The Rock

		*Crying In the Wilderness* *Web Ministry*
Home Reference Articles/Sermons		The Rock A lot can be said and brought out about rocks or stones in the Bible. I’ve been blessed to see some impressive rock formations that God has created but none have been as impressive as when He reveals a little nugget to me out of His Word. The following is only a sampling of what the Master has allowed me to see and understand. Even I, who am less than the least was this grace given. Isn’t that wonderful? These thoughts are broken up by specific topic and I pray that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob use my feeble effort as He sees fit. Speak to the Rock I had often wondered and admit that I was puzzled by the account of the waters of Meribah found in Exodus and in Numbers. After much meditation and prayer, the Lord revealed unto me that these were two separate events. You may have reached that much easier than I but we all must work out our own. The account found in Exodus takes place when the Israelites came to Mt. Horeb while the account found in Numbers takes place in Kadesh. Some scholars and theologians claim it is an 11-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh. In Exodus, the Lord commands Moses to smite the rock. Exodus 17:6 “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.” This of course Moses did and the people received water from the rock. When the Israelites reached Kadesh and complained for water, the instructions were different. Let’s look at a good portion of the scripture to get the context. Numbers 20: 1 “Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there”. Verse: 2 “And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.” Verse: 3 “And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! “Verse: 4 “And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? “ Verse: 5 “And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in 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. “Verse: 6 “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”. Verse: 7 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” Verse: 8 “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.” Verse: 9 “And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.” Verse: 10 “And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” Verse: 11 “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.” Verse: 12 “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 have given them”. Verse: 13 “This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.” Now that we have an understanding of the two different events and plainly see that at Kadesh, Moses was commanded to speak to the rock and contrary to God’s command, he smote the rock not once but twice. Furthermore, it is worth noting what they said to the congregation “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” If there was to be water brought forth from the rock, I believe it would be God who will do the fetching! Now, we have no need to bicker over what the rock represents. The Apostle Paul clears that up for those who refuse spiritual revelation and must have printed type to be convinced. 1 Corinthians 10:1 “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; “ Verse: 2 “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea”; Verse: 3 “And did all eat the same spiritual meat;” Verse: 4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Now beloved, we are convinced that the Rock the Israelites drank from was Christ! I've noticed that some Bible Scholars quarrel over whether or not the Rock followed them or if it was a different rock. Let me clarify, there's only one Rock, one Lord, one faith and one baptism! We also know that the Israelites reached Horeb prior to journeying to Kadesh. At Horeb, Moses received the command to smite the rock. This in a figure represents the crucifixion of our Lord. You will notice that Horeb was a mount much like Calvary where our Lord suffered, and as water came out of the rock when it was smote, forthwith came blood and water when our Lord was smitten. John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” The understanding of the first instance of water from the rock came easy but the second is more difficult. Now at Kadesh, Moses and Aaron are commanded to speak to the rock. That’s all that you and I have to do today. The Rock has already been smitten and rose victorious over death, hell and the grave and all that is required of us is to speak to the Rock. As for the reason water came out of the Rock, we know that the Israelites needed the water to live and if you’re going to live, you need it to. Why did it come out of the Rock? John 4:10 “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.” First of all, Paul has already informed you that the Rock was Christ. Water out of the ground is not rare, water from a plant is not rare (think about a cactus) but bringing water from a rock when it is spoken to, now that’s an attention getter! I've wrestled with the purpose of the Rock being smote twice. I'll cover what I've gleaned from it below but do want to share another point that has recently come to my attention. The water didn't come out of the Rock the first time Moses smote it but rather the second. Do you suppose that God gave Moses the opportunity to repent after the first smite but Moses continued on. I don't know about you, but that same chance and courtesy has been extending to me oftentimes. Hebrews 6:1 "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God," Verse: 2 "Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Verse: 3 "And this will we do, if God permit." Verse: 4 "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," Verse: 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, Verse: 6 "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Please pay close attention to the scripture above. I know that there are some that would interpret this as to being able to lose your salvation. I’m an Old Time Baptist so don’t think that’s where I’m going. I do want you to notice verses 4-6, if they fall away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance’ seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. While some who want only the type, would take this as they can lose their salvation and forget all of the other promises and scriptures contrary to that belief, I want you to focus on the part “to renew them again unto repentance”. Willfully sinning and turning away from God does not lend itself to repentance but rather to judgment. Oh, I know the ones who believe they can lose their salvation are rejoicing but not so fast. Let’s not forget what Peter said. 1 Peter 4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” And if you are not yet convinced: 1 Timothy 5:24” Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.” It is my belief that this principal separates many of God’s children. God does not have to wait until the end to judge or punish! Before I get too far off course, let’s get back to the Rock. The rock has been smote, water has issued from the rock and the command is to speak to the rock. We all have common sense and know that if Moses had spoke to the rock as commanded, judgment would have not been meted out. