NEW DAY, THE BITTER SWEETNESS
NEW DAY, THE BITTER SWEETNESS
JESUS THE BRANCH - WHO MAKES THE BITTER WATERS SWEET ?
Jesus - The Root and Offspring of David.
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star.
Jesus the sweetness, the branch, the one that makes the bitter water drinkable.
LISTEN: SELAH :......THE LION AND THE LAMB: ?..........JESUS THE RIDDLE ?
Judges 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.
And they could not in ' THREE DAYS ' expound the riddle.
"An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth" (Mt 12:40)
Psalm 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth
God raised up a root out of dry ground ? a strong branch came forth ?.....JESUS: The Saviour - “manifested to destroy the works of the Devil,”.....The devil roars around like a hungry lion ?
You see here in the story of samson we see Jesus, for Jesus conquered death on the Cross and although the
devil still roars about like a hungry lion seeking whom he may devour, the enemy has lost his teeth, he has lost
the power over death, in the story of jonah we also see Jesus. You see ? Out of the lion comes forth the sweetness.Jesus said....Take this bitter cup from me ? Jesus is the sweetness in the bitter waters of life, at the cross we find the sweetness. The Cross - the passover Lamb ....the blood on the lintel, the top and each side post. ? again and agian we see Jesus in the Old Testament.
PSALM 19 V 7:
7 The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul: The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever: The ordinances of Jehovah are true, 'and' righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the droppings
of the honeycomb.
Jesus The Branch.
Zechariah 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men
wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
:The Lord gave me a picture or vision for someone, ( sometimes a word, picture ,vision, can be for more than one
person and does not have to be wholly for an individual from God ) This picture keeps coming back to my mind.
So I believe I should share it for this study. The picture was of a tree that fell and as it fell I realised it was falling
accross the waters, where before there was no way to get accross these waters Now by the tree falling there was
a way made clear for people to cross. This was a path of reconciliation to God, Jesus had made a way accross the
waters by his death and resurrection. As the waters were split in two so the veil was torn, so the tree fell and made a way....where there was no way. The tree had made a bridge , a way to God, a way of crossing over the waters.
JESUS MAKES THE BITTER WATERS DRINKABLE:
You cannot go long in the desert without water, three days is the maximum time, the people were beginning to
murmer, they were thirsty. Ahead they must have seen the palm trees that would have meant water, remember -
where ever there is life in the desert.... there is water. Remember although we come out of Egypt ( The World ) as
Christians we can bring things with us, God is not just drawing us out from the world but drawing the 'world ' out of us.
There would have been many parasites and germs in the bodies of the Israelites from the drinking from the waters of
the Nile.
Remember the people had just come from Egypt, from the place where the entire nation had gone through a series
of plagues, flies, locusts, dead frogs, boils and impure water. The rich foods of the Egyptian world would still have
been in the bodies of the Gods Chosen people, the people would have been used to gorging themselves on the rich foods of Egypt, Gods chosen people had brought with them the remains of Egypt, God wants a Holy
people, we are His Chosen people, a royal priesthood, belonging to God. They were beginning to look back now that
the food was running short and thirst began to take its toll in the dry arid hot desert. Imagine seeing those palm trees ?
This meant water, I wonder how quickly the people must have run towards this oasis ? Moses had spent forty years
being prepared by God in the wilderness, he would have known about all the watering spots, he would have known
about these springs. And yet he led them to this place....why ? As the people knelt down to drink from these waters
they would have found the waters undrinkable, bitter to taste, laced with calcium and magnesium.The water would have
been to bitter to drink, So why did God lead the people to this place ? It is here at the waters of Marah ( which means
bitter ) that we find cleansing, it is here at the waters of Marah that we are purged, it is here at the waters of Marah
that God draws out Egypt from us. Thye combination of calcium and magnesium would have had a strong laxative
effect on these people. Can you imagine the problems in a desert, where you are so thirsty, so hot, only to find that
what little liquid you had in your body is now being lost ? If you have ever had a poorly stomach ? imagine drinking
this laxative ? It is here at the waters of Marah that we see the cleansing of Gods chosen people, all the parasites and
diseases would have been purged, all the rich foods remaining in the bodies of Gods people would have been flushed
out. This was Gods purifying water, this was Gods cleansing, this was Gods plan, preparing his people not for the rich
foods to come, but for the pure waters, for the manna. So often we can look back, the richness of the world can
sometimes fool us, it is so easy to look at what other people have and to murmer and grumble.
