Nothing Wasted: Lessons From The Wilderness | Chrishan | Hillsong East Coast

hi church it is so good to be connected together again i want to talk to us this morning about the wilderness seasons i don't know if you've ever found a season like that in your life i know that i have not just once either but i can remember getting into this season where it started to feel like god is there any fruit from what i have just been through is there any fruit from this last season is there any fruit from these last few years is there any fruit from this last decade have you ever found yourself in a place where you have feel like you've been through a fruitless season or started to lose hope for what you find yourself in the middle of i can remember being through that kind of season and had a conversation with pastor robert ferguson and i remember asking robert hey um i feel like this has all been for nothing i feel like i haven't really grown i feel like i haven't really contributed i feel like i haven't really progressed i remember robert looking back at me and saying there's opportunity all the time to grow there's opportunity all the time to learn and then he said this every season has its lessons that we need to learn and he said to me if you haven't learned the lesson then maybe you're destined to repeat the last season that you've just been in and i quickly came up with about 10 different lessons i'd learned all the different ways in which i'd grown because i just knew that i didn't want to be anywhere near repeating that last season i just came through i don't know about you but i found myself in that place a number of times in life and i think we all can i think we can all find ourselves in seasons that feel a little bit like a wilderness we can be surrounded by people and feel like we're stuck in the wilderness we can be surrounded by every bit of paraphernalia that is screaming in us and be found in a wilderness season i don't know what this coveted season has been like for you but if you resonate and i'm praying that today as we explore the wilderness in the life of jesus in the life of israel that it would have some truths for us that could empower us in all the lessons that god is calling us to learn nothing wasted if you're looking for a title nothing wasted lessons from the wilderness if you've got a bible this morning we're gonna be in the book of matthew and in matthew chapter 4 verses 1 to 11 it says then jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil after fasting 40 days and 40 nights he was hungry no kidding i'm hungry after fasting 40 minutes 40 days and 40 nights and he was hungry the tempter came to him and said if you are the son of god tell these stones to become bread jesus answered it is written man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of god then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple if you are the son of god he said throw yourself down for it is written he will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone and jesus answered him it is also written do not put the lord your god to the test again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all of the kingdoms of the world and their splendor all this i will give you he said if you will bow down and worship me and jesus said to him away from me satan for it is written worship the lord your god and serve him only then the devil left him and angels came to minister to him we're going to take a moment and just break this down just one by one each of these temptations that jesus faces each of them that jesus overcomes they do something profound in his ministry to come you see in deuteronomy chapter 8 verses 15 to 16. we can think to ourselves if i find myself in a world in a season i just got to tough this out i just got to make it through it i just got to get to the other side but i believe there's another perspective that we can take when we find ourselves in the midst of the wilderness that can help us into stepping into all that god has called us to in deuteronomy 8 15 it says he led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness that thirsty and waterless land with its venomous snakes and scorpions he brought you water out of hard rock he gave you mana which we'll come back to he gave you manner to eat in the wilderness something your ancestors had never known to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you to humble and test you there was a purpose for the israelites passing through the wilderness it wasn't just wasted time it wasn't just wasted opportunity it wasn't purely that they weren't listening there was something in it for them it was to humble and to test them so that in the end it might go well with you i don't know about you but i don't love exams i mean i don't mind them if i've studied if i know my stuff if i know that sitting this exam will mean that i can ace it and show how awesome i am then i'm all about it then bring on the exam but i don't know about you there's a sense of nervousness i wish that someone would call the exam off somehow i mean you're going into exams just hoping that this isn't going to happen and we think like that when we think of tests and so when we hear that the wilderness is so that we can be humbled and tested we start to think well i don't i don't want to test i don't like a test i don't i'm not up for tests nobody said anything about tests no one said come follow jesus and there's going to be some tests and i don't know if we think about that in a different way though then i think we can start to lean into it in a fresh way see if we start to think about a test as something that you pass through to progress then all of a sudden we see test in a different light you see i'm glad for tests in life i'm glad that when i go see a doctor they've passed some tests because the testing isn't just what brings about a tick in a box so that you can progress to some arbitrary next level no