Well, I'd ask you to please turn with me to the book of Exodus in chapter 15 and verse 22. Exodus chapter 15 and verse 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, But they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Mara. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, what shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord. And the Lord showed him a tree, which he had cast into the waters. The waters were made sweet. And there he made for them a statute and an ordinance. And there he proved them. And the subject before us this morning is Bitter Waters Made Sweet. Bitter Waters Made Sweet. Now, the children of Israel had been delivered under the mighty power of God from the terrible slavery in Egypt. God had judged the cruelty of the Egyptians with plagues. and ultimately with the death of the firstborn of their families. And at last, they released their captives. But soon, it all seemed hopeless again. They'd come to the Red Sea, and they heard behind them the Egyptian army coming. intent on recapture. They heard the voice, the voices of the soldiers, the roar of the chariots, the rumbling of the ground as the Egyptian army came to recapture them. And in front of them was the Red Sea. It was impossible. It was an impossible situation. But the Lord heard the cry of the children of Israel as they looked up to Him by faith. There was nowhere else to go. And sometimes the Lord brings us into these situations. It's like the Red Sea is in front of us, the Egyptian army is behind us. This seems an inescapable situation. There's nowhere else to go. And God brings us to this point of nothing but prayer. And we cry unto the Lord, and we look, Lord, help us. Lord, be with us. Lord, save us. And the Lord heard the cry of the children of Israel. He turned back the waters with a strong east wind. And we read in the account that the children of Israel literally walked across the dry bed of the Red Sea according to God's mighty power. And the Egyptian army, in their pride and in their anger, pursued the children of Israel into the bed of the Red Sea. But God, the same God, overturned that aggression, having delivered the children of Israel by a mighty east wind and drying the bed so they could walk over it. The Lord used the wind and he sent back the sea again. And he had destroyed the Egyptian army by causing the sea to return. And here we see this mighty God that we worship, this awesome God that we worship. He's a God of salvation, but he's a God of justice and judgment. This is a God with whom we have to do this morning. God has not changed. We worship a God. We come to a God. We're responsible before a holy God who is both a God of grace and justice, deliverance, and also one who can destroy. Pharaoh and all the host of the Egyptian army were drowned in the sea and God's justice was completed. And the Lord had truly fulfilled his promise to Moses and demonstrated himself as Savior and Lord in this mighty deliverance. Please turn with me to Exodus chapter three. This is right at the very outset of the call of Moses to be the leader of the children of Israel. And if you look in Exodus chapter three in verse seven, And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, And I've heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So God says, I have heard, and I know, and I've come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land, and to a good land, and a land flowing with milk and honey, and to the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites. the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come up unto me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed thee. And it's a wonderful picture here of salvation. It's the same for us this morning as we cry to the Lord. The Lord says, I have heard their cry. I hear your cry this morning. I know your sorrows. I know exactly the situation you are in. And I've come down to deliver. And the Lord has come down to deliver in the very person of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because you will turn back with me to chapter 15 and verse 13. This is the song being sung, a song of Moses. Thou and thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. This is a gospel text, is it not? God redeems his people and brings them ultimately to the holy habitation of heaven. Oh, this morning, our greatest need is to be delivered from the army of our sin, which enslaves us and ultimately will destroy us if we do not have a savior. But God in Christ Jesus deals with our sin and liberates us from the dominion of sin. Oh, in the book of the prophet Micah, 719, we read, he will turn again, he will have compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea, as he did the Egyptian army. In Christ Jesus, God leads us like Moses through the wilderness, ultimately to the promised Canaan land. Well, having been delivered, the first part of Exodus chapter 15 is a time of praise and thanksgiving unto God. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him in habitation, my Father's God, and I will exalt him. So there's great joy. There's great hope. But they travel three days in the wilderness and soon the situation changes. There's disappointment and there's despair. God had wonderfully delivered them providentially and now they travel three days and they cannot find any water. Finally they arrive at Mara. And there's water at Mara. And as they see the water shimmering in the distance, no doubt they hasten their steps. Here is an oasis. Here is water in the wilderness. And they hurry to this place of water. And they could not drink it because the waters were bitter. There was disappointment. There was despair. Oh, it was bitter. What was the Lord doing? We've had this mighty deliverance. We've come to Mara. Such hope. We thought this was the provision of God. And now it's bitter. and the bitter waters of Mara are a picture for us this morning of the bitter realities and experiences of life. The bitter realization this morning of our vulnerability and helplessness in and of ourselves in the wilderness. We cannot find any good water to drink for our souls in the wilderness of the world. There are broken systems. We were so hopeful when we saw so many of these waters around us and the world, and we thought, this is it. I've got my satisfaction in this particular interest, in this particular house, and this particular job, and this particular relationship. I'm content now. And after a while, we find, actually, Their problems. The disappointment of unrealized hopes and expectations. The bitter experiences of the vanity of this world. It promised us so much. You know, you look at the adverts. It's good for you. It's right for you. You deserve it. You'll be so much better if you have this or that. So many promises. The bitter disappointment of sinful pleasures ended into, with great expectations, some of us who were converted from a world, a life of rebellion against God. And that was the cry of our life at the time. We're trying this and this and this and this. And at the end, there was emptiness. I remember before I was converted, I used to go and watch a football team. They were in Division One at the time. It was before the Premier League. Oh, the excitement! For one and a half, two hours, the cheering. If they won, you was on a high. But two or three hours later, emptiness. You'd go to a party and you'd feel so excited. And in the morning, emptiness and a headache. You get a material possession and you think, this is it! And then you get tired of it. And there's something better. Emptiness, bitterness. Sometimes there's the bitter pain of a broken relationship. It had promised so much at the outset. There's a bitter disappointment of being let down by someone that you trusted. The bitter pain of division and anger and resentment. The bitter water of Mara. There's sometimes a bitter disappointment of disappointed ambitions. And there's a bitter pain of a crisis in our health sometimes. The bitter pain of the fear of the future. We don't know what way it's going to turn out. Lord, we do not know what to do. The bitter pain of stress in your life. Now I have focused on the bitter experiences of life which sometimes to us are like the bitter waters of Mara. But there's something even more bitter I need to speak to you about this morning before we come to the remedy. The greatest bitterness of all is when God reveals to you the actual state of your heart before God. There's nothing like that. for bitterness. By that I mean a realization that you're not as good as you thought you were. There's issues in your life and in your heart that you never thought dwelt there. Is this really me? Is this all about pride? Was this that I did and that that I did really motivated by pride? And I'm coming under the conviction of sin? And I realize that so much of my life has been affected by pride and independence from God. And when God shows us something of ourselves, the true nature of our own self, it becomes even abhorrent to our minds. instead of being proud of ourselves and thinking good about ourselves. And you know if you watch these programs, these documentaries, and people come along on the television and they say, we're so good at this and we're so good at that. And it's mirage. But behind the mirage, when put to the test, you realize that they don't actually know what they said they knew. And when we are convicted of our sin under the power of the Holy Spirit, we come to see what we're really like in the sight of a holy God. And we realize that maybe others see us as we really are. And this is how I really am inside my heart. And it becomes a bitter realization. The biggest wake-up call in life is not a problem that might come your way. The biggest wake-up call in your life, and my life, is when God shows us just a little of what we are on God's side. Think of Isaiah. He was a man of God. He was a prophet. He was a preacher. He was a mature believer. And he had a view of Jesus Christ on the throne. Jesus said it was him he saw. And he said, woe is me, for I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips. You see, this man, Isaiah, he was already walking with God. But when he came to a deeper realization of himself, it came about with a vision of Christ, a realization of the holiness of God. And this believer actually said, woe is me, for I am undone. You see our self-confidence, our self-importance ebbs away. We become smaller and smaller in our estimation of ourselves. What I look to with such confidence and expectation has actually proved bitter to my taste and it's become just like the waters of Mara. But now I want to come to the deliverance. And the people murmured against Moses and said, what shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord. And when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. And there he made for them a statute and an ordinance. And there he proved them. Well, the children of Israel cry out then against Moses in their frustration and fear and anger and despair. Their cry is, what shall we drink? And in its fullest meaning in the original, it means here, what shall we do to be saved from death? What shall we do? We are facing death. What shall we do? Imagine the size of the problem for Moses. 