crying in the wilderness. The Bible reads there in verse number 3, for this is he
that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah saying the voice of one crying in the
wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make his path straight. This is a
quotation from Isaiah chapter 40 verse 3 where it says the voice of him that
cries in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make straight in the
desert a highway for our God. You find the same thing in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John. All four Gospels have this quotation about a voice crying in the
wilderness. Tell me when we first started the church 15 years ago and we had the
little invites that we would hand out of the door it used to say on the front of
the invert and that on the front of the invite Faithful Word Baptist Church a
voice crying in the wilderness. That was like our motto or our tagline when the
church first started and it had sort of a double meaning because obviously
Phoenix is situated in a literal wilderness. If you study the Bible you'll
notice that the words wilderness and desert are used interchangeably. You know
today in 2021 when we say wilderness we sometimes might be tempted to think of
some kind of a jungle or just kind of a different atmosphere. Usually when the
Bible says wilderness it's more like a desert more like the area where Phoenix
is found and so it was that literal meaning of literal yelling in the
literal desert okay but also it's a figurative meaning because of the fact
that I was preaching things that a lot of people aren't preaching so it's sort
of like hello is anybody out there you know why am I the only one saying this
stuff when it's clear in Scripture and there are so many clear biblical truths
that other pastors refuse to preach or would not say and so in that sense I saw
myself as kind of a voice crying in the wilderness here you know where's
everyone else to back me up on these things so what does this mean when the
Bible says that John the Baptist was a voice crying in the wilderness and if
you study the Bible there are lots of men of God who spend a season in the
wilderness what does it mean what is the significance of going to the
wilderness I'm going to go through several points this morning and show you
the significance go if you would to Luke chapter 1 first of all the gospel of
Luke chapter 1 the first thing I want to point out to you is that the wilderness
represents preparation the wilderness represents preparation many men of God
spent time out in the wilderness as part of their preparation for serving God and
again what is wilderness wilderness is desert wilderness is being in an
uninhabited wild area where you're just out by yourself in the elements in
nature that's what it means to be in the wilderness literally look at the last
verse of this very long chapter Luke chapter 1 verse 80 the Bible reads and
the child grew we're talking about John the Baptist now and the child grew and
waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto
Israel and then of course we're going to get into the ministry of John the
Baptist and all of John the Baptist preaching and baptizing people but
notice before that he spends time out in the deserts waxing strong in spirit
waxing just simply means becoming strong in spirit so he's growing spiritually
out in the wilderness in a time of preparation before he can do all the
great preaching and great works that he's going to so the to do so the
wilderness represents preparation you know Jesus did the same thing if you
want you could just flip over to we could look at a lot of places but
Matthew chapter 4 is probably the best one I know you were just there in
Matthew 3 but I'm just getting you practice how to navigate your Bible but
go back if you would to Matthew chapter 4 because if you study the Gospels Jesus
when he's about 30 years old gets baptized and then after he gets baptized
the next step is for him to go into the wilderness for 40 days and then when he
comes back from the 40 days in the wilderness then he starts his ministry
so it goes baptism wilderness ministry okay it says in Matthew chapter 4 verse
1 and this is right after the baptism in chapter 3 then was Jesus led up of the
into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil and when he had fasted 40 days and
40 nights he was afterward and hungered flip over to chapter 4 verse 17 it says
from that time this is right after coming back from the wilderness Jesus
began to preach and to say repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand you
don't have to turn there but Mark chapter 1 has the same thing and if you
would flip over to Mark chapter 6 Mark chapter 6 in Mark chapter 1 verse 12 the
Bible reads immediately the Spirit drive at them into the wilderness and he was
there in the wilderness 40 days tempted of Satan and was with the wild beasts
and the angels ministered unto him now after that John was put in prison Jesus
came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying the
time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent ye and believe the
gospel so the wilderness is often a time of preparation for men of God like John
the Baptist or even for our Lord Jesus Christ himself to be prepared before the
ministry now why is that because in the wilderness you're by yourself so this is
a time of prayer it's a time of communing with God it could be a time of
studying the Word of God or meditating upon the things of God and we live in
such a busy society where there's just constantly noise coming at us and
distractions coming at us you know this drives me nuts now you go to the gas
pump and I go up to the gas pump and I start pumping it's like come inside and
get a hot dog it's like no or even worse it'll be like some weird gossip TV show
will come on telling me about which celebrity was spotted at the beach and
whatever and so it's so annoying that I've literally I kid you not I start
