As I pondered this situation, the Lord said to me, "The children of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness making an 11-day trip because they had a wilderness mentality."
But the Israelites had no positive vision for their lives--no dreams. They knew where they came from, but they did not know where they were going. They did not know how to see with "the eye of faith."
We really shouldn't view the Israelites with astonishment because most of us do the same things they did. We keep going around and around the same mountains instead of making progress. The disappointing result is that it takes us years to experience victory over something that could have and should have been dealt with quickly.
I come from a background of abuse. I was raised in a dysfunctional home. My childhood was filled with fear and torment.
My personality was a mess. I built up walls of protection to keep people from hurting me. I was locking others out, but I was also locking myself in. I was a controller, so filled with fear that the only way I could face life was to feel that I was in control, and then no one could hurt me.
As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I believed that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought: How could anyone who has the kind of past I do ever be really all right? It's impossible! I had a wilderness mentality.
But Jesus said, "'The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord'" (Luke 4:18-19, The Amplified Bible).
Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free. I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I really could be set free. I had to have a positive vision for my life.
I had to believe that neither my past nor my present determine my future. I had to get rid of my wilderness thinking.
You may have had a miserable past, or you may be in current circumstances that are negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no reason to hope. But I say to you boldly, Your future is not determined by your past or your present!
Most of the generation the Lord called out of Egypt never entered the Promised Land. Instead, they died in the wilderness. To me, this is one of the saddest things that can happen to a child of God--to have so much available and yet never be able to enjoy any of it.
We need a new mind-set. We need to start believing that God's Word is true. Matthew 19:26 tells us that with God all things are possible.
All He needs is our faith in Him. He needs for us to believe, and He will do the rest.
The Lord is saying the same thing to you and me today that He said to the children of Israel--"'You have dwelt long enough on this mountain'" (Deut. 1:6). It's time for us to move on!
God Wants To Do A New Thing In Your Life
Isaiah 43:18,19
TEXT: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
PROPOSITION: To motivate the hearer to seek a new vision and a new in-terest in the things of God.
INTRODUCTION: Isaiah’s writings to the children of Israel came at a bleak period of their history. They are in captivity, they have lost everything they thought they would keep forever, and they were home sick for the land and the blessing God had promised them.
The 1st step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to
I. CHANGE YOUR FOCUS -- QUIT LOOKING BEHIND START LOOKING HEAD v.18
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Application: If you are continually looking behind you cannot see where you are going.
TEXT: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
PROPOSITION: To motivate the hearer to seek a new vision and a new in-terest in the things of God.
INTRODUCTION: Isaiah’s writings to the children of Israel came at a bleak period of their history. They are in captivity, they have lost everything they thought they would keep forever, and they were home sick for the land and the blessing God had promised them.
The 1st step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to
I. CHANGE YOUR FOCUS -- QUIT LOOKING BEHIND START LOOKING HEAD v.18
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Application: If you are continually looking behind you cannot see where you are going.
If you are ever going to move on to new things in Christ you must learn that ...
A. You Cannot Depend Upon Past Victories To Sustain You
Forget the former things;
Application: The children of Israel had many victories in their past:
1. Leaving Egypt
2. Conquering the Land of Canaan
3. Fighting of prospective conquerors
4. Survived a split in their country
But now they are in captivity. All their previous victories were doing nothing to set them free. They needed a new work, a new miracle, a new victory.
Application: The question isn’t what has God done –the question must be:
What is God doing in your life right now?
What is it that you want Him to do in your life right now?
Secondly, in order to move on to new things in Christ you must know that ...
B. You Cannot Allow Your Past Failures to Possess You
... do not dwell on the past.
... do not dwell on the past.
Application: The children of Israel had failed God miserably. Every time He blessed them with good things, they returned to Him evil things:
1. God gave them the Temple - they gave Him idol worship
2. God gave them truth - they lived and proclaimed a lie
3. God gave them His commands - they lived like they were suggestions.
4. God gave them wealth - they used it to abuse the poor
5. God gave them Himself - they gave Him nothing except rejection.
The children of Israel did not deserve to receive anything from God. Yet He still loved them and He earnestly wanted to help them change. Notice God’s Message:
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
God was not condemning them for their past, they could do nothing to change it. Instead God was holding out the hand of hope. He is in effect say-ing: Forget about your past -- I am giving you an opportunity to start over.
