Would you all please turn to Exodus chapter 15? And would some kind person please bring my iPad from the back table? The reason I preach mostly from a manuscript is for your benefit. Because if I don't have anything in front of me, thank you, then it is likely to be a very long sermon or a very short sermon. And I can't tell you which one it's gonna be. But if I write out what I plan to say, then I generally know how it's gonna go and about how long it's gonna be. So we're in Exodus chapter 15, and those of you who have been here, we've been going verse by verse through the book of Exodus, and it was probably three, maybe even four weeks ago that we dealt with Exodus 15, the Red Sea Crossing, and then the Song of Moses. I think that was three weeks ago. And here we are, finishing this little section, 22 to 27, that's just a handful of verses, and you would think it would be just, boop, we're done. And the more I studied it this week, the more I realized how much there is in this particular passage. Before I get there, We're at the beginning of the school year. Many of you have just gone through back to school. And so for your kids, it's been new grades, new teachers, new books, new subjects, new schedule. For the parents, it's been new school supplies, and new clothes, and new shoes, and everything is new. In our study in Exodus, it's almost as if the children of Israel are going back to school. There's that type of feel here, because this section begins what Spurgeon called Wilderness University. Today and the next two times we study Exodus together, we're going to read about required courses in wilderness survival, with specific lessons on how to find drinkable water and where and when to find food. And the truth is that these classes didn't go very well for them, because they kept failing the pop quizzes along the way. They were slow to believe and they were quick to complain. Which sounds a lot like us, doesn't it? Maybe some of you can relate. I can. So I'm gonna ask you to stand and I'm gonna read our passage. Hopefully you've had a chance to find it. This is Exodus chapter 15. I'm gonna read verses 22 to 27. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea. Then they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, what shall we drink? So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. Then he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them and said, if you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you. Then they came to Elim. where there were 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees. So they camped there by the waters. Would you pray with me, please? Our Father, we rejoice in the opportunity to gather in this place today as your people. We thank you for the testimonies of your mercy and grace that we've already heard this morning. We thank you for those who have put their faith and trust in you and want to tell everybody else. Lord, as we take this time to study these verses from Exodus, we pray that you would grant us understanding. I pray you would help me, both in my voice and in my brain, that I would be able to speak words clearly and that you, Holy Spirit, would Grant that I would do that to the best of my ability and beyond my ability because you, Lord, are the teacher. Show us yourself in these verses. Show us ourselves in these verses that we would know in what ways you want us to change that we'd be more like Jesus. Please work your will in us through your word by your Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, you may be seated. Today we're starting what we could call a mini-trilogy, because there are three sections, and they're short sections, that describe these events that happen in the wilderness. They span chapters 15, 16, and 17, and in them, the Israelites complained about their lack of water, their lack of food, and then again, about their lack of water. So here are key words for today. This is what this section is about. As I've studied this week, this is what I think the main focus is. The two words are bitterness and healing. Bitterness and healing. And here are what I believe are the main points that this passage addresses. Here are the main ideas. Number one, God knows our circumstances, but we often don't. Second, God knows our hearts, but we often don't. Number three, God knows how and when to heal. And often, we don't. Those are the three ideas. And we will come back to them. They'll be on the screen again in case you were trying to write them down. But the first one, where we're gonna begin, is that God knows our circumstances, but we often don't. Back in verse 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea. Then they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. So they've been traveling for three days. I wanna review just a little bit. Where had they been three days before? They had been at the Red Sea. They had just crossed the Red Sea. And what happened at the Red Sea? I just said, they crossed the Red Sea. How did they do that? On dry ground. How did that happen? It was a miracle of God. that all of them got to go through, and we talked about in chapter 15, the walls congealed on either side of them, and they walked through on dry ground. And God delivered them from their enemies. Because as you know, Pharaoh's army, the chariots, came in after them, and God told Moses, let your rod down, put your hands down, and the waters crashed in and drowned the enemy. God had delivered them. He had conquered their enemies. He had brought them out of slavery. And we read and studied last time the song of the sea. Praising God. And they had a big worship service and they were