                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                          Saved -- But Miserable!

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By David Wilkerson
May 2, 1994
__________

          Thousands of God's people lined the shore, watching as
          a miraculous scene unfolded: "The swift waters of the
          sea had collapsed over Pharaoh's great army!"

          What an incredible scene it must have been -- the
          sights and sounds awesome to behold! Horses bellowed,
          soldiers screamed, chariot wheels spun off in all
          directions, men bobbed up for air and then disappeared
          beneath the flood tide, thousands of bodies washed up
          on the shore.

          An estimated one-and-a-half million Israelites watched
          all this take place - - 600,000 men, Scripture says,
          and probably another 900,000 wives, grandparents and
          children. I picture the people as simply awestruck --
          falling on their knees, their hands raised in praise,
          overwhelmed by the sight of God's power at work. Moses'
          sister Miriam spontaneously led hundreds of dancing
          damsels in a victory march. Thousands of tambourines
          rattled, while tens of thousands of exuberant voices
          shouted out loud hosannas!

          If you had been there that day, you might have asked
          any Israelite, "Hasn't this great, miraculous sight
          made such an impression on you that you'll never again
          doubt God -- no matter what you face in the journey
          ahead?"

          Almost certainly the answer would have been, "Yes! Yes!
          How could anybody doubt a God who buries a whole army?
          He's a miracle-working God -- we've never seen anything
          like it. We'll never doubt Him again!"

                      -------------------------------

                         That great faith in Israel
                        lasted exactly three days!

                      -------------------------------

          I believe the people of Israel wanted to trust God with
          all their heart, and probably were convinced they
          would. The men and women of renown and the elders of
          high principles all greatly desired to spend their
          lifetime trusting Him completely. They fully intended
          to march every mile to the Promised Land full of faith,
          and to enter it saying, "We've seen the ten plagues of
          Egypt. We've seen how God marvelously opened the Red
          Sea and destroyed our enemy. We've witnessed all the
          miraculous things He's done. Who could ever doubt such
          a great and mighty God?"

          And so it is today! Nearly all true followers of Christ
          expect to trust God to the very end. We all intend to
          live our lives full of faith, never doubting, never
          complaining. We say, "I've seen miracles in my own life
          -- I've had my own Red Sea experiences. How could I
          doubt Him, when He's done all these things for me?"

          Yet I ask you: Have you ever thought that one day you
          might end up like ungrateful, complaining, doubting
          Israel? Sadly, many Christians in these last days have
          already become like Israel! The Bible declares that in
          the end times many will lose their faith and leave
          their first love. They will end up in a desert of doubt
          and unbelief -- saved, but miserable!

          Paul wrote to Timothy,

             * "(Keep) faith, and a good conscience; which some
               having put away concerning faith have made
               shipwreck" (1 Timothy 1:19).

          Paul wrote these words soon after Pentecost -- just
          after God had moved mightily in their midst. And he was
          saying that already many had been shipwrecked by
          unbelief!

          Jesus Himself said,

             * "...when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
               faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).

          In other words: "When I return for My people, will I
          find true faith among them?"

          I once had a hard time swallowing those words. "But,
          Lord -- look at the great faith that's all around! So
          many are walking in faith, talking of faith, preaching
          faith. There even are so-called faith ministries!"

          Then the Lord reminded me: Out of those 600,000
          Israelite men who determined to trust Him always, only
          two kept their faith! That's right -- 599,998 lost
          their faith! Only Joshua and Caleb believed and never
          doubted -- and they were the only ones who entered into
          the Promised Land. Every other Israelite over age
          twenty -- each of whom had witnessed the plagues on
          Egypt, had praised God for deliverance at the Red Sea
          -- died in doubt in a miserable wilderness!

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             This Message Is About How a Person Can Be Saved --
                            But Very Miserable!

                      -------------------------------

          I want to talk to you about how you can come out of
          terrible bondage and yet never enter into the fullness
          of Christ! The truth is, many Christians spend their
          entire lives lost in a wilderness -- plagued by
          depression, fear, restlessness and unbelief.

          First, you need to know what the Promised Land
          signifies. It does not represent heaven, as many think.
          On the day the Israelites entered Canaan, wars began --
          yet we know that when we get to heaven, all wars will
          cease.

          Rather, Canaan stood for life at its fullest --
          abundant life. Canaan was a land "flowing with milk and
          honey" -- and that meant abundant blessings, a peaceful
          way of life, rest from all fear.

          Beloved, our Promised Land today is Jesus Christ alive
          in us! He is our inheritance. We rest in His
          faithfulness, we enjoy His presence, and we are joyful
          in Him all our days. God never intended for us to
          become stuck in a wilderness of emptiness and drought.
          Through His Son, He has provided for us abundant life
          -- a life free from all worry and anxiety. It is a life
          that is totally surrendered into God's hands --
          trusting fully in His will and love!

