Into the Wilderness

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This power sent Michael L series microphone is more blessed to see this word love this podcast is titled into the me then you consciously have many struggles in your life when I swing my life to Jesus Christ, I was imprisoned in a drug addict back to my life is one big struggle and disappointment. I was fighting a wicked crack cocaine addiction every day of my life seem like a time I would have just a little bit of success, something would come along and not me off my feet, my whole life. Come apart at the seams over and over again the scenario played itself out to finally found myself in prison for a second time in Texas. It was there that I finally surrender my life to Jesus and asked him to become my Lord and Savior, and he did what I made Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior became his disciple.

I thought all the struggles in his life would disappear.

It would be smooth. Seven. From here on out. Let me tell you I was wrong about that one you know is I began to read my Bible.

I read about the struggles and difficulties that Christians have throughout their lives following Jesus all the disciples all the new converts in the stories I read how they person how when they persevered to their struggles and trusted in Jesus. That right there gave them strength second quickest.

12 92 10 speaks about this and he said to me, my grace this is Jesus of Jesus's words, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, this is Paul talking now, therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me, and I would like to say right now paraphrases a little bit. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my struggles and difficulties in my life that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Back in the Scripture. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and needs, and persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I'm strong I'm here to tell you when I am weak in my struggle if I trust Jesus.

I'm strong, why am weak in my difficulty when I trust in Jesus that I'm strong because his strength is made perfect in my weakness it it's my weakness is irresistible to Jesus.

And when I asked him to come in to my difficult time or my struggle in my life with its finances, whether tell whether it's marriage, whether it's in ministry.

He he he is waiting for me to ask him to come into my problem. He says cast your anxieties and cares on me, for I care for you and is waiting there for us to to to give our problems and difficulties stresses in life to him so he can put it in his hands and and help us through. I love this quote right here it says I am thankful for my struggle because without it I would not have found my strength. Another interpretation of it says I am thankful for my struggle because without it I would not have stumbled upon my strength. The nexus kinda commentates that we don't even realize the street we had in Jesus Christ. Sometimes we have to stumble upon it in no better place to stumble upon it is warmer feeling pressed down and and stressed out in the cares, worries and anxieties of life are pressing us down financial health, marriage ministry work. Overbearing boss things just not going away. Car breaks down you don't have enough money to fix it. You have money invested in the stock market. The stock market has has developed in and you're out of money. All that is opportunity for you to stumble upon your strength stumble upon the strength of Jesus Christ that was made perfect in your weakness. I love that soma and believe me I've stumbled upon my straight so many times now walking with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When I thought I just couldn't go any further. He carried me the rest away and in no better place was that display my life was in my diction for 25 years I was addicted to crack cocaine and there's no way I could get get out at others. I was ready to dive thought only way I would ever stop smoking drugs and smoking crack cocaine in in using methamphetamine or drinking alcohol was if I died and I was rated I was just ready to go.

I thought the world be a better place if I died inside because so much heartache so much disappointment and in so much hurt and pain for my loved ones and I stole from so many people and I because I know I cause a lot of problems for people and I stole the last hundred dollars from iso people's cars. I just did a lot of horrible things that cause a lot of hurt and pain for people, but by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ brought me up out of that something that I was totally overcome by that I did not have the strength to take to get out of it. And the Lord delivered me from the sunsets free is free indeed. Tony had been delivered from addiction for over nine years now and I've been serving the Lord every day since they asked for my life to him on a prison job for Amir to tell you that it hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies and cotton candy for me just like everyone else.

I am just because I'm a Christian and I been filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean I'm immune to everyday's life struggles matter-of-fact in some cases I've added more struggles than than I had before. Just because I have this relationship with Jesus Christ and have been reborn does not mean that I do not face the difficulties as a matter fact I believe I face more difficult is now that I fall Jesus Christ before I followed him to just that. Now those difficulties are different and and now I also have the faith, and I know that I can get through them with Jesus is my help. I still have severe hardships and difficult struggles in my life just like everyone else is shifted. Addiction. Praise the Lord in all of its consequences are no longer one of them tell you how good that feels as those are some very hard difficulties in bitter consequences to swallow, but you know what I had to because I chose to use the drugs. No one put a gun to my head and said Michael Bowen, you have to use this drug after the example I chose to do it so I had to deal with the consequences and then also had to go through the consequences and I had to make a choice that I didn't want to use drugs again and I want to change my life. Once I made that choice. There is no way I was in a be able to to do it on my own and so that's why I reached for the hand of Jesus Christ to reach down into my pit my deep dark drug addicted to it and pulled me out by his mighty right hand.

