Sunday Morning Worship | Survivor | Surviving Jezebel | 08.08.21

good morning church welcome it is sunday morning i'm priscilla scheier good morning good morning it's good to see you ocbf family today is going to be an awesome day it is going to be an awesome tell everybody who you are because the online audience is joining us i'm patrick dobson one of the associate pastors here pastor of worship and so we're glad that you joined us today i'm with the priscilla shire y'all know what i'm talking about and so uh we're so excited today it's going to be wonderful we actually have a speaker that's going to be with us today and it's not dr tony evans it's close though it's close his blood runs through his veins his name is jonathan evans and he's going to be preaching for us today we are excited about the word of god that is coming from him absolutely and honestly that he's been preparing for this house and for your house for quite a while we're so grateful to the lord because as dad mentioned last week my brother jonathan his wife his children all seven of them came down with covid but they are um refreshed renewed um healthy we are so grateful to the lord for that and so he is here so we want to welcome all of you who are online watching live right now there's a whole church family of people who are in the house here at oak cliff bible fellowship and they want to welcome you church family can you help us to welcome all of our online friends and family who are joining us and listen today we want you to join in the service and so in just a moment pastor gibson is going to lead us into a time of communion with the lord so go to your kitchen grab some juice water crackers bread whatever you need it's a family service go grab your teddy grahams if you need to because we're going to have a special time together honoring the lord and communion okay so awesome august is our theme for this week all month long we're we're calling it awesome august it's really about restoring yourself taking time to rest and taking time to be refreshed it's we're having you know different nuances of that here locally but we're encouraging all of us who are engaged together to figure out what it means to really rest and restore we're even being casual real casual at church i'm taking this whole casual situation super seriously i don't know if i'm ever coming back from this to be honest and i want to know why why don't you have them on it's just a church kid in me you know what i'm saying you got to put on a jacket or something you know it's the church kid in me but but yeah i you know it is what it is i didn't want to wear my dallas cowboys jersey i'm not too confident just yet so anyway um okay what does rest mean to you what has it meant for your family how have you implemented that so far well i just got back off vacation last night and so ready for church this morning i woke up ready to be in the house of god but you know during this last week i had to really manage my my time and uh you know we think if we're uh on rest and we don't have to manage our time but we really do because we have to choose even even if we're in a good situation where you enjoy your job you enjoy what you do you gotta make sure that you designate time for uh family you know i i told you just a few minutes ago i've got a seven and a ten year old and so this is the only vacation that we'll go on this summer that they'll be seven and ten so i've got to take in those moments and not focus so much on my now where i work what i do what i enjoy because it's those times that we have to be in the moment and i think so many times we get caught up in being on this treadmill of performance where we've got a do do do do but we really are not going anywhere and so sometimes we just gotta say peace be still sit down and get ourselves together so we can keep going and my dad used to tell me he said you know patrick you can't burn the candle on both ends and so you've got to make sure that you take care of yourself in fact jesus admonishes us in matthew he says come to me all of those that are heavy burdened heavy laden those that are weary and tired he says i will give you rest and there is no rest like the lord's rest absolutely so we're encouraging you to take that seriously and ask yourself how can i rest this month how can what can i do for my family what parameters boundaries can i put around like patrick just mentioned even the things you enjoy like he enjoys his work he enjoys his job so he's like but i have to put boundaries around that that's right so i can actually focus on the other areas of my life that are also important how can you implement that in your life that's what we're asking you to consider and again we are so glad that you were joining us for church today you ought to go ahead and stand up shake it off get loose and ready because worship is about to start who's leading us in worship today this morning nia cotton is going to be leading us in worship family you are not you know nia cotton she's one of this is our uh music one of our music directors spouse and she is ready this morning to lead us in worship so why don't you stand to your feet and let's honor god in our time of worship and praise praise the lord oak cliff bible fellowship this is the day that the lord has made so what are we going to do rejoice and be glad in it i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord is anybody excited to be in the house of the lord hallelujah whether you're in service or watching online wherever you are create the house of the lord hallelujah we're having