The Ride of Your Life
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Exodus 15:19-26
Introduction: This is from a web-site news release several years ago:
SANDUSKY, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2003 – “Cedar Point will race full speed ahead toward the future of thrill-riding when the famed amusement park debuts the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world for its 2003 season. Named Top Thrill Dragster, the $25 million steel scream machine will be Cedar Point’s 16th roller coaster – more than anywhere else on Earth – and will be one of the largest single investments in the 132-year history of the park.
Top Thrill Dragster will be a coaster of epic proportions: with an extraordinary 420-foot-tall first hill at a 90-degree incline, speeds of 120 mph over 2,800 feet of track and a twisting first drop of 400 feet at an imposing 90-degree angle, this colossal thriller will wow riders with its dramatic world-record-breaking dimensions. Termed a “strata-coaster” for its monumental height, Top Thrill Dragster will be the first and only roller coaster in the world to break the towering 400-foot-tall milestone.”
I don’t know how you feel about roller coasters. I personally love them; Tami loves them somewhat; Tyler and Tiffany are really coming to love them. But many people don’t. They choose to walk by roller coaster’s without a second thought. They choose to not participate in the ride, even though there is a crowd of people standing in line. Wouldn’t it be great if we had the ability to make those kinds of choices in life? To walk by those scary parts of life?
Life can be dangerous; life can be exciting. Life can be a thrill ride. And we usually don’t have a choice about what life will bring us.
When we ask: “Why are these things happening?”, we are actually asking the wrong question. They happen because that’s life. The question that we need to be asking ourselves is: How am I going to deal with this situation that is happening? As followers of Jesus Christ, we have the advantage of not only having a God who cares and will aid us through the storms of life, through the thrill rides of our life, but we also have a book (the Bible) that contains many words and examples of how to deal with life’s issues.
This morning we are going to look at four lessons to be learned from this Old Testament story in Exodus 15.
I. The Proving- (Exodus 15:23; Proverbs 14:10; Deuteronomy 8:2)
Marah experiences- The Israelites have just escaped from Egypt, and start their journey to the Promised land. But this journey will not be easy, and will last for 50 years. Right off we see one of the challenges before them; finding water to drink. For 3 days they could not find water. Then in Exodus 15:23, we read that Moses and the Israelites came to Marah, but the water was bitter. They could not drink the water because it was bitter.
Marah experiences come to us all in life. Times of bitterness. As Proverbs 14:10 states: “Each heart knows its own bitterness.”/ When we come to these times of bitterness we should be asking the questions: Why has God brought me here? And, what is His purpose for me in this? How should I respond?
It is important to understand that in this story in Exodus 15, the children of Israel were being led and guided by God. He was testing them. He was shaping them to become the people they needed to become. It was here in the wilderness that God would set up the rules and procedures. The testing started right away; in Marah. Israel had come out of years and years of slavery, and they were needing to learn how to survive on their own; they were needing to learn how to provide for themselves, and govern themselves.
Now it may make you a little uncomfortable to think that God seeks to test us in this way, but we must understand that God has the whole picture in mind, and what happens in the many events in our lives, are meant to make us better and more prepared for life!
Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert for forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”
We must come to expect that there will be things that happen in our lives, which will test us beyond our own strength. In fact, we may learn the ultimate lesson of life through these testings, that God made this world and He controls it. The fact is, He has given humanity a lot of freedom and we have not done real well in following Him. God gives us commands on how we are to live, and yet so many people make decisions that they think will be best for their life, but in doing this they are not doing what God would have them to do, but they are doing their own thing.
We are like the Israelites, trying to follow God, trying to get to that Promised land God has promised to us. And yet, part of the journey is that we will experience bitter places along the way. We should not be surprised when we experience these bitter places. These bitter places are meant to make us stronger, to test us, to make us ready, to prove that we are strong enough in our faith and trust to be able to go to that place where God calls us next, and look to God for direction.
You’ve probably heard the old adage: Are you bitter or better? This is a good question because it is so easy for us to let the bitter times of life make us bitter. But, if we agree that there will be times of proving and challenge, then we must learn how to walk through those times so that we will be better. This is what God desires; this is how God has designed for it to be.