no the testing is what shows is what proves that you have learned what you need to learn in order to serve people the way that you have called them to in order to progress into the next level and i'm glad that there are some tests i'm glad that my accountant has passed some tests i'm glad that he's passed some physical tests i'm glad that he's passed the test of time i'm glad for that in our doctors i'm glad for that in our medical staff who have served this city so incredibly over this past season during covert i'm glad for some tests in our life tests can function the same not just a way of arbitrarily ticking a box but a way of proving what's been learned to progress to the next level so that we can better serve and fulfill the call of god on our lives i pray that in the season that you find yourself in even if it's a wilderness one that we would learn the lessons and we would humble ourselves that we would pass the tests in order that we can step into god's calling for our lives when we take a look at that passage for a moment it says that it was to humble and test so that in the end it might go well with you i don't believe god brings every wilderness season i don't believe god brings about every challenge but i do believe he works in our lives in such a way so that in the end it may go well with you so that in the end it may go well with you can we look at matthew chapter four the first thing that the enemy comes and says to jesus if you are the son of god command these stones to become loaves of bread if you are the son of god jesus has just been baptized by john he's just come out of the jordan river a voice heaven has opened up dharva's descended upon him a voice has come from heaven saying this is my beloved son this is my beloved son and now the first words of the tempted of jesus are these if you are the son there's a way that the enemy has of turning what god has spoken into our lives into a question mark if you are the son of god if you are the son if you are a daughter are you really loved by him does he really have the best for you does god really want the best for your life and all of a sudden in the wilderness we start to question in the darkness what we knew in the light we start to question what in the darkness what we knew was a certainty that something that god had revealed to us i don't know what has come to you as revelation about your life about what god has for you about what he's working to bring about through you but i do know this that the tempter will always come to try and bring some questions where there has been some revelation now i'm going to let you know i have no problem with questions i'm a big questioner myself i love that we get to ask questions in fact innate in this passage that we're looking at when it comes to the israelites god says i gave you manna in the wilderness that word manna i mean we think about kind of bread from heaven that was sustaining the israelites but that word manner it literally means what is this they never seen it before they didn't know what it was it wasn't close enough to be bred to be just cold bred or some kind of baked goods nobody caught gave it a name it didn't become the next big thing on the corner street it was so confusing they literally called it what is this and jesus and god gave them what is this for the next 40 years and at the very end of their wilderness experience god says take some of the what is this with you so that you will always know i sustained you see it's not about not having questions the questions stayed with israel right throughout the wilderness there was a sense of mystery there was a sense of what is this but in the midst of it there was open hands to receive what god was doing to receive what god was saying to receive what god was showing them to receive how god was causing them to grow and progress so that in the end it might go well with you i pray that we would have that kind of perspective not one that's afraid of questions but one that can discern when the enemy is taking what god has spoken to us about as certainty and revelation and turning it into a question in fact it is the very first thing the enemy does the first thing that he does back in the book of genesis did god really say i mean god had just said and the enemy comes and says did god really save and now the enemy says to jesus if you really are the son of god the first thing that we pick up here in this passage that jesus learns is a lesson in the wilderness the interesting thing is we find that these lessons that he learns in the wilderness these temptations that he overcomes in the wilderness they come back again at different points of his ministry and we see what he has overcome in the wilderness is something that he wins later in his ministry and i pray that in our lives as we overcome things in the wilderness it's going to help us to overcome later in life the first thing is this the temptation of the temporal instead of the eternal the temptation of the temporal instead of the eternal the tempter came and said if you're the son of god command these stones to become loaves but he said is written one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of god in jesus ministry he comes to a samaritan woman who is sitting by a well and he begins to engage her in conversation find out her story share with her the good news in such a way that not just this woman comes to know jesus but the entire village starts to receive christ because of the testimony we realize when we read this passage it comes at a time when he and the disciples are absolutely famished they've been ministering they've been walking around they've been traveling he sits down by this well to get some reprieve while they go to get some food and it's at this moment that he is able to recognize an opportunity to share about what god is doing in a way that transforms a community the people come back the disciples come back and they say