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 --> 00:00:10.720 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:13.279 We're continuing our series. 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:14.800 We're actually completing our series. 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.480 We're finishing up our series called Navigating Normal. 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:19.519 We've been wrestling with this. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:27.679 How do we navigate the normal that we now find ourselves in, a normal we never expected to be in? 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:35.359 And we said this that no one prepared us for the last 18 months for a pandemic and all that we've gone through. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:41.280 And chances are no one has actually taught you how to navigate the normal we now find ourselves in. 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:52.399 And then to compound the problem is this that we have come to believe, because it's been spoken so many times, that we are living in unprecedented times. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.439 Unprecedented meaning it's you new or unique. 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.159 And the truth is these are not unprecedented times. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:08.959 They are new to us, but they're not new to history, nor are they new to the pages of God's word and how he's worked. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:18.560 And so as a result, we can go to God's word and discover and learn how do we navigate the world we find ourselves in. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:25.040 And so we've been studying the life of the prophet Elijah for the last three, now four weeks. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.480 And the prophet Elijah, I just want to do a big recap. 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:37.120 And so if you're brand new, kind of catch you up to where we've been, uh he's an incredibly important figure in the Old Testament. 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:38.959 You find a story in 1 Kings. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:43.120 We've been uh in 1 Kings chapter 18 and 19. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:50.640 And the prophet Elijah lived in a time that's not too dissimilar to the time and age that we are living in. 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:56.159 Uh in fact, uh he lived in a time where there was incredible uh political corruption. 00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:06.000 King Ahab, it says that he was uh did more evil in the eyes of God than any other king before him, and the other kings before him were bad news. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:11.680 And then he married a gal named Jezebel, who was really, really bad news. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.840 And so there's this political corruption, there's spiritual and moral decay. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:31.199 Jezebel brought in the prophets of Baal and uh and really instituted this worship that was contrary to the ways of Yahweh, uh, that then began to how do you please and appease the God so that he'll work on your behalf? 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:59.039 And you had uh temple prostitution and really in our day we would call it human trafficking, and to the point of how do you appease the gods if you're not getting rain and some of these sort of things, even to the point of child sacrifice, it was getting very, very dark, and not only political corruption, spiritual moral decay, but then you also at the same time uh had a severe persecution that broke out on anyone who followed the ways of Yahweh. 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:03.919 Uh, and so the prophets were being killed by Jezebel and her prophets of Baal. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:13.039 There's 450 that she imported from her country where she was from, 400 prophetess of Ashrah, a counterpart to Baal, God there. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:16.400 And then he had a national disaster, a drought. 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:26.719 We know about droughts here, but it was a three-year drought with no rain that impacted the socioeconomic life of the people there. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:35.199 This is the context that Elijah is trying to navigate, and God tells him it's gonna rain like it's raining today. 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:41.759 And I want you to go and tell Ahab, because I don't want them to mistake that somehow the gods did this. 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:43.759 No, the one true God did this. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:53.599 And so uh Elijah sets up this contest, if you will, between the one true God and the gods of Bel up on Mount Carmel. 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:59.919 And he says, Hey, whatever God that calls down fire is the one true God. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.639 So let's set up a sacrifice, and you guys go first, and you call on your God. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:08.240 We won't light a match, and the God that responds by fire, that's God. 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:11.520 And so they are chanting and praying. 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:13.439 Uh Elijah's mocking them. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:15.919 God's, their gods are not responding. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.639 Um, he's saying, you know, maybe your God's asleep, maybe he's gone on vacation. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:28.480 Uh they get worked up, they begin to cut themselves, and they start early in the morning till late in the day, and eventually they give up. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:38.879 And Elijah prays, and God answers by fire in that moment, and he completely uh takes up the sacrifice there that they had set up. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:47.839 And then um Elijah calls for justice on the prophets Abel, and the people seize them, uh these prophets, and they kill them. 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:56.800 And it's just this incredible scene of uh national revival and turning to Yahweh, uh, those that had been murdering the people of Yahweh. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:00.399 And then Elijah tells Ahab it's gonna rain. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:01.839 You better get home. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:07.439 And Elijah runs 17 miles ahead of him because he's so excited, and he has this. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:09.199 Think about this, think about Elijah. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:21.839 He started that day standing alone on Mount Carmel against 450 prophets of Bel, the king, and all the people gathered around. 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:28.959 He ended the day, the king standing alone, and all the people with him. