22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" 25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them.

Introduction : Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up
1) The Israelites who had been bitten by venomous snakes were detoxified
2) Change in the decadent children of Adam (Jn 3:14-16)


● A piece of wood that made the bitter water sweet in the Desert of Shur

1. The bitter water of hatred and anger
    1) The fierce struggle for survival (Job 5:2)
    2) A life constantly pressed for time and life (Ecc 2:23)
    3) The environment demanding more results
    4) Selfishness-money is everything (2Ti 3:2)
    5) Lack of communication (Pr 12:16)
    - These factors are seeds of hatred, and hatred brings an explosion of anger. All this
       bitter water can be turned into sweet water when we love and embrace the Cross of
       Jesus (1Jn 4:10; Eph 4:32)

2. The bitter water of fear and anxiety
    1) Anxiety from blame and criticism (Ps 38:19)
    2) Human nature is anxious when it is not recognized, isolated, and abandoned
        (Ps 38:11)
    3) Anxiety from fear of failure and defeat in life (Job 3:25)
    4) Anxiety regarding illness and death (Ps 41:8; Pr 18:14)
    - All such bitter water of fear can turn into sweet water by the love and grace of the
       Cross of Jesus (Heb 13:5-6; Ps 103:3-5)

3. The bitter water of an inferiority complex
    1) An inferiority complex from a poor and difficult childhood, hostility against society
        (Ps 88:15)
    2) An inferiority complex because of education
    3) An inferiority complex because of appearance (1Sa 16:7)
    4) An inferiority complex because of country of birth (Pr 14:28; Dt 7:7; Ps 33:10)
    - All sense of inferiority can be turned into sweet water by becoming a new creature
       through the grace of the Cross and by becoming a child loved by God
       (1Pe 2:9; Php 4:13)

4. The bitter water of despair and disappointment
    1) Bitter water from a sense of powerlessness (Nu 13:33; Pr 24:10)
    2) A constant, negative attitude toward one´s circumstances (Nu 13:32; 14:8)
    3) An attitude that turns one´s back against hope, absolute negativity (Ro 8:32,34)
    - Through the Cross of Jesus, the calamities of sin, the curse, and disease can be
       redeemed, and the sweet water of absolute salvation is given
       (Isa 53:4-5; Gal 3:13; 3Jn 1:2)


Conclusion : Human beings are created as houses where God lives. A house without God becomes unoccupied, where seven evil spirits come and great anxiety does not cease. However, we can have joy, peace, and happiness in our lives when we believe in Jesus and serve God.