9.26.21 | Sunday Service | The Pursuit

[Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] uh [Music] um [Music] feelings [Music] [Music] you know [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey good morning good morning pursue come on stay to your feet if you're able we're to get started today want to welcome you thank you for joining us i want to welcome you if you're watching by way of internet welcome come on we want to invite you join us at the altar for worship come up find your place in the sanctuary today let's put our hands together here we go all right let's sing together i raise a hallelujah [Music] in the presence of my enemies i raise a hallelujah louder than the unbelief [Music] to is for me i'm gonna say is [Music] everything inside of me [Music] i will watch the darkness [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] this morning [Music] [Music] [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] [Music] all you people [Music] now's the [Music] sing a time louder sing a little louder sing a little loud now's the time for the church to sing a little louder come on [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] in the middle of the storm is [Music] is [Music] hallelujah hallelujah [Music] [Music] oh i've tried so hard to see it [Music] to carry your victory [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] i am who you say i am you crowd i am [Music] and now i can finally see it you're teaching me how to receive it [Music] is [Music] [Music] she didn't have heavenly places [Music] [Music] and is every woe comes crashing them i have the authority [Music] jesus has given me and when i open up my house miracles [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] jesus when i opened it jesus [Music] everybody [Music] i am this is is [Music] darkness must flee in your presence disease has no place in your presence [Music] your righteousness every we believe jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] i am is [Music] me [Music] i'm know who's i am [Music] i know the champion come on [Music] there's freedom from depression in his presence oh he's in this place [Music] [Applause] wow [Music] [Applause] [Music] is jesus jesus precious [Music] you are my treasure my great rewards [Music] no matter how much [Music] jesus jesus by offering all my ambitions [Music] is i just wanna move [Music] [Music] i freely give it all to you [Music] [Music] [Music] is it a life laid down [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] all i wanna do [Music] to you [Music] right [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] is oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is oh come on fred the presence of god is here this morning and where jesus shows up anything is possible and we know in his presence scripture says there is fullness of joy there's fullness of life which means right now in his presence you can receive healing in your body you can receive renewal in your mind encouragement in your spirit because that's the type of god we serve he can't help himself but he'll save and deliver it's just who he is he doesn't have to be in the mood for healing it's just who he is and that's why we stand in awe of the presence of god because he's better than we deserve he's better than we've even conceptualized before and i'm going to dare you to believe today that he is as good as scripture says he is and he can do everything scripture says he can do and i just know this that if he healed before he go heal again if he raised before he's going to raise again if he delivered before he's going to deliver again because the god that we serve watch is the same yesterday today and forever that's why you can count on this god well something happens in your life when you gather around other saints in worship it's like the presence of god shows up but it fills the room it fills the house and all of a sudden some begin to transact inside your heart of hearts and so we say now god by your spirit do your best work inside each and every one of us we'll give you all the praise and we'll give you all the honor but but just for a moment we avail ourselves which means this we make ourselves available unto you we say god do what only you can do for we know it's not by might nor by power but by your spirit alone and so we say now god do your best work inside hearts inside minds and inside bodies father we love you we honor you we give you all the praise and glory in jesus name hey ben hey ben hey fred would you take a minute say hi to somebody on the way back to your seat ben thanks so much for joining us for church glad to have you on the house of god [Music] [Music] good morning pursuit family whether you are joining us here in person or online we are so glad to have you with us here's what is coming up here at pursuit we want to say thank you to everyone who joined us for pursuit nights last week it was a great time of fellowship teaching and community you're invited to our next pursuit night on october 4th 6 to 7 30 p.m if you haven't signed up for your table you can do that by going to thepursuitnw.com pursuit nights young adults will be moving to mondays in the fall and is for the 18 to 30 year olds in our community our fall kickoff is tomorrow monday september 27th from 6 pm to 8 pm starting in the fall our young adult services will have child care provided so if you haven't checked us out yet we would love to have you see you tomorrow at 6 pm pursuit youth is every wednesday 6-8 p.m for students going into sixth grade through their senior year at youth there are games worship a message from pastor alex and students have an incredible time every week bring a friend we will see you on wednesday night pursuit preschool and child care center is hiring if you are interested email your resume to preschool at thepursuitnw.com we would love to hear from you as always you can find out about more events at pursuit by checking out our church calendar at the thepursuitnw.com calendar and that's all the announcements that we have for you today thank you again for joining us here at pursuit stay connected with us throughout the week by following us on social media by searching at the pursuit in w or you can find more resources like sermons ways to become a member or learn more about other ministries by going to the pursuit in w.com hey pursuit family we want to say thank you again for joining us thank