600,000 men plus women and children needing deliverance, needing water. The children of Israel had no idea what to do, actually, at this point. Only complain, and only vent their frustration on their leader. But Moses did not hesitate. Moses, the first thing he did when he realized this, the bitter disappointment of Mara, He didn't wring his hands. And he said, didn't say to the people, I don't know what to do. What did Moses do? He cried unto the Lord. He cried unto the Lord. He prayed. And it was a cry of absolute and total dependence. This is the answer for us this morning, dear friends. When we come to the bitter waters of Mahara, There's only one right, true, proper response to this. It's to cry unto the Lord. Just like Moses. I will cry unto the Lord. And the Lord answered his prayer. And he showed Moses a tree. The remedy of the problem was actually very near at hand. But Moses had to use the remedy. It was no use looking at the tree. It was no use admiring the tree. It was no use just pulling up the tree or cutting down the tree. Moses had to do something with that tree. He had to place it into the waters of Mara and obey the command of the Lord. He must obey the word of the Lord. Now imagine what the children of Israel must have thought when he was cutting down the tree. Imagine what he must have thought. when he was cutting down the tree. What's Moses doing? Like when Noah was building the ark. What's this man doing? What good is a tree going to do to make these waters sweet? Surely a tree is probably going to make it even worse. But Moses obeyed the word of the Lord. And he cast the tree into the waters. And the waters were made sweet. There was a deliverance. There was a change. The Lord used the tree to heal Mara's waters. And He used it as a symbol of cleansing. And after this miracle, the Lord made a statute and an ordinance. He made an ordinance calling the children of Israel to trust and obey. There's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust. and obey. The only way to be secure is to simply trust and obey. If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord, if you will hearken to my voice, if you will trust in me and obey me, I will bring you through and I will protect you. Well, This event at Mara, where the waters were made sweet by the tree, is a picture of something far greater than a providential deliverance. Undoubtedly, Moses saw beyond the miracle to the symbolism here of Jesus Christ, the forthcoming Savior, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Oh, like at Mara, there are the bitter waters of our sin this morning. Maybe this week has been a difficult week for you. Maybe you haven't responded as you should have done to situations. Maybe there's been issues in your life as we acknowledge our sin before God, and we have our guilt and our rebellion, and we perhaps have been murmuring against the Lord in our hearts, saying, Lord, why are you letting this happen? But God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into this fallen world, and he died on the cross to deal with sin, to deal with its bitterness. And as Moses was shown a tree for the purpose of using it to heal the waters of Mar to purify and make them sweet, so the Lord reveals to us through the message of the gospel, Jesus Christ, the purifier of our sin, where bitter waters, the bitter waters of sin are purified. the Savior crucified on the tree at Calvary must enter into the bitter waters of your life this morning that you might be healed. Only as Jesus, by faith, is placed into your situation, into your heart, into the bitterness of this situation, will you find healing. Because the Lord says in the following verse, I am the Lord that heals you. That's where the healing is. When you come to the Lord Jesus in this bitter situation with your sin, with your problem, with your trial, with your affliction, and say, Lord, this is bitter to me by nature. This situation is bitter in all its realization. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. and make these situations sweet. Even this trial sweet in my life. Sanctify my life through the Lord Jesus. Heal me Lord. Heal me. And the Lord Jesus is the one that heals. He can even make that situation sweet to you. The psalmist said, it is good that I've been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes. Only a believer can say that. The world will never say it's good that I've been afflicted but The psalmist David said, it's good that I've been afflicted. It's actually good that I've been in this trial. It's actually good that I've been under conviction of sin, that I might learn your statutes, that I might come to trust in the Messiah, that I might be healed through the Lord Jesus Christ. The tree healed the waters, making them pure and clean. So Christ Jesus the Lord heals repentant sinners purifying them, the tree is placed into the waters, and the waters are made sweet. And as Christ, by faith, is placed into our life, into this situation, into this trial, into this