The Walk is a daily writing to inspire you in your own personal intimacy with Abba.

Listen, my radiant one—if you ever lose sight of me, just follow in my footsteps where I lead my lovers. (Song of Songs 1:8)

The Wilderness Place 6/21/24 The Wilderness Place 6/21/24

I’m Enough Because I’m Just Like You

(8 minutes)

Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more.

No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only the cursed will die that young! In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and confiscate their vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken! (Isaiah 65:17-25)

"What happens when a group of people start to believe that they are so important that when they step out of a building they can see a city changed? That doesn't happen until you believe that about yourself. Nothing in culture changes as long as you believe you do not have anything to offer culture. You are made in His image and His likeness, and He gives us our purpose: have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Pastor Tim)

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28)

"Every time you come into agreement that you are not enough to see the things around you changed, because you're still looking at the inside of you and you haven't seen it changed yet, you come into agreement with a lie and you hand your authority over. Maybe we're not seeing Isaiah 65 fulfilled yet because we still don't believe it's possible. 'Tim, I can't lose these last ten pounds, how am I going to see my neighborhood changed?' Maybe those last ten pounds are waiting on you to believe that you are more than enough without losing ten pounds, before they go. Maybe the things that you believe will finally speak that you're good enough is not what the Lord wants speaking to you that you're anything. He wants you to believe what He says about you. And every time we come in and we don't believe what God says about us, we give our authority right back to the enemy." (Pastor Tim)

All the enemy has is lies. And the primary lie is that you are not good enough. He came to Eve and convinced her that something was missing, that she was broken, that she was nothing like God. But the truth was that Eve was made in the image AND likeness of God. She was just like God, but believing the lie that she wasn't empowered the enemy.

Abba is asking us to believe Him, to trust Him and what He says about us, and to not believe any lie that speaks something different than Him. And He wants us to believe up front, not because we've seen and been convinced by our seeing, but we've believed simply because it's what He has said - because it's what He has spoken.

"You have to start saying these things before you even see anything. The problem is we don't believe anything we don't see. This is not how the Kingdom works. I'll believe I'm a beloved son when I get my life in order. Nope! You're a beloved son and daughter right now, with nothing changed, with nothing different. You are made in His image and His likeness, and you are more than enough. You've been given all authority because Jesus purchased it with His crucifixion. He came to save that which was lost." (Pastor Tim)

What if this is right? What if you've been made to see everything changed around you? What if God has put enough of His Kingdom in you to see all of this city changed? What if all it took was to believe what He says about you?

Take a walk with Abba today and let Him convince you of the truth about who you are. Come into agreement with what He says! This is how we see the restoration of all things.

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Worship: "You Say" by Lauren Daigle

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/20/24 The Wilderness Place 6/20/24

Yahweh’s Plan From The Beginning

(7 minutes)

"We can't hope to see anything done that we don't believe is possible. We must begin to challenge the things that we believe...This matters so much, because without hope, without theology being transformed and changed, you won't even see your own life properly. You won't see the value in your own life." (Pastor Tim)

We're trying to answer the question: is Isaiah 65 really what God wants to see happen on the earth, or is it destined to be plunged into ruin and destruction? Is it all supposed to get worse, or is the Kingdom supposed to expand until the glory of the Lord covers the earth like the waters cover the sea?

If we want to know God's heart for the cosmos, we need to go back to the very beginning. If we want to know what Yahweh's intentions were, we just need to go back to the start and see what direction He wanted this to go.

Yahweh started with a garden, but He intended for that garden to take over the whole world. His heart was for Adam and Eve to grow, so their dominion would grow. Abba wants the entire cosmos returned to Garden-status. You can see His heart in these first words He shared with Adam and Eve: "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God started with a small garden that Adam and Eve could handle, but He wanted that Garden of Delight to subdue the entire world.

Like Pastor Tim said, Yahweh pressed pause on this plan when Adam and Eve fell, but the moment Jesus died on that cross and was resurrected, God set the world back on course to be overtaken by the government of His Kingdom. It has been slowly, but surely, getting better and better ever since Jesus reclaimed authority. And He has given that authority to us. He has given that authority to you. Do you believe it?

We will not see anything done, that we don't believe is possible. Our faith and hope are required to see heaven invade earth. What are you believing for? What are you expecting? Do you believe things will get worse? Or do you see what Isaiah saw - the leaven of the Kingdom expanding in every area until everything is restored?

What if "things have to get worse" is an awful lie of the enemy designed to get beloved sons and daughters to stop cultivating Yahweh's garden and hand over their authority to transform the world?

What if Isaiah was right?

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Worship: "You Restore Everything" by Rick Pino

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/19/24 The Wilderness Place 6/19/24

Is It Even Possible?

(7 minutes)

I think it's clear to us now that this scripture is not talking about heaven. Isaiah is seeing this happen on the earth where death is still a reality. Isaiah is seeing the Kingdom expanding and progressing so much, he's seeing the curse reversed to such a degree, that lifespans are now lasting as long as they were with the generations that came after Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. Isaiah is seeing a day when the Kingdom is not just changing the nature of humans, it's changing the nature of all creation, empowering the wolves and lambs to eat together, and the lions to eat hay like cows.

So we've dealt with the fact that Isaiah isn't speaking of heaven. Now let's deal with the next issue...do you even believe that this is possible? Does your faith allow you to see this scripture becoming a reality? Do you believe that it's possible?

"I believe scripture tells us that all things are possible. And we serve a God who's attracted to the impossible because, with Him, everything is possible." (Pastor Tim)

We must allow this scripture to challenge what we think is possible. This is about letting Abba lift our hopes and expectations to match the hope of the Kingdom and what's possible with Yahweh. We can't receive this revelation of beloved identity and union with Yahweh, and not allow our hopes to rise to what's possible now that we're in life-union with Him.