getting gas and that thing comes on I like jump in the van just like shut the
door it's like no but aren't we just constantly bombarded with noise sometimes
you go to a restaurant it's not even background music it's like foreground
music it's so loud and just TVs everywhere radios ever and I've been
around certain people where they want it to be this way you know I remember there
was a guy that I would work out of town with and we would ride together we would
share the same hotel room and just soon as you get in the hotel room just TV
turns on he's not even watching it you know he's brushing his teeth he's
taking care of things but it's just kind of background noise radio I remember so
many times in the work truck just turning off the radio and just saying
hey let's just talk why don't we just talk but the thing is people are often
just bombarded with noise and distractions and this is not really
conducive to spiritual things right because we need to take some times
obviously yeah we all live busy lives and interact with people but we need to
take some times where we're just alone by ourselves quiet to read our Bible and
we should really even do this every day a quiet time in the Bible quiet time of
prayer even if it's not a super long time even just setting setting aside a
little bit of time is essential every single day and this is part of the
reason why you should read the Bible first thing when you wake up in the
morning because of the fact that as the day gets going it gets louder and more
distracting you know especially you know I think of my wife being a stay-at-home
wife and mother is noise an issue in our house at all for you honey like is noise
ever distracting for you or yeah you know I mean we have we have 11 kids we
have nine living at home and our nine children living at home let me tell you
something it's loud it's noise so therefore if she's gonna read her Bible
she's probably gonna have to do it first thing in the morning or during nap you
know nap time or you know she's gonna have to carve out a little wilderness
there at some point in the day and be able to read the Bible to be able to
pray to be able to meditate quietly upon the things of God so that's what we all
need a little bit of time the water so so wilderness represents preparation
because it's a time of studying the Bible praying and meditating upon the
things of God communing with God worshiping God even just sometimes we go
out in nature and just worship God for his magnificent creation and we give him
the glory but number two the wilderness also represents a time of spiritual
refreshment so not only is it the preparation before going into the
ministry it's also a time of spiritual refreshing and this is the more the
daily thing that we just talked about Mark chapter 6 verse 30 and the apostles
gathered themselves together unto Jesus and told him all things both what they
had done and what they had taught and he said unto them come ye yourselves this
is Jesus talking to disciples come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and
rest a while for there were many coming and going and they had no leisure so
much as to eat and they departed into a desert place by ship privately now if
you read the four Gospels this is something you see over and over again
this is not a one-time deal Jesus is constantly saying like let's go to the
desert all right guys head for the desert we're gonna go to the desert
because there's just so many crowds of people I mean think about he's Jesus
he's the Messiah he's the Son of God people are just thronging to see him
hundreds and thousands of people are hearing about him and wanting to see him
wanting to touch him wanting to hear him and so he just gets overwhelmed at times
the disciples could get overwhelmed at times he just needs a break and so even
Jesus God in the flesh needs a break because he was human and so because he
needs a break he would withdraw out into the wilderness just where nobody can
find him or at least try a lot of times they like hunt him down and find him
even in his wilderness retreats but he's constantly going up into a mountain to
pray you know so Jesus is climbing a mountain first thing in the morning to
go pray Jesus is saying hey let's go out in the desert and relax let's have a
picnic out there let's eat out there let's get away from all the people and
just have some quiet time look if he needs that how much more do we need that
we are not on his level we're not on the level of the Apostles and yet we need
this even more than they do where we need to take a break stop pause and just
be still and know that he is God look at Luke chapter 4 if you would flip over to
Luke chapter 4 so like I said this is a theme many times over and over in the
Gospels it's not just a one-time thing Luke chapter 4 verse 42 I'll read it
while you're getting there and when it was day he departed and went into a
desert place and the people sought him so he goes out in the desert and they're
like we're gonna find him the people sought him and came unto him and stayed
him that he should not depart from there they're basically just dragging back no
don't leave and he's trying to go to the desert and he said to them I must preach
the kingdom of God to other cities also for therefore am I sent and he preached
in the synagogues of Galilee look at chapter 5 chapter number 5 so in chapter
4 he goes into a desert place look at chapter 5 verse 15 but so much the more
went there a fame abroad of him and great multitudes came together to hear
and to be healed by him of their infirmities and he withdrew himself into
the wilderness and prayed so he's got tons of people that want to be with him
and of course he makes as much time for them as he can but because he's human he
understands okay I need to take a break and that break for him is to withdraw
into the wilderness and pray look at chapter 9 just a couple pages to the
