Chapter 1: Introduction to the wilderness

Amen. Thank you, brother Samuel. Okay, guys, here we are. What not to do in the wilderness. Lessons from Exodus. Why am I doing this lesson? Well, I think this is plainly obvious to uh a lot of people, but not some not so much. That the Exodus, the first Exodus, Paul says, are lessons for us. They are instructions for us in these later latter days. So if that’s the case, then I think it behooves us to pay attention to the story the best we can so that we can identify what they did and wrong and what they did right so that we can be thusly instructed.

Chapter 2: The purpose of the wilderness

The wilderness was supposed to be a place of preparation, not a place of permanent residence. That opening statement right there should tell you a great deal about your current desert experience. It’s there to prepare us. It’s not a place of permanent residence. And I know we sometimes can feel like it’s permanent. Fact is it may last the rest of your life, but even that is not permanent. Yehovah has had delivered Israel from Egypt, demonstrated his power, given them his commandments, established his covenant with them, promised to lead them into a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet an entire generation died in the wilderness without ever receiving what had been promised to them. Why? What did they do that was so offensive to Yehovah that he refused to allow them to enter the land?

The answer is especially important because the New Testament, as I said, specifically tells us that these things were written as warnings for us. So, I want you to consider the typology and ask yourself as to whether or not you ever wondered why the account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt and their 40 years in the wilderness was preserved for us in scripture. Just as Jacob’s wrestling with Yehovah has profound significance for those of us who have come out of Babylon and found ourselves wrestling with his truth against the religious traditions and theologies we’ve inherited. So does Israel’s journey through the wilderness. Their story is not only a historical account of a people who wandered through the desert thousands of years ago.

It’s a warning, an example, and a lesson for every one of us who has begun this journey of leaving behind what we once believed to be true. Like Israel, we’ve come out of a system that shaped the way we think, the way we worship, and the way we understand Yehovah. But coming out is only the beginning. We still have to unlearn what we brought with us. Coming out is only the beginning. I want us to think about that for a moment because sometimes some of us can come out of Babylon, whether we opted to on our own or the father made it happen for us, and we have our eyes awakened to these new biblical truths, to his truth. And in one sense, we can almost feel like we’ve finally arrived.

And that’s not the way we need to be seeing this. We haven’t arrived. The awakening that you went through was just the beginning. And it marks the beginning of your journey of unlearning and your journey of discovery about who you really are and about who he really is. Think about Israel. Fleeing Egypt was just the beginning. They, as we all know, had 40 years to have those questions answered. Who is Yah? Who are we? And as we know, they failed. The first generation failed and died in the desert. As a result, they did not make it to the promised land. That’s all possible now for you and I while we’re in the desert. So, I want us to kind of begin this discussion with a dose of humility because it’s going to help us in the future.

Chapter 3: Learning from past failures

what not to do in the wilderness. 1 Corinthians 10 Paul now all these things happened to them Israel as examples and they were written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come. So Paul in his great wisdom understood that the time was coming in the end of the ages that there would be a second Exodus, a greater Exodus. One, because it’s prophesied and he’s a great student of scripture. And we have to learn these lessons. We must learn these lessons. As I said in the fellowship beforehand, I had about a list of 20 different things that I could have talked about this morning. I picked the top four or five. I can’t remember if it’s four or five.

One of the two that I felt like was the most important lessons to learn, but there are many others. Israel’s failures in the wilderness were recorded for our warning. It’s not enough just to come out of Babylon. That’s the easy part. You thought that was the hard part. Getting kicked out of your church. You thought that was the hard part. Leaving family and friends. You thought that was the hard part. No, that’s the easy part. We need to understand where they went wrong and what we must do differently to avoid repeating their mistakes. Otherwise, as I said, we risk repeating the very same mistakes that kept an entire generation from entering the promised land. Remember Deuteronomy 8. You shall remember that Yehovah your Elohim led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re in the wilderness right now, this is why you’re here. because the father is doing with you and to you the very same things that he did with and to Israel to humble them to test them. So my questions are before we even begin we need to ask ourselves a few questions about who we are right now 7th right

Chapter 4: Self-examination questions

now. November 7th 2026 I want you to ask some questions about yourself right now today. This very minute. Am I embracing the humbling? And it’s going to be different for all of us. We all have different things that the father puts in our lives to humble us. What he does to you is going to be different to me, but the outcome needs to be the same. We need to embrace the humbling instead of fighting it. So ask yourself, am I embracing it? Am I enduring the tests with faith? I say with faith because Israel failed the tests without faith. They failed it because they had no faith. The tests are coming for us. We see it all the time. If I let you speak right now, could give us a list of all the ways that you’re being tested in your faith.

Are you enduring those tests with faith? Am I making my heart known to him? He wants to know what’s in your heart. Now, you might say, “Well, he’s God. There’s nothing hidden from him.” Yes, that’s true. But he still wants to know what’s in your heart based on your perception of what you think is in your heart. That requires talking to him about revealing things in your heart that you can’t even see. So, am I making my heart known to him right now? And of course, am I keeping his commandments or not? These are four questions when we read Deuteronomy 8 that we have to apply to ourselves. You may have seen one of my shorts this week where I said the greatest failure of believers today is not making personal the things that we read in scripture.

We can look at verses like Deuteronomy 8 and go, “Oh, wow. Yeah, he did that to Israel.” and fail by not applying it to us here and now. Now, I want you to look at Deuteronomy 8. We just read it. And I want you to compare that to Exodus 7:16. Exodus says, “Thus says Yehovah, God of the Hebrews, Yehovah has sent me to you.” Talking to Pharaoh, saying, “Let my people go that they may worship me in the wilderness.” That word for worship can mean worship and or serve. Let my people go that they may worship me in the wilderness. Compare that to what we just read in Deuteronomy 8. humbling, testing, knowing what’s in your heart, whether or not you’re going to keep the commandments.

