WEBVTT 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:04.080 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:08.960 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:10.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:12.800 I have a bad habit. 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:16.480 I probably have more than one, but let me just tell you one of them. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:24.000 One of my bad habits is I drive my car uh until it's empty and beyond. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:25.760 Anyone else do that? 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:26.879 Yes, yes. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:30.239 Thank you, fellow brothers and sisters, right there. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:32.240 My wife hates this. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:35.200 You know, she's it stresses her out. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.640 It is like, but there's just something in me, and I don't know. 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.119 I don't know if it's the challenge of it. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:45.200 Because there's that challenge, like, how far can I go on empty? 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.320 Like back in the day, it used to be like a real guessing game. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:49.520 Remember this, some of you? 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:56.079 Like your car didn't tell you exactly how many miles you had, it just went empty, and you had to guess how much farther can I go? 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:57.280 It's kind of exciting. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:16.319 I liked it, you know, not gonna lie, you're like, woo! Now it tells you the miles, like we were driving up from Los Angeles uh yesterday to uh home today, and there was like a five-mile gap on my uh computer dashboard in the car saying between you know uh our distance and you know how much gas. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:18.879 I'm like, honey, can we go all the way? 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:20.799 And she's like, no. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:22.000 Um, and we didn't. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:26.879 We stopped and got gas and um we're happily married, and that's how that works. 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:32.079 I don't know if it's the challenge of it, sometimes it's just the time of it. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:33.599 And we you find this right? 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:47.599 Uh like you're just so busy, and you see the gas light goes on, and you're like, oh man, I need to do that, and you forget, and you hop in the car and you drive somewhere else, and you're like, oh, I totally forgot about it, and so you you just we run so fast. 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:56.799 Um and then I think the truth of it is there's something in me that okay, how do I say this? 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.000 That our gaslight lies to us. 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:06.560 Okay, you know, you've been there because it goes on and it says it's empty. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:08.560 It ain't empty though. 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:14.080 You got a good 30 or 40 miles left in the tank, but you're telling me it's empty. 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:16.159 Just tell me the truth sometime, all right? 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:20.400 When it's e I want to know, oh yeah, I gotta really run and go get it. 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:25.039 Now the truth is 99.9% of the time it's absolutely fine. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:27.360 It works out just fine. 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:31.039 I end up, you know, where I need to go on fine. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:43.599 It works out, except except in emergency, except when life hits, except when, you know, you just begin to get caught up and you realize you really need to get there, and you realize, oh, I'm on empty. 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.599 I remember when I was in high school, it's pretty fun to tell these stories with my parents in the room. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:03:04.159 I remember when I was on high school and I was coming home late, I think it was about midnight, and I was getting off, uh, for those who know 41st Avenue, and I was getting off 41st Avenue, taking a left, and as over the overpass, and I was, I didn't calculate my gas well. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:08.400 And this was obviously pre-days of the digital mileage on there. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:15.280 And I get up on the just up, driving up over the overpass, and then all of a sudden, go, go, go, go, and it stops. 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:24.000 Say a quick prayer, and I look in my rearview mirror, and an angel of the Lord shone a bright light on a gas station right behind me. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:29.199 No, it was just the gas station light, it was them, but it felt angelic in that moment. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:42.560 And no lie, I did this, it was a stick shift, I pop it out, and I just coasted backwards all the way in, made it all the way in and pumped gas that way. 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:50.240 Now, the reality is for much of this, it hasn't impacted anybody else until my daughter started driving. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:58.960 And now it's impacting her, and she'll go, Dad! She'll be running to school or need to run an errand, and my tanks on E. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:03.199 And I was like, Well, now it's not only impacting me, it's impacting her. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.960 And Silicon Valley, we run hard, don't we? 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:08.960 We run fast. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:12.800 Many of us are running on fumes. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.639 Many of us are running on empty. 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:23.759 And the truth is, often it feels like we can get away with it. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.000 We can get by, right? 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:44.959 We we can just make it until an emergency hits, until a pandemic hits, until a family crisis or health issue, and then you realize you do not have the emotional gas in the tank to navigate the circumstances that you're in. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:53.040 Most of us find ourselves today. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:00.480 And we often think that we can do this and it's not hurting or impacting anybody. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:08.000 But the truth is, when we run on fumes, it impacts those closest to us. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:11.920 Our friends, our family, our coworkers. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:16.800 What do you do when you're running on empty? 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:23.920 Like, what do you really do when you're on E? 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:25.920 Maybe said a different way. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.279 How do we respond when depression knocks at our door? 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:32.079 And we're gonna talk more about that next week. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:36.879 And here's what's amazing: how does God meet us in our weariness? 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:41.199 And the answer is surprisingly good. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:44.480 Last week we kicked off this series, Navigating Normal. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.519 How do we navigate the normal we now find ourselves in? 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:53.279 It's not the normal we wanted, and it's not back to normal that we had, but it's the normal we now find ourselves in. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:06:00.319 And nobody prepared us for a pandemic, and really, truly, no one's taught us how to navigate the world we find ourselves in. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:02.879 And to compound problems is this. 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:11.040 We've been told over and over again we are living in unprecedented times, and so there is no roadmap to navigate these times. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.199 That is a lie. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.160 These are not unprecedented times. 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:19.120 They're new to you, and they're new to me. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:27.680 We haven't navigated them, but many people throughout history and God's word have navigated such days as these. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:41.199 And so we're studying the life of the prophet Elijah and when he lived in days that were not too dissimilar to the days we're living in, and how do we navigate the normal we now find ourselves in? 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:48.000 Now, last week I did a full kind of background history lesson on who is Elijah, what he was going through. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:54.560 I'd encourage you, go back and listen to that to catch up to if you need to know who he is. 00:06:54.720 --> 00:07:00.800 We find his story is specifically what we're teaching is in 1 Kings chapter 18 and 19. 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.439 Elijah was a prophet of God who lived in the 9th century BC. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:10.480 He lived in very politically corrupt times. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:18.879 There was a king who was one of the most evil kings of Israel, King Ahab, and a queen that was even worse than him, Queen Jezebel. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:22.000 And he lived in political corruption. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.800 There was spiritual and moral decay. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:32.160 Israel, which was to be a nation under God Yahweh, had then deserted God and followed Bael. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:37.759 And I can you can go back and listen to all of the pain and heartache that that caused. 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.240 Then a severe persecution broke out. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:46.720 Anyone who was follower of Yahweh, specifically prophets, were killed, and then a national crisis at the same time. 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:53.360 This is the landscape that of the prophet Elijah is then to bring about a spiritual and a social renewal. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:08:03.759 And in 1 Kings chapter 18, we see this incredible showdown on Mount Carmel, where Elijah confronts the prophets and the powers of Baal and the king. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:14.319 He's standing on this mountaintop with 450 prophets of Baal, 400 prophetess, a priest of Ashrah, and he's standing alone. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:19.759 And he says, Whichever God responds by fire is the one true God. 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:21.439 And there's this incredible showdown. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.360 I encourage you to go listen to it. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:29.519 And eventually, uh, when Elijah prays to his God, his God Yahweh responds by fire. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:41.279 And he started the day standing alone against 850 of the prophets and priests of Baal and Asherah and the king and all the people gathered. 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:43.200 And he ended his day. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.320 The king now standing alone. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:54.639 And all the people were beginning to experience a spiritual national revival. 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.039 And then something happens. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:06.879 Something that you don't expect a spiritual giant to experience. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:11.679 Certainly not someone who's godly, a hero that we put on a pedestal. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:15.919 He just faced an army, if you will. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:27.600 And then the queen, the queen Jezebel, threatens his life, and the text says, and Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:35.519 And this is where we pick up the story, and this is where we discover what do we do when we're running on empty. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:41.200 If you have your Bible, would you open to 1 Kings chapter 19, verse 3? 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:45.919 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:54.399 When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. 00:09:54.639 --> 00:10:00.480 He came to a broom bush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:12.399 That's not kind of what you would expect from someone who just had the greatest spiritual victory of his life, so the greatest demonstration of the hand and power of his God. 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:15.279 And now he's just saying, Take me, Lord. 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:17.279 I'm done with it. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:22.399 One threat pushed him over the edge. 