Out of the Wilderness

Introduction

When we lived in Rapid City, we would travel back to Arkansas several times each year.

Most direct route was I-90 across SD to Sioux Falls, then straight down through Sioux City, Omaha, Kansas City, and finally Ft. Smith. 1100 miles of interstate. 17 hours straight through.

After crossing the Missouri in central SD, the stretch from there to Kansas City was the worst. (always tried to drive that at night.) Once we got down in to SW MO & NW AR, our hearts filled with anticipation as we drew closer and closer to our family.

I’ve always been the person that goes home on a different route than I take to get there - even though it might be a little farther.

When leaving FSM, I always enjoyed driving out across OK … into the panhandle … and then up through E. Colorado or W. Kansas and across the NE panhandle towns of Scottsbluff, Alliance, and Chadron. Finally as we got up to SD, the Black Hills would come into view. Can’t tell you how beautiful a sight it was to know you had finally reached home.

Becky hated it when I would go this way. I loved it. I love the two lane highways, small railroad towns, wide open spaces, grass & cattle & hogfarms as far as you can see, and the slower pace.

Going this way added around 200 miles to the trip … but I didn’t care. 200 miles is not so bad when you’re driving and your small kids are asleep.

But what if you were walking?

Have you ever looked on a map and drawn a straight line from Egypt to Canaan land?

➟ ➟ ➟ Where’s Mt. Sinai?

About a 200 mile detour to the east. Again, not a big deal if you’re driving. But if you’re walking … with no water or shade … well that’s a different story.

Have you ever wondered why God purposely detoured His people there?

I mean, why not go the most direct route, with a side-stop on a Mediterranean beach to give the people the law?

That’s certainly more pleasant than the barren wasteland of the wilderness of Sinai.

➟ ➟ ➟ Psalm 25:10 - all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and testimonies.

Did you catch that? all the paths.

Have you ever wondered about the paths God has led you down in your life? How straight has the path been?

➟ ➟ ➟ For me, not so much.

Where I am on the path presently is not a place I could have imagined a decade or two ago … and in some places, the twists and turns simply did not make sense at the time.

But as you think about your path … looking at the journey thus far, what can you learn about what is to come?

You never know what is coming next. There will be some detours on the way.

Sometimes these detours are going to be into the wilderness.

The term "wilderness experience" rarely, if ever, means a time or place of leisure.

A wilderness certainly is no oasis. In fact, by definition it is a remote environment devoid of all outward appeal, hope or comfort.

It is a hostile place where few would willingly go. Most of us actually would resist going into a wilderness, yet that is exactly where God directs us so that He can work on us.

These are the occasions where God breaks us, shapes us, and molds us into better people, who come out on the other side refined and better suited to do His work.

➟ ➟ ➟ As we study together this morning, we’ll learn that:

Trips into the wilderness are not always detours.

How to avoid a one-way trip into the wilderness.

Discover the only way out of the wilderness.

We’ll end today’s lesson by challenging you to give consideration to how you react to the wilderness.

Trips into the Wilderness are not always Detours

➟ ➟ ➟ Deuteronomy 8.2 shows us they are the times God impresses upon us our great need for Him. To humble us. To reveal to us what is on the inside of our heart. To test our character and see if we will actually follow through.

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.3 - that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

His aim for making us pass through it is to make it impossible for someone to say, “I got here by myself,” or “My own power and strength enabled me to survive.”

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.5 - know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.6 - the purpose is for us to learn to walk in His ways and by fearing Him.

Time in the wilderness is for the purpose of training … so that we may learn how to handle the great prosperity that God so wants to bless us with.

8.7-10 - For Israel … there was going to be a day in which:

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.9 - they would lack nothing.

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.10 - they would eat and be full.

Then would come the real test: 8.11-17.

It has been said that the real testing ground of life is in the promised land of prosperity. “The wilderness is the boot camp, the land of milk and honey is where the battle for the heart is finally fought.”

Look again at 8.12 and make the application to our time.

We have eaten and are full. We have built good houses and live in them.

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.13 - our silver and gold has multiplied … and all that we have has been multiplied.

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.14 - has our heart been lifted up? Have we, as a nation, forgotten the Lord?