And at first glance, you go, “Well, they’re not not quite the same, are they?” But humbling and testing,

Chapter 5: Worship through the testing

heart exposure, and keeping his commandments during this time equals the worship and the serving. You know me, I see uh equations in scripture all the time, and we’re going to see some more in this lesson. But that’s what I see when I compare these two verses together. On one hand, he tells us what he’s going to do while we’re in the desert. But when you look at his words to Pharaoh, what was he after? He was after worship. He was after service. And the thing that we have to realize while we’re here in the desert is the very same thing. We have to understand that the things that we’re going through, the ways that we’re being humbled. And hopefully you understand what it means to be humbled.

Hopefully you understand what it means for God to do something in your life. for him to do something in your life in such a way that you feel stripped of any and everything that you could ever hope to stand on. It’s all taken away. I’ve been there personally. We’ve been there as a family. I hope you have. But I hope you learn to worship through it. We’ve all been tested. We know what that’s like. I hope you learn to worship in the testing. And as your heart is being exposed and you’re seeing the ugliness that can exist in the human heart, greed, selfishness, impurity, sexual immorality, those things are all there. And as your heart’s being exposed, instead of naval gazing, when your heart’s exposed, you turn that around and turn it into worship and gratitude.

And of course, keeping his commandments is something that we’re all trying to do. So, they are one and the same. And sometimes I forget the whole worship thing personally. And this is where I have to repent. Back in the day, one of the roles, one of the many roles I had in uh my church experience was I was a worship leader. I used to sing in a fourpart harmony quartet and performed for our churches and I used to lead the singing and lead the worship and I used to teach the importance of worship in our experience with the father. And since I’ve been in the way, I’ve been so focused on teaching the word that that part of me has kind of died.

And I’ve wanted for a long time to want to reinvent that because what I was doing in my worship back in the day, yeah, it wasn’t worship, but it was a it was a worship without knowledge. Let’s just put it that way. I want to learn what it means to worship with the knowledge. You may, some of you may have seen a video that I posted on Telegram this week. I don’t know how I happened upon this African group singing this amazing song. The harmonies were just mind-blowing. And the words were being transcribed. They’re singing this, of course, in their native tongue. And the words in English are being transcribed. And I’m just moved by the sound of their voices and their harmonies and the words.

My wife had to eventually say, “Honey, are you playing that song again? Turn it.” It’s like 10 times in a row I had to play this song and I shared it with you because we can’t forget this part during this time. And we go, “Well, how it’s so hard to do that because I’m by myself.” Yeah, I get that. But we have to find a way to worship him in the desert. And as I said, I just flat out need to repent of that myself. We often associate worship with praise, singing, prayer, sacrifice, and gathering together. But one of some of the most meaningful worship we offer Yehovah happens when we’re being humbled, tested, brought face to face with what is really in our hearts.

Tim, you’re still there. I think I wanted to ask you, you also have been a worship leader for many years in your Christian experience. Tell me if anything if you have learned what I have yet to learn or repented in ways that I have yet to repent in regards to this worship thing while in the desert. Any thoughts there? Yeah, one of the thoughts is for me personally, you know, I was a worship leader for more than two decades. I just resigned my position less than a year ago and I I’ve been growing so much since. But it’s not because of that. It’s because of the positive aspect. But one of the things is I can’t be grateful and complain at the same time.

What I’m saying is you can’t worship God and be grateful and focus on your problems like God, you know, I’ve got this problem. I got this problem. I got this problem. You know, hey, cuz I like many of you’ve been stripped as well. Yes, he hears you. You’ve been thripped. But you cannot complain and praise God at the very same time. I’m trying to focus on that for me. Well, that’s interesting that you brought that up because we’re kind of going to go there in the content of of our context of our lesson. So, um, consider for a moment what conflict does

Chapter 6: Conflict and belief

between you and another person. What do I mean by that? Well, sometimes when you’re having some kind of conflict with a family member or a friend or a brother, and again, I think we’ve all had those, it tends to do something to me. I used to tell people all the time that you can’t be my best friend until you and I have stood toe-to-toe with one another over an issue. And when I think back about some of my best friends in in my life, I’ve done that with them over one reason or another. And so what am I saying? with a conflict if it’s done correctly and godly is necessary. And by all means, you and I are in conflict right now in all kinds of ways with our father.

We’re during in the desert trying to figure out his truth and in doing so having to give up our truth and our understanding and that’s conflict. But at the end of the day, the idea is that you’re closer to him than you were before. So the wilderness was not only an obstacle between Egypt and the promised land. It was where Israel was to begin finally serving and worshiping him as a redeemed people. In coming out of Babylon, you have finally seen Yah for who he really is. Yeshua is not the lawless Messiah. The father stands by his eternal word forever. You see these things for the first time. And in doing so through the conflict, you’re seeing him for what and who he really is.

And that’s a glorious thing. And by the way, you haven’t fully seen yet. That day is quickly coming. But the wilderness is also where he gets to discover who you really are. And we cannot forget that. I got to move quickly here lest I run out of time. Hebrews 3, for who having heard rebelled, talking about Israel here. Indeed, was it not all Israel who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Now with whom was he angry for 40 years? Wasn’t it those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest? But to those who did not obey, so we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.

Luke, don’t answer me. Keep your mic off. But to answer your question from the fellowship, this is one of the things I do I see in scripture as I’m studying it. He says they couldn’t enter their rest because they did not obey and because of unbelief. And so in one sense those two words are the same. They mean the same. Not obeying is the same as unbelief. Numbers 14. Because all these men who have seen my glory in the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put me to the test, now these 10 times, and have not heeded my voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected me see it.

I want you to look back up at numbers 14 and see if you can identify anything,

Chapter 7: The sin of unbelief

Tim, in that sentence. I have it in blue. Have put me to the test. Anything about that stand out to you? No, I’ll go no right now. Don’t you think it’s ironic here in Numbers 14 that he says, “They’re putting me to the test.” Wait, wait a minute. What did Deuteronomy said? We’re in the desert for us to be tested. But with their unbelief and their lack of obedience, they are putting him to the test. And what does he say in Numbers 14? It’s a rejection of him. Again, remember what not to do in the wilderness. Yehovah brought Israel into the wilderness to test what was in their hearts. But Israel turned around and put him to the test. And what he called testing, they turned into an occasion for rebellion.