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:24.159 Notice what he said. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:25.919 He said, I've had enough, Lord. 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:27.039 Take my life. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:29.279 I'm no better than my ancestors. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:33.519 Then he laid down under the bush and fell asleep. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:37.279 All at once an angel touched him and said, Get up and eat. 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:43.120 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.559 He ate and drank, and then he laid down again. 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:54.320 The angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him, and said, Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you. 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.440 So he got up and ate and drank, strengthened by the food. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:01.759 He traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horab, the mountain of God. 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.279 Horeb or Mount Sinai. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:09.679 This was the mountain where Moses was up for forty days and forty nights, receiving the law of God. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:15.519 This was the mountain where God showed up to Moses, and he now wandered onto the mountain of God. 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:20.720 And there he went into a cave and spent the night. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:26.799 In fact, next week we'll pick up there the story, the sermon titles, Into the Cave. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:36.559 We're going to talk about depression and anxiety, and I'll share more personally about my own personal 18-month deep dark journey with depression. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:40.159 Today, let's talk about when we're running on empty. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:43.440 What do you do when you're running on empty? 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:46.080 And how do you actually know you're empty? 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:48.080 How do you know you're on E? 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:51.039 How do you know, like, what is the warning sign? 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:57.919 Is there something that gives you 30 miles in advance before you actually run out of gas to know, you know what? 00:11:58.000 --> 00:11:59.440 I'm heading that direction. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:04.320 Is there the check engine light of your soul to be able to say, hey, guess what? 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:13.440 You need to pay attention to this, otherwise you're going to run dry or break down. 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:20.080 In the text, we actually see three warning signs of running on empty, three check engine lights, if you will. 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:23.919 The first is simply this when your feelings start to drive your decisions. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:30.000 When your feelings start to drive your decisions, Elijah was afraid and he ran. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:41.200 When we're afraid, when we're uh anxious, when we're under chronic stress, our natural response, our biological response is fight, flight, or freeze. 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:43.039 And he runs. 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:47.519 But he got, you're like, but it doesn't make sense. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.720 One person, he stood up to 850. 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:53.600 Logically, you have God on your side. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:54.480 What happened? 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:03.840 He got, he was on empty, and now he began to react to his feelings of fear rather than seeing what God had done in his past. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:06.799 When your feelings start to drive your decisions. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.919 For some, you may not identify with the word feelings. 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:11.679 Would you just put this word there? 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:12.879 Desires. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:23.759 When your desires, your impulses start to drive your decision making, and you're just going, like, I just crave that, I just need that, I just want that. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.840 And that's the way you start to make decisions. 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:41.120 You know, uh, my wife, um, she is the most even killed, um, up person, like always, I almost always in a good mood person. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.840 Like, she's the best person to hang out with, the best person to be around. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:44.799 It's awesome. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.519 I I'm the this person, right? 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:55.919 So I'm kind of moody broody, but it also means, I know, um, it also means I'm I really know how I feel. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:01.519 Because I like journal and I write out my feelings, and probably too much so, let's be honest. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:04.559 Um, I can like come up a little bit. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:10.159 But her personality, she's not even just kind of aware how she feels. 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:15.039 Sometimes it isn't until some physical ailments like from stress or stuff comes up. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:16.639 It's like, no, I think I'm stressed. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:18.480 I'm like, I always know I'm stressed. 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:23.279 I love how Chris Hodges says it, and I encourage you to do this. 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:28.960 Pay attention to your emotions, appetite, sleep patterns, and exercise habits. 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:31.200 Write down your feelings each day. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:34.639 You're like, oh boy, I'd have to like ask what am I feeling? 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:39.840 Describe as honestly as possible what's going on inside you. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:42.320 Begin to become aware. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:51.200 See, uh, there's this idea uh in psychology of cognitive distortions that when we're under stress, we begin to have these distortions. 