We are in a series right now called Elijah Shah. We just smushed the name Elijah and the name Elisha together. That's where we got Elijah Shah. And we're studying the lives of these two men in the Old Testament. They lived 3,000 years ago. Very different world, very different culture. And we're looking at what God did in their lives. Because what God has done greatly informs what God wants to do, what God will do, what God can do. And it's amazing how when we just open up the Bible and we read it and we just read these stories, asking God to speak to us, it's amazing how much He does. It's amazing how much we can learn and grow. Sometimes there's this idea in church, and especially in kind of bigger modern churches, where the idea is that, hey, you know, what we should really do, those of us teaching, is kind of look through the Bible and sift out the practical things and the things that are really helpful and really apply to everyday life, and then share those with the people, but not let the people just deal with all having to dive into the mess of the Bible, right? Because the Bible, it's a big book and it does not really hold your hand. It kind of assumes a lot. It can be challenging, it can be intimidating to dive into it. But my experience in life has been that the Bible is not this collection of words, and then every so often you stumble upon something really, really good and really applicable. It's like the opposite. It's that virtually every single page in Scripture is jam-packed with practical and profound and powerful truth. It's like drinking from a fire hose. Like it's it's it's so jam-packed with what we need. It's not a case where you need someone to be like, hey, I found the few gems to share with you. I mean, it's just everywhere. And this story has been such a reminder of that for me. And in fact, where we're at in the story today, the section of the story that we're gonna read, we're kind of getting close to Elijah, sort of handing things off to Elisha, but where we're at in today's story, there's so much there. It's just so packed that I couldn't even really get myself to focus on the one thing that we needed to take away from it. I've struggled with that all week long. I'm like, God, I I believe very much in having a focus. I am not a focused person. That's different. It's okay to believe in something that you do not embody, all right? I believe in focus. I'm rarely focused. But I believe in that, and when I speak, I want to have something, like the one thing that we're supposed to take away. But as I was reading it this week, I'm like, there's just something every five or six words it felt like. And so here's kind of how I felt going into the message this morning. You know when when you go to the grocery store to buy one thing and you leave with seven? You know what I'm talking about? Like it's it's almost impossible to go to the grocery store and leave with one thing. It's it's it's by design, it's almost impossible to do that. And so as I was reading and preparing for the message this week, there was one thing that eventually jumped out to me, and I was like, yes, God, that's it. And we're gonna get to that moment. We're gonna get to that point, and it's hopefully gonna change your life forever. Uh, but on the way there, we're just gonna pick up a few other things too, because we're here, so we might as well. All right? So that's what our experience will be like this morning. It's just so packed. There's some little mini messages, and then we'll get to the big takeaway at the end. But I want to make sure we're all on the same page, we all understand where we're at in this story. And so, just to catch you up in case you haven't been here, we're looking at the life of Elijah. He's this guy who shows up out of nowhere in the book of 1 Kings in the Old Testament, chapter 17, shows up and he confronts a king named Ahab. Ahab is the king of Israel, he's not a good king, he's married to a woman named Jezebel. She was a Phoenician princess, she came into Israel, she brought with her the worship of this false Phoenician god called Baal. Baal is a false god, he's a mythical god, and he was the Phoenician god of the rain. And Ahab is very influenced by Jezebel. He begins to worship Baal, he sets up Baal worship as the official worship of Israel. He builds a temple to Baal, he leads a persecution against the people following God, and I guess really Jezebel leads that, but he lets Jezebel do that. And so those who have followed God for years, they're kind of on the run. Baal worship is the thing to do. It's what is reigning in Israel at this time. And then God sends Elijah to confront Ahab about all this. And he does it in a kind of interesting way. Ahab shows up and he tells, or Elijah rather, shows up and tells Ahab, it's not gonna rain for a long time. Seems very random, but it's not. And that's because Israel is worshipping Baal for rain. He was the Phoenician god of the rain. They're praying to Baal, they're sacrificing to Baal, and God just said, Hey, I hear y'all praying to Baal, you're asking Baal to make it rain, so I'm just gonna let Baal handle the rain for a while. So it's not gonna rain because he's not real. And he's he's really doing a loving service to Israel. He's reminding Israel that Baal does not exist. So do not depend on a little g God for something that you need, it will not work. And then Elijah runs for his life because that makes Ahab angry, and Ahab wants him dead, and Jezebel wants him dead, and then he shows up three years later. It hasn't rained for three years. And