The Desert Song | Finding Joy in the Eternal

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Visit our website and learn more about Harvest Partners at harvest.org. Mr. Greg Laurie points out the Lord wants us to choose the kind of joy that will follow us into eternity. God's end game is to make us more like Jesus.

He's preparing us for heaven because heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Smart grocery shoppers pay attention to expiration dates. You may see a dozen cartons of milk on the shelf, but a careful look shows that the expiration dates on some cartons are much further into the future. But sometimes we don't think carefully about the other things of life that may affect us.

Those things that bring quick enjoyment often bring long lasting disappointment. Well, coming up today here on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us focus on the things above, the study of Moses. I remember as a little kid I used to go to the desert. I lived with my grandparents.

I mentioned earlier that I was conceived out of wedlock. So basically I was with my mom part of the time. I was with aunts and uncles. But I spent a good part of my childhood with my grandparents and a little bit of it in military school. So my grandparents were interesting. They were from another century, right? You want to talk about old school.

They were the oldest old school you could get. So we lived in Southgate, California, and they had a little cabin in Yucca Valley. Any of you ever been to Yucca Valley?

Okay. That's the desert, Yucca Valley. So we had this little cabin, and the problem was this cabin did not have electricity. And we would often get there at night, and I just remember it was freezing cold, so they'd like the little kerosene lamps and the potbelly stove. But the most traumatic thing for a little kid was having to use the outhouse. There was no bathroom. I went to the outhouse at night. It was cold. It was scary.

It didn't smell good, okay? If that wasn't enough trauma, my grandfather was of the persuasion that food should be fresh, so instead of like normal people going to the market and buying frozen chicken breasts, he would kill the chicken and we'd have it. And it was tasty, but scary, because he took the chicken, live chicken.

I'm like a six-year-old kid watching this. He puts it on his stump, chops its head off. The chicken body rolls off the stump, flapping around, blood going everywhere, and the little head just laying there. I really believe to this day that that body was headed at me, toward me, and I thought, how's this happening? Is the head saying, turn right, turn right, go straight.

I don't know what. So these are some of my memories of hanging out in the desert, and I didn't really have anybody to hang out with, so I'd go and look for lizards. And one time I was allowed to bring a friend out, and so on the drive out, he got sick in the car and threw up everywhere.

So everybody got out of the car, and they said, Greg, you have to clean it up. So in the hot desert sun, I cleaned up my friend's vomit, one of the great highlights of my life. So when you say desert, I don't get excited. So maybe that gives new meaning to the word yucca, valley, right?

That's what it was for me. No offense if you're from there. I know it's a pretty place. And I bring this up because sometimes we find ourselves in a desert. We find ourselves in a wilderness of sorts, and we don't know why we're there. We can't make any sense out of it. That's a time of trial and hardship that you're going through. It might be a personal need that you have before you, and you don't see how that need will ever be met. It might be a time of spiritual dryness in your life, and you are trying to figure out why this has happened to you. Well, let's see what happened to the Israelites as they went into their wilderness.

Quick recap, and we'll sort of catch up to where we are now. You remember, of course, and I already alluded to it, Moses is spared by God because the Pharaoh had put out a decree that all the Jewish baby boys were to be put to death. He was taken into the house of Pharaoh, adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, the princess of Egypt. He basically was eating the finest food in the world.

He had everything one could want. He was literally the prince of Egypt. And the Jewish historian Josephus believes that Moses was potentially being groomed to be the next Pharaoh. But underneath the royal robes beat the heart of a Jew, and he saw his fellow Jews being mistreated, and it distressed him. He wanted to do something about it, but he didn't know what to do. One day he saw an Egyptian slave driver mistreating a Jew, and so he intervened, and the Bible says he looked to the right, and he looked to the left, and he killed the Egyptian. And when the Pharaoh heard about that, he put a contract out of Moses, and Moses ran for his life, so he was no longer the prince of Egypt. He was no longer in the royal family, and he left for North America. No, that wrong story, excuse me.

That's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. That's another story. But there, after 40 years in the wilderness, thinking his life was done for, God recommissioned him. As I've said before, Moses spent 40 years in the Pharaoh's court finding out he was a somebody, 40 years in the wilderness finding out he was a nobody, then 40 years finding out what God can do with a somebody who realizes they're a nobody. Commissioned by God to lead the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt, Moses takes along Aaron, who would prove to be trouble later.