to him hey um i wha what's going on like uh aren't you aren't you hungry and and jesus responds to them and says i have food to eat that you know nothing about then his disciples said could someone have brought him food jesus says my food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work don't you have a saying it's still four months until the harvest i tell you open your eyes and look at the fields they arrive for harvest it was the winning of the challenge that we all face temptation to look just at the tempo just at the four months it's going to take and not recognize the harvest that is right in front of us just look about the food that is natural and not realize the food that is eternal the food that is to do the will of the father and jesus wins in the wilderness in such a way that he now wins in his ministry and unlocks something for an entire community of people yeah it's good too it's good to be blessed it's good that we can walk in god's favor but sometimes the very things that we believe for that we pray for that we ask god for that we seek him for can become the things that detract us from all god is wanting to do maybe it's buying a piece of land getting those five yolk of oxen finally just having gotten married all these things are good but when jesus talks about them he encourages us to recognize that we're to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness yes let's believe that all these blessings will be added yes let's believe that we will be able to stand and say that i have been young and now i am old and yet i have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread they are ever liberally giving and lending and their children become a blessing let's believe for those things let's believe for that kind of blessing let's believe for that kind of favor but let the pursue of our lives be the call of god let blessing be the fruit and not the pursuit of all that we have in our hand let the temporal not just distract us from the eternal that god has stored up for us to participate in with him the second lesson that jesus learns is the temptation of self-serving power over self-sacrificial love the temptation of self-serving power over self-sacrificial love the devil took him up to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple if you're the son of god throw yourself down he took him up to that point where he could show jesus everything the kingdoms of everything that was going on and it's had this opportunity where jesus could just use all of his power to show that he was superhuman jesus would have been the first instance of super power ever invented i mean jesus then becomes the first marvel comic hero jesus just becomes the first dc hero i don't know take your pick i don't know what your preference is marvel vs dc but whichever one jesus had the opportunity to become the first jump off this really high thing and then land in such a way that you're safe maybe with some kind of power stance of a superhero arm in the air land on one knee look all powerful proclaim that you have arrived jesus show the people that you can do anything and jesus overcomes by leaning into the fact that he has been called to serve people with love and not have the position and the power that he has be something that serves him not something that's self-serving now we all face this challenge how do we take our positions how do we take the power that we have and use it not as something that serves us but something that serves others i don't know about you but i love william wallace and braveheart and william wallace says it like this when he's challenging the leaders you think or you think the people of this land exist to provide you with position i think your position exists to provide those people with freedom and i go to make sure they have it man you think your position exists for you to be provided with power for esteem for respect for all those things that come with position but maybe like we find in jesus the positions that we have in life exist so that we can serve so that we can be a blessing so that we can add something to the lives of other people you know i love in our in our church that we've always had a culture that says when someone walks through the door we're not thinking what does this say what is it what can this person do to add to me what can this person do to build my ministry what can this person do to increase what i'm about but we have these moments where we realize that when someone walks through the door what we're looking to do is go what can i do to add to someone else's position what can i do to add to someone else's life what can i do to release someone else's ministry what can i do to see what's on their life fruitful and flourishing i pray that that's the perspective that we will continue with as people i pray that that's the perspective we will continue with as a church i pray that's the perspective we will continue to have as individuals and we serve our friends and family that god has positioned in our lives i love that we get to be that kind of church in philippians chapter 2 verses 5 to 8. it says let the same mind be in you that was in christ jesus who though he was in the form of god did not reca regard equality with god as something to be exploited but emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross that's the example that we have and i pray that we would follow in the ways of jesus and win the same test that jesus wins the temptation of self-serving power instead of self-sacrificial love the final thing is this the temptation of the broad way instead of the narrow road the temptation of the broad way instead of the narrow road it's the temptation to do things in the way of the world around us it's the temptation to do things in a way that doesn't reflect jesus with an end that maybe reflects the call of god i pray that for us it would matter how we get to the destination as well as the