an awesome august anybody having an awesome august so far getting much rest if you're not already i want you to rest on your feet hallelujah and we're going to praise the lord together here we go i love to praise his holy name you know this song [Applause] [Music] come on [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] hey [Music] hey [Music] i [Music] hello [Music] [Applause] i love to pray [Music] i [Music] i [Music] i [Music] i love to pray [Music] i love to give them glory there's something about lifting your hands and shouting out hallelujah that gives the father pleasure it gives him glory he's awesome he's righteous he's holy he's beautiful he's a wonder he's wonderful isn't it amazing that we can serve the same god and he can be something different to you today for some of you in the building he's a healer can i see your hands if he's ever healed your body for some people in the building he's a waymaker he brings clarity he's a heavy load sharer come on and testify today you're home and you're righteous [Music] your name is holly you are so holy to me i call you holy your name is holy holy you are and holy you'll be [Music] you have been me [Music] [Music] [Music] you are here you are [Music] hey [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] do you love him do you need him do you trust him is he worthy did he wake you up come on say yeah yeah yeah is he good is he great do you need him do you trust him is he worthy of glory say yeah yeah [Applause] my [Music] worship all the glory and the praise [Music] it [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] [Music] just like me just like me i was blind [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] my [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] yes it is [Music] [Applause] hallelujah come on somebody magnify the lord somebody say he's faithful see his faith but yeah he's favored yeah hallelujah but we love you [Music] [Music] [Music] it is to your name [Music] all the glory and the praise and the prayer it is to your name to your name yes a song to your name hallelujah everything belongs to jesus everything belongs to jesus there is not a breath that doesn't belong to [Music] everything belongs to jesus yeah come on somebody magnify him and give him your praise he's been good to you he's been good to you he's been faithful how many can testify to the faithfulness of god listen without an instrument i want you to go ahead and make your your declaration this morning that he's been faithful i said he's been faithful some of you don't even need an instrument this morning you are the instrument say he's been faithful there's nobody like our god there's nobody like our god and there's nothing like being in the presence of the lord and this month our focus is on rest renewal and restoration and i'm so thankful that we can look in the word time and time again and find where god restored his people he gave strength to those who were weary he he caused those to find help when they felt hopeless psalm 92 and 10 david says this he said you made me strong as an ox he says and today you've anointed me with fresh oil i don't know about you but i can't operate on last year's oil listen don't be like a car this morning don't just expect every three months if we get along with jesus things are going to change i need fresh oil today how many are with me this morning say i need a fresh dose of heaven i need a fresh outpouring of god's holy spirit over my life over my family over our church we're not complacent we need him like never before so father we thank you this morning we thank you this morning that you are covering this body with fresh oil god that you marked us for such a time as this and father we thank you lord that we still have hope in you can we give him praise for our hope this morning ocbf are you glad to be in god's presence listen i was out myself last week don't you know pastor brought the heat last week we were in a condo in florida and i was sitting there in tears looking at my pastor just hearing the word of god come forth and and i'm just telling you god is doing something i need you to tell your neighbor you need to give me a little bit of room because god is doing something in me i'm growing i'm growing things are changing the atmosphere is changing my life is changing my home is changing i need some room and today we're going to go deeper we're going to go higher i'm so thankful for the word that jonathan is going to bring this morning we want you if you will all of our regular tenors just to take your seat and our guest if you will just remain standing and family if you can just look across the island just wave at our guests and thank them for coming this morning we want to welcome you to oak cliff bible fellowship we're so glad that you chose to worship with us and we want to let those that are joined let those know that are joining us online today that we're glad that you are a part of our service today and so if you will in the comments there just let us know where you're from family that are viewing online go ahead and make those feel welcome they're reviewing all across the world so we want to let you know that today is a time where you can meet with jesus see this is not just something that happens here physically the spirit transcends time and space and so we're thankful that god can be with you where you are today so right now family i want you to focus your attention to the screen for our announcements ah worship was so good this morning it was awesome pun intended awesome august because that's