II. The Peril- (Exodus 15:24; 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13)
The people in this story acted in a very unfortunate manner. They were upset and began to complain against God’s servant Moses, and of course against God Himself because of the peril they found themselves in. It is understandable in one sense, because they knew they needed water to live, but couldn’t find any. They were fearful…It is a fatal tendency on the part of humans to grumble and complain. Some of us do it better than others but we all have a tendency to do it. But it is unfortunate, because they are already forgetting how the Lord has freed them from their slavery. They are failing to understand that life in the wilderness will not be as convenient as it was in Egypt, but they will be free; they will no longer have to live as slaves!
In 1 Cor. 10: 1-13, the apostle Paul is instructing us on the importance for us to learn from Israel’s history. Right in the middle of that passage, in verse 10, he says, “Do not complain as some of them did, and they were destroyed by the destroyer.” Complaining is never a helpful thing. It destroys ourselves, it destroys others, it keeps us from focusing on God’s vision, and it keeps us from believing in what God will do.
I know we sometimes need to express our frustration, and it is okay to tell God what we are feeling, but we must do it with an understanding of WHO we are talking to. Are we going to let the battle destroy us, or are we going to let God get us through the battle and work out His plan?
If it is just me and the problem; I will lose. I can’t deal with it on my own. The way to win doesn’t come by whining about the situation we are in. The way to win is to place yourself squarely in God’s hands. We cannot and must not allow ourselves to get to the place where all we do is complain about how miserable and horrible our life is. Nothing good will ever come of that, and as I said before, in doing this we keep God from being able to act on our part!
If I have observed anything in my Christian life, it is that this life is a roller coaster. You have your ups, and you have your downs. Christians are not immune to the downs. To be normal is to have these ups and downs in life. Don’t think that you will be immune to them. The Bible is full of normal people who go through these down times of life.
But what is most impressive, is when you meet people who have gone through a great amount of downs, and maybe are even in a down right now, and yet their spirit is full of life. They somehow find joy in life in the midst of these downs. They don’t complain, they praise God!! They find a way to experience the presence of God even more fully in their down times. They don’t whine, they let God lead them to the win.
The bottom line is, we must find a way to keep ourselves from grumbling and complaining and place our trust back in God who leads us.
III. The Procedure- (Exodus 15:24; 1 Samuel 1:10-17; 2 Kings 4:18-37; Isaiah 37:14; Daniel 6:10-11; Acts 12:5. 16:25; Matthew 26:36-46)
If the peril we must avoid is complaining, then how do we do that?
It is easy to talk about how we should not complain, but we need to know how to handle things that overwhelm us in ways other than complaining. Moses did not punish the people for their complaining, or tell them how lousy they were. He went immediately to prayer.
He did what is a repeated pattern over and over in the Bible. It is right in front of us. In fact it is so practical that I think sometimes we forget about it or discount it.
He prayed. The procedure for overcoming bitterness, for overcoming a negative attitude, for overcoming the desire to complain, is PRAYER! We see this time and time again in the scriptures:
In 1 Samuel 1:10-17 we see how when Hannah was without a child, she prayed.
In 2 Kings 4:18-37 Elisha was in great need because he met a woman whose great
desire was for him was to heal her sick son. What did he do? He prayed.
In Isaiah 37:14 we see King Hezekiah in trouble from the imminent attack of Assyria, so he immediately goes to prayer.
When Daniel was threatened to be punished if he were to keep praying to his God,
in Daniel 6:10-11, he prayed.
We see in Acts 12:5, when Peter was in prison, the church prayed.
Acts 16:25, when Paul and Silas were in jail, they prayed and worshipped God.
When Jesus was in the bitterness of Gethsemane, He prayed. (Math. 26: 36-46)
Story after story in the Bible we see how God’s people prayed in times of trouble!
Example- On the lighter side, there is a true story of a woman who was single, but wanted to be married. So she went and purchased a pair of men’s pants, just the right size, and hung them up on her bedpost. Every night before she went to bed she would get on her
knees and pray this prayer: “Father in heaven, hear my prayer, and grant it if you can.
