Good morning everyone. Great to see you. And I want to give you a very warm welcome. I want to share with you today some things that God has been speaking to me in my own life and in my own heart.
And I'd like to first of all invite you to turn in your Bible to the book of Deuteronomy and chapter 8. Deuteronomy and chapter 8. I'd like to read that verse 2. Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 2.
It says, remember the whole way the Lord your God led you. These 40 years in the wilderness that He might humble you, testing you to know what is in your heart. And 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 7. And it says, the testing of your faith or the tested genuineness of your faith is more precious than gold, though it be tried by fire.
I'd like to speak to you today about lessons in the wilderness. Lessons in the wilderness. I'm learning a lot in my life right now because God is taking me through somewhat of a spiritual wilderness. And if you're a believer, life is a wilderness.
And God tests us to know what is in our heart. He tests us like He did the children of Israel during those 40 years in the wilderness to see what's in our heart. What is it that God measures? I'm going to suggest to you that there are three things that God measures in our life.
Number one, He measures our attitude. Number two, He measures our devotion. And number three, He measures our faith. And a lot of this is inward.
And it's not visible to everybody that sees us in our life. On the outside, I might look like I'm strong and doing well, and everything's going good. But in the inside, in my heart before God, I could be struggling. Maybe I'm experiencing circumstances that are adverse.
And I am inwardly frustrating. Those circumstances of my life have frustrated me. How am I dealing with that? How am I dealing with these things before God?
What's my attitude? Well, these are some of the things that I'm learning. If you look at these two pictures, you will see that this is a wilderness, a place of no resources. And I don't know if you've been to Israel or some of the countries in the Arab region, but when you go out into the wilderness, you feel some of these things.
The wilderness is a place of no resources, no water, no vegetation, no shelter, no entertainment, just empty, quiet solitude, a parched land, a place where humans are made to feel their frailty, a place of utter dependence on God for survival, the wilderness. Sooner or later in your life, you're going to experience the wilderness. How are you going to react? When God brings a wilderness experience into your life.
What is going to be in your heart? And how are you going to deal with these things that God is bringing us through in order to test what's in our hearts? When the supply lines are cut off. When you're out of resources and there's no options.
When you feel alone, desperation sets in, and you start to lose heart, and you lose hope, and you feel like you are cut off from the things that are so necessary in your life. If you find yourself in a wilderness, it may be exactly where God wants you to be. Your wilderness experience today, it could be financial. Maybe you're out of resources.
And you feel like you just don't have enough funds to get by. Your wilderness and your experience, it could be emotional. You are going through a time of depression and anxiety. It could be a wilderness in your life where you've got relationship issues and challenges.
Maybe a loved one has passed away suddenly. Maybe you're going through a divorce. Maybe those key relationships in your life are cut off, and you're in the wilderness. I want to encourage you today, and I want to say from God's word that Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
No matter how bad your wilderness gets, I know what it's like. You lose your job. Things change dramatically. Circumstances are moving in an adverse condition in your life, and how are you going to deal with this?
I want to suggest to you today that the wilderness is a preparation for permanent change. The wilderness is preparation for permanent change. God works in the wildernesses of our lives to bring four things. Number one, He exposes our sin.
Number two, He tests our hearts. Number three, He heals our brokenness. Number four, He transforms our inner beings to be devoted to God alone. No more idols in our life.
Sometimes we don't like the wilderness experience. Has anyone here ever been through a spiritual wilderness? Anyone understand what I'm talking about? Anybody that can relate to this metaphor in our life where God is bringing us to trials, to test our faith, to challenge us, to see what's in us, and it's a time of learning and a time of dependence.
Well, the children of Israel went through a wilderness like this. And in that wilderness, they were tested by God. God supernaturally fed 2 million people every day in a wilderness like this for 40 years. There were no super stores.
There was no internet. There was no grocery store, not even a fridge. And one thing that God instructed His people when they were going through this wilderness, this is what He said. He said, collect only what you need each day.