how we're rolling this month at the clip yes we are rolling like that because we are being intentional in rolling a new kind of rhythm and healthy routine into our life for members volunteers and guests which is implementing the three r's of rest recover and restore that's right so no more saturday services sunday mornings only if you can't join us here make sure you join us online yes and to give our well-deserved staff members volunteers arrest there will be no wednesday night services and no children's services but because we are all clear bible and fellowship we will have food trucks you can enjoy outside after you stop by the bookstore for all your spiritual needs so families are gathering we've got the youth here in the church we've got the children here in the church and we're just rolling like that right we are speaking of rolling how about that mobile app how about it make sure you get that because it is your one-stop shop for all your service needs you can find out about sermon audio recordings hot topic recordings children's check-in and giving that's right also in the app you've got information about other announcements there's information there about the virtual premarital class know all about that also information about when the resale shop is opening for the turnaround agenda you can find out information about when to drop off food at the food pantry there's also a comprehensive cancer support group virtual meeting happening as well so all of that information is right there on the app and speaking of the app make sure you go to your app store or google play to download it all right you know what this month is it's awesome august let's check in now with pastor to find out what else is going on thank you brenda thank you dex i'm excited about awesome august where we are coming together with a series on survivor it's a time where we're resting and recovering and we're preparing for the fall it's family worship each sunday and we are excited to be anticipating what god's going to do this month and in the fall and that's where you come in we want every member in august to go and sign up for ministry changeover whether you're signing up for a new ministry whether you're getting in ministry for the first time or whether you're re-signing up for an existing ministry that you're already participating in we need every member to sign up we want to know who we can count on as kingdom disciples who want to function as a kingdom servant because you're going to help oh cliff make a kingdom impact so go to our website ocbfchurch.org forward slash volunteer opportunities that's where our kingdom servants sign up and let us know whether you're not just going to be a pew member but you're going to help us in some area where you are interested we also need your faithful giving summer is a tough time we need our members in particular to say we are voting for this church's ministry through your giving the first tenth belongs to the lord it's called the tithe over and above that is called the offering we have the thanksgiving offering and when all of god's people put god first in giving there's nothing we can accomplish in our ministry to others and if you want to become a member of oak cliff bible fellowship then we want to encourage you to go on our website ocbfchurch.org forward slash membership and find out about our pre-membership class if you live in the metroplex and you need a church place to belong to grow and to have as a spiritual family then go online and find out about our membership process online god bless you as you continue to walk with him and join us as we make a big difference for the kingdom of god god bless you as we continue in our worship amen [Applause] in just a moment pastor gibson is going to lead us in communion but before we do can we prepare our hearts and just stand to our feet and begin to raise our hands not because it's a church thing to do but because it's a sign of surrender to him so this morning if we can cleanse our hearts our minds as we focus in on him the word tells us not to receive communion in a way that's irreverent or without thought or without repentance and so this morning can you just examine yourself and i'll examine myself as we begin to think on his goodness his greatness come on let worship begin to come out of your mouth church somebody just thank him for how he's kept you [Music] say father i appreciate you the way you've covered my family in this season the splendor of [Music] let all the earth rejoice let all the earth rejoice he wraps himself in light and darken this tries to hide and trembles at his voice trembles at his voice and ages stand and time is in your hands god beginning and the end beginning and [Music] so [Music] come on lift up your voice [Applause] [Music] how great [Music] lift your voice [Applause] [Music] how great is our god how great is our god as we worship at the table of blessing let's remember how great is our god he's a great god he's a good god isaiah said it this way he was bruised for our iniquities he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we were healed how great is our god we're here today because of a great god and i'm reminded in the old testament the priest had to go into the temple once a year annually to provide blood for all the sins of others and for his own but in the new testament the bible said he went in once and for all by sin and that blood is still covering us today it's just a good thing to be at the table and remember as we take communion why we're doing it we're doing it because of what he did for us