It Blossoms in a Desert Experience - Defined

God's got a plan for his children, and that's to bring them closer to him. And so, therefore, we must understand that process that God takes us through. We call it the desert experience. And tonight we will look at biblically where that is identified.

And then we're going to personally see who's involved in that. And then lastly, we'll see ultimately why it is important. It was Teddy Roosevelt who said, There has never been a man. Who lived a life of ease, whose name is worth remembering. Think about that for a moment. There has never been a man who lived a life of ease whose name is worth remembering. Think about the people in the Bible. You won't find one great man of God or one great woman of God who lived a life of ease. They don't exist. But you see those men, those women, of great godly character, it's because God has taken them through difficulties.

Has poured them from trouble to trouble to trouble. The bitterness of their lives has fallen out, and God lets them Smell, have a sweet fragrance about their lives. God wants you to give off that kind of fragrance. He wants you to smell. Sweet for him. And God needs that to happen. And in order for that to happen, he must burn through the shallowness of our lives. In order to deepen our character, our Lord wants us to know intimacy with Him so that we can be effective for Him. Tonight, we want to define for you this brokenness process and define it in a way in which we begin to understand God's process of pouring us from vessel to vessel to vessel.

To do that, I want you to turn with me to Acts chapter 7 and Exodus chapter 2. Because in both of those chapters is a story of Moses. And we understand this desert experience and how it's identified by looking at this man. And we can look at a variety of people in Scripture, and we will do that over the next couple of weeks.

But we want to specifically look at Moses because he experienced the desert. A long period of desert, and he helps identify for us the desert experience. But I want to read from you for you from Acts chapter 7 and read about Moses and verses 20 and following. And it was at this time that Moses was born, and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father's home. And after he had been exposed, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. And Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians.

And he was a man of power in words. And de. But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him. But they did not. Understand and on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together and he tried to reconcile them in peace saying men you are brethren why do you injure one another But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, Who made you a ruler and judge over us?

You do not mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you? And at this remark, Moses fled and became an alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father. Of two sons. We'll stop right there. That is a short synopsis of the life of Moses from his birth until the time. He fled to Midian. Midian is at modern-day Saudi Arabia. It's a dry desert place. This was where Moses had his desert experience, literally, in the desert. But you notice that Moses was a powerful man.

It says that he was mighty in power and he was mighty in deeds and words. Moses was a great man. Moses was one who was highly intelligent. He was educated in the finest schools of his day. And so, by all practical means, when you looked at Moses, the thing that you saw in his life was leader, was power. He was self-assured. It never crossed his mind that he couldn't pull off the Exodus. He went in there as a mighty conquering warrior. He defeated one of the Egyptians. He came the next day to try to make reconciliation between two of his own people.

But they did not accept his leadership. They thought he would. They thought they would see him as the deliverer. He was self-confident. He was wise. He was educated. He was a strong man with great leadership skills. But before Moses' 40 years in the desert, he knew nothing about prayer. Or seeking God, waiting upon God. He was a man dependent upon human logic and human wisdom. He really believed that he could pull off the Exodus. To be still and know that I am God was not a part of his methodology.

That was another. Something that he readily did. So Moses had to be involved in the school of God. He had been in the school of man, he had learned well. But the school of man doesn't teach you the things that God teaches you. And so, in the school of God, which is the backside of the desert, there's only one faculty member, that's God Himself. And there's only one curriculum, and that's the ways of God. And when those who find themselves in the school of the desert, when they graduate, they graduate with a PhD in the ways of God.

Graduate with a PhD in business and economy and whatever that stuff is that people graduate with today. It's a whole new different kind of educational experience. In the course of study, well, it goes as long as it takes for God to make you into the person he wants you to be. For Moses, it was 40 years. And the Bible is very significant because, you see, the Bible doesn't tell us what happened during that 40-year period. It's very silent on that. We don't know much about what happened. E we do know this.

When Moses came out of the desert after 40 years, he was a different man. He was completely different than he was when he went into the desert. And that's important. So turn back with me to Exodus chapter 3. And we'll try to explain something of Moses after his desert and see what kind of man he was. God appeared to him in a burning bush. Exodus chapter 3 and gives him a mission. Moses is 80 years old. It says, therefore, in verse number 10, Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.

But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? Where's the mighty conquering warrior? Where's the man who just 40 years earlier was in there trying to break up the fight and, Hey guys, I'm your man. You got to follow me. You follow me, man. We'll get out of this. We'll exit out of this place. I'm your man. But now he says, God, who am I to lead these people? Out of bondage. He feels no longer sufficient, but insufficient. That's very significant.

