Speaker 1: We're so glad that you've joined us today on the relevant church podcast.
Speaker 1: There's so much God wants to do in and through you.
Speaker 1: As you listen to this message, if you want to learn more about relevant church, visit us online@thisisrelevant.cc.
Speaker 2: This is going to be the 17th Thanksgiving that I've gotten to spend with my chocolate princess, 17 years.
Speaker 2: We get to spend Thanksgiving together.
Speaker 2: It's been an incredible, incredible time, but our very first Thanksgiving was not that incredible.
Speaker 2: So let me tell you a little bit about Christina and I's first Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2: Christina and I met in college.
Speaker 2: This was her senior year.
Speaker 2: She was getting ready to graduate and I had just moved back in town.
Speaker 2: I was on an internship in Orlando, Florida.
Speaker 2: So I just came back out into the grooves.
Speaker 2: Things started working, started developing relationships, connecting with people, and then I met a friend by the name of, we'll call her Stacy.
Speaker 2: So in about July, August, I started hanging out with a friend, Stacy.
Speaker 2: It was so innocent.
Speaker 2: We just had the same career path.
Speaker 2: We both were in design and marketing communication.
Speaker 2: So we hit it off really well and she became a really good friend.
Speaker 2: And in about August, September, Stacy told me that she didn't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving because her family was in Baltimore and she wasn't going to handle the handle a trip back there cause she had so much work to do.
Speaker 2: So I said, Stacy, why don't you come over for Thanksgiving?
Speaker 2: And then in October I met Christine and Christine and I knew that this was it.
Speaker 2: It was going to be me and her baby.
Speaker 2: We were going to be ride or die from day one ad and watching Christine's his freshman year.
Speaker 2: And this was finally the opportunity to get with Christine.
Speaker 2: I forget a single.
Speaker 2: So I stepped to her and I was like, baby, let's do this thing.
Speaker 2: We can make an eternity from today.
Speaker 2: And she was like, I'm about that life.
Speaker 2: And so we started talking, we started connecting and then I found out that Christine wasn't heading back to Toronto for Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 2: But I had already invited Stacy over for Thanksgiving and I didn't want anybody to ask any crazy questions.
Speaker 2: I've got nieces and nephews, you know, little kids just always ask you, why do you have two girls at Thanksgiving?
Speaker 2: Which one's your girlfriend?
Speaker 2: I didn't want to deal with that, but you know what, who am I to tell this young, lovely lady who I'm courting that she can't come over for Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2: So I told Christine, why don't you come over Thanksgiving?
Speaker 2: I just didn't tell her Stacy was coming to.
Speaker 2: So I'm sitting there trying to figure out how I'm going to do all of this and calculate all of this.
Speaker 2: And I started rationalizing, man, Stacy, just friends, we're cool.
Speaker 2: There's nothing going on, but you know, it's still gonna look a little sketchy.
Speaker 2: So Thanksgiving comes around and uh, as Christine's coming to the house, I was like, Oh yeah, by the way, Stacy going to be at the house.
Speaker 2: And she said, say what?
Speaker 2: She says, Oh, like Stacy, who you been out with?
Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 2: And she's like, she's going to be at your house at Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2: I was like, yes.
Speaker 2: She was like, but I'm going to be at your house for Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2: So I'm like, is there a reason why you both invited us over for Thanksgiving?
Speaker 2: I'm just like, you know a baby.
Speaker 2: It's all good.
Speaker 2: So Christina was cool.
Speaker 2: She was a good sport.
Speaker 2: She didn't mind.
Speaker 2: Stacy's going to be their coach was very cordial, but there was another conversation that took place that Christine had no clue about.
Speaker 2: That happened months ago, happened months ago.
Speaker 2: See, there was a stage play called the Nutcracker that was playing in December.
Speaker 2: Christine is already having PTSD about it right now.
Speaker 2: I can see her getting tense or jaws or clenching baby.
Speaker 2: I love you.
Speaker 2: 15 years, baby.
Speaker 2: It's been a long time.
Speaker 2: Well, anyway, I didn't tell Christine that I was taking Stacy to the Nutcracker.
Speaker 2: It's something that we had planned beforehand and then I started hearing that Christine wanted to go to the Nutcracker and now again, I'm stuck in a dilemma.
Speaker 2: And what did you have it?
Speaker 2: What in fate, just be so cruel.
Speaker 2: They were sitting at the dinner table and Stacy sees me and Christine, we're kind of flirting.
Speaker 2: We're loud talking a little bit and say, said, Muhtar aren't you excited that we get to go see the Nutcracker together?
Speaker 2: I'm like, you are never ever coming over again.
Speaker 2: We're not friends to in fact, pack up your plate right now.
Speaker 2: Just go home.
Speaker 2: How many you guys know the holidays can bring about certain tensions in our lives or we just don't feel like encountering year after year.
Speaker 2: There's issues that take place in winter.
Speaker 2: The cold gets crazy.
Speaker 2: The frost, the long nights and the cold days, the drama field, holidays here, we want to equip you with some tools to survive the seasons.
Speaker 2: Hopefully you won't have an experience like mine.
Speaker 2: We want you to fare better this year.
Speaker 2: Last week we talked about the first tool in our toolkit of surviving the seasonal survival kit and we've got a tool kit for you guys.
Speaker 2: So the first K that we saw is kinesthetics.
Speaker 2: How moving our body can shift our attitude.