I’ve hung a pair of trousers here; please fill them with a man.” This woman
is now married and has lived to raise 12 children! (Amusing Grace, p. 37, #82)
As the saying goes: “Satan laughs at our words, mocks at our toil, but trembles when we pray.”This is the way of victory. This is the way to overcome. This is the procedure. We trade our sorrows for the joy of the Lord by prayer.
IV. The Prescription- (Exodus 15:25-27; Jeremiah 23:5; Proverbs 17:22)
So we have the proving, the peril, and the procedure. Lastly, we have the prescription.
After his prayer, Moses was led by God in what to do. We read it in Ex. 15:25,
“God pointed him to a stick of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and the water turned sweet.”
Moses picked up a branch and threw it into the water. This is a description of the literal act he did, but it also is symbolic. The Bible is full of symbolism. Not only is this a description of how God answered Moses’ prayer, but it is also a reminder that God does this for us as well.
Who is our righteous branch? Jer. 23:5 says, “ The days are coming declares the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch.” The righteous Branch referred to here in the book of Jeremiah is Jesus. Jeremiah is prophesying about the coming of Jesus.
The only remedy for our problems is Jesus. He is the One who will enable us to endure the long nights. He will give us the ability to keep our heads above the flood. He will make the roller coaster rise up again, and take us to the top of the ride.
Jesus, and only Jesus can help us to find joy in the midst of bitterness, answers in the midst of life’s questions, purpose in the midst of turmoil, promise in the face of despair.
When people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they go from bitterness, to sweetness. This happens in many ways: for some it is in the ability to overcome their addiction; for others it means that they receive healing in their life; for others it has happened through the gaining of new purpose and meaning; and still for others (like me) it meant beginning to go down the right path. A path that has delivered to me blessing after blessing, and a path that has taught me how to experience joy in all circumstances.
Whatever it has been for you, or those around you, Jesus
is a righteous branch making the bitter water sweet.
A powerful book that I’ve read a couple of times is a book entitled “You Gotta Keep Dancin,” by Tim Hansel. It is a book about the author, Tim Hansel, who was rock climbing one day when he fell and landed on his back. It didn’t paralyze him, but it caused a severe, constant pain in his back that will never go away. Being a Christian, Tim Hansel was able to look to the Lord and see how God can still bring blessings to his life. He didn’t allow this experience to cause him to be bitter or to complain.
Here is a short excerpt from one of his journal entries: “We are never right in ourselves, but only in response to/ and as a result of God working in and through us.”
Then he writes in his book: “I enjoy laughing. I believe laughter is a sacred sound to our God. As Proverbs 17:22 says- ‘A cheerful heart is good medicine.’ Are you fun to live with? He asks.” (p.81)
And then he writes some funnies in his book as well. For example, he writes: you know it’s going to be a bad day when…You call your answering service and they tell you it’s none of your business….OR….You put your pants on backwards—and they fit better….. OR….Your horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell’s Angels on the freeway. (p. 83)
The prescription for life can be seen in letting God bring joy to our lives through Jesus!
Conclusion: The bottom line is, don’t think that you will be exempt from tasting bitter water. We all will have times of bitterness. This is what makes up the roller coaster ride of life. This is what life is about, the highs and the lows. But know that God can work great things out of the lows, out of the bitter water, and prepare us all the more for life.
Remember, what makes a roller coaster exciting is that it goes up AND it goes down.
How are you doing on the ride? Are you riding alone or is God riding with you? I hope that you are letting God work in your life no matter what is going on! I hope that you are turning to prayer, instead of grumbling and complaining. We all need prayer, and we all need to pray more. Whether it is to get through some ordeal you are going through; or maybe you need prayer to overcome your bitterness in life; or maybe you need prayer to understand your current situation better. Please, if you feel God prodding you, pray for yourself in this, and ask someone else to pray for you as well; that includes me. I pray for everyone each day, and when I have specifics, it makes it even better. Pray for God’s presence and power to come into your lives, as you experience the ride of you life. Amen.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Exodus 15:19-26
Introduction: This is from a web-site news release several years ago:
SANDUSKY, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2003 – “Cedar Point will race full speed ahead toward the future of thrill-riding when the famed amusement park debuts the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world for its 2003 season. Named Top Thrill Dragster, the $25 million steel scream machine will be Cedar Point’s 16th roller coaster – more than anywhere else on Earth – and will be one of the largest single investments in the 132-year history of the park.