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:52.639 One of them is emotional. 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:56.960 It's I feel, therefore, it must be true. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:14:58.320 You ever been there? 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.200 I feel this, therefore it must be true. 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:04.480 And so your feelings begin to determine reality. 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:11.679 Feelings are a great indicator of how you're doing, they're a terrible indicator of what's real and true around you. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:15.120 And we begin to make decisions based on our feelings. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:15.759 Dr. 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:21.519 Amy Cuddy said it this way, trying to help explain what everybody else is, we're all going through. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:25.519 She called it the um the pandemic flux syndrome. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:38.879 If you're feeling anxious, depressed, unsettled, like you need to make a major life uh decision or move, you're probably experiencing the pandemic flux syndrome where your feelings are driving your decisions there. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:48.080 It's our desire to regain control in some way and so make some major decision to feel like we're in control when we're feeling completely out of control. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:49.440 First warning sign. 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.720 The warning sign, feelings or desires drive your decisions. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.399 Second one is when you retreat from community into isolation. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:58.960 When you retreat from community into isolation. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:07.759 And the last 18 months had us move and socially distance, and we naturally were isolated, and it was violating to our soul in so many ways. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:14.240 And we there's times where we needed it, but we also needed to lean into connections, whether it was online or in person. 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:18.480 Notice that he left his servant, went a day's journey into the wilderness. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.840 Many commentators believe he just was giving up on ministry. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:30.320 Like when the leader of a revival saw revival start to break out, he got so discouraged, so depressed, he just ran away. 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:32.000 It was too much for him. 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:34.000 And began to isolate. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.679 Isolation and solitude are two different things. 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:41.519 Solitude is uh reconnects us to God. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:43.519 It's it's one of his gifts. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:47.039 Isolation disconnects us from God and others. 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:53.919 Uh, isolation depletes the soul, whereas solitude actually is a gift of God that recharges the soul. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:17:01.679 Isolation is a tool in the hand of the enemy to keep you stuck where you're at. 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:09.839 Uh one writer said it this way: solitude is chosen separateness, separation for refining of your soul. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:10.160 Okay. 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:15.119 Uh isolation is what you crave when you neglect the first. 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:22.480 When you retreat from community, when you push yourself away from friends, and you step into isolation away. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.680 That's a warning sign. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.440 Have you pushed significant or key people away? 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:34.240 Second or third warning sign, rather, is when you lose perspective, passion, and purpose. 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:37.519 Notice Elijah, he prayed, May I might die. 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:38.880 I've had enough. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:40.799 Any of you prayed that prayer? 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:42.400 I've had enough. 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:44.960 I'm tired, I'm done. 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:48.400 Take my life, and then he compares, right? 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.200 This is what we do when we lose perspective and our passion. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:53.119 We begin to compare and look around. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:18:05.920 And Instagram's great for that because then we just look around at everybody's, you know, filtered lives, and our unfiltered soul is compared to that, and we just feel like failures, and we lose perspective. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:12.559 We lose our passion for what God's called us, we lose sight of our purpose. 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:16.480 Well, how do we know we've lost perspective? 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:29.200 Um, I was reaching out to one of our psychologists uh counselors in our church, getting their expert opinion on this, and one of them sent me the list of cognitive distortions. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:38.799 Let me just read a few of these because you'll you'll hear Elijah and what he's going through, and chances are you'll be able to identify yourself as well. 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:40.880 The all-or-nothing thinking. 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:43.039 You see things in black and white categories. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:47.920 If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure. 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:49.920 It's your perspective loss. 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:56.559 Overgeneralization, you see a single negative vent as never-ending pattern of defeat. 00:18:57.279 --> 00:18:58.319 Mental filter. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:10.160 You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like a drop of ink that discolors the entire beaker of water. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:12.640 You think that happened to Elijah? 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:15.519 Disqualifying the positive. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:19.440 You reject positive experiences by insisting they don't count for some reason or other. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:24.319 You maintain negative beliefs that is contradicted by your everyday experience. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:34.960 You can go through these, but when you lose perspective, you lose your passion or purpose, these are warning signs to say, hey, you got about 30 miles. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:38.160 You need to pay attention, you need to fill up the tank. 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:39.279 Now, here's the good news. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.160 I said it last week, I'll say it this week. 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:43.599 Maybe every week. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:46.480 You're not broken. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:49.759 You're not broken. 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:52.799 Are you running on empty? 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:54.319 Are you tired? 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:55.759 Are you weary? 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:02.799 See, the thought that we have and we think was like, no, no, no, I'm broken and I'm I'm hopelessly lost and I'm a failure. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:03.680 No, no, no. 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:04.880 Let me just help you out. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:05.920 You're normal. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:07.759 You're normal. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:14.640 We're in this boat together, and there is hope. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.680 What do you do when you're running on empty? 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.799 Let me give you a principle and then a practice. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:26.160 The principle is this you are not a human doing, but a human being. 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:28.880 You are not a human doing. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:32.400 And we identify our lives by what we do. 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:38.000 My approval is based on what I accomplish. 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:43.119 I am only as good as my last success. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:48.480 My doing, what you say of me, what you think of me, and how you esteem me. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.880 And we live our lives finding our identity on our doings. 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:58.079 You are not a human doing, you are a human being. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:02.160 Back, Reddits last week, my favorite verse about Elijah found in James. 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:04.640 And Elijah was uh help me out. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:07.039 Human being. 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:09.440 By the way, he did way better than the first service last time. 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:10.240 I had to have him do it. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:13.119 We'll do it again, anyways, because uh you got more. 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:15.440 But that was well done. 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:23.839 Elijah was a human being, just like you and me. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:35.119 See, we subtly think and put people on pedestals and heroes of the faith or leaders and say, they never struggled with this. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:39.519 And if you really love God, you would never run on empty. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:48.720 And if you really walked with Jesus, and the reality is, is Elijah, one of the great prophets, he ran on empty. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:54.559 And I love that this is in scripture for us that we can draw from and learn from. 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:58.960 You know what Wayne Codero in his book Leading on Empty said? 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.519 He said, We don't. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.200 Forget we are Christians, we forget that we are human. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:10.240 And that one oversight alone can debilitate the potential of our future. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:11.359 Dr. 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:34.079 Stephen Fiardi, oh boy, sorry, Steve, wrote The Depression Cure, says this we were never designed for the sedentary, socially isolated, sleep-deprived, poorly nourished, indoor, frenetic pace of modern American life. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:38.079 And that was written before the pandemic. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:43.039 You're not a human doing, you're a human being, you're not a machine. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:48.400 You can't just keep going and going and going. 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:50.640 Now here's what we know about machines. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:52.079 Isn't this crazy? 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:57.039 We know for my iPhone to work, we gotta plug it in and charge it. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:06.720 And you do this habitually, consistently, religiously, because to live without this, oh, it just wouldn't be living, would it? 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:11.920 And to not charge this, this is now just a glorified paperweight. 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:19.119 Why do we do this so consistently, but we don't do it here? 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:23.119 How did this become more important than here? 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:28.960 See, we just missed it along the way. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:36.000 We get caught up in the rap race, we get caught up in the pace, and our souls suffer along the way. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:42.079 We know that our car needs to be filled up with gas, and yet we forget that our souls do as well. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:50.799 And so, if the principle is you're not a human doing, but a human being, the practice then is to accept your limitations and God's invitation to rest. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:54.640 How did God respond to Elijah? 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:56.240 I love this by the way. 00:23:57.839 --> 00:23:59.039 How did he respond? 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:00.480 This is so good. 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:04.960 He didn't respond with shame, he responded by serving him. 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:07.279 Did you notice that? 