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses smote it and disobedience my friends caused both he and Aaron not to enter the Promised Land. OK, I know some of you are rejoicing again as you would like to think that Moses lost his salvation. Let me clear that up for you. Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;” Some of you may say that Moses is speaking of himself and therefore we can’t rely on this. Deuteronomy 18:18 “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” That should clear up the part that Moses is exalting himself as the Lord is now speaking. Now we know that he didn’t get to enter the Promised Land but he did get to view it. Some would write Moses off in order to justify their beliefs on falling from grace but let me remind you who met with our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration? Moses and Elijah met with Jesus on the mount and Peter, James and John witnessed it. This was not a man who fell and never entered but rather one who fell short of God’s glory on earth, paid for his sins and entered into God’s rest. I wish I could write that I’ve never smote the Rock. I wished I could honestly tell you that I’ve did everything that He’s commanded and walked just exactly as He instructed me but I cannot. Now, this flesh that houses my inner man, must return to the dust (like Moses’) but the inner man, will return from whence it came. Now I like Moses have been carried up on the mountain a few times and caught a glimpse of that good land. Now what I pray you take away from this thought is that Christ suffered, died and rose on the third day for our justification. He has already been smitten and all that is required of us today is to speak to the Rock. By speaking to the Rock, I mean pray to Him, talk to Him, He wants to talk to you. Also, if you have been born again, your salvation is secure! John 10:29 ”My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” No man includes you! Now some would say that I’m giving you a license to sin, God forbid but quite the contrary. Instead of waiting until you leave this world to be punished, as a Father corrects his son, God works the same way with His children. I often hear Preacher’s say “when you stand before God” as in the future. I say that we stand before God every minute of every day. Every thought, every word, every sin, He already knows about them. At the last day what profit would it be for Him to say “Tim, you didn’t pray as hard for Brother so and so as you should have”, enter now into the joy of thy Lord. No, I believe that I will have paid my fleshly debts before I leave here and will be presented spotless before the Father because of the infallible, pure and precious blood of His Son. No rock like our Rock Let us continue on with this most precious Rock. Deuteronomy 32:31 ”For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.” As we see in this scripture, their rock is not capitalized and our Rock is. That one should be easy, their rock did not rise from the dead, their rock was not born of a virgin, and their rock has not set down on the right hand of the majesty on high. Our Rock on the other hand, is from everlasting to everlasting, elect, precious, chosen, everywhere present, nowhere absent, able to save to the uttermost, Holy, perfect, just, merciful, without spot, without blemish, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, etc. 1 Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. It is safe to say that there is no God like our God. There is only one true God, all others are dead, yea rather, they never existed, rendering them unable to hear or respond to their worshipers. This was proven by the Prophet Elijah when by the power of God; he confounded the prophets of Baal. Our God was and still is the God who answers by fire. 1 Kings 18:24 “And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.” We know how Baal’s prophets cried from morning until evening and Elijah mocked them.1 Kings 18:27 “And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” I would admonish you to read the rest as our Rock, our God is the one who did and still answers by fire. While Elijah bidded the prophets of Baal to cry louder that he might be on a journey or asleep, let’s remember what the Psalmist said about our Rock. Psalm 121:4 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber* nor sleep.”* We can plainly see that our Rock, our God is ever there for us and ever aware of what we are facing. The Prophet Samuel says there is none beside thee and we hear the Prophet Isaiah: Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” He’s it children, there is no God like our God and no rock like our Rock. Please don’t count me crazy when I say the Rock can talk to you? 2 Samuel 23:3 “The God of Israel said, the Rock* of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”* The first portion of this text dealt with the command to speak to the Rock but now we find the Rock speaking back. Thanks be unto God that the Rock has spoke to me and continues to speak sweet peace. If you don’t know Him or have never heard His voice, I pray that you find a quiet place and call on Him. He'll listen and He wants to hear from you. You know that in this day when someone calls on the telephone, most of us have caller ID and will screen the call to see if we want to talk to the caller. The Master had caller ID long before there was Ma Bell or Thomas Edison and unlike us, He's always willing to talk. You can go out in the back yard and find a rock, talk to it and