Welcome: 0:09

Welcome and thanks for joining us on this episode of the Midweek Podcast brought to you by A Fresh Wind Church. Each week, our team brings you new content to help you take steps towards Jesus and discover more in Christ. Today's episode is hosted by Pastor Ryan.

Pastor Ryan: 0:27

Well, hey, welcome back to the Midweek Podcast. Pastor Ryan joined again with Pastor Tim and we are in week three of our series Come to the Mountain, looking at these different mountain top experiences where people encounter God on the mountain, and looking just at God's character, how he reveals himself to us, because we want to know and see God for who he really is. And on Sunday Pastor Tim talked about the story of Elijah and I don't know about you, Tim, this is one of my favorite stories in scripture. I love it because it seems like it just covers so much of the human experience from these great heights to, like, really low valleys.

Pastor Tim: 1:11

There's so much. When I was growing up let me stop that sentence and and give you a little background here. When I was growing up, um, I couldn't watch a lot of the things on TV, hee-haw, because the shorts were too short and so forth and so on. But I loved space stuff. So my dad, who was the one who decided whether I can watch TV or not, would watch Star Trek with me.

Pastor Ryan: 1:39

So he's to blame for this whole Star Trek thing. He's to blame, he let me do it this whole.

Pastor Tim: 1:48

So he's he's to blame, he let me, he let me do it. And one thing about, uh, captain kirk in the original is he. He quoted shakespeare all the time and, um, it made me want to go figure out where that came from. And um, shakespeare had a I don't know some kind of view into the complexity of the human condition. And this story, I mean it is really when you look at the psychological complexity that's going on and I know a lot of people who don't believe in the scripture would roll their eyes well, all that's a myth. None of that happened.

Pastor Tim: 2:35

But if you just look at how Elijah reacts to every part, the victory, then when his life is threatened, how he reacts, and then his depression and then his hiding, I mean you just see this whole menagerie of human emotion that comes out in this situation. And what we see here is what we see in people who get sent overseas in the military or deployed to war zones and crazy things happen and it don't happen like you think it's going to happen and all these things, and it causes PTSD. And I see that here. I see him struggling with the results of his win and that is, if that's not insight into the human condition, I don't know what is.

Pastor Ryan: 3:37

Yeah.

Pastor Tim: 3:37

It's a.

Pastor Ryan: 3:38

It's an interesting case study to to watch Elijah go up on that Cause. He's full of confidence in God, that God is who he says he is. I mean, there's no doubt. He builds this altar and he's like I'm going to dig a trench around it, we're going to pour water on it, we're going to I mean, when God shows up, he's going to show up and then he's mocking the other guys Maybe your God's in the bathroom, maybe he took a nap, maybe he's on vacation, you know like just going to town on him and then he goes from that to this man hiding in the cave and you're like how could the same guy and this is what I love about a story in the how it relates to the human experience, because it's like how can the same guy be on the mountain, be the same guy that's hiding in the cave?

Pastor Ryan: 4:27

But then you look at your own life and you're like, well, man, there's definitely been times when I feel like I'm on the mountain, where, you know, I feel like I could conquer the world, and then there's there's times when I feel like man, I can't win at anything. It's what I love about his story is it's just, it's so. I don't know if I've ever been a part of something quite that drastic, but the emotional highs and lows I've experienced for sure.

Pastor Tim: 4:51

The first thing that happens, though, is he prays that there'll be no rain. Now God tells him to do this, and he prays, and then there is no rain. So that is, that is a big faith building situation, right there, right, and then he runs off and he finds this widow that he's um living with, and she don't. She's like I can't take care of you, I don't have anything. And then, um, they get the uh, the oil that never ceases, the magic uh, pot, and um, these things are happening right before his eyes.

Pastor Tim: 5:27

Now, I don't know if this kind of stuff happened with him all the time, but these different situations that he finds himself in, god is showing up, so his excitement and confidence in what God's going to do is it's been great up to this point. Then her son dies, and God raises him back from the dead, because Elijah prayed, and he's all sauced up at this point, you know and he comes walking back I think it's Jezreel, where Ahab wasab was ruling from, and he's like I'm going to see ahab, let's go, you know. And he goes, it's time to talk. And he gets, he finds obadiah, and obadiah is like man, I don't know, this is probably not going to go very well. And and elijah's like what are you talking about, man? I got, I got this, let's go Me, and God, we're going to take care of this. And he gets in Ahab's face, climbs up on Mount Carmel, which is Baal's mountain, and they have this big face-off and he makes it so everybody understands who's the God, you know Right right.