Top Thrill Dragster will be a coaster of epic proportions: with an extraordinary 420-foot-tall first hill at a 90-degree incline, speeds of 120 mph over 2,800 feet of track and a twisting first drop of 400 feet at an imposing 90-degree angle, this colossal thriller will wow riders with its dramatic world-record-breaking dimensions. Termed a “strata-coaster” for its monumental height, Top Thrill Dragster will be the first and only roller coaster in the world to break the towering 400-foot-tall milestone.”
I don’t know how you feel about roller coasters. I personally love them; Tami loves them somewhat; Tyler and Tiffany are really coming to love them. But many people don’t. They choose to walk by roller coaster’s without a second thought. They choose to not participate in the ride, even though there is a crowd of people standing in line. Wouldn’t it be great if we had the ability to make those kinds of choices in life? To walk by those scary parts of life?
Life can be dangerous; life can be exciting. Life can be a thrill ride. And we usually don’t have a choice about what life will bring us.
When we ask: “Why are these things happening?”, we are actually asking the wrong question. They happen because that’s life. The question that we need to be asking ourselves is: How am I going to deal with this situation that is happening? As followers of Jesus Christ, we have the advantage of not only having a God who cares and will aid us through the storms of life, through the thrill rides of our life, but we also have a book (the Bible) that contains many words and examples of how to deal with life’s issues.
This morning we are going to look at four lessons to be learned from this Old Testament story in Exodus 15.
I. The Proving- (Exodus 15:23; Proverbs 14:10; Deuteronomy 8:2)
Marah experiences- The Israelites have just escaped from Egypt, and start their journey to the Promised land. But this journey will not be easy, and will last for 50 years. Right off we see one of the challenges before them; finding water to drink. For 3 days they could not find water. Then in Exodus 15:23, we read that Moses and the Israelites came to Marah, but the water was bitter. They could not drink the water because it was bitter.
Marah experiences come to us all in life. Times of bitterness. As Proverbs 14:10 states: “Each heart knows its own bitterness.”/ When we come to these times of bitterness we should be asking the questions: Why has God brought me here? And, what is His purpose for me in this? How should I respond?
It is important to understand that in this story in Exodus 15, the children of Israel were being led and guided by God. He was testing them. He was shaping them to become the people they needed to become. It was here in the wilderness that God would set up the rules and procedures. The testing started right away; in Marah. Israel had come out of years and years of slavery, and they were needing to learn how to survive on their own; they were needing to learn how to provide for themselves, and govern themselves.
Now it may make you a little uncomfortable to think that God seeks to test us in this way, but we must understand that God has the whole picture in mind, and what happens in the many events in our lives, are meant to make us better and more prepared for life!
Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert for forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”
We must come to expect that there will be things that happen in our lives, which will test us beyond our own strength. In fact, we may learn the ultimate lesson of life through these testings, that God made this world and He controls it. The fact is, He has given humanity a lot of freedom and we have not done real well in following Him. God gives us commands on how we are to live, and yet so many people make decisions that they think will be best for their life, but in doing this they are not doing what God would have them to do, but they are doing their own thing.
We are like the Israelites, trying to follow God, trying to get to that Promised land God has promised to us. And yet, part of the journey is that we will experience bitter places along the way. We should not be surprised when we experience these bitter places. These bitter places are meant to make us stronger, to test us, to make us ready, to prove that we are strong enough in our faith and trust to be able to go to that place where God calls us next, and look to God for direction.
You’ve probably heard the old adage: Are you bitter or better? This is a good question because it is so easy for us to let the bitter times of life make us bitter. But, if we agree that there will be times of proving and challenge, then we must learn how to walk through those times so that we will be better. This is what God desires; this is how God has designed for it to be.
