The desert had crucified him and had left him to die or survive, according to his spirit and his strength.”

                    –Zane Grey  (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

 

       “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.  And he led the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

                    –Exodus 3:1 (NKJV)

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     You may have wandered into this wasteland that you have found yourself in.  The Spirit may have led you as He did the Lord Himself and as He did Moses.  You may have taken it on a dare, a lark of adventure, excitement, but now…  You are not accustomed to the wilderness, you are not familiar with it or its ways.  You have not honed your weapons and you have not trained with them properly and now you find yourself in a fix, a world of hurt.  You may have bragged that you could handle anything for a day, a week, but now you are experiencing something that is completely foreign to you, out of your comfort zone for sure, and out of your abilities.

     This is the situation in which Moses found himself.  First of all, we need to know that whatever we do in life can be used to develop our character (for good or bad) to add to our knowledge.  Sometimes we are thrust into situations, jobs, and other experiences that we do not like, but they are there to help us along the way, even if we do not know how, or how to enjoy the experience.  Moses understood, while as a prince of Egypt, that something was wrong deep inside his being.  He was part of the court of Pharaoh and a member of the royal family.  Was it that his spirit was lost, wandering about in some wasteland that he knew nothing about?  There was turmoil in his soul and it would not rest.  Circumstances then intervened (or was it the Holy Spirit?).  He committed a murder which forced him to retreat into the wilderness.  Trying to escape his deed, he fled.  Actually, not knowing, it was the calling that was deep in his soul that forced him there, and it would take the next forty years to surface.  Forty years of not knowing, and we often complain of a day or a season of our wandering.

     He had to learn the ways of the wilderness; he had to come to the place where he was no stranger to its ways.  He had used it as a means of escape from his past.  For years he learned of the wilderness while at the same time hiding his past in the robes of a shepherd.  He worked, moving the flock for which he was caring from place to place all the time learning and developing.  One day he found himself in the western portion of the wilderness.  It was there, while working doing his common duty that he noticed a strange phenomenon on the mountain of God.  What drew him to that place?  What has drawn you to the place that you now find yourself?

     It is very interesting that while simply doing his duties that come with the day’s work that he finds himself in this particular wilderness area.  He fled there once when escaping Egypt; and now, working as a shepherd, he finds himself there again.  It doesn’t necessarily make a difference why you entered the wilderness but that you develop; you do what is expected of you and you pay attention.  You become alert so that God can speak to you.

     Moses had left prosperity.  He had left the city, the glamour and bright lights, and his wealth and fame.  He had left his previous life and now he was simply a worker and a member of the family of Jethro.  He was learning many lessons, one of which stands out in importance–a person often has to leave the hustle and bustle of the city to find God.  We find ourselves simply too busy in a noise-polluted environment where we cannot hear the quiet voice that speaks softly to the ear of our soul.  Oh, it may not be a city such as New York or Chicago, it may be humdrum USA, but you are busy, stressed, running hither and thither so that you cannot hear, or care not to.

     God was waiting for Moses in the wilderness.  It is not that God is not in the city, in the hectic daily routine, or in the flux of the crowds, but that He wants us in the wilderness.  Why?  Because in the wilderness all of the fluff and bravado is stripped away.  It is you and the wasteland.  It is you and perhaps the bleating of sheep, or the grunt of the camel, or the rattle of the snake.  It is there that God can touch you and get your attention after the cares of this world have been crucified.

       “The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.”
                    –Proverbs 29:27 (NIV)
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One of the peeves towards the top of my list are those with the Peter Pan Syndrome.  Play, play, play, never grow up.  These are people so often written about in Proverbs as the fool or simpleton.  They don’t want to accept responsibility but want to sit on the couch with their phones or playstations.  Let the world drift by, and then clamor that they are not being treated right.  If something happens to them, they come unglued, cry and whine, then don’t know what to do saying that life is so unfair–boo hoo hoo hoo.
     The writer of Hebrews has some direct words for these types.

          “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
                   –Hebrews 5:11-14 (NIV)