singing and dancing and praising God. It was three days ago. How long can you remember when God does something great for you? It might be about three days for you too. There is a little bit that makes sense that we try to gather in the middle of the week, because sometimes we can't remember from Sunday to Sunday what God did or what God showed us. So three days had gone by, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. This was the first test, or I'm going to say pop quiz. No water for three days. What was God doing? What I'm gonna say next may seem like it's off topic, but just bear with me for a minute. When God saves us, does he immediately take us to heaven? No, he doesn't. And he didn't take them to heaven right after he rescued them from the Red Sea. He didn't teleport them from the eastern shore of the Red Sea to the Promised Land, because that's where they were headed, eventually. For them, it was a journey, or we could say a process, And so too for us. God leaves us here on earth after he saves us because he has work for us to do, and he has work to do in us. He has work to do on us. And we call that process sanctification. And how did God begin that process of sanctification in them? Jeffrey said, I'm gonna go by testing them, by letting them get thirsty. That's how their sanctification process began after God miraculously saved them. Now, was thirst a genuine need? Yes, absolutely it was. Was this situation a real problem? And again, I would say yes. Many men, women, and children, not to mention their livestock, needed water or else they would die. So this is a serious situation. Did God know about their need? Yes. Did God meet their need? And again, the answer is yes, but he didn't do it right away, did he? First he tested them. Verse 23. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. They could not drink the waters. After three days, they finally found water and they couldn't drink it. At least they certainly didn't want to drink it because it was bitter. That's what the word Mara means. That's why the next statement, therefore the name was called Mara, because that's what the word means. It means bitter. They probably got their hopes up just to have their hopes dashed. There's water. We can't drink it. Now another review question. How did they get here? Why were they at Mara? Were they following their GPS? How did they get to this particular geographic location? The pillar of cloud, pillar of fire. God led them. This was on purpose. This wasn't plan B. This wasn't an accident. This wasn't even a detour. This is where God wanted them to be. God, in his infinite wisdom, sovereignly brought his people three days into the wilderness without water and then brought them to a source of water they couldn't drink. All of that was on purpose. All of it was by his design. Why? Because trials, tribulations, and testings are part of God's plan for his children. Do any of you have John 16, 33 on your refrigerator at home? You know what John 16, 33 says? These things have I spoken to you, Jesus speaking, of course, that in me you may have peace. Ooh, I like that part. What else does it say? It says, in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. In the world, we will have tribulation guaranteed. It's a promise of God. I'm not saying it's one we like, I'm just saying it's for real. We will have testing, trials, tribulation. But there's also the good news in that verse that he's gonna give us peace and that he has overcome the world. You know what else? When we're in those trials, his grace is sufficient for us. Here's another verse. This is Paul writing in 2 Corinthians 12, verse nine. He has a struggle, he has a trial, and he asks God three times, would you please remove this from me? And the answer is no. And here it is. Because my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. God will empower us, we call that grace, the power that he gives us to endure a trial. He will empower us to pass through the trials, and he will teach us the lessons he has for us through the trials. Why? How? Because number two, God knows our hearts, even when we don't. Hopefully you have a pretty clear view of the situation in your mind now. The children of Israel hadn't had access to fresh water for three days. They were thirsty, they were struggling, and when they finally found water, they couldn't drink it because it was bitter. How did they then respond? Verse 24, and the people complained against Moses, saying, what shall we drink? So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. So how did they respond? They responded how most of us probably would have responded. They complained. They complained specifically against Moses. This is a recurring theme in the book of Exodus, and we're gonna see it repeatedly during this time in the wilderness between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai. Now this may come as a surprise to some of you, but God takes complaining very seriously. Do you remember the passage we read from 1 Corinthians 10 a couple of weeks ago? I'm gonna give you sort of a summary, sort of some highlights. From 1 Corinthians 10, this is from verses six to 10. These things became our examples. Here's how they are examples. Number one, do not become idolaters. And y'all are thinking, that's right, amen. Number two, nor commit sexual immorality. Right, that's bad, don't do that. Number three, Don't tempt Christ. That's right, don't do that. That's awful. Number four, don't complain. You're saying, huh? How'd I get in there? Was that a mistake? This is a list of big sins. Idolatry, adultery. Complaining? It's not a mistake. Here are a couple of New Testament passages about complaining. And these are good for children, these are good for adults. Philippians 2.14, do all things, what does it say? Without what? Without complaining and disputing. What are we supposed to do without complaining? Everything, all things. All right, that's Philippians. 