Here we are in this desert, dying of thirst, hungry, while back in Egypt we had such good food, Egypt looked after us ?
( Or did it ? ) The World with all its riches, with all its promises, with all its glittery promising outward appearance,
with all the things that would entice, with all the riches and glamour and misleading pathways. Is nothing compared to
the promises of God and the goal to which we run, we are going to the Promised Land, we walk by faith not by sight.
The Promised Land is not just something that can be at sometime in the distant future, the Promised Land is something
that we can begin to be a part of Now.
NOW we are seated in heavenly places in Christ. The world will come to an end, all the riches and good foods and
promising pathways will come to nothing. People may look and scoff but it is not about the here and now it is about a
journey that leads to a destination, we have a destiny. Egypt crumbles into dust, the nations that we know will be dust,
this is Gods preparation plan for us, because He loves us. We may be living on manna and water, while the world lives
on the rich foods, but this is sufficient while we journey in faith towards our destiny.
JESUS MAKES A WAY:....So how were the people to drink from this water ?....The waters of Marah were too bitter to drink ?
God provided a WAY, THROUGH THE BRANCH, to make the bitter waters sweet.
God directed Moses to a nearby tree, breaking the branch to release the sap, he threw the wood into the water.
The sap of this branch made the bitter waters drinkable and in drinking these waters the people found cleansing, the
people had the impurities washed away.
EXODUS 15 V 26:
He made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah and He tested them there. He said, "If you will carefully obey
the LORD your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, I will
not inflict any illness on you I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." For God is the God that
heals us: Jesus said , in the Garden of Gethsemane, " Take this bitter cup from me, yet not my will , but thine be done ".
By His stripes we are healed: By every Marah is a tree that makes the bitter waters sweet, through every testing and trial, through every cleansing and purifying, we have the Branch that makes the bitter waters sweet. God provided a way
through , THE BRANCH, to make the bitter waters drinkable.
Judges 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And
they could not in ' THREE DAYS ' expound the riddle.
This riddle presents to us the mystery of the Cross. God raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus. He was manifested to
destroy the works of the Devil.He came to set the captives free, those who were in darkness to them has come a
great light, those seeking and searching in the caves of Egypt have seen the day !!!!!!
You see the lion in the story of Samson ? Only once the lion was slain could the swarm of bees begin to do their
work to gather the harvest ( honey ) in the dead carcass !!!!! you see ? Samson can be seen as a type of Jesus,
he dipped his hand into the carcass of the lion that was slain to taste the sweetness. At the Cross we find cleansing,
Christ was hung on a tree, HE is the BRANCH THAT MAKES THE BITTER WATERS SWEET: He draws us out
of Egypt, but also draws Egypt out of us, HE cleanses us, that we might be a Holy People, a Holy Nation, A Bride
ready and prepared. All of us as we come out of Egypt ( The World ) will come accross the waters of Marah, it is part
of our journey as Christians, we all go through this cleansing process. But we have the Branch to make the waters
drinkable, Christ gave his blood on the Cross and through His Precious Blood we find cleansing. Jesus said, " take
this bitter cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done ". As we come to the tree ( the Cross ) we find the enemy
defeated, the Cross is empty, Christ has risen, death is defeated.
Romans 3:25 (Amplified Bible)
Whom God put forward [[a]before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and
life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment. God passes over
when he see's The Blood, The Blood cleanses us, He is The Vine .....We are the Branches.....now WE are the sweetness
in the bitter waters. We are the salt of the earth, we are the sweetness for the bitter heart.
Lord God in Jesus Name come and cleanse, take away all the impurities Lord, all the filth, clean and cleanse.
Lord that people may see the sweetness of Jesus in us, and that they in turn may seek you Lord.
You are more to be desired than gold, you are even sweeter than the Honey on the Honeycomb.
Lord God as we carry on our journey with you help us not to complain and grumble but know that you are more concerned about us and the people we are, than you are about our situations and circumstances. They are under your control and
nothing will ever separate us from you. Lead us on Lord to drink the pure water, that brings life and not to look back or
look to the world in Jesus Name amen.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
THE ELIM SPRINGS - JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:.........HE HAS RISEN:
JESUS - THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE:..............THIS MESSAGE IS BASED ON EXODUS 15 V 27:
Exodus 15:27: “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped
there by the waters.”
John 4:14: ( Amplified Bible )
But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that
I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for)
eternal life.
Romans 15:13:
May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by
the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.
