AND IT CAME TO PASS IN PROCESS OF TIME, THAT THE KING OF EGYPT DIED; AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SIGHED BY REASON OF THE BONDAGE, AND THEIR CRY CAME UP UNTO GOD BY REASON OF THE BONDAGE. AND GOD HEARD THEIR GROANING, AND GOD REMEMBERED HIS COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM, AND ISAAC, AND WITH JACOB. AND GOD LOOKED UPON THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND GOD HAD RESPECT UNTO THEM. Exodus, Chapter 2, Verses 23-25.
According to some Bible Scholars, the Children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years. They had all but forgotten the God of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Egypt was a type and shadow of the World. When they decided to call upon God for deliverance, the Lord remembered the covenant He made with Abraham. God had not forgotten about the covenant He made with Abraham, but it was up to Israel to do their part and call upon God for help in their time of need. God recognizes and respects people when His people call on Him in faith to deliver them out of trouble. God is an ever present help in the time of trouble. Psalms, 46, Verse 1.
God sent Moses to deliver the Children of Israel out of slavery in the land of Egypt. He wanted to lead them to a land of Promise where they would be free to worship Him as their forefathers did. Moses was a type and shadow of Christ. He led the Israeli slaves out of bondage to freedom after a series of plagues came upon the land of Egypt (the World).
God hears our cries when we are troubled on every hand by our enemies and persecutors. Many people are slaves to sin and need deliverance from the taskmaster of sin. Sin is a heavy burden to bear. Only Christ can free men from the bondage of sin. Only the Blood of Jesus can wash away every sin which holds men in its grievous grasp. If we call upon His name, He is faithful and just to deliver us from the grip of sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
THE WILDERNESS OF SIN
After leaving Egypt God lead the Children of Israel into the Wilderness of Sin. The Wilderness of Sin also represented the World. God delivered them from Egypt, but they were still in the World and subject to all the trials and temptations the World provides. He could have taken them on a shorter trip to the Land of Promise, but He led them to and through the Wilderness of Sin to teach them the treasures of wisdom and understanding. They were still in the World, but God was trying to teach them to be Heavenly minded. God’s desire was to establish in the hearts and minds of His Chosen People a God consciousness instead of a sin consciousness. Most of them did not learn the lessons God was trying to teach them and perished in the Wilderness of Sin (World). They provoked God with their doubt and unbelief, and murmured and complained against the One who brought them out of slavery in the first place.
As Christians, we must always seek out the plan and purpose of God for our life in times of adversity. It is the trials of life which mold us into VESSELS which carry the message of Living Water into a dry and thirsty World. God’s plan for our life can only be fulfilled when we have been purged in the fires of adversity, persecution and tribulation.
Today the Children of God are walking in the Wilderness of Sin. God bids us to trust Him during the trials and tribulations of life, but many are murmuring and complaining like the Children of Israel did in the Wilderness of Sin. There is a CRY IN THE WILDERNESS OF SIN to be Holy even as HE is Holy. There is a CRY IN THE WILDERNESS OF SIN to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us.
If we are to be effective witnesses for Christ, we must be effectively Christ-like. If we are going to lead others to Christ we must possess the knowledge and understanding which comes from knowing and understanding Him. We cannot set people free from the bondage they are experiencing in the Wilderness of Sin if we have not been set free from them ourselves.
If we are to be effective witness of Christ, we must forfeit our natural tendencies to doubt and be fearful during times of trouble. In this World we will experience trouble, but we are told to “be of good cheer because Jesus has overcome the World,” and His Spirit dwells within our hearts richly. Because He dwells within us, we can look inwardly for that peace which passes all understanding, no matter what tribulations may be going on around us.
THE CALL TO REPENTANCE
IN THOSE DAYS CAME JOHN THE BAPTIST, PREACHING IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA; AND SAYING, REPENT: FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND. FOR THIS IS HE SPOKEN OF BY THE PROPHET ISAIAH, SAYING “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, PREPARE YOU THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.” Matthew, Chapter 3, Verses 1-3.
John the Baptist came crying in the WILDERNESS of Judea for people to REPENT of their SINS.
The WILDERNESS is prophetic of the condition of a person or person’s heart. Many people are living in a spiritual WILDERNESS. Their hearts are WILD like the WILDERNESS. They have no spiritual stability. They can be dry, filled with rancor and lack peace and contentment. A WILDERNESS is a place of danger inhabited by wild animals including snakes and other dangerous things. A WILDERNESS is not usually conducive to human life or suitable for human habitation.
It is interesting that John chose to cry out in THE WILDERNESS for people to repent when most people do not inhabit the Wilderness physically. The majority of the Earth’s inhabitants live in cities and urban areas. I believe this is a prophetic example of God speaking to the lost who live prophetically in THE WILDERNESS OF SIN.
The Bible tells us when the people of Jerusalem and the surrounding regions heard the BAPTIST calling for people to repent, they came out to hear him in the WILDERNESS. Many people confessed their sins and were baptized by John in the Jordan River. Even some of the Sadducees and Pharisees came to witness what was going on in the WILDERNESS, but refused the call to repentance. They were sorely rebuked by John for their evil deeds and refusal to repent of their sins.
Judea comes from the Hebrew word “Judah.” There is a lesson we can learn from the people of Judea and the attitudes of their hearts. “Judah” means “praise.” The term “Jew” is a derivative of the word “Judah.” Judea could be called the land of praise. Unfortunately, the name did not always fit the motives and attitudes of the Jewish people.