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:41.120 And then the text says that when Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, Jezebel threatened his life, and Elijah ran and was afraid. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:45.199 And you just wonder, what happened? 00:05:46.000 --> 00:06:06.639 Why how how could a man of God, how could a prophet, how could someone who saw God show up so dramatically, literally by fire and rain, and deliver and see a national revival break out in the same day. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.120 We're not talking days later. 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.279 We're talking hours later. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:18.639 And we've been wrestling with, okay, what do we do when we find ourselves in? 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:26.800 One of my favorite uh scriptures that talks about Elijah is found in James, James chapter 5, verse 16. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:31.360 It says, and Elijah was a human being just as we are. 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:33.439 Isn't that good? 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:49.360 To know that as you're walking and as you're struggling, as you're navigating this life, that even the people that you think are most spiritual and have it together, that if they, if, if you know, you kind of wrestle like if I only prayed more, if I if I really had faith, I wouldn't. 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:50.160 No, no, no. 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:55.120 Elijah, the great prophet at all, wrestled and struggled. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:07:07.040 And he ended up going into a deep depression, ran into the wilderness, wanted to die, and God met him on the mountain of God in a cave. 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.000 That's where we left off last week. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:12.399 And God met him in this mountain. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:17.519 I just want to give you just a quick uh kind of overview of the last several weeks. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:24.399 Week one, we talked about just like us, why is it that working hard in the areas that matter most hardly work? 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:33.439 And we said, after you've poured everything out, notice this, moms, dads, singles, after you've poured everything out, there's nothing left to pour. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:40.879 And you work hard trying to pour out, and really it's less about what you're pouring out and more about what you're allowing to pour in. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:46.079 And the practice is guard your heart, watch over, pay attention to the streams of influence. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:47.759 See, Elijah was just like us. 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:50.480 Week two, we talked about running on empty. 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:52.639 What do you do when you run on empty? 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:56.399 And how many of us feel and have felt completely on e. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:08:00.720 And the principle was you're a human doing, not a human being. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:05.120 Accept your limitations and then God's invitation to rest. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:10.480 And last week we talked about and the sermon title was Into the Cave. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:16.399 I shared very personally just about my own struggle and journey with depression. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:21.040 And what do you feel do when the fog of depression settles over your life? 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:26.399 And I encourage you, if you didn't hear that sermon, please go back and listen to last week's. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:31.920 And we have to recognize and understand what you feel is real, but not necessarily true. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:36.960 So overcoming depression is a process, and you have to be proactive. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:51.840 And we left Elijah in the cave, and he had just met and experienced the presence of God, even though he ran away from what God was doing, and God shows up, and this is where we pick up the story today. 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:54.799 And the sermon title today is called The Way Back. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:58.080 Why don't you go ahead and just uh I gave you a lot of info right at the beginning. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:08:59.120 You're like, hello, Ryan. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:04.240 I'd I'd just love like a you know, an introduction, a handshake before you dive all the way into all of that. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:07.679 And why don't you go ahead and just say to the person next to you, the way back? 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:08.320 Go for it. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:08.879 The way back. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:09.679 The way back. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:10.399 There you go. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:11.360 There you go. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:12.879 All right. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:19.840 Now, when we think about the way back, here's what we think about the way back to normal, don't we? 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.320 How do I get back to normal? 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:28.720 And what we mean by normal generally is the way life was or once was. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:36.000 We're looking back, and that's actually one of the challenges, one of the disorienting realities, isn't it, for you and for me? 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:38.480 Is like there's semblance of normalcy. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:43.039 Kids are back in school, but that's not quite normal. 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:45.360 It doesn't quite feel right. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.879 Things are just off just a little bit. 00:09:49.919 --> 00:10:02.000 And I'd like to suggest the way back and what God has for us in navigating these days isn't the way back to normal, but the way back to meaning and purpose and significance. 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:17.679 See, it's not so much getting back to normal, it's more about how do I embrace and live out a life that's filled with meaning in the days and places where God has me and where God has you. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:28.240 You know, when I was um a kid, I was about six or seven, it was in Texas, and at our church, um they had built a play structure. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:35.279 And it wasn't like one of those professional ones that you get, it was someone made it, and and someone that was ambitious made this one. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.919 Um, you know, must have really loved to build. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:40.639 I swear that, you know, you had one kind of structure. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:42.240 I think it was like 10 feet tall. 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:44.960 Now it was six years old, I could be off on the size. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:49.200 It felt so enormous and so high, like you get up there and you're like a little freight. 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:53.919 And the monkey bars went from that over to another platform and structure there. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:57.600 Uh, and it just was this incredible place to run and play. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:04.559 Well, we're we're there on a on a Sunday evening, as it kind of often did back in the days in Church World Land. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:08.799 It happened to be raining, it was dark and stormy, literally, uh, that day. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:11.039 And I don't really know what was going on. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:12.720 I'm six or seven, I don't have to. 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:14.559 I don't know where adults are. 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:20.240 All I know is there's about eight of us running around playing tag in the rain. 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:23.120 That's every like seven-year-old's dream, right? 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:33.759 We're running around playing tag, going from here to there, and I'm climbing up that big tower, and I go to reach for the monkey bar, and I slip. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:40.879 And I began to fall, and I I mean, I still remember this moment like it was yesterday. 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:56.720 I begin to fall, and I look up and see the monkey bars just slowly go away from me, and then I just slam into the ground on my back, and I'm like, and guy, all the kids like circle around me, and they're like, Ryan, you okay? 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:03.120 And my eyes are like bulging out, and I'm like, oh and and they're like, What do we do? 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:12.240 So they went and ran and got an adult, and that was the first time that I can remember ever uh having the wind knocked out of me. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:13.840 You ever had the wind knocked out of you? 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:15.679 Isn't it awful? 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:18.879 Like, like it's all right, okay, fine. 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:25.039 Whatever, superhuman, it was awful for me, okay? 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.360 And since I'm on stage, it's about me right now. 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:28.080 All right. 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:32.159 I got the wind completely knocked out of me in that moment. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:36.000 I at seven years of age, I thought I was gonna die. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.360 I thought I had breath, breathe my last breath. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:44.240 It was just like, oh, and I had this adult sitting over me, it's gonna be okay. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:47.679 I'm like, oh, and then all of a sudden, oh. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:58.720 And I think that's how many of us maybe feel when it comes to meaning and purpose. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:05.120 That the last 18 months or so just knock the wind out of us. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:12.399 That you just feel like you got hit and you're going, like, I don't even know if I can get back up. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:16.399 I'm just laid out flat on my back. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:21.440 And so, how do you find meaning in the midst of the messiness of life? 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:25.759 How do we begin to navigate the world we in, we are in? 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:31.440 We're not going back to normal the way life once was, but that's not even the goal. 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:35.919 How do we go back to living out a meaning-filled life? 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:40.879 I like how Gail Hyatt once said, people lose their way when they lose their why. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:49.679 And for many of us, we felt like meaning or significance was on pause or just completely lost. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:57.039 The way the author of Proverbs says it, this King James Version says, where there is no vision, the people perish. 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:08.879 I closed last week letting you know about one of the turning points in my journey with depression. 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:20.080 And it was actually in a family crisis at the end of about 18 months, and where all of a sudden I realized that my life mattered. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:27.679 Friends, if I can say nothing to you today, but just one simple thing is your life matters. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:29.759 You're needed. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:34.639 God longs to use you in significant ways. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:45.759 And yes, though, you may feel like the wind's gotten knocked out of you, and you may feel knocked down, but God is not done with you yet. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:53.120 And God wasn't done with Elijah because he was knocked down and out and running from his calling. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:56.399 And I want you to see how God responds to him. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:00.399 We pick up the story in 1 Kings chapter 18. 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.879 If you have your Bible, would you open there? 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.440 1 Kings 18, verse 15. 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:27.519 As he's hiding in a cave away from his purpose, the Lord said to him, Elijah, go back the way you came and go to the desert of Damascus where you once were. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:29.039 Go back the way you came. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:34.879 I love this, by the way, because God's saying to Elijah, the cave is not your new home. 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:44.080 And for some, you feel knocked down, you feel knocked out, and you're like, maybe this is just the new reality, and he's going, no, no, no. 