John Bevere - Why You're in the Wilderness
- Watch
- Donate
Okay, so the Wilderness is basically when God seems like He’s a million miles away and His promises even further. Right? We understand that. I mean, let’s make it even more real. Do you remember? Go back with me to when you first got saved. You gave your life to Jesus and got filled with God’s Spirit, right? Oh, I remember that! When that happened to me, I was laughing all the way home from church, and I woke up the next morning happy for the first time since I was a little kid at Christmas. My mom used to say when I was a teenager, «You’re an absolute grump in the morning!»
So, I was like, I’d whisper His name, and His manifest presence was right there. I remember one time—you’re going to think this is hilarious—and Daryl, you’re the only one that can relate to what I’m about to say, but my eight-track player in my car—that’s before cassettes, you guys; this is dinosaur stuff—was broken for two days, and I was so frustrated because I couldn’t listen to any worship. So, I laid my hands on my eight-track player, and God fixed it. Unlike anything I’m asking for, He was right there, right? So similarly, I remember when Addison was a little baby. Every little whimper and cry, Lisa was right there for him, spoon-feeding him, breastfeeding him, taking care of him, and changing his diaper. But then the day came when Addison had to grow up.
«Hi, my name’s Todd; this is my wife Tracy. Hi! We’re just here to talk about how amazing Timmy is. He’s such a great kid! Man, when I get him dressed in the morning, he always has a smile on his face and sings his little song. It’s adorable! Yes, all kids are great. Oh, yeah, some are greater! We don’t want him to have any sort of frustration that could lead to trauma. I can’t imagine the counseling bills if we made him do these things on his own. So, you ready to go to work? Ready to get in your stroller? All right, let’s go! I wish Mom was here. You know, his boss called the other day… oh yeah? What did you say? Our house is not very nice? His boss is not very nice, and sometimes when he starts in on him, I just want to turn into a mama eagle.
„All right, everybody! We’re going to be reviewing the 2018 sales numbers. I believe, Tim, do you have those sales reports?“
„No, I didn’t feel like it.“
„Well, one of the things that we’ve always—like, really led—Timmy, he’s got his shows. Hey, Tim, what are you doing?“
„I’m just doing some work.“
„Yeah, if Kevin calls one more time because Timmy showed up to work two hours late…“
„Oh, we walked him there as quickly as we could! All right, you know what? Sometimes the jogger stroller gets a flat.“
„What’s up, babe? Timmy, we love you. We do so much! Are we the only parents that have had a child that hasn’t done anything wrong?“
„Oh, okay, have a seat, Tim. Thanks for coming. I’m just going to cut to the chase. Your performance is all over the place. We might have to let you go.“
„You know what? I’m not having this. I’m calling it!“
„You’re calling your dad?“
„It’s my little buddy. Hey, Timmy, how you doing, bud? What’s wrong?“
„I need you to have a talk with the boss.“
„How dare you, sir! How dare you talk to a child like that? What kind of adult would talk to a child like that?“
„He is not a child, sir; he is a grown man.“
„Timmy got let go at his job. Apparently, we weren’t getting him there on time.“
„Yeah, that’s on us. That is on us. We’ve actually considered moving closer to potential employers.“
„Yes! You know, that’s a commitment we’re willing to make for our child, to make sure he gets to work on time.“
„Why are you so quiet today? We’re screening potential new employers. I have an interview with a potential employer tomorrow, so fingers crossed!“
„Yes, yes, you’re going to nail it; I know it! And we’re looking for things that fit into Timmy’s lifestyle. We want to be able to have that nap time.“
„Tim, look at me; I’d like to see you draw something better than just words.“
„We’ll make it happen; we will ensure that his life is perfect.“
„Thanks, Dad! Yeah, I don’t think this will be a problem anymore. Take care, Kevin.“
Sometimes I think he gets it from me because, you know, I’m a good father; it’s who I am.
„That’s who you are.“
„It’s who I am. I think we’re pretty amazing parents; we’re really amazing parents, actually!“
„Yep! All right, it was hilarious, right? Our team is brilliant when it comes to these short films! But anyway, we are Spirit beings, and just as we have to grow physically and intellectually, we have to grow spiritually. God knows that, and that’s the purpose of the Wilderness. Okay, because this lesson, what we are totally focusing on, is what is the purpose of the Wilderness.