waste your time. You can climb to the top of the Rocky Mountains and shout to them and your throat will get sore. You can pray to other gods (notice the little "g" for there's only one) and you will receive no answer. If you've tried everything, why not try the Rock? There's no rock like our Rock! You can talk to our Rock and He'll talk back. Instead of shouting at the Rocky Mountains or shouting at something, our Rock will give you something to shout about. When you pray to our Rock, He will answer. There's no rock like our Rock, there's no god like our God! The Stone that the builders rejected Matthew 21:42 “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” Without controversy, Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected. John 1:11-12 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Verse: 12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” We see that Jesus was rejected by the religious majority of the day. Neither the Sadducees nor the Pharisees were willing to open their hearts and let the Spirit speak unto them. This is something we must be very careful of today. Both of these sects believed they knew the scriptures and both believed they were correct in their interpretation. Doesn’t that sound just like us? The biggest mistake made by God’s people then and now is to attempt to interpret His Word with fleshly or carnal wisdom and understanding. I’ve often warned God’s children of this and yet it seems to fall on deaf ears. We all want to be able ministers of the New Testament and yet we don’t heed Paul’s instructions. 2 Corinthians 3:6 “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” So many want to take everything else in this precious book literally and I don’t understand why they don’t accept this scripture in the same manner. Could it be that in order to understand this scripture, you must be acquainted with the Spirit? I hear this quoted a lot, 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that nee deth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” It appears that a lot of folks that I’ve come in contact with get the study part right but when it comes to the right division I must admit my spirit and their spirit doesn’t gee-haw! You must remember 2 Corinthians 3:6 as well as 2 Timothy 2:15. Now let’s get one more to tie it all together. Romans 8:6-8 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Verse: 7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.“ Verse: 8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Hey, now that’s cutting it close! If we are in the flesh, we cannot please God and if we are carnally minded we are dead! If you want to understand His Word, here is some simple advice. Read it (which most folks get), meditate on it (not in yourself) but most importantly pray, pray, pray. If you will do these things, you will neither be barren or unfruitful. Now if you don’t get the answer when you think you ought to, please remember that God knows when you need it better than you do. I’ve mentioned this before in some of my writings but I want to be sure you get it. One constant that has always and will always prove out is if you have been born of the Spirit and someone brings out what they say the Lord has shown them about the scripture, the Spirit will bear witness of it if the Lord has shown them. There’s no need for you to go ahead and correct me by adding a qualifier that if the Spirit bears witness and the Word backs it up. If the Spirit bears witness, the Word will back it up, end of story! If the Spirit of God bears witness of a testimony, sermon or whatever and that witness doesn't agree with what you think you understand in God's Word, guess which one is incorrect? There is no division in the Trinity of the Godhead. The divisions come from man and his bull-headedness to interpret without the Spirit. You can go anywhere on any given Sunday and hear "God showed me such and such". What is rare is to go and hear the same quote witnessed by the Holy Spirit. It has saddened me to see some who study the Bible and would lead one to think that they put it above the Spirit and even the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, the Pharisees and Sadducees thought they had rightly divided the scripture. They thought that Jesus was not who He said He was because they thought they were so well learned that they would know Him when He arrived. I find it ironic that Herod’s wise men figured it out and the religious majority did not! Please remember what makes this book so precious. John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Glory to God, the Word was made flesh, Praise His Holy Name that He still dwells among us and thanks be unto my God that we can behold His glory and He’s still full of grace and truth! OK, back to the stone which the builders rejected. They tell me that in the ancient times, the first stone to be laid was the cornerstone. It also had to lay just right. If the cornerstone was off a little, whatever was built albeit a building or a wall would be also off and would either lean or fall! We know that Jesus Christ was the first! 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” We also know that He was placed in the correct position. First He was placed in a borrowed tomb (hewn out of the rock by the way) and afterward He was positioned on the right hand of the Father. Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Now that we know that this precious Cornerstone was the first stone laid and we also know that it was correctly placed by the wise Master Builder, let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad as we know His house will forever stand and is forever sure. Should anyone approach you with another way, another Gospel or another Jesus, remember this. 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:8 “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” The foundation has been laid, it standeth sure, He's given us the earnest of the Spirit and He'll come back and redeem that He's put earnest on. Thanks be unto God, the Stone that the builders rejected, has become the Chief Cornerstone. He is the Author and Finisher of my faith, my Hope, my Peace, my Joy, my Strength, my Comforter, my Salvation, my King, my Lord, my Master, my Brother and since I'm running out of time I'll use one of my Uncle Buck's favorites, "my All and in All".