In Biblical history, the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin broke off from the Nation of Israel and became a separate Nation calling themselves “Judah” with Jerusalem as their capitol. They formed their own Nation because Israel had rejected the God of Abraham and began worshipping other gods. The Tribes of Judah and Benjamin wanted no part of their evil plans. A few other tribes later severed their ties with Israel and became part of the Nation of Judah. However, the Nation of Judah fell into the same trap Israel did and rejected the True God, and eventually fell into perdition.
The Jewish people were called of God to offer up sacrifices of praise to Him. In reality, to most people the name “Jew” is just a misnomer today. The Jews, for the most part, are no longer a “people of praise,” but a people who dishonor God through their unbelief and rejection of Christ as their Messiah. This will change however, when the whole Nation of Israel recognizes Christ IS the Messiah and worships Him as Lord and Savior.
The BAPTIST’S call to repentance was heard in the Wilderness of Judea (the hearts of many Jews) and many repented and were baptized. The baptism of John was just a type and shadow of the washing away of their sins which would come later through the shedding of the Blood of Christ. John was the precursor of one who was greater than he who would die on the Cross to cleanse them of their sins.
Many Christians have lost their ability to praise God. They have been deceived by the enemy, and their tongues are in bondage. Their voice has been captured by the devil. Their breath is as the breath of a wind in the Wilderness of Sin. It is dry and void of spiritual life. They are like whited sepulchers filled with dried bones. They are in the Valley of Dried Bones Ezekiel spoke about. But there is still a chance to find that place of praise and worship if they will seek God and repent of their sins.
THE VOICE OF GOD
Today there is a voice CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS in the hearts of people everywhere. A voice CRYING for people who do not know Christ, or who have known Him but are backslidden, to repent of their sins. It is the VOICE of God. It is the Spirit of Elijah. It is the voice of God crying out to souls everywhere who live in a Spiritual Wilderness. God speaks in many ways. He speaks to people through His Prophets, Pastors, Apostles, Evangelists and Teachers, as well as other believers. God speaks through deacons and lay people. He will use the voice of anyone who will respond to the call and take the Message of Christ to people living in a WILDERNESS OF SIN.
AND THEY SHALL BUILD THE OLD WASTES, THEY SHALL RAISE UP THE FORMER DESOLATIONS, THEY SHALL REPAIR THE WASTE CITIES, THE DESOLATIONS OF MANY GENERATIONS. AND STRANGERS SHALL STAND AND FEED YOUR FLOCKS, AND THE SONS OF THE ALIEN SHALL BE YOUR PLOWMEN AND YOUR VINEDRESSERS. BUT YE SHALL BE NAMED THE PRIESTS OF THE LORD. Isaiah, Chapter 61, Verses 4-6.
Restoring the waste cities is about restoring the lives of people who are living in darkness and bound by sin. Being restored into a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD we become able to offer up sacrifices of PRAISE to our Creator-----God.
Jesus came to set the captives free. He came to repair the waste cities. The cities (people) who have become desolate from the ravages of sin. In the Wilderness of Sin we become His voice---the VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS. In the Wilderness of Sin we become His hands as we lay hands on the sick and they recover. With our feet shod with the PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE we take the Message of the Kingdom of God to those wandering in the Wilderness of Sin who have no plan or purpose for their life.
Many people will heed the call to repentance if someone will tell them about Christ Jesus and His love for them. How can they hear if no one mentions the Message of the Cross of Christ to them? How can someone find the Truth which is able to set them free if there is not someone to lead them in the right direction?
As Christians, we are all called to share the Gospel of Christ with others. We do that not only by the words we speak, but also by the lifestyle we live.
God is looking for people to be HIS voice on Earth today to lead people to Christ. God is also looking for people today to warn people of the impending doom which is coming upon a World that has rejected the Truth. The World is persecuting the very people who are speaking the Truth. The ones He is sending to warn the World of their peril are being reviled and persecuted. However, it is our duty to preach the Gospel to the World. Some will believe and receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Others will not. We must be about our Father’s business reaching out to souls who do not know Christ and the sacrifice He made for them at Calvary.
I will ask you the same question God has asked me many times……“Who will go?” If you do not go and tell people about the love of God, “Who will go?” Are you going to leave it up to someone else to share the LOVE OF CHRIST or are you going to fulfill the Great Commission and share the LOVE OF CHRIST God has put in YOUR heart? Are you going to allow God to speak through you or your lifestyle or are you not? The choice is yours to make.
Who will obey the call to “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPEL?” Many people cannot physically go into all the World to preach the gospel, but they can help support those who can with their prayers and financial support. If we pray for God to reveal to us what our calling is, He will be more than happy to reveal His perfect will for our life.
IF YOU DO NOT KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR, OR IF YOU HAVE BACKSLIDDEN OR NOT SURE WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST---PLEASE PRAY THE FOLLOWING PRAYER AND ASK JESUS TO COME INTO YOUR HEART NOW.
FATHER I COME TO YOU IN THE NAME OF YOUR SON JESUS. I ADMIT I AM A SINNER AND THAT I HAVE COME SHORT OF THE YOUR GLORY. I BELIEVE JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS AND THAT YOU RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. I KNOW IT WAS FOR ME HE SHED HIS BLOOD ON CALVARY’S CROSS. I AM SORRY FOR ALL THE SINS I COMMITTED IN MY LIFETIME. PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND COME INTO MY HEART RIGHT NOW. I ALSO ASK YOU TO FILL ME WITH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN.
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