          But it was because of doubt that Israel sent out twelve
          trusted men to spy out the good land. I often have
          wondered: Why would they send out spies if God had
          already told them the land was good and was theirs?

          It was because of fear! In fear they sent out the
          twelve -- and ten of them returned with a coward's
          report! They told stories of giant people, great walled
          cities, impossible barriers. They warned, "The people
          there are like giants -- we're mere grasshoppers
          compared to them. That land will eat us up!"

          Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, kept their
          faith in God's power to deliver. They testified, "We're
          able to go up against them if God is pleased with us.
          They are meat for us! How can you compare giants with
          our mighty God?"

          But that night the other ten spies went from tent to
          tent and tribe to tribe, spreading doubt and fear. And
          all night long the people could be heard weeping in
          their tents:

             * "And all the congregation lifted up their voice,
               and cried; and the people wept that night"
               (Numbers 14:1).

          What a night of infamy it was -- and how grieved God
          must have been! The angels in heaven must have been
          incredulous, wondering, "How could such a thing happen?
          How could a nation so miracle-saturated forget God's
          power and faithfulness to them? How could anyone
          conclude that God is not able to bring them into the
          land?"

          Yet listen to Israel's blasphemous words of doubt and
          bitterness:

             * "And all the children of Israel murmured against
               Moses and Aaron: and the whole congregation said
               unto them, Would God that we had died in the land
               of Egypt! or would God we had died in his
               wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us
               unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our
               wives and our children should be a prey? were it
               not better for us to return into Egypt? And they
               said one to another, Let us make a captain, and
               let us return to Egypt" (verses 2-4).

          Go back to Egypt? With no water, no manna, no
          direction, no cloud or pillar of fire to guide them?
          They couldn't have lasted a week on their own! Even if
          they did make it to the Red Sea, how would they cross
          it? And if they did cross it, how would they face an
          angry nation that had lost all its firstborn, its army
          and its Pharaoh? Egypt would seek revenge!

          Perhaps right now you're in the fight of your life. The
          enemy is coming at you on all sides. You know you have
          a mighty God on your side -- but all you can see is the
          battle in front of you. You're saying, "Oh God, why did
          You bring me into this mess? I can't make it! When I
          got saved, I didn't know it was going to be this hard,
          that I would have to fight so much. I thought I'd just
          march along in Jesus, and everything would be okay."

          So now some are thinking about simply packing it in and
          going back to their old life. But how far do you think
          they'll get? They have no direction, no provision, no
          Spirit of God to lead them. And what do you think the
          devil will do to them once they make it back? He's mad
          they were saved in the first place -- and now they've
          stood up and testified against him. Do you think he's
          going to open his arms to them? No! He'll be after
          their blood -- he'll try to kill them! He wants
          revenge!

          Recently, two troubled young women walked away from our
          Hannah House. And, tragically, within a few weeks they
          walked right into death: Both overdosed on drugs. We've
          seen destruction come time after time to those who say,
          "I'm going back to Egypt!" It is because the devil is a
          harsh taskmaster -- and the wages of sin are death!

          Nehemiah said of Israel:

             * "...and in their rebellion [they] appointed a
               captain to return to their bondage..." (Nehemiah
               9:17).

          They returned to bondage! They thought they would go
          back to something easier than the spiritual battle
          they'd been facing. But they hadn't seen anything yet!

          Listen to these incredible words from the Lord:

             * "...How long will this people provoke me? and how
               long will it be ere they believe me, for all the
               signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite
               them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and
               will make of thee a greater nation and mightier
               than they" (Numbers 14:11-12).

          God said, "I've had it with these people! They're
          confirmed in their unbelief. The more I do for them,
          the more they act in doubt and fear. Now I'm going to
          wipe them off the map! I'm going to destroy them,
          Moses. And then I'll build a new nation out of you,
          because you've been faithful."

          But Moses pleaded with God to show His great mercy,
          long-suffering and forgiveness:

             * "Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this
               people according unto the greatness of thy mercy,
               and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt
               even until now" (verse 19).

          This brings me to the very heart of my message:

                      -------------------------------

             You Can Be Forgiven -- But Shut Out of Fullness!

                      -------------------------------

          You can be the recipient of God's great mercy,
          blessings and protection -- yet never enjoy the life of
          power and rest He intends for you. That is the
          consequence of unbelief!

          Now, God heard Moses' pleading, and He pardoned
          Israel's horrible sins:

             * "And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to
               thy word" (Numbers 14:20).

          But what was the people's reaction?

