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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