Sunday Evening Worship & Word | Pastor Whitley “Honey in the Rock”

do you remember when you were when you were a wayward and you were you were lost and he walked away from it and you drifted away but you showed that Papa on a Sunday or maybe it was a Wednesday and all of a sudden you felt home and the father said hey come on back home come on back home you've not been gone too long you're not a stranger here you're a son you're a daughter you're mine I wish somebody would give him a whole praise right now I wish somebody would give him a heart rate he didn't just walk towards it he ran towards him somebody lift up your voice right now and give him praise that he welcomed you hope Hallelujah yes somebody say yes now clap your hands to Jesus and give it praise oh welcome home welcome home welcome home look at somebody and tell them welcome home come on tell somebody welcome home this is home you're not a stranger here this is home hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah get your Bibles we're going to go right to the word of the Lord the father got the fatted calf ready but the Bible says that it was a drought there was a famine in the land [Music] now how could he have a fatted calf in a famine he just kept feeding the calf somebody's going to come home one of these days and I don't want to eat I don't want a famine to meet them I want there to be a ring and a robe and a fatted calf welcoming them back home and say this is we've been waiting for you we've been prep I think there's some prodigals coming come on I think there's some waywards children coming come on we got to be ready for them [Music] somebody say Amen go to with me to the book of Deuteronomy chapter number 32. I will not be very long this evening but I do want to share something with you from the war of the Lord do you love the word of God man we love the word of the lord it's great to be back home Ashley and I had the opportunity to be with our missionaries from the European missionaries in Krakow Poland this last week we were there for our European conference and got to spend time with our missionaries there most of them most of them were there some of them could not make it two of our missionaries families were still in Russia the stumble families they have been told by the uh powers that be to leave but they said we're staying because they have families there that need the word of God they need a shepherd so let's pray for the stumble family as they are in Russia let's also pray continue to pray for all those in Europe we were blessed to be able to be with our missionaries in Poland or Krakow the city of Krakow and Poland Pastor Adams and sister Adams are doing a wonderful work there and they are able to since we were there five years ago for our European conference and Krakow and we went back and they have almost tripled in size since we were last there and that has been through their burden for the Ukrainian refugees they're able to house Ukrainian refugees there in Krakow they've they're almost ready to purchase a hotel they have a hotel already that they are using and they're in the works of being able to purchase that hotel to continue to work with the the refugees there and to build a bible school and to continue to grow the church Revival is not coming it's here what a poor response that was I said Revival is not coming it's here he said that he said the fields are are white ready for Harvest we just need laborers we just need laborers I want to be ready I want to be ready let's go get them Deuteronomy chapter number 32 and verse number 13. I was inspired by the new song we've been singing here at fac and so I want to take you to the text that it comes from Deuteronomy 32 and verse number 13. he made him ride on the high places of the Earth that he might eat the increase of the fields and he made him to suck honey out of the Rock and oil out of the flinty Rock he made him speaking of Israel to suck honey out of the Rock and oil out of the flinty Rock tonight I want to preach to you just for a short moment honey in the rock Honey in the Rock won't you put your Bibles down your devices down and lift up your hands and let's just pray the Lord would speak to us through his word father we thank you for your great spirit that we've been feeling all day we thank you for the word of God that we heard this morning and I pray Lord for all those that are here those who are traveling on break we pray that you would refresh them and keep them safe but those that are here I pray that you would refresh us from the honey that is in the Rock God and I pray that you would help us to find the sweetness of your word let us taste and see that you are good in Jesus name we pray and everybody said amen clap your hands one more time into Jesus tonight Hallelujah you could be seen in the name of the Lord Honey in the Rock there's Honey in the Rock the Bible's full of paradoxes have you noticed that there's lots of paradoxes in the Bible it says something and then there's the opposite of that it seems that it's uh it's contrary to Natural thinking Jesus said in Matthew 10 39 whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it lose your life you find your life when you lose it lose your life you'll find it Philippians 3 and 7 says but whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ so if you lose your game Matthew 23 and 11 Jesus said the greatest among you will be your servant now this seems very contrary it's a paradox right it certainly seems contrary to modern day thinking Paul would say in second Corinthians 12 and 10 when I am weak then I am strong how can you be strong when you're weak in God's kingdom he could do the possible with the impossible or make the probable with the improbable and such a paradox is found in our text tonight honey from The Rock oil out of a flinty rock honey from The Rock now context of our text is a looking back Deuteronomy is the final the