Hallelujah, the love that I encountered the day I was saved by Jesus Christ for my distresses is a day I'll never forget laying crying and weeping begging him to save me on a prison job for so you don't now I just have different types of struggles and difficulties and now I have the power in my life to always overcome them when I put my trust in that one who saved my soul from hell, and who I know will always be there with me. Walk with me to the through the flyer and through the flood and see me on through to to the other side. Philippians 412 13 I know what it is to be in need. This is Paul and I know what it is Planning.

I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in 21 want I can do all this through him who gives me strength so I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength pulsating he's learned the secret of being content in in in every situation says whether well fed or hungry, whether living in Clearwater but I think he also could save whether I'm struggling, or whether I'm in difficulties whether I have no finances whether I don't know what I'm good at what I'm going to eat next because I'm out of money and out of food in any and all situations. He knows that he can get through them, through Christ who gives him strength and I gravitated towards that scripture is one of my matter-of-fact it's one of my power scriptures in my life that I use my life and actually my mother.

She knew I love the Scripture one day she was shopping and she saw this this this silver bracelet is a beautiful silver bracelet with that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

She gave it to me and I wear in and in a system memory a remembrance of the Scripture in my life and in the memory of the woman who gave it to me you I love so much who taught me so many things in new who prayed for me. My whole time when I was addicted and without her.

I don't know where I'd be should she help me from destroying myself so many times and never give up on me and so I really love that scripture and in that gift was given to me in that bracelet as spiritual Christians we need to trust in the Lord with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding know sometimes we are too quick to complain and feel sorry for ourselves and wonder why this difficult thing is happening to us instead of embracing it and coming to the realization that it may actually be a good thing that's kinda interesting concept. This hard thing that I'm going through is actually could turn out to be a good thing or not turn out to be.

Good thing this hard thing is actually really a good thing in disguise.

You know, we are so quick to blame a difficulties struggles on the devil and say we are under spiritual attack when in fact it may just be God move us into a place we can do without one on one without all the distractions of the world you would God lead the Israelites into the wilderness. He did it so they would not be entangled with the influences of Egypt died use the wilderness as a place of separation for them, not separation from him but separation from an influence that was keeping them from their purpose in God. Exodus 1317, 22 says, then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go. The God did not lead them. By the way, the land, the Philistines, although that was near. For God said less perhaps the people change your mind when they see war and return to Egypt. So God led the people around. By the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, you know, when God did this, and he led the Israelites into the wilderness instead of taking them the normal way down the road down a path through the land of the Philistines, he took them into the wilderness and he took him there for reason and and then it goes on and it says so they took their journey from suck off encamped and eat them at the edge of the wilderness and the Lord went before them by day and a pillar of cloud to lead the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as a go by day and night did not take away the pillar of the cloud by day of the pillar of fire by night from before the people you know God was about to do something great with Israelites and he needed to take them into the wilderness to prepare them for this great thing that was about to do. God was preparing them so they would be ready to move into their inheritance as the chosen people of God. The children of God. God was about to take them into the promised land and in and it was through this nation through the invoice through the Jews, that the Savior of the world will come Jesus Christ.

This is what this was all about what had wounded wilderness to prepare them to this work of God which the, the, the overall work of God is the salvation of their souls in Jesus Christ. So this whole wilderness thing was to prepare them for the coming of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Many things would have to happen before that time many hundreds of years but but this was the thing that set everything in motion we really was set even before that were really set in the gardening that the plan of God.

God's plan of salvation and then and then through the Scriptures were read out how Abraham was set apart and was to become a nation and and this is what were seen near the Israelites and with the patriarch Abraham and you in the Scriptures. This land was referred to this land that the wilderness was that the promised land was referred to is a land of milk and honey, very interesting. Exit 38 so I've come down to rescue them from the land hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good spaces land, a land flowing with milk and honey in the Deuteronomy 3020 says when I brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey. The land I promised an oath to their ancestors. And when they eat their fill and drive the beat. They'll be taken care of. They will have plenty of food and I believe is talking spiritual food and physical food and they will thrive fried, meaning they will they will they will progress.

