Church in the Peak Podcast

13th September 2009 - Dave Harper - Vision (part 1)

Isaiah 41:17-20

God hears and answers (v17), acts and creates (v18-19), and He gets the glory (v20). The emphasis was about God providing water in the wilderness place and creating a garden for shelter with a variety of trees planted in this desert place. The passage therefore speaks of God as a good shepherd who meets with his people when they are in a wilderness place and hears their cry to Him.

We are in a time of pressing forward into the promises of God as he gives us fresh marching orders and also there being a pastoral context where we are helping one another find Jesus the good Shepherd when there are times of trouble that can leave us feeling like we are in a desert place.

We hear how 2 couples were brought in out of the wilderness by the good shepherd and experienced a ‘homecoming’ and ‘his presence’.

Isaiah 44:3 describes God providing water in the desert as the Spirit being poured out on us and our descendants and offspring – an encouragement to seek the outpoured Spirit and also to believe and pray for Him to pour out his Spirit on the unsaved and a young generation.. This was the verse that was used in prayer in the build to the Hebridean Revival which started in 1949.

QUESTIONS

What makes those in this passage cry out to God? Do you need to be desperate to cry out to Him?

What is the heart of God to those who are in a desert place? What encouragement and confidence can we get from these verses?

Does Isaiah 44:3 indicate that the water God provides is actually His Spirit? How do we receive that outpouring?

Application:

You may want to end by praying for His Spirit to be poured out on his church at this time and upon the generation that is emerging into adulthood (at whatever age that happens these days!!)

What makes for a good worship time? (A number of people commented that they thought it was a’ good worship time’).

Listen now! (0:42min / 11MB)