we we kind of looked at this day that Elijah had over the course of the last few weeks. We spent two weeks just on one day of his life because this one day of Elijah's life, it's probably like the best day anyone's ever had. I mean, I'm sure many of us in the room have been like, I had some pretty good days, you know. I'm just gonna go on a limb and say you may have never had a day at least as epic as the one day that Elijah had. Because in this one day, he experienced just three incredible, epic moments that would fill you with so much faith in God and in what God can do through you. And I'll start out when Elijah shows back up and he tells Ahab, hey, I'm I'm back, and uh, I'd like to set up a little contest between the real God and Baal. And so he says, Why don't you go get the 400 prophets of Baal that are basically Jezebel's entourage, her friends, they eat at her table every single night. Why don't you go get them? And why don't you have them meet me here, and we're gonna have a little contest, me and my God versus all 400 of them and their God, and we'll just see whose God is real. Let's see whose God shows up. And so they set up this contest, and it has to do with altars, and there's an altar of God, and there's an altar of Baal, and there's a sacrifice on each altar, and they're all supposed to pray and make you know fire come down from the sky and burn up the altar, you know, just like normal stuff. And so they do that, and uh and Baal's prophets pray for hours and hours and hours, and they scream and they shout and they go through all these rituals, and nothing happens. Nothing happens. And then Elijah, just little old Elijah by himself, one versus 400, he prays and then fire from the sky, burns up the altar, and then all the prophets of Baal are killed. And so that's technically a win for Elijah. That would be that would be like if you're on a football team and you play another football team and you're the only one who shows up, it's you versus the entire other football team, and then you just say, I'll go ahead and play. What's the worst that can happen? And then afterwards, people say, How did it go? And you go, I won, and the entire other team is dead. People would say, Wow, you're good at football, uh, or a horrible person. It's one of those two things. I don't know. But at the very least, that's him, that is not what I expected to happen. And so Elijah has this moment. I mean, he is he's there, and there's 400 prophets of Baal, and all of Israel is watching, including the king, and then and then Elijah prays and fire comes down, and it's just like, wow, that's amazing. And then after that, after that first epic moment, epic moment number two, which seems less epic than it actually is, but it's huge. It has not rained in three years, not a drop. And Elijah walks right up to Ahab right after this whole fire from the skies things happens, and he says to Ahab, hey, it's gonna rain today. Like he predicts the weather. And that's that's gutsy. Like, even in our world today, we have technology, we have meteorologists, right? We have radar, we have all this stuff. It's still hard to accurately predict the weather today. I mean, like we live in Atlanta, and we all remember what happened in 2014. We all remember snow apocalypse. And it's messed us up, right? Because for the last couple years, if it might snow, if there's a 20% chance of snow, all the schools are like, we've canceled school for three weeks. We've just like, we're not risking it, we're not taking a chance. It's supposed to be windy tomorrow, so let's just go ahead and cancel school, let's get this over with. We can't take any risks. There have been so many days in the last few years where we have watched the TV and they're saying, it's gonna be bad, guys. It's gonna be, I mean, you do not go outside, do not, don't even think about it. And we're like, oh man, we gotta prepare for this, right? We gotta prepare. So we do what you're supposed to do. You go to the store and you buy, what do you buy? You buy you buy bread, you buy milk, you buy eggs. That's what everyone says, right? Who has fallen victim to the bread, milk, and eggs hysteria at least once? You've gone there, right? And so I've done that so many times in the last few years, and then nothing has happened. Nothing at all. It was all for nothing. Someone who works at the bread company, the milk company, and the egg company, they've come up with a conspiracy, and this is just to help you sell more of this stuff. Which can we do okay, this is this is definitely a sidetrack, but that's a weird three things to buy if it's gonna storm. Because that's three foods that spoil extremely quickly, two of which require refrigeration. And so if you're buying food to last you in a storm in which the power is likely to go out, why would two of the three things you buy require your refrigerator to work just to last a few hours? You should go to the store to buy like cantuna and crackers and soup and candy. Yeah, is that what you said? Someone's like, okay, yeah, whatever's gonna get you through, you know. But you got you get bread, milk, and eggs. There's only one recipe that you can make like something out of with just bread, milk, and eggs, and it's French toast. That's the only thing you can use. So I guess the idea is like power's out, we might die. But we got French toast. So we're going in style. What were we talking about? French toast. Right weather, thank you. Um, yeah, so it's hard to predict the weather, right? Even today with all of our technology. There you go. Uh, feel bad