Nathan continues our series, Keep It Fresh.
Every Sunday we meet at The Waterside Theatre for our weekly service at 11am. We have an atmosphere which is welcoming and would love to see you there. Our mission is to connect people to Jesus therefore discovering their God given purpose.
Hi it’s Andy and welcome to the Hills Church podcast our hope is that this will help your life and Inspire your faith thanks again for checking us we all enjoyed the snow then I did not don’t you just think when you’re an adult like obviously Andy enjoyed it but
I think when you’re an adult when you’re a kid snow is the greatest thing ever and then when you’re an adult you want to enjoy it you’re like I should enjoy this it’s snow it’s nice but there is no part of it that’s enjoyable for me anyway
Oh know my laptop’s not even logging in so this is going to be problematic exactly uh as we’ve as uh hope said we are doing keep it fresh we’ve been doing a devotional this week hope you’re enjoying it it’s day s today if you haven’t started it then uh maybe try
This this next seven days it’s up to you but uh we’ve been doing it keep it fresh because we’ve been looking at and talking about how actually in our relationship and our faith and our and in life the one thing that we don’t want
To do is we don’t want to go stale we don’t want things to go stale we don’t want things to lose life that actually we want to keep things fresh and we believe that God wants to breathe life into every aspect of our lives and uh we
Want him we believe that he wants to help us to live a life that’s worthy of him and also to not go stale as well when things are stale things don’t taste good anyone notic that when things are stale it’s not enjoyable it’s not a nice experience and we don’t want to live
Stale lives we want to live fresh lives um does anyone love fresh bread you can’t beat fresh bread can you I mean like Hovis is okay but you can’t beat a fresh loaf of bread but the pro the thing about fresh bread is it doesn’t keep for long does it like you
Can get your your HOV and you can keep it in the house and it will stay there for a while and you you can you know you can Bank on our we can still make toast with this but when you’ve made fresh bread it’s only got a couple of days in
It so oh I’m just going to have to eat it all we uh we baked fater quite regularly in now house I’m the ficat break Baker can you believe that and uh we go for a we go for a double rise if anyone was wondering you go for a cold
Rise First Take 72 hours and then you go for a for a warm rise after that if you want the recipe I’ll I’ll send it to you would recommend but uh but we actually forgot about our fature the other day it was in a tin and we forgot about it and
We opened the tin last night and let me tell you it was not a good experience it was not a good experience and then Andrea was all well it’s outside so I’m not taking it out so obviously obviously that was a job for Nathan to do I’m like
Preach prepping I’m like can you not see I’m doing the Lord’s work here and now I have to Chuck out moldy bread but anyway uh we so we’ve been do keep it fresh and we’ve been uh reading and looking at this passage in the Bible in Exodus 16 where God’s people were
Freed from slavery in Egypt and then he leads them into the Wilderness and then they start to go hungry and they start to think and they start to complain and they start to say Gods why why did you leave us in why did you lead us out of
Egypt into this place because at least in Egypt we were being fed at least in Egypt we had all all that we needed at least in Egypt we were being provided for and so then we Mee in them in this story here in Exodus 16 and it says they
Set out this is a long passage of scripture bear with me we believe in the Bible and we believe it speaks to us today says this they set out from elim and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the Wilderness of sin which is between elim and Sinai on the
15th day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt and the whole Congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and the people of Israel said to them would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land
Of Egypt when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the fool for you have brought us into the Wilderness to kill this whole assembly with Hunger this is a side note sometimes God can lead us out of things and lead us into places and it might make us uncomfortable and
We might not know what’s going on but I would recommend don’t complain to God they they were in Egypt they wanted release from slavery they prayed out to God and they cried out that he would meet their need and then when they met it they suddenly went well we’d actually
Rather have died in Egypt right sometimes we can pray big prayers and then when God leads us to it we’re actually like I’m not comfortable with this God so then the Lord said to Moses behold I about to re bread from heaven for you and the people should go out and
Gather day’s portion every day that I may test them whether they will walk in my LW or not on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring in it will be twice as much as they gather daily so Moses and Aaron said to all the people
Of Israel at evening you shall know it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord for what are we that you Grumble
Against us and Moses said when the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the fall because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you Grumble against him what are we your grumbling is not against us but against
The Lord then Moses said to Aaron say to the whole Congregation of the people of Israel come near before the Lord for he has heard your grumbling and as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole Congregation of the people of Israel they looked toward the Wilderness and behold the glory of