We'll get into that in a future message. He demands the release of the Jews. The Pharaoh digs in and refuses. A series of plagues come upon Egypt. And finally, the Israelites are freed. And now they're making their way to this new land, but they come to what looks like an insurmountable obstacle.

It's called the Red Sea. And we also read in Exodus 14, 10, they saw the Egyptian army in pursuit. So they took their eyes off God and put them on that Egyptian army, which by the way was the mightiest army on earth at the time, and they thought, we're going to die. And they came to Moses, what are you going to do? Did you bring us out here to watch us die? And Moses began to pray and the Lord effectively said, this is not a time to pray, this is a time to move.

Did you know there can come a moment in your life when you don't need to pray about something any longer, you just need to act on it? That time had come for Moses. The Lord said, hold up the staff over the Red Sea, and he did. And the waters opened up and parted, and Israel traveled right through the middle of it.

And then when they got to the other side, the waters collapsed on the pursuing Egyptian army. And now the people of God give glory to the Lord. Bringing me to point number one, remember to give thanks to God for his faithfulness to you. Again, remember to give thanks to God for his faithfulness to you. Psalm 128, three says, the Lord has done great things for us, and we're filled with joy.

So that's what they did. Exodus 15, one says, the people of Israel sang the song to the Lord, I'll sing to the Lord, he triumphed gloriously. He has hurled both horse and rider into the sea, the Lord is my strength and my song, and he has given me victory.

This is my God, and I will praise him, my Father's God, and I will exalt him. A lot of times we're passionate in prayer when we need something from God, and there's nothing wrong with that. You pray about whatever you're facing. But after the Lord has answered your prayer, let me take a quick poll. How many of you have ever had God answer your prayer? Raise your hand up.

Okay. After he has answered your prayer, be just as passionate to give him thanks. You know, we make a lot of noise, and we have the need. The Lord answers the request. Now say, Lord, thank you for what you have done for me.

Now this is interesting. They have their song, their song in the desert. That's why I called this message by that title. But now they're going to go into the wilderness immediately on the heels of this great blessing, reminding us that trials often follow blessings. Sometimes valleys come right after mountaintop experiences, so-called. Have you ever had that happen? Maybe you go to a retreat, and you're blessed, and you feel like your life has been impacted.

And when you return, there's all these troubles waiting for you. Or sometimes even after church, difficulties come your way. Well, you'll find precedent for this in Scripture. Remember, Jesus was baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River.

The Father said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. The Holy Spirit came upon Christ in the form of a dove. And what happens after that? The Bible says, immediately the Spirit of the Lord led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. Immediately.

Right on the heels of it. For Jesus, after the dove came the devil. And for you, after the blessing, may come the trial.

That is what was happening to Israel. But listen, there are truths that can only be learned in the desert. And I'm speaking metaphorically. There are things that can only be learned in a wilderness, so to speak. Jesus went into his wilderness. Moses came out of his wilderness. You remember, even the Apostle Paul, as he was getting prepared to serve the Lord, he went for a time into the desert as well. There are things we learn there. It's been said, Christians are a lot like tea bags. You don't know what they're made of until you put them in hot water.

So maybe you're in the hot water of a trial right now. God's at work. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. You know, when you've walked in the very land where Jesus himself walked, you'll gain a whole new appreciation for the truth of Scripture. Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here inviting you to the Harvest Ministries Israel tour.

April 9 to 19, 2024. This will be an unforgettable journey through biblical sites and a unique opportunity to grow in your own faith. Listen, spots are limited. Be sure to sign up as soon as possible at Israel.harvest.org.

Again, it's Israel.harvest.org. Hope to see you there. Well today, Pastor Greg is offering a number of important principles in his message from Exodus 16 called The Desert Song.

Let's continue. Point number two. God will allow trials in the life of the believer to help them to grow spiritually. God will allow trials in the life of the believer to help them to grow spiritually. You know, if he wanted to, the Lord could have just taken Israel straight to the Promised Land like come through the Red Sea, fast forward, get airlifted right over to the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. But instead, they were in the wilderness.

Now I will add they were in their wilderness longer than they needed to be. The Lord did want them there for a time, but they made it a lot harder than it had to be. But wouldn't it be nice if the moment you accept Christ you just went to heaven, lead people in prayer, and they're in heaven. Let's just pray this prayer. Lord Jesus, come into my life. I know I'm a sinner. Thank you for dying on the cross for me.

I give my life to you now. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. In heaven.