"You're not waiting to die to get to heaven. Heaven is waiting on you to decide to bring it here, now... Be careful what you've already committed to not being possible. Maybe it's not possible because you don't believe it's possible. But a person with faith the size of a mustard seed can say to this mountain, 'Be thrown into the sea,' and it shall be done. Do you know some of the world's biggest mountains are in the sea? Just because you haven't done it, and just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean the word's not right. You can't not believe half of it because it doesn't make sense to you. We have to challenge some of the garbage we've been eating our entire lives." (Pastor Tim)

As you take the walk with Abba today, let Him lift your hopes and your expectations. Let Him show you what's possible, just like He showed Isaiah. Let Him show you how the Kingdom has been growing and expanding ever since Jesus was on that cross. Let Him show you how that moment marked the beginning of the end of the curse, and how it's progressively being reversed, day by day. Let the Holy Spirit show you how the beloved sons and daughters of Yahweh are going to play such a significant part in the restoration of all things. You're going to see the whole cosmos restored back to the Garden!

Then Jesus will return.

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Worship: "I Am Loved" by Maverick City Music

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/17/24 The Wilderness Place 6/17/24

Isaiah 65 - The New World Order

(7 minutes)

The Holy Spirit wants us to answer a very important question concerning these scriptures: when and where will these things take place? Is this scripture talking about heaven, or heaven coming to earth?

Isaiah is speaking of a time when babies won't die when they're young, and adults won't die until they've lived a full life. Well, death doesn't exist in heaven.

Isaiah is speaking of a time when one hundred year old men and women will be considered young. A time when the life expectancy of humans will be the same as trees. Well, age isn't an issue in heaven.

So this scripture must be talking about what Yahweh intends to bring about on the earth. And like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, just because we haven't seen it doesn't mean it isn't possible. And just because we haven't seen it, doesn't mean we shouldn't believe for it.

The problem with this idea is that it goes against the American Christian theology we inherited that tells us how things are going to end. We've been taught for the longest time that things are supposed to get worse. We were told that things getting worse would actually be a sign that Jesus is coming back. Well, Isaiah is trying to tell us that things will not get progressively worse, but progressively better! What do we do with that? How can we continue to hold on to "things must get worse" when Isaiah is prophesying that things will get better and better as the Kingdom expands like leaven in the earth?

"We believe so infallibly in the absoluteness of Adam's fall, but we do not give Jesus the same benefit with His crucifixion and resurrection. We do not give Him the same power that we've given Adam in his fallenness. What was purchased at the resurrection? What was made available there? And what if I'm right?" (Pastor Tim)

We believe that Adam's fall affected the entire world and plunged it into ruin. Can we believe that Jesus' death and resurrection reversed that curse and has unleashed the ever-expanding Kingdom of God into the cosmos to bring total restoration and healing? Can we believe in the power of Jesus as much as we've believed in the power of Adam?

These are important questions that the Holy Spirit is putting before us as a Kingdom family. We can't carry hope, healing and total restoration into the world while we're secretly believing that things need to get worse in order for Jesus to return.

This scripture is challenging what we've put our hope in. Are we hoping for the destruction of all things or the restoration of all things? Destruction requires us to do nothing and believe for nothing. But the restoration of all things requires Kingdom men and women to be so convinced that they are beloved and made in the image and likeness of Yahweh that they would step into the ruined cities so they could be restored.

Sit with Isaiah 65:17-25, and ask Abba if He's talking about heaven, or if He's talking about heaven on earth. And if He's talking about something He intends to do on the earth, ask Him what opinions and ideas you might need to unlearn in order to be a part of this cosmic restoration of all things.

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Worship: "Wind of Love" by Joe L Barnes

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/17/24 The Wilderness Place 6/17/24

I’m Just Like You

(5 minutes)

"I understand it's hard to encounter something when your whole life you've believed one way and then you see something a different way, but isn't that what turning your heart to the Holy Spirit's supposed to be about? If we turn our heart to the Holy Spirit and He lifts the veil, it promises that we will see. That means there are some areas we don't quite see right." (Pastor Tim)

The message that Pastor Tim brought to our Kingdom family this past weekend was stretching. You could sense that in the room. And this week we're going to dive back in and allow Abba to convince us of these truths. But before we do, I believe it's important to start with something that was stirred up in our worship - we need to believe differently about who we are.

If it's true that we're made in the image and likeness of Yahweh, and if it's true that we're joined in life-union to Jesus, then we must start believing that we are just like Him. We sang these words in our gathering yesterday, "I am enough, because I am just like You." I don't believe this was accidental at all. We need this foundational truth established in our hearts if we're going to see the things that we read in Isaiah 65.

You are made in the image and likeness of Yahweh.

You are joined to Jesus in perfect union.

You are a beloved son and beloved daughter of Abba.

You are just like Him.

You are enough, because He is enough. You are righteous, because He is righteous. What if the areas where we are still struggling are simply waiting for us to believe that we are just like Him?

"He didn't bring you here to stare at your resume. He brought you here to tell you that He loves you." (Pastor Tim)

The areas where you still believe you don't measure up are waiting on you to stare at His love long enough to be convinced that your being a beloved son and daughter means that you are just like your Father. There is nothing missing. There is nothing broken. There is nothing lacking. You have always been enough for Abba.

Our hope and confidence cannot flow from any other place than this: we are beloved sons and daughters of Abba, and we were made in His image and likeness. We have everything we need, right now, to be who Abba has created us to be. We are perfectly loved, and we can't mess this up. We just have to start believing this about ourselves, instead of the lies that we've picked up throughout the years.

Last week, Abba presented the question to us, "Who are you?"

And this week, He gave us the answer to that question: "Abba, I'm just like You!"

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Worship: "I'm Just Like You" - The Wilderness Place

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/14/24 The Wilderness Place 6/14/24

Who Are You?

(8 minutes)

One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.”

“Yes, Father?” Esau replied.

“I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”

But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”

“But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”

But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!” (Genesis 27:1-13)

Jacob learned something this day that would affect him long after this moment: you have to dress up and pretend to be someone else in order to get the blessing of your father.

So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread.

So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.