Because you see, God is establishing this man's dependence upon him. The independent spirit says, I can do that job. I can conquer that problem. I can handle that mission trip. I can do that ministry. I can do that. That's the independent spirit. And God says, no, you can't.

Without me, you could do nothing. And that takes a long time to learn that lesson. A long time. It took Moses 40 years, and he was a tremendous man. But he finally learned it, as we will see.

Then, down to verse number 13. Then Moses said to God, Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and now they may say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? What am I going to say, Lord? I really don't have anything to say. I mean, I'm kind of at a loss for words here. Moses 40 years earlier had never been at a loss for words. Why? Because he was a well-ed man. Very wise in the ways of man. Over in chapter 4, verse 1, Moses answered and said, What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say?

You can't argue with these people, God. These are a stubborn group of people. But yet this was the same man who 40 years earlier tried to reason with these people, believing that he could convince them that he was their deliverer. But they did not accept him as their deliverer. Moses is a different man. Verse number 10, then Moses said to the Lord, Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent. Neither recently nor in time past, nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.

Now he begins to give excuses. That he is not as capable of doing what he thought 40 years earlier he was capable of doing. God has him right where he wants him. Inept. Unable to accomplish the task that's set before him without the power and the strength of God energizing his life. In a nutshell, that's the principle identified. That's what God wants to do. You contrast Acts 7 with Exodus chapter 3. 40 years earlier with 40 years later, and you see a changed man. What happened on the backside of the desert?

I don know. The Bible doesn't tell us. We don't need to know. Because what God did with Moses is probably going to be different than how he deals with you. But the end product will be the same. No longer is that are we self-sufficient. Now you become dependent upon God's suff. No longer is there a self-reliance. Now there's reliance upon God alone. Nor is there self-wisdom, but wisdom in the ways of God. And that's where God wants to take you. And hopefully, over these next few weeks, we'll discuss that for you and explain exactly how that.

Happens for you and for me. But point number two: who is involved? You've got to ask yourself that question. We got to see number one how it was lived out by Jesus.

And number two, how it was lectured on by Jesus. Because he lived it out, and because he spoke on it and lectured on it and taught his men about it. It was important for them to understand because you see, if we're going to be like Jesus and follow in his footsteps, we've got to see how he lived out this process. And then, if he spoke on it and taught on it, it was important for his men to understand because they would be involved in it. And we are not exempt from that. So, turn with me back to the New Testament, to John chapter 12.

John chapter 12. And listen to what Jesus says. There were some Greeks who had come to Philip. They wanted to see Jesus. Philip took them to Andrew. And of course, Andrew then would bring them to Jesus because Andrew was the one man in the Bible who. When you examine his time in Scripture, it was always bringing people to Jesus. And it says in verse number 23, and Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone.

But if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it. And he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will. Honor him. But the parallel is the grain of wheat and the kernel that's there. Unless that kernel cracks open, then what's on the inside can't get out. And you know that That the Bible says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels.

We are the earthen vessel. The treasure is inside. That's the Lord Jesus Christ who indwells us. And in order for that aroma to come out and for that fragrance to be sweet, God must manifest Himself through our lives. And as long as we are independent from him, as long as we are trying to do our own thing our own way in our own time, then we squelch the fragrance. And yet, that fragrance must be released. And it happens as that grain of wheat is cracked, as that vessel becomes cracked, as that vessel becomes shattered from its independence.

From God and totally dependent upon God. And so Christ would go before us and He would live out this whole brokenness process in which Which through the breaking of his life would bring forth a tremendous fruit, the salvation of many souls. But he would speak of this often. Turn back over with me to Mark chapter 10. You know the story where James and John come to the Lord Jesus Christ and they are interested. And getting from the Lord Jesus Christ something very significant, and that is a place in his kingdom.

One to sit on his left and one to sit on his right. And Jesus says in verse number 38: You do not know what you are asking for.

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? And they said to him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink, you shall drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on my right or on my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Their request for glory. Needed to be understood that there needed to be the root of suffering. They didn't get that.

They wanted the great place in the kingdom. They wanted to be able to sit one on the left and one on the right. They wanted the prominent place in the kingdom. But Christ says, Look, that's not mine to give.

Are you able to follow my path? Are you able to drink of the cup, the cup of wrath in which I drink? We're able, Lord. We can do that. And at the outset, when we follow the Lord Jesus Christ, we really believe that we can do what He asked us to do. But in all reality, we can't do what he asks us to do. The Christian life is one of total dependence upon him. But yet we try to live it outside of that dependence. Because you see, it costs us greatly to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And most people don't want to hear that message.