➟ ➟ ➟ 8.17 - Have we said, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth?”

We are spoiled. We have worried little about our security and taken our comfort for granted. Our modern conveniences have made us self-reliant.

We have given our time to almost everything but God. For many now, in the culture, there is not even a thought of God.

Even Christians are not immune … as many of our personal weaknesses have been exposed that we thought we were doing a good job hiding or ignoring.

We professed to trust God and were proud to say we are committed to following. Now, the time of testing is here. How are we doing? Will we truly trust in the Lord?

We spoke highly of prayer … but in reality, how often were we opening up to God?

We emphasized the need for time in the Word. But, gradually God’s people have lost their reputation for being a people of the book.

You see, the time of prosperity that we’ve enjoyed as a nation for the last 75 years has come from God. ➟ ➟ ➟ 8.18 - for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.

We, collectively, have failed the test.

What we’ve failed to understand that there are far more fiery serpents and scorpions in our luxurious homes, affluence, and bountiful resources.

We’ve failed to see the danger of trusting in things .. and in ourselves … and have become self-reliant and full of pride.

These are the things that have flooded our lives and have been drowning our faith.

And so, I believe what has happened to us collectively over the past 7 weeks is God’s figuratively walking us back into the wilderness to try to get our attention.

That He is doing that, I believe, is a sign he hasn’t quite given up on us yet.

He is warning us / disciplining us / urging us to see Him; know Him; trust Him; depend on Him.

➟ ➟ ➟ How will we respond to God while we’re in the wilderness?

How will we prepare ourselves for how to exit the wilderness when things get back to some semblance of normalcy?

How to Avoid a One-Way Trip into the Wilderness

The Exodus journey begins in chapter 14, with a fabulous display of God’s immense power and deliverance at the Red Sea Crossing.

➟ ➟ ➟ Exodus 14.14: The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

➟ ➟ ➟ 14.30-31: Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians.

➟ ➟ ➟ Exodus 15-18 - This begins a 3 month journey to Sinai.

Exodus 19-Numbers 10.10 - covers an 18 month period where they remain at Sinai receiving the law and preparing for and building the tabernacle.

Numbers 10.11-14.45 - covers a 3 month period from Sinai through the wilderness of Paran, to the edge of the promised land … where spies are sent into the land.

If there were a collection of the most disappointing chapters in the Bible, the section covering Numbers 13-14 would certainly be somewhere on the list.

➟ ➟ ➟ 13.30 - Joshua/Caleb’s trust in God.

➟ ➟ ➟ 13.31 - the rest have no faith.

14.1-4 - the people revolt and begin the process of finding another leader to go back to Egypt.

➟ ➟ ➟ 14.10 - they were preparing to stone Moses/Aaron and Joshua/Caleb.

➟ ➟ ➟ 14.10b - can you imagine what this looked like?

14.20-25 - long story short, the only reason God relents from destroying Israel is because of Moses’ pleading.

Numbers 15-36.13 details 40 years of wilderness wanderings until everyone in the generation that came into Egypt had died.

Not a person who walked across the dry ground of the Red Sea could have imagined they would never leave the wilderness.

For everyone but Joshua and Caleb … it was a one-way trip.

Why?

➟ ➟ ➟ 14.22-23 - This was a generation that put God to the test.

They learned nothing through 2 years of testing and training.

Exodus 15.22 - just 3 days out from the Red Sea the people grumbled about no water.

Constantly murmured & complained. No patience. No faithfulness.

What happened when Moses tarried on the mountain receiving the law? Rebellion and treason against God.

This was a people who never trusted God.

➟ ➟ ➟ The failed to learn the principle of Proverbs 3.5-6

➟ ➟ ➟ Now, what about us?

Will our descent into the wilderness be a one way trip?

Will we test the Lord by refusing to learn the lesson He is trying to teach us during this temporary period of isolation, difficulty, and uncertainty?

Will we test Him by grumbling and complaining?

Most of our complaining is just whining. A failure to appreciate the good over the bad that may be surrounding us. The loss of a sense of gratitude.

There can be little difference between us and a spoiled kid who doesn’t appreciate his or her blessings.

