Welcome to GVM Bible Study Teacher: Pastor Burnice B. Green, Sr.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What's in this Study We will be looking at some "wilderness" experiences from scripture and comparing them to some of our own so that the next time we feel "lost in a desert" we will be able to draw encouragement and strength from the scriptures in this study. At the end of each study we'll look at what was "given up" (sometimes for the good and sometimes unnecessarily) because of the wilderness experience.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What's in this Study Six Lessons - One for each of the Weeks of Lent I'm in the Wilderness, but How Did I Get Here? Numbers 13 & 14 I'm in the Wilderness, and it's Not My Fault? Genesis 21 What? You Want Me to Go Into the Wilderness on Purpose? Matthew 10 Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? Exodus 16:1-30 Strength in the Wilderness Matthew 4:1-13 God's Promise After the Wilderness Isaiah 32 & 35

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study I'm in the Wilderness and It's not my fault Week Two Sometimes even when we are obedient to God and go in faith where He leads us, we still find ourselves in the wilderness. Take Job for example, He was a devout man, but Satan wanted to prove a point. Through it all Job stayed strong in the Lord. Let's look at another servant of God who found herself wandering in the wilderness through what seems to be no fault of her own.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study I'm in the Wilderness and It's not my fault Read Genesis 21:8-20 Discussion Groups of no more than 5

How do you think Abraham felt? (5 minutes) 40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study I'm in the Wilderness and It's not my fault Why do Hagar and Ishmael find themselves in the wilderness? Does this seem fair? (5 minutes) How do you think Abraham felt? (5 minutes) When have you ever found yourself in a wilderness situation that you had no control over? How did you respond? (5 minutes)

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study I'm in the Wilderness and It's not my fault Hagar and Ishmael were cast into the wilderness quite suddenly. How does the scripture say they responded? How did God respond?

What keeps you from crying out to God. (Psalm 46:10) 40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study I'm in the Wilderness and It's not my fault Hagar and Ishmael wandered for a while before they finally stopped and cried out to God. What might have happened had they stopped sooner? The last time you were in the wilderness, did you wander for a while or stop and cry out to God? What keeps you from crying out to God. (Psalm 46:10)

Share a time when God "opened your eyes." 40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study I'm in the Wilderness and It's not my fault This scripture says that "God opened her eyes." What does this tell us about the well? Share a time when God "opened your eyes."

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What's in this Study Six Lessons – In the next six weeks we'll be looking at some "wilderness" experiences from scripture and comparing them to some of our own so that the next time we feel "lost in a desert" we will be able to draw encouragement and strength from the scriptures in this study. At the end of each study we'll look at what was "given up" (sometimes for the good and sometimes unnecessarily) because of the wilderness experience.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What's in this Study Six Lessons - One for each of the Weeks of Lent I'm in the Wilderness, but How Did I Get Here? Numbers 13 & 14 I'm in the Wilderness, and it's Not My Fault? Genesis 21 What? You Want Me to Go Into the Wilderness on Purpose? Matthew 10 Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? Exodus 16:1-30 Strength in the Wilderness Matthew 4:1-13 God's Promise After the Wilderness Isaiah 32 & 35

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What? You want me to go into the wilderness on purpose Week Three Occasionally, the wilderness experiences we have will be ones God leads us into. It's hard to imagine going into a wilderness on purpose just because Jesus sends you there, but that's just what the disciples did.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What? You want me to go into the wilderness on purpose Week Three Read Matthew 10:5-20 Discussion Groups of no more than 5 (different from last week)

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What? You want me to go into the wilderness on purpose 1. What circumstances make this seem like a "wilderness" condition even though the disciples may not have been sent into a true wilderness?(5 minutes) 2. What do you think it may have been like to spread the good news in the first century? (5 minutes) 3. What kind of experience might God call you to that could feel like you've been called into the wilderness?(5 minutes)

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What? You want me to go into the wilderness on purpose 4. What kind of gifts and/or power was given to the disciples to endure this wilderness experience? Why is these gifts/power important? 5. Why did Jesus call the disciples "sheep among wolves"? How were they supposed to compensate for this seemingly uneven match?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What? You want me to go into the wilderness on purpose 6. When have you felt like a "sheep among wolves"? How did your response mirror Jesus' advice in vs. 16b or what do you wish you'd done differently? The last time you were in the wilderness, did you wander for a while or stop and cry out to God?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What? You want me to go into the wilderness on purpose 7. In vs. 17 & 18 Jesus warns the disciples (and us) that going into the wilderness and the unknown for His sake would not be easy. What is the obstacle He mentions specifically in these verses? How were the disciples (or any of His followers) supposed to handle this obstacle?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What 40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study What? You want me to go into the wilderness on purpose THE LAST QUESTION:
 What kinds of things did the disciples give up to be obedience to Jesus?
Would you be willing to do the same?