for weathermen. It's probably a lot harder to predict the weather 3,000 years ago. And Elijah just walks up to King Ahab and says, Hey, you know how it hasn't rained for three years? Well, man, get ready, it's gonna rain today, and then it does, and it's an epic downpour. It's incredible. So that's epic moment number two. Epic moment number three is that is that Elijah is given this supernatural strength by God, and he outruns Ahab on a chariot. Ahab is on a chariot, booking it back home in the storm. And just imagine Ahab in his chariot, right? Multiple horses in front of him. Chariots have like four or five horsepower, they're nuts. And and it's booking, and he turns to his left, and there's just Elijah like running by, waving, you know. It's crazy. This all happened in one day. Fire from the sky, predict the weather, outrun a chariot one day, and that is where we pick up in the story. We pick up with Elijah on cloud nine. I mean, there's nothing that can bring him down. He's on top of the world. 1 Kings 19. When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. And I just love that because there's a story there that we don't know. You know, Jezebel is not a woman to be trifled with, and these prophets were her entourage. I mean, earlier it says that they ate at her table every day. She had a banquet for over 400 prophets of Baal every single day. And so, you know, Ahab gets home, and Jezebel says, Hey, how was your day? And he says, Well, not good. And uh and she gets pretty angry. It says, So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah, may the gods strike me and even kill me, if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them. And Elijah was afraid, and he fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there, and then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree, and he prayed that he might die. I've had enough, Lord, he said. Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died. This is not why we came to the store, so to speak, but we're gonna pick something up right here. It's a little mini message. Fear is a funny thing. It would make sense that the better life is going for you, the less you would be afraid, right? That would make sense. That if life's going really well and you're having a good day, and especially if you're like Elijah and you've seen God show up in big ways, you would be invulnerable to fear. Like it would make sense that if Jezebel said, Hey, I'm coming for you, Elijah at this point in time would be like, Bring it on. I mean, have you not seen what my God has done? I'm not afraid of you. That's not what happens. Elijah is filled with fear and he runs. Fear's a funny thing. We have to be on guard for fear all the time. I don't know if you've had this experience before in life. I'm imagining many of us have, where something really good happens. And you're like, wow, this is amazing. And for some reason, no logical reason whatsoever, you go, I wonder if something terrible is going to happen that would ruin all the good that has just happened. You ever have those moments? My oldest son, Liam, I talk about him a lot. He loves basketball. And just get used to that if this is going to be your church. You will hear about this for years. Um, Liam is he's so good and he practices really hard. And this last Thursday was the kind of start of his of his season, and and he's just he's just a really talented kid, and he practices like two, three hours a day. He's he's intense. I don't make him do that at all. It's actually a little much for me sometimes. But but he had his first moment in in a year of playing with other kids his age and coaches, and I'm telling you, it was like it was like, wow. You know, if there's any agents in the room um and you're operating a heavy piece of machinery right now, what is that noise? Um, but like, is there a forklift in the back of the room? What's going on? We can we wait till church is done. But but like he's so good, and I'm sitting there going, man, this is gonna be a special season. Like, it's going to be a special season. And then for some reason on the way home that night, I was like, Man, what if he broke his leg? That'd be awful. You know? And I'm like, where did that thought come from? Because people break their legs, but it's not that common. He's playing basketball, not football. I'm not a crazy parent, you know. And so I said that half-joking, Tab, I'm sorry, I know football's your thing, you know. Go Pope. Is that what is what is the mascot for Pope? Go go Greyhounds, all right. Tab's the the coach at Pope, so that's why I said that. Um I don't know why I was afraid of, but I I literally became overcome with fear that something bad would happen to Liam that would mean he wouldn't get to play in his season. For no reason. The only reason was that he did so well that I became filled with fear that something would ruin it all. Fear is a funny thing. And just because things are going well, just because you're having success, does not mean that fear uh couldn't cripple you, like it does with Elijah here. So be on guard at all times, even when you're on the tail end of a victory. Fear is a sneaky, sneaky thing. Okay, that was not the point. That's just a little mini message. So let's let's go forward. Then he laid down and he slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, Get up and eat. And he looked around, and there beside his head was some bread baked on a hot stone and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and he laid down again. And then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you. We're