Withdraw into the Wilderness
Get alone with God
and
He will get along with you Scripture
Luke 5:16 "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Text Luke 5:16 "…into the wilderness…"
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Withdrew to himself to Pray
Luke 5:16 "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness…" Luke 5:16 "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed." Jesus withdrew into the wilderness to pray
This was not a rare thing for Him Luke 6:12 "And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Jesus is our example Col 4:2 "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" Withdraw into the Wilderness
Not from the Lord but to Him.
He waits out there in the dry and hot.
Having Withdrawn there Himself. Illustration
Sadly, in our nation there are many good young people, who are brilliant,
who are open, who have the right character, but who do not have a cause.
They do not have a purpose, objective, goal.
They are like the Athiest in the coffin, all dressed up, but no place to go.
Nothing grips their heart, imagination, desire.
But there is one thing that is even more sad than this …
Most of them do not realize it.
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The Power is Present
Now lets see the proceeds of having withdrawn into the wilderness Luke 5:17 "And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them." There as nothing as damaging
as the haughty piousness of "I am more separate than you" The singular sin
that has done more to destroy the work of God in the Church is the pride of separation. Don't get me wrong
I am for separation but it should be separation from sin to God.
Not separation from sin to another sin. Nothing runs off people who need Christ the most
than the withdrawal into the wilderness of
"I am better than you are"
"My hair is longer than yours"
"My skirt is more modest than yours"
"My family is bigger and better than yours"
The only thing wrong with any of those statements are the words, "than yours".
Whether it is ever stated or implied. But none of that
means a thing when the person uses his separation
as a whip to get everyone else straight
as a pry bar to put the rest in line
and when they don't,
withdraw fellowship to teach them a lesson. And even then
the Church can put up with a lot until people are being run off by it If folks are turned away
by the sin of the immature I can't help it. If folks are turned away
by the sin of the perceived mature, by the sin of the pillars of the church,
it can't go on. Go to the wilderness
and walk with God. Illustration
The writer, Robert Burns said once, as a tourist standing on a balcony of Warwick Castle, he looked down on one of the most beautiful scenes,
he has ever seen. There was a winding river at the base of the Castle and fields of green grass and yellow mustard stretching off into the hills and stands of ever changing green trees wedging themselves in between the fields. Present also was another tourist, who never added a single brick in the building of himself or country, made this single comment, "Isn't it terrible that there is such a scum floating on the river?" He thought himself to be an improver on the scene before him. But, he actually proved to all present, What and Who he was. Power awaits to the Saint of God
But it is had by those that Withdraw into the Wilderness. The wilderness of
the flesh denied
the world denied
even the good things, that are not done for God, should be denied. Tip toe out to that Wilderness
while it is dark
while everyone sleeps
while it is yet wilderness
because in a few hours
it will be as busy as Greyhound Bus Terminal.
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The Paramedics
Luke 5:18 "And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him." I think that these fellows
have just got back from the Wilderness.
Listening to the Lord.
Listening to Him answer prayer
Listening to hear how they might help their friend.
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The Resourceful
Luke 5:19 "And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus." They were not to be denied
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Faithful Few
Luke 5:20 "And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee."
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Faithless Flock
Luke 5:21 "And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"
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Perceived Introspections Luke 5:22 "But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, Are you glad of that???
I'm glad that no one knows what I'm thinking
I'm glad that no one knows that I don't have much to think with.
I'm glad that I don't have to pray out loud for the Lord to hear me.
I'm glad that I don't have to let the devil know, what I am telling the Lord. Thank God
He hears
He listens
He acts on what He hears
He works in the lives of people just like us. "But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?"
Luke 5:23 "Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?"
Luke 5:24 "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house."
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Cured Invalid Luke 5:25 "And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God." Luke 5:26 "And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day." We are Rom 8:29 "… to be conformed to the image of his Son…."
Phil 2:5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"
Mat 28:19 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"
Mat 28:20 "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Jesus said … Luke 10:37 "…Go, and do thou likewise."
Luke 6:35 "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."
John 13:15 "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."
John 13:16 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him."
John 13:17 "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." 1 Pet 2:21 "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:"
1 John 4:11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Illustration
About 400 years ago Courageous pioneers crossed the ocean to settle places like Jamestown and Plymouth in search of Freedoms.
The Freedom of Speech.
The Freedom of Religion.
The Freedom to Own.
The Freedom to be Courageous.
And we still cherish these Freedoms to this very day, to the extent that we are willing to give our lives to protect them.
But there is a freedom we are in danger of losing and without it the other 4 Freedoms have no meaning at all.
This is the Freedom to be the Best You Can. Christians above all people
ought to hang on with every muscle of their strength, because they alone have the Creator of the Universe to enable them to be the Best that they can be. But to be the Best that we can be,
We must be willing to exercise the Freedom to deny self and to Freely
Take self to the Wilderness to visit with the Father.
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