Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Some time in the desert Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA March 9, 2003 Main Scripture text: Mark 1:9-15, focusing on verses 12 and 13: "At once the Spirit sent [Jesus] out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him." The Greek word translated "desert" in this passage is ereômos, which has the primary meaning of "lonesome." The idea is of a desolate wilderness, a wild and uninhabited region. In other words Jesus was alone, without any human support or comfort. Jesus did have two things with Him: His relationship with the Father, and His knowledge of God's Word. He had nothing else. We can learn from this passage that desert experiences in our lives are necessary. The Holy Spirit "sent "Jesus, or "drove" Him, into the desert. For us, desert experiences are necessary for two reasons: 1) Testing reveals areas of weakness that need to be strengthened. 2) Testing builds faith and confidence. Even in the midst of desert experiences, God nonetheless equips and protects us. Before Jesus entered the desert, the Father reassured Him with these words: "You are my son whom I love; with You I am well pleased." In the desert, Jesus overcame the devil by knowing God's Word. And when the experience was over, angels came and ministered to Him. The last thing we need to know about desert experiences is that God sets limits. Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days -- a specified time set by God. God limits both time and scope of our desert experiences. How does this apply to us as a church? We've had a desert experience the last few years. After years of rather steady growth in membership and finances, we began experiencing loss in 1999. By the end of 2000 it was obvious that we were in a desert experience. I have not enjoyed it at all, but I have learned some important lessons. The primary lesson is that we need to have deep sense of humility. God doesn't call us and use us because of who we are, but because of His sovereign choice. We have no cause for pride. I could be wrong but I feel like we are at the end of our desert experience. We've learned some things and I believe God is about to promote us. But we had better not forget our desert experience. When we move into our new building and our pride begins to swell, let us not begin to think, "Look what we have been able to do by our great faith and hard work." No! This is the Lord's doing! Our desert experience was necessary. God by His own authority set limits on it. God equipped us for it and has sustained us through it. Now, let's gather our faith, our hope, and the lessons learned, and get prepared to move on, giving God all the praise and never calling attention to ourselves. Supporting texts: Matthew 4:1-11 | Psalm 119:11 | 2 Kings 6:10-17 | 1 John 4:4 | Jeremiah 25:11-12 | Job 1:6-12, 22 | Job 2:1-6 | Deuteronomy 9:4-6 | Deuteronomy 8:17-18 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030309a: Some Time in the Desert. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us