Transcript: Discovering the Desert Fathers: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Christians

The Second Century Near the end of the second century A. D., during a period of great persecution a number of Christians believed that they were called by God to live a life of strict discipline and self-denial in the Setic Desert of Egypt, some 40 miles from Cairo. We get the word asceticism from the name of this desert, where in the end over 100,000 monks and hermits lived in caves and monasteries by the end of the 7th century AD. These early recluses became known as the Desert Fathers. Most famous of them was a believer named Anthony, who became known as the father of Desert Monasticism. It was in 270 AD that Anthony heard a sermon stating that perfection could be achieved by selling all of one's possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor thus leaving oneself free to follow Christ with their whole heart. Anthony did this. He sold everything, and he gave the proceeds to the poor. And then he moved deep into the desert to seek complete solitude with God. Then in 313 AD Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and large persecution of Christians ceased Prior to that, martyrdom had been seen as the highest form of Christian sacrifice. While most Christians were quick to embrace the freedom from persecution that Constantine's edict offered many others felt called to join Anthony out in the desert where they could maintain a life of ongoing separation from the materialism which they felt was leading the church astray under the lure of the empire. They believed that they could show their faith in God best by leaving everything behind and facing deprivation in the desert. There was, however, a 25-mile strip of oasis and a lake which made it possible for them to survive as well as they did. By the time Anthony died in 356 AD, so many thousands of Christians had joined him that it caused his biographer to say that Anthony had transformed the desert into a city. These Desert Fathers consisted of small groups, having from three to seven members with each group led by a father, or in some cases a mother who took spiritual responsibility for the people in that group. Several groups were overseen by a yet more experienced elder. They mostly survived through begging, although some of them made baskets and other things which they sold to other non desert dwellers As you can see already there are two doctrinal differences between these Desert Fathers and what is happening here on A Voice in the Desert One, they were calling their leaders father or mother, and number two, some of them were working for the express purpose of making money. Nevertheless, they were a good illustration at the start of what I see happening today as we move closer to the return of Christ. They were trying to rediscover the discipline that Jesus and his followers practiced. There was little access to Scripture in those days, and so they often had to make do with just snippets of information about what Jesus actually taught. Some of them went so far as to whip themselves in order to crucify their flesh, another practice which is foreign in our modern-day Voice in the Desert movement. And eventually they went so far as to start making icons to be sold to the Orthodox Church, that had, by that time, gone full circle and entered up right back into the greed and the materialism of the system from which they had originally separated themselves. But it doesn't have to be that way. Our calling today may be into a spiritual wilderness where we come to know only God and others who wish to only know God but for the most part, that wilderness is in the cities where the gospel needs to be preached. We do not need to do anything except preach the gospel. And from that preaching itself God can provide our needs if we can learn to keep our greed in check Simple pleasures simple faith and a simple message of living by faith in obedience to Jesus are the characteristics of what we doing now as we share our resources and demonstrate God's love for each other and for those around us. If we die, we die. But this does seem to be how God planned it from the start. If only he could have found people who were willing to leave it all to live such a simple, yet deeply rewarding life of faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ. This message is going out. It's a call to people everywhere to rediscover childlike faith in Christ despite the rats and threats of a materialistic system which stands stubbornly against such faith. Jesus said that when this gospel has been preached in all the world, then the end will come. Well, it's hardly ever been preached in any part of the world, but all of that can change now if you join with us in getting the message of faith in Jesus, real faith in Jesus, out to the world in these last days. Please write to me at the address on the screen if you would like to join with others in such a life. If you only want to tell me that it's unreasonable of God to make such a demand on you, please Don't be surprised if I'm too busy to answer. I'm looking for people who have faith in a real God. Together, we can change the world. Amen.