Pastor Tim: 6:47

And so this victory is amazing. And then he prays and then a storm's coming. He sees the storm coming from afar off and tells Ahab you better get going. So Ahab takes off in his chariot to get back home before the sloppy mess comes. And then he runs in front of his chariot for 20 miles. So it's just like icing on the cake to Ahab and it's like, okay, there is this feeling in Elijah it's my own personal view on this that God is going to change Ahab's heart and he's going to change Jezebel's heart and they're going to give their heart to Yahweh and then the whole country is going to tear down the idols and they're going to start worshiping Yahweh. Look what's happened, you know, raise this guy from the dead, stop the rain. The rain's coming, fire from heaven. The whole thing, the world's going to change. We have saved the country. They are all going to come back to the Lord and we're going to worship again and spirit and truth, and God is going to be our God and we're going to be his people.

Pastor Tim: 8:13

And this is what Elijah wanted. He loved his people and this is the goal, this is what I want. And all these great things happen and they get. Get back there and instead of Jezebel saying oh my gosh, that's fantastic, so your God is king, we need to worship him, instead she says I'm going to kill him. And he didn't get what he wanted. Now God got what he wanted, you know, and sometimes we don't know exactly what God wants. You know, and sometimes we don't know exactly what god wants. But elijah said this is is this what I did? All this for for me to be the last one who believes? And often he takes off and, yeah, hides in.

Pastor Ryan: 9:00

You know, as someone in ministry, you kind of feel it. I guess you can relate to it. I don't know, I don't want to speak for you, but I feel some of that. You know where you can have these just amazing moments in ministry see God do some amazing things, and then you can leave feeling defeated or drained, especially if it didn't turn out the way that you wanted or that you had hoped. Yeah, all these people showed up, but it didn't go the way that I had anticipated. You're writing this sermon, getting everything planned, and you just feel, man, god is all over this thing, and then you preach it, it and no one looks like they're getting it. You're like what is happening here?

Pastor Tim: 9:48

And there's two guys snoring in tandem in the back.

Pastor Ryan: 9:51

It's like, how could I have felt so in tune with God during the week writing this message? And I get here and it just doesn't translate, nobody's getting it, and so I feel some of that. I'm not saying to the same extent I've never called fire from heaven, um, but I, man, I've had those moments when you feel like me and god can do anything, and then just that defeat, or that I'm drained, I'm exhausted, I've got nothing left, um, and he comes here and yeah, jezebel's like I'm going to kill this guy, and he takes off. I mean the same guy like, dude, just do the fire thing again. That worked last time, do that again. And instead he just takes off and hides. And that that human experience I think so many people can relate to it. Of God. I just I don't know if I got anything left.

Pastor Tim: 10:52

Well, that's that point where you're learning to depend on God. It wasn't his fire thing. It's one thing I preach. You hear me say it all the time you don't wield God, he wields you yeah. And so when you're like, okay, the time you don't wield god, he wields you yeah and um. So when, when you're like, okay, god, you just did this fire thing, do it again, no, what? Well, wait a minute, what's the? This is the same circumstance, I know, but I'm not going to do this again. And it shocks you. It shocked Elijah, I know he was thinking everybody's going to come back to God and we do that too.

Pastor Tim: 11:33

Every book you read about starting a church or building a church, and it's got one big word in there momentum, momentum. Oh, if you've got the momentum, you've got to capitalize on the momentum. If you're getting a little momentum, you've oh, if you got the momentum, you got to capitalize on the momentum. If you get in a little momentum, you got to feed into that momentum. And it's like how is that? How do I spiritually, how do I wrap that in biblical, um, inspired spirituality, momentum, because I've got a God who stops me and prepares me for the next level. You know I can't momentum my way through or I'll leave him somewhere behind, and so it's. It's very difficult for pastors, especially when they have momentum and then it doesn't go anywhere or it rolls off for a few years, you know. And so it's. It's tough, especially when every book is like oh, you missed your momentum, that's what happened, and I just want to look up the authors and strangle them.

