THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS

THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS

Right now, we are living in a different arena of life. There is concern not only about this time, but what the future will hold. To me it seems like we are wandering around in a wilderness, a place where things are difficult, where resources are scarce, and where drudgery is a constant companion.

The Bible talks a lot about the wilderness. Israel journeyed 40 years in the wilderness; Jesus was 40 days in the wilderness; John the Baptist lived in the wilderness; Paul met with God for two years in the wilderness!

This current time is a time of struggle; struggles with schedules, struggles with finances, struggles with children, struggles with priorities, struggles with loneliness, struggles with relationships, struggles with boredom, struggles with uncertainty, sometimes even struggles with the very essentials of life.

This is also a time of opportunities: a time to grow, a time to develop, a time of discipline, a time of creativity, a time to love and be loved, a time with God, a time of trust, a time of faith.

As I thought about this the Lord reminded me of a passage in the Bible about “the church in the wilderness”. It struck me that this is where the church is, where His people are. We are wondering in a wilderness both personally and collectively. We don’t know what the church will look like when this is over; we don’t know what life will look like when this is over.

In his sermon in Acts 7, the martyr/deacon Stephen referred to “the church in the wilderness”.

Acts 7:38–39 (NKJV) This is he (Moses) who was in the congregation (church) in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts, they turned back to Egypt,

We are in a transitional time. We are not what we were, but we are not what we will be as people, as the church, as society, as professionals. Please do not let this time turn your hearts back to Egypt, the world, the things the enemy has to offer. Moses was with his people, but during his time he spoke of a greater Moses who would come, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would be us in every situation!

Israel lived in transition between Egypt and the Promised Land. Jesus lived in transition between His earthly body and His heavenly body. We are living in transition now between what we were before we came to Jesus and what we will be when Jesus comes again.

1 John 3:2–3 (NKJV) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

So the question becomes: How should we live in this time of transition? The Bible gives us some pretty clear instructions. Let’s look at some instructions Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 10. This morning I am using the Message translation.

1 Corinthians 10:1–5 (MSG) Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God’s fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.

The wilderness can be a place of death or it can be a defining moment in our lives. It can be a furnace of affliction or the kiln that fires the finest china. We make the choice.

Paul goes on to talk about five things to avoid in the wilderness. Let’s read about them and then make them into some action points. Again, we are reading from the Message translation.

1 Corinthians 10:6–10 (MSG) 6 The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did.

1. Don’t desire your own way.

Israel wanted things their way. They were dissatisfied with what God had provided, the direction they were going, and the leader God had chosen! The essence of all sin is wanting what we want when we want it. We want it our way.

7 And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did — “First the people partied, then they threw a dance.”

2. Don’t use your religion for selfish reasons.

When Moses was on Mount Sinai getting the Law, Israel went back to idol worship which featured sensual, self-serving partying as they danced before the golden calf, a god of their own making.

8 We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day!

During their journey, Israel entered into Baal worship with the Moabites. This worship was based on sexual debauchery.

3. Don’t let your life be just a search for pleasure.

We must be cautious because times of stress can be fertile ground for addictive behavior as people seek to find relief from the situation.

9 We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes.

4. Don’t make God a means to an end.

Israel has begged God for help in defeating the Canaanites. God gave them the victory. Afterwards they complained about God’s provision. Snakes came and began to bite them. They cried out to Moses to save them because they had sinned. Moses put a copper snake on a stake and anyone who looked upon it was saved. Jesus refereed to this story when He spoke to Nocodemus.

John 3:14–15 (NKJV) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

10 We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.

5. Don’t let discontent destroy you.

Israel reaches a point where they would rather go back to Egypt than go forward with God. When we get in the wilderness, the enemy will make the past bondage look better than the current path to freedom! Don’t go for the con! Remember the bondage, the whips, the labor, the pain. Your only choice is to go on! What the world says will set you free will enslave you; what the world says will enslave you will set you free!

1 Timothy 6:6 (NKJV) Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

The ultimate expression of their discontent was their refusal to enter into the Promised Land! It cost them everything!

This time in the wilderness can be a time of regret. I didn’t respond right. I fought against it. It revealed things in me I didn’t want to face, things I had known about but never dealt with.

But there is another choice. This season we are in can be a time of transformation. Remember, we worship the God who hears, the God who sees, the God who cares, the God who acts!

Let’s make the right choices so our memories of this time can be means of rejoicing and not regret!

Paul goes on in this chapter to give us three good choices to make. Again, I’m reading from the Message translation.

1 Corinthians 10:11–12 (MSG) These are all warning markers— DANGER! — in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.

1. Cultivate God confidence.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG) No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

2. Remember that God will never let you down.

1 Corinthians 10:14 (MSG) So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.

3. Encourage others to walk with God and be encouraged by others to walk with God.

We are all in this together. We have our own path to walk, but we can also help others walk their new path.

Galatians 6:9–10 (NKJV) And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

A final word: The wilderness empowers you.

Luke 4:1 (NKJV) Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led (Mark: driven) by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Luke 4:14 (NKJV) Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Let this time turn the fullness of God into the power of God in your life!

PRAYER