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:09.119 Elijah, think about. 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:15.599 I mean, just if you were wanting a spiritual national renewal and revival to take place, you chose Elijah. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:27.839 He had this great moment of leadership, and then when he's set to kind of lead people in this renewal, he deserts them, he flees, he gives up on ministry, basically says, I want to die. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:30.000 Like, no, man. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:34.640 And God doesn't come to him and go, you screw up. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.000 What were you thinking? 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:41.039 What's wrong with you? 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:45.599 Don't you remember what I had done and how I'd work? 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:49.839 How could you fold under that one threat? 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:54.480 No, that's not what God does, but that's what we do to ourselves, right? 00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:04.480 It's the self-talk that keeps many of us captive and breaks us down, living under shame and guilt. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:07.920 God shows up. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:10.319 Instead of shame, he serves. 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:15.119 Elijah collapses under this broom tree. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:24.880 It's like anywhere from six to twelve foot tall, very slender, just kind of just enough shade that you might be able to be covered from the sun. 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:28.960 And he sleeps. 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:32.000 And God lets him sleep. 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:33.839 Because you know what? 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:36.880 The most spiritual thing for Elijah to do in that moment was to sleep. 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:38.799 He needed rest. 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:42.960 And then, not a lecture. 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:51.759 You know, God even got into the bread-making thing in the pandemic. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:26:04.960 And water, and he eats, he serves them and nourishes his physical body, and he goes back to sleep, and then he does it again. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:08.000 And you know what he said is so good. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:11.359 Take this and eat, for the journey is long. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:19.599 Some of us want a quick fix, and you're coming and you're hearing, and you want a really quick fix of God, just deposit it, boost, man. 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:26.319 If I can get one of those like superchargers that I just hit it, and in my phone is completely recharged, and boom, that's what I want with my soul. 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:31.440 And I, friends, I gotta tell you, if you're depleted and empty, the journey is longer than you think. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:37.039 In fact, we're gonna talk more in depth about that next week with anxiety and depression. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:50.480 He says, I'm gonna walk with you through this, I'm gonna supply what you need in this, and I'm gonna serve your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:58.079 And so the practice is we have to accept our limitations and God's invitation to rest. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:00.880 You're limited. 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:02.000 I'm limited. 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:03.599 We can't do it all. 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:06.079 We have a limited amount of time. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:28.720 We need to accept our limitations and begin to step into the rhythms God ordained throughout history and time and even in creation for us to rest that in our day and age we violate because we live at this breakneck technological speed. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:36.640 Um, when I was a 20-year-old, I went on this pastor's retreat, and I got to hear uh Rick Warren speak. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:40.880 He's the author of Your Purpose Driven Life and the Purpose Driven Church. 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:49.359 And uh I remember, you know, he said one line along if you if you find if we find ourselves burning the candle at both ends, we may not be as bright as we think. 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:52.319 I'm like, well, that hurt, thank you very much. 00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:54.160 And true. 00:27:54.400 --> 00:27:56.400 And then he gave these three things. 00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:06.160 He said, here's three areas of rhythms to embrace that honestly, honestly, we do sporadically, that we need to embrace systematically. 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:10.000 We need to carve them out in our calendar and set them aside. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:12.079 You can't afford not to. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:17.839 And the first one was he said, we need to divert daily, divert daily. 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:24.480 You know, it said of Jesus that he often withdrew to lonely places to be with God. 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:29.680 It says that he got up very early in the morning. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:41.119 See, you need a set-aside time of silence and solitude, what we used to call back in the day a quiet time. 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:44.480 Now that's just what we do to kids when they're in trouble. 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:54.079 That settles our soul, recenters our heart, and gets our focus onto Jesus. 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:58.480 Where you say, and here's the challenge: get 30 minutes a day. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:13.839 That literally just means wake up 30 minutes earlier than you already are, get a nice cup of coffee, find a spot, maybe it's a couch, maybe it's a chair, maybe it's you know on your deck, and you get into God's word and you pray and you talk to him. 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:24.000 If Jesus needed to do this on the regular, I think we need to do this. 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:25.279 Divert daily. 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:28.319 By the way, pay attention to beginnings and endings. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:31.759 How you start the day and how you end the day. 