The Lord appeared in the cloud and the Lord said to Moses if I have heard the G grumbling of the people of Israel say to them at Twilight you shall eat meat and in the morning you should be filled with bread then you shall know that I am the
Lord your God is anyone thankful that we serve a god who listens to our grumbling he listens to our grumbling um I read somewhere this week that being being a human is is is the fine line between we love a good moan but we don’t want to be a
Wier anyone notice that it doesn’t matter when someone’s moaning but when they’re a Wier or you don’t want to be around them they’re a Wier but we do love a good moan in the evening Quail came up and covered the camp and in the morning Jew lay around the camp and when
The Jew had gone and there was a face in the wood and there was on the face of the Wilderness a fine flak like thing fine as frost on the ground when the people of Israel saw it they said to one another what is it for they did not know
What it was and Moses said to them it is the bread of the L that the Lord has given to you to eat this is what the Lord has commanded gather it each one of you as much as he can eat you shall each take an Omar according to the number of
The persons that each of you has in his tent and the people of Israel did so they gathered some more some less but when they measured it with an Omar whoever gathered much had nothing left over and whoever gathered little Had No Lack each of them gathered as much as he
Could eat and Moses said to them let no one leave any of it over till the morning but they did not listen to Moses some left part of it till the morning and it bred worms and it stank and they had to Chuck the fater out into the bin
In the cold of the night and Moses was angry with them morning by morning they gathered it each as they could as much as he could eat but when the sun grew hot it melted on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread two hes of each and when all
The the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses he said to them this is what the Lord has commanded tomorrow is a day of solemn rest a holy Sabbath to the Lord bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil and all that is
Left over lay aside to be kept till the morning so they laid it aside to the morning as Moses commanded them and it did not stink and there were no worms in it Moses said eat it today for today is the Sabbath to the Lord today you will
Not find it in the field six days You Shall Gather it and on the seventh day which is the Sabbath there will be none on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather but they found none and the Lord said to Moses how long you
Will you refuse to keep my Commandments and my laws see the Lord has given you this sabbath therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days remain each of you in his place let no one go out of his place on the seventh day so
The people rested on the seventh day now the house of Israel called its name Mana it was like coriander seed White and the taste of it was like M Wafers made with honey let’s us pray Lord we got we thank you for a new year we thank you for the
Truth that you breathe life into every area of our lives and so we ask that over these three weeks as we’re looking at keep it fresh that you’d be breathe life into areas that have grown stale that you be breathe life into different parts of who we are into relationships
Into into what what we do with our money into how we interact with our neighbors into th dreams that we once had that we may have put to one sight we ask that we would be a people that keep it fresh and we pray that West H would be sheffeld
United today in your name amen being a West Ham fan is playing the bottom of the table and thinking that you’re going to lose but anyway uh the Andy last week spoke a little bit about cleaning his car right and we’re going to stick with that analogy because uh because recently I
Cleaned the car and then the next day Andrea went why don’t we go on a run up the port so up the port we go and then did it look like I cleaned the car after that no it did not do you know the problem with living in this country is when it’s
Uh when you clean the car in Winter it gets covered in salt and then when you clean the car in summer for some reason the Sahar and desert likes to cover your car anyone anyone work that one out everyone’s like oh it’s the Sahar and desert the wind’s blown over
What the Saharan Desert is making my car dirty do you know what my biggest problem with cleaning the car is you clean the car and then the next day it gets dirty that’s my problem with cleaning the house as well this week right I did I did a deep clean of the
House you know deep clean of the house where instead of like hoovering around things you move the things and then you Hoover there it’s big big big statement there deep clean instead of mopping around I mopped under and like I moved the sofas went under under the cushions
Found a couple of pounds whil Hoover him in fact you know what I even did I wiped the walls wow that’s serious there that’s some serious cleaning there I know you are envious of our house right now but the the next day sat looking around and I was like this could do with
Another tidy you know this could do with another clean and it obviously it was all my mess obviously it was nothing to do with Andrea I I wish in life that you could just clean something once anyone else just clean it once then forget about it like I’ll put the Graft in I’ll