Pastor Ryan: 12:42

Figuratively speaking, of course. Yes, yes, I have to let me. Let me say that was a joke, strangle them Figuratively speaking, of course.

Pastor Tim: 12:47

Yes, I have to. Let me say that was a joke. I was just. I wasn't even speaking in frustration. I was trying to be funny. Okay, I know the world we live in now.

Pastor Ryan: 12:57

I know Everybody's so literal. Yeah, it's we we want and I think, elijah here. So he, he takes off and he runs and he's wanting God to do something right, god, you, you gotta protect me, you gotta do something here. Well, how did I end up in this point? How, why would you do this great thing? And now I'm I'm the only one left. I'm running for my life. What has happened? And we look at our life. I think a lot like that. God, how did I end up in this place? Why would you allow this to happen to me? And it's real easy for us to start questioning God's goodness and questioning God's motives and his intentions, to say, man, is God truly good? Because if he was good, why does my life look like this? You know, and we're talking about Elijah, who calls fire down from heaven. I mean, that's a level of intimacy with God.

Pastor Tim: 13:58

That's pretty special. Before we rain on his parade too much, he's got great spiritual instincts. Okay, he, yeah, this happened, and it didn't result in the people coming back to God, but his, his instinct is not to say, all right, I'm done with this. You know, I do everything you say, and then it never turns out the way you know, I think it should be. I'm sure that's not what he's thinking, but the way it should be, the way you should want it to turn out, god, why don't you just let it happen? His instinct, though, is to go to the mountain. His instinct isn't to walk away and say I'm done with this or I'm out of ministry, I'm not going to do this anymore.

Pastor Tim: 14:42

He knew God enough that that's where he was going to go. He was going to go back to God, even when he was disappointed with God's decision. Yeah.

Pastor Ryan: 14:54

And that's a good point, and I guess where I was going is a lot of us faced with that's a similar situation. Right, we come to that fork in the road. Do I trust God's goodness here, because that's the human nature is I'll begin to question God. How could he allow me to end up in this place? Um, or we lean into it.

Pastor Ryan: 15:20

And you know, I think on Sunday you talked about promise versus the process, you know, and I think it was oh gosh, this is back at the old building, so quite a few years ago, um, but we did this Easter series called life in the gap, and it was that same sort of flair, you know. So, as soon as you start talking promise and process, I'm like, man, this is, yes, this is what I want to preach about all the time, but this, you know, finding God in the gap, that he's in the process, and we see Elijah leaning into that. You know, it's easy for us to go the other way and say, god, this isn't what I signed up for. Um, and I, man, I, just I, I've talked to so many people and that's where they're at. God, this isn't what I signed up for. If you're good, why am I in this place. If you're good, why is this happening to me? Um?

Pastor Ryan: 16:21

how do you think then, I mean we, we. If you read this um the passage, or if you were here for the sermon, um, you kind of know what happens with Elijah. But what do you think we do when we get to those moments where we need God to show up? Um do when we get to those moments where we need God to show up Because we're lost, we're in the valley? How do we recalibrate ourselves, do you think?

Pastor Tim: 16:48

First of all, we need to be honest, like Elijah was, and we need to tell God how we feel and how disappointed we are in him. I mean, he goes to the mountain. That's good spiritual instincts. He doesn't go up there to get a new assignment. He goes up there to say, god, just take me home. I'm tired of this. They're never going to do what's right. I'm the only one left. I'm the only one that cares, kind of like I was when I was under that stage. That was a tough day.

Pastor Ryan: 17:19

I remember that phone call. I honor you, I praise you. Thank you, tim.

Pastor Tim: 17:27

And even if it's a lie, I'll take it.

Pastor Ryan: 17:29

I'll give him.

Pastor Tim: 17:34

He was up there and he was just letting God know. And the first time God he asked him this question twice. What are you doing here, elijah? First time Elijah doesn't hear him because he's already loaded, he's locked and loaded and he's waiting for God to say something so he can just let him have it. And I see him when God says it to him again and he repeats what he says the first time.

Pastor Tim: 18:02

When I was studying it last week, it felt like to me that his second time he said it was a question. You know, one thing I learned on the debate team and our debate team was one debate in high school but one thing I learned from a guy was that when you're attacked, make them repeat it, especially if it's ad hominem, if they're just trying to get to you or insult you, usually you can take a breath and just say can you repeat that? And when people do repeat what they just said off the cuff, which was mean or nasty or whatever and they remember what they say and then they remembered what they said, you know, and they're like oh, oh, my gosh, I'm not going to say that again, right?

