Bitter Worship

The focus of our praise effects how well and consistently we praise, so let us focus our praise on God, His nature, and His sovereign plan, not on how we think that plan should occur.

Main Idea: The people of Israel’s praise quickly turned to bitterness because their focus was not on God, His power, and His plan, but rather on how they assumed that plan would occur. We must not fall into that same mistake.

God reveals His plan and power.

Last week we discussed how God sovereignly brought Jacob and His children into Egypt to save them, but over time, that salvation turned into harsh and oppressive slavery.

We saw how Israel, Or the Hebrews, since we will again use these two terms to mean the same thing for this sermon,

were forced to work in horrible conditions,

were often beaten,

and even had their children killed as a matter of public policy.

God heard their cries and called a man named Moses to lead them out of Egypt and into the land God promised Abraham that His family would one day have.

When calling Moses, He gave His name, showing that He was the eternal, self existing God who has the power and love to bring the people out of Israel.

This should have been enough.

You would think that Moses should have seen that this God whom was speaking to Him was truly the one true God and had full ability to do what He said He would do and therefore Moses, should have instantly started fully serving Him without any hesitation.

Moses reveals His heart and focus.

This is not what we see however.

What we see is Moses focussing on his own lack of greatness more than God’s abundance of greatness.

We see him focussed on His inability to speak more than the God who gave him a tongue to speak with.

Exodus 4:1 (ESV)

1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ”

God is patient, so He gives Moses signs to show the people so that they may know that the God of Abraham sent Moses to them.

But we see more of Moses heart here, because He continues to come up with excuses.

Exodus 4:10 (ESV)

10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

This is what I meant when I said that Moses was focussed too much on His own lack of greatness instead of God’s full greatness.

If He saw who God truly was, He would know better than to say these things. He would not be focussed on His own tongue because He is talking to the God who made Him and His tongue.

He made Him exactly the way He is, and therefore Moses should trust that God knows His inadequacies and has the power to use Him regardless.

This is exactly what we see in verses 11 and 12.

Exodus 4:11–12 (ESV)

11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

Again I say, this is the time for Moses to being truly Praising God because He knows what God is about to do in His life. But because His focus pointed to himself and not on God, He does not praise God for what He will accomplish.

He does not praise God by being obedient to Him.

No, He instead continues to make excuses to the point where God arranges Moses’ brother to help him speak.

Moses and Israel praise God as the work begins.

But, Moses finally agrees, meets his brother Aaron, and goes to Egypt to speak to and show the elders of Israel the signs that God had given Moses to show.

We see their reaction in verse 31.

Exodus 4:31 (ESV)

31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

We are now at a happier point in the story. The people have been through so much hardship, can you imagine the relief it was to hear that the God of their fathers heard their cries and had promised to deliver them from their burdens? The work had begun and there was excitement and praise.

Is that not how we are today as well? Whenever a new work or ministry begins, or God starts something in our lives that is new and exciting, we obviously are gong to get excited and praise God, as we should.

I think of Hutong Church, the church plant that City Church is planting in Haidian.

The excitement that we have had from people and the amount of praising God for this that I have had has been amazing.

As we discuss the upcoming launch date of September 21st, we should be praising God, knowing that He is going to fullfil His will through Hutong. Even if we are not sure yet what that really means, and how He will go about using our labors, we can trust fully in the power and love of God which should give us all the courage and strength to serve, regardless of our own lack of greatness, we serve and Praise knowing of God’s full and magnificent greatness.

So be empowered, be excited, and be praising God for the work that He will do in this plant.

But also take note on the next portion of this story, so that we don’t also fail in the same way we are about to see Israel fail in.

Moses and Israel lose heart as the work does not meet their expectations.

so with that said, we continue our Story, Moses and Aaron go to Pharoah and tell Him that God desires His people to go into the wilderness to worship Him, and that Pharoah must allow for this.

What was Pharoah’s response?

Exodus 5:2 (ESV)

2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”

Pharoah did not know Yahweh.

Pharaoh did not recognize the power of Yahweh over His own pagan gods.

His response is one of sarcasm, asking who is Yahweh that he should listen to Him and be obedient to His commands.

So in frustration, Pharoah adds to the burdens of the people of Israel.

Exodus 5:4–9 (ESV)

4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.”

5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!”

6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen,

7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves.

8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’

9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

Life was already hard on Israel, but now it had gotten far worse. Where as before, straw was given to them to make their bricks, they now had to scatter around Egypt looking for straw to meet their quota.

Would Israel understand that this was all a part of God’s plan and that the promised deliverence was coming, since Yahwei, who’s name shows His power and love said it was coming?

Sadly, no.

Exodus 5:20–21 (ESV)

20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh;

21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Oh how quickly they turned.

Oh how quickly their praise turned to complaint.

Oh how quickly their faith in the one true God melted away.

I truly believe that their praises in chapter 4 was genuine.

There is nothing in the text to indicate that this was a false praise or that God did not accept it as praise.

There was however still a problem.

Their praise was based on what they thought God would do for them and not based on who God is.

Their praise was praise, but it was limited in it’s scope, and therefore it was easy for the enemy to take it away.

You see, their praise was clearly based on God removing their burdens in the here and now. Instead of seeing a magnificient, all powerful God who was going to accomplish His plans on His time and in His way, they saw a God who was coming and doing things in the ways that they felt He should do them.

Therefore, it is not surprising that when things did not go as planned, their faith crumbled.

When things did not happen the way they thought that it should happen, their praise turned to bitterness.

What is worse, their bitterness was contagious.

Moses had been strengthened by the name and words of God to go and be obedient before Pharoah, but the grumbles and bitterness of the very people He was sent to lead put Him right back into a place of bitterness and self doubt.