Whoa! I like this. God could do that. But instead, he has us go through life. We go through blessings and trials and all kinds of things as he prepares us for heaven. Why did the Lord let them go to the wilderness? The answer is given in Deuteronomy 8.2.

Where the Lord says, remember how God led you through the wilderness for 40 years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character and to find out whether you would obey his commands. Bottom line, our spiritual roots grow deep when the winds around us make us strong. Because God's end game is to make us more like Jesus.

He's preparing us for heaven because heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. I, as a human being, tend to think of the here and now. God, in contrast, thinks more of the by and by. I think of the temporal. God thinks of the eternal. I think about what will make me happy in the moment. God's more interested in what will make me holy and happy. I look at the small picture.

God looks at the big picture. As I've said before, trials, hardships, are like God's gym. You break down the muscle to build up the muscle. And I don't know about you, but I don't like to exercise. If I could find a way to never exercise again, never go to a gym again, I would be happy, very happy.

But no such thing exists. But I'll talk to people, they just went on a run. I had a great run. I'm like, what is wrong with you? You had a great run, I mean, really? Oh, it's great.

I had a great run when I went through In-N-Out Burger the other day, but you know, come on. But I put up with it because it produces something that's important. And in the same way, we don't necessarily like trials. In fact, Hebrews 11, excuse me, 1211 says, no discipline is enjoyable when it's happening.

It's painful, but the end result is worth it all. James says, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of trials in James 1-2. Or as a more modern translation puts it, consider it a sheer gift, friend, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.

I like that translation. But what do we do? Often, we complain, Lord, why are you letting this happen to me? Look at verse three of chapter 16 of Exodus. They say, if only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. And there we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. And yet you brought us into this wilderness to starve us to death.

What? This is one month after they were delivered from Egypt, which they had been praying about forever. This is one month after the Red Sea had been parted and their enemies are drowned.

And they're basically saying, oh great, you just brought us out here to die. Man, we remember how awesome it was back in Egypt. We just had pots filled with meat, meat everywhere.

And bread, oh, so much bread. Actually, that wasn't true at all. Because as you read about their history, they suffered, they were in pain.

It was so hard for them. But you know, sometimes the devil, he's clever, he'll bring back certain memories from our past. And they're never the miserable memories of the few good times that we had. And we all had a little fun before we were Christians, let's be honest. And the devil will say, remember that one time when? And he'll say, ah, yeah, that was fun. Hey, hey, remember this other time and this time? Oh yeah, that was great.

He'll never say, hey, remember the time when you were so depressed you wanted to kill yourself? Remember that? Remember how you were wracked with guilt each and every day? Hey, remember when you'd wake up in the morning with a hangover? Remember that? Hey, remember when you had to face the repercussions for your sin?

Wasn't that cool? No, he doesn't remind you of that stuff. So in the same way, they're having this memory that isn't even based on reality. The first step to going back is looking back. That is why we're told no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of heaven.

So you can get people out of slavery in a day, but you can't get slavery out of people all that quickly. It's a process. Alan Redpath, a great British preacher that I had the privilege of getting to know. He's wrote a lot of amazing books. In fact, my son Jonathan, his middle name is from Alan.

He's Jonathan Alan Laurie, so named after Alan Redpath. Alan Redpath made this statement and I quote, the conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment, but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime. That's called sanctification. Salvation is instantaneous. Sanctification, becoming more like Christ, that takes a lot of time. In fact, it takes a lifetime. So they prayed and they asked God to intervene and he did intervene.

And that brings me to point number three. God will always provide what you need when you need it. God will always provide what you need when you need it. Sometimes before, never after. Now the Lord's gonna provide them with something to eat called manna.

Let's read about it. Exodus 16, verse 11. Then the Lord said to Moses, I've heard Israel's complaints. Now tell them in the evening you will have meat to eat and in the morning you'll have bread. In fact, all the bread you want.

Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. That evening, vast numbers of quail fell in and covered the camp. The next morning, the area around the camp was wet with dew.

When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance, a flaky substance, as fine as frost, blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. What is it, they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. Now remember, these people had never read the book of Exodus.

Okay, so this is like all happening in real time. God says, I'll give you meat and it rained quail, bird, you know, there's your meat. And now here's your bread. It's called manna. We're told it was sweet and it was a flaky substance as fine as frost.

It comes from the Hebrew, frosto flaco. Not really, but remember frosted flakes? I used to eat those when I was a kid.

