God Desires To Liberate Us Fully

Lord, thank you for today. Thank you that we have opportunity to meditate on your Word and to seek your face. Let's pray that you would speak to us and through us in Jesus' name. Amen. I was thinking about the journey through the wilderness and how that God planned it that way from the beginning for a purpose. You know, when it talks about the children of Israel, that their groans were heard before God because the Pharaoh was harsh and had put a heavy burden on them. There's a picture of us when we're in the world and Satan has been harsh and severe to us and just like the people of God, we were in bondage. A lot of us had made a confession of faith. We would say that we were the people of God, but we were in bondage. God's intention was not to leave the people in Egypt under a harsh Pharaoh, but to liberate them. God's intention for us is not to leave us in bondage to sin under the hand of the devil, but to liberate us. There was a passage that says that the Jews who were believing in Jesus, in John, I believe in chapter 7, they believed in him. Jesus said to them, come to me to be free. That's a picture of the voice of one crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, John the Baptist, you know, coming out of the world and being separate. But the attitude with many who believe in him is, well, we already are free, holding fast to promises, holding fast to traditions of men, to doctrines of men, rather than to the voice of the Holy Spirit. So it's important for us to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and to be led by the Spirit. If we claim to be born again and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then also we need to walk in the Spirit so that we don't fulfill the desires of the flesh. So the people of God were liberated from the hand of Pharaoh. They were hemmed in at the Red Sea. It was sure death in front of them and sure death behind them. And they called on the Lord. And Moses heard from God. He stretched out his staff. They parted the sea and it was a baptism for the whole nation as they passed over on dry ground. And a cloud led them in the front and a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. It's a leading of the Holy Spirit for them, as a picture for us as it speaks in 1 Corinthians in chapter 10. And these things were written in 1 Corinthians 10 for our example, because as soon as they got on the other side of the Red Sea, they sang, as it were, salvation song. And many of us, we get baptized, we have an encounter with the Lord, we sing salvation song, we have the joy of the Lord, we have the peace of God. We have a direction from the Holy Spirit and there's no doubt God is working. They sang the horse and riders been thrown into the sea and praise to our God. They were excited. And you know how many days journey it was from there to walk into the promised land? It was three days journey. God could have brought them there in three days, but that was not his intention. His intention was to lead them by the wayside into the wilderness, because God sought to test them and to try them there. You know, I think of the parable, it says, a sower went to sow his seed and some seed fell on hard ground. This is where we get tested. And the birds of the air came and robbed the seed. And some seed fell on rocky soil where there was not much earth. And they sang salvation song as it were, and they received the word with gladness. But then when they were tested, they were led by the way through the wilderness to be tested. They fell away. They withered quickly because the sun scorched them. The children of Israel, when they were led after singing salvation song, you would think that the Lord would do amazing miracles straight away and give them everything that they needed and supplied so they would have to just have a comfortable journey on the way. But it didn't work that way. Immediately the songs were wearing off, the joy was wearing down, and the sun was getting very hot. They were in the wilderness, in a desert. There was no water, there was nothing. And so three days journey in, they had no water. Their canteens were drying up. And they were grumbling and complaining against the Lord. They were grumbling, complaining against Moses. Were there not enough graves in Egypt? You brought us out here to die. Three days from singing salvation song, they were turning on Moses. They were turning on the Lord. They received that word with gladness when they saw the Pharaoh army all washed up onto the seashore. But now three days later, they were just ready to go back to Egypt in their hearts. They were angry with the Lord. And the Lord allowed them to go through dry times for three days to test them and to try them and to prove whether they were fair weather or whether they were in it for the long haul. By three days, He had given them no water. They could have already been in the promised land enjoying the milk and the honey. But that was not God's way. You know, we spoke last week. You know, a man plans his way but God directs his steps, right? And God's ways are not our ways. They're higher. You must be tested. You must be tried. As we shared a couple weeks ago, that iron has to be forged in the fire to become hardened, to become seasoned for battle. In the same way, we have to become tested and tried in the fires of God so we become seasoned in the hard times that we become found faithful. And so what happened that after three days, there was no water. They came to a pool and wouldn't you know it that the Lord had purpose that there would be a pool there ready for them to drink from. But that pool was bitter water, probably salt water. And all the people began to swarm around this pool so excited that there was times refreshing there that when they took a big drink of it, the waters were bitter and they grumbled against Moses and the Lord. And what we begin to see here is that the waters that they were drinking from that the Lord allowed to be there, the circumstances in your life that he brings in your life, he allows them to be there, not so that he can see what's in your heart, that you can see what's in your heart. He already knows what's in our hearts. He wants you to see it so that you can confess it, renounce