final sermon of Moses he is addressing the New Generation new generation of Israelites who are about to take possession of the Promised Land the the generation that had been delivered from Egypt they had been buried in the wilderness and their their children their grandchildren are going to take possession of the promised land and so Moses and the Book of Deuteronomy it is a a retelling of the law it's a retelling of their past and he's telling them how to live as God's people in the new Promised Land of Canaan it's his Farewell sermon reminding Israel of her future by reminding them of their past the reminder is God's constant and faithful provision for Israel Israel's Disobedience seems so strange to us doesn't it those who were buried in the wilderness how could they not believe and Obey when they experienced so many of God's miracles how could they do that how could they not believe how could they not take possession of the promises how could they stiffen their neck and Harden their heart they've seen so many great things of God they experienced so many miracles the plague displayed for their deliverance from Egypt the Red Sea being split so they could walk on dry water and the waters brought back together to drown pharaoh and his Horsemen bitter Waters and Mara made sweet with the tree just being simply put into it Manna a Heavenly bread given every day miraculous provision of quails for meat even water brought from a rock imagine experiencing these otherworldly Miracles and still not believing imagine seeing these types of things and and still not believing and not obeying God how can how could that be they didn't believe did they they murmured and complained they didn't like Manna this Angel's food they didn't like the quail ate so much of it they didn't like it killed them didn't like the water they were afraid to take possession of the of the promised land because they seen a few Giants not going to believe not going to not not going to take possession of it complaining and murmuring brothers and sisters undoubtedly leads to Disobedience and unbelief I'm gonna say it again because I don't think you heard me yet I said complaining is not a spiritual gift I'm gonna say that again because you didn't hear me the first time complaining is not a spiritual gift and it is not a display of your piousness criticizing is not holiness and being hard-headed is not holy complaining and murmuring undoubtedly leads to Disobedience and unbelief there are some no matter how God works in their life they'll complain all right let's go find a way to complain go find they're gonna find a way to complain you know nothing is ever good enough but what could lead to such complaining and unbelief the answer was allowing their present circumstances to Cloud their memory in each instance Israel would allow their current circumstance to cause them to forget what God had done previously it's the Red Sea opening up they're walking on dry ground they get over there and they go hey we're thirsty I'm gonna die out here I mean Miriam doesn't even get done with her song yet and they're complaining they've already forgotten what God has done just a few days ago that's how easy it is for your memory to lose and to forget what God has done and so they will allow their present circumstance to Cloud their memory so God gives them water and they drink they go oh this is great a few days later hey Moses do you remember the leeks and the onions we do and we don't have any out here we're hungry that was oh my goodness don't you know that God can provide for you he already he already split the Red Sea he gave you water yeah but this is different come on somebody they allow their their present circumstance to allow them to forget their past experiences and while we can posture ourselves as Bible readers and go hmm I can't believe they wouldn't take possession of the promised land why wouldn't they believe I know I would have believed but it's easy for us to look down our noses as at Israel from our vantage point that we can also forget what God has done it's easy to forget what God has done previously when we are faced with new problems come on you can you can thank God for the miracle and thank God for the meeting of the prayer and and giving you the desires of your heart but then the next problem comes and you're like Where's God at why does he ever do anything for me can I tell you something if God has healed you before but you're sick and with pain and discomfort now he can still be a Healer come on God may have provided Financial Provisions before but a new economic strain may have stretched you out but he can still be your provider he's still Jehovah Jireh come on if he saved you from your sin he can save your kids from their sin I'm telling you don't forget what God has done for you he can do it again oh you're not hearing me right now I'm telling you if he did it before if he provided before if he saved before if he healed before he can do it again somebody clap your hands under the Lord tonight if you believe he's not done who's going to let him work who's going to let him work somebody say Amen and I went and got me a rock I'm getting me a workout that's holding this thing you know and it says in our text that he brought forth honey out of a rock Alex come here tell me if this thing is oh you're awake okay good okay good all right how's that feel pretty heavy you can probably do some biceps build a little pump here not very many okay me either all right it's real is it hard is it dense could this hurt if I dropped it on your toe okay this is a real life Rock it's hard dense this is not going to yield to you you can stub your toe on it it can fall on you it may break you but you're not going to break it can I tell you there are adversities that you will face in your life that will be unyielding and hard you can pray all you want and God isn't going to remove the trouble it will