Now, if you look at—I was talking about being Spirit beings—if you look at our physical growth, what is physical growth a function of and limited to? Think with me: time. Yeah, have you ever seen a two-year-old six feet tall? No, it takes 18 years before we reach physical maturity, correct? 18, 19, 20, 21, right in there! If you look at intellectual growth, what’s it a function of? Learning. Yeah, you can’t go from first grade to eighth grade, right? You have to go first, second, third, fourth. You can do it as fast as you want, so mental intellectual learning is not a function of time; it’s a function of learning. That’s why we’ve got kids that have graduated from high school at 14 and people that are 60 and have never graduated from high school, right? Because it’s a function of learning. Look at spiritual growth; what’s it a function of? Is it a function of time? No, not at all! Okay, I have seen people who have been born again for a year that are much more mature than people who have been saved 20 years. Okay, those people who say they’ve been saved for 20 years have been going around the mountain in the desert, right? Okay, is it a function of learning? The Pharisees could quote and read the first five books of the Bible, but here’s the Son of God staring them in the face, and they didn’t even know who He was! Right? What is spiritual growth a function of? Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:1. Look what he says: „Since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.“ What does he mean, cease from sin? He’s reached complete spiritual maturity. Yeah, you got it!
Now, I’ve seen people who have suffered in the flesh that are bitter, right? Yeah, yeah, okay? They’re acting like the people who got stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. So there’s got to be another element here, and that element is found in Hebrews 5:8. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience. Now listen to this: He had to learn it! He didn’t bring obedience to the Earth; He had to learn it. From what did He learn obedience? From the things He suffered. So if you look at the verse previous, it says, „Who in the days of His flesh, He gave the hemonic Christ to Him who was able to save Him.“ He’s in a Wilderness, and in this Wilderness—either temptation or a lack of God’s tangible presence—He continued to obey. So how do we grow spiritually? We grow spiritually when we obey God in the midst of suffering, Wilderness, hardship, affliction, and temptation. We obey God even when it seems like God’s not there; He’s a million miles away. So, that is crucial.
Number one: the Wilderness. What is its purpose? It is the season that God matures us. What’s the second purpose of the Wilderness? It is a season of humility. It works humility in our lives. Look at Deuteronomy 8:2 again: „And you shall remember the Lord your God, who led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness.“ To do what? To humble you. Now, why is humility so important? Because God gives grace to the humble. Just look at humility as being a grace magnet, and we need grace to walk like Jesus Christ. Grace forgives our sins. Grace is our salvation; it’s a free gift. But grace empowers us to do what we can’t do in our own ability. „My grace is sufficient for you, for my power works best in your weakness.“ That’s how God defines His grace.
Number two: why do we want humility? My favorite reason: God dwells with those who are humble. Look at Isaiah 57—one of my favorite verses in the Bible: „For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity.“ I love how He describes Himself here because of what He’s about to say: „Whose name is Holy. I dwell in the high and holy place with him or her who has a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble.“
Why does the spirit of the humble need to be revived? He’s been in the desert; she’s been in the desert. You got it? Okay, so very, very important! If you look at Moses, he was very self-confident at 40 years of age. „Anyone can deliver this nation; it’s me!“ But after 40 years in the desert, he’s a totally different man, and we’ll talk about that later. Now, it says this about Moses after his 40 years in the desert. „Now Moses was very humble, more humble than any other person on the earth.“ Man, what a statement! He was the most humble human being at that time on the planet. If you look at Jesus, right? He goes through wildernesses, but what does He say to the people? „Come to me; I am meek and humble of heart.“
Okay, if you look at the Apostle Paul, he experiences Jesus, but he goes to Arabia. The Wilderness, right? Three years he was in Arabia! Right? But look at his life; I love his life! He starts out in 56 A.D. Look what he says: he says to the Corinthian church, „I am the least of all the apostles!“ Now, you know how people use false humility. „Oh man, it really wasn’t me,“ but the whole time he’s saying, „Oh yeah, take a good look!“ Right? You know what I’m talking about! You can’t write false humility; it’s a lie. When you’re writing the scripture, the only way the Holy Spirit would allow him to pin those words is if he really believed he was at the bottom of the barrel of all the apostles. But let’s go! Let’s go six years later! Now he writes to me, „Who is less than the least of all the saints?“ He just progressed! He went from the bottom of the barrel of all the apostles to the bottom of the barrel of all the saints. And then two years later, right before he’s beheaded, he says, „Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them.“ He just went to the bottom of the barrel of all humanity!
So, this is what the Wilderness does for us: it works humility in our lives, and we want humility.
Number three, okay? Are you enjoying this? The purpose of the Wilderness: What’s the third reason? It is a season of self-discovery. Okay, look at this scripture; this is amazing! In Deuteronomy, „And you shall remember the Lord your God who led you all the way these 40 years.“ Notice the Lord God led them all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you and test you. What’s the test? To know what was in your heart. Now, does God need to know what’s in their heart? No! He’s letting you find out what’s in your heart. So, this is huge, and this will be a major aspect of this course. We’ll spend a couple lessons on this, and that kind of leads us to the next one: it is a season of purification.
