There Is Oil In The House | 4.25.21 | The Pursuit

i just felt like the spirit of god has been speaking to me all weekend it's saying to me russell this isn't some sort of like high water mark that was really cool that hopefully you can wait until next year to live up to again but i believe what happened this weekend sets a new normal for the pursuit northwest it is our new modus operandi it is our foundation that we build upon and friend we owe it to the generation who came before us to run further than them we owe it to them and that is how we repay the debt of gratitude to all the fathers and the mothers and the faith who have laid down their lives through prayer and weeping and intercession for the move of god that we're having here we owe it to them to run with passion and one of the quotes that has most impacted my life comes from beethoven and he says to play a wrong note is unavoidable but to play without passion is inexcusable and i am the result of somebody else's passion for the things of god and i won't ever apologize for preaching passionately or worshiping passionately because as i do i'm imagining another 11 year old here in this room who catches a glimpse of what it looks like to be on fire for jesus and in 20 years they say pastor russell i'm the fruit of your passion come on fred we're doing something here that counts for eternity the gathering of god's people is the most important human activity on this side of heaven oh there's a lot of other cool activities we do there's a lot of other things that are really important as well but the singular most important event you will ever be a part of prior to closing your eyes here and waking up there is the gathering of god's people for when we gather god takes us high and when we are high we get his perspective on the region around us and when we get his perspective we come into agreement with what he desires to do in this place i love that what is starting here in snohomish will not stay in snohomish if somebody gave me this word last night i felt it so true in my spirit they said russell you didn't plant a church in snohomish you planted a church in snohomish county and it's not just snohomish county but there is a reverberating impact of what god is doing in this house and it is soaking the region and what i've found is that when people find living water they'll travel from great distances and endure great hardships just to be apart why because this region has been thirsty for so long and all of a sudden god has found people of faith who say i hear the abundance of rain see not everybody who has eyes sees not everybody who has ears hears and that's why scripture says things that sometimes sound dumb but they're more profound the more you study them he who has eyes let him see he who has ears let him hear why because god does nothing outside first of speaking to his leaders and his prophets and those who have ears to hear the things that he desires to do in the earth as i've been putting my ear to the ground and i'm hearing things i'm hearing the abundance of rain and i feel like what we experienced this weekend is like a microcosm it's a down payment it is but one two three percent of what god desires to do here in fullness and that's why we don't live high off the nostalgia of what happened yesterday or yesteryear because god is creative enough to give you something fresh today there's bread in this house for you today there's oil in this house for you today i can't force you to eat i can't force you to drink but what i can do is create an environment by which his presence is so contagious that you can't help but come alive in the river of god in fact david says it this way there is a river that makes glad the city of god and there's a river that is flowing in this place and in fact jesus prophesies it in john 7 he says those who believe will receive and out of their innermost being will flow rivers of living water and god is unlocking what has always been inside of you the potential of his fullness of his spirit friend we've got rivers of life flowing out of us it makes the lame to walk and the blind to see it opens prison doors and sets the captives free we've got a river of life in snohomish i figure it's okay to get excited about jesus i figure it's okay to get excited about the things that he's doing here in the earth there's so much depression anxiety there is a garment of heaviness on this region you can feel it you can feel it it's a garment of heaviness in fact when scripture used that's terms it's speaking to the grave clothes that the hebrew children would wear when they attended funerals sackcloth and ashes heaviness and god says through his prophets he says i'm taking off the garment of heaviness and i'm giving you instead a garment of praise which means that god is in the business of taking off and then putting back on better than you ever had it before so it's time to come out of heaviness come out of darkness come out of depression come out of anxiety come out of stress come out of low level living and put on that garment of praise and see praise is a key that unlocks a big door that swings on small hinges and when ancient gates are open and when ancient doors swing wide what happens the king of glory rides in it's always been the same formula enter into his courts with thanksgiving and with praise oh my life hasn't been great awesome what a perfect sacrifice to offer to him man i feel so broken right now fantastic what a perfect sacrifice to bring to him sacrifice is always connected to worship it's always connected to giving scripture says present yourselves as living sacrifices holy and acceptable unto god it's one thing to praise when you have breakthrough it's another thing to praise when you have a breakdown and i'm telling you the more valuable your praise the more destitute your life circumstance and when you can learn to praise in every season of life it unlocks an inner abundance