Pastor Tim: 18:58

So? And I kind of feel that when Elijah is making that statement, you know I'm the only one, uh, I'm all alone, um, there's nobody left, and he's going through it again the second time he's going through it. He's like you know what that's?

Pastor Tim: 19:15

probably not true. You know what? That's probably not true. You know it's probably not because obadiah and he's he's a good guy and I know he loves the lord and he's working right in the same palace and obviously god's probably using him I'm probably not the only one and then god answers the question for him afterwards. I I think that second time, when God said, what are you doing here, elijah? He realized that his excuse was not an excuse at all. So that's kind of how I feel. When he got there and I think that's why God speaks to us in a still small voice in that way, and sometimes God's like I just need you to go over that again. Remember who I am and remember who you are and who, and then you got to decide who's telling the truth. Am I telling the truth?

Pastor Ryan: 20:08

or are you?

Pastor Tim: 20:08

telling the truth.

Pastor Ryan: 20:11

This isn't the only time in scripture where we see God or and you know some of the other cases Jesus repeat the question or just come with a question. You know we're talking about the God, who he is all knowing. Right, he knows what Elijah he's not like. Hey, I'm, I'm, I got to do an interrogation here and get answers. God knows Adam and Eve in the garden. God comes down, adam, where are you? What are you doing? Who told you you were naked? Right, I mean, he comes with these questions, but the one that, as you're saying all that, that immediately pops in my head is Jesus's conversation with Peter. After Peter denies him, jesus goes to the cross and comes back. Peter's out fishing, which a lot of commentators think that Peter's gone back to his old life, that's what he was doing before he was a disciple.

Pastor Tim: 21:12

He didn't do what Elijah did. Elijah had better spiritual instincts. He went back to the mountain of God. But Peter went fishing, Went fishing.

Pastor Ryan: 21:21

Yeah, went back to his old life. And so there's that fork in the road right. And so Jesus shows up on the shore. Peter's out in the boat and he sees him and jumps out of the boat and he swims to the shore and Jesus looks at him and says Peter, do you love me?

Pastor Ryan: 21:38

Peter's like yeah, I love you and she says feed my sheep. And Peter starts talking and Jesus looks at him Peter do you love me? Asked him not once, not twice. You know it feels a little bit like LeBron leaving for Miami. He asked him three times Peter do you love me? And this idea and I love preaching on that sermon and I think there's this whole conditional response thing going on here how many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three times, how many times did he kind of reaffirm him Three times? But then that I think you said this in your sermon on Sunday that God's voice doesn't just comfort it, commissions.

Pastor Tim: 22:21

Yeah.

Pastor Ryan: 22:21

And so he comes to Elijah what are you doing here, hey Elijah, what are you doing here? And he comes to Peter and he says Peter, do you love me? Oh, peter, do you love me?

Pastor Tim: 22:36

Yeah, I feel that.

Pastor Ryan: 22:39

Yeah, we expect God to come in condemnation. You know that he's going to play this. You know God's playing this sick game of whack-a-mole. He's just looking, waiting for us to stick our heads up so he can just beat us with a mallet. But Paul's already told us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We said on the podcast last week right now, god is singing over you. That's how he thinks of you.

Pastor Ryan: 23:09

And he wasn't caught off guard by Elijah's fear and depression and his anxiety and all the stuff that drove him back to the mountain. Or Peter, saying what did I just waste the past three years of my life for the guy that said he was supposed to be the son of God was just hung on a cross. I watched it happen. I'm going fishing, I am over this. He wasn't caught off guard by any of that. And when he comes, he comes back with this invitation, with and I love how you said it not just comfort but commissioning, because in both of those accounts he sends them back out. Right, you're not supposed to be here. You're not supposed to be on that boat. Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep? You know where sheep are not On the water. Peter, get out of the water Right, they're over here, go feed my sheep. And so I love that idea that when he comes, he comes with an invitation and recommissioned us. He's pushing us back into the life that he called us to.

Pastor Tim: 24:11

Peter's response to Jesus there was. You know all things you know that I love you. And when you read that or when I read it, I always think okay, jesus says do you love me? He knows, peter loves him. The problem is, peter's not sure if he loves him, you know, and he just keeps asking him do you love me? And Peter's like yeah, I love you too. Do I love him? Why am I fishing?