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
If you are going to get anywhere in your spiritual life you must understand that...
C. You Cannot Live on Yesterday’s Faith
Application: The children of Israel had experienced great spiritual blessings throughout their history. From the first Passover, to the crossing of the Red Sea, to the conquering of the Land of Canaan, to the building of the temple, the children of Israel had seen the hand of God at work in and through their lives. Yet their faith in what God had done was doing nothing to deliver them from their present situation. Their old faith was not sufficient enough to de-liver them from their present problems. They needed new faith, a new vision for what God could do. They needed a new portion of the faith that had brought to pass all the victories from before.
Application: The children of Israel had experienced great spiritual blessings throughout their history. From the first Passover, to the crossing of the Red Sea, to the conquering of the Land of Canaan, to the building of the temple, the children of Israel had seen the hand of God at work in and through their lives. Yet their faith in what God had done was doing nothing to deliver them from their present situation. Their old faith was not sufficient enough to de-liver them from their present problems. They needed new faith, a new vision for what God could do. They needed a new portion of the faith that had brought to pass all the victories from before.
Psalm 85:6-8a Will You not revive us again, That Your people may re-joice in You? Show us Your mercy, Lord, And grant us Your salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
The 2nd step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to
II. CLARIFY YOUR FOCUS -- DISCOVER WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Perceive [GR yada’, yaw-dah’ prim. root]: to know by seeing; care, recogni-tion, acknowledge, aware of, understand.
Application: What do you see when you view your life? Do you see possi-bilities or problems? Notice what God said: I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
The children of Israel had a choice. They could view their past and the prob-lems of their present, or they could focus upon what God wanted to do in their lives.
Way -vs- Desert
Streams -vs- Wasteland
In order to discover what God wants for you, ...
A. You Must First See Yourself as God Sees You
Application: The children of Israel felt as though they were getting just what they deserved because of the way they had lived. Some even believed that God would never have anything more to do with them. But they were wrong!!! You may feel like your past has made your life a wasteland but in God, your life can become a stream of life.
Romans 8:1,2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Colossians 1:21,22
Application: The children of Israel felt as though they were getting just what they deserved because of the way they had lived. Some even believed that God would never have anything more to do with them. But they were wrong!!! You may feel like your past has made your life a wasteland but in God, your life can become a stream of life.
Romans 8:1,2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Colossians 1:21,22
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight
In order to discover what God wants for you, ...
B. You Must See Your Possibilities as God Sees Them
I am making a way in the desert ...
Application: God is able to transform the desert areas of your life into fields of blessing and abundance. God can take a dried up useless life and trans-form it into a life of purpose and grace:
2 Corinthians 3:17,18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The greatest step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to
In order to discover what God wants for you, ...
B. You Must See Your Possibilities as God Sees Them
I am making a way in the desert ...
Application: God is able to transform the desert areas of your life into fields of blessing and abundance. God can take a dried up useless life and trans-form it into a life of purpose and grace:
2 Corinthians 3:17,18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The greatest step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to
III. COMMIT YOURSELF TO GOD’S PLAN
Application: God had already set into motion the events and people who would lead Israel out of captivity and back into the land of blessing. But it was still up to them to decide if they wanted what God was offering. If they refused God’s plan, if they refused to follow where God was leading, then they would be doomed to remain in their captivity.
Text: I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up;do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Application: God had already set into motion the events and people who would lead Israel out of captivity and back into the land of blessing. But it was still up to them to decide if they wanted what God was offering. If they refused God’s plan, if they refused to follow where God was leading, then they would be doomed to remain in their captivity.
Text: I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up;do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Application: God has already set into motion a new direction and a new purpose for your life -- will you follow Him?
Psalms 95:7,8 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pas-ture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, ...
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