Speaker 2: It can help ease the anxiety, can literally lift the load of the pressure.
Speaker 2: That's honest.
Speaker 2: So we talked about exercising, worshiping, getting ourselves in a situation where we're literally moving our bodies.
Speaker 2: And it was so awesome to see that Sunday on, on that day that we preached that message, people were out there raking leaves, people started getting moving and it's been a great week of everybody moving.
Speaker 2: I literally[inaudible] moved stuff and picked up stuff and moved it cause we want to know that if we keep moving, our bodies remain agile, a mind keeping gauge and our bodies begin to feel better and we can survive the seasons.
Speaker 2: And so what we've done is actually, I don't know if you've been to the website yet, but we've built a toolkit online for you guys.
Speaker 2: You can go to this as relevant.cc forward slash S S kit, like our seasonal survival kit.
Speaker 2: This is relevant.cc four slash S S kit where you can go and you can find out all the gyms in the area.
Speaker 2: If you live in Michigan and all the gyms in Northern Indiana, there's workout playlist, there's home workout strategies or YouTube videos.
Speaker 2: We want to hook you up because we want to get you moving this this season and today we're in the eye.
Speaker 2: Let's jump into the next letter.
Speaker 2: Seasonal survival to kit.
Speaker 2: We've gone through K, now we're in the aisle.
Speaker 2: Let's pray.
Speaker 2: God, as we get into this word, speak to us.
Speaker 2: Make your words so sure, so plain.
Speaker 2: Allow us to receive it.
Speaker 2: In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Speaker 2: If you got a Bible, go to first Kings.
Speaker 2: We're back in chapter 19 we're going to begin in verse nine but we want you to follow along in scripture with us.
Speaker 2: First Kings chapter 19 beginning in verse nine if you do have a Bible, I believe it's page one 71 is where you're going to be able to find it.
Speaker 2: Give you a little background about where we're at.
Speaker 2: We're studying through the book of Kings.
Speaker 2: There's this guy named Elijah.
Speaker 2: Elijah was a man of God.
Speaker 2: He, he listened to God and did what God said.
Speaker 2: He was a prophet of God.
Speaker 2: He honored God with his life.
Speaker 2: In fact, God used him as one of the greatest profits, one of the greatest evangelists of, uh, of the early, early, uh, temple period and the Jewish church.
Speaker 2: And, and we know that the Messiah came out of the Jewish church.
Speaker 2: Christianity was birthed out of Judaism.
Speaker 2: And so, uh, this is like a huge Jewish pillar in the faith and he is going all over the place letting people know about God's word and people Revere him and everybody honors him.
Speaker 2: And things are going really good for Elijah.
Speaker 2: He's been going through a really great season until he gets punched in the face until a situation arises, where his life now feels like it's flown upside down.
Speaker 2: Anybody been in that season where everything was going just fine?
Speaker 2: Everything was good.
Speaker 2: You were in your Stripe and then out of nowhere, all hell breaks loose.
Speaker 2: And that's the season that Elijah's in.
Speaker 2: And Elijah's running from this woman, this queen named Jessebelle.
Speaker 2: He's just had victory over Jessebelle and her false gods.
Speaker 2: And now she's angry and she's coming for the judge, alarming.
Speaker 2: She's coming for his throat and she's promised them, if I catch you slipping, you're out.
Speaker 2: You're done for.
Speaker 2: So Elijah has run away.
Speaker 2: He's telling God, just kill me.
Speaker 2: I'm depressed, I'm sad, I'm frustrated.
Speaker 2: And much like many of us in the seasons and the change of seasons, they come in like a flood.
Speaker 2: We're not expecting the anxiety.
Speaker 2: We're not expecting the depression.
Speaker 2: We know that things like these happen, but you can never be too prepared when the frustration comes, the Loge did you, Barry is is is very heavy and God lets him know.
Speaker 2: He says, listen, I know you're sad.
Speaker 2: I know you're depressed.
Speaker 2: I know you're frustrated.
Speaker 2: I know you're scared.
Speaker 2: But the journey is about to belong and that Tracy, when God is supposed to come and comfort you, God, I thought you were gonna come and tell me that you took care of Jessica Bell.
Speaker 2: I thought you were going to tell me I was going to be moved to a land flowing with milk and honey.
Speaker 2: Well, I could just be the profit of profits and I can be all good and God comes and tells him.
Speaker 2: He says, the journey's about to be long baby.
Speaker 2: Like really?
Speaker 2: God, I thought we were going to get over this situation easy.
Speaker 2: I thought my situation was going to change quickly.
Speaker 2: I thought it was going to get better, and God says, no, the journey's going to be long, but what God does, he gives him food to fuel his fight.
Speaker 2: Don't you?
Speaker 2: Aren't you glad that we serve a God who doesn't leave us high and dry, but he will give us the fuel for our fight?
Speaker 2: He says, listen, you may not get around it.
Speaker 2: You may have to go through it, but I want to let you know that I'm going to be with you every single step of the way and I'm going to equip you with everything you need for the long journey ahead.
Speaker 4: Yeah,
Speaker 2: so last week we're in verse one through eight and today we're going to track back right to verse eight as we go onto the next, it says in here, Rose Ann ate and drank with the food that God had provided for him and went in the strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb the Mount of God.
Speaker 2: He's left a place called Beersheba and he's left and gone South to Mount Sinai called the mountain of God.
