I'm going to show it to you, but you're not going to talk about this anymore. I'm paraphrasing, but he's basically like, don't bring this up again. And he gets on Mount Pisgah, and he sees the promised land, and then he dies. So he gets to see it, but he doesn't get to enter it. And one last thing I'll show you is in Genesis chapter 24. And this is something I think is complementary to the story of smiting the rock twice and the fact that Jesus is not going to die again for the world. He died once, that's it. It's once for all. And by the way, that's salvation. Once for all. You're like, oh, you guys are once saved, always saved. Yeah, because Jesus died once for all. He died for all my sins, past, present, and future. And it's not a matter of just like, oh, he's got to keep dying. Because listen, when you get saved, you are buried with him in death, and you're raised to walk in newness of life the moment you get saved. So if you think you can lose your salvation, that means that you're dying with Christ multiple times, and you're having to crucify a fresh Jesus every single time you've got to get saved. Now, people aren't thinking about it that way, but honestly, that's the way it would be. That means that Jesus' death and burial and resurrection isn't enough for all your sins. Now, in Genesis 24, to give you context of the story, this is where Abraham is sending his servant to go get a wife for Isaac. And there's something interesting that's said here, and I don't think I even talked about this, honestly, because this chapter is a really long chapter, honestly. When you're in Genesis, this is one of the longer chapters. I don't know if I talked about this specifically, but I want you to see something specifically that he warns this servant not to do. Notice in verse 1 here, it says, Okay, so get the story. He's basically saying, you go into this country, find a wife, don't go anywhere else, find her there. Verse 5, it says, and the servant said to him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land. So he's basically giving you, you know, like, what if she doesn't follow me unto this land? So he's basically giving you, you know, like, what if she doesn't follow me unto this land? So he's basically giving you, you know, like, what if she doesn't want to come with me, you know, because imagine you're going to find this woman and be like, I've got a husband for you. He's not with me, okay, and he's like, Peradventure she doesn't want to come. Notice what he says to do. Must I need bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? So he's saying, you know, if she doesn't want to come, you know, should I bring your son again to the land? To the land? And notice what Abraham says here. It says, and Abraham said unto him, Beware that thou, that thou, I'm sorry, thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, which spake unto me, that swear unto me, saying unto thy seed, Will I give this land? He shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath. Only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swear to him concerning that matter. You say, what's the point of all that? I believe the spiritual application is talking about the fact that Jesus isn't going to come again. And you can definitely see what this represents. You have Abraham being the father, you have Isaac being the son, going to get his bride, and you can definitely see how the servant would represent the Holy Ghost and the fact that he's sending the Holy Ghost out into the world to reprove the world of sin, or you can even think about how he's sending soul winners, but I think it more so would apply to the Holy Ghost there. So you kind of see this trinity working there and he's saying, don't bring my son again. Beware of this. And out of all this, he's saying, and then he swore concerning that matter that he's not going to bring his son again. So, you know, this I believe is not just, I'm not saying this is the only place I see this, but I think it's a very important lesson, and I think it, obviously, it validates Hebrew 6 and what that's talking about. And you never want to go to a passage like this or to even the rock being smitten twice and come up with, you know, like a doctrine. But a lot of times pictures, allegories can validate sound doctrine, right? And so when you have sound doctrine and you're like, okay, this parable is bolstering this doctrine. Or, you know, Hebrew 6 is very clearly talking about people that are twice dead, but you know what? The rock being smitten twice validates it. Abraham saying, don't send my son again validates it. That's my personal opinion and I think that it just kind of shows you why. Why does he say that? Because I've had many people ask me that, even people that believe the reprobate doctrine, okay, that have said, why does it say that you have to crucify the son of God afresh? Why does it say that? I believe that's why, because that's what would have to happen in order for them to get saved. And God is saying no, that's why Moses didn't go into the Promised Land, because he messed up that picture, because he smoked the rock twice. And Abraham warned his servants saying, do not bring my son again. You know, if there's anything, no, don't bring my son again. And Jesus said that he's going to come the second time without sin and the salvation. He's not dealing with sin. He's not bearing the sins of the world. He already done did that. Okay? And that's, it's over. Now, I hope that that's a nice little lesson, you know, as far as that rock was Christ. Obviously the physical inanimate object rock is not who we're talking about, okay? We're talking about the fact that that rock pictured Christ. In both cases, it pictures Christ. In the first case, it's the clear representation of salvation. In the second case is when you're dealing with what reprobates try to do or what they'd have to do. You know, people that are rejected and twice dead, what they'd have to do in order to be saved. And God punished that harshly on Moses and said, you're not going into the Promised Land. And notice that it says, you did not believe me. And why do reprobates not go to heaven? Is it because of their, you know, certain sins that they do? No, it's because they will not believe. Because it's whosoever believeth on him, you know, that goes to heaven. It's not a matter of what sins you commit, but there are people that cannot believe. And that's always the case of why they didn't go into the Promised Land because Moses was obviously a believer, but in that instance, he did not believe what God told him to do and that's why he didn't go into the Promised Land, okay? So, you know, that rock was Christ. And there's a great picture there with that. And let's end with a word of prayer. The only father we think of today. Thank you for your word and thank you for these lessons that we can see in the Bible. And Lord, just praise you to help us to see all those allegories and pictures. But obviously that these would be for our admonition. And Lord, that we would believe what you tell us to do and that we would do it, try to do it to the T. And knowing that every word is important and that in some instances we're supposed to smite the rock. Some instances we're supposed to just speak to it. And just those ideas of that it's not always going to be the same for every instance or every application. And just help us to have discernment in the Word of God. And Lord, we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So Brother Abel, come and sing one more song and then we'll be dismissed. All right. Take your song books and turn to song one hundred and eighty eight. One hundred and eighty eight. We'll sing the love of God. And if you would stand. Sing song one hundred and eighty eight. God gave his son to win his erring child he reconciled and pardoned.