you for all your financial support and prayers this community is continually blessed by the faithful giving of god's people and we could not do church without your generosity today we wanted to extend an opportunity for you to partner with us through giving there are a couple ways that you can give today on the screen here you can text to give give online through our website or use the envelope in the seat back and come forward to put your tither offering in the bucket in a few moments the band will begin to play and this will signify your opportunity to get out of your seat and come forward to give thanks for faithfully sowing into our church and we will see you again next week hey nelson campus we wanted to thank you again for joining us here at pursuit for service let's do this if you haven't done so say hi to us in the chat and let us know where you are tuning in from if you have any questions or want to learn more about getting involved let us know below and a team member will respond to you there are lots of ways to get involved here at pursuit but one way you can help us is giving us a follow on all our social media accounts and help spread the word about what's happening here at the pursuit by sharing this live stream or sharing and liking our posts on social media thank you all again for being a part of the amazing things god is doing in the northwest we will see you soon hey online campus awesome hey we want to thank those of you who joined us for revival weekend this past friday and saturday yeah we just had a real move of god's spirit here in this church starting over labor day when pastor benny perez was with us we really felt like as a leadership team we needed to make time in the midst of we know everybody's busy schedules we just we just felt like we needed to make time for people to seek the lord and spend time in his presence and if you've been a part of this church for any measure of time you know what it's like here on sunday morning it's rather chaotic get people in and out as quickly as possible you try to find a parking spot you line up you get in and and by the time service gets going then it feels like it's over and so we wanted to take some time on on friday and saturday just to just to be in the presence of god without having to rush through and just see what he would do and i'm telling you over friday and saturday we saw dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of real life verified supernatural miracles in people's bodies [Applause] not only that but on friday and on saturday night we opened a baptism tank and people did what people do jumped in and got dunked as a public proclamation of following jesus i feel like we've just about baptized everybody in the city at this point we're going to continue doing it and you know you could be in a church that's demoing or taking out their baptism tank because it never gets used so i'll be okay with a little mess and a little chaos because i know that god is in the midst of this thing and he's doing really some incredible work we wanted to announce this morning our revival dates for october and in november we've changed just a little bit in october to fit around our guest speaker but in the mo in the month of october dr michael maiden from arizona is going to be with us dr maydan's a legit prophet to the church of god and and and he's coming with a message for this church and this community i really feel like it's going to be transformational and then of course in the month of november i'm so excited to be welcoming back one of my friends one of our friends pastor benny perez here to the church it's gonna be incredible and so i'm gonna encourage you just to take a picture of that make a mental note of it put it on your calendar we'd love to have you in the house of god for these just extended services spending time as we seek and go after the presence of god hey in just a moment we're going to do something special on this sunday morning it's actually one of my favorite things that we get to do as a church community we get to welcome new members and god is adding folks to this community day and night left and right in fact we've got even members who aren't even here in the city but are watching online from different places really around the nation that was one of the cool things over revival weekend just getting texts and messages and emails from people in different states who are saying we don't even know how we found the live stream but as we were watching the live stream i was healed i wasn't even in the room i was in a different state i was healed i was filled with the spirit god did something in my living room friend you are a part of what god is doing here in this place and it really is incredible on this morning we're going to be welcoming members and praying over them and i told you all this last week when somebody becomes a member of the church they go from being a renter to being an owner and owners think differently about their community for example when you're a renter you say hey come to russell's church but when you're an owner you say hey come to my church when you think about church as an owner you're not just a consumer you're a contributor you're a living stone in the house of god being made as a pillar to help develop and support the foundation of this house over the last number of weeks we've encouraged people to sign up for membership and literally hundreds of folks have and today it's our privilege and every service we're welcoming members praying over them and introducing them to our community and so if you're here this morning and you've completed our membership form online at this time we're going to invite you forward to the altar area we have a small gift for you we want to honor you and thank you for being a part of this community so why don't you make your way forward at this time if you're here today and you're a new member you're a new member make your way forward make your way forward [Applause] awesome awesome awesome come on church come on church let's welcome him come on let's welcome [Music] well this is part of what revival looks like this is part of what awakening looks like and we've been praying that god would send co-laborers in the harvest field to help us for such a time as this and today we're celebrating and we're welcoming folks from wall to wall who are joining the team who are part of what god is doing in this hour