“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?” (Genesis 27:14-18)

"This moment in Jacob's life is going to affect every decision he makes for the rest of his life. We don't realize how significant a moment is. We don't realize how significant someone saying an off-handed comment to us is. We don't realize how significant it is when a mom or a dad makes decisions, not for their kids, but for themselves. We don't know how significant other people's appetites are to us. Rebekah's going to teach her tender-hearted son how to play dress up when he gets into certain situations. Rebekah's going to teach Jacob that who he really is is not good enough in big moments. This moment in Jacob's life is going to shape the rest of his life. He will be on the run from this mistake for a good portion of his life. And I hear his father asking him, 'Who are you?'" (Pastor Tim)

What seems like a trivial question from Jacob's father is really the most important question that could be asked and it's coming straight from the Spirit of God - "Who are you - Esau or Jacob?"

Who are you?

Is this the real you or is this the pretender, the impostor? Is this the wild, authentic you that you were designed to be, or are you dressing up like someone else? Who are you?

All of us have probably lived through a moment like this, where we were told in one way or another that the real us wasn't good enough and didn't measure up. It was a moment when we started carrying what someone else put on us instead of what we were designed to carry. It was the moment that took our tender heart and taught it how to be hard and calloused. Up until this moment we were free to be who Abba created us to be, but after this moment we were caged and shut off from enjoying our original identity.

How long have you been making decisions based off of the impostor? How long have you been choosing this over that, all because that is what the "dressed up" version of you would do? How long have you pushed aside things that you were originally passionate about just so you could try to find the acceptance that you already had in Abba? "And the whole time, the world has lost the most important thing that God has made...you." (Pastor Tim)

Would you allow the Holy Spirit to reveal this moment to you? This isn't so you can meditate on the problem. The Holy Spirit will reveal where the lie came into your heart, and then you have to let Abba take you even further into the truth about who you really are. Abba wants to restore you to the wild, authentic, tender-hearted, passionate you that you were before you started dressing up like someone else.

Hear Abba's voice today asking, "Beloved son, beloved daughter, who are you?"

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Worship: "Real Thing" by Maverick City Music

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/13/24 The Wilderness Place 6/13/24

Dressing Up To Be Loved

(7 minutes)

One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.”

“Yes, Father?” Esau replied.

"That's important. The Father desires wild things. That means authentic things. That means things that have not been trapped, that are not in slavery. The Father wants wild things. He wants the real you, the real me. Not the tamed you, or the sophisticated me. The wild me. The one He made me to be, the one He made you to be. That's important." (Pastor Tim)

It's not hard to see that there's some dysfunction in this family. The language of "his Son, Esau," and "her son, Jacob," is evidence. This whole time, we thought it was just OUR family that had issues! Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, this story is a witness that Yahweh will step into any family, any issue, and any circumstance, to change everything.

Rebekah, in this moment, passes the dysfunction that she learned when she was young on to her son by hatching a plan to manipulate Issac and get the blessing that belonged to Esau. Rebekah grew up in a family where this pattern of manipulation was very common. She's simply the product of the way she was raised, like we are. And she's using the only tool she has, manipulation. This is an example of the veils, the blind-spots in our lives, that have just become patterns and our way of being, but are not the real, authentic us that the Father desires.

But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!” (Genesis 27:1-13)

Jacob learned something this day that would affect him long after this moment: you have to dress up and pretend to be someone else in order to get the blessing of your father.

How many of us have been told the same thing? How many of us have been convinced that we're not acceptable the way we are and the only way to get the attention of the Father is to dress up and pretend to be someone that we're not? How many of us are doing this because we're secretly fueled by a fear of being rejected?

These are the veils that Abba wants to remove. These are the areas where we are continuing to trust our own opinions and delusional thinking, rather than turning to Him so we can see who we really are and who He really is.

Abba wants a relationship with the real us, not the person we've been dressing up to be. The impostor and pretender are fueled by insecurity and questioning the Father's love, and hide for fear of rejection. Our authentic, original self is fueled by the total assurance of our beloved identity and trusts that we could never be more loved by the Father than we are right now.

Beloved One, you don't have to dress up to be loved.

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Worship: "Jireh" by Elevation Worship & Maverick City

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/13/24 The Wilderness Place 6/13/24

The Veil Removed: Seeing Abba and Yourself Correctly

(5 minutes)

But the moment one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted and they see. Now, the "Lord" I'm referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom. We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:16-18)

"Let me say it like this: anywhere we're continuing to struggle and we see a pattern of struggle, we see a pattern of dysfunction, that means we have not invited Him in to be Lord of that area. We still have the ores in our hands. We think we can strength our way through it. We think our opinion about the situation is what's going to change the situation. And I don't know about you, I have allowed myself to sit in places that God did not design for me to sit for a long time, until I was ready to say 'Lord, I'm finally sick and tired of this spot.' And you know what's good about God...He will let you sit there. He's a gentleman." (Pastor Tim)

As we continue to invite the Spirit of Yahweh to be Lord of every area, we will see areas of struggle and dysfunction be transformed into areas of freedom. It truly does come down to our willingness to let our opinions go and surrender to Abba's point of view.

And the promise of God is that when we surrender to the Lordship of the Spirit in an area, the veil that keeps us from seeing correctly is removed. Why is it important that the veil be removed?

"It's important that the veil get removed so you can see God correctly. A lot of us are still wearing the veil of insecurity and we can't see God correctly. A lot of us are still wearing the veil of the mistake we committed and we see God through the mistake we did, instead of who He really is. We're wearing the veil that someone else put on us because they said we weren't good enough, and now we see God through that lens." (Pastor Tim)

These veils become blind-spots over time, and we need the Holy Spirit to reveal these things to us. Sometimes these veils are hard for us to see, which is why we must continually be turning to the Spirit. And this only happens as we turn to Him with OPEN hearts, allowing Him to be Lord, instead of us. It's not our opinion, or our hard work, or even our inspection of the dysfunctional areas of our life that will bring freedom. It's simply our yielding to the Spirit as Lord and allowing Him to reveal the truth to us about ourselves and about God. That is what will bring true freedom and transformation into the places we struggle.