Maybe spend a day at it if I know it’s going to last the rest of my life but instead what happens is every single day there’s something to do being an adult sorry sorry to all our youth in the room being an adult is just cleaning oh I fancy that for dinner well
You’re going to have to wash the dishes afterwards oh we want to go up to the port well you’re going to have to clean the car the next day that’s just it’s just a cycle of cleaning oh there’s dishes to be done oh there’s there’s the
Floors to be hoovered or we have people around yeah what a great social night they all leave what happens look at all that mess no one sticks around to go oh we’ll help help you clean up thanks leaving at 11:00 at night as well you’re there at half1 I should be in bed
Right now CU you know oh we’ll just leave it till the morning what an awful decision that is leave it till the you get up in the morning making a coffee and you just look at it I think sometimes we walk want God to provide for us once and that be it that
Actually God I want to make that big prayer when I become a Christian and then that’s going to be it I don’t have to worry another day I don’t have to pray another day that actually God you’re just going to provide for me and it’s a one-time situation it’s a one-
Time thing then God you’ll have it sorted for me but this is not what happens with the Israelites what happened was God said I will provide for you but it’s going to be a daily thing I will provide for you but you’re going to have to trust me
Every single day it’s not just a one-time thing to keep it fresh you need to expect and trust in me every single day every single day it’s a daily thing Jesus says this when he’s when he’s teaching his disciples how to pray they they ask him how should we pray Jesus he
Said one of the things that you should pray is you should say give us today our daily bread give us today our daily bread you see God is not a god of Hovis he’s not a god of McDonald’s has anyone seen the advert the the is running running America Burger King run an
Advert where they had they had the McDonald’s burger next to the Burger King burger and over time day by day it showed the two burgers and the McDonald’s one stayed exactly the same if you if you bought a McDonald’s burger today and then you left it in a Cupboard
And then you come back to it in a year it might be a bit hard but it will look exactly the same as the day you bought it right that’s because of all the preservatives and sometimes I think we want a preservative God we want to just
Right God I’ve prayed my prayer on Sunday look after me for the week right God I I gave my life to you now you can just sort out everything in my life but God is not a preservative God he’s not a god of the hovest bread he’s not a god
Of McDonald’s he’s one that actually says you got to keep returning you got to keep praying you got to keep pressing in you’ve got to keep trusting and that’s the challenge that’s that’s the hardest thing that’s the hardest thing it’s not just going right God I trust
You in this moment it’s tomorrow morning tomorrow afternoon tomorrow evening when you wake up when you go to bed Lord I trust in you to provide for me the hardest thing about trusting God is that you need to trust in every single moment the Israelites the Israelites Mana fell
From heaven Mana fell from heaven and they had to trust that that was going to happen every single day for 40 years every single day you see we’re talking about keeping it AR fresh and and keeping it fresh in terms of God providing for us but it’s not really a
Message about provision it’s it’s a message about trust it’s a message about trust maybe God’s spoken to you in the past about a dream you have about a situation changing about a relationship healing maybe God spoken to you and said I’m going to I’m going to work in that
But over time you’re like I’ve not seen any progress here over time you’re like I’ve not seen any anything move here well if God spoke it it will happen you need to trust him daily you need to pray for it daily you need to speak into it
Daily you need to understand that God is moving if you don’t see it or not it’s a step by step Moment by moment day by day thing Andy said this last week and it says it it basically says it in the passage that we read there as well God
Will never give you too much but he’ll never run you dry God will never give you too much but he’ll never run you dry see uh God’s not a god of bulk buying it’s not like he’s I’m going to send you more and then you can live off
The extra actually God’s not a god of bulk buying he’s not a god of stockpiling he’s a god of saying right you’re going to trust me today you’re going to trust me tomorrow you’re going to trust me the day after that we need God’s daily provision and these are the
Thing as well when I talk about provision if you’re anything like me the default is to think about money the default to go right I’m going to trust God for provision and there are things that I would like to do with money that I’m trusting God for provision but this isn’t just about
Money this isn’t just about money provision is about having peace in the midst of a challenging situation it’s about having wisdom to be able to make big decisions in your life it’s about God’s presence being with you daily that’s what provision is God provides us his presence he provides us his Spirit
He allows us to respond well to people around us he uh he gives us the strength and he gives us the words to say to share the good news and to invite people to church and to talk about what Jesus has done in our life he gives us the
Strength to say no to Temptation he allows us to be generous with what we have to those around us he allows us to serve people it’s about prayer provision is about devotion provision is about forgiveness provision is about Hope provision is about security provision is about sacrifice so
