The Desert

This is dedicated to those who've had the "call" of God, but quit half way down the road. Or , ... what happens when someone walks out on God.
" Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. " (1Sam 2:3)
" For many are called, but few are chosen. "(Mt 22:14) Why is it that so few are chosen from the ranks of those who are "called" ? "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." (Lk 14:33)

When the Bible speaks of this " forsaking " it is refering to a lot more than the abandoning of mere material posessions. Things can and do hold great importance in some people's lives and they can stand in the way of a person's dedication to the Lord, but the greatest hinderance to a person's life-long dedication to God is the " self ", that deep-rooted, entrenched "me,myself and I" that we have been trained by social values to put first in our lives. The world says, " me first "; the Bible says that too, except when the Bible says it it is refering to Jesus. It is to be Jesus first, not the "self" !

Along the path of spiritual growth, and faithful study of God's Word we are brought through changes in our lives that are designed to make us better vessels for the Master's use ( see Bamboo ) " He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30) The Bible promises us that the Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (see He 4:12 and " Intentions " ) and it isn't long before those intentions of the heart are brought to the surface and we are faced with decisions that are life-changing.

Jesus Himself was brought to such a life-changing decision in the garden of the Mount of Olives where it is said that the test was so severe as to bring about great drops of blood where sweat should have been." And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. " (Lk 22:44) His conclusion after this test was, " not my will but Thy will be done "(Lk 22:42) He submitted to the will of His Father.

We also are brought to this decision of death of the self ; and like Jesus, we must decide who's will is more important, ours or God's ? Decidedly, this is not for everyone, although for those who recieve the "high calling of God in Christ Jesus" ( see Soldiers ) there can be no other avenue.

Ok, so why is this called "The Desert" ? When such a "calling" has gone out and a person answers the call of God, but half way through the breaking process they decide that it is too high a price and walk out on God thinking that things will just settle back down to "the way it was before" they are in for quite the surprise. The Bible says, "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." (He 10:38) and to have mocked and made a fool of the Lord is not without consequences. When the prophet Jonah disputed with the Lord about carrying through with what God told him to do and refused to obey and ran away thinking that would get him off the hook, what happened ? Along comes a great big fish (whale) and swallows him whole ! You'd think he would immediately come to his senses and yield to God's will, but his deep-rooted refusal took awhile to wear thin there in the whale's belly, and when it finally did wear thin and he forsook his own way in favour of God's will then the fish spit him out and he was right back where he started prior to being swallowed. He still had to do what God wanted him to do. All that time lost and he still had to go back to where he forsook God's way and do it anyway !

When the children of Israel were miraculously delivered from the grips of Pharaoh's system by numerous signs, wonders and powerful evidence of God's presence they still hadn't forsaken the idols of Egypt in their hearts and so while in the wilderness they still worshipped these idols so that they had to literally go around in circles for 40 years until all those who had doubted and refused God's way had died and only then, with fresh faith, were they allowed to enter into the promised land.

And this is what happens to those who start out by accepting God's call but then when faced with having to rid themselves of them selves in order to be useful vessels in God's hands, and turn their backs on the Lord and refuse to break from their "idol" in their heart then that is as far as they will ever grow spiritually.They right there and then enter the spiritual desert where they will stay until such a time as they finally cry out to the Lord and submit to do His will. What can this "idol" be, you ask? "What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?" (1Cor 10:19) It is any thing that is coming between you and the Lord. It can even be a certain behaviour, or lack thereof. Inaction is still a form of action, only more subtle. To claim that "I didn't do anything !" might just be the problem, when God's plan was for you to do something not nothing. Passive refusal is actually worse than outright refusal as it is inaction born of rebellion in the heart.

We are all born with the majesty of choice to chose to do good or evil, but once a commitment has been made and the spiritual marriage taken place with the Lord then there is no longer any choice in the matter. God does not believe in divorce due to "irreconcilable differences". He expects you to reconcile your differences by yielding to His will, not by rebelling and turning away. He will have no other gods that pass before Him, and that includes the god of "self" ! Oh, sure, you can go on your merry way, but things will not be "business as usual". Your spiritual growth and relationship with the Lord will grind to a halt ... gradually ... you probably won't even notice ... until your spiritual life is dry and barren and lifeless. You will be in your spiritual desert to the day that you break before the Lord and call to Him in a true spirit of repentance. He will be there and will recieve you, as the father received his prodical son who'd left the family and his home next to his father. (Luke chapt 15) You may have given up the crown of your original calling , but God is faithful to give you another once your loyalty to Him has been assured. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." ( 2Tim 2:13)

This spiritual desert can last for years ! But it doesn't have to. Only you can determine how long it will last. The Lord, in the meantime, will deal with you in an attempt to coax you into breaking before Him so that you can come back into fellowship with Him. He says that He will never leave you nor forsake you (He 13:5), even if sometinmes He has to make your life meaningless without Him. He says He is married to the backslidder, " Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you:... "(Jer 3:14) His love and devotion are eternal, although that doesn't mean that He doesn't get upset," He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever." (Ps 103:9) And if you are truly one of His children (see Are we ALL God's Children ? ) then you can expect that He will behave as any loving father would. " For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. " (He 12:6) He will not allow you to make a fool of Him without consequences !

