Christian Life Church
July 30, 2023 at 8:30am & 10:00am
THIS PRESENT TIME #23 RIGHT SONG; WRONG SIDE
Locations & Times
Christian Life Church Columbia
2700 Bush River Rd, Columbia, SC 29210, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
THIS PRESENT TIME #23
Right Song; Wrong Side 7.30.23
“Right Song; Wrong Side. The Children of Israel danced and sang a beautiful anthem when God delivered them from their greatest enemy, Pharaoh and the Army of Egypt. The problem they had wasn’t that morning’s worship. They sang the right song. The problem is they sang it on the wrong side of the Red Sea. I think we have the same problem today. We sing the right song, but too often we sing it on the wrong side. Worship is as much an expectation and appreciation of what God will do as it is appreciation for what He has done. If only we could have the simplicity of faith that frees us to worship God when we face the bitterness of life instead of waiting for Him to prove Himself to us. He loves us infinitely, but He owes us nothing. Everything He does for us is His Mercy and goodness.” David Wilkerson
Exodus 15:1-13 New King James Version Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! 2 The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. 3 The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone. 6 “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You;
You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble. 8 And with the blast of Your nostrils
The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them.
13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation.
Getting Started
1. This message is not a rebuke for lack of faith. Life has its share of disappointment, despair, and even disillusionment.
2. We often misjudge God’s intentions because we tend to focus on His WORKS, instead of His WAYS. (Psalm 103:7 “He made known His ways to Moses; His acts to the children of Israel.”)
Background: The Exodus from Egypt
When the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land after hearing the report of the ten faithless spies in Numbers 13:31–33, they wanted to choose new leaders to take them back to Egypt (Numbers 14:1–4). At this rebellion, God was going to strike the entire nation down and start a new nation through Moses (Numbers 14:5–12). It was only through Moses’ pleading with the LORD for mercy that the Israelites were not destroyed (Numbers 14:13–20).
While Moses’ intercession saved the Israelites from total destruction, it did not save them from judgment. In Numbers 14:21–23, the LORD says, “But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it” (ESV, emphasis added).
No adult Israelites who departed Egypt in the exodus would be allowed to enter the Promised Land. At first glance, this seems like a particularly harsh punishment. However, the LORD was not judging the Israelites only for lacking the faith to enter the Promised Land. The Israelites had previously “tested” the LORD on ten separate occasions. It was the cumulative effect of all those incidents that led the LORD to pronounce this judgment on the Israelites.
What were the ten times the Israelites tested the LORD?
(1) Lacking faith before the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:11–12)
(2) Complaining over the bitter water at Marah (Exodus 15:24)
(3) Complaining in the Desert of Sin (Exodus 16:3)
(4) Collecting more manna than they were supposed to (Exodus 16:20)
(5) Attempting to collect manna on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:27–29)
(6) Complaining over the lack of water at Rephidim (Exodus 17:2–3)
(7) Engaging in idolatry in the golden calf incident (Exodus 32:7–10)
(8) Complaining at Taberah (Numbers 11:1–2)
(9) Complaining over the lack of food (Numbers 11:4)
(10) Failing to trust God and enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:1–4)
The Right Song on the Wrong Side was the beginning of a downward spiral that kept that generation from the inheritance that God had ready for them.
Simple Steps
Ø Learn to rein in your words in order to reign in your words.
Ø Give God time to move in your situation.
Ø Sing the song on the right side of your problem. We must never allow our carnal mind to control what we know and believe in our hearts!
A Deeper Level
Life Lessons
1. When we fail God as Israel did, we are losing sight of the final result God will accomplish. The Glory of His Name throughout all the earth!
2. Singing the Right Song on the Right Side is not about positive attitude or positive confession. There is a place for that, but we must never play word games in matters of faith.
3. Such endeavors often result in fatalism, elitism, or worse.
4. The focus is an expression of trust. The conviction that God will deliver us FROM or THROUGH. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
5. Even if God delivers us, it is often not BECAUSE of our trust, but IN SPITE of our unbelief.
6. God is not put off by our struggles. “I believe, but Lord help my unbelief!” He does not want us to be double-minded (lit. “two-souled”) that results in instability. (James 1:6-8 NKJV But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.)
7. The path of love deepens trust more than we imagine. It will never allow dishonor to come to the one we love. The statements of Israel is the equivalent of Christians today saying, “I believe in Jesus, but He is either unable or unwilling to do what He promised.”
The Broken Heart of Father God
· Our singing is not the basis for our salvation.
· Parents don’t punish children for doubting them. Their action should be to model security and love.