Crying In the Wilderness

Web Ministry

The Rock

A lot can be said and brought out about rocks or stones in the Bible. I’ve been blessed to see some impressive rock formations that God has created but none have been as impressive as when He reveals a little nugget to me out of His Word.

The following is only a sampling of what the Master has allowed me to see and understand. Even I, who am less than the least was this grace given. Isn’t that wonderful? These thoughts are broken up by specific topic and I pray that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob use my feeble effort as He sees fit.

Speak to the Rock

I had often wondered and admit that I was puzzled by the account of the waters of Meribah found in Exodus and in Numbers. After much meditation and prayer, the Lord revealed unto me that these were two separate events. You may have reached that much easier than I but we all must work out our own. The account found in Exodus takes place when the Israelites came to Mt. Horeb while the account found in Numbers takes place in Kadesh. Some scholars and theologians claim it is an 11-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh. In Exodus, the Lord commands Moses to smite the rock. Exodus 17:6 “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.” This of course Moses did and the people received water from the rock.

When the Israelites reached Kadesh and complained for water, the instructions were different. Let’s look at a good portion of the scripture to get the context.

Numbers 20: 1 “Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there”. Verse: 2 “And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.” Verse: 3 “And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! “Verse: 4 “And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? “ Verse: 5 “And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in 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. “Verse: 6 “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”. Verse: 7 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” Verse: 8 “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.” Verse: 9 “And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.” Verse: 10 “And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” Verse: 11 “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.” Verse: 12 “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 have given them”. Verse: 13 “This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.”

Now that we have an understanding of the two different events and plainly see that at Kadesh, Moses was commanded to speak to the rock and contrary to God’s command, he smote the rock not once but twice. Furthermore, it is worth noting what they said to the congregation “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” If there was to be water brought forth from the rock, I believe it would be God who will do the fetching!