Abba wants to reveal something to you today: who He really is and who you really are. Will you intentionally turn your open heart to Him? Will you surrender to the Spirit's Lordship? Will you let go of your opinion so you can inherit the truth? Are you ready to see the veil of insecurity removed? Are you ready to see the veil of your past mistake removed? Are you ready to see Abba and yourself rightly?

It's the desire of His heart to share these things with you today.

It's the desire of His heart that His beloved sons and daughters be free.

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Worship: "You Say" by Lauren Daigle

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/11/24 The Wilderness Place 6/11/24

Surrendering To The Spirit’s Lordship

(7 minutes)

"I see people turn to the Lord in their speech, but not with an open heart. I see people turn to the Lord and say, 'Well, the Lord knows...He's sovereign,' but they still hold their opinion about a circumstance or a situation. They still hold their opinion about their life. An open heart, turning to the Lord looks like this: Lord, speak to me in any area, even if it offends me at first. When one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted and they will see." (Pastor Tim)

This is so important. Are we turning to the Lord only in speech, or are we turning to the Lord with an open heart? Are we tossing around language that's dressed up like Jesus, or are we ready to lay our opinions down and yield to Abba's perspective concerning a matter? Open hearts are hearts that invite all that Abba has to say about all that we are. Open hearts put everything on the table and hold nothing back. No area is off-limits to Abba.

It is possible to have surrendered language without a surrendered heart.

The promise of the veil being lifted and our being able to see hinges on our being willing to turn to the Lord, the Holy Spirit, with a heart that is wide open, ready to hear what Abba has to say about anything and everything.

What area is still off-limits to Abba?

Where is your opinion still speaking louder than Abba's voice?

These are the areas where we're crying out for freedom but have not yielded to the Lordship of the Spirit of Yahweh. Wherever the Spirit is Lord there is freedom, and wherever He is not Lord we will continue to struggle. True freedom is on the other side of surrendering to the Holy Spirit as Lord-owner, decider, and controller.

One of the main reasons we are still holding out on surrendering to His Lordship is that we are not fully trusting of His goodness. We started this year out in 1 John 1:5:

This is the life-giving message we heard him [Jesus] share and it's still ringing in our ears. We now repeat his words to you: God is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in him.

The only thing that can convince us to change our minds and surrender to Abba's point of view is His goodness. I want to remind you of two words that Pastor Tim brought to our Kingdom family at the beginning of the year.

The first one is this: "Sunday, we are making another shift. We attempted to go into where we are going once before, but we were still too out of order to make the journey. This is going to be an incredible year of healing. The shift is this: a Father is sending us into Healing Waters."
The second word is this: "Some of you are going through things right now, and will go through things this year, that will be hard. And this is the word of the Lord to you in that situation: 'You settled for something that you were never intended to settle for.' You got comfortable with it. You built your life around it. And you tolerated things God never intended for you to tolerate. You went through things, you went through rejection and abuse, that you were never called to go through. And the reason it's coming up now is because God says, 'You deserve better! Your family deserves better! Your kids deserve better!' So when you're in the midst of that you need to look back to this word and stop saying, 'Why is this happening?', and, 'Why is it so hard?', and understand that this is God's goodness, too."

God's goodness is orchestrating every event in our lives, down to the last detail. God's goodness is what's leading us into healing waters. And God's goodness is what will transform us into beloved children who can fully trust the Father.

Encountering the goodness of Yahweh will make surrendering so much easier. It's easy to yield when you trust that the One you're surrendering to is incomprehensibly and beyond a shadow of a doubt...GOOD.

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Worship: "King of My Heart" by Bethel Music

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/10/24 The Wilderness Place 6/10/24

Too Close For Comfort

(6 minutes)

Last week we looked at the story of Moses and the Israelite nation at the Red Sea. Yahweh asked them to camp there and lured their enemy, Egypt, out to subdue them. Why does Yahweh ask us to camp in certain situations in order to draw our enemy out?

"He does that so that you and I can see Him drown everything that has held us captive in the Red Sea. Think about that for a moment. Think about your greatest concern. Whatever keeps you up a night. Whatever just keeps popping up in your head that you keep playing over and over. What would it feel like to see Abba drown that in the Red Sea for you? What would that feel like if you never had to think about it again? If you never even had to talk about it again? If you never even had to worry about it again? What would it look like to see God deal with your biggest concern? ...Well, why hasn't He? A lot of times it's because we refuse to camp and stand still long enough for Him to deal with the issues we're concerned about. If we're honest we like to run from problems, rather than look them in the eye and let Him deal with them." (Pastor Tim)

We all have things that we're concerned about. We all have things that we secretly worry about. Abba doesn't want this for us! Abba's idea of freedom is not us running as fast as we can away from our problems only to live our entire lives looking over our shoulders to see if it's catching up to us. Can you imagine if the Israelites would not have witnessed their enemy, Egypt, drowning in the Red Sea? Can you imagine what their lives would have looked like as they tried to follow Yahweh out in the wilderness? In my mind's eye, I can see them vacillating, their attention torn between following Yahweh and checking behind them every couple of minutes to make sure Egypt wasn't gaining ground. Abba can't have our undivided attention as long as we're checking to see if our enemy is closing in on us.

This is why we must inherit a new perspective, Abba's point of view, concerning the things we're walking through, especially the hard things. This is also why we have to let our hearts be healed and fully convinced that Yahweh is pure light, having no darkness in Him at all. Because when He asks us to camp in these hard situations, we have to trust Him and stand still long enough for Him to actually deal with the problem. What did this mean for Israel? Well, the enemy got uncomfortably close. Close enough to cause panic in the people of God. What thoughts cross your mind when your problem gets uncomfortably close? What's ruling our heart at that moment - chaos and panic, or trust and rest?