When we say Lord give us this day our daily bread it’s not like just Lord help me afford to pay for this or help me afford to that pay to that actually we’re saying Lord give me peace in the midst of this storm Lord give me wisdom
For that meeting that I’ve got today Lord Give Me Faith to step out on what you’ve said to me Lord help provide for me a way to pay that bill Lord help me be a good dad help me be a good mom help me be a good husband help me be a good
Wife help me be a good friend help me be a good son help me be a good daughter give me a vision of what this business could become give me a vision of what my life could be become show me what you want to teach me today part of
The reason why we did a 7-Day devotional wasn’t just because we just wanted an extra thing to be doing but actually it helps get into a rhythm where actually we’re coming back to God daily we’re saying Lord give us today our daily bread Lord we need you today we need you
To provide for us today they used to do this thing in Starbucks and I don’t really do it anymore but they used to say when you when you’d order a Starbucks and this is like when I started getting into coffee you’d order you black Americano and they’d go with
Room and that that at first I was like what on Earth are you asking me but they’re asking do you want room for milk do you want a bit of margin for milk do you want us to leave a little bit of room for
Milk and I think we need that in life we need a little bit of room we need a little bit of margin we need a little bit of margin when it comes to God where can God show up in your life I think sometimes why we don’t go back to God
Daily isn’t because we don’t love him isn’t because we don’t want to trust him with our lives but it’s because actually you look at our lives and you’re like where where do I actually need God in this where do I need the provision in this like the Israelites when they were
In Egypt they were wellfed they were looked after yes they were under slavery but they didn’t worry about who was providing for them their provision was sorted and then when they go into the desert they need to trust God every single day to provide the food for them
So where where where is the margin in our lives if we’ve got everything we need if we if we’re sorted if we try to work hard for it where where do we need God in our lives margin could be generosity margin could be well actually
What I do have I’m going to give to others and then I’m going to trust God in the midst of that I’m going to trust God for The Gap it could be it could be just turning your phone off well actually no one can reach me right now
I’m going to create create margin so that I can trust God that whilst my phone is off there’s not going to be any handlings there’s not going to be any situations God’s going to deal with that in the midst it could be not having to get involved in every single detail of
Something that we’re involved in it could be just well I’m going going to trust you I’m going to stand back and I’m going to trust you in that sometimes I think we don’t pray not because we don’t love God but because we don’t necessarily live lives that need
Him I want to practice this more myself I want to go out where actually I need to pray today because I need to God show God to show up I’ve got situations in my life where I need God to move if our lives don’t have an aspect
Where we need go need God why would we pray the Israelites in Israel didn’t need to trust God yet when they’re in the desert they needed to trust him every single day what if we’re just a little bit too comfortable what if we’re just a bit too comfortable and Jesus
Says this he says don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough worry in itself self but worry about today it’s all about the daily with when it comes to God and I I I read an article about uh a struggling addict who was who
Was sober for a few years and uh and he was writing about this article and he he was saying someone asked him do you think you’re going to be able to be sober for the rest of your life and he said this and it’s always stuck with me
He said I don’t know if I’m going to be sober for the rest of my life but what I do know is I can be sober today and when I wake up tomorrow what I do know is I can be sober for that day and then when
I wake up the day after I’m going to sell myself well I can be sober for another day I think sometimes it’s like well am I going to Pro Am I going to trust God for provision for the rest of my life I don’t know but I can trust him
For provision today for whatever situations happening today when I wake up tomorrow I can wake up and I say God give us today my daily bread I can trust him for tomorrow and day by day you’ll see God do impossible things with your life because you’ve trusted him step by
Step and then here’s just one thing that I want to land on I think sometimes when we pray out to God and we ask him to provide for us we we might be praying we might say Lord I need a boat send me a boat and God gives us a
Tree that wasn’t meant to be funny but hey I’ll take the laughs you know we we we ask out we ask for God for something and he says right I’m going to give you the things to make that thing if that makes sense right I
Want a boat god well there’s a tree get to work grab an axe chop it down make the woods nail the planks together build that boat sometimes we would just love God to just send a boat wouldn’t we and sometimes he does we uh when I was
Growing up as a family we needed a new car and we didn’t have much dis disposable cash at the time so we prayed out to God and we said Lord we need a car and then one Saturday morning woke up in the morning my dad went downstairs