burden, into this problem, only then, by faith, will the situation become sweet and be a blessing to you, a sanctification in your life by God's grace. You remember at Pentecost, Peter was preaching to them, and they realized that they'd crucified the Messiah, and they came under guilt, and just like the children of Israel here who cried, what shall we drink? They said, sirs, what shall we do to be saved? What must we do to be saved? What shall we do? And Peter said, repent. Come to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for I am the Lord that healeth thee. Look at the vast part of verse 26. I am the Lord that healeth thee. So it is that you can be healed from the bitter guilt of your sin and pain and the trial And you can be given spiritually living water through Jesus Christ. You can be presented perfect before God the Father, pure and holy because of the virtue, the healing power of Christ at Calvary, where he was crucified on that tree at Calvary. And as by faith, Christ crucified his place into our situation. and we look to him, that is where we find the cleansing. That is where we find the healing, the hurt and the pain of the bitter waters of Myra are healed in Jesus Christ. Only the Lord can make a blessing out of trial and tribulation. Only the Lord can make the bitter waters of Myra drinkable. But finally this morning, direction, verse 26 again. The children of Israel are given clear direction by the Lord. Follow the Lord, obey his word, do what is right in his sight, keep his commandments and ways. The Lord will not judge you like he did the Egyptians, but he will bless you and keep you. Now we must view this from a spiritual perspective. I am the Lord that heals you in your soul. Only in Jesus Christ are you healed. The bitter waters of guilt and sin will never be healed outside of Christ. But when you hear the voice of the gospel, and you heed the voice of the gospel, and you come and you say, on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, thou my glorious dress, my only hope. point, and you're looking only to Jesus, and it's Jesus only for you, then the Word of God says, follow Him. Follow the Lord Jesus. Testify that your hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I am the Lord that heals you. but I heal you for a purpose, that you might follow me, that you might obey me. But then, in conclusion, in verse 27, they came to Elim, where there were 12 wells of water and three score and 10 pound trees, and they encamped there by the waters. A seeker may ask the question this morning, you may ask the question, what is the Christian life going to mean to me? What are its benefits? Well, the Bible is very true that actually it is through much tribulation we enter the kingdom. God doesn't promise us an easy ride. We're not health and prosperity preachers here. God is very honest. He says, actually, to be a Christian, to follow in the narrow way, you have to take up your cross and follow me. It's going to be a pathway of sanctification. It's going to be a pathway of preparation for glory. But there are benefits, eternal benefits in this pathway. You are healed spiritually. You are forgiven eternally. You are cleansed. You are reconciled with God. You have hope of eternal life. You are a pilgrim on a journey. You now have a purpose for life. You have a glorious inheritance to look forward to. But there's another benefit I bring your attention to here. You are given a foretaste of heaven on earth. Because when you come to worship God, with the Lord's people, and you sit under the word of God, and you feel the Lord God speaking to you through the ministry of his word, it's just like here. It's just like being at this oasis where there are 12 wells of water and three score on 10 palm trees. And in this wilderness of the world, we have a sanctuary here. and we come out of the wilderness of the world and all it's stresses and it's problems and it's difficult and it's trials and it's challenges and you come to worship God and you sit here for an hour and God speaks to you and he refreshes your soul with living waters. And this is just like verse 27 to you. And it's a little foretaste of heaven. It's only a little foretaste, but it is a foretaste. It's God saying to you, here is your appetizer for heaven. You know, when you go to a posh restaurant, they give you this free appetizer, and they pass you these little things on a plate, and you're meant to put them in your mouth and think, wow, that's got some beautiful taste in it. And it probably has. And it's just the chef saying to you, that's just a little foretaste of what's to come. And when we have a blessing under the word of God, it's God saying, this is just a little foretaste of heaven. And this is where the children of Israel came to. When they looked to the Lord, and they trusted in him, and the Lord made the bitter water sweet. The Lord healed them. It was the Lord that did everything for them. They couldn't do anything. to save themselves. They simply had to trust and obey. And God healed the waters. And God brought them to Elim. And God blessed them at Elim. And so it is with us. It's all of God's grace. There's a little taste of heaven. And so there was disappointment. There was despair. But there was deliverance. There was direction. And there was delight. This is the gospel. This is God's way. May the Lord bless us and help us to look to the Lord Jesus for his namesake. Amen.