Sunday, June 13, 2010

Camping in the Desert

Ever been stuck in a bad place? I mean really stuck, for a long time?
Preachers call it the wilderness experience, referring to the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering around in the desert. We've all heard sermons about it, most of them of the 'grin and bear it' genre...you know, it's God's will for you, He's trying to teach you something there, everyone has to go through it, it's part of the Christian life, etc
What a load of horse hockey!
Go back and read the story...it was NOT God's will for them to be trapped in the desert! It was His will for them to enter the Promised Land—the blessings He had already prepared for them!
Unbelief
Hebrews 3:19 tells us exactly what happened. 'So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.'
They didn't believe that He could or would do what He had promised. It's as simple as that.
Hebrews 4:2 explains '...the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.' They heard God's word, they knew His promise. They just didn't unite it with their faith...and by their faith it was done unto them.
God was ready. He had spoken, not only about the Promised Land, but He had spoken an eternal covenant with Abraham to bless his descendants. The land was prepared beforehand for them...waiting for them.
They just couldn't see it. And because they couldn't see any way, they didn't believe the promises of God.
When faced with the choice of believing God and obeying His command to take the land or side with the 10 spies who said 'there's no way,' they chose disobedience. 
They didn't think of it as disobedience. They thought they were being realistic, careful...rational.
But that's not the way God saw it. '...those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience...' [Hebrews 4:6]
Can I Leave Yet?
So if you're camped out in the wilderness, wondering when you can move forward and enter the place of blessedness, I've got good news for you!
It's now. NOW. But like Dorothy, you've got to click those red shoes together...you've got to believe!
The first step is to drop all erroneous teachings that God wants you in the wilderness for [whatever] purpose.
It's not true. Romans 12:2 tells us 'And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.'
His will is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT. And He want you to prove it! James 1:7 says 'EVERY GOOD THING given and EVERY PERFECT GIFT is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is NO VARIATION OR SHIFTING SHADOW.'
In other words, God is not capricious—He doesn't play favorites, and He doesn't bless or curse on a whim.
Does it sometimes seem as if we're in the wilderness? Yes, absolutely. But it is a deception based on feelings and transient circumstances. Remember, what is seen is temporal—temporary, for a season—what is unseen is eternal. [2 Corinthians 4:18] The word of our God stands forever. [Isaiah 40:8]
What About The Manna?
Doesn't God's provision of manna in the wilderness prove that He wanted them there?
No, it proves that He lives up to His commitments.
He promised Abraham to take care of His descendants. Even though they were out of His will, He had an obligation to care for them because of His covenant with Abraham. He blessed them as much as they could believe Him for...but 40 years of the same sticky crackers was NOT His best intention for them!
Ask yourself this...why did He get so mad when they asked for meat? Because if they had only believed Him, they'd have been eating meat, potatoes, two veg every night! That was His plan for them...it was their disobedience that kept them eating manna for 40 years! Then they turned around and whined that they never got meat! Sure sounds familiar...
There was a lot of whining in that desert, I'll tell you—40 years worth. Read Exodus through Numbers some time...yikes! I think God showed great restraint in not wiping them all out!
The reason the Israelites wandered for 40 years is that the non-believers had to die off before the new generation could enter by their faith! I don't know about you, but I don't want to die in the desert!
By Your Faith...
Jesus told several of the people He performed miracles for 'by your faith be it done unto you.'
Then there's Mark 11:22-24...
'And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God.
"Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.
"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you."'
To have faith in God, you must BELIEVE that what you say is going to happen. You must BELIEVE YOU RECEIVE WHEN YOU PRAY. Gee-I-really-hope-this-works-but-I-can't-see-any-way doesn't really cut it.
At the Airport
God put Himself in your flesh-and-blood body so He could bring His will to pass in the earth THROUGH YOUR MOUTH, by your faith. While you're camping in the desert, crying out to Him for deliverance, He's standing at the gate of your promised land, waiting for you to show up!
Or as my husband is fond of saying, your ship has come in and you're at the airport!
Get your stuff together and get out of there! Make up your mind to believe God and His Word no matter what the circumstances look like!
You may have your back to the Red Sea with the most powerful army in the world bearing down on you, metaphorically speaking, wondering where God is.
I'll tell you where He is...He's standing between you and them, waiting for you to raise your staff and go through water on dry land!
The River Jordan
Did you know that God performed that same miracle twice? In Joshua 3, the Israelites found themselves stopped by water again...the Jordan River.
This time the priests had to actually get their feet wet...proceed on the Word of the Lord even when it didn't look like anything was happening!
And that is the very crux of the issue. Faith requires that we look at the unseen, not the seen, to bring the unseen into manifestation.
There came a day when Israel was enjoying all that the Promised Land had to offer. But first, the new generation had to believe God—believe in the unseen—and put their trust in Him. Once His Word was united with faith, they were able to enter His Rest.
Once they had entered His Rest in the spirit, they could take the Promised Land in the natural. But they had to see with the eyes of faith it as already done first. That's believing you have received—see it as finished! Because, as you know, Hebrews 4:3,10 tell us that He has ALREADY rested from His works—His works were FINISHED from before the foundation of the world!
The unseen realm—the realm of the spirit—is real, and it is complete. We use our faith to access His already fulfilled Word and bring it into our lives.
Remember the Lord's Prayer? "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN..." [Matthew 6:10]
So it is for us. Unite His promises with faith, be diligent to enter His rest. See the unseen—see His promises as already accomplished in your life, confess them as done with thanksgiving. Enter into your promised land.
'Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
'For by these [His own glory and excellence] He has granted to us HIs precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.' [2 Peter 1:2-4]
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things ? [Romans 8:32]
For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.' [1 Corinthians 3:22,23]
'For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.' [2 Corinthians 4:15]
'And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.' [Ephesians 1:22,23]
'I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me.' [Philippians 4:13]
'Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.' [1 Timothy 6:17]
'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.' [1 Corinthians 1:20]