Invitation To The Wilderness

Invitation to the wilderness

Hosea 2:1-14

Introduction-

Hosea is in the Old Testament between the book of Daniel and the book of Joel.

I want us to look at being in a wilderness experience.

Most every time you think of “The wilderness”, we always think that we have been bad and God is taking us to the woodshed.

If you remember nothing else today, remember that good things can come out of the wilderness.

In fact, this morning I think the Lord could invite you to experience the wilderness and it could change your life forever.

Before we read the text this morning, let me give you some background:

The book has 4 main Characters.

A man named Hosea

His wife Gomer

Rebellious Nation of Israel

God

Hosea’s wife did not think much of the marriage and was selling herself to other man. She had walked away from her husband and from God.

Hosea was the man with the adulterous wife. He was the one who was at wits end not knowing what to do with her, and feeling like God had abandoned him.

Then, there was God:

Gomer blamed God and rebelled.

Hosea was hurt by God not helping in his time of trouble.

2 people in the wilderness for 2 different reasons.

In their situation, God had to work two different ways while they were in the wilderness.

Hosea 2:13-14

These verses are about a rebellious wife Gomer, but also about a rebellious Nation of Israel.

This is the story about the relationship between God and His people.

In this passage, we see God’s pain for His rebellious bride Israel, and His invitation to repent and return to Him.

Jesus offers us a time to speak tenderly and offers us healing and restoration.

He offers not only warnings, but invitation filled with mercy to return to Him.

I think three things can happen in the wilderness.

1. Preparation for what God has for us.

2. Life-changing opportunity

3. Personal Transformation

Psalm 139 tells us that God knows us from the womb.

Before we were even born, God knew us by name.

So from the womb to the tomb, God makes every opportunity for us to get our relationship with Him right.

He will take those:

desert experiences

The wilderness.

The times you feel like God has abandoned you, call it what you want. He will take those times to do something amazing in your life if you will let Him.

Remember when God led Israel from the captivity of Egypt ?

He immediately led them through the wilderness. They cried, they complained, they got angry, they rebelled, but God had a purpose for the wilderness and they were going through it so God could accomplish what He need to do.

There are three questions we ask when we are in the desert or wilderness.

1. How did I get here?

2. What am I suppose to do?

3. When am I getting out of here?

The answer to the last one is simple- I don’t know. You’ll get out when God is through and you have either changed or learned the lesson that God intended you to learn.

How did I get here?

That is different for each one of us.

Doesn’t matter if you blame God, or blame others, or except that you have put yourself here. God wants to accomplish something in your life.

What am I suppose to do?

Trust God and Obey Him

No matter how you got here. Let’s look at what you can do and how we should act when we are at those dry times in our life.

I. Preparation in the wilderness

Wilderness times can cause us to go deeper into a relationship with Jesus or push us away from God.

We hate wilderness experiences, but God uses them.

He will use them to prepare us for what is ahead.

In Deut. 8 (paraphrased)

The Lord led Israel for 40 years in the wilderness to humble them and test them.

To see what was in their heart and see if they were going to be faithful.

In that time, the Lord fed them, provided clothes that did not wear out and trained them.

8:5- “As a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.”

God is longing to bring us through the wilderness and into the promises of God. To know what is in our hearts.

God doesn’t promise that we won’t go through deserts.

He says that He will take us through them.

What are we suppose to do?

Allow the Lord in. make way for Him to do what He needs to do.

He will meet you in the center of the desert.

He will be with you, and he will prepare you for what he is desiring to do.