gonna stop here for a second. Not the reason we came to the store, but we're gonna pick something up right here. Uh Elijah does something incredibly wise. That it's very easy to pass this by. He is freaked out. He is stressed to the max, he is confused, he's afraid, and so he takes a nap. He just stops and he sleeps. And that's actually super wise. Because it's very easy for us when we're in these states of fear, when we're stressed out, when we're freaked out about a problem in our lives, it's very easy in those moments to make a decision. We're in that state, and we go, okay, I gotta figure this out, I gotta solve this problem. And when we solve problems and we come up with ideas in that state, rarely are those our best ideas. Rarely are those us at our best because fear and confusion and stress, it just distorts the way we think. Sometimes it's the decisions that we make in moments like that that actually cause more problems than the problem we're trying to solve. We have a phrase here that we use on our team. It's real simple sometimes to say, hey, let's not let's not hammer in a nail with a sledgehammer. Because sometimes we'll see a problem and we'll be so stressed about that problem, like it's a nail that needs to be hammered in, and so we freak out and we go at it so aggressively that it's like we see a nail and we grab a sledgehammer and we hit the nail with a sledgehammer, which would effectively drive the nail in. It would also just, you know, take out the wall behind it. It's not not a good thing to do, but we can do that in life. And sometimes when we're stressed out, the best thing for us to do is just stop and sleep on it and rest and pray. Because when you're sleeping, God is working. Because God never stops working. Jesus says this in the book of John, chapter 5, verse 17. Jesus replied, My Father is always working, and so am I. In Romans 8, 28. We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. God is always working. When we stop, God doesn't. The difference is we need to stop, but God doesn't. Like we we need like eight hours of sleep a day. That's what they recommend. That's a third of every day. A third of every single day you're supposed to be asleep. That means if you live 90 years, you will have slept for 30 entire years. And that's what we're supposed to do. But in the 30 years you're asleep, God is working. And sometimes we experience God the most when we just stop and we trust him and we let him do his thing rather than us try to solve it all ourselves. So, mini message, let's keep going. Verse 8. So he got up and he ate and he drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Sinai. Um, when it says 40 days and 40 nights, by the way, that doesn't necessarily mean that was literally 40 days and 40 nights. Oh, there you go. Um, sometimes that's a phrase in the Bible, just like we might say, I haven't eaten in forever. You know, we might say something like that. We don't literally mean I've never eaten. 40 days and 40 nights was a figure of speech that they used back then to just say a long time, a long while. So he goes a long, long way, right? 40 days and 40 nights, so maybe it is literal. And he goes to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, and there he comes to a cave where he spent the night. And again, we've got to pause. This isn't the reason we came to the store, but there's something we should pick up here. This is big. He goes to Mount Sinai. Why does he go to Mount Sinai? Well, Mount Sinai was a very holy place to the people of Israel, because it was a place where God had shown up in a big way before. Mount Sinai is where God met with Moses in this incredibly intense way, and it's kind of how you would almost picture God showing up. A stereotypical way of God doing something. Because there's smoke and there's lightning and there's like fire and the ground is shaking and it's super intense, and that's God meeting with Moses. That's where God gives Moses the Ten Commandments, it's where He kind of sets Israel out on this journey that leads them ultimately to Jesus. And so here's Elijah, and he's freaked out and he's stressed out and he doesn't know what to do. So what does he do? He goes to something proven. He goes somewhere that he knows God has been before. And there's a lot of wisdom there. When we're stuck, when we're up against it, go to what's proven. Go to what's what's proven to work. For Elijah, that's Mount Sinai. God shows up there. That's what he's thinking. I need God, I know God's shown up there before. Why not? Go to what's proven, go to the Bible. Like the Bible is proven. God's word is proven, it is powerful. Look, there is a reason that entire governments in our world outlaw the Bible. Because it's powerful. Because they don't want their people to understand who God really is and who they really are in God's eyes. Because if their people have that hope, they will lose control of their people. God's word is proven, it has stood the test of time. And when I'm stressed, when I'm stuck, I go to his word. Because it works, because it's proven. There's people in my life, and their wisdom has become proven wisdom for me. So when I need advice, when I'm struggling, I go to them because time and time again, their wisdom has helped me out. So go to what works, go to what's proven. Let's continue. He sleeps in the cave, verse 9, it says, But the Lord said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And Elijah replied, I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty, but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, killed