1 Peter 4.9, be hospitable to one another. So be kind, show hospitality to one another. How? Without what? Grumbling, same Greek word. Complaining, grumbling, same thing. Here's a good question from Philip Graham Ryken for us to ask ourselves. Has something happened in your life, or not happened for that matter, that has become a constant source of complaint? Think about that. A few years ago, a family attended our church for a while, and soon after I met them, the wife and mother shared a difficult circumstance that God had brought them through. And make no mistake, it was difficult. But what I noticed in the weeks that followed is that as she met other people in our fellowship, she kept telling the same story. And the other thing I noticed is that the emphasis of the story seemed to be more on the hardship than it was on God who brought them through it. We need to be careful what our focus is, even in sharing a testimony, if you will. It's not wrong, I think it's a good thing for us to share. Here's what God brought me through. This was trial, this was hard, this death in the family, this sickness, this job loss, this whatever it was. Share those. But be sure you include But God was faithful, and God brought us through. And maybe, maybe you don't share it right off the bat with everybody, I don't know. You follow the Holy Spirit's leading, I'm not gonna try to tell you what to do with that. But don't let your trials define you. Don't let your response to trials determine the trajectory of your life. And don't let them steal your joy. Ryken went on to say, what we suffer may be bitter in itself, but however bitter it is, it doesn't need to make us bitter. The problem at Marah was not the water, bitter though it was, but the bitterness in the hearts of God's people. Please understand this. Suffering and trials don't create bitterness. They expose it. They expose what's already in our hearts. Bitterness is a heart attitude of unbelief and discontent that are already present in our hearts. It's the result of our wrong response to bitter circumstances. Now, if I just described you and your heart attitude, What do we do? So I want to take a few minutes and talk about what to do if you realize, I have a bitter, negative, complaining spirit. Because I think we all struggle with this from time to time, but some of us struggle with it more than others. So what do you do? Well, the biblical solution to our sin is always repentance. To turn from sin, to turn to God, yes. To confess our sin, to agree with God about our sin and ask Him for help. Another way that's described in the New Testament is to put off, be renewed in my mind, and to put on. So I'm gonna offer you two biblical solutions. First, if your bitterness is related to circumstances, rejoice. You say, that sounds stupid. That's what the Bible says. It wasn't my idea. We are supposed to be thankful. We are supposed to practice intentional gratitude. A few verses after telling the Philippians to do everything without complaining, that verse I just read from Philippians chapter four. Sorry, two, thank you. Paul wrote about gladness and rejoicing. And a few verses after telling his readers to be hospitable without grumbling, Peter told them to be glad with exceeding joy. I didn't read it, but James chapter one, most of you know it. Phil Junior preached it a while back. James told us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. So what do we do when we're bitter with our circumstances? We put off that bitterness, we allow scripture, like what I just read, to renew our minds, our thoughts, and we put on gratitude and thanksgiving. That is intentional. It is not enough, because I just added this this morning, and you're thinking, boy, I wish you hadn't. It's getting long. But I just added this this morning because I realized I had in my notes, put this off, put off bitterness. And we should, but we have to know what to put on. You know what's coming soon in Exodus? There are 10 commandments there. I don't know if you've heard of them. Chapter 20, we're going to get to 10 commands, and we're going to slow down and probably do one per week. And in it, we're going to review, alright, this is what I'm not supposed to do, but what am I supposed to do instead? Because if life is all about, I'm not going to do this, I'm not going to do that, guess what? You're going to fail. There's a process that I just gave you from the Bible, and it is to put off, be renewed in your mind, and put on. And it takes all three. And that's why I'm sharing that with you now. So what are we supposed to do if we're bitter with our circumstances? Put off the bitterness, allow Scripture to renew our thoughts, and put on gratitude and thanksgiving. What if I'm bitter with people? What do I do if I'm bitter with people? You're gonna do the same thing in that you're gonna confess the sin to God, but you need to forgive. The Bible tells us very clearly in Ephesians 4 to put off bitterness and be kind and allow scripture to renew your mind so that you can forgive other people. What's our motivation? Why would we wanna do that? Because God has forgiven us. That's what it says, hear the verses, Ephesians 4, 31 and 32. Let all bitterness, that's the top of the list, let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And instead, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Back