it, and repent of it. So that there can be a work, a deeper work of cleansing in your life. Oh you say, well I've been washed in the blood, I sang salvation song. There's a deeper work of sanctification that has to happen and it happens through the way of the wilderness. He has a plan to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey, but we have to be tested in the same way when Jesus was baptized. Just like the children of Israel were baptized in the Red Sea after the baptism, the Spirit descended upon Jesus and remained and John Baptist knew this was the Christ. The Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tested, to be tempted 40 days. It is the way of the gospel to be tested and tried. Many of us get baptized and we think things are going to get better, but in fact things are going to get harder because God has a work to do that's deeper than the surface. He has to get to the motives and the intents of the heart to do a cleansing and a purification process. If you'll let him, the problem is we're very proud people and you know what there's a lot of things inside of our hearts and we don't want to allow the Lord to unearth those things and bring them to the surface and we just keep holding on and keeping a stiff upper lip and we just press on our own efforts and that's why many of us we love the law because tell me what to do I'll do it you know but that's never going to bring you life. That's not the way of faith. The way of faith is to let go and trust God not knowing where you're going but to be led by the cloud and to be guarded by the pillar of fire at night and trust the Lord with all your heart and not lean on your own understanding. So here they are now drinking of the waters and the waters were bitter and they grumbled against the Lord. Those waters did not make them grumble. Those waters drew out what was already in the heart but the Lord had a plan and he always has a plan even in your life and mine he has a plan so that when we see it we can confess and renounce and return to the Lord because the Lord spoke to Moses and he said there is an antidote here on the shore of this pool of Merah which is meaning bitter and it was a branch and he said take the branch and cast the branch into the bitter waters and when Moses took the branch and cast it into the waters those bitter waters became sweet it's always a miracle it always has to be a work of grace it's not what we can do it's not we're in it for the for the better and not for the worse but only for the better just like marriage you may say well things are going to be sweet but you might find out things get bitter and then what is the antidote the antidote is the branch when he says in Isaiah 11 he talks about a branch shall grow up from the roots of Jesse a rod from the roots of Jesse and this is speaking of Christ we need Christ to manifest in our bitter situations and when Christ becomes plunged into the surroundings and into the into the midst of your your turmoil then in the midst of all that you can find sweetness and you can find rest and you can find satisfaction and a satisfying of the thirst of your soul even though the sun is still scorching down on you he can make those bitter circumstances sweet his ways are higher than our ways so it happened that he led them from there to a place called Elam a place where there were 12 pools and 70 palms this is a place that I seek to go to at least once or twice a year this is a place of rest you would say man in the wilderness we want to never leave this place this is our promise land but this was only a temporary reprieve from the place where they had come and in the midst of the wilderness we have these times of rest and refreshing from the Lord but we cannot count there because the cloud is still moving the Lord has a plan to bring us on to forge ahead may the Lord help us in these things and then it was a short time later that they had nothing to eat there was no food to eat and again they were thirsty and so they grumbled against the Lord and what we see in 1 Corinthians 10 that these brothers these sisters had such grumbling complaining in their hearts that the Lord in the end desired that he would kill some of them because he was angry with that generation because he had to swear in his anger that they would never enter his rest in the end because even when he brought them to the promised land and there were giants there all they saw was the problems and how impossible it was and that it was just useless to serve God and God said now I swear in my anger you will never enter that rest but before all that happened here they are hungry thirsty were there not enough graves in Egypt you can hear it coming again the grumbling and the complaining and the Lord spoke to Moses and he said I'm going to give them bread from heaven to eat and in the morning there was manna that fell to the ground and they gathered in and he gave them instructions and then he brought water out of the rock and so there was a rock and the Lord spoke to Moses and you would think that they would be able to find more pools and everything but again there's a rock in a dry place and he speaks to Moses and he says Moses now take your staff and strike the rock and when Moses in front of the children of Israel he took his staff and he smote the rock the rock split in two and waters gushed out of the rock and a river became uh it became a river in in the wilderness for the for the people of God to to water their animals in themselves and what we see here it says in 1 Corinthians 10 that that rock was Christ that rock that was smitten for us was Christ and we know that he was smitten once and it says in Hebrews in chapter 10 and 26 it says that if we willfully go on sinning because these people were grumbling they kept grumbling after we've received the knowledge of the truth that Jesus is the answer Jesus is the way the truth and the life that our righteousness is found in him that we should follow him and trust him that we would cling to our faith and even those circumstances are difficult and we can't see a way out through the wilderness trust in the Lord with all your heart don't go by what you see lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Jesus and he will direct your steps it's always