every one of your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me too. Go out and stand before me on the mountain, the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and he went out, and he stood at the entrance of the cave, and a voice said, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he replied again, I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty, but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. We're almost there. We're almost at our takeaway. But again, I want to pause. This isn't the reason we came to the store, but there's something else we need to pick up while we're here. God speaks in a whisper. Which is so interesting. Because if I were God, I wouldn't whisper, would you? I can whisper now. I'm pretty good at whispering. I wouldn't whisper if I were God. I would speak in the most epic ways if I were God. I would go all out. It would be special effects, galore, right? It'd be fireworks and lightning and thunder. It'd be it'd be crazy. It would be insane. If I could talk and I'm God, I'm not whispering. Why in the world would God whisper? And the reality is, you only whisper when you're communicating in such a way that you want to make sure someone is listening if they're going to hear you. And I think God actually whispers a lot. Sometimes our lives are so loud and we're so distracted by all the noise that we don't hear the whisper. Sometimes I think God wants us to hear from him. He wants to speak to our hearts, he wants to speak to our minds. He wants to tell us things, he wants to affirm his love for us, he wants to give us wisdom and direction, but we we don't hear it because we're just not listening. We live in a world that's loud. And we're kind of trained from birth to not handle quiet very well, right? Like, quiet is punishment to children. If I tell my kids, go in your room and just be quiet, that's like I might as well have sent them to prison in their minds. That's terrible. That's child abuse, you know, go be quiet. What? No, you know? But but as an adult, I have a hard time with quiet. I get in my car and I turn on music or I turn on a podcast. I get home and the kids go to bed, and there's just the possibility of quiet, and the TV comes on, or I'm on my phone and I'm reading something. The people I know who hear from God the most often, they build quiet time into their day to hear from God. And they shut off their phones, which is just like nuts. And, right? Like, what would what could you do if you didn't have your phone on for 10 minutes? What would you do? And they shut off their phones and they they allow no distraction. They maybe read the Bible, they pray, and they just ask God to speak to them, but they actually get quiet enough to hear him if he whispers. That's powerful. Let's keep going. 1 Kings 19, 15. Then the Lord told him, Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu, grandson of Nimshi, to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha, the son of Shafit, from the town of Abel Maholah. I think I did decent with those names, to replace you as my prophet. The first gathering I did not do well. I skipped those. Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape from Jehu will be killed by Elisha. That may seem really intense. Here's what God is saying. Hey, this corrupt, horrible government that's persecuting people and killing people and trying to stop me from working, their days are numbered, and they're not gonna make it. So don't worry about Ahab, don't worry about Jezebel, because look, I'm about to replace all of them. That's what God is saying. Super intense, but you know, effective. Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him. Now, this is the reason we came to the store. This right here. It doesn't seem like much, but when I first read through this as I was prepping for today, this is what just jumped off the page. Because here's what happens. Twice God asks Elijah, why are you here? And twice Elijah says the exact same thing. He says, I'm here because I'm freaked out. I'm scared for my life, God. He says, I'm faithful to you. I'm the only one who's been faithful to you. Everyone else has abandoned you, and if there are already prophets of you, if there are already any other people who are faithful to you, God in Israel, they've been killed, and I'm the only one left. He says that twice. I'm the only one left. I'm alone. And as soon as Elisha repeats that he's alone, God starts giving him names. He's like, okay, I want you to talk to this guy, Hazael. You need to anoint him. And oh, Jehu, talk to him. He's gonna be the next king. There's this guy named Elisha that you haven't met yet, but you're gonna like Elisha. It's the first time we see Elisha's name pop up in the story. We'll meet him next week. Oh, by the way, Elijah, there's also 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed to worship Baal. So you think you're alone, you feel like you're alone. But Elisha, you're not alone. Elijah, see, I knew I would do that this year. Elijah, you're not alone. That's what God's telling Elijah. You think you're alone, you feel alone. I want you to know that there are 7,000 plus just like you. That you're not alone. One of the things that holds us back the most in life is isolation. There are so many times in life where our progress and our growth, it is stunted because we're living an isolated life. And we might be surrounded with people, but we don't let anyone in. We become very guarded in what we allow to be shared. And maybe we're we're surrounded