and if you're wondering what we're handing out it's a puzzle piece and this puzzle piece has our logo branded right on it it's just a small token of our appreciation but also a reminder that you're here on purpose with purpose to play a divine part in the building of this house everybody's puzzle piece is a little different but everybody has a piece to play watch what the apostle paul says in the book of ephesians he says instead we will speak the truth and love growing in every way more and more like christ who is the head of his body the church he makes the whole body fit together perfectly as each part does its own special work it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love see god in his infinite wisdom knows who he's sending to this church he's sending folks that are going to fit together for the development of the body of christ in this hour and so what you're sitting in today what you're standing in today is an ongoing move of god's spirit and miracle that's happening in the northwest and god by his sovereign authority is sending folks from across the region to be a part of what god is building in this hour in just a moment we're going to put just a little what i call confessional creed up on the screen it's how we do membership here in this community for those of you who are standing in front you might have to turn to your left or right just a little bit to see and in just a moment i'm going to invite those who are standing here at the altar to read this along with me as our good confession of faith that's what paul tells timothy he says confess the good confession of faith and in doing so we're going to declare in this atmosphere we're on the same team we're not in competition we're in cooperation god has brought us together for such a time as this we each got a part to play and together we're going to see his kingdom come his will be done on earth even as it's being done in heaven if you're standing here in front would you just take that puzzle piece hold it up high and i'm going to count to three and we're going to read this together and today we're going to welcome new members into the house of god come on one come on two come on three today i formally join myself to the pursuit church family for the express purpose of growth development community and service i don't have to come to church i get to come to church i don't have to give i get to give i don't have to serve i get to serve i am not a consumer i am a contributor i believe my best days are ahead and i have a part to play in this local church i will honor the house of god by fighting for unity in this church because this church belongs to christ i am committed to a pursuit of the presence of god and his transformative work both in me and through me i am a bringer i am a builder and today i become a member of this house i commit to these things in jesus name amen come on can we welcome our new members here at the pursuit [Applause] awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome now let me say this i now charge you before god and men pursue righteousness godliness faith love endurance and gentleness fight the good fight of the faith take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses i charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our lord jesus christ which god will bring about in his own time and to jesus who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light whom no one has seen or can see to him be honor and might forever amen come on one more time let's thank god you guys are welcome to be seated at this time thanks so much man god is doing a significant and a special work in this house i've never seen anything like it i know there's a lot of places you could be this morning but we want to thank you for joining us here at uh pursuit we just we just we're just going to dare ourselves to believe that the holy spirit is not intimidated by the northwest and if the holy spirit is not intimidated by the northwest then neither are we god's going to do something and is doing something here in this community that's so special it's so real and you and i have the high privilege to be a part of what god is doing here in this hour as i was praying and preparing for the sermon this week here's what i felt like the lord spoke to me in my spirit he said this in the life of a believer hear me in the life of a believer the enemy can only steal what we give him permission to take in the life of the believer the enemy can only steal what we give him permission to take you need to know this morning that the enemy is already a defeated foe the enemy is already a disempowered demonic entity two thousand years ago when christ hung on the cross he didn't say there's more work to do he said it is finished which means this the handwriting of requirements that was against your life has been wiped out you've been bought with a price the blood of jesus scripture says this that although the enemy would bruise his heel his foot would crush the enemy's head and not only did jesus wipe out the requirements against your life but the bible says in doing so he made a public spectacle of the enemy the apostle john says it this way for this reason the son of god was made manifest to dismantle the works of darkness christ has not come to negotiate with the enemy he's not come to strike a plea deal with the enemy he's not come to do some sort of foreign policy and hand over all of our blackhawk helicopters [Applause] i'm just joking sorry that was don't turn these in after you're done don't you know just i know you're upset now i'm just joking listen that's a joke but but in real life the enemy is a defeated foe he has no power no authority over your life and the only generational curses that have power are the ones that you confess in belief so we're going to doubt our doubts and believe our beliefs and in doing so declare there is no king but jesus there is no authority like his authority and what he says is the final word on all matters pertaining to life death and eternal life thereafter so why is there warfare on this side of heaven because we got to constantly remind the enemy and remind ourselves that he actually has a lot less power than we think he has and you'll reach eternity one day and be absolutely embarrassed of the puny size of the enemy and some of us have overempowered the enemy in our own thoughts by making him a bigger deal than he actually