right in your Bible Luke chapter 9 verse number 10 Luke chapter 9 verse 10 and
the Apostles when they were returned told him all that they had done and he
took them and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city
called Bethsaida and the people when they knew it followed him and he
received them and spake unto them of the kingdom of God and healed them that had
need of healing and sometimes you know when you go into the desert sometimes
easy for the people to follow you and find you with this right so you know
sometimes when you go to the wilderness you have to put this on an airplane
mode so that they can't find you right because otherwise your phone's ringing
getting distracted you know if you're gonna take some time to read your Bible
if you're gonna take some time to pray or be in church yeah you just put this
thing on airplane mode and just shut everything off and I understand some
people don't have that luxury because they have to be on call or something but
most of us have times when we're truly off and we don't really need this thing
to just constantly ping us and tell us hey you just got mentioned on Facebook
somebody mentioned you on Twitter hey somebody's mentioning you on discord
right now you know what I I don't get summoned that easily like yes you
mentioned me you rang you know it can wait and look I'm not anti technology I
use all the technology I've got the phone and the smartphone and I do all
that but here's the thing I also spend like half my day with it on airplane
mode and you say well what if it's an emergency I need to get a hold hey if
it's an emergency you need to call 9-1-1 all right and I'm thinking about
changing my voicemail like if this is an emergency hang up and dial 9-1-1 but you
know what we need some time sometimes some quiet time I mean how can we do
serious Bible study without carving out a little quiet time to do it how can we
do serious Bible reading serious prayer without carving out some quiet
uninterrupted time and you know sometimes the best way to do that is not
even to just figuratively go into the wilderness sometimes physically going
into the wilderness is a great place to do that as well and grab one of those
waterproof New Testaments and take that thing hiking and get out there and spend
some time quiet reading your Bible not distracted and not just getting the
constant bombardment of brainwashing that's coming from the mass media it's a
lot of brainwashing out there and so it's good to just have a reset by
yourself in the wilderness so number one the wilderness represents preparation
number two it represents spiritual refreshment getting it getting apart and
just recharging your spiritual batteries but number three the wilderness also
represents persecution go if you would to John chapter 11 John chapter 11 it
represents being an outsider being in the wilderness is to be outside of the
mainstream it's to be out of the ordinary where are most people located
are most people located in the wilderness most people are located in
the city that's where people live so what this pictures spiritually going out
into the wilderness is being an outsider being different being outside
the camp and it can represent persecution you know driving us out of
the mainstream driving us into the wilderness look if you would at John
chapter number 11 verse 53 of John 11 then from that day forth they took
counsel together for to put him to death the context is that Jesus has brought
back Lazarus from the dead and the Jews are blown away by this instead of
repenting and and saying wow this really is the Son of God this really is the
Messiah they say wow if people hear about this everybody's gonna believe on
him and then the Romans are gonna come take away our nation from us so you see
the Jews are more into their nation they're more into their national
identity they're more into themselves than they are into Christ so they say we
don't want to lose our nation we don't want the Romans to get wind of this so
they decide they're gonna put Jesus to death then they decide hey let's put
Lazarus to death too of course Jesus can just bring it back but no I'm just
kidding but anyway look at John chapter 11 verse 53 then from that day forth
they took counsel for to put together for to put him to death verse 54 Jesus
therefore walked no more openly among the Jews but went thence thence means
from there but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness into a
city called Ephraim and there continued with his disciples so he goes to a small
town out in the wilderness and it's near the wilderness so that he can head into
the wilderness if necessary because he's being persecuted of course Jesus Christ
was willing to die for us but he would often say my time has not yet come and
so there were times that they tried to arrest him tried to kill him and he
would escape because he said my time has not yet come eventually he will lay
down his life willingly so the wilderness represents persecution that's
what drove Jesus into the wilderness in this passage go to 1st Kings chapter 19
and we'll see a man of God who was driven into the wilderness because of
persecution that would be Elijah and like I said this is a big theme in the
Bible if you start looking up all the men of God who spent time in the
wilderness there are a lot of examples of this look at 1st Kings chapter number
19 the Bible reads in verse number 1 and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had
done and with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword this is of
course the famous showdown on Mount Carmel where it's Elijah versus the
prophets of Baal he defeats them and then he has them all killed they all get
slain with the sword and as you study your Bible what you'll find is that
often great victories in the Bible are followed by great defeats so when things
go really well for us especially spiritually we don't want to just think