Welcome: 24:42

You know right.

Pastor Tim: 24:43

You feel that so, um, I think God's so individual. I mean, he didn't stand up on the mountain like I made a big presentation of it. You know who walks on my mountain or whatever. He's like Elijah. What are you doing here? He calls him by name, you know, and God's an individual God and he's going to call you by name, and all the references that God makes you're going to get. It's not going to be before your time or after your time. All the things he inspires you to think about are on purpose. Everything's going to be for you and about you. So when God speaks to you, even in a small way, he's speaking to you, to your situation, to your history, to your future. That's how individual God is, and he deals with all of us individually.

Pastor Ryan: 25:55

That's so good. What do you think and I you know, I know commentators got a lot of thoughts on this and it's been talked about for probably thousands of years now why do you think what is the significance, I guess, of of god speaking to elijah in this moment, not in the storm and in the wind and all that stuff, but in in the whisper, why? Why do you think that's significant in this moment, not in the storm and in the wind and all that stuff, but in the whisper? Why do you think that's significant in this story?

Pastor Tim: 26:22

All the commentators run along this line and it makes sense and I believe this is the most true is that God has been doing big things with Elijah. I mean magic pots, magic bottles of oil, stopping the rain, bringing the rain. I mean we're talking big stuff.

Pastor Tim: 26:48

Yeah, it's not it's not like I. You know, I prayed and, and my stomach cramps went away and um, and I went to the doctor and I was okay, stomach cramps went away, and um, and I went to the doctor and I was okay, and you go home. I preached a sermon, um, once. Uh, was it prayer or was it cucumbers? My mom had cancer, really bad, and and they were praying and she had started retaining water or something along that lines, and someone told her to eat cucumbers, and then she had a little prayer team. She called them all up and came to pray over it, and so two days later she was fine and her question for me was so what do you think? Was it prayer or was it the cucumbers? And sometimes you know, oh mom, I think that's in the Bible somewhere.

Pastor Tim: 27:46

But that's part of that process promise thing. You know, probably not the center part of it, but part of it. God is getting you to reach for him, but he's got some things that are smart for you to do in the process. Right, eat those cucumbers, they're good for you anyways, and if you don't eat them, does God heal you, probably. I mean, this is not either or or anything like that. I'm not trying to make that distinction, but we have those type of things in our life all the time.

Pastor Tim: 28:23

Those are the mundane things that you know. You got something going on and the doctor says you're okay and you prayed about it, and you're not sure that I have something going on and God healed me. You know, you got this question. Did I have something going on and God healed me? You got this question. There was no question in Elijah's mind who God was and what he could do. I mean, he's raising people from the dead, he's bringing storms, he's calling fire out of heaven. But I think what God was trying to tell him was look, these are all great things and there's a big storm out there, there's a big wind, there's an earthquake, there's a big fire, and I can handle all that, I do all that, I can be all that, but look, the life is in the whisper, the life is in the mundane. Now you've got to go out and live that life.

Pastor Tim: 29:19

And one thing I try to encourage people is let me preface it with this I've got a lot of illustrations today, I should write all this down when you go up on top of Mount Washington over in what are those states up there?

Pastor Ryan: 29:38

Not Washington, because I feel like we talked about this before and I was wrong.

Pastor Tim: 29:42

Yeah, and I'm going to say the same thing I said then. The trees up there are like some of them are way up, 180 years old and they're only three foot high, because you're above the alpine line, you know, and trees just don't grow up there and you grow down in the valley, and I think that's part of what the Lord is saying. You got to get back to work, you know. We got some things to do and I'm not going to do it like you want me to do it, but I'm going to do it, and so I think that's what this was all about. He was running high and hot, you know. Think about Billy Graham. He has these crusades with a hundred, sometimes a quarter million people show up. Then he has one with 90,000 show up and then 50,000 show up, and then 25 and then 10. You know what's? What's Billy Graham thinking? You know, am I? Where'd you go, god?

