Faithfulness – Part 2

Here we go, back in Exodus 16 looking at the final four things we can learn about God’s faithfulness from it.

If you missed Part 1, read it here. We’re going to pick straight up where we left off…

4. God wants us to steward our gifts well, he opposes us when we don’t.
Look at what happens when the Israelite’s disobey God’s commands about not gathering on the seventh day (verse 20): “But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.” The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away!
Jesus gives us a similar lesson in the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas. If we’re selfish and inward focused with what God has provided us with, then there are negative consequences. We need to generous and open-handed with our gifts; thus communicating something of God’s character. Read 2 Corinthians 9 if you don’t believe me!

5. Through God’s faithfulness, we learn lessons about other aspects of walking with him.
We always remember something when there’s a practical application, that’s why kids do homework at school and preachers use visual aids. Similarly God often teaches us lessons in practical ways, so we’ll remember them.
In this case, the Lord is teaching them about the Sabbath (read verses 21-30). By ensuring the Israelties didn’t collect manna on the Sabbath he was showing them just how serious he was about them dedicated a day each week solely to him – if their minds didn’t learn quick, their stomachs surely would!
What lessons is the Lord teaching you in the way he provides for you?

6. Testimony, bearing witness to what the Lord has done, is vital.
I love this. In verse 32, God tells Moses to put a sample of the manna in a jar so that future generations could see and know that the Lord miraculously sustained the people of Israel. The object being of course that they would trust him to continue to do likewise and have faith and confidence that he will.
It’s the same for us. We need to record and hold onto all the times when we’ve tangibly experienced God’s faithfulness. It will encourage both us and whoever we share them, it will raise faith, and, as Revelation 12:11 says, will help us to overcome the evil one.
So…go get yourself a jar of manna!

7. God’s faithfulness is unending; his provision will never expire!
Last one team. Ever have that (heretical) feeling of not wanting to ask God for something again just in case you might be “pushing your luck”? That this time He’s not going to come through? Me too, unfortunately.
But look what happens with the Israelites and the manna…(verse 35) “So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.“
God repeated the miracle every day for 40 years!! He didn’t get bored, his faithfulness did not expire. And nor will it for you – so don’t ever feel like you ought to stop asking!

So there you go. God is faithful. Absolutely and completely. And if you ever forget it then just spend a few minutes in Exodus 16.

90 Second Gospel

Just got shown this little video from Dwyane Tryumf – check it out, its pretty cool…

A little bit of artistic license in there, but hey, David used that too.

Testimonies

We want to hear from you!

“They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.”
Revelation 12:11

Testimony is so important. It literally means ‘to bear witness’ to something. So when we testify to something we are declaring that it really happened. And more often than not, the reason it’s necessary to declare it is because otherwise it would be in doubt. (Think about a court-room trial: a witness will testify to what they saw/know in order that truth be reached and a correct verdict be administered)

When it comes to testifying about our walk with God we are essentially doing the same thing: asserting God’s glory, goodness, and even very existence on account of what he has done or is doing in our lives. This has multiple benefits:

1. It gives God the glory he deserves for his work
2. It encourages faith – strengthening that of a believer, whilst creating it in a non-believer.
3. It helps us to overcome the enemy. By bearing witness to God’s goodness we negate the lies of the enemy and it is much easier to recognise God’s truth and so walk in his power.

The verse above says we defeat Satan by two things: Jesus’ sacrifice, and our testimony to it – including how it is impacting our lives right here, right now. We already have the ‘blood’, let’s throw the testimony in there too!

So what have you got to share?

What has God done in your life today, this week, this month, this year? What are you thankful for? What opportunities has he opened up for you? What have you learned? How has God shown his love for you?

What are your stories? We want to hear them. We want to create a culture of bearing witness to the glory of God – so much so that it becomes just a natural attitude; an involuntary reflex of praise.

So please share with us. You can leave a comment below, send me an email or facebook message, or better still use the Contribute page located on the bar at the top of the page ^ (or the link in the sidebar ->)

Anything that comes in I’ll put on here (unless you prefer if I didn’t) and we can share in each other’s blessings!