             * "(They)...refused to obey, neither were they
               mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them;
               but they hardened their necks, and in their
               rebellion appointed a captain to return to their
               bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon,
               gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
               kindness, and forsookest them not" (Nehemiah
               9:16-17).

          God still showed His mercy, love and longsuffering
          toward unbelieving Israel:

             * "Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them
               not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud
               departed not from them by day, to lead them in the
               way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew
               them light, and the way wherein they should go.
               Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them,
               and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth,
               and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty
               years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness,
               so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed
               not old, and their feet swelled not" (verses
               19-21).

          You may be thinking, "They were in good shape! They
          were pardoned, still being guided, still enjoying the
          Spirit in measure, still being cared for, fed and
          clothed. What more could they want?"

          Oh, but there is something terribly wrong here --
          something most sad and tragic! You see, they were
          saved, forgiven and blessed -- but they were going
          nowhere! They were wasting their lives, because they
          had been shut out forever from God's best. They were
          doomed to a "wilderness life" -- being dry, troubled,
          restless, empty, miserable for the rest of their days.
          And they would never make it to the Promised Land!

             * "They shall not see the land..." (verse 23).

          They were shut out, disinherited! God literally broke
          His promise to them -- the promise of bringing them
          into a life of peace and rest:

             * "...and ye shall know my breach of promise" (verse
               34).

          Why did God take such drastic action? Why did He breach
          His promise and condemn them to a life in a howling,
          dry desert full of serpents? It was because of unbelief
          -- plain and simple! They had made it a habit to forget
          all of God's past faithfulness. And in each new crisis
          they murmured and complained!

          But, beloved, these were not a forsaken people! They
          were saved, freed from bondage. The blood sacrifices
          continued. The manna kept coming. The water from the
          Rock still flowed. The pillar and the cloud were still
          visible. Yet Israel was a flawed, lifeless people. God
          called them evil!

             * "But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it
               not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses
               fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that
               they should not enter into his rest, but to them
               that believed not? So we see that they could not
               enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:17-19).

          Israel wasn't cut off because of idolatry, fornication
          or covetousness. It was because of unbelief! God told
          them, "You're not going anywhere. Your life is going to
          be wasted in the wilderness!"

          Can you imagine the misery of living in fear an entire
          lifetime? For forty years these people went in circles,
          their lives wrapped up in simply surviving. They became
          lost in petty problems -- bored, going through the
          motions, always arguing, always sick, constantly
          worrying about things that would never happen.

          This is a picture of what happens when you lose your
          faith! You worry about every petty, little problem that
          comes along. You always question God, "Why?" And you
          never have any strength, power, joy or hope. God says
          to you, "Go back to the wilderness! No, I will not
          forsake you. But you'll never get anywhere!"

          You may object at this point, "All of this is Old
          Testament theology. In the New Testament, God doesn't
          treat His children so severely."

          But the writer of Hebrews answers, "Oh yes, He does!"

             * "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you
               an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the
               living God... Let us labour therefore to enter
               into that rest, lest any man fall after the same
               example of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:12; 4:11).

          We are warned not to fall into the same unbelief that
          doomed Israel to the wilderness life: "You will never
          enter in! Your life will be wasted and dry! God is
          going to give you over to doubt and unbelief -- and
          you'll spend the rest of your Christian walk in utter
          misery!" Unbelief can keep us from entering in, as it
          did Israel!

          I am so glad I was not in Moses' shoes during those
          forty years in the wilderness, pastoring that motley
          congregation! How would you like to be a pastor who is
          told by God, "Don't preach faith to your people
          anymore. It will do no good! They're hardened in their
          unbelief, confirmed in their doubt, habitual
          complainers. I'm going to forbear them -- but they will
          live out their days in misery, going in circles. You
          have forty years of unhappy funerals ahead of you!"

          Even Moses had to learn: God's mercy, forgiveness and
          lovingkindness cannot erase the consequences of
          deep-seated unbelief! Unbelief breaches every promise
          of God. It shuts you out of the fullness of Christ, out
          of all hope. And it drives you into a dry wilderness!

          I believe the great majority of Christians never enter
          into the restful life of Christ's fullness. They spend
          all of their days saved but miserable! They do not
          experience the joys of victories won by faith; they
          never know a life free from continual worry; they never
          enjoy the peace and joy that come to those who trust
          all things into the Lord's hands. Only a few Joshuas
          and Calebs ever enter by faith into the abundant life!

          Here is another great lesson we need to learn from
          Israel's experience:

                      -------------------------------

             We Need to Be Very Careful of What We Say Before
                     the Lord When Facing Difficulty!

                      -------------------------------

          How dangerous it is to speak doubt to others! Scripture
          says the ten spies who "...did bring up the evil report
          upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord"
          (Numbers 14:37).