Is it not the same for us today?

We get excited for what God is doing, but as soon as things don’t go as we think it should, we get upset, we get bitter. And sadly, what do we often do with this bitterness? Do we take it before God and have Him work on our hearts? Sadly, we so often begin to spread this bitterness to all around us, even to the very ones God sent to lead us.

Now I want to add here that the last thing we want to do is minimize their suffering. Their suffering was beyond what I can comprehend and we never want to make light of that or dismiss it in any way.

we also do not want to make light of or dismiss the suffering they may be happening in the lives of those in this room.

please know, that I’m not saying to ignore this, or That it is not a big deal. What I am saying, is that we serve a God who is there and understandso the pain and will be with you and help you. justblike with the Israelites, this help may not be in the exact way you wanted, but the help is exactly what you need when you need it. We will speak more on this later, but it was important that we say this now, because I don’t want you misunderstanding anything I say as dismissing your pain.

So this is my plea to you city church, and Hutong church plant, let us be a church that loves God and calls on His name in all circumstances.

Let us see that God’s perfect plan does not always occur like we would like it to, but that does not mean He isn’t working within each step along the way.

This became all to real for me a little over six months ago. Christmas morning, I woke up to a phone call from my brother telling me that my father had passed away. It was a day when we should have been focused on praising God for coming to earth in the form of a man, to suffer and to die, but all I could focus on that day was my own suffering.

On a plane to America the next day, I wrote out my dad’s funeral sermon. It was the hardest sermon I have ever had to write, because in it I had to wrestle with what seemed like contradictory facts.

I had to wrestle with the knowledge that God was indeed good, right, and just. I had to wrestle with the truth that God was in sovereign control and His will is for our good, even when it made no sense, even when it turned my world up side down. I had to learn to praise God, even during suffering, even when life does not go as I expected.

but How can we do this? first, Indont think it can be done without the work of the Spirit in us. but there are some practical things we can do, and I would like to quickly share a few of those with you, but know, it’s not a comprehensive, meaning complete, list.

Praise God for Who He is and not just for what He has done for us.

First By praising God for who He is and not just for what He has done for us. Now obviously I am not saying to not praise God for the good He has given us, that would be incredibly sad, but we should also make sure that our praise is centered on the very character of Him. This is what God tried to help them do in chapter 3.

He explained that He was the powerful, self existent, self-sufficient, eternal personal God and that is worthy of Praise, regardless of our situation.

A practical way of doing this is looking up a list of the attributes, meaning characteristics, of God, or even better, writing them out yourself and sharing them with another strong beliver to discuss. Then take time to praise God for being who He is as you look and ponder over each attribute.

Praise God in every circumstance by praying in all circumstances.

Secondly, we praise God in every circumstance by praying in all circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

If we are not lifting up our prayers to God in thanksgiving and rejoicement when times are good, we are going to struggle to praise Him in times of suffering.

So daily, make it a point to be in prayer to Him.

Have regular times of prayer where you are coming into a quiet place of specific prayer, but also be forever lifting up prayers, praises, and thanks to God throughout the day.

Praise God knowing that you do not suffer alone.

Thirdly, we Praise God knowing that we do not suffer alone.

1 Peter 4:12–19 ESV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Did you notice the wording here? It says that we Share in Christ’s suffering. Jesus came to suffer, to be mocked, beaten, and killed on a cross.

He did this in great love for you and me, because we are in need of a savior.

All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God and the wages of sin is death.

So Jesus came and took those wages upon Himself as a free gift to us all.

Now, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord because He came, suffered, died, and rose again. This is exactly why We will be doing communion today, recognizing and taking humble part in the works of Jesus on the cross, praising Him for His flesh and blood that was shed for our sin so we may have that perfect relationship with Him.

Because of this, we have far greater reason to rejoice and praise in our sufferings.

We have been revealed far more about God than the Hebrews at the time of today’s passage.

So we can join in with Christians throughout History who have turned to God and found joy,

even in times of suffering,

through praising their Savior for who He is and what all He has already done for us.

This goes for every aspect of your life, but I want to give a special encouragement for Hutong Church to close out this Sermon.

Many in the room will be coming to Haidian with us and becoming members of Hutong Church.

Many in the room are staying at City Church.

Being a part of the sending church means praying for the church plant and praising God for what He is doing in the west side of the city, you too are important parts of this plant.

I urge you, regardless if you remain at City Church or if you come to Hutong, do not stop praying, and do not stop praising Him for Who He is and for what He is doing.

But know that it is possible, especially in our setting, that things will not go exactly as planned.

Maybe we lose our lease to the venue after just one service.

Maybe our numbers are not as high as you thought they would be,

maybe the coffee isn’t as good

maybe for those staying at City church, your friends all left to Hutong or many key volunteers in your team leaves to serve at Hutong. or whatever the case may be, you must remember to continue praising the God who sent us to do His work.

I’m not saying that these things are anything like the sufferings of the Hebrew people during slavery,

or like any of the sufferings many in this room have gone through,

but I am saying that just like things did not go as the Hebrews thought they would in the beginning of Moses’ work of leading them out of Egypt, not everything will go as we planned or hoped with planting a church here in Beijing. Things are bound to come up, that is just life is it not? So are we going to see the bumps in the road and turn bitter, as the Hebrews did, or are we going to continue praising God, because we know He is sovereign in all things, and His plan is good, even when we don’t understand it?

This praise comes in many forms, but now, I want us to focus on Praising Him in song. As Ben and the others come up, I want you to focus your hearts, repent where you need to repent, and turn your praises to God right now. Sing with a joyful noice knowing that He is the Eternal, self-existent, self-sufficient, personal God who loved us so much, He came to die for us.

Let’s worship Him!