is under every rock in which we stub our toe is the demonic entity and if the starbucks line is long it's warfare in the spirit and if i don't get my parking spot at costco call the saints we need to pray and it's just and listen i believe god cares about little stuff and big stuff but here's the reality the devil is an omnipresent god is the devil isn't all seeing god is the devil doesn't have sovereign authority god is and god holds the keys to death hell and the grave which means this even where satan is he's not even the owner of where he's at there's coming a day where he'll be bound for a thousand years and then after that thrown into the lake of fire for eternal punishment we serve a risen jesus and we have a defeated enemy so next time you're facing warfare i just want you to remind yourself no the enemy has already been defeated it's past tense and i'm going to allow my confession of faith to catch up with the finished work of jesus christ i'm going to confess and believe that what the enemy says to be true is not true because he's the father of lies and he's come to steal kill and destroy but christ has come to bring life and life more abundantly so we're going to stand on the side of victory we're going to stand on the side of life i'm not going to live life with a big devil and a little jesus because that's not how this works jesus sits at the right hand of the father the enemy is a crushed defeated disempowered foe and the reason why it seems like at times the enemy has so much authority in the realm of earth is because principalities and powers work through the principle of agreement we've got a lot of people in our world today agreeing with what the enemy says and not agreeing with what god says but he's disempowered and defeated and i can't afford to live with a saved heart but an unsaved confession because my confession dictates my life it dictates my future so we're just going to confess the good confession of faith this morning listen don't overempower the enemy through bad theology and false agreements you've got a peace the world can't take you've got a joy that circumstances can't take you've got a hope that the enemy can't have you've got a spirit that satan can't quench now watch i'm going to be in first kings 19 this morning some of you may be familiar with the story others if you aren't i'll give you a little context today but lately i've been in the major prophets the minor prophets and the historical books in the old testament because i actually believe all scriptures god breathed all of it not just the ones you like but all scriptures god breathed not just the ones that always agree with your political opinion but all scripture as god breathes the verses you like and the verses you don't like all scripture is god breathed as i think there's principles hidden all over this book that actually speak to the current moment we're in and sometimes people act like they've been educated out of their need for scripture like well it's an old book no it's a living word it's a living word and not only do you need to be in the word but the word needs to be in you because when the word gets in you it is living breathing active and it accomplishes everything that's been sent forth to do and what i found is a lot of christians live below the level of their authority and their power because they just simply don't know what's been written and if you want to hear the audible voice of god you can just read your bible out loud is god breathe it's inspired i'm feeling a certain type of way this morning so just forgive me where's king's 19 now first kings 19 verse one now ahab told jezebel everything elijah had done now let me stop there for a moment ahab and jezebel is this perfect picture of a stupid king who marries a wicked woman can i tell you in america we have two political parties one is stupid the other is evil and when they get together they do really stupid and really evil things and they call it bipartisanship [Applause] when stupid and evil team up watch out now ahab told jezebel everything elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets of baal with the sword let me give you some background elijah has just finished the most impressive victory of his life the prophets of baal have been killed with the sword and after three and a half years reign is coming back to the land the prophets identified in verse one are the prophets of baal watch baal was a demonic entity that the people of israel worshiped in rebellion against god watch baal was the god of fertility and often would require the sacrifice of children make no mistake baal is still worshipped today we just call it choice and perform it in a clinic our culture still sacrifices to the god of fertility and the result is a curse that comes on the land and here's what i've found every time god's about to raise up a reformer every time god's about to release an awakening every time god's about to free a nation every time god's about to send revival what we see is a counterfeit move in demonic realms that tries to snuff out the next generation why do you think when moses the deliverer was born an edict went out from pharaoh to kill the babies why do you think when jesus was sent in the fullness of time and edict went out from the roman government to kill all of the baby males why do you think we suffer such a genocide in our generation today because the enemy knows that what is coming next for this nation and for this region is deliverance awakening revival and reformation and he gonna try to snuff it out before it even starts [Applause] but for everyone the enemy takes god raises up ten and one person with god is still a majority watch we're in similar season today now watch there was righteous prophets and there are unrighteous prophets but the voices you listen to determine the type of life you're going to live and it's imperative that you eliminate every other inferior voice that seeks to diminish your passion poison your perspective or corrupt your faith and let me tell you this this morning scripture is a sword in the life of a believer to combat every inferior voice in your life that's why when jesus was in the wilderness when he was tempted by the enemy three different times he came back with the same three-word statement every time it is written here's what i found when you get into the midst of trials and tribulations it is what you have buried in your