1. Hard Hearts

Last week we looked at God’s desire for us to bear fruit so he plants his seed into us

Seed is The bible and Jesus who is the living word

We have hard hearts because of unbelief so this word cannot penetrate our hard ground. Faith comes by hearing the word, but if our hearts are hard, we cannot hear.

Only Jesus can break up our hard hearts.

2. Shallow Ground

Matthew 13: 5, 6; 20, 21

received word with joy, but when problems come, they are not able to stand because they do not have deep roots.

  1. It is a fallacy to believe that there are not going to have problems come into our lives.
  2. Problems come from
    1. Bad decisions we make
      1. Need a financial miracle, but overseen each week and don’t know what a budget is
    2. Broken world where things happen we can’t explain
    3. Enemy and all who live godly lives shall suffer persecution. Jesus said satan wants to sift you like wheat until nothing left.

3. Rephidim

Exodus 17: 1 Rephidim means place of rest or resting place

  1. Problem is no water
    1. Never without water, but have fasted
    2. Greatest joy is 10 minutes before fast is over.
  2. Enemy is going to attack them. Egypt swallowed up in Red Sea, now they have to fight.

We are all going to go through rephidims whether you are in one now or one is coming.

17: 3 – 6 Strike Rock and water will come out.

1 Corinthians 10: 3, 4 Rock was Christ who traveled with them.

John 7: 37, 38 Anyone who is thirsty may come to me ! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! for the Scriptures declare rivers of living water will flow from his heart. When he said  “living water” he was speaking of the Spirit who would be given to everyone believing in him.

Key of Rephidim: Vs7 Is the Lord here with us or not?

4. Striking in unbelief

Numbers 20

  1. Miriam dies
  2. Water stops flowing from the rock.
  3. People wish they would have died in God’s presence (ground swallowed up and destroyed them)
    1. Things that come out of our mouths in times of testing.
    2. Time may come when everything we have is gone and all we have is our voice
  4. Moses commanded to speak to the rock Vs 8
  5. In unbelief he strikes the rock because that is what we do to get water.
  6. Water comes out but Moses loses chance to enter the promised land.
    1. He struck Christ and Christ only be struck once (on the cross) and then life will come to us.

5. Rooted

Matthew 5: 5, 6 Have joy when things are going great, but guilty of saying is Christ with us or not when a Rephidim comes into our lives.

Rooted means to strengthen with roots. to cause a thing to be thoroughly grounded.

  1. Holy because of the root Romans 11: 16
    1. God is the vine we are the branches.
    2. In our Rephidim, we have a destiny to live with Christ forever.
    3. Christ victorious over everything Ephesians 1: 21 – 23
    4. Now seated with Christ Ephesians 2: 6
  2. We don’t support the root, the root supports us. Romans 11: 18
    1. Go is the one who will keep us
    2. Jeremiah 17: 8 We spread out roots by the river and when heat comes or drought we will be green and bear fruit.
  3. Trust the Roots
    1. Colossians 2: 6, 7 As you accepted Christ Trust him
      1. The same God that forgave your sin, will keep you and work out his pleasure in your lives
      2. Ephesians 3: 16, 17 Through his glorious unlimited resources he will empower you through his spirit then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
    2. We receive this through faith in Christ.

We have two incredible gifts

  1. Forgiveness of sin
  2. Spirit who shows us our sonship so we can cry Abba Father.

Rephidims will come

EXAMPLE: if head crosses the finish line, then the whole body has won the race.  Christ has crossed the finish line

Salvation Call At the scent of water it will grow again  Job 14: 8, 9