to our story in Exodus. How did Moses then respond? He cried out to the Lord. Do you notice the contrast there? The people complained against Moses. That was the wrong response. Moses cried out to the Lord. He prayed. That was the right response. I'm not saying I would have done that. I probably would have been complaining right back to them. But he cried out to God. What do you do in your everyday life when something goes wrong? When your car breaks down? When you have a disagreement at work or school or home? When you have to clean up somebody else's mess? How do you respond to that? Do you complain to your spouse? Do you complain to your children? Do you rant on social media? Or do you take it to the Lord in prayer? I am not suggesting that we should never discuss the bad parts of our life with our spouse or our kids or our parents. It's okay to talk to other people about that. But where did Moses go first? Moses went to God. He cast his cares on Jesus, is how we would say it in the New Testament. Why? Because God can do something about those trials, about those struggles. And in Moses' case, God did. The Lord showed him a tree. Now, I don't think God caused a tree to pop up right there, right then. He could, but I don't think that's what happened. I think the tree had been there. I also don't think that Moses had noticed it yet until God pointed it out to him. I think that's the reason it's worded that way. Some of you may have a translation that says it was a stick or a log or a piece of wood, and that might describe it better. I personally don't envision 80-year-old Moses going over and hugging that tree and ripping it out of the ground and throwing it in the water. Maybe, but I don't think so. I think it was a part of the wood that God showed him, and he threw it in the water, and God worked a miracle. You start looking at this in commentaries and online, and people say, well, it was this chemical in the water, and this is what the tree did. God could use that, but I think this was miraculous because it was enough water being purified for all those people and all those animals. See, the point wasn't the object that Moses threw into the water. The point was his obedience. He obeyed what God told him to do. And what was the result? The waters were made sweet. God worked a miracle to demonstrate his care and provision. Continuing in verse 25, there he made a statute and ordinance for them, and there he tested them. Now when it says he tested them, God is revealing something. He's revealing what's in their hearts, and he's not doing that because he didn't know what was in their hearts. God knew what was in their hearts, but they didn't know what was in their hearts. The test was designed to reveal it to them. The Bible teaches us that we don't know our hearts. Jeremiah 17, nine. The heart is deceitful. My heart is a liar to me. And desperately wicked, who can know it? What does that mean? That means that in my heart, my tendency is gonna be to deny that I've done anything wrong. My tendency is going to be to justify myself to everybody else and defend myself and this is why I did this and this is why I'm that way. That's what my heart does, naturally. And the Bible describes that as deceitful. It says, who can know it? but God sees and knows our hearts. Here's some verses. I'm just gonna give you the statement about the heart in each of these verses. You can look them up on your own if you want to later. 1 Samuel 16, 7, the Lord looks at the heart. 2 Chronicles 28, 9, the Lord searches all hearts. 1 Chronicles 29, 17, you test the heart. Proverbs 21, 2, the Lord weighs the hearts. And Jeremiah 20, verse 12, you see the mind and heart. Today, Right now, some of us may need to stop and pray what David prayed. Psalm 139, search me, O God, and know my heart. Here he knows it, so why am I praying to him? Lord, show me my heart. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. And if he shows us bitterness, discontent, or some other sin, we need to confess it and forsake it. Third point for this morning, God knows how and when to heal. but we often don't. I'm gonna read that second half of verse 25 and then keep reading. There he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them and said, if you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have wrought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. Now did you catch those ifs? This is the covenant, fancy word for promise, that God is making. I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating. Obeying God did not and could not save them. This covenant or promise that God made with them was not for their salvation, it was for their sanctification, to make them holy, to make them, we would say, more like Jesus. So here's the part they're supposed to do. If you heed, do, give ear, and keep. There's the verbs in that longer statement. It's not to save them, it's to sanctify them. Why? One author put it this way. Genuine saving faith is always followed by what? Joyful good works. Genuine saving faith, joyful good works, they go together. What about these diseases we're reading about, what does that mean? One person said it refers to the plagues, particularly the plague that turned water to blood, making it unusable. So it's a reference back to Egypt, it's the diseases. And when he says, I am the Lord who heals you, that is a new name of God. Some of you know this name, you may not know it comes from here, because it's not given to us in Hebrew here, but Yahweh Rapha, or Rapha. That's here. God had healed the waters so that his people could satisfy their thirst, but now he promised to heal