oh man I've arrived it's all downhill from here because often when we have a
great victory it's going to be followed up by a defeat and so with Elijah here
he has this great victory but then the defeat is that Jezebel wants to put him
to death and instead of having the faith and the boldness to just confront that
or just rely on the Lord to protect him he ends up just getting depressed about
it and basically just just kind of frustrated because he thought that that
decisive victory on Mount Carmel was kind of the end of the battle and now
it's time to relax but he gets depressed about the fact that now there's a
warrant for his arrest and that he could be killed look at 1st Kings chapter 19
verse 1 and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and with all how he had
slain all the prophets with the sword then Jezebel sent a messenger unto
Elijah saying so let the gods do to me and more also if I make not thy life as
the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time saying you know you have
24 hours to live you're gonna die verse 3 and when he saw that he arose and went
for his life and came to beer Sheba which belongeth to Judah and left his
servant there so he's traveling with a servant but he ends up just leaving his
servant and just going off by himself into the wilderness look at verse 4 but
he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a
juniper tree and he requested for himself that he might die and said it is
enough now Oh Lord take away my life for I'm not better than my father's and as
he lay and slept under a juniper tree behold then an angel touched him and
said unto him arise and eat and he looked and behold there was a cake baking
on the coals and a cruise of water at his head and he did eat and drink and
laid him down again remember the word angel in the Bible simply means
messenger so this could just be a human being or this could be something
supernatural obviously the food that he eats is going to be supernatural so some
kind of a miracle is going to take place here but basically he goes out in the
wilderness by himself you got to get the picture he takes a nap under the juniper
tree and when he wakes up this guy's just there cooking kind of just wakes up
and he's just kind of like there's a campfire you know there's food bacon on
the coals and he's told you know eat and so forth and so he gets up he eats and
he drinks and then he just lays back down and goes back to bed and and by the
way when people are depressed they often sleep a lot and so he says he's upset
he's tired he's worn out he's depressed so he goes and just lays down to sleep
again and we don't really know how much time goes by but in verse 7 the angel of
the Lord came again the second time and touched him and said arise and eat
because the journey is too great for thee and he arose and did eat and drink
and went in the strength of that meat 40 days and 40 nights unto Horeb the mount
of God now it is humanly possible to go without food for 40 days and 40 nights
but probably not when you're taking this kind of a trip you know hiking this
super long hike to the mountain of God so it's probably some kind of a
spiritual food that this angel is giving him some kind of a special food that's
going to sustain him or give him the nutrition that he needs to do this but
either way whether this was supernatural or not supernatural he still you know
eats this food and just basically just hikes through the wilderness for 40 days
and he goes to Mount Sinai so he travels to the mountain where God met with the
children of Israel and it gave them the Ten Commandments and so forth he went to
the mount of God which is also known as Horeb it says and he rose to eat and
drink and went in the strength of that meat 40 days and 40 nights unto Horeb
the mount of God so we see him being persecuted driven out into the
wilderness we're gonna come back to that story but number four the point I want
to make is that the wilderness represents being separated from the
world separation from this world so we said number one it represents
preparation right spiritual preparation learning the Bible studying praying
communing with God number two spiritual refreshment because you know what you're
never gonna get to a point where you've arrived and oh I already read my Bible
I've already read it enough times I've already prayed enough I'm already
prepared enough now you've got to keep refreshing that taking a break we're go
go go hustle hustle hustle sometimes you have to just relax put that on pause
spend time with the Lord read your Bible pray and and just simply relax
just take it easy just enjoy nature number three the wilderness represents
persecution we see Jesus and Elijah being driven out in the wilderness as a
result of persecution and while they're out there they are communing with God
while they're out there as a result of persecution and then number four the
wilderness represents being separated from this world separation now if you
would flip back to Exodus chapter 33 verse 7 Exodus chapter 33 verse 7 while
you're turning there I'm gonna read for you from the book of Hebrews in the New
Testament Hebrews 13 10 says this we have an altar where they have no right
to eat which serve the tabernacle for the bodies of those beasts whose blood
is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without
the camp wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own
blood suffered without the gate let us go forth therefore unto him without the
camp bearing his reproach bearing his reports what does it mean bearing his
reproach the reproach of Christ is talking about the fact that people will
speak badly of you speak poorly of you because you are a Christian that's what
reproach means to talk bad about and so Jesus was reproached when he was on the
cross you know they're mocking him and saying he trusted on the Lord that he
would deliver him let him deliver him see he delighted in him oh thou that