Speaker 2: He's traveled 250 miles on foot.
Speaker 2: His journey has been long, he's going further South, but we wondered last week, why in the world is he traveling South?
Speaker 2: Why is he going to this mountain point number one if you want to follow along in your teaching sheets, go to the place God's voice was heard last.
Speaker 2: When you go into a season of frustration, when you go into a season of lack, when you go into a season of sadness where the weight is so heavy with the frustrations and the tensions are so heavy, go to the place.
Speaker 2: God's voice was heard last.
Speaker 2: It says, he goes 40 days and 40 nights to hoard the mountains of God, and verse nine it says there he came to a cave and lodged in and everybody said he lodged in it.
Speaker 2: He in it, and behold the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah?
Speaker 2: I see.
Speaker 2: Let me tell you one of the reasons I believe is the primary reasons Elijah goes to the mountain of God.
Speaker 2: Why he goes to this place called Mount Sinai.
Speaker 2: See, Mount Sinai was very significant in Jewish tradition.
Speaker 2: Mount Sinai is a place, I don't know if you know much about scripture, but there was this guy named Moses.
Speaker 2: He was a deliverer.
Speaker 2: God used him to rescue a slave that had been slaves for hundreds and hundreds of years and generations and God called him to a special calling to be his, his chief slave liberator, and the place that God called him to go forth and to go into it through Egypt and get the slaves out was Mount Sinai.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you remember a story where Moses is walking in.
Speaker 2: He's a shepherd and he's walking through the mountain and he sees this Bush that's burning, but for some reason it's not being consumed and he gets closer because he's curious how many curious people in here you see a burning Bush and it's not burning and you get closer.
Speaker 2: You're crazy outta run the other way.
Speaker 2: He goes closer to it and God says, take your shoes off cause the place you're standing is Holy ground.
Speaker 2: See, Mount Sinai was seen as a Holy place.
Speaker 2: That was a place where Moses received his calling as a place where God's voice was heard last.
Speaker 2: But then you fast forward to after Moses had rescued the children out of Israel as they're heading to the place where God has promised to take them.
Speaker 2: All these Israelites that are moving to the place called the promised land, they pass by Mount Sinai again and it's at Mount Sinai.
Speaker 2: God calls Moses and says, Hey, I need you to come up on the mountain.
Speaker 2: I want to have a special meeting with you.
Speaker 2: I want to have a conversation with you.
Speaker 2: And he goes up to Mount Sinai and God gives him the 10 commandments.
Speaker 2: He gives them the law, so the Jewish nation reveres this mountain.
Speaker 2: They know that it's a Holy mountain.
Speaker 2: They know that it's a place of Holy ground and so Alijah when he gets distressed, goes to the place where God's voice was heard last.
Speaker 2: The time where he gets frustrated, he gets scared.
Speaker 2: He says, I'm going to run to the last place where safety was seen.
Speaker 2: When hope is lost, go to the place that hope was last seen.
Speaker 2: Where was hope last seen in your life?
Speaker 2: He says, he went and he lodged there.
Speaker 2: He dwelled there.
Speaker 2: Listen, find where God is and set up camp.
Speaker 2: That's where, this is what we believe here at relevant church.
Speaker 2: Find where God is at work and join him.
Speaker 2: Dwell there.
Speaker 2: Rest there.
Speaker 2: We believe that God is at work in his local church.
Speaker 2: There's nothing, there's no other establishment created to bring salvation and bring hope to the world.
Speaker 2: In fact, we say this, Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.
Speaker 2: The church is the body of Christ.
Speaker 2: That means the church is the hope of the world.
Speaker 2: And so we come and we dwell here and we connect here.
Speaker 2: We, we, we plug in here, we give our time, our talent, and our treasure because this is the last place where hope has seen Jesus Christ said, I will build my church and the Gates of hell will not prevail.
Speaker 2: Go to the place where hope was seen last.
Speaker 2: I remember my father modeled this so incredibly.
Speaker 2: Elijah is living on the coattails of Moses and the other greats of his history.
Speaker 2: And I remember for me too, when I was coming into faith, or when, when I was growing up, I was watching my dad every single day he would wake up, he would be laying in his bed.
Speaker 2: I could go into my dad's room and he'd be laying in his bed and he'll have his Bible open and he'd be reading and studying God's word.
Speaker 2: And as soon as he was finished reading his setting God's word, if he happened to close the Bible while I was standing there, he would say, son, kneel down with me and let's pray.
Speaker 2: And every time I saw frustration hit my father.
Speaker 2: Anytime I saw tensions at my father, every time I saw anything happen in my father's life where he was wrestling with something, the one thing that I would see him do, he was open up God's word and he'll kneel down and he'll pray and he'll sit at the feet of Jesus.
Speaker 2: So I remember in my own life when things would go nuts, when things would go crazy, I remember to go to the last place where hope was seen.
Speaker 2: I remember to go to the place why I saw God.
Speaker 2: This word come through first.
Speaker 2: So I would go to my word, I would open it up, I would read it, and I'll fall to my knees until this day I do that because I saw my dad do it.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I went to the place where God's voice was heard last going on.
Speaker 2: At the end of verse nine and going into verse 10 God asked him an interesting question.
Speaker 2: What are you doing here?
Speaker 2: It's like, God, listen.
Speaker 2: You know all things, God, you are sovereign.
