THE VOICE OF HIM WHO CRIES IN THE WILDERNESS, PREPARE YOU THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE STRAIGHT IN THE DESERT A HIGHWAY FOR OUR GOD. EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN SHALL BE MADE LOW: AND THE CROOKED SHALL BE MADE STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH PLACES PLAIN: AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL BE REVEALED, AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT TOGETHER: FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HAS SPOKEN IT. Isaiah. Chapter 40, Verses 3-5.
After Cain slew Abel he was driven from the PRESENCE of the Lord and forced to WANDER in a Spiritual and Physical Wilderness. In the Wilderness Cain started building a City called NOD (wandering). Cain never finished building the City because he had become a VAGABOND (wanderer,) destined to WANDER the Earth until his death. The spiritual problems of the VAGABOND can be traced back to Cain’s sin when he murdered his brother, Abel. As time went on all mankind eventually became separated from the Presence of God and LOST in a spiritual WILDERNESS.
Cain was WILD like the Wilderness in which he WANDERED. He had become like his spiritual father, the Serpent. Like the Beast of the Field (Satan), he WANDERED to and fro without plan or purpose in his life. See Job, Chapter 1, Verse 2. The VAGABOND Spirit WANDERS aimlessly in a Wilderness of Sin.
The Wilderness in which Cain found himself was not only a physical one but also a spiritual one. A Spiritual Wilderness is much like a Natural Wilderness. A Natural Wilderness is a difficult place to find food, water shelter, and above all, clothing, to protect one from the elements. When man is spiritually hungry, only the BREAD OF LIFE (Christ) can satisfy his soul. When man is spiritually thirsty, only LIVING WATER (Christ) can quench his thirst. When one needs a Shelter from spiritual storms, only Jesus can shelter him during trials and tribulation. Christ is a SHELTER in the time of a storm and an EVER present help in the time of need. When we are spiritually NAKED, only the GLORY OF GOD can clothe, save and protect us from the elements of judgment.
IN THE BEGINNING when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Commandment of God by eating the forbidden fruit, their sin exposed their NAKEDNESS and shame. That seed of disobedience was passed down to their firstborn Cain who murdered his brother Abel. Cain was driven from the PRESENCE OF GOD and became a VAGABOND wandering the Earth seeking a place of rest, but never found one.
Today mankind still wanders the Earth seeking a place of rest but will never find one unless they have an encounter with the PRINCE OF PEACE who died at Calvary. Jesus, our Redeemer, paid the penalty for our WANDERING and lives to ever intercede before God on our behalf. Jesus was raised from the dead so all who would believe in Him could find PEACE and REST for their WANDERING souls, and GRACE, MERCY and HELP in their time of need.
BEHOLD, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD. AND HE SHALL TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, AND THE HEART OF THE CHILDREN TO THE FATHERS, LEST I COME AND SMITE THE EARTH WITH A CURSE. Malachi, Chapter 4, Verses 5-6.
After their EXODUS from Egypt, the Children of Israel entered into the Wilderness of Sin. It is interesting that this is the first place the Children of Israel sinned in the Wilderness by murmuring and complaining against God. The Children of Israel were running out of food and complained they would be better off if they had stayed in Egypt. They had seen God perform many miracles in Egypt prior to their Exodus. God had even parted the Red Sea to save them from their tormentors and taskmasters who were chasing after them. They saw the Egyptian Army drown in the Red Sea as the waters fell back upon them. Instead of being thankful for deliverance from their tormentors, they were obstinate and stiff-necked. According to the Bible many of them were punished by God and died in the Wilderness because of their sins of rebellion and unbelief. God provided Manna from Heaven for them to eat every day, yet they were still not satisfied. They lusted for “flesh” to eat, and God sent them quail. Many of them died of food poisoning with the flesh of the quail between their teeth because it was not the diet the Lord had purposed for them.
The Wilderness of Sin was a place of testing and trials for the Israelites. It was a type and shadow of God the Provider and Man the Divider. Sin always separates man from God, yet God is always calling out to man in the Wilderness of Sin (his heart) to repent of his sins in order that his nakedness and shame can be covered.
A BROKEN SPIRIT
THE SACRIFICES OF GOD ARE A BROKEN SPIRIT: A BROKEN SPIRIT AND A CONTRITE HEART, O GOD, YOU WILL NOT DESPISE. Psalms, 51, Verse 17.
Reconciliation with God requires true REPENTANCE. A contrite heart (spirit) is a heart which has been or is HUMBLED before God. Christian humility is submission before God. A man at a Church was honored with a special pin one Sunday because he was the most humble man in Church. The next Sunday he proudly wore his pin to Church to show off the Award he had been given. So they took the pin away from him for being proud.
Humility is the opposite of pride. The PRIDE of life will always precede destruction. If we approach the throne of God PROUDLY in the time of need, we can expect nothing from Him. God rejects the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We must humble ourselves in the PRESENCE of God or we will surely be rejected by Him. PRIDE is the scourge of the ages. It was the sin and downfall of the Serpent. It was the sin and downfall of Cain. If we are not very careful, pride will be our downfall as well.