They will multiply and and they will be bountiful and and and plentiful and and and and and just have all the things that that they will need God's description of the promised land is a land flowing with milk and honey is beautiful, beautifully graphic way of highlighting our culture written richness of the land God brought his people out of slavery in Egypt for prosperous land of freedom and blessing and knowledge of the Lord. I'm here to tell you we all have our own promised land that God is preparing us for just like he prepared Israelites for their promised land is preparing you and me from promised land. We have many promised lands in our lifetime and we moved from one promised land to another until we reach the ultimate promised land, which is eternal life know for the Israelites.

Their promised land was the place for spiritual nourishment and an end to enter into a covenant relationship with God. They had to go into the wilderness before they could enter into the promised land. And as I mentioned before, the promised land was the place and the people who are Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would come through would come out of would would would be born into this world for us to be. Say no there's rights they had just come out of Egypt but Egypt had not come out of them so God had to take them into the wilderness to get Egypt out of them so they could enter into the land flowing with milk and honey in the very same way God took me out of my Egypt, which was my addiction just like the Israelites had grown accustomed to a life of slavery. I too had grown accustomed to a life of slavery set my slavery was, not to the Egyptians, my slavery was to the drugs in the addiction that that seated itself in me when I was a young man experimenting with drugs and and and then once it seceded me. I became a slave to it a slave to sin a slave to the darkness of drug addiction.

In my mind and in my flesh you know God in his infinite wisdom and his grace and mercy led me out of my addiction and he led me into the wilderness wilderness of my own God led me out of addiction into prison for a year in prison for me was my wilderness because it prepare it prepared me for my new life promised in Jesus Christ is his disciple and I still when I got arrested I still had Egypt and me. I still had addiction in me was nothing a lot to get that out to pull that out and God prepared a wilderness for me prison that that that would act in that same manner that the wilderness acted on the Israelites. It acted on me and pulled that addiction out of me in those addictive ways. The addictive behaviors. The addicted, thinking in my reliance on drugs, which is a worthless idle and my rebellion in it and it and it took it out of me in that prison and I learned so much about God when I was in prison. It was it time of testing and reckoning for me and all that's where I surrender my life to Jesus Christ on that prison chaplain floor is where God moved at me on a on a cold, hard steel table in a dorm room with another man moves so so mightily on me.

I was filled with the Holy Spirit and began praying it in the new language in a spiritual language in tongs and I and I began to have mighty revelations once I was baptized in the Holy Spirit throughout my year in prison, you know, God led me to each of those idols that I'd set up in my life over the years and he made me choose that day that he put in front of me who I would serve moving forward my worthless idols or him I'd give up the idols of self. The idol of wealth, fame, pride, and lastly alcohol and drugs north thank you God. I do want to thank you right now for taking me into the wilderness of prison so I could see you clearly and be able to do the work on myself that you set before me. That and also to allow you to have your way in me and for you to move somebody on me and for me to start to understand your plan and purpose for my life and for you to for me to encounter your love which which is the thing that drew me in and and and really made me surrender my life and I was the love of Jesus Christ that I surrender to know some may say that prison was the worst time of their lives. But for me, I would say from from a physical perspective. Yeah prison socks in the day to term place have to be but spiritually prison was the most important places I've ever been in my life. Number one, it's where I found my salvation in Jesus Christ. Also, you know, in the wilderness. My prison God was finally able to take Egypt out of me take the addiction anatomy is able to change my slavery. Slavery mentality and replace it with that of the King not come to an understanding that God will use the same process of taking the into the wilderness to prepare me for my next promised land in my new life with Jesus Christ, his disciple, God moves me into the wilderness often. A new wilderness. You know what whatever he's about to do in my life, a new work or new thing I will always going to wilderness before. I've learned to embrace the wilderness and focus on what God is trying to do inside me rather than focus on the difficulty hardship harshness and scarcity of its landscape.

No more learn to embrace the struggle difficulty is I know it's working something out of me and God.