and it's good for us to remember because sometimes life will make you forget but he's still here today on the night that our lord was betrayed the bible said he took bread and he blessed it and he broke it and he gave it to his disciples and he said this bread it represents my body that will be bruised and broken just for you say just for me it's just for you and as often as you eat this bread he said do it in remembrance of me let's eat together the blood the blood the blood the blood the blood my god thank god for the blood thank god for the blood thank god for the blood thank god for the blood that the song says that it reaches to the highest mountain and it flows to the lowest valley there is a stream let me stop right there the blood the blood and the bible said like manner he took the cup he said that this cup would represent a new covenant a better covenant in my blood and as often as you drink of this cup do it in remembrance of me let's drink together now come on put your hands together and bless the lord for his broken body and shed blood [Music] [Applause] [Music] how is it is [Music] [Music] he's a name above all names [Music] and my heart will sing how great [Music] jesus [Music] somebody just say jesus jesus how great how great [Music] everybody say how great it is [Music] come on let's let them sing it [Music] everybody say how great [Music] [Music] just one more time just let them sing it how great how great how great how great how great how great come on see that say how great lift it up to god somebody magnifying jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] all across this congregation he's so [Music] great [Music] [Music] ocbf exalts your father [Music] [Applause] [Music] somebody said [Music] and my mouth filled with your praises say [Music] give him praise in the house this [Applause] morning i was glad when they said let us go into the house of the lord i'm especially happy to be here because that means i'm not sick anymore my family in the house it feels good just to feel good when you get to the other side you're just like i don't need nothing else i'm just glad to feel good [Applause] and that happens anytime you go through something and you get to the other side of it you're just glad just to be on the other side of it your entitlement goes away your prayer life changes because you're just happy that you're not where you used to be and so i'm glad to be in the house of the lord i'm glad to be here with my family i'm glad that we're having family worship so that our children can see that they're a part of something bigger and that we can be in the house of the lord together are you glad to be in the house of the lord are you excited just to be out this morning just to be here two weeks ago on a wednesday night i got a text from my sister priscilla and she said dad just let everybody know y'all ain't feeling good so expect calls and texts and immediately after i got my sister's text i got a call my phone started ringing and it was comfort and care i was like oh my goodness i've got superheroes at the church i mean as soon as as soon as she texts me daryl thomas hit me up i said ain't y'all still in church he said yeah but i'm more concerned with being in the church i said i see he said how you doing i said i'm doing i'm doing okay i'm we're faring pretty well we're doing okay he said was there anything that you need i said no i'm doing good we're okay family is taking care of us to bring the food over all those kind of things and he said well can i pray for you i said absolutely and he started praying and i was listening for a while it wasn't because the prayer was long or anything like that it's just that well he said something so profound in the prayer i forgot about everything else have you ever had somebody pray and they say something and your mind's still thinking about what they they still praying but you still trying to digest something they just said yes and he said i'm holding the phone to my ear and daryl said lord jonathan's going to be preaching on survivor so i think it's in the kingdom of god's best interest if he himself survives that's it i started backing away from the phone the phone was following me i was like i said well you know what i agree that's a good point if i'm preaching on survivor i might need to survive [Applause] and i'm happy to be here because that means god did just that and some of you have a testimony that you've gone through something and people want to talk about thriving but sometimes you're just happy just to be surviving just to get to the other side do you have a testimony in the room that god has brought you through some things and you're happy that you're just able to say i'm a survivor and if you are going through a struggle this morning we're going to learn how to survive that thing i want to give you tools to understand how to survive because god has already made you more than a conqueror in christ and so just because you're going through it doesn't mean you have to succumb to it because god has given us the power through the holy spirit to survive let me go ahead and jump in let's pray together can i pray with you heavenly father we love you and honor you give you the praise and glory for who you are and as i always say to remind myself and to remind the body if you don't do anything else you've already done enough by sending your son jesus christ to die on the cross for our sins we love you and honor you and even though we're going through things even though there are some struggles even though there is some pain even though there