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:46.000 Go back the way you came. 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:47.039 I have a purpose. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.399 You know, you ran from that, but I have a purpose for you. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:51.919 Go back the way you came. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:53.679 The cave's not your new home. 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:57.840 In fact, he's then gonna give uh Elijah a new assignment. 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:12.000 When you get there, anoint Hazel, king over Aram, anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, king over Israel, anoint Elisha, son of Japhat, uh, from Abel Meholah, to succeed you as prophet. 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:18.320 And so he's then to begin to raise up and anoint godly leadership and a predecessor. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:23.440 And then you're wrestling with the question that Elijah's wrestling with, what about justice? 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:38.399 See, I can I can anoint people, but what's gonna happen to the to the unjust uh rulers and powers that are corrupting and that are killing and that are uh doing all of this evil? 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:50.960 And he says, the people that are raised up into new leadership that are gonna address the corrupt power, Jehu will put to death any who escaped the sword of Hazel, and Elisha will put to death any who escaped the sword of Jehu. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:58.320 Speaking of corrupt leaders, not speaking of everyone, speaking of bringing about ultimate justice. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:04.480 And Elisha's struggle, if you remember last week, was I'm I'm all on my own. 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:10.079 I'm just I'm trying to parent all on my own. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.519 I'm single, I'm just trying to navigate this moment all on my own. 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:25.200 I'm at Google, I'm at Facebook, I'm at Netflix, and there is not another believer there. 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:27.440 I'm all on my own. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:38.160 And God says, yet I reserve 7,000 in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:42.319 You are not all on your own. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:48.160 How do you find meaning in the midst of the messiness of life? 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:54.400 I want to give you yet again a principle and then a practice this morning as we conclude our series. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:18:00.480 The principle is this no matter how far you've wandered, there's always a way back with God. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:07.279 No matter how far you've wandered in life, there's always a way back from God with God. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.599 Elijah wandered. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:14.720 He was in the northern part of uh Israel in Damascus. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:22.400 He ran to the southern part of Judah and then wanders in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:28.400 He was wandering and he ended up on the mountain of God, far from where God had called him. 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:30.960 And God says, There is a way back. 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:35.440 You may have wandered over here, but I have a way back with you. 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:41.599 And I think for some, maybe you feel like over the season you've wandered spiritually. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:54.400 Whether it's doubt, whether it's just feeling apathetic, maybe you've been dis deconstructing your faith or wrestling with thoughts. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:10.559 Maybe you feel like you've wandered emotionally, whether it's depression like we were talking about last week, or anxiety, or just feeling kind of blah. 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:14.640 I think for some we're wandering internally. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:23.680 And what I mean by that is I think we were afraid to ever speak it out and ever sit vocalize it to somebody else. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:29.440 And so from the outside, and even from those closest to us, they think we're doing well. 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:42.240 But inside there is this wandering and this wandering, and you're just you're afraid if you vocalize it, you're not even sure how people would respond. 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:56.960 Or maybe wandered relationally, not only with God, but with others, and through this season, you've just kind of distanced yourself from others, or maybe it's a key relationship that has broken down. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:03.440 And here's what the principle is: no matter how far you have wandered, there's always a way back with God. 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.880 There may not be a way back to normal, but there's always a way back to meaning. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:13.440 The wonderful and beautiful reality of the gospel is this. 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:18.799 There are consequences to sin. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.279 There are relational consequences to things. 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:37.920 For some, and I've unfortunately walked with people whose marriages are crumbling and decisions being made that undermine even a way back in that marriage. 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:54.319 You cannot go so far that God doesn't say, Come on home. 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:55.759 Or welcome home. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:02.079 See, we tend to believe the lie that I'm so far down the road, there is no hope, and there's no way back. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:03.920 I love how what God says to him. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:07.279 He says, Go back the way you came. 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:12.559 Often for many of us, the way forward is going backwards. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:15.599 Go back the way you came. 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:18.960 You know what that is in the Bible? 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:20.880 It's repentance. 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:22.559 It's the word repent. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:28.160 Repent means to change one's mind, and so as a result, to change one's direction. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:34.319 It's to change one's mind about yourself and about life and about reality, so you change your direction. 