As a boy I can remember going on holiday one year and finding that the hotel where we were staying had a swimming
pool, not only that but I had it virtually to myself. At first I frequented the shallow end with a float, this gave me
confidence, although I was already a good swimmer and a fearless warrior of swimming pools, it was confidence that
was lacking. Then I decided to go for deeper waters and It was not long before I gained confidence enough to swim
from one end of the pool to the next. After a few days I decided to try the diving board and although I was
never any good at diving, I found great fun diving feet first into the water. After some time I realised that if I inhaled
enough air I could dive deeper and deeper into the water and I new I would always rise slowly up to the top again.
Then my great scientific brain calculated that if I inhaled less and less air each time it would take longer and longer to
get to the surface of the pool. This was when the ultimate trick came into play, using a football or a float I would jump
off the diving board, catch the ball or float on the surface of the waters as I went down and I knew that this ball or
float would always take me back to the surface. I also knew that the further I went down into the waters, the more
upward pressure there would be from the air in the ball to take me to the surface again. Now and again the upward
force on the ball or float would be such that it would suddenly rip away from me as I went down and hurtle up without
me and I would panick but knew that the air in my lungs would take me back to the top.
We can put our trust and confidence in Jesus and he will always pick us up when we fall, he will always bring us back up.,
What is the opposite of trust ? Is it fear ? When that float gets taken away, do we trust ? or fear ? When that float rises up without us ! does this mean we are left to panick and fear ? or do we trust ?
THE SPRING IN THE WILDERNESS: HE HAS RISEN: CHRISTIAN DISCUSSION FORUMS HERE
This is where we go from the bitter waters of Marah, ( Christ On The Cross - Cleansing ) to the Elim Springs.
Jesus did not stay on the Cross, He went down to death itself, he was separated for the first time in eternity from
' The Father ' on The Cross, Jesus said " I thirst ". It was at this time when the people on the wilderness journey had
just tasted the waters of Marah, the laxative effect ( Cleansing ) of the bitter waters would have taken the little water left
in the bodies of Gods Chosen people. Thirst by now would have been taking its toll on everybody, dehydration
from the desert heat would have been life threatening. Here we are talking about whole families, pregnant mothers,
babies in arms, young men & women, mothers and fathers, the elderly. People who were planning to marry, those who
were planning to have their own families. They had to put their trust in God, to survive, they had to put their complete
trust in God, for their families and for their own lifes. But what was God going to do ?
HE HAS RISEN:
Mark 16: ( Amplified Bible )
1AND WHEN the Sabbath was past [that is, after the sun had set], Mary Magdalene, and Mary [the mother] of James,
and Salome purchased sweet-smelling spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus' body]. 2And very early on the
first day of the week they came to the tomb; [by then] the sun had risen. 3And they said to one another, Who will
roll back the stone for us out of [the groove across the floor at] the door of the tomb? 4And when they looked up, they [distinctly] saw that the stone was already rolled back, for it was very large. 5And going into the tomb, they saw a young
man sitting [there] on the right [side], clothed in a [[a]long, stately, sweeping] robe of white, and they were utterly amazed
and struck with terror. 6And he said to them, Do not be amazed and terrified; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, Who
was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
RAISES FROM THE DEAD - Rom. 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also
through his Spirit which dwells in you. Jesus said , "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live
even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
WE ARE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST:
If you believe God is speaking to you about, ' water baptism ' then do not hesitate to get baptised, IF however you
do not believe it is the right time or God is not speaking to you about this, then that is between you and God.
Salvation is a free gift, it is not earned, it cannot be bought, nothing we can ever do will save us. Rather it is because
we are saved that we want to follow Him and do the works that he has prepared for us. Water baptism does not save,
rather it is only when God through his Holy Spirit speaks to us that we would want to be baptised, some may want to be baptised straight away. Some may be baptised years later on the journey, some may never be baptised: THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN:
Baptism -- A Burial with Christ
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (2:20). It is by baptism that people demonstrate that they have decided to become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is stated in Romans 6:
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to
sin, live any longer therein?
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. But let us get one thing clear: although Christ died for us, he did not die instead of us. As we have seen, Christ's followers have to die with him. This is the meaning of baptism: " . . . our old man is crucified with him" (Rom. 6:6).
Our faith in the resurrection power of God in Christ Jesus will enable us to put to death anything in the flesh that is
limiting our ability to love and serve God. Nothing else that we believe will help us as much as recognizing that whatever
we give up, or put to death, God will resurrect into something far more beneficial. JESUS could not be held down in death, like the float held down under the water, the more the enemy tried to keep Jesus down, the greater the force pushing
upwards. Nothing could hold Jesus in death, nothing in heaven or on earth could NOW separate Jesus from the Father.