that the world can't take friend our oil is not for sale but freely we have been given and freely we will give away well i can't be bought it's not for sale but it is for free and all who hunger and thirst in fact here's the bare minimum qualifier those who believe will receive you don't need all the facts in order to believe you don't need all the science in order to believe you don't need all the data in order to believe we live in a world that says prove it jesus says i already did those who believe will receive and what's the mandate that follows out of their innermost being willful rivers of living water jesus spoke this concerning the holy spirit and so for us we just say god do your best work here in us and we'll give you the praise and and and the glory and the honor to me sunday should be the best day of our week scripture says i was glad when they said unto me come unto the house of the lord friend you don't have to come to church you get to come to church you don't have to give you get to give you don't have to serve you get to serve you don't have to make the drive you get to drive you don't have to drive around looking for parking you get to drive around and look at the parking it's not a have to it's a get to see we ought to change our perspective on what church is we have been so subservient to the god of materialism and consumerism we've made church about us instead of about him the church exists to glorify jesus and in doing so bring people into an encounter with his presence that's it everything else flows from that evangelism community handouts working in the community cleanups giveaways resources but it all flows from this place of a gathering of god's people who have counted him worthy in every season of life that's why the church exists that's why i invite you into things like membership sign up be on the team make a pledge i'm not just here to hang out i'm not just here to to kind of be warmed by your passion or to try to project my spiritual vitality onto a few talented people who stand on the stage i'm here to give my life to this thing i'm here to give my life to this thing i genuinely believe the church exists to glorify jesus and whether i ever get another miracle whether i ever get another blessing whether i ever get another breakthrough he has already been so good i will live the rest of my life just glorifying him see we've attached our worship and praise to an outcome but scripture says while you were yet a sinner christ died for you so while i am yet sick i will praise him while i am yet in need i will praise him why i yet have not seen the breakthrough i will praise him in the valley of questioning and decision i will praise him because even when i don't understand i choose jesus come on the church exists to bring glory to him because christ is the head of the church but watch where fullness is fullness is in his body i can worship god anywhere yes you can but when you gather with like-minded people the tide rises and all boats float i grow up in ballard one of the things that ballard is famous for is what's called the ballard locks y'all know what i'm talking about and ships would be passing through in order to get to the pacific ocean it doesn't matter what size they are don't matter what year they were it doesn't matter if they're expensive ships or broke ships it doesn't matter if it's a yacht or a canoe it doesn't even matter what its purpose is whether it's for fishing or leisure or pleasure when it gets into the locks and the tide rises all boats float that's the value of you being here because the tide is rising and you're going to receive from god in this environment in such a way that your life comes up your spirit comes up your mind comes up your family comes up all of a sudden things begin to float isn't it amazing all the things that the american church has been able to build without the holy ghost it's like a boat without water it's like a plane without wings it don't make no sense it might look impressive to a passerby but it ain't going to change anybody's life and we ought to give back to god what has always been his his bride the church let me start here this morning proverbs 21 and verse 20. watch this is the wisdom of solomon it's the wisdom of god speaking through solomon to us today there is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise but a foolish man squanders it let me read it again there is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise but a foolish man squanders it verse 22 a wise man scales the city of the mighty and he brings down the trusted stronghold my message is entitled this morning there is oil in this house solomon says that in the house of the wise there is oil and that the wise scale cities and pull down strongholds hear me some of us have encountered unnecessary warfare because we're trying to take cities without first having oil the wise scale cities and they pull down strongholds but if you don't have oil first you don't have the necessary anointing to do and be everything god has asked you to do and be i'm so struck by what that first verse says a foolish man squanders it you know i think squandering looks like in our context being unaware of the significance of what god is doing in this hour being unaware like jacob who fell asleep and woke up he said i had a dream i saw angels ascending and descending god was here but i didn't know it i don't want you to leave this moment leave this service leave this church and look back at it in one two three four five years and wish that you would have dug deep to find the oil that's provided for you in this place fred i say this all the time it's not because we're special it's because jesus is and as we keep our eyes on the author and the finisher of our faith he is faithful to provide time and time and time again come on my primary text this morning comes out of the old testament first kings chapter 17 it tells us a story of a man