Perspective. He called it testing. They turned it into rebellion. How do you see your testing during this time? Will you turn it into an occasion for rebellion or not? Even more significant is that Yehovah connects their testing of him with their rejection of him. And I ask, how do we test and reject? Numbers 14. Then Yva said to Moses, “How long will these people reject me? And how long will they not believe me with all the signs I have performed among them?” Equation. Do you see it? Rejection is the same as not believing in him. And I need to drive this home more than anything else. And I’m going to continue to drive it home in the course of the lesson.

But you must believe during this time. You think you may have struggled with your faith before you were called out. Here’s where it’s really going to be tested. And you have to make the decision whether you’re going to believe him or not. Because if you don’t believe him, it’s a rejection of him. Again, that’s why he’s called you here. He’s called you here to know what was in your heart. Really in your heart. I was going to share this story a little later on, but I’m going to do it right here. My wife and I uh since we came out of the ministry now when we were in the ministry full-time, we were being supported by the church. You know, our needs were met.

We weren’t rich by any stretch of imagination, but our me our needs were met. Our kids were babies and we were raising our kids and and had no problem. We had a paycheck every week. And when we came out of the ministry, I had to redefine myself because I’d been in the ministry. And you know, when you’re in the ministry and you go to see a an employer, they might as well think you’ve been unemployed the whole time. And to say we were struggling financially was not saying it very well because we were. But I also know that during the whole time we were being taught lessons about trusting in him and believing in him. Here I am on the other side of my awakening and we still from time to time have what we call financial times, financial challenges.

My wife has a wonderful career, pays her well. I have a wonderful company he gave me just in the nick of time, but it’s cyclical. It’s a homebased business, as I’ve shared with you before, and some months are awesome, some months aren’t so much. But I’ve learned to not fail the test of belief. When we have a bill due, how are we going to pay it? I believe. I decide to believe because I’m not going to reject him during this time and he has pulled through every single time. Right, wife? Yes. Yes.

Chapter 8: Complaining during hardship

So, let’s get into the four or five issues that I think we need to cover first and foremost. Number one, they complained when deliverance became difficult. Let’s read Exodus 14. When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched a after them. Where were they at? They were at the the shore of the Red Sea. So they were afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to Yehovah. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt. Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us like this to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, “Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?

For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” What’s the contemporary version of this? Now what? I just got kicked out of my church. Now what? I have no more friends. My family hates me because I dared observe the Shabbat. Now what? Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut. At least I had friends. At least I had people to worship with. At least I belonged somewhere. Was it really necessary to leave? Couldn’t I have just stayed and believed what I believed privately? Is this really where y’all wanted me to end up? How many of us had those very thoughts when we came out of Babylon?

And just like Israel, it would have been better if Why did you bring me here? Help me understand this. And they cried out to Moses. And before long, if you’ve done this, and some of us have, you begin remembering everything you enjoyed about your former life while forgetting the very convictions that caused you to leave. And isn’t that ironic? When we get in that place where we begin sharing the attitudes and the heart of the people of Israel, we do we remember the things we loved about ARC. The fellowship, the singing, the worship, the friends so much so that we we forget why it was that we left. Just because Yehovah brings you out of something doesn’t mean the circumstances that follow will immediately be better than the circumstances you left behind.

Consider Israel. Their departure from Egypt was unquestionably the will of the father. Yet that departure led them directly into a situation where they became terrified, questioned their deliverance, and wanted to go back. Which of us could say the exact same thing? It was unquestionably the will of the father that you and I leave Babylon. Yet where we landed was a scary place and some of us wanted to go back. And brothers and sisters, we must pass this test. Some of you have passed this test. Others, you’re just coming out of Babylon and you’re watching this for the very first time. Well, this is perhaps more for you. You must pass this test. You can’t fail here.

Chapter 9: Questioning divine provision

Number two, they complained about what Yehovah provided. Exodus 16. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of Yehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, and when we ate bread to the full, you brought us into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” And when I read this, I thought, “Wow, what do they remember about Egypt?” They remembered the food, but they forgot the bondage. They forgot the bondage, the servitude, the slavery that they were under in a moment of hunger. They forgot. And as a result, they began to accuse the most high of evil.

These were the same people who had cried out for deliverance. Remember, from Egypt, they cried out for deliverance. But now, just a short time after their Exodus, they’re romanticizing Egypt nostalgically. They’re talking about Egypt as though it was a wonderful place where their needs were always met. How many times have we done that? When we think back towards our old life, when the wilderness becomes uncomfortable, and by the way, if it hasn’t already for you, trust me, it will. The things we once recognized as wrong, they can start looking attractive again. Was Christmas really that bad? Was Easter really that bad? Is Halloween really evil? What’s so bad about a Christmas tree? We start remembering the friendships, the fellowship, the familiar routines, the nostalgia, the pagan holidays, and the sense of belonging.

Before long, we begin questioning whether leaving was really worth it in the first place. How do I know that? I’ve heard that. I’ve heard that from several people. Psalm 78. But they, Israel, sinned even more against him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested Yehovah in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against Yehovah. They said, “Can Yehovah prepare a table in the wilderness?” Now, again, I highlight these phrases, these words for a reason. Because I want us to focus on that. Sometimes we don’t say it with our mouth. Sometimes we don’t express it to a brother or a sister. All the things that we talked about above, but it’s in the heart.

And the father was tested by what was in their heart. And they asked for the food of their fancy. What does that mean, Tim? When you read that by asking for the food of their fancy, what does that mean to you? To me, it’s not about food. It’s about something else. But I want to hear your thoughts. I just think the desires of your heart, the comfort, creature comforts, and what you’re used to in your past. Yeah. The things that um the familiarity, things that we loved, that we’re asking for in one way or another. And then this audacious question, can Yehovah prepare a table in the wilderness? And I I’m here to ask you, can he? That’s a question for you, by the way, listener.

