Rise Up! It’s Time To Move!

RISE UP! IT’S TIME TO MOVE!

Numb. 10:5-6

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. An Ohio businessman abandoned his broken-down car during a torrential downpour in Louisiana. He stood in the pouring rain; most cars had pulled over. It rained harder.

2. Suddenly he saw a slow-moving car creeping, ghostlike, through the rain. It paused. He was scared but thought it might be his only hope.

3. He opened the door and climbed in. It began moving again. There was no driver and his hair stood on end. When the car headed for the ditch, suddenly a hand appeared in the driver’s window and turned it back into the road. Fear gripped him; he broke into a sweat.

4. A quarter mile later he spotted a café and jumped out and ran for his life. He related his strange experience to the patrons while he drank coffee. They speculated that it might be powerful voodoo at work!

5. 30 minutes later Boudreaux & Thibodeaux came in, looked around the café, spotted him, and said, “There’s the clown who got into our car while we were pushing it!”

B. THESIS

1. Israel had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. At last the signal came for them to fold up their tents and move out toward the Promised Land. God is giving US the signal too!

2. God is saying, “Rise Up! It’s Time to Move!” Will we hear it? Will we respond?

3. Tonight were looking at the hindrance & promise of spiritual deserts, that the desert isn’t our destiny, and what WE need to do to get moving again for God.

I. GOD’S PEOPLE STUCK IN A DESERT

A. WHAT A DESERT IS

1. Deserts are arid or dry regions and receive less than 10 inches of rain per year. Deserts usually have extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation.

2. The world’s deserts occupy almost one-quarter of the earth’s land surface, approx. 20.9 million square miles.

3. Just as deserts are a big part of the world – one-quarter, Christians should not be surprised when they encounter “desert” times in their lives. There will be times when our lives will be dry, have extreme temperatures, and seemingly few people around us to support us in our trials. Don’t be surprised; it’s part of the life experience.

B. WHAT SPIRITUAL DESERTS LOOK LIKE

1. A PLACE WHERE GOD’S PRESENCE SEEMS MISSING

a. David was God’s chosen vessel, the ancestor to Christ, and anointed with the Spirit, yet David still had desert times in his life.

b. “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you…in a dry and weary land where there is no water” Ps. 63:1. “I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land” Ps. 143:6.

c. If David, whom the Spirit remained on, had periods that seemed like deserts to him, we shouldn’t be surprised if such times occasionally occur in our lives. The key is to seek God.

2. A PLACE WITHOUT THE WORD OF GOD

a. “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD” Amos 8:11.

b. Another desert time is when we haven’t heard from God personally. Neglecting the Word of God can cause this. God also speaks through our pastor, other believers, circumstances, and in prayer.

c. This often is an unnecessary famine, for God is constantly speaking, we’re just not listening. So, seek the Lord.

3. A PLACE OF TESTING/ TRIALS

a. We read in Matthew 4:1, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

b. This tells us clearly that some deserts are God’s will for us, and that one of the deserts we all must pass through is the desert of testing. God “tempts” no one, that’s the devil’s work; but God does test us.

c. Testing is an important part of promotion. Once you’ve passed the test, you can go on to a higher level of productiveness. God will have a tried and tested people.

4. The Israelites were led out into the wilderness and tested for 40 years. When it was finished, they were ready for the promised land! To be prepared for heaven, we too will have to be tested on this earth.

5. A PLACE OF REVELATION/ MIRACLES

a. Deserts aren’t all bad; they are also a place of REVELATION. Think how God revealed Himself to Moses and Israel in the desert.

b. God can reveal Himself better in the desolation and stillness of a desert than the business of a city. Think of Elijah and the still small voice.