be unyielding like the thorn in Paul's flesh the more time you try spinning to break the Rock and to remove it the more time you're going to waste because this rock isn't going anywhere you might be facing some type of difficulty or circumstance right now it seems dense and hard anybody know what I'm talking about no matter how hard you try you're just not getting through the pain won't leave the sorrow won't dissipate the addiction won't ease up now sleepless nights only increase the burden gets heavier it's a rock sometimes God doesn't move the rocks out of the path of life rather than removing them he uses them well you didn't hear me rather than take them away he employs them he uses them you and I don't appreciate rocks but sometimes we need them I'm sure you've learned as I have learned that some of the sweetest experiences of life have come through rocks sickness pain disappointment hurts rejection sorrow frustration prayers hitting the ceiling and coming right back down to you but if it wasn't for the rocks you would have stopped praying you would have stopped worshiping you to stop showing up instead God didn't take away the rock he said you know what I'm going to do I'm going to use this rock to make you better I'm going to use the hard things and the and the dense things to make you into what I want you to be I'm talking about a rock have you ever tried to get rid of a rock in your life some of you've been dealing with some rocks for decades you've been dealing with some hurts dealing with disappointments and you're just like God get the get this rock remove it from my life and he says no I'll tell you what I'm going to do though I'm going to give you some honey from The Rock now again here is a paradox does honey come from Iraq this is one of Nature's hardest most densest things and yet he says I'm going to get you now this is not I didn't have me a you know beehive here tonight you know how to get me some Berry Hill honey he said I'm going to give you the sweetest thing now Nature's I think is the sweetest thing that nature produces is honey it is a natural produce from nature comes from bees it doesn't come from Iraq you can't squeeze blood from a turnip but you know what I can tell you tonight you can get honey from a rock oh you I I did say that correctly I said you can't squeeze blood from a turnip but the Bible says that you can get honey from Iraq what do you mean I'm telling you it might be hard it might be difficult it might be bids you might be sick you might be in pain he may have left you they may have wandered away but I've come to tell somebody God can bring some honey out of your rock come on I'm telling you it's time for us to realize he's not going to remove the rock but he's going to bring something out of it that's going to make me better [Music] Charles Spurgeon one of my favorite Bible commentators sermon writer said this on this text most Travelers who have visited Palestine in the summer have had their attention directed to the abundance of Honey which the bees of the land have stored up and the hollows of trees and the crevices of the Rock in localities where the bare rocks of the desert alone break the sameness of the scene and all around is suggestive of desolation and death The Traveler has God's care of his chosen people vividly brought to mind as he sees the honey which the bees have treasured up Beyond his reach trickling down and Shining drops of the face of a rock God extracts honey out of the rock the Swedish Springs and Pleasures from the hardness of afflictions from Mount Calvary and the cross the blessings that give the greatest Delight whereas the world would form The Fountains of pleasure stones and rocks of Torment can I tell you Jesus can bring honey out of your eyes it might not seem sweet right now but I'm telling you one of these days it's going to cause you to worship and say Lord I Thank You For The Rock I thank you for the hard times I thank you for the difficult times come on out of the heart and dense problems in your life you can find some sweetness Bible students might think of Joseph's brother's rejection Potiphar's wife lying on him and his time spent in prison but that was all to get the honey from The Rock you might think of David's time spent on the run from Saul living in caves and trying to preserve his life but there was Honey in the Rock The Rock in your life might be hard and unyielding but there's going to be some good that comes from it there's going to come something from it that's sweet because there's Honey in the Rock the Lord will allow The Rock to yield its sweetness just as water came from the rock for Israel in the wilderness so honey came out of this rock for us the shocking thing is that you don't expect much good come out of what you're going through right now you don't expect it and the other thing it does is you don't you don't realize that what he's doing is working on your behalf and then your mind gets cloudy and fogged up because you forget what he did previously and you get to a rock in your life and you go there's no good that can come from this there's possibly no good that can come from this cancer there's probably there's there's no good that can come from this bankruptcy there's no good that can come from being fired from my job there's no good for my fame my family falling apart there's no good that can come from this and God says let me squeeze out some honey here let me give you some sweetness here I know you're sick I know you're hurting I know you're disappointed but I want you to know there's going to be some honey come on there's gonna be some honey and some sweetness something's going to come towards you and you're going to realize I don't know how I made it but I did he provided again he provided again it's a reminder of God's provision and his goodness in your life it's a reminder that God can take the impossible and work miracles what nobody else