Can he? You have to ask that question honestly of yourself and what you believe. Understandably, nothing about your life in the desert is what it used to be, nor will it ever be again. But you have to answer this question. Can he take care of you? What is prepare a table in the wilderness? That just means take care of you, feed you. What does Yeshua say? Do not worry about the things that you’re going to eat and the things that you’re going to wear. Consider the liies. Consider the birds. We would read those verses in our Christian days and go, “Oh, yeah. It’s so sweet.” But here’s where it’s tested. Can Yehovah prepare a table in the wilderness for you?

Can he? Will he? You have to answer that question. And by the way, you have to pass that test.

Chapter 10: Lessons from the manna

Number three, they refused to follow the instructions concerning the manna. Exodus 16. Then the children of Israel did so and gathered some more, some less. Talking about manna here. So when they measured it by he who gathered much had nothing left over. And he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” Nevertheless, notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. Moses was angry with him. So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted. When you read the story of the manna, this wasn’t the wilderness survival 101 that was going on here.

The father wasn’t teaching Israel how to survive in these conditions. He It was an attempt to teach them how to depend on him. Moses said to take what they needed. Well, some took more instructed them not to leave any of it until morning. Nevertheless, some disobeyed and kept a portion overnight. Why, Tim? Why did some disobey and keep a portion overnight despite the instruction? They didn’t trust him to deliver the next portion. Yeah. Well, I have to prepare. I have to be ready. I know Moses said don’t do this but I have to prepare. It’s important for us to have a you know savings stock backup. This is what’s in their hearts. And as I’m saying these words, I know that this is in many of your hearts.

Despite the direct instruction to take what was needed for the day, some disobeyed and kept a portion overnight. And by morning it was full of worms and stank. Now what’s the meaning of that? Sometimes when we don’t trust the father with our dailies and we do all these take all these extra measures to protect ourselves, what we end up with is just stinky worms figuratively. Things don’t go as well as we thought they should. This is an important lesson. There’s there’s a lot of lessons here in this section. Yehovah provided enough but he didn’t provide tomorrow’s manna today. H Yeshua in his prayer when he taught us to pray. Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us each day our daily bread. Do you think he was referencing the manna in the desert here? Yeah. Yeah, he was. Why? Give us each day. Every evening they went to bed without knowing what tomorrow’s manna would look like. They had experienced his provision that day. But they still had to trust that he would do so again. Think about your lives. Think about your needs. bills, debts, things that come up, food, health, gas in the car, all these things require money. Give us each day. Can you have that much faith while you’re in the desert and trust that when the need pops up tomorrow, he’s going to take care of it?

We all left the institutional church because of our new convictions about scripture that he revealed to us. Why am I saying that? Well, think about it for a moment. Here you are in your desert experience. You’re in the wilderness. Why? Because he opened your eyes to the truth. First miracle. Just like Israel, who had a host of miracles to look at, by the time they got actually in the desert, here’s our first. He allowed you to see the truth. He took you out. Just like he took Israel out of Egypt, he took you out of Babylon. And we can’t forget that. We can’t forget that he’s the one who brought us here. He’s responsible for why I’m here.

Chapter 11: The anxiety of the future

He’s responsible for why I’m being tested. For years, we had established community, predictable routines, familiar relationships, and for some of us, maybe even a livelihood connected to that institution. And now those things are gone. And suddenly the future feels very uncertain. But what if Yehovah is teaching us to be faithful with what he’s giving us today? without demanding that he reveal everything about tomorrow. Amen. What does that require? That requires you to be unswervingly faithful to believe without question. So much so that the anxiety that can build up in your heart and this is especially true for the women. The father has given women the amazing ability to think about a thousand things in the span of 10 minutes. I can’t do that as a man.

My wife can and I know women can. It’s just the way their brains are wired. But amongst those thousand things are debts, are how will that bill be paid? are how am I going to make ends meet? What if I can’t pay the rent? What if the money runs out? How am I going to feed my family if I get sick? What if the doctor’s report is bad? What if I lose my house? What if I fail? Now I I talked about the women here but this is not limited to the women by any stretch of imagination. These are the two days that we have to be faithful in because all of this all those questions at the end of the day is nothing more than what if Yah doesn’t come through for me.

That is disbelief. That is rejection of him. You must pass this test by being faithful for today. What are the needs of the day? Trust that he will provide for those needs today. My wonderful wife, she is amazing. She’s super talented on all things financial. She even works in that field. And because of that, she’s thinking about all those things listed above a lot more than I do. And the father has had to do work in our hearts together as a married couple to just trust that all the things that we want to worry about in the future, the father has plans to take care of those things if you do not reject him, if you believe.

Chapter 12: Questioning God’s presence

Four, they tested Yehovah by questioning whether he was even among them. Exodus 17. All the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of Yam and camped in Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. Isn’t it funny how even by this time the father is still intentionally leading them to places where their faith is going to be tested. They thought they were beyond the testing. Here we are again. Therefore, the people contended with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt Yehovah?” And the people thirsted there for water.

And the people complained against Moses and said, “Why is it you’ve brought us out of Egypt? To kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst.” So of course we know the rest of the story cracks open the rock with his stick and water comes out. So he called the name of the place Massah Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel and because they tempted him by saying is the Lord among us or not? Now consider with me for a moment that by this point Yehovah had delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea. Imagine you’re there. Just put yourself there. You saw the 10 plagues. You saw what happened on Passover. You saw the Red Sea parting.

And now you’re walking across on dry land, not damp land, not sand soaked with water, dry land. You saw how the water was made sweet. You saw the manna from heaven. Yet when they encountered another difficulty, they responded as though none of those things had ever happened. Why is that so significant, Tim? Yeah, it’s because they just totally forgot and also didn’t apply them personally as well, but just completely just it’s almost as if it didn’t even happen. They just let it go in their heads. Forgot. That’s a great word. Here’s the thing. Israel wasn’t lost. They hadn’t wandered away from Yah’s instructions. They were exactly where he had directed them to go. where you’re at now, the things that you’re challenged with now, the ways that you’re being tested now is because he has directed you there.