Now, we have no need to bicker over what the rock represents. The Apostle Paul clears that up for those who refuse spiritual revelation and must have printed type to be convinced. 1 Corinthians 10:1 “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; “ Verse: 2 “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea”; Verse: 3 “And did all eat the same spiritual meat;” Verse: 4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Now beloved, we are convinced that the Rock the Israelites drank from was Christ! I've noticed that some Bible Scholars quarrel over whether or not the Rock followed them or if it was a different rock. Let me clarify, there's only one Rock, one Lord, one faith and one baptism!

We also know that the Israelites reached Horeb prior to journeying to Kadesh. At Horeb, Moses received the command to smite the rock. This in a figure represents the crucifixion of our Lord. You will notice that Horeb was a mount much like Calvary where our Lord suffered, and as water came out of the rock when it was smote, forthwith came blood and water when our Lord was smitten. John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”

The understanding of the first instance of water from the rock came easy but the second is more difficult. Now at Kadesh, Moses and Aaron are commanded to speak to the rock. That’s all that you and I have to do today. The Rock has already been smitten and rose victorious over death, hell and the grave and all that is required of us is to speak to the Rock. As for the reason water came out of the Rock, we know that the Israelites needed the water to live and if you’re going to live, you need it to. Why did it come out of the Rock? John 4:10 “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.” First of all, Paul has already informed you that the Rock was Christ. Water out of the ground is not rare, water from a plant is not rare (think about a cactus) but bringing water from a rock when it is spoken to, now that’s an attention getter! I've wrestled with the purpose of the Rock being smote twice. I'll cover what I've gleaned from it below but do want to share another point that has recently come to my attention. The water didn't come out of the Rock the first time Moses smote it but rather the second. Do you suppose that God gave Moses the opportunity to repent after the first smite but Moses continued on. I don't know about you, but that same chance and courtesy has been extending to me oftentimes.

Hebrews 6:1 "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God," Verse: 2 "Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Verse: 3 "And this will we do, if God permit." Verse: 4 "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," Verse: 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, Verse: 6 "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

Please pay close attention to the scripture above. I know that there are some that would interpret this as to being able to lose your salvation. I’m an Old Time Baptist so don’t think that’s where I’m going. I do want you to notice verses 4-6, if they fall away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance’ seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. While some who want only the type, would take this as they can lose their salvation and forget all of the other promises and scriptures contrary to that belief, I want you to focus on the part “to renew them again unto repentance”. Willfully sinning and turning away from God does not lend itself to repentance but rather to judgment. Oh, I know the ones who believe they can lose their salvation are rejoicing but not so fast. Let’s not forget what Peter said. 1 Peter 4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” And if you are not yet convinced: 1 Timothy 5:24” Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.” It is my belief that this principal separates many of God’s children. God does not have to wait until the end to judge or punish!

Before I get too far off course, let’s get back to the Rock. The rock has been smote, water has issued from the rock and the command is to speak to the rock. We all have common sense and know that if Moses had spoke to the rock as commanded, judgment would have not been meted out. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses smote it and disobedience my friends caused both he and Aaron not to enter the Promised Land. OK, I know some of you are rejoicing again as you would like to think that Moses lost his salvation. Let me clear that up for you. Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;” Some of you may say that Moses is speaking of himself and therefore we can’t rely on this. Deuteronomy 18:18 “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” That should clear up the part that Moses is exalting himself as the Lord is now speaking. Now we know that he didn’t get to enter the Promised Land but he did get to view it. Some would write Moses off in order to justify their beliefs on falling from grace but let me remind you who met with our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration? Moses and Elijah met with Jesus on the mount and Peter, James and John witnessed it. This was not a man who fell and never entered but rather one who fell short of God’s glory on earth, paid for his sins and entered into God’s rest. I wish I could write that I’ve never smote the Rock. I wished I could honestly tell you that I’ve did everything that He’s commanded and walked just exactly as He instructed me but I cannot. Now, this flesh that houses my inner man, must return to the dust (like Moses’) but the inner man, will return from whence it came. Now I like Moses have been carried up on the mountain a few times and caught a glimpse of that good land.