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:39.119 I remember uh Rick Warren when he was talking about this, he said, if you work with your hands, you often tend to rest or play with your mind. 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:42.799 And if you work with your mind, you often tend to need to rest or play with your hands. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:48.799 And so, like being for me, like playing basketball, or when my kids were little, actually, no, the boys still do this. 00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:53.759 We we get a wrestle, you know, and uh some of those sorts, they're so refreshing. 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:56.559 And and I just want a full full confession. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:58.240 I'm preaching to myself right now. 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:04.640 I don't have this all figured out, and this is the Spirit of God convicting and teaching me as I'm teaching you. 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:08.000 Because honestly, you know the way I like to fall asleep? 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:12.480 I like to fall asleep to watching beep Bobby Flay, and then I wake up at about 1 a.m. 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.920 and I like unplug the TV because I can't find the remote, you know. 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:20.960 So you gotta divert daily. 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:25.279 This rhythm of diverting daily, settling your soul. 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:30.960 Spend time with him, set it aside 30 minutes, and then retreat weekly. 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:33.599 He went on and say, retreat weekly. 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:37.440 And right next to retreat, I want you to write down the word Sabbath. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.119 Sabbath. 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:44.960 Sabbath literally means to stop and delight. 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:57.759 It means to stop, it means to cease work, to cease striving, and to delight in all the goodness that God is and has provided. 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:02.000 See, Sabbath, it's actually one of the Ten Commandments. 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:08.720 Uh, we we forget this, and it's reiterated when they're going into the promised land to stop and cease. 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:16.480 It set Israel apart from all the worships of the other gods that said, you have to strive continuously, you have to do more, do more, do more. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:19.359 And God says, no, no, no, I'll do more when you stop. 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:27.200 See, Sabbath is an act of faith, trusting that God works when we aren't working. 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:31.200 It's actually found in the very fabric of creation. 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:43.839 God said he created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day he rested, or he stopped, or rather, he delighted in what he made. 00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:57.680 And God says, this is the order of life that you would stop, that you would stop, that you would take a 24-hour period and that you would stop, and you would stop working, you would take your phone. 00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:04.960 Oh, this is gonna get hard, you would stop this stuff, you would stop text, you would stop social media, just take one day. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:09.039 You go, Ryan, my job, you have no idea. 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:14.559 Um, I'm a CPA and I'm pretty important, and it's nonstop. 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:18.000 You don't understand the valley. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:24.160 There's tons of studies out there, by the way, when it talks about uh your effectiveness and productivity. 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:32.720 And studies tell us, by the way, that after 50 hours of work in a week, your effectiveness and productivity goes immensely down. 00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:38.559 And as you work more hours, you actually are working more inefficiently and ineffectively. 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:49.279 And if you set aside 50 hours and you stop and rest, you'll be a better worker for your company, you'll be more productive and more alive, and people are gonna go, well, I need more of what you have. 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:52.079 But it takes faith to do that. 00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:54.720 And you delight. 00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:56.559 You delight in God. 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:59.119 You maybe have an extra long time with Him. 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:00.880 You get out in nature. 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:03.920 Sunday's a great day for many of you to do it. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.559 It's my workday, I can't do that, but you can do that. 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:10.960 Where you come and you get to be in the presence of God with the people of God. 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:13.440 You delight in a great meal. 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:16.480 If your sushi's your thing, have sushi. 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:20.880 If it's a steak and potatoes, have steak and potatoes. 00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:26.720 Open a nice bottle of wine, delight and tell stories of what God's doing. 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:29.759 Delight in nature. 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:41.039 See, it's this day of refreshing and renewal, and that rhythm impacts and changes our lives and begins to fill our soul. 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:57.519 So he said, divert daily, retreat weekly, and then thirdly, he said, abandon yearly, where there's a break in your year where you just take off to truly recharge your soul and your heart and your mind. 00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:04.240 And most of the time we take trips or vacations to escape our reality, don't we? 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:08.320 You know, Israel, it had multiple festivals. 00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:10.480 These were amazing, by the way. 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:16.639 There were multiple festivals that were filled, all centered around who God was, and you had great meals. 