by faces, but we're anonymous, we're not known. Maybe people know our names, but they don't really know more than that. Maybe people who live with us barely know what's going on inside of us. Isolation holds us back. And part of the reason that we live isolated lives so often is because we feel like we're alone. We believe that we're the only ones experiencing what we're experiencing. We believe that no one would understand. That no one, no one could help me because no one can understand what I'm going through. That's a very common belief that we have, that we are on our own, no one's going to understand. The only thing I could get from the world if they understood what I'm going through is judgment. And look, there will always be people who don't understand, and there will always be people who judge. But we vastly, vastly underestimate how many people in this world, how many people in our lives would understand completely what we're going through, and how many people in our lives might actually be someone that God has equipped to help us. Might actually be someone who have gone through the very things that we're experiencing so that they could help us, so that they could get us through, so that they could give us courage, so that they could help us move forward in life. If we live isolated, we don't experience that. But if we if we have the courage to open up, if we have the courage to let people in, we would find out very quickly that we are not alone. This is something that God had to tell Elijah, you're not alone. This is something that we need to understand. Guys, if you are part of God's family, if you have given your life to Jesus, you are not alone because if we belong to Jesus, we are never alone. We are never alone. This is something, by the way, that uh this is something by the way that God has to remind us often. For example, one time in the Bible, Paul was in a place called Corinth. Paul traveled all over the world. He was spreading the message of Jesus. And anytime Paul would spread the message of Jesus somewhere, he would he would inquire or encounter a lot of resistance. Because, again, the message of Jesus disrupts things, it messes with things. The message of Jesus takes people who are oppressed and it gives them courage, it gives them hope. And oppressors don't like the oppressed to have hope and to have courage. And so Paul is in Corinth, and he's getting discouraged because he's encountering so much resistance. And listen to what God says to Paul in Acts chapter 18, verse 9. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, Don't be afraid, speak out, don't be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me. So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the Word of God. Paul thought he was alone, and just like Elijah, God says, Hey, you're not alone. You are not alone. When you are part of God's family, you are never ever alone. 1 Peter chapter 5 says it so clearly. Always be humble. That's not 1 Peter chapter 5. Stay alert. I'm a professional pastor, I swear. Stay alert. Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same thing, the same kind of suffering that you are. When you're part of God's family, you're never alone. Ever. Because when you're part of God's family, you have two things at your disposal. You have two things that you have to be reminded of at all times. That should give you hope. That should give you courage. Because look, when we face problems, we have a choice, always. I can either cower to my circumstances, I can cower to what's coming against me, or I can stand firm. But it's hard to stand firm on your own. And as a Christian, it's pointless too. And so there's these two truths that we have to grab a hold of so that we can stand firm no matter what's coming our way. Number one, we have each other. We have each other. There is a strength in number, there is a boldness that comes from having people around you, right? When I was in college, my three best friends, my my three groomsmen when I got married, were all football players for our college. This might come as a shock to you. I was not recruited to play college football. The stage makes me look a lot taller. I am five foot nine. Okay? So I kind of stood out among my my three best friends. I was the little guy. This might also surprise you. I was kind of mouthy as a kid. Um like in eighth grade, I got beat up well. I was sufficiently beaten up just because I mouthed off to a kid I had no business mouthing off to. Like, and I knew it the second I said it. I was like, it was sarcastic. I thought it was funny, and then I was like, probably shouldn't have said that. And uh then my face received a flurry of punches, and I never talked to that kid again. So I was mouthy, and it was funny because when we would like be hanging out and we used to go do stuff like play basketball. When I was with my three friends, these three football players, like I was kind of bold. I would be a little bit mouthier, I'd be a little bit more, you know, like I don't know, I just I was young and I would just strut a little bit more, and I'd say things that I would never have said if they weren't there. But I just knew if something goes down, I just have to sort of make my way to the back, you know, because these guys were like big guys, football players, right? There was a strength and a boldness that came from being surrounded. There is a strength in numbers, and what we have to realize is that we are brothers and sisters. We have been adopted into the family of God. If you have accepted Jesus into your life, the