Speaker 2: You're omniscient.
Speaker 2: I don't have to explain nothing to you.
Speaker 2: You know why I'm here.
Speaker 2: I already told you I'm scared for my life.
Speaker 2: They're trying to kill me.
Speaker 2: I came here to hear from you to get a solution, not to ask me questions.
Speaker 2: You ever been that way?
Speaker 2: Why should I pray?
Speaker 2: God, you already know what I need.
Speaker 2: Why should I?
Speaker 2: God says asking, this shall be given.
Speaker 2: You already know before I ask.
Speaker 2: Anyway, so how about we just cut all the red tape?
Speaker 2: Just go ahead and do it.
Speaker 2: God says, what are you doing here Elijah?
Speaker 2: Listen to how Elijah answers in verse 10 he said, I had been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the people of Israel.
Speaker 2: Have your covenant thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword,
Speaker 6: and I even only[inaudible] Jesus.
Speaker 6: Only I am left
Speaker 2: and they seek my life to take it away.
Speaker 2: Point number two, if you following along, get clear about the tensions you're really facing.
Speaker 2: Get clear about the tensions you're really facing.
Speaker 2: When frustration hits, when the season seasonal effective disorder starts to lean in, when your body starts feeling like it's falling apart, when everybody else around you looks like they've betrayed you, when you carrying the weight of the world on you, when anxiety comes, get clear with what you're really facing because Elijah says this, they've killed your prophets with this word, and I even only are everybody says, even only I even only I am left and they seek my life to take it away.
Speaker 6: I'm alone.
Speaker 6: I'm by myself.
Speaker 6: I'm the last prophet standing.
Speaker 6: I've done all that I could do God, I stood strong for you and now only I am left really
Speaker 2: cause all you gotta do is go back.
Speaker 2: One chapter, chapter 18 verse 13 this is what he says, he encounters a guy named Obadiah.
Speaker 2: I think we've got this for the screen.
Speaker 2: First Kings chapter 19 I mean 18 verse 38
Speaker 6: he says, open dire talking to Elijah.
Speaker 6: Has it not been told to my Lord what I did when Jezza bell killed the prophets of the Lord.
Speaker 6: How I hit a hundred men of the Lord profits by 50
Speaker 2: these in a cave and fed them with the bread and water.
Speaker 6: Even on the I God,
Speaker 2: this is me.
Speaker 6: I'm the only one dealing with this.
Speaker 6: Nobody understands the pressures that I feel.
Speaker 6: Nobody gets my situation.
Speaker 6: I'm by myself.
Speaker 6: Nobody cares.
Speaker 6: Nobody's interested in hearing my limit.
Speaker 6: Nobody.
Speaker 6: The whole world is against me.
Speaker 2: Depression and anxiety will seek to isolate you.
Speaker 2: It'll seat make you feel like you're the only one going through it.
Speaker 2: It'll make you feel like you're the only person dealing with the situation.
Speaker 2: It'll make you forget what's your made up.
Speaker 2: Listen, this guy just called down fire from heaven and consumed an entire altar and all the rocks and everything, something miraculous just took place.
Speaker 2: This one man goes and he gets rid of 950 profits and now I'm by myself.
Speaker 2: Nobody's with me.
Speaker 2: Forget the God was just with you.
Speaker 2: You forget that God just fed you so you could travel 250 miles.
Speaker 2: Let me ask you a question.
Speaker 2: Are your fears based on fact or fiction?
Speaker 2: Are you fears based on fact and fiction?
Speaker 2: I son Jeremiah, a few days ago, we recognized that he needed some stuff and so some shoes skews growing like a weed man.
Speaker 2: These kids grow so fast.
Speaker 2: My son Elijah, we bought him some school pants.
Speaker 2: Two weeks later they were too small.
Speaker 2: I was like, what in the world?
Speaker 2: Jeez.
Speaker 2: So we're good.
Speaker 6: Taking Jeremiah my youngest and we're taking him out shopping.
Speaker 6: We're getting them some shoes.
Speaker 6: We're getting them some clothes and we're going through the place, uh, and through the store.
Speaker 6: And it gets to a spot where there's candy on the lower shelves.
Speaker 6: By the way, why in the world do they put candy on the bottom shelf?
Speaker 6: Mainly so the little four year olds can see him that, daddy, can I have this, can I have this?
Speaker 6: And so now he's going hysterical.
Speaker 6: He knows this entire shopping trip is about him.
Speaker 6: But what is Jeremiah saying?
Speaker 6: Daddy, I never get anything.
Speaker 2: Yeah, a little ungrateful.
Speaker 2: The Jenner,
Speaker 6: he's like, I never get anything.
Speaker 6: He totally forgets.
Speaker 6: It's this entire trip is all about you.
Speaker 6: And how many of us come to God?
Speaker 6: And say, God, you never do this for me.
Speaker 6: Everybody else gets everything.
Speaker 6: I answered everybody else's prayers.
Speaker 6: Get answered, but I'm stuck right here I am in this moment.
Speaker 6: I'm by myself.
Speaker 6: Nobody gets it.
Speaker 6: God says, haven't you seen all I've been doing?
Speaker 6: Haven't you taken a breath?
Speaker 6: Remember when you were lamenting and you went[inaudible],
Speaker 2: that's my grace over your life.
Speaker 2: Got to get clear about the tensions we're really facing.