are some problems lord thank you for your presence we love you and we honor you bless the word and help us to grow in jesus name amen all right y'all first kings first kings 19. first kings 19 9. i just want to read one verse i want to read one verse to you first kings 19 9 this is what it says then he came there to a cave and lodged there and behold the word of the lord came to him and said to him what are you doing here elijah i'm gonna say that one more time then he came there to a cave and lodged there and behold the word of the lord came to him and said to him what are you doing here elijah today i want to talk to you about surviving jezebel surviving jezebel here elijah is in a cave and he didn't just check in with it he lodged there and the word of the lord came to elijah and asked to procure your question he said elijah what are you doing here why are you in this cave you see elijah's in a cave and that cave represents depression that cave represents as my dad would often say that my get up and go has gotten up and gone that cave represents i can't do this anymore the cave represents i'm putting down my purpose my anxiety is too high my my level of worry is has gone too far i just can't do it anymore elijah literally is in a place where he's giving up his ministry the prophet of god is really literally trying to lay it down he said i've gone as far as i can go and he's in this cave and he's there he's lodging there he's got his mattress his pillow and his blanket because he doesn't plan on leaving it that is the place where elijah is in and i can't tell you how many calls i've gotten over the summer of friends and people in my life that are in that same cave they're saying i cannot make it anymore my situation is just too much i'm going through something that's just too deep i quit i don't want to do this anymore i'm throwing in the towel on my family i'm throwing in the towel on my marriage i'm throwing in the towel even on my children they're two-way where they've gone too far i'm throwing in the towel on my purpose i'm even considering throwing in the towel on my face because i'm in this cave and it's just it's just too much and god has the same question this morning for you that he had for elijah what are you doing there wait a minute how are you going to ask me this question elijah then proceeds to give god the obvious logical response if you look at verse 10 he looks at god and he says i've been zealous for you lord in other words i've done the best that i can i've been zealous for you and but the people of god have still forsaken your covenant and torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword and i alone am left and watch this and they seek my life to take it away and you asking me why am i in this cave i've been zealous for you translation i've done all i can i've been reading going to church i've been praying i've been hanging i mean i've been trying to do this your way and people around me are still dropping like flies and now there's a personal attack on my life and you asking me why am i in this cave you asking me how why am i lodging here why do i want to quit he literally is telling god jezebel's chasing me when he says they seek to take my life he's talking about jezebel and all of her goons you don't know who jezebel is jezebel is literally a replica of the enemy himself jezebel hides out in the background while her outcomes are the main character jezebel literally comes to steal kill and destroy and she has a track record of success yes if you look at first kings 18 4 it literally says when jezebel had killed the prophets obadiah hit a hundred of them in caves by 50s so those prophets were in caves just trying to survive this lady named jezebel because jezebel is a beast she literally kills children and sacrifices children for cultural idols she sacrifices the whole family dynamic for immorality she literally is the definition of evil she hides out in the background and you don't even know that it's her but all of her outcomes are the main character in your life her job is to kill godliness and the way that she kills godliness as a personal strike on you i'm here jezebel set to take you out and many of us in this room the people of god they don't even know it don't even consider it because of how she hides out but they're dealing with the spirit of jezebel the spirit of the enemy you think it's that person or this situation no it's jezebel coming after you because she doesn't want godliness to flow through you you think it's just that kid know it's the spirit of jezebel the enemy himself that wants to attack that child so that they'll give up godly truth for cultural idols because her job is to attack you that's what she does and she has a track record and you asking me why am i in this cave things are falling apart all around me and you're asking me this obvious question why are you in this cave god is saying that's exactly what i'm asking you and i didn't ask that question because i need a logical answer i didn't ask that question this morning because i need more awareness the reason why i'm asking that question is because even though you're under her threat don't you realize that i'm still on the throne just like in matthew 14 when peter was walking on water and he got distracted and he began to sink jesus asked an obvious question why did you doubt what do you mean you didn't see that 30-foot wave in jonah chapter 4 he said why are you angry well you took the tree away it was giving me shade what do you mean why am i angry in mark chapter 4 when the disciples were