From His Heart

Jeff Schreve: God wants us to factor in the cross in every circumstance of life. Throw in a tree. Jesus was crucified on a tree, the tree of Calvary. When you face the Marahs in life, those are negatives. How do you deal with a negative? If you take a negative and you add the vertical perspective, you take a minus, a negative, and you turn it into a plus.

If I will look to the Lord and if I factor in the cross, that minus becomes a plus. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Larry Nobles: God's parting of the Red Sea in Exodus chapter 14 is certainly the greatest Old Testament miracle and arguably the second greatest miracle in all of the Bible, second only to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Immediately afterwards, God's people were singing the praises of God. However, it didn't take long for them to start singing the blues. Just three days was all it took.

There is so much the Lord wants to teach us from the story of the Red Sea miracle in the book of Exodus. This is from his heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Thank you for joining us today as we conclude the airing of his series, Faithful and True, introducing the one and only God. It's a study of the book of Exodus, and we've been in it this week. Today's message is called The Highs and Lows of Life, part two.

You can listen to part one and two online at fromhisheart.org and you can also download a free MP3 of any broadcast. Just click the Listen Link. Let's get started. Open your Bible to Exodus chapter 15 and learn to be encouraged by the highs and also the lows in life. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

Jeff Schreve: What have we learned from the aftermath of the Red Sea miracle? I want you to notice three important lessons that have to do with the highs and lows of life. Lesson number one: The highs of life are great times of teaching. Great times of teaching in the highs, in the mountaintops.

Now everyone likes mountaintops. We like great victories. We like to celebrate great victories. God's people enjoyed the victory and God wanted them to. The Lord brought a victory so that they could celebrate the victory. And they sang the song of Moses. It's a song of praise and it's a song filled with important theological truths for us to know and for us to tuck away in our hearts in the high points so we have them in the low points and in all the in-between points of life.

So what does the song of praise teach us about God? It teaches us, number one, that the Lord is a warrior God who fights for us. Moses in the song talks about God being a warrior. The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is a man of war and He fights for His people.

Exodus 14, when the people saw that Pharaoh was coming, they were so afraid, very frightened. Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid. God is going to fight for us." He says in Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent." Don't be afraid. The Lord, Yahweh, is a warrior.

Secondly, He's not only a warrior God, He's a delivering God who destroys His enemies. Look what he says in verse six: "Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. And in the greatness of your excellence, you overthrow those who rise up against you. You send forth your burning anger and it consumes them as chaff." Our God is a consuming fire, the scripture says in the book of Hebrews.

He is the God who delivers and He destroys His enemies. Then we learn that the Lord is the only God who is holy and awesome. I love verse 11 of this song. The question is asked: "Who is like you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?"

Now, who is like you among the gods? Are there lots of other gods? Well, there are lots of other gods with a little G, people that worship a statue or a stone. It's not really a god. It can be a demonic force that they worship. Baal was a demonic force that people worshiped. But compared to God, there is no other God.

Then it says that the Lord is the loving God who leads His redeemed. This is so encouraging. It says in verse 13: "In your lovingkindness, you have led the people whom you've redeemed. In your strength, you have guided them to your holy habitation." God is the God who loves us. The Lord is the loving God who leads His redeemed.

And where does He lead us? He was leading them to the Promised Land. Sometimes we get the idea that the Promised Land is heaven, and it is promised to us. So we could say the Promised Land is heaven. But the picture of the Promised Land is not where you go when you die. That's where they came out of Egypt through the wilderness to go to the Promised Land. The Promised Land is the spirit-filled life. And the Lord wants us to enjoy this spirit-filled life as we walk with Him.

The highs of life are great times of teaching. We learn about God and His character in those mountaintops. Second lesson: The lows of life are great times of testing. Look at verse 22: "Then Moses led 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."

When you're in the desert, water is really important. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, it was named Marah. The word Marah means bitterness. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

Man, we go from the high-high, we just saw God work the greatest miracle in the Old Testament, we were a part of that, we see the Egyptians dead on the seashore, we are singing, we are dancing, we are shouting His praises. Three days later, we're grumbling at Moses.

But the grumbling and the griping at Moses really was a grumble and gripe at God. Exodus 15, they're grumbling and griping about no water. Exodus 16, 45 days after God destroyed the Egyptians in the Red Sea, they don't have any food and they're grumbling and griping about food and they're longing for Egypt.

"Oh, we remember Egypt. It was so wonderful. We used to sit by the pots of meat and we had bread to eat of the full. And now we don't have anything. Moses, did you take us out here? Were there no graves in Egypt that you took us out here so that we would die in the wilderness?"

What happened to you guys? 45 days, you're talking about dying in the wilderness. Three days, you're saying we don't have anything to drink and you're grumbling and griping and complaining. The lows of life are great times of testing. Now you mark it down: We will always face some trials and bitter things in life. That's life, as the song says.