Bible says that God has adopted you, that you are his very own son or daughter, and that Jesus is now your sibling. The Bible says that we are co-heirs with Jesus. Meaning that we are like he's our big brother. So you should feel pretty emboldened if you're hanging out and your big brother is Jesus, and your father is God, and you have a multitude, millions of brothers and sisters in this world. That is, by the way, why things like racism have absolutely no place in the body of believers. Because we're brothers and sisters. We are all brothers and sisters, every single one of us. That's why it doesn't matter, like, we don't have to all agree on everything. We have a lot of people that are part of our family as a church. We don't all agree on politics, we don't have to. We don't all agree on on lots of different things. We don't all agree. Like, I work with Brian Van Dyne on our staff, and he roots for the University of North Carolina. Like, what in the why, right? What a stupid decision that is. But you know what? He's my brother in the Lord. And if if you're a North Carolina fan, like I love you, you know, that's fine, but we're brothers and sisters. And I know a lot of you in this room right now. I don't know everyone, but I know a lot of you. I've known a lot of you for a long time. And every Sunday when I speak, I get to look out at a lot of familiar faces, and I know what some of you guys have been through. I know what some of you have conquered. I know what some of you are going through right now because we talk and you share. And and I want you to understand some things. Those of us here that maybe feel like we're alone, if you're struggling with an addiction, you're not alone. And I don't mean just metaphorically in the world, I mean right here in this room. You're not alone. I was an addict for 15 years, so you're not alone. And I know many others that could say the same thing. If you've been abused, you're not alone. And there are people in this room who have who have gone through the kind of abuse that that maybe you've gone through or you are going through. And they know how to how to walk out away from that, how to survive that, how to conquer that, and how to live with a wholeness that can only come from Jesus, even though you've dealt with what you've dealt with. If you've experienced loss, you're not alone. In this room right now, there are people who have who have lost. If you've lost a loved one, you're not alone. If you've lost a child, you're not alone. Not in this room. If your marriage is struggling, then you are alone. Because none of us, none of us have that as an experience whatsoever. Like you're probably the only one. Megan and I have the most amazing marriage. I have to beat her off with a stick every night. I'm like, honey, I'm not a piece of meat. I have feelings, you know? You gotta like work your way up. Come on, treat me like a person. It's just my life, it's a curse. And no, I remember seven years ago when we walked into a marriage counselor's office for the first time, feeling like failures. Because we didn't go to the marriage counselor because things were just going so well. You know, when they said, Why are you here? We didn't go, well, you know, it's just been going so good for us. We thought maybe we could give you some things that would help you do your job well as you talk to other people struggling. Like we were seriously unsure if we were gonna make it. You know, I had had an addiction of pornography for years, and it had kind of come to a head and come come out, and it was known, and I was dealing with that for the first time, and and and getting to a place where I could be done with that, but it created, and it should have, created incredible trust issues in our relationship. And there are things that have been going on beneath the surface, and we were struggling and we couldn't get along, and we fought like every single day, and there was no spark, like there was there was no spark, zero spark. And we didn't know what was wrong, we didn't know what to do, and we were so scared that no one would understand, and I'll never forget what it was like going to that marriage counselor, and we just kind of laid it out the first day, we were like, This is our life. And it would to us, it was like, oh, this is horrible. And our marriage counselor was like, Yeah, okay. And I was like, uh, feels bigger than that. And it's because I had made it so much bigger than it was. And what our marriage counselor shared with us was that, yeah, this is this is something that people deal with all the time, and you're not alone. And since that time, I've encountered so many other couples here at the church who have similar stories, and people will meet with me and they'll say things like this is what's going on in my marriage, and I'm like, Yeah, I've been there. You know, it's it's hard. But you're not alone. Like, whatever you're going through today, I'm telling you, you're not alone. You have brothers and sisters in this room, in this community, who love you, even if they don't know you. We love each other. And you don't have to walk alone. You don't have to sit here afraid of your circumstances, afraid of your problems, afraid of your struggles. You don't have to fight those one-on-one. You should not do that because you're not alone. We have each other, and we have to take advantage of that. We've got to we've got to stop being isolated. We've got to stop being afraid of people knowing us. You can be known here and loved because you're family. And so that's jump in, join