a miracle with God it's not what Jesus can do and what I can do it's always what he can do and so he says in Hebrews 10 26 if we willfully go on sinning or grumbling or complaining after we have received the knowledge of the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation and wrath for those who were once sanctified who insult the spirit of grace we don't want to insult the spirit of grace those of us who were once sanctified there's only one sacrifice for sins and the new covenant it's the shed blood of Jesus Christ so let us not begin to grumble and complain as many of them did and then all of a sudden the serpents came up and bit them in the wilderness but then he had an antidote he told Moses to put a serpent on a on a pole and they lifted up the serpent and whoever was bitten by the serpent because of the bitterness and the grumbling and the complaining that was coming from them that if they would just look to Jesus they could be saved from it there were so many antidotes for them to be saved from the venomous snake of bitterness bitterness is something that can get you and it gets to your heart if it gets into your heart then it can kill you beware brethren less than be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief well then the bitterness can take root like Esau he became bitter we don't want to become bitter and angry so that we get robbed from this wonderful grace that the Lord Jesus has for us as they were going through the wilderness he had to do many other things he gave them meat because they were grumbling there's loathsome manner you know the scripture says man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God and you know what we get bored of this word of God we want other things we want action we want to get going we want we want houses he promises houses he promises lands he promises vineyards never mind all this lousy manna give us the land and give us our houses and give us our cars and give us our stuff because this is why we came and this is why we're serving God and you know what happened he said okay I'll give them the request I'll give them meat to eat and Moses said are we going to sacrifice all the herds so that they would have meat to eat he said trust me he said this time next day you will see that there will be so much meat to eat that it'll be coming out of their nostrils and so it happened that he sent quail upon the wilderness so much quail that they ate meat not for one day he said not for one week but for one month they would eat meat until it was coming out of their nostrils and while they were chewing that meat and craving and lusting intense cravings for for protein and for meat rather than the word of God he killed some of them there this is the same loving God that we speak of because the same God who loves us and died for us if we lust after evil things and we don't wait on the Lord and we yield to intense cravings then that will kill you there in the wilderness and on the outskirts of the camp fire came down from heaven and destroyed some of them because there in the wilderness they yielded to intense craving rather we're not debtors to the flesh to live according to the flesh it says in Romans in chapter 8 12 to 15 if you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the spirit you put to death passion and desires intense cravings don't yield my friends to intense cravings in your life submit them to the Lord the Lord has given us all things richly to enjoy but if we go beyond what the Lord has given for us and we beg beg beg beg and you know what he's going to answer your request but he will send leanness into your souls may the Lord help us some of us are asking for wives and we beg beg beg he might give you your request but you might get a witch and you will have a hard hard life may the Lord help you and give you understanding in what I say because Solomon had an understanding of these things and he didn't give him one wife that guy had many many many many wives and he said those problems about living on on a rooftop is better to live on a rooftop than with a contentious woman we need to have a patience in our spirit and trust in the Lord that the Lord will bring to pass and give us all the desires of our heart and make everything beautiful from Ecclesiastes 3 in his time we see an example of the way things can go they can go for the better or they can turn for the worse but with most of these brothers and sisters God was not well pleased it says their bodies were scattered in the wilderness and these things were written to for our admonition for our instruction so that we do not lust after evil things why did God allow all these things did he not know that they would behave this way absolutely he did so then why did he allow it because some must enter his rest there are some who must enter his rest and with Joshua and Caleb they were men of another sort they had a different spirit in them when they sent out the spies into the wilderness there was one spy from every tribe as they went out into the wilderness every spy came back after nine months or a year in the wilderness every spy came back and said you know what that canaan is a fantastic land it's full of milk and honey it's full of houses it's full of fruit amazing fruit it's awesome the only problem is we can't have it it's impossible for us to have that land because there's giants there and these giants are so numerous and so innumerable that there's absolutely no way that we can fight against them and win and when 10 of the spies brought this report about absolutely impossible they listened to the masses they listened to the 10 but Joshua and Caleb said yes the land is fantastic and yes the giants are big but if God is with us we should immediately go and possess the land because God will fight for us they had faith whereas the other 10 went by what they saw they saw it was impossible and it robbed the people of faith and so it happened that all the people listened to the 10 and not to two and they cried there in the wilderness because they could not have the blessing of God it was impossible for them this is why it is written in Hebrews in chapter 3 beware brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in turning away from God the living God you know this