them. And it was a conditional promise that he made specifically to them in that time and that place. Why am I saying that? Because my next question is, does God still heal today? Does God still heal today? This is not a trick question, guys. Does God still heal today? Okay, now I'm getting some yeses and some nodding heads, good. Yes, he absolutely does. Sometimes he uses doctors or medicine, sometimes he uses natural substances or the biological processes that he designed, and sometimes he intervenes to heal in miraculous ways nobody can understand. He still does that today. But here's my next question. Does this passage apply to us? I'm gonna say no, at least not the way it applied to them. God made specific promises to that generation of those people and we can't just name it and claim it. It is not a blanket. What God was telling Israel and the covenant he was making with them at that time and that place is different from the church. We are the church, those of us who are believers in Jesus are the church and that is not the new replacement for Israel. But there are a lot of people around today that will say that. Unfortunately, this passage has been misinterpreted and abused by many people, some of whom I'm sure have good intentions. But please understand, it isn't God's will to heal every disease here on Earth. Not while we're here on Earth. What's more, if I'm sick and God doesn't heal me, that doesn't necessarily mean that I don't have enough faith to be healed. But there have been plenty of people around today that will tell you that. Earlier, I quoted Paul. In 2 Corinthians 12, he asked the Lord three times to deliver him from a trial that seems to have been a physical affliction, and God said no. That doesn't mean Paul didn't have enough faith to be healed. That means it wasn't God's will to heal Paul at that time. Now, it's not all doom and gloom because there's coming a day when sorrow and sickness and pain and death will all be forgotten and everyone who is in Christ will ultimately be healed, no question. But that day is not yet. And until then, we need to trust that the Lord knows when and how to heal. Now let's finish this off, we have one more verse. Verna McGee wrote that beyond every Mara, there is an Elim. And this is good news. Because verse 27 says, then they came to Elim, where there were 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees, so they camped there by the waters. That word means trees. And some have suggested that it was seven miles south of Mara. We don't know exactly where Mara is, so that means we don't really know exactly where Aleem is. But they weren't that far apart. That's the point. One person nicknamed this place Palm Springs. That's a little more meaningful and memorable for us. Twelve wells of water and 70 palm trees. Palm trees require a lot of water. So the mention of palm trees suggests a permanent, abundant supply of water. Beloved, please remember this, please understand this, please get this. God knows what your needs are today. And he can and he will meet them. Often he doesn't do it when we want, sometimes he doesn't do it how we want, but he meets what our true needs are. Again, Philippians, this one is chapter four. 419 says, and my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. After testing the Israelites at Marah, God poured out abundant blessings on them at Elim. So if you're in a place of need today, take heart because very soon God may pour out abundant blessings on you in his timing. We could say that this passage is a study in contrasts. The Life Application Study Bible said, Mara stood for the unbelieving, grumbling attitude of the people who would not trust God. Aleem stands for God's bountiful provision. I like what David Guzik put in his commentary. God knew when to test them, and he knew when to rest them. And that's what we see here. He tested them at Mara, he rested them at Aleem. He gave them refreshment. Plenty of water, and probably some shade from those palm trees. So what have we looked at today? God knows our circumstances, but we often don't. He also knows our hearts, even when we don't. He also knows when and how to heal, even if we don't. So here's my question. God knows our hearts. Have we believed in him? Have you believed in him? Is he your savior? We heard testimonies earlier in the service of those who put their faith in him. Have you done that? If not, you can do it right now, you can do it today, you can do it where you're sitting. Call out to him, ask him to save you and he will. Believers, are you struggling today? With a circumstance, are you struggling with a relationship with other believers or with believers? If so, repent and ask God to help you with your unbelief. confess and forsake your bitterness and put on gratitude, put on forgiveness. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Our Father, you know what's going on in the heart of each person here today. You know the struggles, you know the fears, you know the anxieties, and Lord, we ask you to search our hearts, know us, reveal to us what is there. Father, I pray for those who have said that you've spoken to them about something specific this morning, that there's a need in their hearts spiritually, and they're crying out to you, they're humbling themselves, so I ask that you would pour out your grace on them as you've promised to do. Lord, as they confess sin, give them grace, empower them to do right, to forgive, to be thankful. Lord, help us. We are needy people, but you are a great God. So do what only you can do in our lives to change us to be more like Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.