destroys the temple and buildest it in three days come down from the cross that
we might see and believe and they mocked him and reviled him and ridiculed him
well guess what if you live the Christian life you're gonna be
ridiculed and mocked as well they're gonna be people who make fun of you for
being a goody-two-shoes and they make fun of you oh you actually believe the
Bible huh don't you know that everything came from nothing and it's been
scientifically proven that you know monkeys and apes are all our relatives
and we're all animals and we all came from the same you know single-celled
organism that we have no idea where that came from but I mean it's all been
proven by science you believe in the Bible yes I believe in the Bible yes I
believe in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and I believe that
God made man in his own image and that I'm not an animal I'm not a beast I am a
human being I'm a man made in the image of God I'm a man in the image of God
with a soul and a spirit and you know what's absurd is believing that
everything came from nothing that is absurd it's not science it's absurd to
believe that every single plant and animal on this planet is related and
came from one organism that just poof appeared out of nowhere there's not even
a theory for how the first organism appeared not even a scientific theory
not even a working hypothesis they can't even show you well this is how we think
it could have happened not even close to being able to demonstrate that with
science so why would I be ashamed for believing what the Bible says oh you're
one of those Baptists you actually take the Bible seriously I mean you actually
believe all those stories that yes I do yes I absolutely do because you know
what it's absurd to say oh I believe in Christ I believe in Jesus I believe God
created everything oh but you know he can't make a whale swallow a human that
just couldn't happen if God could speak the world into existence in six days I
think he's gonna be able to prepare a great fish that could swallow Jonah so
that he could be in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights I
mean you actually believe Jesus walked on water no I just believe that he could
create the entire world with his voice and I just believed that he could die
and be buried and rise again three days later but I mean walking on water that's
just not scientifically possible that just defies the laws of science folks
with God all things are possible I'm not ashamed to be Baptist I'm not ashamed to
be a Bible believing Christian I'm not ashamed to be a creationist hey you
ought to be ashamed of this evil and adulterous generation not ashamed of God
and his word and so you know what I'm willing to bear his reproach as it says
at the end of verse 13 they made fun of him let them make fun of me they called
the master of the house Beelzebub then you know what let them call me much
worse they hated him let them hate me let me bear his reproach where do we
bear his reproach without the camp see here's why some preachers are never
persecuted here's why some Christians are never persecuted because you know
where they are smack dab in the middle of the camp they're within the camp
within the mainstream getting along with everyone trying to fit in and be cool
and be like everybody I am NOT a cool preacher I'm not I'm not up here a
hipster preacher you know cool man I'm up here just kind of rap with you guys
up here with my barstool and my pants with holes in the knees and and my
graphic t-shirt I'm just kind of up here telling you how to be a Jesus follower
that's not who I am you know this my suit here is from the thrift store and
you know what this isn't the style okay see look at these pants this isn't how
people wear them you see these pants because if I were in the style I have my
little form-fitting right my little tailored little form-fitting suit and be
all cool and and look you teenagers I know you like to be cool well guess what
I'm not a teenager I'm 39 years old I'm not hip I'm not cool I'm not trying to
fit in with this world I'm not trendy I'm probably gonna be wearing the same
suit like 10 years from now my suit 15 years ago pretty much look the same as
the one I'm wearing right now because I don't care but here's the thing some
people they're just so into fitting in and look okay fine follow every fashion
trend but you know what don't you dare follow the trends of this world that are
leading into sin what about the trend toward accepting sodomites you know what
about the trend toward adultery trending toward fornication trending
toward drunkenness or drug hey don't follow those things but some people they
just want to fit in at all costs so they'll go and and drink with their
buddies and they want to just be cool and accepted and get along with
everybody but you know what you're never gonna be cool and accepted as a Bible
believing Christian you're never gonna be the in crowd being a Bible believing
Christian you're always gonna be a little bit of an outsider by being a
believer in Christ that's why I just stopped trying you know this is me just
not trying I don't care I give up doesn't matter without the camp is where
you bear the approach of Christ okay and and look obviously I'm being a little
bit silly about the clothing but you know why I bring that up though is just
to point out the fact that I'm telling you some people this is so important to
them to be accepted by the people around them and to look like everybody else and
kind of fit in and be cool you know as you grow as a Christian you got to get
the point where you're just not so worried about what people think about
you all the time I mean especially as a pastor what if I worried about what
people thought about me okay I would have not preached about half the sermons
that I preached over the last 15 years because those you know my sermons are