named elijah who was one of the most significant prophets in the nation of israel he operated as a mouthpiece from god to god's people he was a physical embodiment of a word from god to god's people in that season starting in verse 7 of first kings 17 scripture says this sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land the word of the lord came to him and said go at once to zarepeth in the region of sidon and stay there for i have directed a widow there to supply you with food friend the purpose of god allowing you to experience living water is that for the rest of your life you would never be satisfied with anything else the word of the lord came to elijah and said this it is time to go and some of you need permission this morning to leave empty brooks in order to pursue living water empty brooks look like old mindsets empty brooks look like preconceived ideas and notions empty brooks look like past relationships religious nostalgia or dead dry organizations and today god gives you permission to drink deep of this living water that's why we taste and see that the lord is good because once you do you never go back once you truly eat of the goodness of god it so wrecks you for anything less that you refuse to settle for second-tier christianity and elijah's been at the brook of kidron for a season and in fact there's been no rain in the land because it's god's judgment coming against ahab and jezebel and as the brook of kidron dries up the lord speaks to elijah and he says you will go to zeropath there you will find a widow who is destitute herself but she will provide you with food now watch what happens why is it important for scripture to let us know the marital status of the woman she's a widow i believe it's because it makes the story that much more preposterous this widow is broke she's nearly dead she's starving there's a famine there's no rain her family system has fallen apart her husband is dead she has no source of income she has no inheritance the lord sends elijah he doesn't say go to the most prosperous man in the city and they will provide for you he doesn't say go to the bank and take out a loan because they will provide for you he doesn't say seek all the things that in our own natural wisdom would seem as sources of provision he says go to the widow but what i've found to be true about the lord is this when he gives you a word no matter how preposterous it seems he is inviting you in to witness a display of his extravagance you know when we planted in snohomish i literally had pastors laugh in my face they said you're crazy you know how hard it is to get there you know how small that city is a bunch of farmers you're really going to do something in snohomish but watch the lord sent me to a widowed land a dry and thirsty place and he said is unconventional to human wisdom but the wisdom of man is but foolishness to god and when the wisdom of god impacts a preposterous situation in your life the output is a miracle and what if in your life the leading and the directing of the holy spirit is more about him getting glory than it is about you getting breakthrough what if the glory and the brilliance of god was going to be displayed to an entire backslidden nation because what seemed foolish in man's eyes was strategy from god's perspective telling you there's some strategic things in your life there's some strategic decisions there's some strategic moments of clarity some strategic values of decision that you've been in i tell people this all the time but if you don't have a word from god the northwest is about the worst place to be but when you get a word from the lord you stand on that word until you see him perform everything he said he would do and in this place we're seeing the goodness of god on full display friend it don't matter how unqualified you feel god is reminding you today that you have something to supply watch what eliza says god says to elijah i have directed a widow there to watch supply you with food it doesn't matter how unqualified you feel god is reminding you today that you have something to supply to this church you have something to supply to this community something to supply in your sphere of influence why because god has already deposited a supply inside of you and if a widow could feed a prophet how much more could god revive a region if a widow could feed a prophet how much more could god heal your body if a widow could feed a prophet how much more could god redeem your situation it seems like scripture always sets the parameters on the ridiculous in order to get you to believe heaven's reality watch if god cares for the sparrow how much more does he care for you if god feeds the birds how much more will he supply for you if god can raise jesus how much more will he strengthen your mortal body if god did it for them how much more will he do it for you god is always using scripture to define the parameters of his greatness and then encourage us that because he's the same yesterday today and forever because his opinion of you has never changed because he is no respecter of persons that same miracle working god is in the business of outpouring verse 10 so he went to zeropath watch when he came to the town gate a widow was there gathering sticks he called to her and asked would you bring me a little water in a jar so i may have a drink as she was going to get it he called and said and please also bring me a piece of bread watch how she replies as surely as the lord your god lives i don't have any bread only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil and a jug i am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die poverty changes your perspective i don't have any bread i'm just going home to die i'm only making one more meal i'm only making enough for me and my son but see god sent a word to a widow and it came with some instructions that would require her to trust god with the little that she had left and