In Psalm 78:19 Israel asked the following question, “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?”. If you read the first part of the verse, you will note that the question was not asked because they were not sure that He could, but rather in rebellion against how God was leading them. Notice the first part of the verse reads, “Yea, they spake against God”. It was not an expression of concern but of disgust. They wanted to be free from the suffering of Egypt (the Bible tells us they had sighed by reason of their taskmasters and their cruel bondage), but they wanted their freedom on a bed of ease. Unfortunately, men have not changed. Today men want to go to heaven but they want to enjoy all their worldly pleasures (and sins) in the process. So what have churches done? We offer them activities. We want them to know that you can be a Christian and have fun too. I am not against having fun, but I believe we have stressed the fun to the point that we have forgotten we are called to be “good soldiers” of Jesus Christ. We are to the point now that when the fun runs out, so do manyof the church members. No longer do we depend on the preaching of the Gospel to be the power of God unto salvation; we feel we have to entertain them in. When we do, either we lower the standards to keep them or the devil entertains them out. We have adopted the world’s music and dress and promoted a positive message that never mentions sin or repentance. By the way, I read an advertisement in a Christian bookstore flyer promoting a new contemporary music CD that said the music by this group would appeal to the kids in your youth group as well as kids on the street. Let me ask you: If it appeals to kids on the street who are lost and therefore dead in trespasses and sins, what part of their nature is it appealing too? The answer has to be the old fleshly nature because they do not have the new nature that is created in a man at the New Birth. So what makes us think that this same music once brought into the church now mysteriously appeals to our youths new man? That is utter foolishness and simply a lie of the devil who transforms himself into an angel of light.
Now what does all this have to do with the question of the text? The answer is simply that the preaching of the Gospel is still the power of God unto salvation and if we will rightly proclaim it and trust God, He will save those willing to be saved. Whether it be men, women, boys or girls, even teenagers God is able to save and keep them in church and sanctify them to live pure lives; but only those willing to repent, not those there just because they enjoy the religious entertainment. Churches can then spend their time and resources doing what God called them to do: taking the Gospel to every creature instead of on entertainment. Pastors and church leaders really need to ask themselves how many of their members are there because of their love and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, and how many are there because they cater to their whims? Would they stay if the pleasures were gone? If the first thing they asked was, “What do you have to offer our young people?”, the answer is probably not. Most likely you will hear they want to find a new church where “God is blessing!” , which interpreted means you don’t have enough activities to keep us entertained. God can and will bless and provide for those willing to trust Him, without the gimmicks of the world or without lowering the standards of holy living both in and out of the church doors.
Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? He did for Israel and He can for us as well. Listen to Revelation 3:20: “Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me”. It’s time to put away worldly wisdom and promotions and open the door to Jesus and let Him provide and prosper. He can still furnish a table, even in the wilderness of these last and unstable days!