not considered cool by the mainstream they're not considered to be great
sermons by the people of this world or even the bulk of evangelical
Christianity now look there are a lot of people who love my preaching but there
are a lot of people who don't love my preaching okay because it's not what
people want to hear it's not the mainstream evangelical stuff it's not
you know if I write a book it's not going to be a Barnes & Noble or the
Christian bookstore okay if I make a documentary they're not selling it down
at Amazing Grace bookstore or something
so the point is that the wilderness represents separation from the world
going without the camp and bearing his reproach being willing to be made fun of
or ridiculed or mocked because you're that guy who believes in creation or
you're that guy who believes the Bible and takes it seriously you're that
fundamentalist Baptist and you know when people ask me if I'm a fundamentalist I
say yes I am yes I'm a fundamentalist what's the opposite of being a
fundamentalist some liberal who denies the virgin birth and denies that Jesus
walked on water of course we're fundamentalists of course we're we
believe in the foundation here and we believe that God's Word is perfect and
you know what by the way I'm also King James only okay I believe that King
James Bible is the Word of God without error and so I believe that in English
this is the only Bible that we should be preaching from and reading from because
all the other English versions are junk obviously in other languages you got to
go with the translations of the original documents in those other languages but
in English it's the KJV oh you're one of those ignorant kids are the only yes I
am you better know I am and so I'm willing to be without the camp I'm
willing to be an outsider hey if it's not cool to be a fundamentalist then I'm
just not going to be cool because it's all about following Christ and if Christ
goes outside the camp he goes outside the mainstream then I'm gonna go right
there with him and so we need to understand that going in the wilderness
represents separation from the world act 738 says this is he that was in the
church in the wilderness with the angel which spake him in the Mount Sinai and
with our fathers who received the lively oracles to give unto us notice that term
I love that term the church in the wilderness the church in the wilderness
well that's a great name for church wilderness Baptist Church that's a cool
name for a church I like it somebody needs to found that thing it's probably
already out there but look at Exodus 33 did you turn there I had you turn there
a long time ago Exodus chapter 33 verse 7 this is such a great verse you know in
the book of Exodus if I had to pick like maybe the top you know 10 or top 20 most
kind of just important verses or critical verses or just things that I
think about all the time this is a big one for me this is one that needs to be
underlined put a star by it this is a great verse okay Exodus chapter 33 verse
7 and Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp a far off
from the camp now this doesn't seem very convenient does it it's like all right
we're camping here we've got all the children of Israel we got the tribe of
Judah tribe of Simeon tribe of root you know they're all camped and they're
different places and then it's like all right you know what we're gonna take the
tabernacle and we're gonna put it far away from the camp without the camp this
is what Hebrews is referring back to by the way this is the church in the
wilderness and it says a far off from the camp and called it the tabernacle of
the congregation and by the way the word congregation in the Old Testament is the
word Church in the New Testament so like when you're reading Hebrews 2 12 it says
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee that's a quote of Psalm
22 22 in the midst of the congregation will I sing praise unto thee so
congregation in the Old Testament gets translated in the New Testament as the
word church same meaning same word that's what church means he called it
the tabernacle of the congregation this is the church in the wilderness and it
came to pass that everyone which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of
the congregation which was without the camp this is a great verse okay now why
would you do this he's trying to keep it away from the bozos is what he's doing
see he doesn't want the tabernacle to just be where everybody is everybody's
there because you know what the children of Israel when they left Egypt there
went up a big mixed multitude with them and you've got a whole bunch of bozos
you got Korah, Dathan, and Abiram you got all kinds of false prophets among the
people even as there shall be false prophets among you you got all the wrong
people mixed in and so Moses wants people to have to really seek the Lord
basically to put forth a little effort to get there you know this is why there
are a lot more bozos on the internet than actually physically in the church
you know our church is great our church is awesome we have tons of great people
and we have very few bozos rarely do we have bozos but online bozos abound why
is that because to actually physically show up at church takes some effort you
know to make that trip to travel here or to drive here or in some case even to
fly here you know people who visit from other places so people are having
to actually make it but anybody can just kind of be in their mother's
basement eating chips off their chest on YouTube binge watching every Pastor
Anderson sermon just so they can kind of pick it apart and and and tell me about
the flat earth and tell me about aliens and tell me about you know the Hebrew
roots or whatever so the tabernacle is pitched without the camp so that people
would actually have to make effort to go there and by the way this is why we
need to go to church not just livestream Church we go to church now why do we go