II. The Peril- (Exodus 15:24; 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13)
The people in this story acted in a very unfortunate manner. They were upset and began to complain against God’s servant Moses, and of course against God Himself because of the peril they found themselves in. It is understandable in one sense, because they knew they needed water to live, but couldn’t find any. They were fearful…It is a fatal tendency on the part of humans to grumble and complain. Some of us do it better than others but we all have a tendency to do it. But it is unfortunate, because they are already forgetting how the Lord has freed them from their slavery. They are failing to understand that life in the wilderness will not be as convenient as it was in Egypt, but they will be free; they will no longer have to live as slaves!
In 1 Cor. 10: 1-13, the apostle Paul is instructing us on the importance for us to learn from Israel’s history. Right in the middle of that passage, in verse 10, he says, “Do not complain as some of them did, and they were destroyed by the destroyer.” Complaining is never a helpful thing. It destroys ourselves, it destroys others, it keeps us from focusing on God’s vision, and it keeps us from believing in what God will do.
I know we sometimes need to express our frustration, and it is okay to tell God what we are feeling, but we must do it with an understanding of WHO we are talking to. Are we going to let the battle destroy us, or are we going to let God get us through the battle and work out His plan?
If it is just me and the problem; I will lose. I can’t deal with it on my own. The way to win doesn’t come by whining about the situation we are in. The way to win is to place yourself squarely in God’s hands. We cannot and must not allow ourselves to get to the place where all we do is complain about how miserable and horrible our life is. Nothing good will ever come of that, and as I said before, in doing this we keep God from being able to act on our part!
If I have observed anything in my Christian life, it is that this life is a roller coaster. You have your ups, and you have your downs. Christians are not immune to the downs. To be normal is to have these ups and downs in life. Don’t think that you will be immune to them. The Bible is full of normal people who go through these down times of life.
But what is most impressive, is when you meet people who have gone through a great amount of downs, and maybe are even in a down right now, and yet their spirit is full of life. They somehow find joy in life in the midst of these downs. They don’t complain, they praise God!! They find a way to experience the presence of God even more fully in their down times. They don’t whine, they let God lead them to the win.
The bottom line is, we must find a way to keep ourselves from grumbling and complaining and place our trust back in God who leads us.
III. The Procedure- (Exodus 15:24; 1 Samuel 1:10-17; 2 Kings 4:18-37; Isaiah 37:14; Daniel 6:10-11; Acts 12:5. 16:25; Matthew 26:36-46)
If the peril we must avoid is complaining, then how do we do that?
It is easy to talk about how we should not complain, but we need to know how to handle things that overwhelm us in ways other than complaining. Moses did not punish the people for their complaining, or tell them how lousy they were. He went immediately to prayer.
He did what is a repeated pattern over and over in the Bible. It is right in front of us. In fact it is so practical that I think sometimes we forget about it or discount it.
He prayed. The procedure for overcoming bitterness, for overcoming a negative attitude, for overcoming the desire to complain, is PRAYER! We see this time and time again in the scriptures:
In 1 Samuel 1:10-17 we see how when Hannah was without a child, she prayed.
In 2 Kings 4:18-37 Elisha was in great need because he met a woman whose great
desire was for him was to heal her sick son. What did he do? He prayed.
In Isaiah 37:14 we see King Hezekiah in trouble from the imminent attack of Assyria, so he immediately goes to prayer.
When Daniel was threatened to be punished if he were to keep praying to his God,
in Daniel 6:10-11, he prayed.
We see in Acts 12:5, when Peter was in prison, the church prayed.
Acts 16:25, when Paul and Silas were in jail, they prayed and worshipped God.
When Jesus was in the bitterness of Gethsemane, He prayed. (Math. 26: 36-46)
Story after story in the Bible we see how God’s people prayed in times of trouble!
Example- On the lighter side, there is a true story of a woman who was single, but wanted to be married. So she went and purchased a pair of men’s pants, just the right size, and hung them up on her bedpost. Every night before she went to bed she would get on her
knees and pray this prayer: “Father in heaven, hear my prayer, and grant it if you can.
