Do you feel like you're wandering in a spiritual wilderness? In this message, Ann Nunnally, founding co-pastor of Victory Fellowship Church, shares how to leave your spiritual wilderness and enter the promised land that God has prepared for you.
"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
God is still there in the place of wilderness and trials.
Sometimes temptation doesn't find us, we find it.
Yet, God is always with us.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 tells us of the wilderness journey of the Hebrew people.
There are 5 "scorpions" from the wilderness that we need to be aware of.
Serpents and scorpions are used to describe our spiritual enemy.
They hide in the darkness and live in the desert places.
Don't walk in the desert, walk in the fullness of what God has for you.
1) Lust - desire for "more" - strong intense desire to please oneself through possessions, greed, money, or power.
2) Idolatry - a sin of spiritually immature people - Saul's idol was his self-image in front of the people. Aaron made the golden calf (sin of idolatry because of what the people wanted; he wanted to please the people). Idolatry is when something is more important to you than God. When the Lord corrects you, it's not because He hates you; it's because He loves you.
3) Sexual Immorality - God cannot bless sexual immorality. he cannot bless what He doesn't ordain. God blesses those united in covenant marriage.
4) Tempting the Lord - When you have the attitude that I am the exception. It is not the Lord's responsibility to help you sin. You can't defy sound judgement and expect God to make things right. God is not a vending machine.
5) Murmuring and Complaining - this indicates a lack of faith in God's will. Murmuring and complaining is the path to division. We want to have thankful hearts. A thankful heart is the gateway into the presence of God.
Are you wondering in the wilderness unable to walk in all God has for you?
God wants you to walk in victory.
Luke 10:19 : God gives His disciples authority over the enemy.
Luke 4:1-14 : Jesus was tempted and He overcame the enemy by the word of God. He came out with the power of the Spirit.
The wilderness is a place where you learn to tread on serpents and you come out in the power of the Spirit.
The purpose of temptation is not death by scorpion bite, but victory and the ability to walk in the power of the Spirit.