As we inherit Abba's perspective and let His goodness convince us that He is pure light, it will become much easier to camp in these situations and watch Abba deliver us out of them all. The Israelites' issue was that they didn't trust anyone. They didn't trust Egypt, they didn't trust Moses, and they didn't trust Yahweh. And in the absence of trusting Abba, we will always default to anxiety, insecurity, and panic.

What problem are you still running from that Abba is asking you to camp in?

Beloved One, it's Abba's goodness that has you camped at the Red Sea. It's Abba's goodness that allows the enemy to get uncomfortably close. And it's Abba's goodness that gives you a front-row seat to the drowning of your enemy in the Red Sea, so you'll never have to worry about it ever again. Will you camp long enough to see it come to pass?

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Worship: "Jireh" by Elevation Worship & Maverick City

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/7/24 The Wilderness Place 6/7/24

Why Are You Crying Out To Me?

(5 minutes)

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots, and his charioteers. When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the Lord!” (Exodus 14:15-18)

Imagine this! You have Moses telling the people to not be afraid. He told them that if they would just stand still, they would be able to watch the Lord rescue them from the Egyptians. "The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm." And in the very next verse, we get some words from Yahweh that seem so out of character.

"Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!"

Are you confused yet? Why in the world would Yahweh say this? Why would Abba respond this way?

"Moses is refusing to see himself as the solution to the problem. Moses doesn't honor Moses. Moses doesn't see how valuable Moses is in this situation. Moses doesn't realize that God has already given him everything he needs, all he has to do is trust what God says about him. But see, Moses is still looking at Moses through the lens of Moses. Are you still looking through the lens of you at you? We get in the habit of saying, 'God will deliver us,' and God is saying, 'I've given you everything you need to deliver you.'" (Pastor Tim)

Yahweh told Moses from the very beginning that he would be the deliverer for the Israelite nation. Moses name means "to deliver and draw out." Moses already had everything he needed to do what Yahweh called him to do. The only thing he was missing was honor.

"God has given every single one of us what we need to see deliverance, but when you don't see you through honor and you don't see the one sitting next to you through honor, you see no help." (Pastor Tim)

The Israelites couldn't honor Moses, and Moses couldn't honor Moses. This is why Yahweh said, "Why are you crying out to me?" He has already put things inside of us - Kingdom solutions that will deliver cities and bring freedom to families, but if we are unable to honor what He's put inside of us and others, we will not see that hoped for deliverance. Honor is the key to moving forward.

What if you are crying out to the Lord for certain situations to be changed, but He is looking back at you and asking you to honor what He's already put inside of you? What if the freedom you long for is tied up in you honoring the Kingdom solution that Yahweh has already put in you or in someone around you?

Remember, Jesus couldn't even perform many miracles because of the lack of honor in His own hometown. The people not being able to honor what Yahweh put inside of Him kept people from experiencing healing.

The cosmos is waiting for you to honor you. You are carrying Kingdom solutions that will bring deliverance to your city. And the areas where you struggle are likely waiting for you to honor what's inside of someone else.

Beloved One, honor is the only way we see this Red Sea parted. Honor is the only way we see deliverance come to our family, our Kingdom family, our city, our state and our nation. Can you believe that Abba has already given you everything you need to see heaven on earth? Can you honor the Kingdom solution that someone else is carrying?

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Worship: "You Say" by Lauren Daigle

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/6/24 The Wilderness Place 6/6/24

Camp In Abba’s Goodness

(7 minutes)

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle. (Exodus 13:17-18)

Then the LORD gave these instructions to Moses: "Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon. Then Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are confused. They are trapped in the wilderness!' And once again I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will chase after you. I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD!" So the Israelites camped there as they were told. (Exodus 14:1-4)

"Religion will tell you that freedom looks like this: freedom is you putting distance between you and what you struggle with. That's not freedom." (Pastor Tim)

A cage is the best solution that religion has for setting us free. We were all taught to get as far away from our problems as we possibly could and call that freedom. But that is not what Yahweh has for us! Yahweh's idea of freedom is to have us camp at the Red Sea while He lures our enemy out in the open, using us as bait. Why does He do this? Because He wants us to see our enemy drowned in the Red Sea so we'll never look over our shoulders again in fear. Freedom is not distancing yourself from your problems. Freedom is your problem being eradicated by the goodness of God.

"A lot of times you think you should be putting distance between yourself and whatever has kept you captive, but God has got you camped in a situation where you can't run. You need to understand that God putting you in a situation where you can't run is the goodness of God." (Pastor Tim)

As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the LORD, and they said to Moses, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn't we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, 'Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It's better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!" (Exodus 14:10-12)

"There comes a point you're so trapped that you feel like there's no way out. You throw your hands up and say, 'I can't do this. I'm just going to have to survive.' You know a lot of us are just surviving. You know what that looks like? You wake up, you go to work, you come home, you eat dinner, you go to bed, and you do the same thing tomorrow." (Pastor Tim)

Are you just surviving? Sometimes we can get so hopeless that we can only see two options left for us: a slave in Egypt or a corpse in the wilderness. The cage or death. But Abba has a third option: real freedom, complete wholeness, you living fully alive. But in order for this to happen we have to stop running and camp long enough to see Abba's goodness destroy our enemy.

Don't be afraid.

Just stand still and watch Yahweh rescue you today.

The enemy, the problem, you see today will never be seen again.

Yahweh Himself will fight for you.

Just stay calm.

Beloved One, the running has to stop. Yahweh has grace for you to face your enemy. Grace is not permission to keep running away. Grace is the power you need to stand toe-to-toe with the issue and watch Abba's goodness drown it in the Red Sea. Receive the grace from Yahweh today to camp!

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Worship: "Palm of Your Hand" by TRIBL

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/5/24 The Wilderness Place 6/5/24

The Treasure Of My Life

(5 minutes)

As we're pursuing the Lordship of the Spirit in every area of our lives, it's important to remember what drives us - why we do what we do. Pastor Tim has mentioned in the last couple of weeks that we will move heaven and earth to do something our heart desires to do. Isn't this the truth? We will always find a way.

