This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

[Music] Welcome to day four of our look together through Revelation chapter 8.
We're walking through these trumpet calls of God, these trumpet calls of
judgment. Yesterday we looked at the first trumpet and we saw some signs that
were happening, some destruction happening on this earth that were very
reminiscent of the plagues that came upon Egypt and reminded ourselves that God
wants to turn hard hearts to him and he wants to open the door for his people to
be set free and that's what's happening in the book of Revelation.

Now the second trumpet sounds and with that a destruction of the third of the
sea, Revelation chapter 8 verse 8. The second angel sounded his trumpet and
something like a huge mountain all ablaze was thrown into the sea and a third of
the sea turned into blood. A third of the living creatures of the sea died and a
third of the ships were destroyed.

This is worldwide destruction that's coming upon the earth that causes everyone
to see this world is not a place that I can trust. I'm not going to hold on to
something that's being lost. Now not everyone will see that as we walk through
Revelation that's going to be revealed but God is allowing people to see the
truth about this world.

It is not to be trusted. It's going to go away. He could have just snapped his
fingers and the world would go away but instead he allows it to go through these
stages of destruction.

Why? For human beings to see what's coming, to see what's happening. The third
trumpet sounds in verse 10.

The third angel sounded his trumpet and a great star blazing like a torch fell
from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of
the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter and many people died
from the waters that had become bitter.

Now as you read what happened in this trumpet blast you can't miss the fact that
there was a name to this star, Wormwood. The idea of that name is the very idea
that's behind what happens to the waters. The name means bitterness.

The waters turned bitter. As you and I look at this third trumpet blast you need
to remember to realize that everyone in John's day who had familiarity with the
Old Testament would have immediately thought of a story. Something that God did
in the Old Testament when they read these verses.

They would have immediately thought of what happened in Exodus chapter 15.
Exodus chapter 15, let me read for you verses 23 to 25. When they came to a
place called Marah they could not drink the waters of Marah for they were bitter
and therefore it was named Marah.

So the people grumbled at Moses 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. So here is a place named bitterness in Moses' day,
Marah and thrown into that place of bitterness is a tree and the waters become
sweet.

The tree cast into the bitter waters made them sweet. And here is a star which
is also given a name. Not Marah but wormwood which means bitter.

And here this is cast into the waters and instead of making it sweet it makes it
bitter. The contrast here, the picture here is a contrast between Jesus Christ
giving his life for our sin and making that which is bitter sweet. That's the
idea of the tree here that's thrown into that water.

That's why God had them do that. God's had a plan from the very beginning. He's
unfolding that plan.

He's showing us the unfolding of that plan in the book of Revelation. The
contrast is between bitter water that is made sweet by the fact that Jesus
Christ gave his life on the cross for us and my trust in that and sweet water
that is made bitter. Bitter by my refusal to trust in Christ and instead casting
myself before him as a judge and not Savior.

You want Jesus Christ to be your Savior and not your judge because he gave his
life for your sin. They cried out to the Lord and he showed them. So you and I
as we cry out to the Lord in our everyday lives this is a picture of what
happens in your life as a believer and it's a picture of what's going to happen
at the end.

For you and I as believers if you think of Jesus Christ on the cross and what
he's done for you, he has taken the bitter in your life even the trials, even
the struggles and he brings to them the sweetness of his grace and his plan and
his healing and his comfort. He does not keep problems from happening in our
lives in this world. That's for heaven.

That will happen in heaven. But he uses those problems to grow us and we know
that someday we're going to have no more tears before him. The bitter has become
sweet because of Jesus Christ.

That's the place I want to live. That's the place God wants us to live. But the
opposite can become true.

If you're the person who says I'm going to have my own plan. I'm going to live
my own way till the end. And then if I get caught up in these end time events
get caught up in what's going to happen maybe then I'll trust in God.

But the problem with that is we get so attached to our plans. And when our plans
start to fail instead of trusting something else, someone else instead of
admitting our own faults we try to make our plans work one more time. We try to
hold on to our plans.

We try to hold on to this world even as it's falling apart. There is a day in
which Jesus Christ will come as judge and all that seems sweet in this world
will become bitter because I didn't trust in him. All the plans that I had that
I thought I was going to live they'll become bitter when we realize that my plan
is not what's going to prevail in the end.

So here's the question in this passage. As you look at what happened with this
third trumpet there's a spiritual question behind this. Do I trust Jesus Christ
to make bitter things in my life sweet things in my life?

That's the spiritual truth behind this. Now this is an actual event that's going
to happen. But it's an actual event with spiritual truth.

Just like the waters of Mara in the days of Moses an actual event with spiritual
truth. Here it is again. The fact is the waters of this world one day they're
going to become undrinkable bitter because God's going to be taken out.

And without God in it's always bitter. It's all bad. There's no good.

Because all goodness is in God. So go back to what happened at Mara. They were
grumbling.

Life was not working out as they wanted. And Moses took a tree representing a
cross and he cast it into that water and it made it sweet. Look at your life.

Maybe there's a bitterness in your life right now. Maybe you've never turned to
Christ and said Jesus Christ I need you. I need you to make the bitter sweet
with your comfort with your grace, with your plan.

I need your love. I need your forgiveness. Tell them right now.

Just in prayer say Jesus Christ I need your love. I need your forgiveness. And
as you live in that love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ you're going to
discover you have to keep applying this truth to your life.

Some of you may have been believers for many many years as you're listening to
this. But you're still bitter right now. Because instead of living in light of
the truth of the cross God's love for you, Jesus's forgiveness of you you're
living your plan.

And it's not working out like you want. And you're bitter right now. Let him
make the bitter sweet in your life.

By once again trusting in what only Jesus Christ can do. He has a plan even in
this. He has a purpose even in this.

God's plan extends all the way to eternity. Even if it never works out exactly
like you want in this world in the end you're going to see that God has a
greater plan than this world. Trust him in a fresh new way today.

He is the spring of living water. Jesus we need the water of life that only you
can give. We need the kind of life that only you can give.

So I pray, we pray that you would make the bitter sweet in our lives as we trust
in you. And you did that with our sins. The bitterness of our refusal to trust
in you our decision to trust in ourselves by your forgiveness you took that
which separated us from you and instead you made it you made it an expression of
your love for us by giving your life for us.

And so Lord we thank you. We trust you once again. In your name we thank you.

Amen. Join us tomorrow. We're going to look together at the fourth trumpet call
of God.