Once he gets that something out of me. That doesn't need to be there can put something new in that's going to help me in my promised land. Maybe the struggle hardship or difficulty you're experiencing right this very moment is a direct result of your prayer for your next promised land. The place that is flowing with milk and honey, whatever that place looks like to you. Whatever your milk and honey may be. Maybe God has moved you right now into the wilderness took to get you to that new place that new promised land that you been praying for. It is possible that some of you are in this wilderness. Right now I'm telling you this is not a bad thing. Just need to change your perspective and the way you're looking at things. Sometimes the Lord will lead us into the wilderness as he can place important things in our spirit while we are there. He puts things in us that he can only put into us while we are in the wilderness. It is those very things that lead us into our victory that transform us into the coffers that we are and lead us into our destiny. Romans eight 3739 yet in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Progress plates waited, that neither death or life arranges the Prince part of the power or things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord the glory of God will shine upon you, most profoundly in your wilderness.

Isaiah 4340 versus 3 to 5 of voices calling clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley. Then the glory Lord will be revealed and all flesh will see it together for the mouth of the Lord spoken. Deuteronomy 3210 says he found him in a desert land in the howling waste of the wilderness. He encircled him, he cared for him.

He guarded him as the pupil of his eye.

Isn't that beautiful have gone found the person speaking about in here, in a desert land in the wilderness and God encircled him.

God cared for him and God guarded him as a people of his eye very sweet. Deuteronomy 27 says, for the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done is known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These 40 years, the Lord your God has been with you. You've not lapped at thing. I promise you, you may think you are lacking in your wilderness, but it says I hear the promise and word you will not lack of thing in your wilderness hallelujah embrace it now. Rejoice in your time in the wilderness for God's doing a mighty work in you for your lateral range will be greater then your first says the Lord. The Lord says I'm giving you more. I moving you to the new place. Joel 223, 231 and the new King James says be glad that you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he is given you the former rain faithfully and he will cause the rain to come down for you a former rain and the latter rain in the first month the threshing floor shall be full of we and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts is eating the crawling locust, the consuming locust and the chewing locust my great army which I sent among you shall eat in the planning and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God was dealt wondrously with you. My people shall never be put to shame that you shall know that I'm in the midst of Israel.

I am the Lord your God, and there is no other. The trust, the prophet Joel referred to the fact that after planting a seasonal rain provided moisture for germination. Initial growth is recalled. Early rain later near the time for harvest. Another watering was referred to as the latter rain so the first frame was important for germination. The second rain provided nourishment that was important for your harvest hallelujah God is, is creating a harvest in you, the latter rain comes in your wilderness to prepare you for your harvest.

The harvest is found in your promised land flowing with milk and honey, when you've arrived in the perfect will and purpose of God in your life doing that which he created you to do in Jesus Christ. God promised his people, great blessings represented by showers of rain. This was part of his covenant. In order for us to make it into our promised land. It is imperative that we go through the wilderness on Our Way in God's infinite wisdom. This is always the path he has chosen for his people, and this is the path you will choose for you the path to your promised land goes through the wilderness, God brought the Israelites in the wilderness because he wanted to speak to them at Mount Sinai. This is where he spoke to Moses and made his covenant with his rights, telling them about the promised land. The land flowing with milk and honey in the wilderness, God also met Elijah was in the desert when God spoke to John the Baptist who spent most of his life in these rough conditions.

Jesus himself went into the wilderness.

Once he received the Holy Spirit to be tempted by Satan to prepare him for his ministry and his ultimate sacrifice that leads to our salvation.

Hallelujah. That led to our salvation, and it is because of Jesus and his sacrifice it.

We can have a promised land from God. Jesus went into the wilderness and did not complain about it but embraced it because he knew how important it was my hope for you is that you can be inspired by this podcast to also embrace her time in the wilderness.

Your time and difficulties your time in your struggles and see its importance that it is bringing you in your next promised land. I love you all and I pray that you too can find the freedom that I found in Jesus Christ. Jesus breaks the change. It was my time in the wilderness to prepare me for all the blessings I now have in my life.

Wilderness help make me the man of God I am today. This is the greatest life I've ever live living my life in Jesus Christ is his fearless disciple God bless you all in Jesus name I pray, thank you for listening. For more information on Michael Billings ministry sons and daughters of thunder visit sons and daughters of thunder.org and remember there is no addiction in Jesus Christ. Jesus breaks the chains.

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