in the storm and jesus was sleeping the stern of the boat and he said peace be still and he looked at them and said why are you afraid what do you mean why am i afraid i'm about to die i don't understand the question i'm not asking the question for my awareness i'm asking the question for your awareness i already know that you're in a storm but don't you know i'm on the boat let me let me remind you of something [Applause] and he's asking elijah why is he in this cave because in chapter 17 when there was a famine in the land elijah you don't remember that i fed you with a raven you lost sight of the fact that i gave you bread and meat from a bird in chapter 17 you don't remember the widow of zarephath feeding you bread in that same chapter you don't remember that i gave you the power to raise a dead son from the grave in chapter 18 you lost sight of the fact that you prayed a simple prayer and i rained down fire on mount carmel to take out the whole altar [Applause] you don't remember in chapter 18 when we took out and killed 450 prophets of baal do you not know that because of the work that i've already done jezebel's already defeated do you not remember what i've done throughout the course of your life do you not have that aware do you not remember in chapter 18 when there was a storm that was coming and you told king ahab to go back to jezreel and he went back on his horse but i gave you the power to gird up your loins and you beat him back to jezreel on foot do you not remember let me ask you a question you don't remember the last time you defeated that diagnosis you don't remember the last time the bill got paid you don't remember when you were a wayward kid and god brought you back you don't have any clue of what god has done in your life you don't remember how god made a way out of no way you lost sight of the fact of what god has done in your past to bring you to your present do you remember well let me ask you a question if you remember then why are you in that cave he's not asking a question for his personal awareness he's trying to get the prophet to stand up he's trying to get the people of god to not quit there's too much we got to do out here and we can't succumb to the threat when i am sitting on the throne but we give so much value to the threat and it is an affront to god for us to live in a cave you mean to tell me you i know god be looking like i know it's a threat but guys i'm not saying jezebel's not a beast i'm just saying he's in a cave because of jezebel while talking to an almighty god we forgot that's what happens when we're under threat when you're under threat you forget the throne goes away and all i can think about is this threat and god has a question wait a minute now why are you there i know you're under threat i don't need the logical answer god's got that jonathan you're supposed to be telling us how to survive jezebel i am [Music] remember you must remember because the spirit of jezebel has tactics to make you forget if you look at first kings 19 2 i want to show you something so that you're aware it says then jezebel sent a message to elijah saying so may the gods do to me and even more if i do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow at this time them she's talking about her prophets that got killed in the previous chapter may god do to me may god take me out false god if i don't kill you in 24 hours i got 24 hours because jezebel has no ammo see the enemy is a roaring lion seeking whom he may destroy but the fact that he's seeking whom he may destroy means that he can't destroy everyone he seeks [Applause] he has to use tactics because he already lost she's using her mouth she's a roaring lion but she's in a cage so all she can do is roar use verbal tactics to take you out to threaten you and the tactic that jezebel uses currently is time your time is running out i need you to move and i need you to move now and elijah it says in verse 3 he feared emotion he arose haste and he ran to save his own life god had done everything for elijah but as soon as he was under threat and he felt the time he was out and he said i will handle this myself the enemy has done this before in genesis 3 he tells eve today your eyes will be opened yes and you will be like god today well that's interesting i think i'll take you up on that emotionally aroused and she responded notice that it says elijah's running for his life in verse 4 of first kings 19 it says that he now wants to die in verse 3 he puts down his ministry it says he leaves his servant in judah and he goes to the wilderness in verse 4 it says god he said elijah says god just take me out i want to die wait a minute jezebel hasn't done anything jezebel made the threat got to him emotionally now he's running to save his own life he puts down his ministry and he wants to kill himself jezebel ain't done nothing all she's done is made the threat and then she got elijah to do all her dirty work the enemy didn't eat the fruit and he didn't shove it in e's mouth he just spoke and took a step back and let her emotionally do all the dirty work if samson doesn't respond to delilah he maintains his power if esau doesn't respond to jacob he maintains his birthright and i'm sure glad that jesus didn't respond to the devil in matthew chapter 4 giving us our righteousness jezebel's already finished so her goal is to make you feel like i gotta go do this myself and then she stands back and watches you help her be a good enemy to you see the devil has no power unless you respond if you don't respond there's nothing he can do he needs you