Have you failed to appreciate the blessing of your spouse?

Have you embraced the opportunity to be at home with your children? (a day is coming when they’ll be gone)

Have you thanked God for how He has blessed you?

➟ ➟ ➟ James 3.17 - every good gift and every perfect gift is from above...

Always seeing the negative. Complaining. Worrying. Expecting the worst … is a sure way to test the Lord. In essence .. when we do this … we are showing just how idolatrous we really are … trusting only in ourselves and our power.

➟ ➟ ➟ Deuteronomy 8.19-20 - if we forget the Lord, we will perish. We’ll die in the wilderness.

The Only Way Out

The primary reason God leads us to the wilderness is to deflate our ego. Now this process is often painful. In fact, sometimes it will involve a crash course, complete with some head on collisions.

➟ ➟ ➟ Exodus 16.3 - on the way to Sinai - Israel finally understands their helplessness. They’re going to die without food. There is none.

➟ ➟ ➟ Exodus 16.4 - ➟ ➟ ➟ God says… 16.12-14 - God provides … abundantly.

What’s the lesson? Even in the wilderness, God provides more than we need.

➟ ➟ ➟ 16.18 - Each of them gathered as much as they could eat.

If you choose to, right now, in the wilderness, you can look and see how God is abundantly supplying you with just what you need.

God will make a feast for you in the desert .. if you’ll only ask and expect it.

Now, here’s the challenge. What will we do with it after God provides?

➟ ➟ ➟ Now, look at Numbers 11.5-6 - a year later - manna is old. They’re tired of it. They’ve forgotten where the supply comes from. Where’s their attitude?

Things go south when we focus only on ourselves and our personal comforts and what we want.

➟ ➟ ➟ 11.18-20 - God gives them meat - so much they will get sick of it too.

➟ ➟ ➟ 11.20b - You have rejected the Lord who is among you.

The only way out of the wilderness is to see Him among us while we are in it.

God is among us! In fact, God is in us, dear Christian friends!

The only way out is to reject our stubborn will and sense of forgetfulness!

➟ ➟ ➟ Remember Deuteronomy 8.16 - it’s all for a purpose. God wishes to humble and test us, to do you good in the end.

We need to embrace the times when we are stripped of everything that gives us the impression from our self-sufficiency.

We need to ramp up our thankfulness for God’s provision.

We need to learn to rest in God’s power.

Piper: All the good that comes to us is the assurance that every looming giant will fall before us as we march for the promised land on the road of obedience.

➟ ➟ ➟ Psalm 37.3-7

What Will You Do in the Wilderness?

➟ ➟ ➟ Will you allow God to deal with your sin?

God will use this time to go after hidden and unacknowledged sins.

Remember, in His mercy - he will take you there, not to harm you, but to deliver you.

➟ ➟ ➟ Will you allow God to reveal His provision?

The Lord has promised to care for you.

So allow Him to take you to the place where your only resource is Him.

➟ ➟ ➟ Will you allow God to break the strongholds in your life?

➟ ➟ ➟ Hosea 2.14-16 - God is going to remove from Israel all of which has distracted her by leading her to the valley of Achor for a door of hope.

The valley of Achor was where Achan and his family were judged. Achan’s sin filled Israel with weakness and it’s army lost a battle to an insignificant enemy. In that valley, Achan and all that pertained to him were removed from the camp and put to death.

Achan is a type of a captivating sin that leads us away from God’s purposes.

In His mercy, God will take you to the wilderness where the strongholds of materialism, greed, and self-reliance that have captivated you can be dealt with. God brings you there to set your free.

The hope is for you to come out on the other side closer and more confident in God.

The hope is for a more intimate relationship with God.

The hope is where you emerge out of the wilderness seeing Him as a husband … and not a master!

➟ ➟ ➟ Psalm 25.4-10 - all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and testimonies.

Don’t let the wilderness you’ve entered be a one - way trip. You can get through whatever is ahead … only through your dependence upon and trust in God.

➟ ➟ ➟ You know your entire life on this planet is in the wilderness. One day, God intends to lead you out of it into His eternal promised land. The only way to get out of here is to trust in Him now.

Will you trust Him today?