· In the darkest moment of His ministry, Jesus asked the Father to plant three things deeply in the hearts of His children:
Unity
Purity
Security
Right Song; Wrong Side 7.30.23
“Right Song; Wrong Side. The Children of Israel danced and sang a beautiful anthem when God delivered them from their greatest enemy, Pharaoh and the Army of Egypt. The problem they had wasn’t that morning’s worship. They sang the right song. The problem is they sang it on the wrong side of the Red Sea. I think we have the same problem today. We sing the right song, but too often we sing it on the wrong side. Worship is as much an expectation and appreciation of what God will do as it is appreciation for what He has done. If only we could have the simplicity of faith that frees us to worship God when we face the bitterness of life instead of waiting for Him to prove Himself to us. He loves us infinitely, but He owes us nothing. Everything He does for us is His Mercy and goodness.” David Wilkerson
Exodus 15:1-13 New King James Version Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! 2 The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. 3 The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone. 6 “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You;
You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble. 8 And with the blast of Your nostrils
The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them.
13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation.
Getting Started
1. This message is not a rebuke for lack of faith. Life has its share of disappointment, despair, and even disillusionment.
2. We often misjudge God’s intentions because we tend to focus on His WORKS, instead of His WAYS. (Psalm 103:7 “He made known His ways to Moses; His acts to the children of Israel.”)
Background: The Exodus from Egypt
When the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land after hearing the report of the ten faithless spies in Numbers 13:31–33, they wanted to choose new leaders to take them back to Egypt (Numbers 14:1–4). At this rebellion, God was going to strike the entire nation down and start a new nation through Moses (Numbers 14:5–12). It was only through Moses’ pleading with the LORD for mercy that the Israelites were not destroyed (Numbers 14:13–20).
While Moses’ intercession saved the Israelites from total destruction, it did not save them from judgment. In Numbers 14:21–23, the LORD says, “But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it” (ESV, emphasis added).
No adult Israelites who departed Egypt in the exodus would be allowed to enter the Promised Land. At first glance, this seems like a particularly harsh punishment. However, the LORD was not judging the Israelites only for lacking the faith to enter the Promised Land. The Israelites had previously “tested” the LORD on ten separate occasions. It was the cumulative effect of all those incidents that led the LORD to pronounce this judgment on the Israelites.
What were the ten times the Israelites tested the LORD?
(1) Lacking faith before the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:11–12)
(2) Complaining over the bitter water at Marah (Exodus 15:24)
(3) Complaining in the Desert of Sin (Exodus 16:3)
(4) Collecting more manna than they were supposed to (Exodus 16:20)
(5) Attempting to collect manna on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:27–29)
(6) Complaining over the lack of water at Rephidim (Exodus 17:2–3)
(7) Engaging in idolatry in the golden calf incident (Exodus 32:7–10)
(8) Complaining at Taberah (Numbers 11:1–2)
(9) Complaining over the lack of food (Numbers 11:4)
(10) Failing to trust God and enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:1–4)
The Right Song on the Wrong Side was the beginning of a downward spiral that kept that generation from the inheritance that God had ready for them.
Simple Steps
Ø Learn to rein in your words in order to reign in your words.
Ø Give God time to move in your situation.
Ø Sing the song on the right side of your problem. We must never allow our carnal mind to control what we know and believe in our hearts!
A Deeper Level
Life Lessons
1. When we fail God as Israel did, we are losing sight of the final result God will accomplish. The Glory of His Name throughout all the earth!
2. Singing the Right Song on the Right Side is not about positive attitude or positive confession. There is a place for that, but we must never play word games in matters of faith.
3. Such endeavors often result in fatalism, elitism, or worse.
4. The focus is an expression of trust. The conviction that God will deliver us FROM or THROUGH. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
5. Even if God delivers us, it is often not BECAUSE of our trust, but IN SPITE of our unbelief.
6. God is not put off by our struggles. “I believe, but Lord help my unbelief!” He does not want us to be double-minded (lit. “two-souled”) that results in instability. (James 1:6-8 NKJV But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.)
7. The path of love deepens trust more than we imagine. It will never allow dishonor to come to the one we love. The statements of Israel is the equivalent of Christians today saying, “I believe in Jesus, but He is either unable or unwilling to do what He promised.”
The Broken Heart of Father God
· Our singing is not the basis for our salvation.
· Parents don’t punish children for doubting them. Their action should be to model security and love.
· In the darkest moment of His ministry, Jesus asked the Father to plant three things deeply in the hearts of His children:
Unity
Purity
Security