It’s not happen stance. And let me just say this, while we’re in the desert, while we’re calling on his name, while we’re being obedient to his truth, nothing is coincidence from this point on in your life. There are no surprises. He has directed all of it. So the next time you’re up against something where you want to complain, and by the way, if you haven’t seen that as a thread through all four of these so far, then you’re missing something. Complaining. We can’t do that ever. But just know that wherever you are at this moment and in the future when you’re bumping up against something and you feel like you want to complain, you feel like you don’t want to be faithful, just know that the father has brought you there and he is watching.

We sometimes assume that if we’re following Yehovah faithfully, our circumstances should begin to improve. We expect greater peace, clearer direction, restored relationships, and perhaps even evidence that our sacrifices have been worthwhile. But as I said, you are exactly where he wants you at this moment. Being exactly where Yehovah has led you in no way guarantees that you’re going to find everything you need waiting for you when you arrive. Why? Because he’s testing you. And how you respond matters. I’ve been saying that now for months. How we respond absolutely matters during this time. And to me, this has to be the most arrogant, shortsighted question that any of us could ever ask. They’d seen the plagues in Egypt. They’d walked through the Red Sea.

They’d witnessed the destruction of Pharaoh’s army. They had received manna from heaven. Someday we’re going to have that. It’s going to be tasty. I’m looking forward to that. They experienced the cloud by day and fire by night. And now in spite of all of that, they’re asking whether Yehovah is even among them. You have been taken out of Babylon. Many of you, this happened in miraculous ways, your escape from Babylon. You’ve all got your stories. All of you could share great stories of how the father has blessed you here and blessed you there and answered this prayer there and healed you here. All of those things are amazing. But when we get stuck with something and the father’s really working on our character, really trying to change something that you refuse to let go, you can get to the point in your heart where you ask this question.

If even in your heart, is the father with me or not? And that’s a scary place to be. their present circumstances had become more convincing to them. Let’s read that again slowly. Their present circumstances, our present circumstances had become more convincing to them than everything else that Yehovah had already demonstrated. Do you see the power of perspective in our lives? We can’t forget what he’s already done. Consider everything that had to happen in your life to awaken you to his truth and to bring you to where you are today. Only you know the miracles. Only you know the doors he’s opened, the obstacles he’s removed, and the circumstances that brought you to this place. Never ever never ever ever never ever ever measure Yehovah’s presence in your lives by the condition of your current circumstances.

Amen. Brothers and sisters, you must pass this test. Do not make the error that they made. Hebrews 4.

Chapter 13: Conclusion and call to faith

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, and it does, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. This is New Testament now. And remember what I told you about the first generation of Israel that failed to enter. The possibility of failing to enter is still here with us today. Let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them. But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest. Everything that happens in the course of our wilderness experience must be mixed with faith so that we can through our belief enter that rest.

The wilderness was never intended to be Israel’s final destination and it’s not for you. Yehovah did not bring us out of the bondage just to leave us wandering. Brought us out for a purpose and what we do in the wilderness matters. We have the testimony of an entire generation who failed to enter the promise and their mistakes were recorded for our instruction. And in the famous words of our brother David Baronson, we cannot waste this wilderness. Let’s learn from those who came before us. Remember what Yehovah has already done. And remember, remain faithful to the one who brought us this far. Because coming out of Egypt is one thing, as I said at the beginning, but entering the promised land is another thing all together.

And that is my lesson. Amen. So, wow. Finished with uh some good time here and I’m happy because I want to hear your thoughts and your feedback. Brother Luke had his hand up halfway through so we wouldn’t forget. Was that which Luke

Chapter 14: Testimonies and fellowship

was that? Was that Kendrick or Landis that had his hand up? It was Kendrick. Okay. Brother Kendrick, do you want to say something before we start here since you were first? I apologize for that. I wasn’t sure where you were in your last and I I I felt it was coming to a close, but I wasn’t 100% sure. So, I was like, “All right, I got to get my hand up.” But the stuff you covered since my intrusion um uh has covered my questions and my my stance. I am on this page. I am in the wilderness with all of us and I am being tested. When he said to Peter, “Lower your nets off the right side,” he was like, “What?

You know what? Do you No, been out here all night. No, I I’ve done all I can do.” And he’s like, “Just do it one more time.” And he had to let go of those nets. He had to physically drop them into the water. That’s where I’m at. Am I willing to let go? I know he has opened my eyes to scripture well beyond my capacity. And I know that all that he offers is incomprehensible. But because I can’t wrap my head around what he offers, I’m still afraid to let go of my net. Well, amen, bro. And hopefully this lesson has been helpful to you. Amen. Thank you, brother. All right. Luke number two, Landis, you’re up. So, uh, this has really resonated with me.

Um, I wanted to share a little bit of a testimony to encourage everyone. Um, so about a month ago, I got fired from my job. Um, yeah. And, um, I I I didn’t panic. Um, this was the first time in my life really where I I I truly trusted the father. I did not panic. In fact, it’s been a blessing. It’s been so awesome. Uh, so I lost my job, which my job stressed me out anyways, and I kind of hated the direction they were going. Probably why I got fired. But anyway, um, I I I I know that it was a test. I I I saw it pretty quick and I was like, I I I I’m I’m gonna pass this test.

I know that I am because this is temporary. You’re the creator of the universe, so you can totally help my situation. I trust you. I trust that everything’s going to be okay. And from a financial standpoint, didn’t worry about a thing, not even once. Um, so what have I what have I been doing? Uh, I’ve been door dashing. I’ve been door dashing. That’s what I do all day, every day for eight hours, just like I It was my job because it is my job. And it’s amazing. I’m literally making almost exactly the same amount as I was making sitting at a desk job for eight hours. And I get to be outside and I get to exercise and I get to enjoy the weather and I don’t have the stresses.

And I trust the father immensely. Listen, if if he if he’s the creator of the universe, don’t you think that he can handle anything that’s that that that’s coming your way? Of course he can. And so, um, it’s the first time that I’ve really truly put my trust in the father. And it’s been, uh, it’s been so wonderful. And all that time I don’t listen to music while I’m driving. I just sit and think. Eight hours of just thinking. And it’s it’s it’s been such a major blessing. So what’s my point? My point is yes, we’re going to be tested. I think the first thing is recognizing that the father is testing you. In my case, I think he got me out of a situation to be honest.