No long-term storage. Don't hold on to something because you want to make sure you have enough for tomorrow. No, collect only what you need today. Can't you see those children of Israel when they were putting their children to bed in the tent?
And they were completely out of food. And they would say, you know, we're going to get up in the morning. We're going to go out into that desert, and God is going to provide mana for you. Can you relate to this in your day-to-day life?
When you're out of resources and you are fully dependent on God to move, to provide for you supernaturally. Is He able to do it? He absolutely is able to do it. Scripture records that God led them, and He fed them, and He provided for all their needs.
And He never failed them, not even one day. 40 years through the wilderness. It's super interesting to me that Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all record these words about Jesus. Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Have you ever considered that the wilderness experience that you are in right now is exactly where God wants you to be so He can test what's in your heart? That's what the Scripture says. The children of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness, and God tested them. I don't know if you are familiar with the passage in Numbers chapter 14.
And rather than read it, I want to summarize some of it for you. And I want you to get this because it's in direct relation to these four lessons that God's going to teach us about the wilderness. They had left the land of Egypt, supernaturally God had part of the sea, done all these miracles, brought them out into the desert, and God's plan was for them to go to Kanishbarnia and go into the Promised Land and fight giants and conquer territory and set up their new life in a land flowing with milk and honey. They get to the critical points in Numbers chapter 14, and 12 men go into spy out the land.
And 10 of them come back and they say, we can't do this. This is impossible. These guys are giants and fortified cities, and there's all kinds of monsters there. We cannot do this.
And they persuaded the people not to believe God. But there were two men there, Joshua and Caleb. And they said, our God is able. We can do this.
Let's go. And the people gathered together in Numbers chapter 14, and it says, all the people grumbled and complained. And here's what they said. We'd be better off if we died in Egypt.
We should have just died in this wilderness. What has God do it? We cannot deal with this any longer. Essentially, the people said this, I quit.
I'm done with this life with God. I quit. That's essentially what they said. And the anger of the Lord was kindled.
And God says in Numbers chapter 14, how long will these people despise me? How long will they not believe in me? God said, I am going to destroy these people. I am going to wipe them out.
And Moses said, God, please, please don't wipe out these people. They are your people. And the nations will blaspheme. And Moses interceded for the people.
And God said, OK, I will pardon them. But they are going to wander in this desert for 40 years, a year for every day that they tested me when they would not believe me. And God said in Numbers 14 and 33, He said, they will wander in the wilderness until they die. You know what I've written over that verse?
The two million and the two men. Two million did not believe God and they died. Two men believed God. And they entered into the land.
Let me ask you a challenging question today. Which one are you? Are you the two million that are just going to groan and crumble and complain and be in unbelief? You know what's about Caleb and Joshua?
They wholly followed me in their heart. Can I ask you a question today? I don't know what experiences or circumstances you're dealing with in life. But I'm speaking to you from my heart because I'm dealing with some circumstances.
And this is what God's speaking to me. John, are you going to follow me with your whole heart? Are you all in with God? Are you willing to believe God?
Are you able to trust God? Because to the one who believes God has amazing things prepared for you in your life. Joshua and Caleb followed me with their whole heart and they entered into the land. I want to invite you to turn to Psalm 78.
And I want you to read these words. I couldn't get them all up on the screen, so I just kind of highlighted a number of key points. But look at Psalm 78. In Psalm 78, here is a summary.
This Psalm is entitled this. Tell the coming generation. Tell them what happened in the wilderness. In verse 7, it says, Tell this coming generation that they should set their hope in God.
Set your hope in God. Tell them that they should not be like their fathers who were stubborn and rebellious. Tell them that their heart should be steadfast in God. That they should not forget his works verse 11.
Tell them to remember what God did. Verse 13, He parted the sea and He let them pass through on dry land. Maybe you are at the edge of a sea in your life and you're wondering what's God going to do? We're going to read a little bit about this later on, hopefully.
He led them by day with a cloud and at night with fire. He split their rocks. He gave them to drink abundantly. Yet they sinned in their heart.
