Blessings in the Wilderness
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God Will Make a Way
God Will Make a Way
Read Scripture- NASB “Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
We all have been in situations where we just don’t know how we are going to make it sometimes.
We were encouraged last week about God calling us to his office and being blessed in the desert wilderness.
God likes to use dry places to talk to us because there are no distractions there.
Today, we continue our series on the wilderness and how God blesses us there.
Our wilderness experience can be painful, it can be difficult and it can it can be challenging. It’s no fun there so we try to help God out by doing all we can to hurry the process.
What happens when you bake a cake and the directions say leave in oven for 30 minutes but you want to eat it so bad, you take it out in 20 minutes. No good! You are going to have to throw that cake away.
What if the directions call for you to bake the cake for 30 minutes at 350 deg but you’re in a hurry so you bump up the temp to 450 deg. No good! That cake won’t be able to pass for cajun.
We can’t shortcut the process.
We get excited talking about the destiny that some will name their children Destiny but not too many people will name their children Journey.
The journey is what we don’t get excited about. The journey is what leaves a mark. The journey is what is absolutely necessary for us to grow.
We are all on a journey!
Don’t Help the Chick
Don’t Help the Chick
How many of you know that you should never help a chick out of its shell?
It takes about 21 days for a chick to be ready to start the process of exiting its shell. It does what is called pipping where it starts to use its beak to start cracking the shell.
This is a struggle for the chick. It will start and stop to rest over and over again. Now, if you are watching this process you may want to help the chick because you know its struggling. This process alone can take upwards to 24 hours. This chick is battling to get out of the shell for almost 2 days.
You can’t interfere because it’s struggle is what is going to help the chick to live.
If you help during this process, you can cause it to bleed to death because it is still finalizing its development, you can interfere with the oxygen and humidity levels it needs to come out, all the yolk has to fully absorbed in to the chick because this is the nutrients it needs to survive while in the shell.
If you interfere with the process, you can produce chicks with special needs. The chick will be dependent on your care for the rest of their life. You may have some kids, family members, or friends who are dependent on you now because you interfered with their process. Watch this, the chick can become disabled because you tried to help it while its in the process.
How many people did you help become disabled??? Oh, you don’t want to talk back to me.
A New Thing
A New Thing
I’m just going to say it. I believe God has a sense of humor. Why? Because he directly connects something new to the wilderness.
New stuff from God is tied to the wilderness.
He says, “It’s going to spring forth.” It’s going to grow! It’s going to spring up!
This reminds me of Pastor Brian’s word a couple weeks ago, “suddenly.”
When this new thing happens, it will catch you off guard because it’s going to happen suddenly.
I like those kind of blessings but this blessing will spring forth through your trial, through your tough time, and through darkest hour.
God is saying it is going to spring up!
A New Thing
A New Thing
The desert wilderness is a part of our process. We’ve got to go through it. Tell your neighbor, “You’ve got to go through it.”
I want you to catch this though. Not only is God going to do a new thing. He’s going to do it in the desert!
I want to bless somebody today.
God is going to bring you out just in a different way, a new way.
Yes, If he’s done it before, he will do it again but God wants us to know that this time, he is going to do it a new way.
Why? He wants our expectations to be up!
How many times has the Lord blessed you? Many times right? Sometimes we can get comfortable in what God has already done.
The children of Israel had experienced God part the Red Sea and they escaped the enemy and approaching soldiers of Pharaoh on dry land. The sea closed up after they all crossed over and swallows up pharaoh and his army.
This is a big deal! Just imagine that! Pretty amazing. Seems like something people would be talking about for a long time but what happens? They eventually move that miracle to the back burner and it becomes less of a story.
God is reminding them here that he is God and the same power that parted the Red Sea to deliver them from the Egyptians, is the same power that will bring them deliverance from the Babylonians. So, they should be alert and open to what he is about to do next.
See, this is not just about the new thing. It’s about preparing yourself for what God is going to do next.
He tells them what he is going to do. He says, “I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Watch this! The wilderness and desert that he speaks of here is not the same Hebrew word.
Last week, we learned that midbar means desert or wilderness but the word derives form the root davar which means which means to speak.
Yes, If he’s done it before, he will do it again but God wants us to know that this time, he is going to do it a new way.
So it’s the place God speaks and the place to hear his voice.
The scripture says, “I will even make a roadway in the wilderness.” This is not midbar, the place to hear his voice. The Hebrew word for this wilderness in this instance is yeshimon. It means wastleand.
Why? He wants our expectations to be up!
Wasteland - a bleak, unattractive, and unused or neglected area. It’s barren.
This is an area you would want to go around and avoid but God is saying “I’m doing a new thing!”
Is there anybody here facing any obstacles, any road blocks, any mountains?
God has a Sense of Humor
God has a Sense of Humor
I’m just going to say it. I believe God has a sense of humor. Why? Because he directly connects something new to the wilderness., a wasteland, a dump.
New stuff from God is tied to the wilderness experience.
He says, “It’s going to spring forth.” It’s going to grow! It’s going to spring up!
This reminds me of Pastor Brian’s word a couple weeks ago, “suddenly.”
When this new thing happens, it will catch you off guard because it’s going to happen suddenly.
I like those kind of blessings but this blessing will spring forth through your trial, through your tough time, and through your darkest hour.
God is saying it is going to spring up!