Uh I think he got me out of thing that was causing physical health problems for me too. Um but then the testing, do I trust him enough that he’s going to take care of my my needs? And the answer is yeah, he totally is. He totally is. So all the glory and and during this entire time, anytime, even the littlest things, even when I get a big delivery, you know, because I pray every morning, Father, I know I’m going to make my daily need. I know that I’m going to make it. But it would be great if you gave me some big deliveries so I could get done and go home and rest because it is physically tiring. I don’t have the energy at 52 like I did at 22.

I think most of us can understand that who are have a little gray in our beard. Um, you know, so and he’s done that. He he he just it’s been so cool to see that like, hey, ask. And does he always do that? Of course not. No. But it’s it it’s I trust him. I trust him. Just this whole thing that we’re going through right now is temporary. We don’t know when the sun’s going to return, but it’s going to be sometime soon. What what that whatever that means. So, just, you know, it’s temporary. Whatever you’re going through right now is temporary. It’s not something that’s going to last forever. You’ve got the father on your side. Trust him. That’s all I got to say.

Amen, brother. Thank you. That’s very inspiring. And I respect a man who does whatever he’s got to do to earn a buck. So there’s no shame in delivering food. Nothing at all. So thanks for sharing that, bro. Okay, Mark, you’re up. I have to give encouragement and praise to y’all myself today. Um, oh, by the way, Luke, I just spent the last three weeks in Montana and to fund my activities while I was up there. I went door dashing. Same experience that you’re talking about. But my thing that I really thought about through all this is there was a time in my life when I didn’t have so much gray in my beard. The finances were substantial. Kind of reminds you like Ed when he had his ministry.

There was a time in my life when I had I thought I had it. I thought I had the cat in the bag. What we call moneywise. Those things aren’t so anymore. But the living daytoday becomes more a reality. And the things I really look forward to and the things I I just the thing I want to share here is the promises. We know about the promises of the coming kingdom here on earth. We know about the eternal kingdom with our father. All those things that just give me uh just pause to endure. And there’s the thing we’re we’re admonished to endure to just keep doing the right instruction. But I have to read this to you because there is this promise in this wilderness as we come out.

And the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moshe. And they had asked from the Mitsurites objects of silver and objects of gold and garments. And Yehovah gave the people favor in the eyes of the Mitzerites. So that they gave them what they asked, and they plundered the Mitsures. and the children of Israel departed from Ramsy’s Dakota about 600,000 men on besides the little ones this departure that’s coming we’re going to be provided people complain about not having leaks and onions manna whatever it was and is again will be all we need for sustenance and y’all’s going to provide it I’m trying to encourage and say, “Hey, it’s so worth it. Let’s just stick to our guns.

Love our father. Do as he says.” Boy, is it going to be worth it. Amen. Mark, thank you so much, brother. That’s very encouraging word. Okay, Jim, you’re up. I think what I have to share this morning will speak to the first two Luke’s. the testimony that each one shared seems to come from a place of where all of us exist. And um I’ll get back to that in just a minute. But what I’m about to share with you guys 1 hour, 8 seconds does not come from me, does not come from any church I’ve ever been to. It comes from the teaching of Southern 1 hour, 16 seconds House Jewish Rabbi David Foreman Alfa. I want to reenourage all of you guys to check that resource out on YouTube.

It’s 1 hour, 24 seconds a free cheap way to begin to get um the perspectives of Southern House. But one of the things that I was never aware of in my entire Christian existence was the 1 hour, 34 seconds distinction that exists all the way from Genesis chapters 1 and two uh of the name of God. In Genesis 1, we find God 1 hour, 41 seconds has named himself Elohim and in Genesis chapter 2, he names himself Yode Vave 1 hour, 47 seconds Elohim. um Yahovah Elohim. And I never even was aware that this was a thing. I 1 hour, 53 seconds I read past it my whole life. Never even considered that that was something to consider. 1 hour, 1 minute But our Southern House uh Jewish friends have been considering this for the last 3,500 years and writing on it and commenting on it.

And their conclusions is that Genesis 1 reveals an aspect of God that we would consider powerful and judgmental because that’s all he does is displays incredible power and judges it. Is it good? Is it not good? It’s good. We’ll keep it. In Genesis 2, Yode Vave Elohim um instead of creating something incredible and powerful creates a garden and um invites relationship. And so um southern house Jewish perspective of Genesis 1 and 2 is that Elohim, power and judgment is one tension within God while relationship and being is an opposite tension within God. And God is struggling throughout his revelation how to express himself to us. And we tend to fall on one end of that spectrum or the other. We usually tend to fall on the Elohim side.

We have become like one of like when God kicks us out of the garden, behold man has become like one of us. Um a Jewish understanding of that is that we have become like only one of them. The Elohim portion of God. that we understand that we can relate to. We are powerful, judgmental, creative beings, but we lost contact with the being relationship portion that that was withheld from us. We went out into the world as a result of our expulsion from the garden, being very powerful, being very judgmental, but we lost an ability to connect with God. And this answers the question that so many of us have when we read the Exodus um experiences. How could how could they not know that God was not with them?

They just seen the Red Sea part and all these plagues. What they had seen was Elohim. They had un this was very powerful God delivering them from Egypt. And maybe Elohim had some war to make with the Egyptians and the Israelites were just a pawn in this powerful game. What they had yet to connect with was Yode Vave Elohim. And this is the tension that still resides within within us. And what I heard in the two Luke’s um I heard Luke one uh recognizing the power of God, but can he let go of the nets to trust in the being God? the God who is with you, the God who is there. And this is what I heard in Luke 2 was God is here.

He’s with me. I I don’t care that I’m doing door dash. He’s providing for my needs and he’s here. Um and and these are the tensions that we all must um confront in our understanding of God. I I I know that 1 hour, 4 minutes for myself, I don’t have a problem with um the powerful God, the creator. What I have a problem with is being God. The God who’s with me in the context of suffering. That’s the one I struggle with. And so that’s what I believe we’re going to have to confront as we head towards, you know, as we are in our personal wilderness is wilder. Wilder wilder whatever the plural of wilderness is. Um I think it’s wilderness.

