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CTK Bellingham Messages

Wilderness, Part 2: The Lord is With You

·35 min·3 clips
Brady Rector spiraled into addiction, then found healing living under a tarp in the Tennessee woods.
The episode opens with Brady Rector sharing his wilderness moment: after walking away from faith in college, he spiraled into addiction and substance abuse, leading to a year living under a tarp in the Tennessee woods with five other men, where he found community and surrendered to Jesus. Emily Jamison then introduces herself as the speaker, discussing her family and homeschooling experiences as a wilderness season. She frames the sermon around Exodus 17, where Israelites grumble for water in the wilderness, revealing their lack of trust in God. Emily defines sin as an archery term for missing God's mark, emphasizing that wilderness moves believers from separation to intimacy. She recounts her own wilderness during a college suspension for plagiarism, where she learned God's forgiveness and voice. The sermon connects Moses striking the rock for water to Jesus as the bedrock of faith, with living water symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Emily discusses Jesus' wilderness temptation, where he faced the enemy over appetites, applause, and power, emerging in the spirit's power. She references Hosea and Song of Solomon to illustrate wilderness as a place of hope and leaning on God. The episode concludes with the story of Moses' hands being held up by Aaron and Hur in battle, symbolizing community support, and a prayer inviting listeners to ask God what He wants them to know in their wilderness.

As heard by us

A personal wilderness testimony becomes a sermon on identity, forgiveness, and finding God in disorientation.

Brady Rector frames the wilderness as a place where faith is tested and identity gets stripped down. He draws from addiction, substance abuse, and a nine-month suspension after plagiarizing a college paper, giving the sermon a lived-in center.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when your plans have stalled and you need a different way to understand the wilderness.

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