Speaker 2: Point number three.
Speaker 2: Point number three, be prepared for God to show up in ways you're not used to.
Speaker 2: Number one, go to the place God's voice was heard.
Speaker 2: Last.
Speaker 2: Number two, get clear about the tensions you're really facing.
Speaker 2: Point number three, be prepared for God to show up in ways you're not used to.
Speaker 2: Look at verse 11
Speaker 7: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: and God said to him, go out.
Speaker 2: Everybody say, go out.
Speaker 2: Go out and stand on the Mount before the Lord.
Speaker 2: And behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces, rocks before the Lord.
Speaker 2: But the Lord was not in the wind and after the wind, an earthquake.
Speaker 2: But the Lord was not in the earthquake and after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
Speaker 2: And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper and will lie.
Speaker 2: And when Elijah heard that he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Speaker 6: Be prepared for God to show up in.
Speaker 6: You're not used
Speaker 2: to.
Speaker 2: I want y'all to catch something.
Speaker 2: God said, go out and stand on the mountain before God.
Speaker 2: And then the winds came and then an earthquake cane and then the fire cane.
Speaker 2: And then the whisper came.
Speaker 2: And then did you catch what just happened when the whisper came?
Speaker 2: Look at verse 12 and after the earthquake fire and the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire, the sign of a low whisper.
Speaker 2: And then what?
Speaker 2: Elijah heard it.
Speaker 2: He wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave, meaning Elijah didn't get up when God told them to get up and go to the mountain.
Speaker 2: God said, listen, get up.
Speaker 2: We're about to have a conversation.
Speaker 2: And he sits there not doing anything.
Speaker 2: The winds came.
Speaker 2: It was familiar.
Speaker 2: He was used to the wind.
Speaker 2: He knew that when Moses was on the mountain, the winds came.
Speaker 2: So God was in that.
Speaker 2: So he like, well, whatever.
Speaker 2: You just doing the same old thing and then the, the earthquake came.
Speaker 2: He remembers what Moses was receiving of the 10 commandments.
Speaker 2: There was, when there was fire, there was earthquake.
Speaker 2: And so he was like, that's familiar.
Speaker 2: I'm not impressed.
Speaker 2: God.
Speaker 2: And then the fire came through and he was like, God, I just saw you throw fire down the other day.
Speaker 2: But then a whisper came and he was like, earth
Speaker 4: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: I've never heard that before.
Speaker 2: And that got him to get up.
Speaker 2: You know, it's so easy to inspect God's actions rather than to anticipate him to act well.
Speaker 2: God.
Speaker 2: Why aren't you doing it for me?
Speaker 2: Like you did it for everybody else.
Speaker 2: Well, how come I don't have a car like the other person?
Speaker 2: Well, how come I don't have a career like the other person will?
Speaker 2: How come I don't have the spouse?
Speaker 2: Like why am I still single?
Speaker 2: Why can't you give me a spouse like the other person?
Speaker 2: Why can't you give me a career like the other person?
Speaker 2: Why can't you give me a house like the other person?
Speaker 2: Why can't you give me kids like the other person?
Speaker 2: Why can't you give me this?
Speaker 2: Like the other person, like the other person, like the other person.
Speaker 2: We're always looking and inspecting what God's doing rather than anticipating to do something new in our lives.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: He says, listen, don't box me.
Speaker 2: Listen, I'm guilty of it.
Speaker 2: I'm guilty.
Speaker 2: I'm guilty of looking at other people and saying, well God, how come you can't do it like that for me?
Speaker 2: Well, this is what you did in their life when they prayed.
Speaker 2: This is what happened.
Speaker 2: How come it's not happening for me?
Speaker 2: How come when they prayed for their kids to come to Christ, all of a sudden all of them were baptized in one day, but I can't even one person to show up to church.
Speaker 2: How come when you bless them in their situation, they had the incredible career and I hate my job, but I'm showing up to church every day.
Speaker 2: I'm tithing, but my situation is not changing, but you're doing this for them and you're doing that for them.
Speaker 2: He says, listen, don't box me.
Speaker 2: And that's the culture that we're trying to develop here at relevant churches, a culture that anticipates God's actions, not based on what he did before.
Speaker 2: In fact, the verse that we have on all of our wristbands, the first that got planted here was Isaiah 43 19 behold, I'm doing a new thing, but go back one verse before.
Speaker 2: Listen to what God says.
Speaker 2: We have this for the screen.
Speaker 2: Isaiah 43 18 he says, remember not the former things nor consider the things of old.
Speaker 2: Quit looking at what I did in the past when looking what I did for them.
Speaker 2: Quit looking what I did for you.
Speaker 2: Look at the new thing.
Speaker 2: Behold, I'm doing a new thing in your life.
Speaker 2: I'm doing a new thing and so our church, we're going to live in anticipatory expectation.
Speaker 2: We're going to be individuals who expect a fresh move from God, a fresh way from God.
Speaker 2: We're not going to look at what God did in the past and say, well God, you're going to do it again.
Speaker 2: We're going to say, God, I can't wait for what you're about to do next.
Speaker 2: It's old as on to the next day, cause I know my God is bigger and I know my God is batter and I know my God is greater and I know my God is able to do exceedingly abundantly.
Speaker 2: Whoa.
Speaker 2: I can think, ask or imagine according to his sovereign power, don't box God.