This scripture gives us the Kingdom principle behind this reality.

For your heart will always pursue what you value as your treasure. (Matthew 6:21)

"Let me ask you one question on the end of this scripture...If you could not explain to someone what you believe and all they had was the evidence of your life, what would they say is your treasure? If you couldn't tell them what you loved, what would your life tell others you loved?" (Pastor Tim)

This is such a powerful question. We should take this question into intimacy with Abba today and open our hearts to hear whatever He has to say.

If we're ever wondering what we're valuing as our treasure, we can always look at our life and what it's producing because we are always gravitating, naturally, to those things. Our time flows there. Our attention flows there. Our resources flow there. Our heart naturally flows toward what we value.

So, whether we know it or not, we are already experts at honor. Honor is what happens when see value in something. The question is: are we honoring and seeing the value in the things of the Kingdom?

As we turn our hearts to the Spirit today and make Him Lord in every area, our hearts will begin to see value in Abba's Kingdom and His perspective. And eventually, our lives will be a witness to this shift because we will naturally begin to honor what we value as our treasure.

We can begin this journey today on our walk with Abba. Let's turn our hearts to Him and yield to His Lordship. As we stare into His loving eyes, the treasure of our heart will shift and He will become the One thing our heart desires. When He becomes the treasure, our life will follow.

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Worship: "I Give You My Heart" by Hillsong Worship

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/4/24 The Wilderness Place 6/4/24

Turning With An Open Heart

(6 minutes)

"So when I'm talking about 'the moment one turns,' I'm not just talking about glancing to see if Jesus is with you - He's always with us. I'm talking about, you turn your heart and you yield to His Lordship, in that moment. That means there may be some things I want to do, and then there are some things that He wants me to do. Which one will I let rule my life? My own appetite, my own desires, my own wishes?" (Pastor Tim)

This is a truth that we really need to embrace. Turning our hearts to the Lord isn't just a subtle glance to make sure that He hasn't left our side. We've already settled this. His goodness has already brought us to the place where we know that He doesn't do abandonment. He's never leaving or forsaking His beloved sons and daughters. The turning that we are talking about is a yielding of the heart that says, "Not my will, but yours be done!" This turning is our submitting to Abba's point of view.

Let's stop and think for a second. When was the last time that we intentionally turned our hearts to Abba to yield to His point of view? When was the last time that we knew what we wanted to do, but instead of submitting to our own perspective, we turned our hearts to the Lordship of the Spirit to discover what Abba wanted to do? This is not an exercise to produce shame. This is taking an honest look at our life and the fruit that it is producing. How often are we inviting Abba into our decisions? Let's just look at yesterday. Who was the Lord of your life yesterday? Who was the decision-maker?

Remember, honesty is the first step towards intimacy. Abba wants us to be vulnerable. This is why the scripture says, "But the moment one turns to the Lord with an OPEN heart." That openness is a heart that is honest and vulnerable with the Spirit. This is a heart that says, "Abba, this is what I want to do. I won't pretend that it's not. But I want You to make the decision here, not me. What is Your heart concerning this matter?"

As we walk with Abba today, let's open up to Him like never before. He can handle the real us. He can handle our honesty and He wants nothing more than for us to be vulnerable with Him. That honesty may sound like, "Abba, I am having a hard time surrendering in this area. My heart doesn't want You to be Lord here. I want to be in control. As I soak in Your presence, would You smother me with kisses and let Your goodness change my mind in this area? I know that wherever Your Spirit is Lord, there is freedom, and I want freedom in this area. So I'm going to keep showing up in Your presence until my heart is changed and I desire Your Lordship more than my own opinion." This may be how the yielding of your heart begins - with an open, honest conversation with Abba as you soak in His presence.

Beloved One, you won't be rejected when you open your heart up to Him. He's pure light and there's no trace of darkness in Him at all.

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Worship: "Open Space" by Housefires

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 6/3/24 The Wilderness Place 6/3/24

Every Moment Is Valuable

(6 minutes)

Every breath is valuable. Every moment is sacred. Why? Because Yahweh wants to use it to draw you closer to Him. He is pursuing us, in every breath we take, and His heart is to remove the veil between us and Him, so we can see. This week we're going to go on a journey with Abba to learn about honor, seeing the value that He has placed inside of us and the people around us. But it has to start with this understanding: every breath, every moment is valuable to Abba. Like Pastor Tim says so often, there are no non-sacred moments.

How valuable is a moment? This scripture tells us. "But the moment one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted and they see." A moment with Abba can change everything. You turning to Abba today with an open heart, just for a moment, can change everything.

Pastor Tim mentioned the story of the woman with the issue of blood at our family gathering yesterday. She had struggled for twelve years with constant bleeding. This story speaks to how powerful it can be to turn to Abba with an open heart.

Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed." Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my robe?" His disciples said to him, "Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, 'Who touched me?'" Be he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over." (Mark 5:24-34)

Plenty of people came to follow Jesus that day, but only one turned to Him with an open heart. This is the difference between just casually following with no expectation of encountering Abba and turning your whole heart to Him in a moment, believing that this moment could change everything.

What are your expectations for this day? Are you planning to casually go about your Monday and just make it back to bed this evening? Or are you expecting to encounter Abba in a moment that could change the course of your entire life and the generations coming after you?

Beloved One, Abba can do so much with a moment. Will you see your day differently and turn your whole heart to Him? He has promised that the veil will be lifted and you will see.

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Worship: "You Say" by Lauren Daigle

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 5/31/24 The Wilderness Place 5/31/24

Abba Is Asking You To Camp

(8 minutes)

"Everything you're going through has purpose... can't stop saying that. Everything that you're encountering, you didn't get there by accident. God is in control. He sees what's happening. It's not a mistake. It is an invitation into learning more about you and Him." (Pastor Tim)

If we don't get this, it will be hard for us to receive from Abba in the midst of our day. Every moment is designed to pull us deeper into intimacy with Him. Every moment is meant to be an opportunity to metanoia, to have our thinking changed. We have a way we think things should go, but Abba's goodness is leading us with wisdom into the places that will deliver true freedom into our lives. Are we trusting Abba with every step?