And let me ask you a question: Do you really want to be like Jesus? Do you really want to reflect his character? Do you really want his image to shine through your life? If you do, then you must see those people in the New Testament and the Old Testament, exam their lives, and realize it costs them greatly. But at the end of the road was great pleasures in heaven. And so we need to understand that Jesus Christ would lecture on this over in Matthew chapter 10, verse number 39. He says, Whoever finds his life will lose it.

And whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. He would say again over in Mark 8:3, What good is it if you gain the whole world yet lose your own soul? In Luke 14:2, to a mixed audience toward the end of his ministry, he would begin again, once again, to point out the cost of following him. He never wanted anybody to be surprised about what was going to take place if you follow Jesus Christ. But you can't find too many churches that you can join today where people will spell out the costs for you.

When you want to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, it's a free gift. It's free. There's no charge. But when you want to join the army, there's no charge either. But when you get on the battlefield, it costs you greatly. It costs you tremendously. When you get in the heat of the battle, and when you decide to follow Jesus and you give your life to Him, you immediately come out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of our dear Lord Jesus Christ and His light. And when you do, then the powers of hell fight against you daily to get you to compromise your testimony, to get you to back off of your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you haven't faced that yet, then you're living a pretty good life for the enemy and not for the Lord Jesus Christ. Because if you decide to follow Jesus, the kingdom of darkness is against you tremendously, as it was. Our Lord. Being broken is a lifelong process. And the more broken you are before God, the more useful you are to God. God does not bless the energy of the flesh. Paul would give the analogy of a soldier in 2 Timothy chapter 2. Telling Timothy to endure hardship as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The worth of a soldier is never known in times of peace. Is it? You can say, Man, I'm a mighty man of valor. I'm a great, great warrior. And you can try to convince people of that. But until you actually go into battle and begin to fight and come back out of the battle a victor, people don't really see you as a mighty conquering warrior, right? So Paul tells Timothy, You endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Get in the thick of things, Timothy. Don't be backing off, man. Just get in the thick of things and you endure hardship.

That people will see the glory of God. So we ask ourselves this final question: ultimately, why is it important? Two reasons. One inwardly and one outwardly. Inwardly, there's what we call an exact representation. That's what God wants. He has predestined you to be conformed to the image of His Son. We said it on Sunday. What we need is not more information, but conform. We need to be conformed to God's image. So, all those things out here, whatever they are, we know that they're going to work together for good.

Maybe it's a divorce, maybe it's a death. Maybe it's a drowning. Maybe it's paralyz. Maybe it's the heart attack. Who knows? But all those things are going to work together for good. Why? Because you see, God has predestined us to be something and that is conform his image just like Him and the whole life long that our whole life long is that process in which God seeks to conform us to his image. And we know that one day when we see him, we'll be like him, for we'll see him as he is. But until that time, the process continues of confirmation.

God wants to make you and me just like Him. He wants us to be exactly Like him. James 1:3, turn there with me for a moment, would you please? James chapter 1, verse 3, and we must hurry, but I want to share this with you because it's important. I had a professor in college who shared this with me in one of our classes. Never forgot it. It says that knowing that the testing of your faith produces end. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect It's a perfect result that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

See, the problem is we lack a lot, right? And God says, I don want you to lack in anything, so therefore.

Kind of like joy when you fall into various trials. The word testing or proving, and this professor would share this with us, was a word used of the goldsmith. Who would take a huge hunk of crude ore and he would put it in this melting pot. He'd turn up the heat. And the elements on the outside of that huge ore would begin to melt away. And as the heat was becoming more and more intense, these impurities would rise to the top of this liquid ore. And that goldsmith would take a huge spatula and he'd wipe off those impurities and just discard them.

And he'd turn the heat up some more so that more impurities would rise to the top. He would again take that spatula and just skim off those impurities. He'd look over into that huge. Liquid ore and see if he could see the reflection of his face in it. And if he couldn't see it, he would turn it up some more. Until more impurities would come to the top. He'd wipe them all away. He'd look over and see until the clear reflection of his face was in the liquid ore. And many knew it was at the state of perfection.

That's God. He's the goldsmith. The world is the refinery, and we are that h hunk of ore. He turns the fire up, scrapes off those impurities, looks down from glory to see if he can see his face reflected in our lives. If you didn't see it, this turns the heat up a little bit more. So it gets those impurities to come to the top. He wipes them all away until he can look down from glory and say, that's an exact representation. That's what God does. That's what He does on the inside. On the outside? Well, He wants us to be effective.

Representatives. He knows that if you are exactly like him on the inside, you will be effective for him on the outside. Right? And that's what he wants. Job said that. When it's all said and done, what did it say? Job 2, verse 10. I shall come forth as what? As gold. When it's all over, God will be able to look from heaven and see his face reflected in my life.