heart that comes out that's why scripture says hide the word in your heart that you may not sin against him jesus didn't pull out an app he didn't pull out the scroll he didn't get the new king james no he just responded it is written why because the word of god is sharper than any two-edged sword it separates it cuts it removes and every time the enemy came in like a flood god raised up a standard and what it looked like was it is written and when you don't know what's written you're robbing yourself of some of the primary tools that god gives you to be successful in spiritual warfare and jesus replied it is written prophecy doesn't have to be complicated it is simply agreeing with and repeating what god says to be a true about your life and circumstance sometimes we over complicate things we make them more spiritual than they ought to be we make them so complicated with all these formulas and then pretty soon it's only really special people at really special times who have these really extraordinary gifts that sounds more like the old covenant than it does the new scripture says that all may prophesy so what does prophecy look like in our context it means i have an ear to hear what god is saying and then i'm allowing that word to come from my mouth and what it looks like is god's perspective on life's events if you have ears to hear and if you have a mouth to speak you can function in the gift of prophecy even in your own life watch verse two so jezebel sent a messenger to elijah to say made a gods deal with me lowercase g may the gods deal with me be it ever so severely if by this time tomorrow i do not make your life like one of them and when he saw that elijah was afraid and ran for his life and when he came to beersheba and judah he left his servant there let me say this breakthrough in your life is not without backlash from the enemy but you can't allow the empty threats to cause you to run from the places that god has given you as an inheritance friend the church of jesus christ belongs in the northwest and we're not running away because this land belongs to the people of god it was his before it was ever anybody else's and we can't over estimate the threats of the enemy and in doing so allow that to run from the places of inheritance in our life no you belong here no i belong here everywhere the soul your foot treads god is going to give you the land you are a walking living breathing example of somebody who is utilizing their inheritance from god to be a force for good in the world around you no you belong here and elijah coming off the greatest victory of his life now operating in a spirit of fear is running from the places that god has given him it's interesting to me that in the new testament jesus cast out demons and the pharisees say he cast out demons by the power of satan yet the crowds see it and are amazed as they worship and glorify god two groups of people seeing the exact same thing reaching two completely different conclusions that tells me there's power in your perspective watch we are all staring at the same culture we are all staring at the same region we are all staring at the same impossibilities but it is what we say about what we see that determines the manner of spirit in which we operate we're all dealing with the same information we all have access to the same news channels and you all got eyes to see what's happening in the world around us but it is what you confess after what you see that ultimately dictates the type of world that you'll create believers have this optimistic ability to get god's perspective on life's events and in the middle of death we prophesy life in the middle of chaos we prophesy peace in the middle of setbacks we prophesy blessing because we are people who operate in divine favor from god it is what you say based off of what you see two groups of people see the same exact thing and they have completely dissimilar responses one says it's demonic and the other person says no this is the messiah the power of your confession based on your perspective ultimately dictates what type of life you're going to live watch what scripture says god has not given us a spirit of fear but power love and a sound mind which means for every one negative from the enemy god responds with three positives from his camp for fear he not only gives you power he also gives you love and then on top of that make sure that you're thinking safe thought so he gives you a sound mind why because the enemy would come in one way but he'd go fleeing about seven eight nine ten different ways no god has given you tools in this hour to ra retain the manner of spirit in which you operate now generally speaking you attract what you fear because you ultimately build your life your attention and your mindset around those things the healthy fear can serve as a warning unhealthy fear serves as an obsession healthy fear can help you live unhealthy fear makes you so afraid of dying you forget to live healthy fear can help safeguard your life unhealthy fear puts you into bondage while you suffer under the tyranny of what if and friend if you fear god you won't have room to fear man i i love elijah you know one of the primary figures of the old testament in fact so crucial that in order to fulfill prophecy the bible says one must come first in the spirit of elijah to prepare the way for jesus and we know that being that was john the baptist and he's so significant in old testament literature but what i love is that the pages of scripture not only record his highlights but also his low lights and if you were writing your own story today i imagine you'd skip over the two or three chapters that make you look like a coward and a fool but not scripture and there's a reason why scripture gives us insight into the dark seasons of people's lives it's to prove to us this point the same god who was faithful on the mountain is also faithful in the valley you know sometimes because we live in a social media generation all we see is different snapshots of people's successes and then we compare our low lights to other people's highlights and can i tell you just about everything you see on social media is fake it's the best version of what people want you to see and that's why i love scripture because not only does it show us david a man after god's own heart but it also shows us david making a lot of mistakes that cost him dearly and at the end of the