Series: Christmas 2020 - 12/06/2020

The coming of Christ is not painless, no matter how much we desire it to be.
Mark 1:1-8
Even when John the Baptist is proclaiming the coming of Christ, he still sees his own need for repentance.
John the Baptist doesn’t appear before Jesus’ birth here in Mark; he appears at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (30 years old).
Mark confirms this coming of Christ by stating Isaiah.
Isaiah 40:1-11
Wilderness

• An uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable
• A neglected or abandon area of a garden or town.

Close to 300 times we see the “wilderness” in the Bible.
A place of suffering, growth and protection.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
(Moses to Israel – 40 years)
Maybe we need to stop trying to get to paradise and….
Maybe we need to wander to the wilderness?
If we journey through the Scripture and the wilderness, we will see….
Abraham and Sarah waiting for twenty-five years for their promised son.
Moses served as a shepherd for 40 years.
Job loss his children, wealth and health.
David ran for his life seeking refuge.
Elijah fled to hide from Jezebel.
Daniel was exiled in Babylon and placed in a lion’s den.
Jesus was tempted 40 days and 40 nights.
Peter and Paul were arrested, beaten and thrown in prison.
So….where are you?
Maybe you’re really in the wilderness crying and praying for paradise but understand this.
Your journey in the wilderness isn’t permanent, but it’s where God has you.
It may not be the paradise you lone for but its right where God wants and needs you.
When the message of Salvation enters our hearts, we start feeling something but…

• Repentance is how it shows in our lives.

Just because I repent and accept Christ doesn’t mean I’m delivered from the wilderness.
Four truths about the wilderness:

1. Israel wasn’t lost, they were led.
2. God wanted to humble
3. God wanted Israel to obey.
4. God wanted Israel to rely only on Him.