The wilderness. We’re in the wilderness. Um but uh particularly as many of us believe we’re heading towards a greater Exodus. I think we’re going to confront the same challenge of the Israelites again in understanding the being with us God. The yode vave which again I had no understanding of this. What I’m sharing with you is pure southern house. But yod vave, the tetetrogrammaton is actually a compression of the three verbs of being. I was with you. I am with you. I will be with you. You take those three Jewish or Hebrew words, smash them together, and you get Yahovah. I I was, I am, I will be. That’s what Exactly. That’s exactly right. And so this is the God that is reveal.

This is the aspect of God. This is that that I believe we will all struggle with. I mean, we are that when we read the Exodus departure, we’re reading a future road map for ourselves. We’re not going to have we’re not going to have these great, you know, oh, I get it now. We’re going to be in the same stuff. We’re going to be in the same tension dealing with the same understandings. We’re nothing special. We’re no different than the the Hebrews that came out of um Mitzim. Uh we’re going to be on a journey that’s going to take us step for step through the same tension and trials that the first Exodus had. So anyhow, that’s what I wanted to share and and um God bless you.

Thank you. Amen. Thank you, brother Jim. Appreciate that. Good stuff. Okay, Richard, you are up, brother. Shalom. Ed, I want to thank you for uh for this teaching today because I think you have you have uh allowed the spirit to speak into a message that I desperately needed to hear and where I’m at in the wilderness. Uh found myself kind of somewhere between the two Luke’s uh leaning more toward Luke 1 and Luke 2. And I guess that’s their new nicknames now. Um, similar to to Luke 1, I lost my job. Uh, no, actually, similar to Luke 2, uh, I’m 52 years old. Uh, lost my job September 3rd. Uh, had already made all of the arrangements to observe Sako, uh, non-refundable.

And so that kind of helped me, um, with the wisdom of not backing out, uh, of going and observing SEO. um and helped delay me even looking uh for replacement employment. And uh so I’ve gone on this journey of, you know, I’ve got a runway and I’m sitting here watching that runway slowly diminish. And um I’m just like a kid right out of high school. 26 years invested in a career, two college degrees. You know, I’ve I’ve went from, you know, the very bottom to the very top of the ladder. I’ve I’ve achieved the goals that I set out to achieve back 26 years ago, six figure salary, and I watched it all vanish overnight on on a random Thursday morning for something that was just seemingly stupid.

And I sit back and I reflect and my journey began back in 2018 into the wilderness. But I don’t think I’ve truly hit the wilderness until September. I’m in the thick of it now. I’m probably staring at the Red Sea in this moment. And and I know in the back of my mind that he’s there and that he’s going to provide. But when you’re sitting there in that struggle, that daily tension between what I’ve done for the majority of my life as a Gen Xer with, you know, I grew up where everything was performance-based. My value was performance-based. And I’m sitting here in a season where every day I come down, I I feel guilty for even getting up and walking around the yard or going out somewhere and doing something recreational because I feel like I should be producing.

And right now, I don’t feel like I’m producing. And so breaking that mindset and getting to what you’re talking about today to where I’ve got to quit looking to am I going to be able to pay the bills next month and start looking to what do we need today? And that’s going to be a that’s difficult, brother. I’m going to tell you, I know exactly where Luke 1 is sitting right now because that that’s a struggle when you’ve gone from and a lot of y’all don’t know my story. Back in 1995, I was living under an overpass on the interstate. And since ’95, I’ve actually gone through a couple of where I’ i’ve been torn down and I’ve rebuilt and made my way up to to a significant six-figure income with stability.

And so, everything that I I’m looking at right now and being asked to do is almost like it’s counterproductive. I’m going back to where I was when I was working at labor fighters for daily pay. you know that that’s not sustainable from a logical worldly perspective. And so yeah, I mean that this teaching is just my god, man. You you nailed this one on the head. This is exactly what I needed to to really kind of wrestle with this um and to make sure I’m keeping my mind and my p perspective straight and acknowledging who he is versus who I am. And I think that that’s that’s important and it’s and it’s timely and I I’m I’m very thankful for you.

Amen, brother. Pretty appreciate that. Amen. And we’ll be praying for your situation as well as Luke’s. Um speaking of prayer, before I ask Daria to share, is Diane Grabowski here with us today? Are you online with us, Diane? She sent me an email last night saying that Laura passed away and of course the Laura I know at least here saw her with us this morning, our Canadian connection. Uh but asked us to keep their family in prayer. So, we want to do that um for um Laura and I was hoping that Diane would be able to give us a little more clarity on that, but she doesn’t seem to be with us, but wanted to say that before uh I forget.

So, okay, Daria, you’re up next. Shalom. Shalom. I also want to thank you very much, Ed, for today’s teaching. It’s wonderful. Um and I want to mention something you know when um Israel came out of Egypt they like you you said today something about um coming out of Babylon. Mhm. And I think this is to come out of Babylon is much more much more deeper than we think because uh to come out of Babylon it means to to get rid of any mixing in in our life you know mixture. Um uh it spoke to me because one day when uh when Moses came uh went to to to go to Yehovah and was there and he was not somehow coming back.

So the people at the foot of the of the mountain they were getting nervous and then they they asked um um Aaron you know to to make for themselves the god of who you know. So he was actually uh creating the the golden calf and but the the golden calf it was for for them the god of Israel who led them out of Egypt because he said prepare yourself because tomorrow we will have the feast of Yehovah. So it was like they were serving they were serving or they were they wanted to have the feast of Yehovah but it was like mixture because they were of course they were you know trying to to serve him with the statute they created by their own hands.