day god is faithful on both ends of the spectrum not only does scripture show us moses the great deliverer but also the one who is angry striking the rock doubting god it shows us a moses who walks through every season of life with a god who sticks closer than a brother that's the god that we serve so when you read scripture you ought to be really encouraged that if god can use people like this he can use anyone and we have elijah the great man of faith who just slayed the prophets of baal he called fire down from heaven it is one of the most tremendous outstanding power dynamic miracles we read in the old testament now running for his life because wicked and stupid teamed up to give him a death threat we think to ourselves well i would never be like that you know if i just saw god do some really powerful things i mean i would never operate in fear no i would never be you know once i get good once i come to the altar i'm just good for life you know scripture says he's supposed to be salt and light by the time you get home from church some of you are salty and lit friend we fail about four five six seven times a day know we read the story of peter i would never deny christ no guys we're up and down all the time the bible says we are faithless and he is faithful and so for us we just we just celebrate a god who is better than we deserve who was in this for the long haul now verse 4 watch what scripture says he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness he came to a broombush sat down under it and prayed that he might die great man of faith elijah praying that he might die i've had enough lord sometimes i think god says that about us i've had enough but elijah's complaining i've had enough right like elijah's the one who's fed up i've had enough lord he said take my life i'm no better than my ancestor let me stop there for a moment what elijah is saying here in this moment is my best days are behind me not ahead of me i'm no better than my ancestors friends when we think about generational curses bloodline curses i think about them in this context when you begin to believe that you're doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the people who came before you just because you so happen to share the same last name that's not true elijah said i'm just going to die just like my ancestors i'm probably just going to get sick with the same disease mom and dad had my marriage probably won't survive because divorce runs in my family my kids probably won't survive because abuse runs in my family friend it ran in your family but then it ran into you and the blood of jesus still speaks a better word about every circumstance and every condition and he bought you with a price you're not your own you belong to him [Applause] sometimes we live under the false bondage of generational oppression and can i tell you today those curses are broken off of your life when your confession begins to change i am not what has been done to me i am not what has been done before me i am what has been done on my behalf by a man named jesus my life belongs to him that's when you begin to walk in freedom i don't care people been addicted in your family last 400 years friend today is a new day his mercies are new every morning you're going to be the first to go to college you're going to be the first to get sober you're going to be the first to have a healthy family you will be the first to stay married you'll be the first to raise healthy kids you will be first to land that good job you're gonna be a first in your generation why because your blood his blood runs in your veins now you just ought to believe this is why it's so dangerous to self-identify and self-diagnose because you go talk yourself into all sorts of bondage that was never yours to carry you ought to understand whom the sun sets free is actually free not free in theory not free in philosophy but actually free and the same spirit to raise christ from the dead it dwells in you and our god can do anything now watch take my life i'm no better than my ancestors then he lay down under the bush and he fell asleep and all at once an angel touched him and said this get up and eat four words get up and eat wasn't a 17-minute prophetic word wasn't an encouragement from the book of psalms get up and eat sometimes the most spiritual things in your life feel like the least spiritual things in your life never underestimate the value of a short nap and a good meal elijah goes from i want to die take me home i'm no better than my ancestors danger said go to sleep now get up and eat that watch it gets better he looked around and there by his head with some bread baked over hot coals in the jar of water he ate and drank and he lay down again the angel of the lord came back a second time touched him and said get up and eat for the journey is too much for you so he got up and he ate and he drank strengthened by that food he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached horad the mountain of god and he went to a cave and he spent the night and the word of the lord came to him and said what are you doing here elijah the drama of elijah is almost too much to bear take my life i'm better off dead listen if god wanted to take your life he wouldn't need your permission to do so god didn't want elijah dead elijah wanted elijah dead because the net result of listening to the father of lies is stolen joy destroyed hope and a dead end in a matter of ten verses elijah goes from victory on mount carmel to hopelessness on mount horeb and yet the only thing that has changed is a threat from jezebel this is why there is such a battle over the perspective of believers in this hour because it's literally a matter of life and death that's why paul says in the book of philippians finally brothers and sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is lovely whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things for whatever you've learned or received or heard from me or seen in me put it into practice and the god of peace will be with you i love how the lord tells elijah go to the mountain and then once he arrives at the mountain god asks him what he's doing there god is asking these as strategic questions to help reveal the character nature and disposition of elijah god's not confused about your location you're confused about your location god's not confused about your destination you're confused about