When asked, “why do you go to church?” at the top of the list is either fellowship or the “worship” service.  While both are important and needed, there is little hunger for the doctrinal teaching of Scripture.  “Theology divides” they clamor, yet what is “theology” but the study of God.  Shouldn’t we long for more knowledge of the Almighty?  If discussion is brought up about righteousness or sanctification almost immediately is the chant–“legalism”.  Listen!  Righteousness is not legalism!  Sanctification is not legalism!  “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after what?  Righteousness!  You cannot discern proper worship without a righteous hunger in the heart.  Ray Stedman made an interesting yet vital statement, “There is a cloud of threat hanging over people due to their immaturity.”
     Woe unto us if there is not growth in the church and in the individual.  Woe unto the family if proper spiritual nourishment and food is not provided.  Woe unto the individual if they do not partake of what is offered, taste, digest, and grow.  We are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  Hold on–that is legalism!  Read again, Philippians 2:12.  Three things I have come to see within those who are immature, childish, babies in the church.  I borrowed some from Ray Stedman though I have already seen these in action.  
     For a fact–age alone does not produce maturity!  I had a student one time ask if I thought he was an adult, a mature person.  My response was, “do you accept responsibility?”  He put his head down and walked away.  I might add that he is doing quite well now, and is approaching thirty.  Look around you at all the childish behavior that we see in so-called adults.  They are adults only in age, not in doing what is required of them, of fulfilling their obligations of life and before God.  I completely understand Paul’s frustration with Mark and not wanting him along on the second journey.  Time, age, never brings maturity unless one understands that maturity is accepting responsibility and fulfilling one’s purpose in life.
     Another characteristic that we see is that immaturity is self-identifying.  Fool!  Look at what the Bible says about fools and what happens to them.  We read the above verses from Hebrews and we see that these people have been Christians long enough that they should be teaching others.  Instead, they still suck at the bottle.  “They do not understand the divine program which results in right conduct, because they are themselves children and want only milk.” (Stedman)  They do not have the ability to discern good from evil.  There is a dangerous cloud looming over their heads.  They are, what Dr. Stedman refers to as “consecrated blunderers.”  These are the church-hoppers, ones who go from church to church, looking for a ministry that will make them feel good and satisfy their itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3).
     Finally, we see as we continue to watch them that their arrested development is a very costly thing.  You can call it spiritual atrophy.  Their parts have not developed properly, they cannot handle the weapons of our warfare, they do not wear the armor properly and thus are not able to stand their ground.  They run from hither to that doctrine, not knowing that it is false.  Jude warns us what happens, they “follow natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.” (vs 19)  In fact the Book of Jude is a good book to look at if you want to see what happens to those who pamper themselves and stay as children.  Listen, “the immature lose so much, and they risk even more.” (Stedman)  Candy-bars for breakfast, ice cream for lunch, and cake for supper do not cut it in the real world, and even less in the spiritual fight that we are involved in on our journey.
     How frustrated Paul must have been when he wrote the church at Corinth.  “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able.” (1 Corinthians 3:2, NKJV)  “Even now”…what an indictment!  Look again at Hebrews 5:24 this time from the NKJV:  “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”  In other words–act your age!  

                    –Max Brand  (The Untamed)

       “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”
                    –Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)
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We see two people here in Proverbs 10:10–the winker and the chatterer.  I want us to look at several versions for it will help us to see what is being said in this verse.

          “He who winks with the eye causes trouble, But a prating fool will fall.”  (NKJV)
          “Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin.”  (ESV)
          “He who winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.”  (NIV)
          “People who wink at wrong cause trouble, but a bold reproof promotes peace.” (NLT)

Let me say this regarding the NLT.  The second part seems to be a poor translation for the actual Hebrew translation reads, “babbling fools fall flat on their faces.”
     Here we see a contrast of two wicked people.  One is the winker, the other is the prater or chatterer.  Both of these are evil in their intent, and as Bob Beasley points out, “At the foundation of a conspiracy to do evil is our enmity with God.”  Those with these characteristics are sly or clowns.
     The person who winks with the eye has evil intent.  They are trying to convey one thought while in their heart they are conniving to do evil.  When a person says something then winks it means they do not mean what they say; it is in jest.  They insinuate one thing but really mean another.  Oh, how much we need people of integrity.  People who are honest and say what they mean and mean what they say.  The one who winks loses all credibility.  This person causes malicious grief to others, and they do it with a smile.  It was said of Philip II of Spain that his smile and his dagger were never far apart.  Beware of the “winker.”
     Have you ever been to a business meeting or heard a politician drone on and on.  That is the prater or chatterer.  I like the way the ESV puts it, “a babbling fool.”  On and on they go, and say nothing.  Think of the politicians we have.  They never mean what they say, so not only are they a babbler but they wink, hoping to win you over with their lies.  Ask them a question and they will bring out a spiel but say nothing.  I will bring up the Congresswoman who was recently asked about U.S. involvement in Taiwan should they be attacked.  She showed forth her babble and portrayed the fool to a tee.
     The babbler is always talking, mouthing off, but saying little, if anything of value.  This person is what J. Vernon McGee says, “Is wise in his own conceit.”  Thinking they know it all they show that they know nothing.  These are the ones in meetings that ask the same questions over and over never coming to an understanding of what has been said.  These are the people who like nothing better than to hear themselves talk.  You know the type.  The babbler is the fool who despises wisdom, which we have already seen earlier in Proverbs.  He will fall victim to his own folly; they will only hurt themselves.
     We are not only to guard the truth, we are to speak it.  Someone used the following acronym that might help us recognize a person of character or a prating fool.  F.I.T. — Faith, Integrity, Trust.  These are the ingredients of a God-honoring, God-fearing individual.