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:39.440 You realize you're headed in the wrong direction and you turn around and go in a new direction. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:43.519 This is what God is saying to Elijah hey, you're in the cave. 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:47.680 The cave is not your new home, the way forward is actually the way back. 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:50.079 You need to change directions. 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:53.759 What do you need to change your mind about? 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:59.519 I think we sometimes believe the lie that I'm hopeless. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.039 That I'm a lost cause. 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:07.759 That I'm no good. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:09.519 Change your mind. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:11.759 That is not true. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:14.000 What do we need to change our mind? 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:15.519 I'm useless. 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:17.680 God doesn't want me. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:20.240 That is not true. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:22.480 God could never use me. 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.279 That is not true. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:26.559 Those are lies. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:34.400 No matter how far you've wandered, I've wandered, wherever you've been, there's always a way back with God. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:37.279 And so what do I do, Ryan? 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:40.240 How do I begin to make those steps? 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:44.720 The practice then is get moving in the direction God's leading. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:46.640 Get moving. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:59.200 Now, if you are, if I am in a place of wandering, here's the way we tend to think about this. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.759 I need to get my act together before I get moving in the direction of God. 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:06.720 Right? 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:11.599 I need to fix up my life before. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:13.920 That is not the gospel. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:25.599 God says, I'm coming to you to meet you right where you are at, so that you can get moving in the direction. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:30.400 Actively pursue God before you get your act together. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:37.440 And as you pursue the things of God, you'll just notice those things begin to change in your life along the way. 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:40.640 Get moving in the direction that God's leading first. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:42.000 How do we do that? 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.480 You got to embrace that you're called by God. 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:52.079 I am looking, and those watching, I'm looking at called ones by God. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:24:00.960 God showed up to Elijah when he was complaining about his circumstances, and he reminds them that he has a calling on his life. 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:04.319 Anybody been complaining about their circumstances? 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:07.279 Okay, you were lively earlier. 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:10.319 Now you're like, I ain't gonna, I ain't gonna admit that. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:12.640 Thank you. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:15.200 One of you is honest, and I am too. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:29.119 Isn't it such an encouraging thing that when Elijah's complaining about his circumstances, God doesn't put him in his place. 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:35.440 He says, I have a calling for you. 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:48.400 See, what you need in this moment is you lost sight of your why, you lost sight of your purpose, you lost sight of your meaning, and so you're looking at the circumstances through the lens that you do not matter and your life is a waste. 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:56.960 And here's the reality: if you get your calling clear, then your circumstances don't change, your perspective does, and so your direction does. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:06.160 See, I'm looking at people, we've all complained about our circumstances, but you're a called one by God. 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:09.440 You're a called one by God. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:14.000 You have been called by God. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:16.799 There's a calling on your life. 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:22.160 I like how the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians, Ephesians 2, 8 through 10. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:26.559 He says, For it is by grace you've been saved, not by works, so that no one can boast. 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:28.720 This is a gift of God. 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:36.079 Like our salvation isn't that we fixed our lives up, it's that he came and did the work for us. 00:25:36.559 --> 00:26:02.799 And then it goes on to say this, and you are God's workmanship, his poem, his masterpiece, his work of art, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which he prepared in advance. 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:11.519 Did you know that you are his masterpiece created in Christ Jesus, and he has a good work for you to do? 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:20.720 Yes, now, in the normal we find ourselves, yes, at your workplace, yes, at your home, yes, at the baseball field, the football field, the basketball court. 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:34.559 I don't know where you're playing sports, maybe you're not playing sports, at the coffee shop, wherever you are at, he has a good work for you to do, and do not believe the lie otherwise. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:42.160 You are a called one by God, and he prepared in advance for you. 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:44.640 You matter. 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:47.519 Your life has meaning. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:51.440 You're called by God. 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:56.319 Secondly, then embrace your new assignment. 00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:01.200 Embrace your new assignment. 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:05.119 God gave Elijah a brand new assignment. 