Speaker 2: We've got to get through this quick dinner.
Speaker 2: You want to come up here at verse 14 so verse 13 he hears the sound and he goes out and he stands before the entrance of the cave.
Speaker 2: And behold they came a voice to him and said, what are you doing here Elijah?
Speaker 2: It's interesting.
Speaker 2: God has him the very same question he asked him last time.
Speaker 2: He was given an opportunity to change his rhetoric.
Speaker 2: He was giving them an opportunity to recognize that, Hey, maybe just maybe God wants to do something different.
Speaker 2: Maybe just maybe I need to reevaluate.
Speaker 2: I need to get clear on what my real tensions are.
Speaker 2: But look how he answers.
Speaker 2: Verse 14 and he said the exact same thing he said last time.
Speaker 2: He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sworn.
Speaker 2: And I even only I am left and they see my, sorry, know why
Speaker 6: you big baby?
Speaker 6: God says, what are you doing here?
Speaker 6: Remember how I had you repeat the word lodge.
Speaker 6: Lodge means dwelling place laws means a place of rest, but lodge in this context also means another thing.
Speaker 6: See in the Hebrew word is called Luu Olim and the second context is complaining, grumbling, whining.
Speaker 6: Elijah came to the mountain of God and wine there.
Speaker 6: Alondra came to the mountain of God.
Speaker 6: He came to God's feet and complained there and moan there and lamented there, and I love the way God responds to him.
Speaker 6: Just God just gives him a D a decorative immediately.
Speaker 6: I've been following me all my life.
Speaker 6: I've been jealous for the Lord.
Speaker 6: I've done everything.
Speaker 6: I went to church, I prayed, I died.
Speaker 6: I saw my situations.
Speaker 6: That hasn't changed.
Speaker 6: You guys would feel like the whole world is going down[inaudible] and it's just me.
Speaker 6: God Baba is out.
Speaker 6: Act like you ain't never done that.
Speaker 6: 15 and the Lord said to him, go return your way to the wilderness of Damascus.
Speaker 6: EQ skews me.
Speaker 6: Well, you know what?
Speaker 6: God just told him, go back to the same place where they're trying to kill you.
Speaker 6: Oh God.
Speaker 6: You must have not seen my snuck come down my nose.
Speaker 6: Like it was a real cry.
Speaker 6: It was an afraid cry.
Speaker 6: I was like a real cry.
Speaker 6: God.
Speaker 6: Like I'm scared for real for you.
Speaker 6: Haven't been yet.
Speaker 6: I remember the days when you were young and you were like scared in the dark, like you were scared for real.
Speaker 6: They haven't been just so stale like this is where Elijah, he is scared for real, for real.
Speaker 6: And God says go back into that dark closet.
Speaker 4: [inaudible]
Speaker 6: exactly.
Speaker 6: He says go into the wilderness of Damascus and when you arrived you sow annoyance has ill to be King of Syria and Jehu the son of Nipsey.
Speaker 6: You shall anoint as the King over Israel.
Speaker 6: And did I say Israel tries?
Speaker 6: The first one was Syria.
Speaker 6: This one was Israel and Elijah the son of Safford Abdel Mahala you shall anoint to the be the prophet in your place.
Speaker 6: You see what just happened here?
Speaker 6: God says, brother, I'm doing a new thing you're worried about jazz, about I'm creating a whole new regime.
Speaker 6: You're worried about sitting out here being all scared.
Speaker 6: You understand that?
Speaker 6: I set up Kings, I tear down Kings.
Speaker 6: My sovereign power is the ruler and the King of all Kings.
Speaker 6: I do what I want to do when I want to do it.
Speaker 6: How I wanna do it.
Speaker 6: So get your butt up.
Speaker 6: Go back to the place where I'm at.
Speaker 6: Go anoint some new Kings cause I'm about to do a new thing.
Speaker 6: He says, go back through the wilderness.
Speaker 6: Imagine you go to God, you're in your depression, you're in the lowest state, you're in your frustration and God says, yup, you're about to sit in this thing for a few more years.
Speaker 6: You're sick and you've been praying for healing, and God said, yep, you're about to sit in this thing for a few more years.
Speaker 6: Your relationship is going work crazy and God is saying, trust me, you're going to sit in this for a few more years, but at the end of the time, I'm setting up a new thing.
Speaker 6: You're going to see a fresh when you get here, a fresh whisper and your entire life is going to be flipped.
Speaker 8: It's upside down.
Speaker 8: If you trust me, remember we talked about a few weeks ago, being in the desert that God sometimes will call you into the desert so he can have a private conversation with you because the devs, the desert was never meant for your death.
Speaker 8: It's the doorway to your destiny and God wants to let you know why you're walking through your wilderness, that there's purpose along your way.
Speaker 6: Path.
Speaker 6: He's telling them, listen, get up and go set up your legacy.
Speaker 6: Does a you young man called a light Sher who's going to take your anointing and he's going to be a profit of profits as well too.
Speaker 6: And guess what?
Speaker 6: By that way, you're not even going to see death because I'm gonna catch you up in the chariot of heaven and you didn't see that one coming, did you?
Speaker 6: You didn't see how I was going to bless you, right?
Speaker 6: You're never going to see death on this side.
Speaker 6: You're going to end up in having with me and you're worried about Jessica, you skirt
Speaker 9: [inaudible].