I’ve hung a pair of trousers here; please fill them with a man.” This woman
is now married and has lived to raise 12 children! (Amusing Grace, p. 37, #82)
As the saying goes: “Satan laughs at our words, mocks at our toil, but trembles when we pray.”This is the way of victory. This is the way to overcome. This is the procedure. We trade our sorrows for the joy of the Lord by prayer.
IV. The Prescription- (Exodus 15:25-27; Jeremiah 23:5; Proverbs 17:22)
So we have the proving, the peril, and the procedure. Lastly, we have the prescription.
After his prayer, Moses was led by God in what to do. We read it in Ex. 15:25,
“God pointed him to a stick of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and the water turned sweet.”
Moses picked up a branch and threw it into the water. This is a description of the literal act he did, but it also is symbolic. The Bible is full of symbolism. Not only is this a description of how God answered Moses’ prayer, but it is also a reminder that God does this for us as well.
Who is our righteous branch? Jer. 23:5 says, “ The days are coming declares the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch.” The righteous Branch referred to here in the book of Jeremiah is Jesus. Jeremiah is prophesying about the coming of Jesus.
The only remedy for our problems is Jesus. He is the One who will enable us to endure the long nights. He will give us the ability to keep our heads above the flood. He will make the roller coaster rise up again, and take us to the top of the ride.
Jesus, and only Jesus can help us to find joy in the midst of bitterness, answers in the midst of life’s questions, purpose in the midst of turmoil, promise in the face of despair.
When people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they go from bitterness, to sweetness. This happens in many ways: for some it is in the ability to overcome their addiction; for others it means that they receive healing in their life; for others it has happened through the gaining of new purpose and meaning; and still for others (like me) it meant beginning to go down the right path. A path that has delivered to me blessing after blessing, and a path that has taught me how to experience joy in all circumstances.
Whatever it has been for you, or those around you, Jesus
is a righteous branch making the bitter water sweet.
A powerful book that I’ve read a couple of times is a book entitled “You Gotta Keep Dancin,” by Tim Hansel. It is a book about the author, Tim Hansel, who was rock climbing one day when he fell and landed on his back. It didn’t paralyze him, but it caused a severe, constant pain in his back that will never go away. Being a Christian, Tim Hansel was able to look to the Lord and see how God can still bring blessings to his life. He didn’t allow this experience to cause him to be bitter or to complain.
Here is a short excerpt from one of his journal entries: “We are never right in ourselves, but only in response to/ and as a result of God working in and through us.”
Then he writes in his book: “I enjoy laughing. I believe laughter is a sacred sound to our God. As Proverbs 17:22 says- ‘A cheerful heart is good medicine.’ Are you fun to live with? He asks.” (p.81)
And then he writes some funnies in his book as well. For example, he writes: you know it’s going to be a bad day when…You call your answering service and they tell you it’s none of your business….OR….You put your pants on backwards—and they fit better….. OR….Your horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell’s Angels on the freeway. (p. 83)
The prescription for life can be seen in letting God bring joy to our lives through Jesus!
Conclusion: The bottom line is, don’t think that you will be exempt from tasting bitter water. We all will have times of bitterness. This is what makes up the roller coaster ride of life. This is what life is about, the highs and the lows. But know that God can work great things out of the lows, out of the bitter water, and prepare us all the more for life.
Remember, what makes a roller coaster exciting is that it goes up AND it goes down.
How are you doing on the ride? Are you riding alone or is God riding with you? I hope that you are letting God work in your life no matter what is going on! I hope that you are turning to prayer, instead of grumbling and complaining. We all need prayer, and we all need to pray more. Whether it is to get through some ordeal you are going through; or maybe you need prayer to overcome your bitterness in life; or maybe you need prayer to understand your current situation better. Please, if you feel God prodding you, pray for yourself in this, and ask someone else to pray for you as well; that includes me. I pray for everyone each day, and when I have specifics, it makes it even better. Pray for God’s presence and power to come into your lives, as you experience the ride of you life. Amen.
posted by Logan's Blog at 1:10 PM
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