to church because it you know you got to put forth that effort to get down there
and and to show the Lord hey I'm serious about serving you it matters to me to be
there I'm willing to sacrifice a little bit of time put a little gas in the tank
or walk a few miles or bike a few miles drive a few miles or hire an uber
or whatever take the train to get there because of the fact that I want to
worship the Lord it's important to me to get to church and be there and so that's
what Church is Church is that tabernacle that Moses pitched outside the camp and
notice he said far outside the camp far outside the camp now does that mean you
know Church is a little bit different than the way the world looks at things
you know I mean the church is really similar to worldliness it's like 99%
like worldliness it's a little different now it's actually far different isn't it
the atmosphere here the beliefs here the teaching here the preaching here is far
different than the atmosphere beliefs and teaching you're gonna find out in
the world you know when you go to work men Monday through Friday isn't the
atmosphere a little different at work than it is here is it or not I hope so I
mean is the conversation a little different you know are those of you that
are in public school is being in public school a little different than being at
faithful word Baptist Church as far as the instruction that you're getting as
far as the fellowship and the talking to people there it's it's a big difference
it's it's a far cry it's far off Exodus 33 7 is a powerful verse letting us know
hey the the church is supposed to be different than the world separate from
the world and you got to put forth some effort to get there be one of the few
people that goes there because the majority are still in camp and the few
go without the camp to the church in the wilderness and the last point is this
number five in the wilderness we hear the voice of God we go to the
wilderness to hear the voice of God go if you would to 1st Kings chapter 19
this is the last place we'll turn 1st Kings chapter 19 we're gonna get back to
that Elijah story remember Elijah was persecuted and he got driven into the
wilderness and he spends the 40 days trekking across that desert and Sinai
and going to the mountain of God and when he gets there in verse 9 of chapter
19 1st Kings he came there there unto a cave and lodged there and behold the
word of the Lord came to him and he said unto him what doest thou here Elijah and
he said I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts for the children of
Israel have forsaken thy covenant thrown down thine altars and slain thy
prophets with the sword and I even I only am left and they seek my life to
take it away and he said go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord and
behold the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind rent the mountains okay
so picture it he's out on this mountain he stands there and this giant wind
comes and wind can be a pretty powerful force just ask Joe Biden you know just
kidding that wasn't even a powerful wind you know I was just like a little I've
fallen I can't get up that had nothing to do with anything but anyway you know
the wind could be a powerful I have been blown over by the wind you know one time
we climbed Mount Humphreys on this like extreme danger wind advisory day it was
like on the website was like dark red and we went there and it was like
gusting up to like 90 mile an hour wind some crazy wind at the top of that thing
who was there I know it was you know most people left the church over it no
I'm just kidding anyway who put up your hand again if you were there let's see
how many people are still there one two three four five six there were like 13
of us and like seven I think I saw like seven of us were there that day so
anyway this was many years ago but the wind was intense I had my son John I was
holding my son John's hand and I was literally like flying him like a kite
the winds voted I'm just flying him like a kite and I was trying to motivate him
to get to the top and and I'm saying like son if you made the top you know
you're gonna have all you can drink sodas at the restaurant we're gonna get
pizza you can drink you know because usually we don't let our kids drink a
lot of cokes and stuff I'm like you're gonna be able to drink a bunch of coke
he's like dad I don't even want the soda I just want to survive I just want to
survive I remember another guy that was with us the wind just threw him to the
ground and he stood back up and just bleeding out of his mouth because he
busts his lip but we made it to the top we tagged that summit and they were like
we thought we were so cool for making it at the top then these two guys make it
top they're like 70 years old but admittedly they were experts who were
like traveling all over you know tagging all the summits of tall mountains and
stuff so I mean the wind can be powerful and that day though on our way down from
this mountain we kept hearing these crashing thunderous sounds and we didn't
know what what's that noise and I remember I got lost on the way down
because I get lost every single time I go hiking but I get lost on the way down
because I remember there was a tree blocking my path and I thought well this
wasn't here before it must be the other way but it turned out that but then
later we started to see the trees falling I mean we're talking about big
giant trees the wind blowing trees over and then crashing to the ground but you
know the wind could also cause an avalanche so you know when the Bible
says here that the wind this big strong wind comes and it says it rent the
mountains to rent means to tear them like rending cloth so basically it's
causing avalanche to happen right it's breaking in pieces the rocks before the
Lord right so this great God sends this huge wind and it just rips through
breaking rocks apart avalanche happening but look at this statement in