 TO THINK ABOUT: When you find God calling you into this sort of wilderness, a place where you just aren't comfortable, remember the disciples and how much more "uncomfortable" they were. Praise God that He brought the disciples through their desert, and He will bring you through, too. Have faith that He will never let you down.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? Week Four In Exodus we read the history of Israel being under the tyrannical rule of Egypt. (To find out how they got here, read Genesis chapters 37 & 39-45) God heard their cries for deliverance and rescued them from the hands of Pharaoh. (You'll find this account in Exodus chapters 1-15). Today we're going to find them a short time later. Let's look at how they faced their wilderness experience.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? Week Four Read Exodus 16:1-15 Discussion Groups of no more than 5 (different from last week)

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? Only 1½ months after their deliverance from Egypt, what do we find the Israelites doing? Why? Share a time when you were like the Israelites and forgot the goodness of God because you were in the wilderness? What was/is your biggest complaint when you find yourself in the wilderness?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? 2. The Israelites thought they were grumbling against Moses and Aaron (vs. 2), but who were they really grumbling against? Why does God say that? 3. Share a time when you "grumbled against" someone or some situation. How does remembering God is in control of everything in our lives put into perspective our grumbling? Why did Jesus call the disciples "sheep among wolves"? How were they supposed to compensate for this seemingly uneven match?

4. How did God answer the cries of the Israelites? 40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? 4. How did God answer the cries of the Israelites? Read John 6:32-35 and consider how this might be how God sometimes answers our cries.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness? Let’s Read Exodus 16:16-30 5. What can we learn from the Israelites about obedience? When was the last time you weren't obedient and what did you learn from it?

THE LAST QUESTION: What do you give up in the midst of your grumbling? 6. Look at Hebrews 13:5 and I Thessalonians 5:18 and discuss how we measure up in the midst of our "wilderness." Talk about why these verses are sometimes difficult and how following/not following them affects our witness. THE LAST QUESTION:
What do you give up in the midst of your grumbling? 40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Are You Grumbling in the Wilderness?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Strength in the Wilderness Week Five Matthew 4:1-11 (parallel account found in Luke 4:1-13) Let’s Read 1. What was the specific reason that Jesus was led out into the wilderness? (Compare with Deuteronomy 8:1-5) Share a time when you felt like you were in the wilderness for a similar reason?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study 2. Jesus is most assuredly God, but during this time in His life we see Him in one of His most human moments (next to His suffering before and on the cross). Discuss how you would feel (how Jesus probably felt) after going 40 days without food or water.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Strength in the Wilderness 3. How would this have affected Jesus' ability to resist the first temptation Satan threw at Him? (or yours)

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Strength in the Wilderness 4. What was at the heart of the 2nd temptation? What do we learn from Jesus' answer? 5. How might the third temptation have been attractive to Jesus? 6. What can we learn from this temptation about compromise? 7. What do we learn about Satan in this passage?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Strength in the Wilderness 8. What did Jesus use to combat him? How can this help us defeat this enemy? 9. Are there any verses you have memorized that have helped you in the wilderness? 10. How did Jesus’ temptation end? 11. Who has been your "angel" at the end of your "wilderness" experience?

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study Strength in the Wilderness What did Jesus give up in this passage? Why? TO THINK ABOUT: Jesus has been through everything that you and I will face. He has been in the "wilderness" physically, like He was in this passage, as well as spiritually, like the Garden of Gethsemane, during Judas' betrayal, Peter's denial and the Roman's cross. He even cried out to God, "Why have you forsaken me?" Consider how this knowledge can help you have strength in the midst of your wilderness.

40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study God's Promise After The Wilderness Hopefully up to this point, this study has helped you understand some of the reasons we go through hard times and how we can grow in difficult situations. The beauty of going through life with God is the knowledge that there is more to life than just living everyday. We have promises from God. Promises of life with His Son, Jesus Christ and promises of reward after the wilderness. 40 Days in the Wilderness Bible Study

God's Promise After The Wilderness Read Isaiah 32:1-2 & 14-20 1. Because God is with us, how are we like a a. shelter in the wind b. refuge in the storm c. stream in the desert

God's Promise After The Wilderness 2. Verse 14 sort of reminds us what being in the "wilderness" is like. How does verse 15 tell us we get out? How does this happen in our lives? 3. Do you feel more like a desert, a fertile field or a forest right now? Why? 4. When we get into the middle of a desert, what do these verses tell us we should ask Jesus for?

God's Promise After The Wilderness Concluding Statement: TO THINK ABOUT: The next time you're in the wilderness, don't go there alone. Remember the promises of God, and remember that Jesus knows what it is like to be in the wilderness.