can get out of it God says he didn't say he's gonna pour honey on it he's not going to add a little to it he said I'm going to get it out of there I'm going to squeeze it out of the hard things of life and give something sweet to you has anybody ever experienced that before has anybody ever experienced like I don't know how I'm going to get through this I'm not going I don't know how this disappointment's working but you just realize Romans 8 20 28 all things work together all things are working together all things are working together this is working together that thing's working together this this appointment is working against is that against me it's working together why because some sweetness is going to come [Applause] sure I wish I was preaching better I'm so sorry I wish I was helping you a little bit but I hope I can get you I hope I hope I can inspire you tonight a little bit to realize that what you're going through is with is not without reason that there's a reason why you're facing the hard things in life if you want an easy path this is not the way for you yeah I'm afraid we do a disservice to new to new converts come get the Holy Ghost and your life's going to be smooth sailing oh no this is not a cruise ship this is a battleship come on when you get the Holy Ghost this is not a cruise ship this is a battleship it's time for war it's not going to be easy but when you realize that Christ is with you Honey's gonna come with the battle Honey's gonna come with the adversity Honey's gonna come with the frustration there's going to be some sweetness that comes along I don't know why I've went through what I've gone through but I know there's some sweetness here stand to your feet musicians get ready the opening portion of this sermon says of God he is The Rock his work is perfect all of his ways are judgment a god of Truth and without iniquity just and right is he God is The Rock he's perfect his ways are judgment a god of truth without iniquity Justin right five times in Deuteronomy 32. it refers to God as The Rock he is The Rock in verse 4. he is the rock of Salvation in verse 15. he is The Rock who fathered Us in verse 18. he is a Victorious Rock in verse 30 and he is incomparable in verse 31. you think how this how does this tie into the New Testament Paul seen it and I want you to see it First Corinthians 10 1-4 moreover Brethren I would not that you should be ignorant how that our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea and we're all baptized unto Moses and the cloud and in the sea and did all eat the same spiritual meat and all to drink the same spiritual drink for they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ [Music] he was the you want to know something that rock that you're going through is just following right behind you and that rock is Christ he's coming like he's got he's right on your tail he knows what you're going through he sees what you're facing he says I'm right behind you I'm with you I'm providing for you I'm giving you stability I Am The Rock Jesus The Rock went to Calvary and out of the worst of scenarios he was beaten crucified but yet honey was dripped his blood was the sweetness that brought salvation out of the worst of scenarios sweetness came healing came salvation came and delivered how can anything good come from this and he says I've got honey in the rock brothers and sisters he's honey for you tonight he is honey for you now some of the best honey I ever had my entire life is that Cara May's wedding a few years ago brother Brad brought me this honey it lasted about three days in my house maybe not even that long you know you put on everything put on biscuits put it on toast you can put in your coffee you can put it in tea [Music] dip your apples in it I found any way I could possibly find to use that honey then Ashley found for me I like spicy things there's a thing now called Mike's hot honey and you can put it on your pizza if you've not tried it I know it sounds absolutely terrible but it is the best thing you'll ever taste in your entire life try it we ran out of that I think we're on our third bottle of that stuff right now put it on hamburgers you can put on hot dogs and there's a oh you can find anything right it's the sweetest thing and the word of God says that he can bring the sweet out of the heart where do you need some sweetness at in your life where do you need some sweetness you're like Lord I'm just going through this I'm going through a hard trial right now I just need any any sweetness and he says come on let me provide for you if Hebrew If He Did It Before don't forget he could do it again we've been singing a new song around here and they're going to sing it want to open up these altars it's called Honey in the Rock part of the lyric says this there's Honey in the Rock and watering the stone Manna on the ground let me stop and I know she told me not to say anything but I'm gonna say it anyway I got this little woman who lives in my house and on the way to church tonight we were singing this song she said there's Honey in the Rock money on the ground [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah yeah singing again sing it again little mama singing again money on the ground [Music] can I tell you he's a provider come on he can put mana on the ground or he could put money in your lunch box or your mailbox he can put oh I wish somebody know he could bring some sweetness out of your trial [Applause] come on I don't know what you're going through but he's still a provider he says no matter where I go I don't need to worry now that I know everything I need you've got there's honey I wonder if somebody would come and lift up their hands I don't know if you might need healing you might need healing right now you just might need some Assurance I want you to know if he's done it before he can do it again come on there's honey come on there's honey there's honey