is what happened because they disobeyed God in the wilderness the word was let's go forward with God but they pulled back from walking with God we need to trust the Lord we need patience we need temperance we need self-control we need all these things in order to come to know the love of God it says love is patient and love is kind love does not envy from 1 Corinthians 3 it does not boast it is not proud it is not self-seeking we have to lay aside all of those things that we struggle with and we need to trust and wait on God because God is able to bring to pass all those good things that he knows that we need but if we go grabbing after them you know or when he gives us a word of faith to move forward in a certain direction and we sit back and we don't move forward with God and what will be the end of those who don't obey the gospel may the Lord help us in these things and so it happened that the Lord's sworn his anger this generation they said what will happen to our little ones our little ones are going to die the Lord said okay that's it now 10 times you've grumbled against me you shall surely never enter my rest but your children from 20 years old and under I will bring that generation into the land and he made them turn back into the wilderness for another 38 something years until they all perished there only Joshua and Caleb were the two that were able to go forward into the land and he brought all that second generation in you know we have to be careful that we don't make God angry there's a scripture in the Old Testament says that he's angry with the wicked every day and you know who's wicked those who have an evil unbelieving heart these are the wicked we need to be careful that we don't become wicked like that a righteousness which is by faith in God a wickedness which comes from unbelief may the Lord help us because whenever we're unbelieving sin is right there behind it doing things in the flesh trying to solve things in the flesh I'm telling you this the flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God but those who are born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible seeds through the living word of God come to love the manna don't loathe this man love the word of God seek first his kingdom and his righteousness he's going to add all the other things but wait patiently on the Lord and he will bring it to pass to fulfill the purpose and call of God for your life it has to be his way it can't be our way and making him come along with our way and our timing and our agenda we're going to find ourselves sitting on the side of the road on the outside looking in and the Lord give you understanding in these things so it happened that the children of Israel while they were turned back in the wilderness did grumble and complain continually against the Lord and Moses they were complaining no water nothing to drink here and they were in the presence of the Lord and the Lord spoke to him and said listen I want you to go and speak to the people of Israel and bring forth water from the rock for them once again so that they might have water in the land and so it happened that he said to them this time I want you to speak to the and the rock will bring forth water for the people of God but Moses became frustrated and angry with the people of God and in leadership it happens sometimes that you're dealing with people who keep pushing you to the limits they push you to the envelope and you can become angry and frustrated with them even your children and you can sin in your anger and this is what happened to Moses and to Aaron there and so it happened that when Moses came out to address the people of God who were grumbling because they had no water again the Lord allowed this circumstance to come that Moses became angry with the people of God in the presence of the people he said here now you rebels he said shall I now bring forth water out of this rock for you again and in his anger he took his stick and he smacked that rock instead of speaking to the rock and nothing happened and so what he did is he took his stick a second time and he smacked it again and then water came out of the rock and watered the land for the people of God and what we see here is that Christ was smitten once for us and he was smitten once on that rock and water came out but now only we need to speak to Christ we need to speak to the rock and the rock will answer us and bring water and refreshing but what happened is that Moses did not regard the Lord as hallowed and holy before the people of God and when he smoked the rock he had to slight him a second time and it's a picture of crucifying the son of God afresh and putting him to open shame and so the consequence was for and for Aaron there that they would not enter the rest even though Moses had done everything according to the plan except this one time in front of the people of God he disregarded the word of God and in his anger he lost his temper and he lost his head and he smoked that rock twice and the Lord gave him a consequence and a judgment for his actions it is a fearful thing gentlemen to fall into the hands of the living God may we take it seriously even as leaders that we would not get angry with the people in sin we would not get angry with with our bosses in sin we would not get angry at our wives and sin our children we need the Lord we need to be humble we need to trust even though we don't understand his will in his ways he has a way made out for us and he's allowing us to go through difficult things to draw those things that are in our hearts out so that we can see them that we can confess them to the Lord and we can repent of them and then we need to wait patiently for the Lord until he comes and changes our hearts so that we can be made sweet may the Lord make you sweet may the Lord make you precious and may the Lord make you into that pearl of great price that pearl is the bride of Christ we corporately make up that pearl which is the bride of Christ he gave himself for the church we need to become part of that bride that we might be that bride dressed in white raiment white garments without spot and without wrinkle it can only happen as we wait patiently for him wait on the Lord I say and he'll bring it to pass in your life in Jesus name