to feel like oh i've got to go file today no you don't no you don't who told you that you don't why do you feel like that i know cause i'm under threat yeah wait wait a minute life is coming down on me i i don't want to live i need to do something about that now no you don't where you going who told you that jezebel tick-tock tick-tock because without your emotional movement she's left with no ammo elijah is doing all of her dirty work in a cave putting down his purpose his ministry and wanting to take himself out and god put this on me because of my own personal experience the calls that i've been getting because it wasn't long ago that i was in the cave death after death after death after death in our family my mom i kind of just said yeah i'm good i told people around me what they wanted to hear but i myself were somewhere else [Music] you ever told people what they wanted to hear but you own something else [Applause] and i wanted to give up and throw in the towel and god said why are you in this cave what do you mean why am i in the cave jezebel's on you slow down i'm going to tell you what you need to do this is god talking to us all stop running wait a second the angel finds elijah in verse 5. he elijah laid down and slept under a juniper tree and behold the angel was then behold there was an angel touching him and said to him arise eat then he looked and behold there was at his head a bread cake on hot stones and a jar of water so he ate and he drank and laid down again the angel of the lord came to him again a second time and touched him and said arise eat because the journey is too great for you i'm running for my life i want to give up i want to throw in the towel jezebel's threatening me and you know what god's advice is oh you need to eat watch this you've been taking care of everybody else but you're starving many of us have the chef syndrome we cook for everybody else we smell it but we don't eat you're hungry aren't you elijah you haven't taken care of yourself you don't need to run you need rest you don't need to run you just need to recover you don't need to run you just need restoration jezebel's already defeated stop your problem is not jezebel your problem is that you have not taken care of yourself you are starving you're depleted you are dehydrated you are tired and i need you not to run this is not a request i'm commanding you to rest [Music] he says arise and eat that means position yourself to take in for yourself rest does not come based on happenstance and i'm just randomly gonna find it no you have to schedule it yes you have to position yourself for it if you don't position yourself you're gonna choke he's saying i need you to recover elijah you don't need to run you just need a retreat you need a moment where you what's the correlation between jezebel's threat and me just being tired because you being tired made you forget about who god is in her threat and if you don't get the retreat and the rest you're gonna be like a car with no gas you're not going anywhere the people of god are fighting and running and driving themselves crazy calling it being responsible no you're being irresponsible inside of your responsibility because the bible commands you to rest it's not suggesting you rest it's actually one of the ten commandments because god wants to take care of you and he knows that you need to be filled in order to overcome this threat i'm gonna tell you something my dad told me to tell you okay i gotta put it on him because it sounds kind of strong he's the pastor so it's on him at oak cliff bible fellowship and those of you who are watching online in the month of august you're going to see how awesome god is when he moves and you rest so so in the month of august you are commanded to rest that was from him i said it the way he wanted me to say it this is not just the church service this is not just oh that was a good word no no no you have to leave arise and eat why because in verse 7 he says because the journey is too great for you god knows what you need and it is not run give your best effort do your best i'm trying harder i gotta no no no eat i got a call not that long ago from a friend of mine who said jonathan i just can't do it i got these kids my husband's traveling i've been responsible for 15 years because i started out as a single mom raising this kid i'm losing my mind and it was while i was preparing this message oh i said i said you need to rest she said ha ha ha ha rest what is that i said you need to recover you need time to be restored you're laughing while telling me you're losing your mind the angel of the lord did not ask he said you must eat and you must drink i told her you gotta schedule it you gotta find a babysitter you gotta go to a hotel you've got to turn on god's word let it play in your ear because he literally has bread and water john 6 teaches us that he is the bread of life if you come to me you won't hunger again he is the living water if you come to me you won't thirst again you literally have to get up in the morning take a walk put the music on in your ears your playlist and take a walk with the lord in stillness and rest and take in the bread and the water while you're waiting at the doctor's office get your your playlist on put it in your ear pull your word out and take in his work you're using your own hands and god is saying stop that i need you to do something for me pause and eat the bible says be still and know that i am god not run and know that i am god not fight and know that i am god god will allow the jezebel seasons in your life