If you look at what Jesus said to the church that thought they had it all: „Because you say, I am rich, I have become wealthy, I have need of nothing, and do not know what?“ This is a lack of self-discovery! So remember, I said what the Wilderness does—it exposes what’s in your heart. So, they didn’t know that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. And He said, „What’s the solution to their problem? I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in fire.“ So, a huge aspect of the Wilderness!
Number four: purpose. This is the one I’ll spend a couple lessons on: refining, which means cleansing and purifying.
Okay, number five. I love this aspect of the Wilderness. The fifth purpose is that it builds strength in our lives. It’s a season of strength. Okay? If you look at Luke 1:80, I love this scripture! „So the child"—this is talking about John the Baptist—"grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts.» Notice it’s not just desert; deserts plural! There are more than one Wilderness experience that you will probably go through until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Number six: it is a season of revelation! This, without a doubt, is my favorite aspect of the Wilderness! Okay, what do I mean by that? Well, let’s look at Isaiah 40: «Make straight in the desert a highway for our God! Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed!» The Wilderness is a place where God reveals Himself. Look at Moses! He’s on the backside of the desert, and God manifests Himself to him in the burning bush. If you look at John the apostle, he’s on the deserted island of Patmos, and he gets the revelation of Jesus Christ. Look at Joseph getting dreams in a dungeon to help the butler and baker. I mean, on and on and on! This, without a doubt, is the favorite aspect of the Wilderness!
All right, number seven: the purpose of the Wilderness is that it is a season that leads us into the promise that God has made to us. Okay, now we’re going to discuss this in depth, but to put it in a nutshell, the Wilderness is the process that prepares you and me for the promotion or fulfillment of the promises that God has made to you and me personally. That is so important! What do we want to ask now? What prolongs the Wilderness? Okay, what extends it? Because remember, I said you can extend it!
If you look at the children of Israel, there were five things they did that prolonged their Wilderness. Number one: they lusted after evil things! That’s pretty wicked, right? Number two: they were idolaters! Boy, that really is what idolatry is today! It’s when you put your will, your desires, above the will of God; it’s when you covet something that you know God has said to stay away from.
Number three: they committed sexual immorality. Okay, so that’s pretty serious! Number four: they tempted God! That’s probably the most serious of the four I just named, right? But are you ready for number five? This kept them from the Promised Land: they were complainers. Huh? Now why? You know, one day I was in prayer, and I said, «God, why are You so strong against complaining?» You know what the Holy Spirit said to me? He said, «Because complaining is an affront to Me. Because complaining says to God, 'I don’t like what You’re doing in my life right now, and if I were You, I would do it differently! ' It’s an utter lack of the fear of the Lord—the reverential respect, the fear of the Lord.»
Okay, and I’ll talk about this further a little bit more because this one’s big.
Okay, 1 Corinthians 10:11: after these five sins are listed with complaining being the final one, these things happened to them—the children of Israel in the desert—as examples for us. So, he’s writing to New Testament believers. They were written down to warn us, remember, to be made perfect in Christ. We have to teach and warn those who live at the end of the age.
Now I want to take time to say this, and I’m going to say it once: the thing I kept thinking when I entered my first Wilderness season as a baby Christian—an infant Christian—I kept saying, «God, what sin have I committed? What sin have I done?» Look, you don’t go to the Wilderness because you happen to commit a sin and then confess it and repent. But you can go into a very dry season if you’re willfully continually committing sin and not repenting.
Look what the writer of Hebrews says, and I want to make sure you understand this today: when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts! His voice has been given to us in the word of God, and the Holy Spirit illuminates it. Don’t harden your hearts! He’s writing to New Testament believers, so a New Testament believer can harden his or her heart—just as Israel did when they rebelled in the wilderness when they tested Me in the wilderness. Right?
Look at this! This is amazing! Be careful! Listen to His words! Be careful! Dear brothers and sisters, we’re talking to Christians! Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day while it is still today so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. Sin will harden your heart even as a believer! Don’t let anybody deceive you and tell you that grace will cover and keep everything just fine!
That’s the only time I’m going to mention this because I realize if you are watching a Wilderness course, you are probably a very serious disciple. Whether you’re an infant, a child, or whether you’re an adult in the spirit, you are very hungry for God. So, I don’t want to labor this point, but I want you to know that people do come into extremely dry and Wilderness places because of willful unrepentant sin.
So with that, we’re going to close this lesson. And now that you know the seven purposes of the Wilderness, we’re going to get ready to go in and talk about God’s process in the next lesson.