All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. All who have not been born again are like Cain, wandering in the Wilderness of Sin. They are being led by the Spirit of Confusion around Mount Sinai in the Wilderness of Sin just like the Children of Israel. They are like Wild Mustangs whose spirit must be broken before they can be pleasing to God. Until the spirit of a wild horse is broken, it is of no use to the rider.
The spirit of many Believers has not become completely broken and humbled before God. Sometimes their minds WANDER aimlessly seeking rest and peace, but they are searching for it in all the wrong places. They focus more on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil than they do the Tree of Life, Christ. The cares of this World and the deceitfulness of riches have replaced their worship and reasonable service to God. They think they can pacify God with their Dead Works, and they continue with their ungodly lifestyles WANDERING in the Wilderness of Sin like the Children of Israel.
Today there is a voice crying out in the Spiritual WILDERNESS of the hearts of men and women everywhere. It is the Voice or Spirit of Elijah calling out to all who WANDER in the Wilderness of Sin to “repent, turn from their wicked ways, and follow the Path of Righteousness.”
Elijah means “Jehovah is God.” Both Eli and Jah (or Yah) are names of God. The voice of ELIJAH is the Voice of God Crying in the Wilderness. The Voice of one crying in the Wilderness is not actually the voice of Elijah. Elijah is just a Prophet reverberating the Voice of God. It is the Spirit of God who speaks through individuals to “repent and make straight paths in the desert (Wilderness)” as they call people to repentance from dead works and unholy lifestyles. The Voice Crying in the Wilderness is the Voice of God. He uses our vocal chords to CRY out in the Wilderness of Sin to call people to repentance through Divine Inspiration.
Many people have a problem with sin because they are continually eating Fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil rather than the Tree of Life. Their response to “Who told you that you were naked?” might be “I did not know I was naked.” They fail to recognize they are spiritually NAKED. They do not know there is a Veil over their hearts which separates them from the PRESENCE OF GOD. When they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the Veil which covers their heart will be rent in order for them to know (understand) the Truth.
Many Christians have a sin consciousness because they are not focusing daily on the Tree of Life, Christ. Sin consciousness will cause one to focus more on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil than the Tree of Life. Eating daily from the Tree of Life will change our sin consciousness into God consciousness. Eating daily from the Tree of Life will even change our worldly attitudes and motives. Sin consciousness focuses more on the problem of sin rather than the answer to the sin problem which is Christ. The Bible says that we ARE the “Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21. We must not fall into Satan’s trap of self-consciousness and self-confidence. These are traps of Satan which always lead to self-centeredness and self-reliance. If we put our faith and confidence in God we will be consciously aware of the PRESENCE OF GOD wherever we go. Sin consciousness will always hinder our walk with Christ when we focus more on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil than we do the Tree of Life.
We are all born into this World with a sin nature because of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. However, through faith in the Blood of Jesus and His finished works at Calvary, we will be transformed and changed from death unto life when we accept Him as Lord and Savior. We will no longer travel the Path of the VAGABOND because we have been freed from a lifestyle of spiritual WANDERING to walk daily with Christ in our Spiritual Garden (heart). If we keep our focus on the Tree of Life, Christ, we will continue to walk in freedom from sin. We will then continuously dwell in THE PRESENCE OF GOD where there is JOY UNSPEAKABLE which is FULL OF HIS GLORY.
IN ORDER TO BE FREE FROM THE CONTROL OR INFLUENCE OF THE VAGABOND SPIRIT, YOU MUST PRAY AND ASK THE LORD TO DELIVER YOU FROM ITS BONDAGE. YOU MUST RENOUCE THIS SPIRIT DAILY. YOU MUST SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, MIND, SOUL AND STRENGTH AND BELEIVE HE IS A REWARDER OF THOSE WHO DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM.
The Scripture declares that all have sinned. FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23. Jesus stands knocking at the door of your heart seeking to come in to fellowship with you.
IF YOU DO NOT KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR, OR IF YOU HAVE BACKSLIDDEN, OR YOU ARE NOT SURE WHERE YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY—PLEASE PRAY THIS PRAYER AND ASK JESUS TO COME INTO YOUR HEART AND LIFE NOW.
FATHER I COME TO YOU IN THE NAME OF YOUR SON JESUS. I ADMIT THAT I AM A SINNER AND I AM IN NEED OF A SAVIOR. I HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF YOUR GLORY. I BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD AND THAT HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS. I BELIEVE THAT ON THE THIRD DAY YOU RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. I KNOW THAT IT WAS FOR ME HE DIED. I AM SORRY FOR ALL THE SINS I HAVE COMMITTED. PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND COME INTO MY HEART AND LIFE NOW. I ALSO ASK YOU TO BAPTIZE ME WITH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT. I DESIRE TO WALK IN THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN AMEN.
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