Four Truths To Get Through The Wilderness

FOUR TRUTHS TO KEEP YOU GOING IN THE WILDERNESS

He and He

Jesus CARES for you.

John 6:1-7: After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

ESV- Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him

How did Jesus show compassion on the crowd?

How has Jesus shown compassion on you?

Jesus CARRIES you.

Deuteronomy 1:30-31- The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

Have you ever carried your fatigued child while on a trip or up the stairs to bed? Or do you vaguely remember your father carrying you when you were exhausted?

Read John 6:53-58- So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

How could Jesus’ words here be symbolic of how he would carry us? How has God carried you?

He and He

Steve Farrar says that Jesus has never failed on a promise. If this is true, and God cannot lie, how does that comfort you?

Have you ever felt like God was withholding something “good” from you? Steve Farrar said that if it is good for you, then he has stored it away FOR you, and he will deliver it to you at the right time. Do you agree?

What many people do not realize in reading Isaiah 44:28ff is that this heathen ruler was named by the prophet long before the monarch was even born. Isaiah prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1). His ministry thus occurred in the latter portion of the eighth century B.C. (ca. 740 – 701 B.C.). This was some one hundred fifty years before Cyrus came to the throne!– https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/264-cyrus-the-great-in-biblical-prophecy

Read Isaiah 44:28-45:1- When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’

he will certainly do as I say.

He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;

he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,

whose right hand he will empower.

Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.

Their fortress gates will be opened,

never to shut again.

2 Chronicles 36:22-23- Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:

“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:

“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you!”

Promises of God in NT:

Salvation- Romans 1-16-17

Good for us- Romans 8:28

Comfort in Trials- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

New life in Christ- 2 Corinthians 5:17

Spiritual Blessings- Ephesians 1:3

Finish what he’s started in us- Philippians 1:6

Supply our needs- Philippians 4:19

Promises from Jesus:

Rest- Matthew 11:28-30

Abundant Life- John 10:10

Eternal Life- John 4:14

Eternal Security- John 10:28

He will return for us- John 14:2-3

He and He

Psalm 57:2-3- I cry out to God Most High,

to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.

He will send help from heaven to rescue me,

disgracing those who hound me.

My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.

Psalm 138:8 – The Lord will work out his plans for my life—

for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.

Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

How does God demonstrate in these verses that He acts and accomplishes things on our behalf?

He and He

Isaiah 43:25- I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake

and will never think of them again.

How does it make you feel that God not only forgives your sins, but He forgets them?

“Manna is any provision of God in any area of your life that is a well-timed help. Manna is a provision of the Lord Jesus Christ that comes precisely at the right moment.”