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:10.480 It was an assignment, by the way, if you're wondering, hey, what's my new assignment? 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:16.240 One of the things that I think is so amazing is his assignment was towards people, not away from people. 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:20.240 So your new assignment is towards people, towards community. 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:24.880 His new assignment, by the way, was speaking life over people. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:39.680 If you just embraced that assignment right there alone, you would see that you would be the breather of life and hope in every environment, and God would use you in drastic ways, dramatic ways. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:42.960 I'm gonna be a speaker of life, not death. 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:49.759 He invested what he had and passed it on to others. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:54.880 The little that you feel like you have, I'm just gonna give to those around me. 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:58.799 I'm gonna invest in the next generation of people. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:01.200 Embrace your new assignments. 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:23.200 You know, for those who have wandered, those who feel like damaged goods or useless, your greatest failure, surrender to Jesus is the opportunity for your greatest ministry. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:36.640 Your greatest failure, surrender to Jesus, is often where he wants to do the greatest ministry through you. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:45.519 Where he will not waste that pain and he will use it about his purposes. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:54.559 Maybe your new assignment for all of us love Jesus, love others, be faithful, what's in front of you, what's in front of you. 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:59.599 There are some deeds, by the way, only you can do. 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:04.480 Some hands, only you can hold. 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:09.519 Some wounds only you can heal. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:16.319 Because of the person God is making you to be. 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:26.400 Embrace your assignment to love others well in your life. 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:31.200 And finally, remember you're not alone. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:39.039 Those who are watching online and who have felt alone, you're not alone. 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:44.880 You have a community here, I know you haven't got to be with us, but you have a community here that's with you. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:52.640 Those that are working in a place where it just feels like you're alone. 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.440 You're not alone. 00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:57.680 And by the way, there's more people there than you know that actually love Jesus. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:08.160 For some, you're in a marriage that you're struggling, you just feel all on your own, and you're not alone. 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:12.319 God says, I'm with you. 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:14.240 I'm with you. 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:19.920 And the people of God are with you. 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:28.240 How do you find meaning in the messiness of life? 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:33.279 No matter how far you've wandered, there's always a way back with God. 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:37.759 But we have to get moving in the direction God's leading. 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:50.160 We've been talking for the last four weeks, and I know this has been one of those series for some that has really resonated, and this is the call of, okay, we gotta apply it. 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:51.440 We got to get moving. 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:52.400 God, where are you leading? 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:56.880 Would you have the courage to just start asking God, what are you saying to me? 00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:58.079 What are you showing me? 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:04.240 What are the things over the past few weeks that you've been showing to me, and I'm going to take a step in that direction? 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:11.119 You know, in the Silicon Valley, isn't it interesting that we're so busy? 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:22.319 We run at such a hard pace, and yet when you stop, you kind of realize it's unfulfilling. 00:31:24.400 --> 00:31:29.759 We live unfulfilled lives because we fill our lives with that which is unfulfilling. 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:38.240 You are a workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:47.599 That's your position in him, and he longs to use you in significant and meaningful ways. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:50.480 I want you to stand as we close. 00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:52.480 And I just want to pray a prayer. 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:59.519 It's a prayer I've prayed over our church many, many times. 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:15.359 But I'm just thinking about those that came in today that the wind's been knocked out of you, that you're wrestling and talking about speaking life. 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:18.799 A blessing is powerful, and I want to bless you. 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:25.519 And so if you would take your hands and just hold them out in front of you, I want to bless you right now. 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:37.200 May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:46.480 May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:58.400 May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain to joy. 00:32:58.640 --> 00:33:09.200 And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. 00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:10.160 Why? 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:21.279 Because there's some deeds only you can do, some hands only you can hold, some hurts only you can heal because of the person God is making you to be. 00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:25.200 You matter, you matter, you matter. 00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:26.640 In Jesus' name. 00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:27.599 Amen. 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:31.759 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.960 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:39.519 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:45.599 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.