in, get connected, join a home group. Do so just don't be anonymous for too long. That's what I'm saying. Because you're not alone. Number two, and we'll wrap up worship team, you guys can come back. Not only do we have each other, but we we have something even, don't be offended, even better than each other. We have the Holy Spirit. Okay? And this is like, yeah, this is so, this is big. And if you're new, sometimes in church, people start talking about the Holy Spirit, everyone goes, oh no. And the Holy Spirit is kind of weird. But I don't we say this from time to time here. I I want it all with God. Right? Like, I don't, I don't just want to see normal things happen. I want to experience the supernatural. And I believe we have a supernatural God who does supernatural things, not simply around us, but inside of us. And he says in his word, in Romans chapter 8, for his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. God's actual spirit joins with our spirit, that we become united with God. Jesus said this to his disciples in John chapter 14. He says, If you love me, obey my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you. He will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him because it's not looking for him, it doesn't recognize him, but you know him because he lives with you now, and later, and by the way, that later happened, that later is now for us, later he will be in you. The Spirit of God lives in you. Now, sometimes that seems like I don't have that experience, I don't know what you're talking about. Look, as I have grown in my faith, which has mainly been through being challenged out of my comfort zone by other believers who have gone ahead of me, who have challenged me to let go of some holdups that I've had and just be open more to God. I've gotten better at recognizing when the Holy Spirit is doing something in me versus it's just me. And so if you're here and you're like, yeah, I the Bible says the Holy Spirit's in me, okay, I believe in Jesus. I don't I don't really know what that means. I don't feel that. Look, you'll grow. If you commit to that, you'll grow, and you will begin to sort of discern when the Holy Spirit is saying something to you, doing something to you. And I know people, and I'm I'm hoping to be one of these people one day who can just like hear God and understand, ooh, the Holy Spirit's putting this on my heart. I used to think those people were nuts. A few of them have been. But for the most part, for the most part, they're really good people. Uh the Holy Spirit, God's actual spirit with you, everywhere you go. In you. You want to talk about never being alone? If you belong to God, you are never alone. Because no one can tell the Holy Spirit to leave. He doesn't take orders. When the Holy Spirit moves in, he's in for good. And if you know Jesus, you have a family of believers all over this world. I was in Guatemala a few weeks ago. I do not speak Spanish at all. Me amo Justin. That's as far as it got. But I got to interact with people who are my brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we actually had connection together just with that understanding, even though the language barrier was there. And we hugged each other, and it was there was like actual community. You have that, take advantage of that, but you have the Holy Spirit. So what I'm trying to say as we wrap up and pray is look, whatever you're facing today, be bold. Just be bold, because you are not alone. Like you actually have permission today when it comes to your problems and your circumstances and our enemy Satan who's trying to mess with us all the time. Be mouthy. Be like, look, go away. You don't scare me. I'm not afraid of you. And then you can kind of like back away. Because then the Holy Spirit steps up. Your big brother Jesus steps up, your father God steps in. And nobody messes with God. Nobody. Alright? So let's pray together. I do want to say this as we pray that if you are here, and most of you are, and you you don't know Jesus, he loves you. He loves you. He wants to know you. He does not want you to be alone. His heart breaks for you when you struggle. And if if if you feel alone today, if you maybe are alone, all it takes is one decision, one moment. Or you invite him in and you say to him in your heart, Jesus, I want you. And from that moment on, you will never be alone again. So if you feel that on your heart, I just beg you to say yes and let him in. And don't worry if you don't understand it all. I don't understand it all. Like, I never will. You don't have to be an expert to believe. But just take that step. We're gonna wrap up with a song that's kind of a battle cry of what we've been talking about today. It's just something to unite us together. You know, one of the beautiful things about singing is that it unites us together. And so uh pray with me, and then let's let's be bold together because we're not alone. Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for this church, for these amazing people, these amazing brothers and sisters here in this room. We love you. We are united by your love for us. And I pray in your name, Jesus. I just pray that you would stir in our hearts a boldness that comes from the knowledge that we're not alone. That you would you would give us a courage that maybe we've never even experienced before. Because the lie of no one understanding it goes away. Remind us that everywhere we go, we have you with us, that your actual spirit lives with us, that we are never far from you. And we ask all this in your name, Jesus. Amen.