New Also Means Fresh
New Also Means Fresh
The word new also means fresh. Fresh means not previously known or used.
God is getting ready to blow your mind because he is getting ready to do something in your life that is not only new but it’s going to be something you’ve never experienced before.
We’ve received new things before but God is giving us new and fresh experiences with him. He wants to show us his power. He doesn’t want us to confuse him with anybody else.
This is how we learn more about God when we experience him in new ways like this.
So be present in the process! Be aware of what God is doing because he has already begun doing it.
The worse thing we could do is to think about how God did it yesterday. Sometimes we can miss what God is doing for us because our expectations are set on the past.
God is set on something new and fresh when your situation looks the most bleak so be looking for it.
What’s your posture when you are going through? This is message today is to build you up. Get ready for something new! Everyday you are in the wilderness, you should have an expectation that today is the day. Today, is the day God is going to do it. Today is the day, God will make a way out of no way. This should be our expectation everyday we’re waiting on God to show up. Give God expectation to feed!
A Way
A Way
How many times has the Lord blessed you? Many times right, but sometimes we can get comfortable in what God has done already.
The children of Israel had experienced God part the Red Sea and they escaped the enemy and approaching soldiers of Pharaoh on dry land. The sea closed up after they all crossed over and swallows up pharaoh and his army.
The word for roadway used here in the scripture is really the word way. The text should read “God is going to make a way in the wilderness!”
This is a big deal! Just imagine that! Pretty amazing. Seems like something people would be talking about for a long time but what happens? They eventually move that miracle to the back burner and it becomes less of a story.
Somebody needs to hear this today but God is making a path for you, he is making a route for you. I don’t think you are understanding me but God is making a way for you to get from this place, the place of barrenness and unfruitfulness to the “pay attention here” the midbar! To the midbar, to the desert where God speaks, to the place you hear his voice.
God is reminding them here that he is God and the same power that parted the Red Sea to deliver them from the Egyptians, is the same power that will bring them deliverance from the Babylonians. So, they should be alert and open to what he is about to do next.
He sets a path for you to get out of now way. No way is a place! He makes a way for the children of Israel to not only get out of Egypt but to leave Egypt rich. Pharoah is after them and he makes a way in the red sea. Bartimeaus was blind but God makes a way for him to see. The woman with the issue of blood struggled with her illness for years and spent all her money but God made a way for her to be healed. The lame man at the pool at Bethesda was ill for 38 years and couldn’t walk but God made a way for him to walk again. When Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, he comes across 10 men with leprosy, they call out to Jesus when they se Him and Jesus makes a way for them to be healed.
Jesus has made a way for you. Whatever your circumstance is, it’s nothing God can’t change, it’s nothing God can’t turn around.
He tells them what he is going to do here. He says, “I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
God of Miracles
God of Miracles
Watch this! The wilderness that he speaks of here is not the same word use for desert in this scripture.
Last week, we learned that midbar means desert or wilderness but the word derives form the root davar which means
He’s even made a way in you. I want you to know how much of a miracle worker God is in that he made you a miracle.
There is life in you. We have a heart in us that pumps our blood to keep us alive. If we waste our time or live reckless, our heart still pumps to keep us going.
When you want to quit and give up, your heart fights to keep pumping to keep you alive. So even though we go through hard times and may not be happy about our life, things are not going our way, people have hurt us, we have disappointments and frustrations, and sometimes have thoughts that the world is better off without us, something in us keeps on fighting, keeps on pumping, even though we want to throw in the towel.
So what are you saying pastor? No matter what we go through, we should live a life that shows our heart is beating. So no more taking life for granted, we’re not going to wastes any more time, we’re going to stop wasting moments and create memories and live our life to the fullest for God!
Rivers in the Midbar
Rivers in the Midbar
Because of the dry conditions, most deserts do not have streams or rivers that run all year long. Streams that flow intermittently would occur due to the result of periods of sudden rainfall .
God is making a way for you to get to the place to hear his voice with deserts that have rivers without rainfall. Jesus is trying to get us to depend on Him because he has placed rivers of life on the inside of us. Out of our bellies will flow rivers of living what? Water!
Last week, we had the voice of God in the desert and this week God wants you to have the rivers of living water. We will never thirst again with this water!
He’s taken us from wastelands and desolation to being aware of his presence and the life of the spirit flowing. So, don’t rush the process.
God is doing something good so we need to expect God to do it in a way we never experienced it before. He’s doing a new thing!
This is a season of new and fresh I declare in Jesus name.
Closing
Closing
We can’t rush what God is doing in our lives. He knows what we are going through but he is a good father.
He doesn’t want our help. He wants our trust.
Today, there may be somebody here who needs to repent and I don’t mean to ask God for forgiveness. I mean you need to turn to God in your situation.
You need to submit to his will for your life. Your struggle is real but like the chick, God uses our struggle to keep us alive. God knows what he is doing.
We have to trust him with our very life, every detail of it. God can handle it. Everything God is taking you through now is to provide for you. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider.
Let God be that. He brings you to the wasteland on purpose to show you no matter how bad it looks, God can still make a way.
If this message was for you, I want you to come to the alter. If you are ready to receive this life flowing water from God, come to the altar.
If you have been trying to help God and rush the process but today you have made a decision to let him do a new and fresh thing in your situation, come to the altar. We have people here who will pray and agree with you for the will of the Father in your life.