"God is inviting you and me into camp. If it's me and you, and we just got out of slavery, we want to run from our problems. That's not how God deals with your problems. God asks you to turn and camp." (Pastor Tim)

It's one thing to trust Abba in complete safety. It's another thing to trust Him while you're encamped in enemy territory. But Yahweh is asking us to camp. Yahweh is asking us to stop running away from our problems and the things that have caused us pain. This goes against everything inside of us because we want nothing more than to put distance between us and things that we think will hurt us. But this is not the way that Yahweh operates.

"Why is this important? Because we think freedom is getting further away from the things that have trapped us. God's idea of freedom is killing what kept you captive. So the things that we struggle with, God orchestrates a camp. The things that you struggle with, God orchestrates a meeting with... I think we struggle with so much anxiety and fear because we won't camp and let God deal with issues in us because we're always running from hard issues." (Pastor Tim)

The goodness of God will not allow us to live our lives constantly looking over our shoulders to see if the enemy is gaining ground and catching up to us. This is why Abba has us camp and stand still. This is why Abba uses us as bait to draw the enemy even closer. Because He wants to deal with our enslaver once and for all. He wants us to witness our enemy being drowned in the Red Sea. But we only get to witness this if we trust Him enough to camp where He tells us to camp.

True freedom is not just putting distance between you and the problem. True freedom is allowing Yahweh to deal with the issue once and for all. This is what the grace of God is trying to accomplish in our lives right now. Grace is trying to shut the door, roll up its sleeves, and not allow our problem to see the light of another day.

But as long we're chaotic, complaining, and panicking, we won't be able to hear what Abba is trying to say to us. We must learn how to trust. We must learn how to rest in Abba's arms and hold our peace. There is a purpose in this! Abba's goodness is trying to set us free, for good. Are we trusting Abba enough to camp where He tells us to camp?

What issue are you running from that Abba is asking you to set up camp in?

Beloved One, Abba wants you free and fully alive.

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Worship: "Palm of Your Hand" by TRIBL

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 5/30/24 The Wilderness Place 5/30/24

Every Moment An Opportunity For Intimacy

(5 minutes)

"Every circumstance and situation that you are in right now, good or bad, is by design. That should make you very excited because that means everything that's going on right now has a purpose. That means in everything that's happening in your life, God is trying to same something to you. Are you listening? Or are you veiled because you value your opinion over His?" (Pastor Tim)

Abba is using every situation in our life to draw us deeper into union with Him. Every moment is an opportunity to encounter Him and have the veil removed. He's inviting us to learn who He is and learn who we are. What does this mean? Like Pastor Tim mentioned on Sunday, it means that every moment, even the most frustrating moments, is valuable, if we'll turn our hearts to Him and allow the moment to lead us to Him.

Like us, the children of God are leaving Egypt, but they still have a slavery mentality, and Yahweh is going to use every situation to undo that. Abba is using every situation to change our mind (metanoia) and bring us into the ways and thinking of His Kingdom. And He will not allow us to be in any situation that we're not ready for. "We will only encounter what God has intended for us to encounter." (Pastor Tim)

Let's allow this truth to go down deep in us today, because some of us are walking around in fear and anxiety because we don't believe Abba is directing our steps, and He is. Abba, like any good father, is always mindful of our maturity, and He knows best what our level of maturity can handle and what it can't handle. It would be dangerous for us to be put in a situation that our maturity was not ready for. Abba knows that! We are only encountering what God has intended for us to encounter.

"And Abba is here, bringing situations along, not to frustrate you, not to discourage you, not to make you feel like you're inadequate or you can't do what He's called you to do, it's to invite you into intimacy with Him." (Pastor Tim)

There are no non-sacred moments. We've heard this so much at The Wilderness Place. Abba is inviting us deeper into this truth today.

Will we respond to the issues of our day like they are random, isolated, and unattached from His presence, or will we see every moment as one perfectly designed to draw us into intimacy with Abba?

Beloved One, let every moment pull you even deeper into intimacy with Abba. When you turn to Him with an open heart, the veil will be lifted and you will see.

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Worship: "Make Room" by Community Music

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 5/29/24 The Wilderness Place 5/29/24

Where Your Treasure Is, Your Heart Will Also Be

(8 minutes)

"God's heart is to draw you close with nothing in between you and Him. That's His heart. And He's constantly drawing us near, and if we don't turn our hearts to Him there's a veil between us and Him and we can't see Him properly. What could that veil be? When I don't turn my attention, focus, and my life to Him, I'm deciding to live my life based on my opinions. And a lot of times, what I already think, my opinions, keep me from seeing Him right. And I'll make excuses as to why I'm right and He's wrong. Now, we don't say that. But we prefer excuses over God's truth sometimes because we want to do what we want to do." (Pastor Tim)

Why is this the case? Why do we sometimes prefer our own opinions over God's truth? Why are we drawn to one thing over another? There is a Kingdom principle that gives us the answer.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21-24 NKJV)

This may sound backwards, but the Kingdom principle here is that whatever we treasure, our heart will begin to flow towards. Our hearts will always be drawn to what we treasure. Remember, we become what we behold.

"Whatever I really want to do, I will move heaven and earth to do. Including ignoring the truth of the Holy Spirit. How many times do you shut yourself off to what's being said by the Holy Spirit because it's not what you want to do?... There's always evidence to what you treasure. That's what this scripture is saying." (Pastor Tim)

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:21-24 NKJV)

This scripture is not talking about secular music and movies. Religion always made this about what we were looking at. It's not talking about behavior at all. It's talking about your perspective (the eye), and how you see. If your perspective has been entwined with Yahweh's point of view, your entire body will be full of light. But if your perspective is being directed by your own opinions, what you assume to be right apart from Yahweh's influence, then your whole body will be full of darkness (imagine the veil). Did you know there is a light that can be darkness? It's our opinion, that we've convinced ourselves is truth, but was never joined to Abba's point of view.