          And what of the complaining congregation? What of all
          those who cried, "Why has God brought us into this
          land, to kill us by the sword? He should have let us
          die in the wilderness!"

          God answered them: "All right. You'll die in the
          wilderness!"

             * "As truly as I live...as ye have spoken in mine
               ears, so will I do to you: Your carcasses shall
               fall in the wilderness; and all that were numbered
               of you...from twenty years old and upward, which
               have murmured against me" (verses 28-29).

          These may seem like harsh words to you. You may think,
          "But the Israelites were only human! They were uprooted
          from the land, traveling here and there, worried about
          their children. They spoke out of human fear -- but
          their response was only natural. Surely God would
          understand that."

          No! God isn't looking for "just human" responses --
          He's looking for faith responses! He wants a people who
          will say, "I believe God's Word -- and I believe He is
          more concerned for my family than I am! I will not act
          in fear, because He is faithful to keep me in these
          troubled times. Even sickness and death cannot separate
          me from his love and care for me!"

             * "But without faith it is impossible to please him:
               for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
               and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
               seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). "Let us draw near with a
               true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
               hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our
               bodies washed with pure water" (verse 10:22).

                      -------------------------------

             If We Are Going to Make It in These Last Days, We
               Must Be Strong in Faith -- and Our Faith Must
                       Be Founded Only on God's Word!

                      -------------------------------

          Satan's strategy in these last days is to get you to
          doubt the reality of Jesus! He will do everything in
          his power to make you doubt that God is with you in all
          things. Satan has appointed seventy-four highly
          educated theologians to cast doubt on the divinity of
          Christ. This group is called "The Jesus Seminar," and
          they are supposedly among the top biblical scholars in
          America. They meet twice a year to vote on which words
          of Jesus are fake and which are authentic. So far, they
          have voted that almost all of His words are myth --
          phony!

          Revisionism is the theological fashion of the day.
          Three recently published books claim the following
          about Jesus:

             * He was a low-caste illiterate.
             * He did not preach salvation from sin through His
               sacrifice.
             * He never delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
             * He never healed the lame, cured diseases or
               performed a miracle.
             * There were no loaves and fishes. There was no
               water turned into wine, no raising of Lazarus.
             * There was no Crucifixion or Resurrection. Instead,
               His body was consumed by wild dogs.
             * There was no Virgin Birth. All accounts of His
               life are myths.
             * The worship of Christ is all propaganda.

          Such rantings have gone on for centuries. But
          theologians are only now coming down from their ivory
          towers to propagate them.

          One evangelical scholar has responded, "These men are
          trying to deconstruct Jesus and the gospels. But they
          can't provide a credible explanation for why through
          the centuries people have been ready to die for Him."
          He's right -- that kind of devotion isn't given to a
          man who's been eaten by dogs. It is reserved for One
          who has been resurrected and sits enthroned in heaven!

          These blinded scholars are a joke; I don't think they
          cause even a flutter in God's mind. Yet what does
          affect the Lord's heart and move him to anger is the
          unbelief of those who claim to be devoted to Him!

          Let the Jesus Seminar mock God; let one million
          homosexuals parade through the streets and blaspheme
          His name. I don't think these are what offends God
          most. On the contrary, they are nothing in His mind
          compared to the worry and murmuring of His own people!
          What offends God most is unbelief!

          Everything that riles God's Spirit is in His church --
          because that is where his interests are! God's concern
          is that His people are being shaken in their faith,
          that they won't trust Him in their crises. Beloved, our
          worst sin is our unwillingness to believe He will do
          what He promised! And that offends Him more than
          adultery, fornication, drugs, alcohol or any other sin
          of the flesh!

          His Word says,

             * "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of
               temptations" (2 Peter 2:9). "...God is faithful,
               who will not suffer you to be tempted above that
               ye are able; but will with the temptation also
               make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
               it" (I Corinthians 10:13).

          These verses are either the gospel, or they're lies.
          But if they're the gospel, then we must stand on them!
          God wants us to be able to say, "Lord, if I die
          standing here, trusting You to see me through, then let
          me die in faith. Live or die, I'm Yours!"

          Let all the winds and waves of hell come at you. Let
          everything come at you. Our God said He is able -- and
          He knows how to deliver you!

          He intended that you and I have all joy, peace, victory
          and rest in our walk. He is looking for men and women
          who will stand up against what's coming in this dark
          age -- servants who will stand with a calm and a peace
          because Christ abides in them.

          God so desires for you to come into such a place of
          trust. He wants you never again to fear -- but to truly
          rest in His power and ability. He knows how to deliver
          you from all snares, all trials and temptations --

          -- if you will but trust Him!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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