They tested God in their heart, demanding the food that they craved. And they spoke against God and in verse 22, they did not believe. These are tremendous lessons. Tell the generation to come, these lessons.
I want to share with you a summary that Paul wrote about these people in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. I want to show you a few verses about these people. It says, for I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud.
They all passed through the sea. Verse 3, they all ate of the same spiritual food. They all drank of the same spiritual drink. They drank from that spiritual rock that followed them.
That rock was Christ. Look at verse 5. Nevertheless, with most of them, the two million, with most of them, God was not pleased. They were overthrown in the wilderness.
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Don't be idolaters. Some of them were. These people sat down to eat and drink.
They rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality, as some of them did. 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed, nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Now these things all happened as an example, and they were written down for our instruction. Look at verse 12. Therefore let anyone who thinks they stand, take heed, lest they fall. No temptation has overtaken you than that which is common to man.
God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted above what you are able. But with the temptation, He will provide a way of escape so that you may be able to endure it. Lessons in the wilderness.
What are these lessons? I want to share with you four lessons that God taught these people. And I have to tell you this, God is teaching me these four lessons right now in my life. And that's why I'm talking about them.
Because they came back to me so clearly in my own personal dealings with God. And number one is the lesson of demeanor. Do you know what demeanor is? It is the outward behavior that's manifested from an inward attitude of heart.
So if I'm frustrated with God, frustrated with my circumstances, and I'm lashing out at people, then that outward demeanor is completely unbecoming. I'd like to ask you to turn to Exodus chapter three for a moment. Go to Exodus chapter three and we're going to learn this lesson. An amazing lesson that God taught Moses.
Exodus chapter three, and I want you to read verse 11 with me. Moses is at the burning bush. God has called him to go to Egypt. Moses has a past.
Moses has a history that's bothering him. Moses says to God, who am I? Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? And God said, I will be with you.
And this shall be a sign for you that I have sent you. Who am I? You know, there's a huge lesson here. It's a lesson that God taught Moses in migness and humility.
Has God ever taught you the lesson of humility? It's humbling. It really is. And when you see yourself and when you see who God is and you realize how broken you are and how unworthy you are, you know what you feel like?
You feel like Moses who said, who am I? But let me tell you this. Moses was not always like this. Forty years ago, Moses was raised in Egypt and one day he saw an Egyptian beating a fellow Hebrew.
Moses became outraged and violent. Moses murdered that man, killed him, looked around, buried him in the sand, and he committed murder. That was not the outward demeanor of a quiet or meek spirit. It was not in humility.
Moses was actually violent. And then he fled Egypt and you know the story. God led him to 40 years in the backside of the desert. And then actually in his life, another 40 years.
Moses, 120 years spent 80 years in the wilderness. 40 years learning God and 40 years leading the people of God in the wilderness. You know what I think happened to Moses? He became a broken man.
Moses was thinking about his past failures. And Moses was thinking about his unworthiness. And Moses was saying, I can't do this, God. Who am I?
How could I possibly go after I killed this man? You know, there's a warrant for my arrest. I'm wanted in this place. I can't, I don't want to go face these things.
And Moses hears these words from God. He says, you go and I will be with you. We heard about Isaiah this morning. Isaiah sees the Lord and he's broken.
He says, I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst people that are unclean. How can I do this? And God says, go. Maybe God's calling you to do something in your life today and you feel unworthy.
Maybe you have a task before you and you feel you can't do it. Well, God will give you the strength if you have the right attitude. What is your attitude today? The lesson of demeanor.
You know, we read what God values. And I'm learning this myself. In 1 Peter chapter three and verse four, this is what it says that God values. God values the hidden man of the heart, a meek and a quiet spirit.
That's what God values. When the Lord Jesus came and he lived his life in public ministry. Do you know how he was described? The meek and lowly Jesus.
The one who came with tenderness. Is there a tenderness in your heart? Have the trials in your life broken you down? Has God molded the inner man through the experiences of the wilderness to shape you and to change you and to make you in a condition that God can use?