"If you look at something with your perception, if you're going to look at it through the way you see things, you're going to fill your entire life with your darkness, and you will pretend it's light... Remember what I said, every situation, every circumstance, God is using to fill your life with His light, to draw you closer, to see things like He sees them. And all you have to do to make that happen is turn your attention to Him. That's it." (Pastor Tim)

Jesus gives us the perfect example of how powerful our perspective is by using God and money. We can't focus on God and money at the same time, because whatever our focus is will end up driving our life. What in our lives is in competition with Abba's point of view? What are we giving our focus and attention to that's drawing our hearts away from Abba's perspective? Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, there are a lot of masters besides money. You can trace down the masters by paying attention to what your heart treasures because your heart will always follow what you're focusing on and giving your attention to.

Turn your heart towards Abba throughout the day and allow Him to lift the veil and show you where your treasure is. Allow Him to reveal the things that are speaking louder than His voice in your life. What's competing with Abba's point of view?

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Worship: "High and Lifted Up" by Rick Pino

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 5/28/24 The Wilderness Place 5/28/24

Who’s Teaching Who?

(6 minutes)

"Every single one of us has the Holy Spirit on the inside of us. Every one of us. He's there, not to sit with you in darkness, He's there to light your darkness up. He's there to change situations and circumstances. Let me ask you a question: are you having a problem making the same decisions over and over, you have patterns you'd like to see broken in your life? The Holy Spirit is with you to break those patterns. He's not here to let us teach Him how to do life. He's here to teach us how to do life. You have God Himself, here, to teach you how to do life every step of the way. But we have not, because we have not asked, or we have asked amiss." (Pastor Tim)

The Holy Spirit is not here to accompany us through the same issues over and over again like a silent bystander. We all have patterns of brokenness in our lives, areas that we keep responding the same way in, and the change that must happen is our surrendering to the Lordship of the Spirit. We must surrender to the fact that the Spirit desires to teach us in every area of life. We must wake up to the reality that there can be freedom in the areas where the Holy Spirit is Lord.

He doesn't just want us to turn our hearts to Him on Sundays and Tuesday evenings, He wants every day, every moment, to be an opportunity for us to hear Him speak. And He will use everything in our lives to speak to us.

"Guess what? Every single thing in your life is designed to get you closer to Him. Even the things that hurt. Crushing is how wine is actually made. Grapes are crushed and every single one us go through moments of crushing to bring out the Kingdom of God within us...Being planted and being buried looks the same from the outside...Some of us believe we've been buried, and our lives are over, and situations are over, but actually what has happened is you've just been planted." (Pastor Tim)

Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us throughout the day? Are we intentionally turning our hearts to Him in order to learn from the Spirit of Yahweh that's inside of us? Are we allowing every moment, even the hard, crushing ones to be opportunities for Abba to speak to us and teach us a new way?

In every area where the Spirit is Lord, there is freedom. And in every area where He is not Lord, we will continue to struggle. Abba has an answer for the areas where we struggle. Abba has wisdom for our lives that would literally change generations. It's locked up in our surrendering to the Spirit, yielding to His Lordship, and turning our hearts to Him in these moments so we can receive what Abba has for us.

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Worship: "Beauty for Ashes + You're Good" by UPPERROOM

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 5/27/24 The Wilderness Place 5/27/24

Abba’s Promise: The Veil Will Be Lifted

(6 minutes)

"That means anytime you have not turned to the Lord about something, you have a veil on your heart. Think about it, it's not a bad thing, it just means you don't know everything. The scripture is telling us that we don't know everything. I think we kind of already knew that, right? But sometimes we get into situations that we're familiar with and we think we know everything." (Pastor Tim)

This is literally the first step to turning your heart to the Lord: admitting that you don't know everything there is to know about a certain situation. This can be a big hurdle for some people, especially when we get into familiar waters that we think we already know how to navigate. This is when we start responding the same way we always respond, instead of relying on the Lordship of the Spirit to direct us. Coming to grips with the fact that I may not be seeing this correctly is our initial act of yielding to the Spirit. What area in your life are you responding to out of the place of familiarity, instead of the direction of the Holy Spirit? What areas have you already made judgments about just because you thought you already knew?

Abba is inviting us into turning our hearts. His promise to us is that the moment we turn to Him with an open heart (that's important, an OPEN heart), the veil will be lifted and we will see.

"This is a promise. If you are in a situation, not talking about on a Sunday morning, this is talking about at work on a Wednesday night... if you'll stop for moment and turn your heart to the Lord, a veil will be lifted. Why? Because God's got something to tell you about the situation you're in. He's got some instructions for us. He's telling us that there's some wisdom that you can have that can change the situation you want to see changed. You don't have to keep doing the same old thing, expecting different results. You can actually have different results!" (Pastor Tim)

You've been given the Spirit of Yahweh. He's not just around you and with you...He's in you. You have access to the presence of Abba at every moment of the day because His Spirit is dwelling in you. What's keeping us from stepping into the Lordship of the Spirit? What's keeping us from going to Him for direction? Why would we continue to lean on our own understanding when the Spirit of Yahweh is inside of us?

On the walk today, Abba may ask you to revisit some areas that you already thought you had an understanding of. The area that you were so familiar with that you responded out of that familiarity instead of yielding to the Spirit. Let Abba take your hand and walk with you through those areas. Open your heart to Him with a willingness to unlearn what you thought you already knew. His promise to us is that at that moment, the veil will be lifted and we will see.

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Worship: "Come and Behold" by Maverick City Music & UPPERROOM

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Walk is a daily writing to inspire you in your own personal intimacy with Abba.

Listen, my radiant one—if you ever lose sight of me, just follow in my footsteps where I lead my lovers. (Song of Songs 1:8)

208 Pass RoadGulfport, MS 39507

208 Pass Road
Gulfport, MS 39507