WHEN it was time JESUS rose UP from the dead :............HE HAS RISEN:........JESUS THE SPRING IN A DRY PLACE:
THE SPRINGS OF ELIM
Exodus 15:27: “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they
camped there by the waters.”
"whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life." (John 4.13-14).John 12:
In John 4:14 Jesus promised those who came to him an inner 'well of water springing up into everlasting life.' However,
in John 7:38 we have an even better promise: '"Whoever believes on me .. streams of living water will flow from within him.
" By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified Now you can quite easily keep a well for your own exclusive use: but
you cannot keep a stream or a spring for yourself. With the well you have to find the right place to dig, you have to
know were to look, ( unless you come across a well already dug by someone else ). Imagine digging a well in the heat which would be at least thirty feet deep, finding the rocks to place at the edges to stop the soil caving in on top of you and once water is found, having the ' know how ' to get the water to the surface.
John 4:The woman at the well was drawing water from a well already dug, Jesus spoke to her at this point and changed her life forever. He spoke into her life and told her of things only she and God would know.
In John 4 v 1. We read of Jesus disciples and baptism, the samaritan woman mentioned was taking from Jacobs well, (The Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
John 4 v 13:Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The waters Jesus was talking of was water available to all, springs of living water, for Jew or Samaritan, this water would come bubbling up , welling up to eternal life. This water springs up from a dry place, it rises up to eternal life, as Jesus rose up to eternal life, so we are seated in heavenly places. We have this welling up, rising up, springing up inside of us.
The same Holy Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is in us: The same Holy Spirit that raises the dead is in us:
The same Holy Spirit that was in Jesus is in us: We have this spring of living waters in us, raising us up:
Paul says in Philippians 3:
v2: put no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3:10:
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.
Romans 2:29 (New International Version)No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
What has this to do with the Springs of Elim ? Our old man is crucified with him" (Rom. 6:6).
Back to baptism, buried with Christ, and rising up. The flesh being cut out, Gods Holy people !
When the waters start springing up inside of us and overflowing to others, they are going to feel the effects. Every born again believer has that 'well' of the Holy Spirit within them: but to reach the world we need 'streams' - streams that are flowing continually. A well may be kept full by a tiny seepage of water; but a stream can last only while the water keeps pouring into it.
Thus when the Holy Spirit came on them they were filled; and within minutes there was a major overflow onto the streets of Jerusalem (Acts 2)!
But it was then necessary that they should continue being filled, as in Acts 4:29-31. Hence Eph. 5:18, which can literally be rendered as 'be being filled with the Spirit.'
Exodus 15:27: “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.” And so the people come to the oasis of the Elim Springs.
JESUS - A River of Water in a Dry Place.
Isaiah 32:2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
And so the people come to the oasis of the Elim Springs, ( Psalm 1 v 3 ) " Like a tree planted by streams of water, which yeilds its fruit in season }
Gods chosen were used to an adequate water supply from the Nile Waters, now after so long in the desert heat strength was being sapped, after waters of Marah the little liquid left in the bodies of Gods people would have gone. The people were now ready for the Springs of Elim. Imagine whole families rushing to these waters, wondering whether this would be another Marah, instead they find the refreshing waters of Elim. I imagine the people did not just drink from these waters, I would imagine the women danced in the waters, the children played in these waters, I can imagine the people immersed themselves in these waters. The people would have made full use of the palms, making baskets, carriers, shades from the heat, these palm branches would have been used for every purpose possible. This would have been a time of great rejoicing, a time of refreshing. But the people could not stay in this place, they had to move on: We have to move on as Christians, we cannot stay in the same place for long, God is moving on and we must follow were He leads. I can imagine the people did not want to move on, but the promised land was waiting.
Experience the Elim Springs, that bubbling up inside, the Holy Spirit rising up, death cannot hold us down, Jesus was the firstborn, we cannot be separated, we are raised up, at death we are raised up.
Lord God in Jesus name nothing in Heaven or on Earth could hold you down in death, you rose up from death to life, you defeated death. You hold the keys, you have risen, the cross is empty, you have sent the comforter. You have given us this spring of living water, bubbling up inside, we come to the Cross, we are buried with you and we live in that resurrection power, that resurrection life. You are the Spring in that dry place, you fill us to overflowing, you rise up in our hearts. Lord speak into hearts and lifes In Jesus name amen Lord God in Jesus name we commit this time to you and thankyou for the your word in Jesus name amen.
thanks tes