That's what God did to Moses, the lesson of demeanor. A meek and a quiet spirit. ESV says is imperishable beauty. And in the sight of God, it's very precious.
Let's go to Exodus chapter 12. Look at Exodus chapter 12 and verse 1. They're about to leave Egypt. God has showed his supreme power and control.
And Moses and Aaron are about to go out. And the Lord says to Moses and Aaron, this month shall be to you. The beginning of months. Tell the congregation of Israel, every man, take a lamb.
The lesson of devotion. And in time to come, their children are going to say, what does this mean? Exodus chapter 12 and verse 25. And when you come into this land that the Lord will give you as he promised.
And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? You will say to them, it is a sacrifice. It is the Lord's Passover. For he passed over the houses of the people of Israel and Egypt.
And he struck the Egyptians, but he spared our houses and all the people bowed their heads and worshiped. I need to ask us all today, if we have learned the lesson of devotion, is there a devotion in your heart for God? Is there a devotion in your soul of deep appreciation for the lamb? The lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist pointed to him and he said, behold, the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Let me ask you a question today. Has your sin been taken away? Have you ever come to a personal point of devotion in your life before God?
Where you bow the knees and you said, oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And God points to lamb the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. He died for my sins. He is the one who is worthy, not I, but Christ is worthy.
A point of devotion is a point of death to self. When you realize I am a guilty sinner, I deserve nothing but the punishment of God for my sins. But Jesus Christ, God's son, became the lamb. His blood was shed.
He died on the cross to purchase me. And I devote the rest of my life to Jesus Christ. Have you ever come to that point? Let me tell you that if not, and you live your life without Jesus Christ, you will die in your sins and you will be in hell.
You will die under the righteous judgment and wrath of God. Scripture says, he that believeeth on the son has everlasting life. He that believes not on the son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. A lesson of devotion.
You know, I can think of those children when their dad would take that lamb and slit its throat and gather the blood in a bowl and take the hiss up and put it on the door. A visual reminder of the blood that was shed. I can see those children saying, Daddy, what are you doing? What's this all about?
And then stepping down and saying to their little boy, their little girl, the destroying angel of death is coming through the land. And everyone who's not sheltered by the blood will be destroyed. What a visual reminder. Are you sheltered by the blood of Jesus Christ?
The blood of Jesus Christ, God, Son, cleanses us from all sin. There's no other way. And if my life is going to begin, like it says, the beginning of days, I need to get to a point of devotion where I bow my soul, my life, my all. And I say, Jesus, I will trust you.
I will trust you with my soul guilty, lost and helpless. You can make me whole. A lesson of demeanor, a meek and a quiet spirit. If you are proud, God resists the proud.
He gives grace to the humble. If you are devoted to the Lord, He will take care of all your needs. The greatest need that you have is the salvation of your soul. Your sin will be forgiven.
You need to be redeemed. Or, and again, under new ownership, constant reminder. You know what He said? Every year, you will remember this.
And it shall be a statute for all the generations to come. You will remember this. We do remember the cross. We remember the Lord Jesus Christ and His death burial and resurrection.
It brings us back to that point of devotion. A lesson of demeanor, a lesson of devotion. How about a lesson of dependence? This is an amazing lesson that I'm learning right now in my life.
Turn over to Exodus chapter 13 and just read verse 21. What a beautiful comfort this is. Let me tell you this believer. It doesn't matter what you pass through in your life.
It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you have no funds. It doesn't matter if you have no food. It doesn't matter if you have no job.
It doesn't matter if your health is failing. You get that terminal diagnosis. None of those things matter if you are following the Lord. And here's the comfort.
And the Lord went before them. Exodus 13 and 21. The Lord went before them. Whatever you're facing in your life, God is going before you.
Amen. And He will guide you with a pillar of cloud and a fire by night. And He will lead them along the way that they might travel by day or by night. And the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from the people.