In an envelope that had been posted through the door there was enough money to buy a new car and some sometimes God does send a boat but generally I think he sends trees he says right if you say Lord I want peace he says I’m going to
Give you some situations where you can practice that peace Lord give me patience well don’t look at your spouses but I’m going to give you in situations where you can practice that patience Lord I want to live a life of Faith well guess what I’m going to push
You out I’m going to put you in situations where you’re going to have to exercise that Faith sometimes we ask for a boat but God sends us a tree sometimes we say Lord I just need to make that money I just need to I I would love to buy a
House well here’s a job it might take some time it might take a bit of hard work it might take a bit of effort but I’m still providing for you I’ve provided the opportunity for you I’ve provided the opportunity for you to get to work I provide and
Then what you’re doing then is it’s not just on me it’s not just on God we’re partnering together it’s on the two of us we’re partnering together the Israelites still have to go out and collect the Mana it didn’t just land in their mouths they still have to go out and collect
The money they still have to go out on a Saturday and collect twice as much to prepare for the Sunday and maybe that’s what God’s doing with us today he’s saying I will provide for you but here’s some aspects that I’ve provided for you to press into
Today I think sometimes we want variety don’t we imagine the Israelites eating Mana every single day for 40 years honestly I could do that I would be very fine eating exactly the same thing every day for the rest of my life as long as I get my porridge in
My morning you know when before before I married Andrea uh I would cook a chili on a Monday night and I would freeze four portions and I’d eat it on Monday night Tuesday night Wednesday night Thursday night Friday night I’d have porridge for breakfast and I’d have
Chicken and rice and peas for lunch and then i’ have chili every night for dinner 10 years Andy says it wasn’t quite 10 years I wasn’t cooking for myself when I was living in England shout out Jill Ferris but uh but we like variety don’t we and sometimes in the midst of maybe
God is provided for us and actually it’s just not the way we want it maybe we were saying Lord I would I would like to meet someone I would I would like to boys at the front this is not for you to be praying at the moment but Lord Send
Me Someone So that I a girlfriend or a boyfriend and God’s going well I’m just going to send you some situations where you can become the right person allow to allow you to form yourself before I bring the right person for you God some God doesn’t always give
Us what we want but he always provides for us what we need and it just take all it takes is just us praying day by day by day situation by situation by situation Lord I need your help Lord I need you to move so uh so I just want to pray as we
Close this message for all of us maybe there’s people in this room where you’re like I have an actual physical need right now I need God to provide I need him to show up I need him to work in my life and I want to pray for all those
Situations that might be represented here but then I also want to pray for us who maybe we’re just getting along with life and actually to put us in situations where we want to rely on God for our provision so why don’t we pray if you want to close your eyes bow your
Heads however you want to do it so father God we thank you that the truth is you are our provider Lord you have provided everything that we have in life right now you are the source of our provision and we pray Lord for areas where maybe we’re grumbling like the Israelites for
Areas where we’re not happy with what the provision is we pray firstly that you’d soften our hearts to see your hand to thank you for what we have Lord that you would provide aspects of our life whether it be relational reconciliation Lord whether it be peace in the midst of
A storm whether it be trusting in you even when it doesn’t look like you’re moving in a certain situation Lord Lord that we’d be people that live day by day saying give us today our daily bread as you bring Mana from heaven and Lord I want to pray for
Anyone here who has never made a decision to follow you maybe you’ve been speaking them today maybe you’ve been speaking to them for a few weeks maybe there’s been a bit of history there and they’ve one time put you first and then another time turned away from
You and we pray that if anyone you’re speaking to right now in their heart we ask that they would meet with you today that they would as Andy said 16 years ago Lord that their life would be radically changed having encountered you having given their life to you
If that is you there’s a prayer on the screen I’m going to pray you can open your eyes and have a look at the prayer if you want to but I’m just going to pray and this is this is this is between you and God we would we love to
Celebrate people that make this decision but ultimately it’s a decision between you and God and this is just a simple prayer that we use that’s just a way of you connecting with God maybe for the first time it says this dear Lord Jesus I know that I’m a sinner and I ask for
Your forgiveness I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior in your name amen hey thanks again for checking
Out the Hills Church podcast hey if this message has inspired or encouraged you in any way why don’t you share it with a friend he as well as that we meet every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at the Waterside theater and we’d love to see you at one
Of our services but hey thanks again for checking out the podcast why don’t you subscribe to our Channel