Maybe you're here today and you're saying, "I'm facing some bitter things in life and some things I don't like. I've lost my job or I've had this situation come in. I've gotten a bad health report. I've lost a loved one. I've had to face all these things. I don't like them. They're bitter to me."

And that's a test. Because the scripture says that the Lord tested them at Marah. Shows you what's in your heart when you get tested. The mountaintop, I'm learning great things about God. This is awesome. It's like being in school. I'm taking notes. This is great stuff. But then comes the test. And Marah is the test.

What's in your heart? Are you going to trust God even when things are going bad? You're always going to face trials and bitter things in life. Job said, "Man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward." Job said, "Man who is born of woman is short-lived and full of trouble."

Jesus said, "In the world, you have tribulation. You have pressures, you have problems, you have difficulties. But be of good courage, I have overcome the world." When the Apostle Paul was saved, it was told to Ananias, "Go to Saul, pray for him, he doesn't have his sight, pray for him that he'd receive his sight."

He said, "Lord, I don't want to go because Saul of Tarsus is, he doesn't like you and he doesn't like anyone that's a follower of yours." He said, "Go, for he's a chosen instrument of mine, for I'm going to show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake." Saul of Tarsus right at the first of his Christian experience knew he was going to suffer for Jesus. That's just part of the deal.

He wasn't surprised when he would suffer because he told me that at the very start of my Christian life that I was going to suffer. So that's just the way it is. "Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come," as the song says. We're always going to face those things. Now, here's the danger that you have, that I have, that we have, that they had, is the bitter things in life, the bitter waters in life, you can't let those things make you bitter.

Larry Nobles: Bitterness is horrible. In the Bible, bitterness is defined as a deep-seated, poisonous, and often hidden emotional state of resentment, anger, and unforgiveness that corrodes a person's soul and poisons relationships. It is a root that produces malicious fruit, including jealousy, envy, and harsh speech, and is often associated with intense suffering, disappointment, or a refusal to accept divine providence.

Maybe we should take today's lesson very seriously and not give bitter a place to root in our lives. You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Today's message, The Highs and Lows of Life, from the series Faithful and True, introducing the one and only God. This series is a study of the book of Exodus. You can get a copy of the series online when you click our resource center at fromhisheart.org and type Faithful and True.

We'll conclude today's message in just a moment, but wanted to remind you that we close out this month soon and we'd like to ask you to consider a donation to From His Heart to help us continue to reach the world on radio, TV, and online. If He is whispering in your ear and touching your heart to help, this is serious business trying to reach the world with God's love.

And we thank you for anything you can do to join with us. For your gift this month, we'll say thank you by sending you Pastor Jeff's series Holy Boldness and the booklet Unveiling the Mystery of Prayer, both for your gift of any amount. Call 866-40-BIBLE, 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org. Now the conclusion to the lesson, The Highs and Lows of Life.

Jeff Schreve: It's one thing to face bitter situations, it's another thing to get bitter. Poster child for that is the lady in the book of Ruth. Her name was Naomi. Her name means pleasantness. She was married to a man named Elimelech. His name means my God is king.

My God is king and pleasantness come together. They get married. They have two boys, Mahlon and Chilion, and they live in Bethlehem, the house of bread. But there's a famine in Bethlehem, a famine in the house of bread. And so they leave Bethlehem and they go to Moab. Not a good plan to go to Moab.

Wanting to escape the famine, they went to Moab. What happened in Moab? Elimelech died. Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi in 10 years lost her husband and both her boys. Then she heard that God had visited His people and that the famine was over, so she goes back to Bethlehem.

And when she goes back to Bethlehem, Ruth was with her. She goes back to Bethlehem and they say, "Is this not Naomi?" And she said, "Don't call me that. Don't call me Naomi. Don't call me pleasantness. Call me Marah, bitterness, because the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but I come back empty. And the hand of the Lord has been against me." She was bitter.

Bitterness will wreck and ruin your life. You can't let the bitter things cause you to be bitter. So what does the scripture say to do? James chapter 1, verses 2 and 3: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, when you encounter various Marahs, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

Now, it doesn't say that it is all joy, because it's not. It says consider it all joy. As I've told you before, that word consider is an accounting term. That's saying, "Okay, I'm taking this situation, this Marah, and I'm putting it in the plus column, not the minus column. I'm considering this all joy because I know that God is at work. He is testing me and He is at work in this situation."

We'll always face trials and bitter things in life, but we can face any trial with faith in God and His track record. What do we do when we face the Marahs in life? We trust God. We consider it all joy. By faith, we consider it all joy. By faith, we put it in the plus column.

And we say that, "Hey, God is able. The God who delivered us from the Egyptians, the God who wiped them out in the Red Sea, I mean, is this too big a thing for God? We don't have any water. Can God not provide water for His people? Of course He can. And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus."

So we put our faith in God and we remember what God has done. You know, that's why I said the mountaintop times, that's the time to learn about God. That's what we learn in the praises. God is a warrior God. God is a delivering God. God is the only God. God is a loving God who leads His redeemed.

