The Promised Land Wilderness.
Isaiah 35:1-10NKJV
Sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? But it’s not. The wilderness is part of Gods plan.
The Israelites wandered for 40 years in a wilderness to get to the promised land. They should have entered in 12-14 days.
One can only imagine their relief and joy, when they finally reached their destination, when their days in the wilderness were over.
What does the promised land represent?
The place God brings you to… Your destinations, the goal of your calling, the place of joy, blessings, completion, where His promises are fulfilled … A shadow of heaven!
“The wilderness is a place you go through to get to the place God is calling you to- the place of the journey to the place where God’s promises are fulfilled.” P.H
4 Facts about the wilderness:
1. Wildernesses are places of Need. (Millions of people constantly on the move).
2. Wildernesses are places of Dependence. (You trust God or die).
3. Wilderness are places of Learning.
Deuteronomy 8:3NIV He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
4. Wildernesses are never the Final Goal.
Deuteronomy 6:23NKJV Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.
Remember this, You can’t have a promised land without a wilderness. Why? Because if you automatically entered the promise land, you wouldn’t even know you were there.
Isaiah 35:1-10NKJV “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Hear this word, God is into promise lands. Just to prove it, You once lived in darkness, but now into His marvelous light. You once lived in chains but now you’re free! You lived in lack, you had a famine mentality.
-Again, God is into promise lands!
According to Isaiah 35:1-2NLT “Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. 2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God.”
Let me remind you, “There. ‘In the wilderness, is where God takes you into the promise land.”
I read just this week of a woman who has been a caregiver for the dying. She has tended to hundreds. She stated, I usually get my pt. 4-6 weeks before their death. She stated, I dig deep.
This professional caregiver begin asking the same questions to her pt. “If you had it all to do over again what would you do different?” Over 90% stated the same thing.
“I would act upon and follow my dreams daily.” -Even if it meant I would not fit in.
So what does the wilderness represent? The place you go through to get to the place God is calling you to- the place of the journey to the place where God’s promises are fulfilled.
I begin to think about the wilderness, And this is a little of what I thought: John the Baptist ministry begin and ended in the wilderness. Jesus went to John in the wilderness and was baptized in the River Jordan. It was in the wilderness when the spirit of God came upon Jesus after baptism.
It was in the wilderness for 40 days and nights fasting that catapulted Jesus’ ministry as He went into the temple and proclaimed,
Isaiah 61:1 NLT “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.”
This was and is Jesus’ assignment. The Spirit anointed Jesus to Preach freedom. Preach good news to the poor. Jesus proclaimed, I’m here to comfort. I’m here for the bound. The oppressed. The broken hearted. Jesus-proclaimed: “Whatever holds you in prison, holds you back, I’m here. And that’s enough.”
Isaiah 35:3-4NLT “With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. 4 Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.””
I believe the dispensation we live in would be an envy to the prophets of old. PH
So the wilderness and the promise land are two very different places, a land of hardship, and a land of rest and blessings.
However. Say “however.” The wilderness is also part of the promised land. In the promised land is the wilderness of Judea… The wilderness of the Arabah…the wilderness of the Negev.
Here’s a powerful fact? The wilderness makes more than half of the promised land. Most of the promised land is the wilderness. So the wilderness is a key part of the promised land.
Isaiah 35:5-6NLT “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. 6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.”
In your life, you will have times of hardship, losses, challenges, tears, as well as times of waiting, or simply not being in the place you want to be.
These are your wildernesses. Remember this truth: In God, even the wilderness can be part of the promised land.
In other words, the wilderness is not outside the purposes of God nor outside his promises.
Isaiah 40:3-4NLT “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the
wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4 Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.”
“Only God can turn your wilderness into a Promise Land!” PH
The wilderness is the place God brought you to. And God will use it to accomplish His purposes and to fulfill His promises in your life.
In God, In Jesus Christ, even the wilderness becomes a place of blessing. And if God is with you, then your journey is also part of your destination. And your life on earth is also part of heavens domain. And so even while you journey on earth, you can live a heavenly life.
Isaiah 51:3NLT “The Lord will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.”
Therefore, no matter where you find yourself, no matter what your circumstances, no matter what your surroundings, rejoice, press forward… And choose to live in victory, even now…
For in the end, you will see it… That your wilderness to was part of the promised land.
Hebrews 11:9-10NLT “And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.”
This is what I want you to remember, Heaven is not only after this life, but within it. Live this day, as the commencement of heavenly life, the beginning of heaven.
Isaiah 35:7-8NLT “The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. 8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.
The evil minded, those living without faith will never know the wilderness from the lush meadows.
Remember this, to the parched, and the faithless, they posses no discernment the ability to distinguish right from wrong. From wilderness, to lush meadows.
You can put an unregenerate person in the meadows and they will turn it into the wilderness.
That’s why the children of Israel walked in circles. Their murmuring and faithless talk mixed with their lifeless actions kept them walking in circles for 40 years.
Isaiah 35:9-10NLT Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. 10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.”
Benediction. -At the end only the faithful in word and deed can enter the promise land!
