Sermon Tone Analysis

Desert

This morning, I have a proposal for you.

It might not seem likely at first, but I hope you soon come to realize the truth of this statement.

My proposal is this: We live in a desert.

Oh sure there might be trees and rain and green things.

And by the dictionary’s technical definition my proposal is way out of line.

But fortunately I base my definition of desert off of God’s word.

You see, nature itself is theological.

By looking at it, you can more easily grasp the deep truths of God.

The Lord teaches us additional lessons of himself through nature, made clear in his word.

For instance … when you see clouds, you are to think of the Lord’s second coming.

When we see clouds, we can look forward with the eschatological hope of our Lord’s return.

This is just one example from scripture.

And there’s others.

When we see rain, we are to think of the Lord’s provision.

When we see a rock, we are to think of God’s steadfastness, how he is a shelter and a fortress.

When we see the rainbow, we are to think of God’s promise to never again judge the entire earth through a deluge of water.

The seas speak to God’s ability to control what seems chaotic.

The lilies of the field remind us of the wisdom and pure beauty of God’s creation, and the confidence which we can place in our Lord’s provision.

And then there’s the desert.

The desert is to remind us of God’s faithfulness when seasons are tough.

Desert, throughout scripture, has been used as a picture of testing: refining, trials, tribulation.

God called Abram out of the land of Ur to wander in the desert.

The Lord led the people of Israel across the red sea and into the desert, where they wandered for 40 years.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days, and in Revelation the dragon (Satan) chases the woman who symbolizes the church into the wilderness, where she is tested but also has a place prepared by God and is nourished by him for a time, times, and half a time.

Desert is a strong theme throughout scripture, from beginning to end.

So my proposal is we live in a desert.

A spiritual desert where we have not yet experienced the full abundance of the Lord.

It’s like what David said in Psalm 63:1

We live in a dry and weary land where our soul is thirsty for the Lord: we need him for every ounce of our sustenance.

Our whole world is a desert, a vast wilderness in which we are pursued by the enemy of Christ and where we face trials and tribulations.

So we should not be surprised when tough things come our way: When friends pass away, and death lingers at the doorstep.

When we lose those who are close to us.

When children pass on before their parents.

When finances become tough and we tighten our belts a little more.

We should not be surprised when a natural disaster claims thousands of lives as the Lord did in Turkey this past week.

Such pains are the pains experienced by those in a desert, when the heat of the sun licks upon the skin and the seeming joys of this world become dried up, and do not seem to offer any means of escape or hope.

Behold, we all are in a desert, and the Lord is testing you, just as he tested the people of Israel.

But just because we live in a desert doesn’t mean God is unfaithful or that he doesn’t provide.

God uses the desert to shape and refine his people, just as he did to the people of Israel when they disobeyed him upon first reaching the border of the promised land.

Last week we talked about the discipline of the Lord, and how his discipline is righteous judgment … and the result is that you miss out on what the Lord is doing (at least, maybe for a season).

But this week I want to show you the other end of discipline: there’s benefit to being disciplined by the Lord.

Discipline is meant to humble your soul.

And once the Lord has brought you to a place of obedience and humility and hopefully increased wisdom, he will be able to work through you all the more.

His discipline is intentional, and it’s for your benefit.

This morning our passage speaks to the state of Israel wandering through the desert.

If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 2. And we will be reading verses 1 through 25.

And as we’re reading, I want you to note something: I want you to note the difference in reaction that Israel had to the Lord’s commands before the years spent in the wilderness versus after.

I want you to see what time in the desert wilderness can accomplish, according to the Lord’s working in his people.

So let’s read through our passage today, Deuteronomy 2:1-25 taking special note of this change in attitude.

Deuteronomy 2, beginning in verse 1:

Let us pray.

(pray)

So, we are in the wilderness.

But … what do you do when you are in the wilderness?

What do you do when you are in the wilderness?

What to do in the wilderness:

Follow in Favor

Finish off the Flesh

Give God the Glory

1. Follow in Favor

I grew up in a desert, if you can’t already tell from the vast number of moles on my skin.

It’s just one of the effects of being exposed to the sun for any length of time.

Marcus will attest that living in the desert is one of the worst places to live.

It’s nothing like the green glow of the Pacific Northwest.

But living in the desert taught me many lessons.

One of these lessons was the value and importance of water.

If the whole world is a wilderness, then the Lord is an oasis in a dry and weary land.

He is the pool of water that resides in the coolness of a cave, under the shade of a tree.

There are many who seek his cool relief.

But how does one attain such water?

God has made the way clear through covenant.

Stipulations for Israel: To obey God and to follow him in obedience, and then they will be blessed in the promised land (and thus be a blessing to others) or to follow after other gods and disobey the Lord, and be thrown out of the land.

In the wilderness, we see that the new generation of Israel has learned how to follow God in obedience.

The Lord leads them, men, women, children, priests, cattle, livestock, through the desert and up through hostile enemy territory up to the border of the promised land.

Israel follows the directions of the Lord.

Following means there are directions given.

Count how many commands are given in this passage.

And yet Israel has learned to follow God faithfully.

The Psalms put it this way:

(explain the imagery)

It’s important that we can learn how to walk on our own.

The Lord is training us up in the way that we should go.

And often that process takes time.

Sometimes it takes discipline: removing things from your life so that you are left with the bare minimum to survive.

And yet, even in the desert, there is life and sustenance.

So long as you turn to the right place to find it.

Traveling through a tough patch of desert is meant to draw you closer to the Lord as your source of strength.

The Lord gives you instructions to the next well, the next spring of water, the next shade of a tree.

And we need his instructions.

If we veer off of his instructions, it’s to our own detriment.

Have any of you ever been driving with your gps and you take a wrong turn, and it screws up your map?

You miss your exit, and you have to drive for another few miles before the next exit appears, and then you get off on that off-ramp and it’s seemingly impossible to turn around to go back the way that you came so that you can finally get to your exit?

It may have happened once or twice to me.

Not following the map that is laid in front of us, not obeying the leading of the Lord, can result in a long detour.

One that is not as enjoyable or pleasant.

And it often takes longer.

For Israel, the instructions were clear.

But what about for us?

What are our instructions?