in doing so it would position her for abundance hear me clear whatever i choose to trust god with signals to heaven an area in my life in which i can be trusted for more but god i'm just a widow with two mites oh that'll do well i'm just a young man with five loaves and two fishes yeah that'll do i'm only a widow with a little jar of oil and a little pot of a flower but in god's hands the miracle working god makes his supply come to your house and here's what i find so interesting about this story she tells the prophet i don't have any bread but in the very next verse she reveals that she's got the ingredients for bread in her cupboard i don't have it now but i've got some oil and i've got some flour and friend for some of us this morning we have been so busy telling god what we don't have and he's inviting us to open the cupboard of where we are at to see the ingredients of what he is building in this hour i'm telling you we got bread at the pursuit we've got some oil and we've got some flour and it's going to take some mixing but by god's spirit he's going to do it see you bring an ingredient to this church that i don't i probably bring a few ingredients that you don't some people here have an expertise that others don't we're all differently gifted but when brought together god takes the individual instruments and he conducts a symphony and scripture says it's not good for man to be alone god sent a word to a widow and in doing so illustrated his heart for the nation here's where i'm going to end watch watch oftentimes we don't like the ingredients we don't like the process we don't like the baking we just want the outcome but in order for god to develop the deep things of your heart he can't afford to fast forward you to the end he's got to develop you along the way because what if the real miracle in your life is who you become on the way to receiving your breakthrough what if the real miracle is the development in your family when you trusted god when everything else was falling apart what if the real miracle is who we become in the life-long pursuit of following his presence what if there is not some sort of magic goal to obtain or gift to receive but instead entering into a lifelong iterative developmental process by which we are so hidden in christ that when people see us they see him well pastor i don't have it all together that's fine you've got some ingredients and watch what our ingredients look like pain yes hurt disappointment betrayal need lack none of those ingredients function as a standalone meal but when the baker of heaven mixes them together they produce a breakthrough oh it's easy to praise when we get our miracle it's harder to praise in the process when we're so busy telling god that we're just gonna go home and die i only got enough for me i only got enough for my little family i'm at the end of my rope i've got nothing left but then a word from god walked into the house watch scripture says when you honor the prophet you receive the prophet's reward now sometimes people have used that in a weird context like you got to honor the pastor things like that no let me help you understand that from an exegetical perspective when you honor the word of the lord in your life you receive the reward of that word coming to pass in your life elijah was a walking word from god to a working widow in her house and when the word of god entered into the house even though she had a little debate and dialogue she ultimately followed through with what elijah said and if you continue to read the story the bible says that her jar of oil never ran out her pot of flour it never ran out it kept being replenishing why because she refused to believe the lie of lack for when i give that's what i receive now watch let me adhere let me adhere verse 14 elijah says this for this is what the lord the god of israel says the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the lord sends rain on the land watch this is good we need the flower of the word and the oil of the spirit and those two ingredients are enough for god to send rain on this land and god won't stop filling this house until what has filled this house fills this region and that's what we're going after [Music] here's what i hear the lord saying he's a pursuit you got enough oil pursue you've got enough flour don't be afraid to expand your borders don't be afraid to stretch out over this land don't be afraid to plant another campus don't be afraid to reach another family don't be afraid to add another service don't be afraid to invite another friend because it's not gonna run out because his provision doesn't come from this place it comes from that place according to his riches and glory [Applause] come on fred i know i'm not bill johnson i know i'm not benny perez i know i'm not corey russell those guys are heroes to me i can't preach like them i can't minister like them you're stuck with me [Music] but i can come alive to exactly who god has created me to be and in doing so it functions as a redemptive gift for this region i don't need you to be like me i need you to be like him i don't need you to be like a guest speaker we bring in i need you to be like jesus i don't need you to be emblematic of every one of my mannerisms but i need you to keep your eyes locked on what he's doing because the tide is rising in the northwest and if you're not already in the river it's a great time to jump on in because when the tide rises all the boats floats and this is who we are this is this is who we are we're a gathering of people fixated on the presence of god enamored with the idea of glorifying him lifting up the name of jesus and in doing so allowing him to draw all people unto himself friend this is who we are come on would you stay with me as we close

Channel: The Pursuit NW

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Length: 29min 1sec (1741 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 27 2021