verse 11 right after that it says but the Lord was not in the wind so it's
just this huge wind ripping apart the rocks but the Lord wasn't in the wind
after the wind an earthquake I mean imagine then the earth is shaking but it
says but the Lord was not in the earthquake verse 12 and after the
earthquake a fire so then there's a fire burning you know it's some kind of a
wildfire comes ripping through there I mean this is a pretty intense stuff
extreme winds earthquake wildfire and it says but the Lord was not in the fire
and after the fire a still small voice and of course the Bible does not say the
usual pattern of the Lord was not in the small he was in the small voice so God
speaks in a still small voice he wasn't in the wind he was in the earthquake he
wasn't in the fire he spoke in a still small voice meaning you have to be
really paying attention and really listening to hear it everybody's gonna
hear the earthquake everybody's gonna notice the wind ripping through and
causing an avalanche everybody's gonna notice a wildfire ripping through the
wilderness but the one thing that you really have to be tuned in and paying
attention for is the still small voice of God and you know it's kind of hard to
hear that still small voice of God at the gas pump when the TV is blaring in
your ear or when you just constantly have the radio on you're constantly
playing everything else you know you've got to have some quiet time to hear the
still small voice of God now obviously in the New Testament God is not speaking
to us audibly but we have the Word of God right here and the sword of the
Spirit is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit will speak to you through God's
Word in a still small voice first of all when you're reading the Bible God speaks
to you but even if you just left the Bible at home if you've been reading and
reading the Bible and you've been saturated in the Bible and memorizing
the Bible you know what the Word of God's gonna come into your mind even as
you're out in the wilderness you know you're out walking quietly think about
God spending time in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve
spending time with God you know we need to have time like that with God where we
go out and take a walk where we get somewhere quiet and we just listen for
the still small voice of God we pray to God we meditate on the Word of God maybe
read our Bible or just recite scripture or just think about scripture sing
praises to God and that's where we'll hear the voice of God that's where God
can speak to us we can hear the still small voice of God also Moses you don't
have to turn there but in act 730 when 40 years were expired there appeared to
him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in
a bush when Moses saw it he wondered at the site and as he drew near to behold
it the voice of the Lord came unto him God's voice came to Moses in the
wilderness God's voice came to Elijah in the wilderness God's voice came to John
the Baptist Jesus other men throughout the Bible heard from God in the
wilderness so what's the conclusion the conclusion is spend time in the
wilderness spiritually spend time in the wilderness spiritually and you know what
it might even be a good idea to spend some time in the wilderness physically
if you can that'd be a good thing too you know it wouldn't be a bad idea to go
camping you know I mean and it is actually literally strap on the backpack
and and take the gear and go out in the wilderness and do some literal camping
but take Jesus with you right take the name of Jesus with you go out there and
let it be a time of spiritual refreshment let it be a time where you
have no service on the phone and you can kind of just commune with the Lord and
stop and think about things and think about your life and think about what God
wants you to do and meditate upon his word worship him out in nature but even
if that's not something that you can do or maybe maybe you're just not rugged
enough for that or maybe you just don't have time for that or you just don't
like camping or whatever you just don't like hiking or you're maybe you're out
of shape or whatever then you should probably do it even more but but the
thing is even if you can't physically get out in the wilderness that's not
really the important part here the important part is the spiritual trip to
the wilderness what does that mean a quiet time alone time to listen for the
still small voice of God to be prepared for future works that you're gonna do
for God to refresh after works that you've done in the past and recharge
your batteries in order to commune with the Lord and you know what as Christians
we're gonna be wilderness dwellers you know we're not we're not gonna be always
the mainstream cool everybody's favorite person but you know what we've
got a bearish approach we've got to serve God in the wilderness you know
Moses told Pharaoh let my people go that they may serve me in the wilderness and
that ought to be something that we think about that we want to be in the
wilderness physically spiritually on a daily basis a little wilderness time
would be good for all of us let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Lord we
thank you so much for your word Lord and we thank you for the Holy Spirit
that goes with us everywhere we go so that even if we are out in the
wilderness by ourselves we've always got you with us you'll never leave us or
forsake us and Lord help us to spend time reading the Bible and meditating on
your word so that we can go out in the wilderness and meditate on your word and
think about it even more even if we don't necessarily have the physical book
with us and Lord help us always to take the time to pray and read your word and
study and commune with you and worship you Lord help us not to get too caught
up in the hustle and bustle and all the noise that we stop hearing from you and
in Jesus name we pray amen