your destination and sometimes god should just tap you on the shoulder and you'll say what are you doing in the northwest he said what are you doing at pursuit what are you doing in this job what are you doing in this family and you'll say well because you told me to be here and what he's looking for in those moments is just a childlike faith that responds well because my dad told me to be here that's why i'm here because friend that's enough that's enough elijah why are you in the cave you told me to be in the cave that's why i'm in the cave god says yeah i got you right where i want you let me just remind you you're here on divine assignment let me just remind you you're here because you've gotten a word from god you're here because god touched your heart you're here because god motivated your spirit you're here because god spoke to you in a dream or a vision or a word no you're here because you're a remnant in the earth in this region to bring the kingdom of heaven down below that's why you're here well why am i here god oh just allow god to remind you your purpose this morning because every once in a while he got to remind you if you still got a heartbeat you still got a purpose you still got a reason if you got breath in your lungs he's not done i know the enemy tried to kill you but god raised you back up you're here for a reason you should be dead you should be odd overdosed left on the side of the road but for some reason you're still here and every once in a while god will ask a question he already knows the answer to just to remind you you're here on purpose pursuit why are you here for revival and reformation good just wanted to make sure you knew that now watch it gets better he replied i've been very zealous for the lord god almighty i love this the israelites have rejected your covenant torn down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword i am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too hear me sometimes we think our passion for god exempts us from trials in life watch what elijah says i've been very zealous for you and look how they've treated me if we're to be honest we've had that attitude a time or two as it pertains to god god i've been very passionate for you and look how life has treated me can i tell you passion for god commitment to the house of god being a part of a church family listen it doesn't exempt you from trials and it doesn't even reduce the likelihood that you'll walk through difficulty but what it does do is when you walk through difficulty it gives you the necessary spiritual and relational tools not to remain a victim well i thought if i became a member i'd never have difficulty again no you might actually have more well i thought if i followed this jesus and tithed and served and showed up i just i just thought it'd be smooth sailing from here no in this world you will have trouble but be of good cheer why because christ is overcome so being a part of a church family doesn't mean i don't ever have trial what it means is when i face it i got people around me who when i fall help pick me back up that's the benefit of your zealousness for the things of god the people of god and the house of god but see oftentimes we take trial and tribulation as a sign that god's upset at us now god's judging me because of this trial no you live in a fallen world and so you experience fallen things but in the midst of a fallen world we serve a risen savior and so we know that in the midst of every difficulty god makes a way i love this elijah starts complaining to god like god doesn't already know the situation he says they torn down your altars put your prophets to death i'm the only one left now they're trying to kill me too listen god has not asked you to manage the outcome he's asked you to be faithful to obey when you try to manage the outcomes you almost always end up coming to a false conclusion elijah says i'm the only one left it's not true but that's how elijah feels but oftentimes in the midst of tyranny and turmoil your emotions lie to you about what is actually true and how many times does the enemy try to stamp a permanent conclusion on a temporary circumstance you're sick and the enemy says you'll always be sick you're down so the enemy says you'll always be down you're defeated so the enemy says you're going to stay defeated but here's the reality god still has the final say now elijah is telling god about conclusions but scripture says god is not just the author of our faith he's the finisher of our faith which means i leave the conclusions to him it's not my job to manage the conclusions it's my job to be faithful to obey well god i haven't seen it and i've been praying for it and i've been faithful and where you add and i just i'm just worried it's not going to end the way that i thought it would end no leave the conclusions to god because you're not in management you're in sales so let god be god so you can be you and in doing so you just be faithful to obey and just because you feel like the only one doesn't mean you are the only one now the lord said in verse 11 what he said go out and stand by the mountain in the presence of the lord for the lord is about to pass by then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the lord but the lord was not in the wind after the wind there was an earthquake but the lord was not in the earthquake after the earthquake came a fire but the lord was not in the fire and after the fire came a gentle whisper and when elijah heard it he pulled his cloak over his face and one at went out and stood at the mouth of the cave hear me not everything you experience is of god but everything you experience can help reveal god it's interesting because in first kings 18 which is just a chapter prior to this god responds with fire splits the altar consumes the prophets of baal does all sorts of things and god is in it and the very next chapter god does all of those same things but the scripture says god is not in it which means this god is more creative than you and how many of you know god will oftentimes do the same thing in a different way just to remind you you're not in control he is well god healed me this way last time so he must heal me this way this time no god is more creative than you god can speak in the earthquake but he doesn't always speak in the earthquake god can speak in the fire but he don't always speak in the fire god can speak in the