destination that we get to the enemy takes jesus up to a very high mountain showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and he said to him all these i will give you if you fall down and worship me and jesus said to him away with you satan for it is written worship the lord your god and serve only him took him up to a high place showed him all the kingdoms of the world showed him everything like this is this is everything jesus this is all the kind of promotion you could want this is all the kind of fame that you could want this is all the kind of adoration that you could want why don't i just give you it all now why don't i give you a shortcut to get to where you want to go why don't i just land you in a place where you don't have to go through a grueling three years where you don't have to be sold out by your very best friends where you don't have to be betrayed where you don't have to be tortured where you don't have to be killed where you don't have to go through all of this drama jesus i will give it to you now i will take you to that destination point you can have it just fall down and worship me just do it the ways of the world just opt for the ways of power and opinion just do it the way that i have always done kingdom and jesus says to him and wins this challenge he decides i'm not going to live that way because the way we live is as important as what we achieve the way we live is as important as what we attain the way we get there on the journey and the way we follow jesus matters as much as the calling and the destination that he has for us i pray that in our lives we would realize not just that god has a calling for us in terms of a destination but there is a way for us there is the way of love there is the way of self-sacrifice there is the way of humility there is the way of patience there is the way of kindness there is the way of gentleness there is the way of faith i pray that we would realize that there is a narrow road that leads to a broad life and that is we do the broad way and choose god's narrow way that we will walk into and step into all that god has for us you see in matthew chapter 16 it says this jesus began to explain to his disciples he must go to jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders the chief priests and the teachers of the law and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life peter took him aside and began to rebuke him never lord he said this shall never happen to you jesus turned and said to peter get behind me satan you are a stumbling block to me and you do not have in mind the concerns of god but merely human concerns when jesus goes to an extreme he starts saying to peter get behind me satan i want to suggest that's because jesus has maybe heard these words before jesus has maybe heard satan saying this before jesus there's an easy way jesus there's a way that you can avoid the cross jesus there's a way that you can avoid what's coming to you jesus there's a way that you can avoid this kind of challenge and jesus says to peter hey get behind me satan i've heard this before right at the beginning of my ministry i had a point at which i could choose to move past it all but he recognizes he recognizes that's not the way that god has chosen and that's not the way that he was going to show who god is and that's not the way that he was going to identify with us to the full and so as he steps through every challenge as he wins some victories in the wilderness he wins them later in his life he wins the temptation of the temporal over the eternal he wins the temptation of wanting to choose the broad way over the narrow path and he wins the temptation of choosing self-serving power over self-sacrificial love at the very end of his ministry there's an opportunity where his disciples start pulling out swords to defend jesus jesus says to him put your sword back in its place for all who draw the sword will die by the sword do you not think i can call on my father and he will at once put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels but how then will the scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way jesus what he want in the wilderness what he want in the wilderness by determining that i'm not going to use power to serve me i'm not going to jump off this high thing and show my superpowers what he did what he won in the wilderness by determining those things he now wins in his ministry and what he won in the wilderness now wins in his last days where he starts to realize where he starts to walk out where he starts to move through the temptation to call on angels the temptation to call on every bit of the power that he has as god where he starts to move through all of the temptations to not do those things the way that he is being tempted but to press through every challenge that is coming his way he wins some battles in the wilderness that see him through his ministry i don't know what battles you're facing i don't know what wilderness you find yourself in but i do believe there are some lessons to be learned there are some tests to pass there are some victories to be won i want to pray for us in this next season that we would be able to step into the victories that god has for us and then i'm going to invite us to receive communion together see jesus victory it doesn't just give us a historical help it doesn't just give us a historical example sorry it gives us a present help see in hebrews chapter 4 it says that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but we have one who is tempted in every way just as we are yet he did not sin let us then approach god's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need that's the high priest that we serve and we don't just look back at the examples that he gave us but we can experience his victory in the present we're not just encouraged that he faced challenges but we are present day empowered by the victories that jesus won