Now what I pray you take away from this thought is that Christ suffered, died and rose on the third day for our justification. He has already been smitten and all that is required of us today is to speak to the Rock. By speaking to the Rock, I mean pray to Him, talk to Him, He wants to talk to you. Also, if you have been born again, your salvation is secure! John 10:29 ”My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” No man includes you! Now some would say that I’m giving you a license to sin, God forbid but quite the contrary. Instead of waiting until you leave this world to be punished, as a Father corrects his son, God works the same way with His children. I often hear Preacher’s say “when you stand before God” as in the future. I say that we stand before God every minute of every day. Every thought, every word, every sin, He already knows about them. At the last day what profit would it be for Him to say “Tim, you didn’t pray as hard for Brother so and so as you should have”, enter now into the joy of thy Lord. No, I believe that I will have paid my fleshly debts before I leave here and will be presented spotless before the Father because of the infallible, pure and precious blood of His Son.

No rock like our Rock

Let us continue on with this most precious Rock. Deuteronomy 32:31 ”For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.” As we see in this scripture, their rock is not capitalized and our Rock is. That one should be easy, their rock did not rise from the dead, their rock was not born of a virgin, and their rock has not set down on the right hand of the majesty on high. Our Rock on the other hand, is from everlasting to everlasting, elect, precious, chosen, everywhere present, nowhere absent, able to save to the uttermost, Holy, perfect, just, merciful, without spot, without blemish, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, etc. 1 Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. It is safe to say that there is no God like our God. There is only one true God, all others are dead, yea rather, they never existed, rendering them unable to hear or respond to their worshipers. This was proven by the Prophet Elijah when by the power of God; he confounded the prophets of Baal. Our God was and still is the God who answers by fire. 1 Kings 18:24 “And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.” We know how Baal’s prophets cried from morning until evening and Elijah mocked them.1 Kings 18:27 “And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” I would admonish you to read the rest as our Rock, our God is the one who did and still answers by fire. While Elijah bidded the prophets of Baal to cry louder that he might be on a journey or asleep, let’s remember what the Psalmist said about our Rock. Psalm 121:4 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” We can plainly see that our Rock, our God is ever there for us and ever aware of what we are facing. The Prophet Samuel says there is none beside thee and we hear the Prophet Isaiah: Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” He’s it children, there is no God like our God and no rock like our Rock.

Please don’t count me crazy when I say the Rock can talk to you? 2 Samuel 23:3 “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” The first portion of this text dealt with the command to speak to the Rock but now we find the Rock speaking back. Thanks be unto God that the Rock has spoke to me and continues to speak sweet peace. If you don’t know Him or have never heard His voice, I pray that you find a quiet place and call on Him. He'll listen and He wants to hear from you. You know that in this day when someone calls on the telephone, most of us have caller ID and will screen the call to see if we want to talk to the caller. The Master had caller ID long before there was Ma Bell or Thomas Edison and unlike us, He's always willing to talk.

You can go out in the back yard and find a rock, talk to it and waste your time. You can climb to the top of the Rocky Mountains and shout to them and your throat will get sore. You can pray to other gods (notice the little "g" for there's only one) and you will receive no answer. If you've tried everything, why not try the Rock? There's no rock like our Rock! You can talk to our Rock and He'll talk back. Instead of shouting at the Rocky Mountains or shouting at something, our Rock will give you something to shout about. When you pray to our Rock, He will answer. There's no rock like our Rock, there's no god like our God!