Speaker 8: Can I tell somebody, Hey, can I tell somebody and can I free you today?
Speaker 8: God has a purpose for your pain.
Speaker 8: There's a purpose for your pain.
Speaker 8: And he tells a lie to, listen, I need you to go get back in the game because there's some people's destinies that are relying on you getting over your insecurity.
Speaker 6: And maybe there's somebody in here who's dealing with some sign of pressure, with some sign of frustration, some side of anxiety, some sort of depression, and God is saying, listen, I'm going to use it to create a legacy for you that is going to go beyond your wildest imagination.
Speaker 6: I know you feel the pressure now.
Speaker 6: I know you feel the pain now, but there is purpose to your pain and I've got you.
Speaker 6: I will give you food to fuel your fight.
Speaker 6: Just trust me.
Speaker 6: It may be a long way, but on the other side you will be shouts of praise because I am the God of miracles.
Speaker 6: I am the God who's a deliverer.
Speaker 6: I am the God who was a provider and in me, I make all things new.
Speaker 8: So in this season of tension, for everybody in here, if you want to know the, the second tool in your toolkit is simply this look for inspiration.
Speaker 6: Elijah went back to where God's voice was heard last.
Speaker 6: And for some of us in here, we need to rediscover the joy of our salvation.
Speaker 6: We need to go back to the place in our lives.
Speaker 6: When we first fell in love with Jesus, the first time we heard the gospel, the first time we fell in love with our spouse, the first time our kid was born and they were all perfect and smiley and cute.
Speaker 6: The first time that we started our educational pursuits, the first time, go back to the first time you heard God speak last this season,
Speaker 8: you're going to have to look for inspiration.
Speaker 8: Here's the deal.
Speaker 8: I'm not talking about self-help.
Speaker 8: I'm talking about God help, so got God wants to meet you to remind you that your potential is greater than your present, that there's a hope and there's a future.
Speaker 8: Jeremiah 29 he says this, I know the plans that I have for you.
Speaker 8: Plans to give you a future and a hope.
Speaker 8: Plans not to harm you, plans to prosper you, and I love what it says in Ephesians two 10 it says, for we were created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Speaker 8: There's a purpose to our life.
Speaker 8: See living for purpose bigger than you can over living for a purpose that is bigger than you will help you overcome you.
Speaker 8: When you get your eyes and your mindset on what God has created you to be or what God is destiny you to be, what God is taking you, the journey that he's got you on, it will help you overcome the feelings of hopelessness.
Speaker 9: [inaudible]
Speaker 8: let me tell you something.
Speaker 8: Mayo clinic, this was in Forbes magazine, so this isn't a secular magazine.
Speaker 8: I'm not reading Christianity today.
Speaker 8: I'm not reading charisma news.
Speaker 8: I'm reading Forbes magazine.
Speaker 8: Nicole Fisher from Forbes magazine, quotes a Mayo clinic study that she says, faith practices are associated with better health outcomes, including greater longevity, coping skills, and health related quality of life and less anxiety, depression, and suicide.
Speaker 8: This is Forbes reporting on this.
Speaker 8: It's not the Christian people just saying like, Oh, they just trying to tout their faith.
Speaker 8: This is Forbes saying like, listen, this is a legit thing.
Speaker 8: There's been studies.
Speaker 8: Go back to the place of inspiration.
Speaker 8: Go and not look for self-help.
Speaker 8: Look for God.
Speaker 8: Help.
Speaker 8: So in this season of tension that you're facing, look for inspiration.
Speaker 8: If you want to be inspired, discover your purpose.
Speaker 8: You've got to discover or rediscover the voice of God.
Speaker 8: You've gotta be able to discern the voice of God over the voice of doubt, over the voice of fear, over the voice of depression, over the voice of anxiety.
Speaker 8: You've got to get to a place where you rediscover the voice of God, and we talked about making this series super practical and we're going to build out another site that's going to have resources for you to find your inspiration.
Speaker 8: But can I just share a few with you?
Speaker 8: Number one place you're going to find inspiration.
Speaker 8: Number one place you're going to hear the voice of God is in his word.
Speaker 8: God has said everything that he needs to say to you in this book.
Speaker 8: There is no special revelation.
Speaker 8: There is no extra biblical.
Speaker 8: Listen, God's voice has been heard from millennia in this book.
Speaker 8: Kings have been comforted, tyrants have been transformed.
Speaker 8: The broken, hopeless has found a future and a hope.
Speaker 8: The deserted have found their resting place in the loving arms of God.
Speaker 8: So there's this practice that we do is called soap.
Speaker 8: We're going to put this all on the site, but if you want to write it down, S O a.
Speaker 8: P this is something that I've been doing for a number of years.
Speaker 8: This is how I do my Bible study.
Speaker 8: This is how I get into God's words.
Speaker 8: So number one starts with scripture.
Speaker 8: Read the scripture, pick out a passage, read it.
Speaker 8: Number two is observation.
Speaker 8: Sorry, we don't have it on the screen.
Speaker 8: Observation.
Speaker 8: Write down journaling.
Speaker 8: This is what this text is saying.
Speaker 8: This is what I see is happening.
Speaker 8: Number three, a application applied to your life.
Speaker 8: Man.
Speaker 8: I just saw a logic get to the place where he kept on making excuses about what was really going on in his life.