bishop callisto's where says it like this the incarnation equally is a doctrine of sharing or participation christ shares to the full in what we are and so he makes it possible for us to share in what he is in his divine life and glory he became what we are so as to make us what he is i pray for each and every one of us that we could participate in the life of jesus in the victory of jesus in what jesus has won for us on the cross and proven for us with his resurrection i pray that we would be nourished and sustained by his victory today we're going to receive communion together if you haven't already why don't you grab something to eat like a bit of wafer or a cup why don't you grab something to drink a little bit of water and or juice and we're going to receive this together as a church as a way of remembering what jesus has done for us and a way of actively participating in jesus death and resurrection and overcoming his body broken for us his bloodshed for us and i pray that as we receive this together we have the opportunity to participate in jesus christ can we receive the bread the wafer as we remember his body broken for us can we take a hold of the cup you receive this together with me as we remember is blood poured out for us [Music] father i pray even as you participated in our lives that we may participate in your life may we sense your victory may we be empowered and graced by it lord whatever circumstance we find ourselves in whatever wilderness we find ourselves in may we know you're empowering may we recognize the lessons we need to learn may we overcome the tests that we are called to overcome and may we step into all that you have for us next holy spirit comes walk with us be with us comfort and guide us in jesus mighty name love you church believing this week ahead will be a week of incredible blessing and favor we're starting in fact a 21-day fast for anyone who is interested to join us as we believe as a church in this season to hear from god and allow him to direct and lead us as we head into a season of relaunching our church here on the east coast i pray that you could join us and be a part of this together with us i'm going to pray and believe for blessing over your life this week gonna pray and believe that we'd send some though god's peace and presence with us and then we're gonna worship together and linger in that for a moment love you pray that it's an incredible week ahead for you father we thank you for all that is to come this week all that we don't even know is yet to come but you do and lord we pray may this week be a week of your blessing maybe a week of your leading maybe a week of peace in our hearts and in our homes maybe a week of your wisdom leading and guiding us maybe a week of discernment maybe a week of revelation and living by your word and god we pray that our eyes would be open to all the opportunities around us to be a blessing and to speak of your goodness and your gospel in jesus mighty name amen and amen we love you church have an amazing week be blessed creshon what an incredible message and church before we move on with the service i want to be able to pray for a group of people maybe you're watching and listening to this message and you're compelled right now because you're going i want a relationship with jesus i want to get out of the driver's seat and head into the passenger and let jesus take all control of my life i want to be able to have a best friend that i could call on that i could lean on that i could cry with that i could talk to who shows up every single time i reach out to him see that person is jesus and he wants to be in right relationship with you so right now if that's you maybe put your hand up in the chat maybe let a friend know i would love to be able to pray with you right here right now leading you into right relationship with jesus sees this decision that you're making is first made in your heart the bible tells us romans 10 9 that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouth that jesus is is lord we will be saved so right now in this prayer all you're doing is saying jesus i love you you are my savior so let's repeat after me confessing your belief and love for jesus right now jesus i love you father you are our savior thank you for dying for my sins teach me how to love you teach me how to walk with you teach me how to love this world and my neighbor thank you for dying on the cross and saving my life through that action jesus we love you so much in jesus name amen amen amen congratulations to anyone who made a decision to follow jesus maybe you've made a decision to follow him before and you're committing your life again that is such an awesome decision and we want to be able to help you as a church in every step that you're taking in this new journey in this new relationship with him so right now if you made that decision we simply want you to text jesus to 84 000 you're going to get a link that we would love for you to click on and like i said we want to help you on this next step and this journey that you are starting with jesus right now it's the best thing ever right now church we're gonna kick it right back to worship spend a little bit more time in worship fixating our eyes on jesus our savior we love you church [Music] how vast is the grace [Music] your love is the safest place the peace [Music] do the love that is [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] wow [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] oh give us everything we need [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] um [Music] you

Channel: Hillsong Church East Coast

Views: 5,097

Rating: 4.9689922 out of 5

Keywords: Hillsong, Hillsong NYC, sermons, hillsong worship, Jesus, gospel, church, east coast, christian music, welcome home, Hillsong united, Hillsong East coast

Id: IcBf2NbCTa0

Length: 43min 29sec (2609 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021