I liked them. But it was bread from heaven. In fact, the Bible describes it as angels' food.

Not angels' food cake, but the food of angels. You know, interestingly in the Bible, bread is a staple of life. So if you're on the keto diet, sorry about that.

Or on Atkins. But bread was a part of pretty much every meal. You take your bread and dip it into various sauces and such and put your fish in there and so forth. And so that's why Jesus said in the Lord's Prayer, and he taught us to pray, he said, we should pray, give us this day our daily bread. That's not just talking about bread in particular. It's effectively saying, God give me everything that I need in life. So bread would mean your food, it would mean your housing, it would mean your career, it would mean everything that you need.

Your money. In fact, it's funny, back in the 60s, we used to call money bread. You'd say, hey man, do you have any bread?

Which is another way of saying, can you give me some money? So bread. So this is something God gave to all of them.

And here's the thing that we need to remember. God has promised to provide all of your needs according to his riches in glory and grace. But he has not promised to provide all of your wants.

He'll provide all of your needs, but he won't provide all of your creeds. And sometimes I think we confuse it to, well Lord, I really need this new car. Well maybe you want it, I don't know if you need it.

I really need this bigger house. I really need this other thing. Well maybe you need it, maybe you don't. Listen, if you have food in your stomach and a roof over your head, God has met the needs in your life. So remember to give him thanks. Having said that, we also read in scripture that he's able to do exceedingly above and beyond that which we could ask or think. So you might say, well Lord, I don't know if this is a need or not.

It's something I would like. And the Lord may say, no. But then again he might say, oh actually I want to give you more than you prayed for.

That happens too, doesn't it? So the Lord will meet your needs. He's promised to do so. He gives them this manna. Some great practical encouragement coming from the experience of the Israelites in the desert. It's part of Pastor Greg Laurie's message today on a new beginning called The Desert Song.

Well the new movie, Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon is now out on DVD. And it's thoroughly entertaining and interesting to watch. But it's more than that. Pastor Greg, it could be used as a real spiritual tool. This could help people reach their friends for the Lord, couldn't it? Yeah, and I want you to know, we don't offer cheesy Christian films at Harvest. Okay, if we're going to send you a film, it's going to be good and I think you know that. You've seen the films we've done in the past, Dave McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, most recently, Jesus Revolution.

This documentary is first rate, high quality, beautiful cinematography. Some amazing people that joined us to be a part of it and wanted to talk about Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw, Winona Judd, Marty Stewart, members of Johnny's family as well. But the reason we made this film was to tell a spiritual story. There are other documentaries out on the life of Cash that are quite good, but none of them do what this film does. We do talk about his musical career and his life and so forth. It's a very honest film, very straightforward, but we talk about how God gave Johnny second chances.

That's where the title of it is, Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon. This is a film that offers hope. Do you know someone that needs to be redeemed? Do you know someone that needs a second chance?

Maybe you're that person. This would be a great tool that you can watch and find inspiration or share with someone else that needs this hope. So we want to send you this special edition of Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon on DVD that, yes, has a streaming code, but it also has bonus content, including a presentation of the gospel that I did. So after you watch the documentary film, you could watch this little presentation of the gospel, complete with a prayer for someone to accept Christ. You could have a watch party in your home and see people come to Jesus Christ.

This film is done by the same team that brought you Jesus Revolution, the Kingdom Story Company. So let us send you now your copy of Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon on DVD for your gift of any size. Now, let me explain. We want you to be extra generous as you send that gift so we can continue to preach the gospel and teach the word of God through our radio broadcast, A New Beginning, but also so you can invest in the kingdom of God because you lay up for yourself treasure in heaven when you invest in a ministry like ours. So get your copy of this great resource.

Here's Dave to tell you more. Yeah, it's a film you're really going to love, and we'll send it your way just as soon as we hear from you. Thanks for your partnership with us in bringing these studies each day. And to thank you tangibly, we'll send you Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon. Just call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300.

Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org. You know, there's nothing like hearing the word of God and worshiping the Lord together. I want to encourage you to join us for something we call Harvest at Home. It happens every Saturday and Sunday at harvest.org. You can join Christians from around the world as we worship and we study the word of God together. So join us for Harvest at Home at harvest.org. Well, next time, more insight from our study of Moses leading the Israelites into the wilderness.

It's part of the series Water, Fire, Stone. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. The preceding podcast was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn how to become a Harvest Partner, sign up for daily devotions, and find resources to help you grow in your faith at harvest.org.