Speaker 8: And maybe I've been making excuses about what's really going on in my life and I really need to get to the root cause of what I'm really wrestling with and I need to change that up right now.
Speaker 8: God, listen, here's the deal.
Speaker 8: Number four, prayer.
Speaker 8: God.
Speaker 8: I've made a lot of excuses today.
Speaker 8: I'm done making excuses.
Speaker 8: This is really what's going on in my life.
Speaker 8: I'm jealous of my friends.
Speaker 8: I'm scared about my health situation.
Speaker 8: I'm this.
Speaker 8: I'm that.
Speaker 8: Get real.
Speaker 8: Pray to God.
Speaker 8: Tell him exactly what your real tensions are.
Speaker 8: So soap, reading God's word.
Speaker 8: There's also daily devotionals you can do if you don't have the Bible app on your phone.
Speaker 8: If you've got a smart phone, you should have the Bible app in your phone.
Speaker 8: There's hundreds if not thousands of of daily devotions that you can read ranging from three days to 30 days.
Speaker 8: You can go into, me and my wife have done hundreds.
Speaker 8: Just go on there on the Bible app and you can start the daily devotion.
Speaker 8: There's a little reading.
Speaker 8: There's a little scripture.
Speaker 8: There's prayer.
Speaker 8: If you don't have the Bible app and you want to know how to get it, stop by our next steps table.
Speaker 8: Somebody from our dream team, we'll help you navigate.
Speaker 8: We'll help you download it.
Speaker 8: Prayer number three, pray to sit at God's feet, pray, have a conversation with God.
Speaker 8: Do it while you're driving.
Speaker 8: Do it while you're sitting at your desk at work, doing while you're working, do whatever you're doing.
Speaker 8: Just pray.
Speaker 8: Start having a conversations with God.
Speaker 8: God, I need to hear your voice.
Speaker 8: That's where I would start.
Speaker 8: God, I'm tired of doing things my way.
Speaker 8: I'm tired of allowing the lies of the world to get to my head.
Speaker 8: I want to hear your voice.
Speaker 8: Can you speak to me?
Speaker 9: [inaudible]
Speaker 8: music.
Speaker 8: Listen, turn off some of the crap that we listened to and put on some worship, some gospel, some Christian hip hop.
Speaker 8: Put on something that edifies you in Jesus name.
Speaker 8: Listen, I listened to a lot of secular music.
Speaker 8: I am not[inaudible] listen.
Speaker 8: You come into my office sometimes my wife was like, shoot it past you.
Speaker 8: Be listening to it.
Speaker 8: Don't judge me, but I'm just saying I enjoy music.
Speaker 8: I love music, but here's the deal.
Speaker 8: Sometimes we've got to turn that off and say, God, I need to be in tune with you.
Speaker 8: I need to listen to some music that elevate my mind to be connected to you.
Speaker 8: That'll inspire me.
Speaker 8: Books, podcasts, and there's this one book that I want to leave with you guys.
Speaker 8: It's called sacred pathways by Gary Thomas.
Speaker 8: I read this in seminary is one of my seminary reading.
Speaker 8: It's a very easy book to read, but it talks about the nine ways some of us connect with God.
Speaker 8: All of us connect with God differently.
Speaker 8: I know like a lot of pastors, pastors, noble, just really godly men and women of God.
Speaker 8: When they want to hear from God, they go into the wilderness by themselves.
Speaker 8: They set up a camp for a week and they just stay with nature and God, listen, I'm chocolate.
Speaker 8: Chocolate people ain't fine in the wilderness for a week, let alone a day.
Speaker 8: We don't go camping, so if I need to find God, I'm going to go to the city where it's populated with this other people.
Speaker 8: Anything happened, somebody saw what happened.
Speaker 8: That's how I connect with God.
Speaker 8: True story Lewis.
Speaker 8: Come on now.
Speaker 8: Tell y'all right now, post it on Facebook.
Speaker 8: The other day my back fell.
Speaker 8: I was on loan in my room.
Speaker 8: I jumped over the entire bed and screamed.
Speaker 8: I said, that's why black people don't go into the woods cause there's too many unidentified sounds.
Speaker 8: You got to find a way.
Speaker 8: You connect with God.
Speaker 8: Maybe for you, it's in nature.
Speaker 8: Maybe for you it's reading.
Speaker 8: Maybe for you it's just a whatever.
Speaker 8: Gary Thomas goes through nine ways and you can find the season that you're in and how you connect with God.
Speaker 8: It's such a phenomenal book.
Speaker 8: But can I tell you something?
Speaker 8: Can I leave you with this right here?
Speaker 8: You will never hear the voice of God if you first don't submit to his son Jesus Christ.
Speaker 8: This is what Jesus says.
Speaker 8: I am the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker 8: No one comes to the father unless they come through me.
Speaker 8: So at the end of every message, we want to give an opportunity for you to gain access to the father.
Speaker 8: Wait for you to be forgiven for all of your baggage, for all these sins that we all commit.
Speaker 8: Baba says, all has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Speaker 8: It says the wages of sin are death, but the free gift of uh, Jesus is eternal life.
Speaker 8: And today you can have your entire eternity changed.
Speaker 8: You can have your entire hope restored.
Speaker 8: Whatever tensions you're facing in life.
Speaker 8: Jesus says, listen, take my yoke upon you because my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Speaker 8: So today I just want to invite you to say yes to Jesus if you are in this space.
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