WHEN GOD SWEETENS YOUR BITTER WATERS
TEXT: Exodus 15:22-27 W. MAX ALDERMAN
INTRODUCTION: Bitter waters never satisfy the thirsty soul. The Lord told the woman at the well, “…Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:23, 24). The waters that the Lord promised were certainly not bitter, yet there may be those of you today who are content in drinking out of the “fish pond” when you could be drinking out of “The fountain”.
I. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE BITTER WATERS. (Vv. 22-24)
When the nation of Israel had crossed the red sea, they began a journey which resulting in their going three days into the wilderness without water. The Lord would be teaching the Nation of Israel great Spiritual lessons from their experiences such as this. The first lesson had to do with their being thirsty and having no water. They were so thirsty and they began to desire water to quench their thirst as they came to Marah, only to discover that the waters were bitter. Lesson number one: “Bitter waters do not satisfy”.
Illustration: The most toured home in America is the white house. But does anyone know where the second most toured home in America is?
The second most toured home in America is in Memphis Tennessee.It’s the 23 room home of the King of Rock and Roll - Elvis Presley. (Graceland is toured by hundreds of people every day. It is a combination of the home, an amusement park and an historic site. 15 million dollars a year is brought in by those visiting and looking at the cars, clothes, airplanes, records.
And few people in his time made as much money as quickly as he did. Certainly no one else had so much fame and popularity. Elvis seemed to have it all. money, airplanes, cars, mansions. But what is all that stuff? It’s THINGS And if you go 50 yards from the back door of Graceland you find a tombstone. Aug. 16, 1977, 42 years old. An overdose of pills. Depression. He was so drugged in the last days of his life that he passed out while he was eating dinner alone and he nearly drown when his face fell in his bowl of soup. THINGS did not do it for him. And though he had as much as anybody, he said at one point, "I would give a million dollars for one day of peace."
A. Examples of Drinking From Bitter Waters.
1. Drinking from the bitter waters of lust… (Proverbs 7:21-27)
2. Drinking from the bitter waters of greed… (Proverbs 11:4)
3. Drinking from the bitter waters of ambition… (Proverbs 11:7)4
4. Drinking from the bitter waters of pride… (Proverbs 16:18)
5. Drinking from the bitter waters anger… (Ecclesiastes 7:9)
6. Drinking from the bitter waters of drunkenness…(Proverbs 23:21)
7. Drinking from the bitter waters of sexual impurity… (Proverbs 23:29-33)
B. Evidence of Drinking From Bitter Waters.
1. No strength
2. No satisfaction
II. THE DRINKING FROM THE BITTER WATERS.
A. How Foolish It Is!
Just as foolish as it would be to drink from a dirty fish pond, when you have a flowing artesian well to drink from, so is it foolish to drink spiritually from bitter waters. How many have walked out of a convenience store with a “six-pack”, expecting a good time only to wake up with a headache and the reality that the six-pack did nothing? It only reminded the person, once again of the bitter waters that they were drinking from, when they could have been drinking from The Fountain of Living Waters, instead.
B. How Fatal It Is!
You will soon drink your last drink from the bitter waters and then you will wake up in a place where there won’t even be one drop of water to consume. Just recently, a man told me that he would sit in the services weeping upon hearing the gospel, but would not move. A couple of weeks ago, he decided that he was going to change “watering troughs”. Praise God, he will no longer drink the bitter waters; he is drinking from the fountain of living waters.
III. THE DELIVERANCE FROM THE BITTER WATERS.
A. It Will Require A Miracle…
To those who desire to drink of the Living Waters, they can have it by coming to the Lord Jesus Christ in salvation. Recognize that you are thirsty and that you are a sinner and that you can not satisfy your own thirst. Trust the Lord, repenting of your sin and confess Him to be your Savior, believing that He died on the cross to pay your awful sin debt. Just as our Text showed us that a tree was involved in sweetening the bitter waters at Marah. A tree was involved in the sweetening of our bitter waters. It took an old rugged cross and what a tree it was. For on it Christ Jesus shed Hid blood and died. He was taken down and placed in an empty tomb. On the third day there was a resurrection.
B. It Will Remove The Misery…
Thirst causes misery. It is said that a person can live three days in the desert before he dies of thirst. To get to that state, means living a miserable existence. The drinking of water can sustain life. Drinking of the Water of Life can sustain eternal life. That life is in His Son…
If you are here in your misery from drinking from your bitter waters, you need not wait another day. There is a cool refreshing drink of water waiting for you, today!