The Stone that the builders rejected

Matthew 21:42 “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” Without controversy, Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected. John 1:11-12 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Verse: 12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” We see that Jesus was rejected by the religious majority of the day. Neither the Sadducees nor the Pharisees were willing to open their hearts and let the Spirit speak unto them. This is something we must be very careful of today. Both of these sects believed they knew the scriptures and both believed they were correct in their interpretation. Doesn’t that sound just like us? The biggest mistake made by God’s people then and now is to attempt to interpret His Word with fleshly or carnal wisdom and understanding.

I’ve often warned God’s children of this and yet it seems to fall on deaf ears. We all want to be able ministers of the New Testament and yet we don’t heed Paul’s instructions. 2 Corinthians 3:6 “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” So many want to take everything else in this precious book literally and I don’t understand why they don’t accept this scripture in the same manner. Could it be that in order to understand this scripture, you must be acquainted with the Spirit? I hear this quoted a lot, 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that nee deth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” It appears that a lot of folks that I’ve come in contact with get the study part right but when it comes to the right division I must admit my spirit and their spirit doesn’t gee-haw! You must remember 2 Corinthians 3:6 as well as 2 Timothy 2:15. Now let’s get one more to tie it all together. Romans 8:6-8 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Verse: 7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.“ Verse: 8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Hey, now that’s cutting it close! If we are in the flesh, we cannot please God and if we are carnally minded we are dead! If you want to understand His Word, here is some simple advice. Read it (which most folks get), meditate on it (not in yourself) but most importantly pray, pray, pray. If you will do these things, you will neither be barren or unfruitful. Now if you don’t get the answer when you think you ought to, please remember that God knows when you need it better than you do. I’ve mentioned this before in some of my writings but I want to be sure you get it. One constant that has always and will always prove out is if you have been born of the Spirit and someone brings out what they say the Lord has shown them about the scripture, the Spirit will bear witness of it if the Lord has shown them. There’s no need for you to go ahead and correct me by adding a qualifier that if the Spirit bears witness and the Word backs it up. If the Spirit bears witness, the Word will back it up, end of story! If the Spirit of God bears witness of a testimony, sermon or whatever and that witness doesn't agree with what you think you understand in God's Word, guess which one is incorrect? There is no division in the Trinity of the Godhead. The divisions come from man and his bull-headedness to interpret without the Spirit. You can go anywhere on any given Sunday and hear "God showed me such and such". What is rare is to go and hear the same quote witnessed by the Holy Spirit.

It has saddened me to see some who study the Bible and would lead one to think that they put it above the Spirit and even the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, the Pharisees and Sadducees thought they had rightly divided the scripture. They thought that Jesus was not who He said He was because they thought they were so well learned that they would know Him when He arrived. I find it ironic that Herod’s wise men figured it out and the religious majority did not! Please remember what makes this book so precious. John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Glory to God, the Word was made flesh, Praise His Holy Name that He still dwells among us and thanks be unto my God that we can behold His glory and He’s still full of grace and truth!

OK, back to the stone which the builders rejected. They tell me that in the ancient times, the first stone to be laid was the cornerstone. It also had to lay just right. If the cornerstone was off a little, whatever was built albeit a building or a wall would be also off and would either lean or fall! We know that Jesus Christ was the first! 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” We also know that He was placed in the correct position. First He was placed in a borrowed tomb (hewn out of the rock by the way) and afterward He was positioned on the right hand of the Father. Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Now that we know that this precious Cornerstone was the first stone laid and we also know that it was correctly placed by the wise Master Builder, let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad as we know His house will forever stand and is forever sure.

Should anyone approach you with another way, another Gospel or another Jesus, remember this. 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:8 “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

The foundation has been laid, it standeth sure, He's given us the earnest of the Spirit and He'll come back and redeem that He's put earnest on. Thanks be unto God, the Stone that the builders rejected, has become the Chief Cornerstone. He is the Author and Finisher of my faith, my Hope, my Peace, my Joy, my Strength, my Comforter, my Salvation, my King, my Lord, my Master, my Brother and since I'm running out of time I'll use one of my Uncle Buck's favorites, "my All and in All".