And I cling to those things. Adrian Rogers used to say, "Don't doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light. And don't evaluate God based on the Marahs of life." Those are just tests to see whether you're going to trust God. The Apostle Paul said this in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 8 through 10: "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life.

Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves. We thought we were going to die, in order that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. In God who can do anything." And then he says this: "Who delivered us," past tense, "from so great a peril of death, and He will deliver us," present tense, "He on whom we have set our hope, and He will yet deliver us," future tense. God is the God who has delivered, who will deliver, who will yet deliver. You can trust God.

And when you're facing the bitter things in life, go back to what the Lord has done. Go back to His track record because He is faithful and true and He's worthy to be trusted and worthy to be praised. So the highs of life, great times of teaching. The lows of life, great times of testing.

And then lesson number three: The highs and lows and in-betweens of life are to be experienced with the Lord Jesus. We walk with Him as Christians. Christ is our life, it says in Colossians chapter 3. And so we walk on a daily basis, we walk with God. The Bible doesn't describe a run with God, it's a walk with God. It's step by step and step by step He leads me.

And so this is what the Lord said to Moses. "So the people grumbled at Moses," verse 24 said, "saying, 'What shall we drink?' Then he cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree and he threw it into the waters and the waters became sweet. There he made for them a statute and regulation and there he tested them."

Moses didn't know what to do. "What do I do, Lord? I've got two to two and a half million thirsty people and there's no water to drink because this is bitter water." And God showed him a tree and said, "Throw in the tree." Now there's not anything magic about the tree, this is a miracle.

Miracle of God, but I think it's a message for us today. And the message is this: God wants us to factor in the cross in every circumstance of life. You factor in the cross. Throw in a tree. Jesus was crucified on a tree, the tree of Calvary. When you face the Marahs in life, those are negatives.

How do you deal with a negative? If you take a negative and you add the vertical perspective, you take a minus, a negative, and you turn it into a plus. A minus, that's a negative, that's a Marah, that's a bad thing. But if I will look to the Lord and if I factor in the cross, that minus becomes a plus.

And Romans 8:28 says, "And we know," this is not we hope, we think, we guess, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." We know that. Adrian Rogers years ago preached a sermon that I heard in college and I've never forgotten it.

He called it the chemistry of the cross. It was one verse, Romans 8:28. He said, "You know a chemist can take materials that in and of themselves are dangerous and harmful, acids and other things, and he can mix those together in such a way to produce some kind of medicine, some kind of serum, some kind of potion that can be healing."

He said, "That's what God does through the chemistry of the cross. And so when we put the cross into our situations in life, into our good things, into our bad things, into our in-between things, we look at it through the lens of the cross, we factor in the cross, those negatives become positives. We consider it all joy knowing that God is going to use this for good in my life. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."

So He wants us to factor in the cross as we walk with Him. He wants us secondly to listen to Him and obey Him. So here is the statute and regulation that He gave the people that day. Verse 26: "And He said, 'If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight and give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians, for I the Lord am your healer.'"

I the Lord am your healer. Yahweh Rapha. Jehovah Rapha. He gives us that name in verse 26. The Lord wants us to listen to Him and give earnest heed to His voice. The scripture says today, "If you hear His voice, harden not your heart. Behold, today is the day of salvation."

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." Do you hear the voice of God? He said if you belong to Him, you do. God speaks primarily through His word, but He speaks through songs, He speaks through preachers, He speaks through friends to speak to your heart.

And He wants us to listen to Him and He wants us to obey Him. We listen not to say, "Well, what does the Lord have to say about it? I'll see if I want to do that or not." No, He's God. We listen to obey and we do what He says. In Psalm 81, the Lord laments the fact that His people didn't listen to Him.

And so what did He do to His people? He said, "I wanted to bless you, but you wouldn't listen. Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways, but you didn't listen. So what happened? I gave you over to the stubbornness of your heart. You didn't want to follow me, so you reap what you sow."

"Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways. Then I would quickly subdue their adversaries. I would feed them with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock I would satisfy them." The Lord says, "I want you to listen to me and obey me because you love me." And how do we know we love God? We obey God. "He who has my commandments and keeps them," Jesus said, "he it is who loves me. For I the Lord am your healer."

Larry Nobles: If you're a person who's been grumbling and disobedient towards God, perhaps after listening to Pastor Jeff on From His Heart today and doing so with an open and a repentant heart, you'd like to turn from your sin and back to God today. Maybe you need to just pray and say, "God, here is my life. Take it back and help me to be the Christian you want me to be, to have holy boldness and conduct and godliness and to be the witness you want me to be."

Now, if you do that, God will open up His arms and receive you graciously. If you don't know Him personally now, then simply on your knees with a repentant heart, ask Him to come in faith and make you a child of God. You will never be the same. Please go to fromhisheart.org, click the Why Jesus link. God is prompting you now, and we will pray for you. Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles and we hope that you'll be back next time when he'll begin a brand new series for families called Love and Marriage, Doing Family Life God's Way. That's when we'll open God's word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from His heart.