why because he wants to make you lie down in green pastures why so he can restore your soul so that even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death you will fear no evil why because god is with you not your work heart is with you not your effort is with you not your know-how is with you not your finances are with you not your friends or with you not your followers or with you it doesn't matter who's with you unless god is with you and where is he with you when you're lying down when you're in the still place he wants to do it for you and you're waiting on him and he's watching you like this come to me why because i will give you i don't i don't understand the connection i got kids y'all know i got babies five of them and at 2 and 3 and even at 12 [Music] and 10 they'll be fussing and angry because some kid won't share well johnny won't share i'm frustrated and they start acting up that's not fair i can't even look at it and you know what i say oh you need a nap [Applause] tell me i'm lying there and as soon as i say that they say what i don't need a nap what does that have to do with the fact that johnny won't share parents understand what they don't understand i know that johnny won't share but i'm looking at your response and your response lets me know i don't need to deal with johnny and the threat you need a nap and in their immaturity they can't understand that there is a connection between naptime and my threat time they don't get the correlation but in the parents maturity they understand that if you just get some rest you'll respond differently to the threat that kid goes away goes to sleep wakes up with the same threat and says well i'll just play with something else because even though there was a threat there's a bigger problem you're out of gas yes and the people of god are exhausted yes and you think your value is in your work not realizing your powers and your rest yes [Applause] you're supposed to be teaching me on how to survive jezebel well she already lost you forgot and as long as you keep fighting with no gas and you don't do what the bible commands you to do you're not less cause you rest you're just gonna see god do more when you rest he says the journey is too great for you i need you to arise take in for yourself you know that's not a bad thing people feel bad when they're resting for themselves no you're being ob it is a biblical command thou shall have no other gods before me thou shalt not make unto any graven image they should not take the name of the lord thy god in vain remember the sabbath and you need to keep it holy finally he tells him to remember rest and then in first kings 9 15 he says now return i want you to remember i want you to rest and then after you have your retreat of sorts that you plan that you do on purpose you take every opportunity to eat and drink you know what god wants you to do go back return to what i've called you to you told me i called you to it before but now you're tired well my will didn't change you just changed in my will you need a retreat you take it you eat you get the nourishment that you need you rest recover and restore on and then return to what i've called you to do elijah go anoint the new king of aram go anoint the new king of israel get your mantle and prepare it for elisha because my kingdom must advance and if you don't advance with my kingdom then you've succumbed to jezebel's threat [Music] come on guys come on come on i know it but come on but the threat is there let me tell you about god's plans for elijah jezebel makes a threat in 24 hours i'm taking you out well in chapter 20 there's a battle between aram and israel has nothing to do with elijah he's still alive chapter 21 jezebel's doing her dirty work and takes a vineyard from naboth has nothing to do with elijah he's still alive in chapter 22 ahab dies but elijah he's still alive in first kings chapter one ahab's son dies but elijah he's still alive in second kings chapter 2 verse 11 a chariot of fire comes and takes elijah up wait a minute you mean to tell me elijah never died yes because while jezebel had a plan to take him out god had a plan to take him up don't you know that the enemy cannot thwart god's plans you can stand up and give him praise in the middle of the threat because you know that god has a plan that can't be thwarted that even though i'm under threat god is still on the throne don't you realize that you can remember rest in return because god is not going to fail with the plan he has in his life and because of jesus christ do you know that you will never die so if death has been defeated then why am i in a cave because of this threat if i'm going to be taken up then why am i in a cave because of this problem if god has a plan for me to live eternally then why am i afraid in this life god has a plan that cannot be thwarted by the enemy so we should not thought god's plan by succumbing to the enemy that's how you survive jezebel you remember you rest and then you return to what he's called you to do somebody stand up and give him praise because you can keep going you can keep moving you can keep fighting you don't have to stop because you will never die you will be taken up you won't be taken out because god's plan is greater than jezebel's plan somebody say amen love on him and give him glory bless the lord

Channel: Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship

Views: 33,685

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Id: oDXoSIwkoEY

Length: 80min 39sec (4839 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 08 2021