Cast yourself on the altar of God's will and reap the great spiritual rewards that an intimate relationship with the Lord can bring. Come out of the desert today ! "The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility." ( Pro 15:33)

" For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (He 6:4-6)

Why did Jesus shed his blood?

Matthew 26:28 ...this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
The Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood for the remission of sins. As we examine scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments, we can gain a better understanding of the significance of the blood of Jesus.

When we turn back to the Old Testament of the Bible, we see that after sin entered into the world, God required the blood sacrifice of animals for the atonement of sins.

Leviticus 17:11, For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Leviticus 4:3-5 If the priest that is anointed do sin...then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering....he shall... lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD. And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation...

But the blood of the animals still couldn't do the trick. The Israelites were still unfaithful to their God as evidenced by their awhoring after other gods. A better sacrifice was needed.

Hebrews 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
God promised His people, the Jewish people, a new covenant about 600 years before the coming of Christ. We will see that this covenant would also require blood.

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
In the Bible, we have the Old Testament (or Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament. Both were ushered in by blood. The Old Testament came by the blood of animals. The New Testament by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Old Testament
Exodus 24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Hebrews 9:18-20 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

New Testament

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. --Jesus Christ
The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were only a picture of the ultimate sacrifice. When Jesus Christ went to the cross almost 2,000 years ago, He was the ULTIMATE sacrifice.

His skin was whipped off by scourging,
His beard was torn out of his cheeks,
His head pierced with thorns,
His face marred more than any man. He was unrecognizable. The Bible says he was more marred than ANY man.
His hands and feet were nailed through with thick spikes,
His side pierced with a spear after he died.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, completely abolished the system of animal sacrifice forever. The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were only a picture, a figure, of the true sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Their blood was only a figure of the blood of Jesus that would be shed thousands of years later on a cross outside the city of Jeruselem. The animal sacrifices were...

Hebrews 9:9 ...a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience...
9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The blood of animals had to be shed over and over but the blood of Jesus was shed only one time. The Catholic religion does not understand this and contends that the blood is shed over and over again in the mass, but the Bible says something different:

Hebrews 10:12, ...after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.
Hebrews 7:27 ...this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Hebrews 9:28 ...Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many...

Hebrews 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.



The blood of Jesus is powerful. It is a saving, healing blood. Look at what the blood has done:

What the blood of Jesus does Bible Reference

The blood pays for our sins so we don't go to hell. Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The blood bought us. [3] Acts 20:28 ...feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23 ...ye are bought with a price...

The blood justifies us before a holy God. 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him..

The blood redeems us. Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

The blood brought us Gentiles into a relationship with God that we didn't have before. Ephesians 2:11-16 ... ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh ...without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus...are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.

The blood brought Jew and Gentile (regardless of race or nationality) into a right relationship with God. Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.

The blood brought peace. 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

The blood purges our consciences from dead works. Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The blood lets us enter into the holiest place before the throne of God. 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

The blood forges an everlasting covenant between the believer and God. Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

The blood sanctifies us. Hebrews 10:29...the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified...

The blood cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

The blood washes away our sins. Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

The blood causes us to overcome this old wicked world. Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

What Jesus' Blood Can Do Revelation 5:6-10
There are five words that every believer should know and be able to explain. I have defined and discussed all of them many times in sermons and writings, but I am doing so again because they are so essential. Being confident in our beliefs is ever more important as cultures become bolder about persecuting Christians.
Jesus' shed blood redeems believers (1 Peter 1:18-19). This means that we are purchased from a life of slavery to sin. Furthermore, we receive forgiveness—the wrongs of our past, present, and future are totally washed away (Eph. 1:7-8). For the rest of eternity, God views His children through the "veil" of Christ's blood, which makes them pure and holy. Everyone who trusts in Jesus is declared no longer guilty (justified—Rom. 5:8-9) and brought into relationship with God (reconciled—Col. 1:19-22). This unalterable change in status from sinner to saint happens the moment a person receives Christ as Savior.
The final word, sanctified, describes the life-long maturing process that begins when a person trusts in the Savior (Heb. 13:12). A saint is set apart from the rest of humanity for the purpose of making him Christ-like. Through discipleship, testing, and teaching, God "drains out" our old self and pumps the life of Jesus into our heart and life.
These five words tell the story of our faith. Meditate upon the verses related to each one, and pray that God will write the meanings on your heart. When we're confident in our beliefs, we can be a light to others instead of crumbling at the threat of pain.

Let this day be a Day of new beginnings, new freshness, new dedication and a new start for You. I wish you all a happy Easter!