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Show LOST OR BEING LED "Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the (Exodus 22) "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (Matthew 4: 1) wilderness. " 15: " The student through the had made a struggling to make it He thought maybe he was class. bad choice:AJHovi, 1i/1 finally completed the course of study and was offered a job with full pay while he continued to study. I came to Salt Lake City wondering why, was I lost in the wilderness for punishment or not. The desert was barren of water and my culture. Attitudes were different. Nobody I knew lived here. A year later, the pastor resigned, the congregation asked me to stay, and the rest is 37 years of history. Many of us find ourselves stuck in difficult situation, bad circumstanc4es, and unusual places. We feel as if we are lost with no way out. Somehow, we have arrived in the wilderness where everything is dried up, nothing is alive, and less is growing. Some of us have living in the wilderness so long, we feel trapped and hopeless. We do not see things changing and have concluded that God must be out to get us or punish us. That He brought us here with no food, no water, no housing, and not even a place to bury our dead. Although we tried to change our situations, all of our efforts been have failed. Many of us think that way because of what happened to Jesus. You remember, right after He was baptized, "a voice form heaven came saying, thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.. And immediately, the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness." (Mark 1: 11-12) don't stop there. Look at what happened. "And he was three in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beasts: and the angels ministered unto him." (Mark 1 : 13) Although he was tempted by Satan and with the wild beasts, the angels came and ministered to Him. That is what gives us hope. In Exodus 3: 8, God met Moses backside of the desert at the on burning bush. He told him that the cries of His the people had been heard and it was time for a change. God was going to deliver His people from bondage and into a good land and a large land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And He did deliver them from bondage, but not where they were dreaming about. They found themselves in the wilderness where they stayed for the next forty years. What do you do when you find yourself in the wilderness? Has God left you carrying you? Are you lost or Well, I want to children of Israel for a purpose. It or is He being led? suggest that the were in the wilderness Godly and Divine doing something was a purpose. God was special for them and with them and in them. Of course, there was a shorter route to the promised land. "God did not by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near." (Exodus 13: 17)· I like to remind people that the wilderness were just on the other side of the mountain. That's the only lead them way Moses could have gone up to the and seen the promised land. So when you end up in the wilderness, know that God has a top purpose being there. Even when the ground is parched and the crops are not growing and the route is longer and the journey is rough, sometimes it better for you to go around Jericho, to go through the valley of shadows of death, to experience the wilderness, to sleep on a stone. Your wilderness is the doorway to God's promises. Your wilderness is the opportunity for resurrection. Your for you wilderness is Your a sleeping place place of your getting your ready is the dreams. God is of preparation. for what He has in store for you. The angels of God are poised and ready to minister What you learn in your wilderness is what will keep and sustain unto you. you in your promised land. What you experience in you weakness will keep you from fainting and losing heart. "Lift up your head and be ye lifted up and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord ... ... strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads even lift them up and the King of glory shall come in. ... ... King of glory? The Lord of is the King of glory." (Psalm Who is this hosts, He 24: 7-10) |