wind but he doesn't always speak in the wind and sometimes it's a gentle whisper and here's what i felt like the lord say to me in this season he said russell i need you to be more clear than you are loud see we got a lot of loud voices and culture clamoring for your attention but the voice of truth is clear it's clear for us as we consider our lives in light of the kingship of lord jesus we're reminded out of the pages of first kings 19 that god isn't always in the chaos and the commotion although he can be often times he's in the still small voice that comes after for us we tap into the desire to clearly communicate the urgency of the hour and in doing so call people to revival and awakening don't allow the clamoring of culture to cause you to miss out on a still small voice it's there hear me friend the question is not is god still speaking the question is are we still listening i feel like god's not speaking anymore no he's speaking way more than we give him credit for the question is not is he speaking it's our ears tuned in to hear what he's saying now here's where i'll end verse 18. god responds to elijah he says yet i reserve seven thousand in israel all whose knees have not bowed down to bale and whose mouths have not kissed him fred you're not alone god has reserved a people in the northwest and even now he's gathering them under his banner and we stand together as one elijah's telling the lord i'm all alone they've destroyed everything jezebel hates me thanks a lot take me home and god says shut up sit down take a nap eat a meal stand up go to the cave hear my voice repeat [Applause] and in doing so god sends the message that elijah needs to hear you are not alone i've got seven thousand prophets i hid in caves i got seven thousand who haven't bowed their knee to baal i've got seven thousand that haven't given in to culture i've got seven thousand who haven't prostituted their worship i've got seven thousand burning hearts in this region and elijah you are one of many come on could i prophesy over this house for just a moment this morning pursue we are not alone i bet there's at least 7 000 in this region maybe more who haven't bowed their knee i bet there's at least seven thousand with burning hearts i bet there's at least seven thousand that god is sending this way i bet there is an entire company of people who have just been waiting for the house of god to find courage and boldness for the season that we're in and god is sending them in this hour they've been hidden in caves they've been standing on the margins they've been sitting in the back they've been watching at home they've been gathering from the region they've been moving in and moving out and switching jobs and trying to just figure out where god is in this season but by his spirit and by his still small voice he is bringing them home bringing them into the fold bringing them into the house of god we are not alone there are seven thousand who haven't bowed their knee because in the midst of every counterfeit prophetic movement god raises up men and women who hear his voice oh yeah we got baal in the northwest but our god is stronger our god is bigger our god is final our god is infinite our god is sovereign yeah we got a lot of baal worship in the world around you don't need to tell me how bad the world is i got the same eyes you do but i know this my confession of faith is not that the dark is dark but that the light is more immeasurable than we've ever given it credit for and the church of jesus christ will advance and the gates of hail hell will not prevail against it that's who we are that's who we are come on would you stand with me as we close come on let me pray for you man i want to stir you up today you're here on purpose you're not here on accident you're not here just visiting you're here on purpose god's put something in your heart friend god's put something in your spirit in this hour i'm giving you the invitation of the ages come co-labor in the harvest field for the fields are ripe under harvest it is not four months and then the harvest the kingdom is all around there's never been a better time there's never been a better moment friend be a part of the seven thousand who haven't bowed their knee and let's take the region for jesus come on with every head bowed every eye closed let me pray father now in the mighty name of jesus we ask that you would do your best work first in us and then through us we commit in this hour not to bow at any other altar outside the kingship and lordship of jesus christ father we say now by your spirit instead of fear power love and a sound mind instead of timidity and cowardice power love and a sound mind god i pray that you would strengthen us for the hour that you would give us that bread of life that you would give us that supernatural spiritual rest that we would be prepared for the journey that is ahead that we wouldn't be distracted by the earthquakes and the fires and the winds but instead we would have ears trying to hear the still small voice that still speaks a better word about our condition and our environment and we commit to stand against every ahab every jezebel every bale every demonic entity for our god is stronger our god is better and now god we ask for your anointing to come upon our lives to do supernatural exploits that we would be strong and of good courage for god has given us the land we will not shrink back in our hour of testing we will not shrink back in our hour of trial we will be everything that god has asked us to be and nothing he says we're not and god may you do a mighty work in this region to such a degree that every i would see that every heart would know that every ear would hear that jesus reigns on high father we love you god we honor you in jesus day come on all god's people said amen hey ben hey if you're here today and you want prayer before you leave i'd sure love to add my faith to yours to see god do a miracle in your life we got some altar workers up here on my right on my left we'd love to pray with you if not god bless thanks for joining us we're gonna see a lot of you next week hope you'll join us invite a friend invite a family member love to see you in the house of god god bless we'll talk soon you

Channel: The Pursuit NW

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Id: uK46TOhqxU4

Length: 85min 54sec (5154 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021