Is the Lord Among Us?
February 19, 2025 · 1:23:53 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Summary
Preached during a week of fasting and prayer for the church, this Wednesday message opens with the reminder that God now dwells among His people in the church, the pillar and ground of the truth. The preacher shares his own first experience of fasting, when he begged God for healing, grew impatient, and finally learned that he had nothing to prove to God; the Lord healed him in His own way and time. Fasting, he explains, exists to deepen our prayer and to pull us out of our comfortable routine so the spiritual person can grow.
The heart of the message is Israel at Rephidim (Exodus 17), where thirsty people quarreled with Moses and asked, 'Is the Lord among us or not?' Though they had just seen the sea parted, manna, and quail, hardship turned them into complainers, like a spoiled child stamping his feet. The preacher confesses he met the same temptation in a half-built church with only a handful of workers, and again during the COVID years; yet those who kept trusting and laboring saw God build His house.
He then points to the struck rock as a picture of Christ, the source of living water, broken for us so that rivers of living water might flow. Finally, in the battle with Amalek, Israel prevailed only while Moses' hands were lifted in prayer. The lesson: when we stop crying out to God, the stream of His grace dries up, so we must come boldly to the throne of grace, where faith, prayer, and obedience turn the impossible into the possible.
Key Points
- Fasting is meant to intensify prayer and break us out of spiritual comfort so the inner person can grow.
- Hardship exposes the heart; thirst at Rephidim turned Israel from worshipers into accusers.
- 'Is the Lord among us?' is the wrong question for those who have already seen His deliverance.
- In days of trouble we are called to reflect (Ecclesiastes 7:14), not to grumble from the cravings of the flesh.
- The rock struck for water pictures Christ, broken on the cross, the source of living water for all who thirst.
- Victory over Amalek lasted only while Moses' hands stayed lifted; when prayer stops, God's flow of grace dries up.
- We are invited to come boldly to the throne of grace, where faith and obedience make the impossible possible.
Devotional
When life runs dry, it is easy to ask whether God is really with you, even after all the times He has carried you. Today, choose to remember His past faithfulness instead of rehearsing your thirst. Lift your hands in prayer the way Moses did, and let others hold you up when your strength gives out. The same Rock that was struck for Israel still pours out living water for everyone who comes to drink. Come boldly to the throne of grace, and let faith and obedience turn your impossible into His possible.
“Who am I to prove anything to God? He healed me in His own way and in His own time.”
“When we stop crying out to God, the stream of His grace begins to dry up.”
“The Rock was struck for us, so that rivers of living water could flow.”