So this is kind of uh for me it’s like there are some mixtures in I love we you know when we are mixing like when because all of us came came out most of us most of us came out from uh religion from churchianity and there are of course there are so many things we need to unlearn from churchity but also I believe there are some good things uh we we need to And what I think what we are doing as those who now start to keep Torah is that we try to pour out the baby with the uh bath water as well. So we we try to reject everything that is something to do with Christianity or churchianity. And I think this is the same pattern like when in the 4th century uh uh uh Constantine and his his people they try to reject everything that was something to do with uh Jewish people with what you know so they they just try to to put aside everything and they just you know because they thought it’s it’s bad it’s we don’t want it we will have such such we will have this and this and this and so I think we are doing like the people who came out of churchity some of them are doing the same thing like reject everything uh even you know even even Yeshua being um being uh his dity and just uh following the things they try to understand with their own own mind or with their for understanding.

So I think it’s very important to yes to to pray and to ask Lord show me where I have my own mixing in my life so I can make it right with you. Uh not to reject everything but to keep what is from the Lord and what is what is for me. Because we have to realize one thing because of what I am where I am today is because I was for example like for 19 years in in you know in church and I made my first steps there and God was even faithful although I didn’t uh I didn’t follow the Torah. He was there and he was there for me when I was in time of need when I was in trouble like in England when I was nowhere without money without anything.

I had only my Bible and promise and I said Lord you said you will never leave me never never protect me I don’t know how but you will do it but I believe you and that’s another story but he he made a miracle and he provided for me uh what I needed. So yes, we are we are like you know following Torah and as you said we came out of Babylon and it doesn’t stop there. We need to you know it just starts there. Uh so that’s the way I I see the things like yes coming out of Babylon but we also need to make sure that in our heart in our life there is no no other mixing uh you know with the world and with things like that.

So I hope it made it made sense what I wanted to say um not to reject everything from uh from the churchity but to keep what was good and to be to pray for our brothers and sisters and not to despise them because where they are now we were there as well and because of God’s grace we are now uh following Torah because the Lord has opened our eyes and I am sure he will do it for them as well when we pray for them. Amen. Daria, thank you. Sure. Appreciate the the good word. God bless you. Okay, Cheryl, we’re going to finish up with you, girl. You’re up next. Hi. I just wanted to come on here and encourage Luke and Luke.

Um God called me out of my job four years ago. Uh my last day, it worked out with my employer. It wasn’t my plan, but they wanted to keep me a little bit longer than my notice. And it worked out that my last day was the day before Sukot of my job. And I like the other Luke had had a very good job. And I was um you know making good money. I’d had a job for eight and a half years doing medical sales and was very successful in my job. And when God gave me three confirmations in a day about leaving my job, I said, “God, if this is you telling me I’m supposed to leave my job, I need a fourth confirmation.”

And the fourth confirmation was come out of Babylon. And I said, “Well, you know, that resonates with me, so okay, I’m I’m leaving.” And I did. and I didn’t understand it. But all I can say is over these last four years, I’ve been so overwhelmed at what he’s shown me and how he’s taught me how to depend on him more and more. And he’s taught me things that I didn’t know before, you know, given me insights and wisdom even in study of the Torah. Like my whole wardrobe changed when I came to the knowledge that about fabrics and I’m like, “Oh, this is really cool.” So I over a course of a short period of time start changing my my wardrobe and then he’s he’s showing me hey I’m actually this was actually me calling in you you into more holiness to set you apart from looking like the world even in the way you dress and being a more godly woman.

Right? Showing me things about my diet, showing me things about everything in life, right? and just calling me into further obedience and calling me into ministry and allowing me to do things for him that had I had a job, I would have had my mind fixed on those things and I wouldn’t have had my mind fixed on actually working for him. And so I just want to be an encouragement because when you’re in in this test and you actually leave your job, you leave Babylon like Dario was saying, that’s just the beginning. And it’s just going to be test after test after test now. But it’s because of a plan and a purpose that he ordained for you since before the foundation of the world that he’s calling you into that doesn’t have to do with being in the world.

And it doesn’t have to do with being like the world. You know, we’re programmed with all of this stuff. you know, go to a Greco Roman college and get the Greco Roman University and do the Greco Roman graduation and get the Greco Roman job and have the Greco Roman life. And it doesn’t have anything to do with that. It has to do with us being set apart in being Israel and being God’s holy people and showing what that is to the world who’s in darkness. And God, I just want to encourage you guys that God is going to use you so much just because you have obeyed and you’re willing to sit with this and to realize there’s something more.

And there is. And four years in, I feel like I’m at the very beginning again. I feel like I’m starting over now. And then there’s just more and more and more for me in the future. And it’s just amazing. And I also want to say this. God has really taught me how to depend on him financially. And I’ve seen him provide things for me and do things for me that I could not have done in my job. Those things could only happen because of him. Yeah. Amen. Sister, great final word. Guys, thank you so much for your encouragement, for your sharing. All of it’s good. It’s so good to hear from one another. It’s one thing to hear a guy like me teach a lesson like this.

It’s another thing to let all of you share about how these things are actually happening in your lives. And that gives us all encouragement and reminds us that despite what Satan wants you to believe, we are not alone in this desert. So guys, I hope you have a fantastic day today. My daughter and her husband are going to be stopping by soon um to reveal the sex of their new baby that they’re having. So, that’s exciting. I hope you have a a fantastic weekend and we’ll come back together again next week. Not sure what we’re going to talk about. We’ll see. The father, I’m sure, will reveal it. But, Shabbat shalom everybody. Have a great day. Shalom. Shalom. Shalom. Shalom.

Shalom. Shalom. Shalom. Everyone are never alone. We are always under his watchful eye. Amen. Amen. Without a single person about us, we are under his grace. Amen. Hallelujah. Christine, good to see you. Shalom. Shalom. Love you, Daria. Everybody. Shalom. And none of us want to leave. You know that. Who’s going to stay on long? He’s just gonna have to cut us off. Thank you. Shabbat shalom. Thank you. Okay. And congrats Ed for your child or child of your my grandchild. Thank you. Yes. My life. Congratulations. Awesome. And will this be your first? My first my first two. They’re both going to be born within a month of each other. My son’s child and my daughter’s child. Congratulations. A double portion.

A double portion. They can grow up together. Yes. Good week everyone. All right guys, bye bye.