This is our guarantee that all through my life, the pillar and the fire, the presence of God will not depart from me. Moses said, how will I know? Who will go with me up into that land? And God said, my presence will go with you.
And I will give you peace, the lesson of dependence. So what happens when this actually is a real legitimate test in my life? Okay, look at verse 13. Watch this.
The people leave Egypt and the armies of Egypt are traveling behind them. They're going to destroy them. And the children of Israel come to a brick wall, the Red Sea. And it's right before them.
And they look back and they're being chased by the armies. And they look in front of them. And there's no way out. They're done.
They're trapped. They're freaking out in today's language. Verse 13, Moses said to the people, fear not. That's hard.
Fear not. Here's even harder. Stand still. Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today.
I have seen this in my personal life. Fear not. Stand firm on your convictions and see the salvation of the Lord. I don't know what your Red Sea is.
And I don't know what's behind you. But I know who's with you. And it is God. Fear not.
Stand still and see the waters will part. The door will open. God will lead you in His time and in His will. The lesson of dependence.
That is a huge practical lesson in our life. Okay. Let's go to the last lesson. Exodus 16, they get through all that.
They see all the miracles, all the marvelous wonders. And they get to 16 and they're in the wilderness and there's no water. And what do they do? Chapter 16, the whole congregation grumble and complain against Moses and Aaron.
They said, why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? We are so much better off in Egypt. And the remember the food that they had in Egypt. And the Lord said to Moses, I will reign bread from heaven for these people.
Moses is distraught and the people are speaking of stoning him. And he goes into his tent and he falls down before God and he cries. I can see Moses. He's like, if he's got hair, he's pulling his hair out.
And he's saying, what am I going to do with these people? And here's what God says. Get up and go on. That's what he says.
Get up and go on. I will go before you and we'll go to the Mount of Horeb and you will strike the rock and the water will gush out and the people will be abundantly satisfied. You know this lesson in our life? The lesson of grumbling and complaining.
The lesson of discontentment. I don't know about you, but sometimes I find myself grumbling and complaining. We think that that's a little sin. It was the reason that two million people died in the wilderness.
It's not a little sin to grumble and complain against the Lord and be in stubbornness of heart with determined unbelief. That is a gross sin in the sight of God. And yet so often, instead of being thankful and grateful and overflowing with worship and devotion in my heart, I find myself grumbling and complaining. The weather's not good today.
This is crazy. You know what? I don't have enough money in my bank account. I got this bill that paid.
I'm late for this meeting. I come running out. I have a ticket on my windshield. What is going on?
These are real life issues. And you know what's happening? I'm grumbling and complaining. And the Lord is testing my heart.
He's testing you. Lessons in the wilderness. The lesson of demeanor is my attitude right. The lesson of devotion.
Do I worship Jesus Christ? The lesson of dependence. Am I depending on God? The lesson of discontentment.
Am I grumbling and complaining? You know, sometimes pastors and creatures have a benediction. We don't do that here. But I'm going to give you a benediction.
Here's my benediction to you. Philippians 4 and 12. And Paul wrote these words from a prison cell in Rome. Here's what Paul wrote.
Philippians 4 and 12. And this is my benediction to you today. I know how to be brought low. And I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and facing hunger. Of abundance and of need. And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Be encouraged, Church.
Follow God. Trust in Him despite your circumstances and worship the Lord only. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for the word of God.
We thank You Lord for these lessons that You are teaching each one of us in our lives. May we love You. May we be devoted to You. May we be faithful.
Despite our circumstances, God give us courage. Give us faith. Give us a right attitude. Help us to be good role models for our children.
For our wives, for our husbands. And we would help us to have that hidden man in the heart that is a quiet and a meek spirit. Which in the sight of God is of great value. We love You Lord.
We know that You've led us all this way in our life. And we trust You for all that's to come. And we praise You for all that's past. And we pray that You would help us.
Whatever we face this week to go out from this church today with encouragement. Knowing that You will be with us. We give thanks in Jesus' name. Amen.
We're going to sing Lord I need You. Every hour I need You.