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:25.920 Some of them were camping, you know, a festival of booze, and other ones were, you know, just different environments, but it all centered around family, the season of work and celebration. 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:27.840 Instead, we used to call vacations. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:29.920 You remember what we used to call vacations? 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:32.159 Holidays. 00:34:34.400 --> 00:34:37.599 Any idea where that word comes from? 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:40.480 Holy day. 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:48.719 That a vacation is actually a holy day set apart for the refreshment and renewal of God's people. 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:52.400 And where you don't vacation from God, you vacation with him. 00:34:54.320 --> 00:34:58.880 In the presence of God, we said this in uh last series, is the fullness of joy. 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:00.880 He created you for delight. 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:06.159 He created those desires in you, and in him they're found in fulfillment. 00:35:07.199 --> 00:35:09.360 And where you'd abandon yearly. 00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:15.440 What we do sporadically, we have to embrace systematically. 00:35:15.679 --> 00:35:21.039 You have we have to put it on our calendar, mark it off, block it off. 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:22.159 Hey, you know what? 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:28.480 I'm I'm not available from Saturday sundown to Sunday, you know, at 5 p.m. 00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:32.960 I don't know what your time is, but you would just outline it and you would hold it. 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:41.199 Trust me, you are going to begin to experience the renewal and replenishing of your soul. 00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:43.199 This is the way Jesus said it. 00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:45.280 He said, Come to me. 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:54.320 All who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:57.599 Did you walk in today weary? 00:35:58.800 --> 00:36:00.559 Did you walk in burdened? 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:04.480 Then he says, This take my yoke upon you. 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:06.800 The yoke is is the picture. 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:16.159 Every rabbi had a yoke, it was their teachings, it was their way of life that a disciple was learning to follow and walk in. 00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:23.199 And it's the picture we all know of the yoke of two oxen being yoked together for work. 00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:29.599 And he's literally saying, the work that I have when you're under mine, it's actually easy and light. 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:36.960 For I'm gentle and humble at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:42.800 My yoke is easy, my burden is light. 00:36:43.679 --> 00:36:53.360 See, rest, renewal, filling your tanks found in Jesus and in the ways of Jesus. 00:36:57.199 --> 00:37:03.280 I like how John Mark Comer said it in his uh book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:10.559 He said it this way: if you want the life of Jesus, you have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus. 00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:15.039 He often withdrew to lonely places. 00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:20.960 The festivals. 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:25.840 In this moment, would you come to Jesus? 00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:28.800 Weary and burdened. 00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:33.280 He is your rest and his way is restful. 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:43.280 We're gonna worship and just kind of give you a few questions to ponder. 00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:50.559 First one is are you in a season of life? 00:37:50.880 --> 00:37:53.039 Or are you caught in a cycle? 00:37:53.440 --> 00:37:56.639 You know, when the pandemic started, it was a season, right? 00:37:57.039 --> 00:38:00.480 And it quickly became this isn't a season, this is a cycle. 00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:03.599 When your kids are small, that's a season. 00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:14.559 When when you're running tirelessly, that your kids have every experience they possibly can, you're caught in a cycle. 00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:22.639 Is the pace of your life pushing out your peace? 00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:26.400 Like you're running so hard. 00:38:28.800 --> 00:38:33.440 That what is whatever you're pursuing worth the price of your peace? 00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:45.599 You know, a buddy of mine was a part of a startup here, and on the ground floor, one of the first five employees, and it just took off. 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:57.679 And he came to me and he's telling me his process, and he says, You know, Ryan, my position outgrew my peace. 00:38:58.480 --> 00:39:00.079 And you know what he did? 00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:14.800 He demoted himself, invited a guy that he hired to be over his area because it wasn't worth the price tag of his peace and his family and his relationship with Jesus. 00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:18.159 And for some, there's a promotion that outpromoted your peace. 00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:24.559 Your pace pushing out the peace of your life. 00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:27.119 And finally, what rhythms? 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:32.559 What rhythms do you need to embrace or replace? 00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:38.400 And full disclosure that's what I'm wrestling with right now. 00:39:40.239 --> 00:39:46.480 Those are the things that I realize are in my soul that I'm not preaching to you, I'm preaching to me. 00:39:48.079 --> 00:39:56.880 And actively wrestling, okay, God, there's rhythms in my life and things that you need to replace, and there's new things I need to embrace. 00:39:57.360 --> 00:39:58.480 What about you? 00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:03.920 Lord Jesus, I pray for my friends right now as we worship. 00:40:04.239 --> 00:40:07.039 You would meet them and you would speak to them. 00:40:07.760 --> 00:40:20.159 The hurriedness of what's next, you would settle to hear your voice, your tender touch, your loving care, and that we would enter your rest in your ways. 00:40:21.599 --> 00:40:23.920 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:29.119 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:31.679 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:37.840 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.