Pastor Tim: 30:55

We should, we should keep climbing you know, keep climbing the numbers and trying to grow this church. You know what that feels like, right, yeah, ok, we're not going in the same direction we were going. What are we doing something wrong? Have we missed a turn? What's going on? God? And he says I'm getting you prepared for the next level, so just get prepared, do your job. And we have a hard time with that. It's just. You know, all our movies are based on conquering and being on top, unless it's Rocky. He gets on top and then he gets knocked back to the bottom, which is probably more in line with the truth than, um, all the other movies we watched, the happily ever after movies I think Ty just told me that they're coming out with another Rocky.

Pastor Ryan: 31:43

Sylvester Stallone's gotta be like 80 years old. He needs put the gloves up, dude, Just stop. I don't. I don't know what's. I don't know if that's true or not?

Pastor Tim: 31:51

well, he can keep going. He doesn't ever get really get hit. It's not like a real boxer, george foreman, I know that.

Pastor Ryan: 31:59

But I'm just thinking like we got to make it do something different. Be a grandpa in a movie, uh yeah, leave this boxing thing alone.

Pastor Tim: 32:06

You're 80 um, nobody's gonna buy sylvester stallone movie where he's just grandpa papa, papa. No, I saw the guy beat up a russian yeah, yeah it ain't happening, but george foreman died last week. Did you hear about that? I did hear about that.

Pastor Ryan: 32:24

I love george you big boxing fan I am, uh, uh, my dad.

Pastor Tim: 32:29

No, I'll say no because when my dad died, I quit watching boxing, but it's one of those things we did together, you know, and my dad was always really good at it and I was always really bad at boxing and um but I mean, he was like great boxer, wasn't?

Pastor Ryan: 32:45

yeah, he was all fleet, all pacific fleet champion that's amazing yeah I watch boxing like, nah, I, I don't want no part of that. Yeah, that fight sermon series with the box. That's about as close to boxing as I ever want to get I love george.

Pastor Tim: 33:00

They called him pastor george. He was a. He was a preacher.

Pastor Ryan: 33:03

It's awesome made a good. Uh, he's the guy that came out that grilling griddle thing too.

Pastor Tim: 33:09

That was great I yeah, and everybody now are buying. You can go out and get a george foreman grill for like 35 bucks, but now everybody, it's got these big fancy ones and you look at them you're like, that's just a george foreman grill, but it says blackstone on it. So it's's $200. Yeah, I love that guy and it's weird how you miss someone, because when he was doing his tours with his stupid grill and all that kind of stuff, he talked about the Lord all the time.

Pastor Ryan: 33:44

Raised the Lord for it and the grill, because that thing was awesome.

Pastor Tim: 33:49

I still got the big one.

Pastor Ryan: 33:50

Yeah, and the grill Cause. That that thing was awesome. Yeah, I still got the big one. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, our wives are going to kill us for that little detour as I'm thinking of this. I'm really good, I got a thing about that.

Pastor Tim: 34:01

I miss him already. Isn't that weird? I haven't heard about him or from him for a long time and now he's gone.

Pastor Ryan: 34:07

I miss him you know, I don't know what that says about our human experience, but yeah, those parts like I don't even know the guy you know, but we feel like we're losing parts of us when some of those icons and heroes that we've looked up to and followed along the years, uh, pass away. You're like well, hold on now. You just don't feel as whole as you did before.

Pastor Tim: 34:29

I don't know yeah.

Pastor Ryan: 34:31

But I think in Elijah's case here you know, he, as you said, he has seen God in all these amazing things.

Pastor Tim: 34:38

I mean all right, that was a horrible segue from George Foreman.

Pastor Ryan: 34:42

Right back into this, right back into the podcast. It didn't work. I tripped and fell on my face. Someone's got to get us back on track. But here's a guy who's seen god in all of these. I mean, he's seen god in the weather right, don't rain. All right, doesn't rain, rain. Here's a storm, fire from heaven, boom. He's seen god in all of that and I think what you're saying is right. I mean, he had to, and to see him in the mundane stuff, right, um. I can't remember who it who said it first. I don't know how long it's been around, but you know, someone said god whispers because he's close, um, and I think I'll take credit for that pastor tim first said god whispers because he's close.

Pastor Tim: 35:28

And that was a joke too. Okay, Just so you know. I don't want some guy calling me about copyright laws or whatever.

Pastor Ryan: 35:35

Have the whole podcast shut down. I think we need that reminder. I think Elijah needs it. Elijah, I got you I'm right here, you know, and and that call to to recommission him. I'm not just in the spectacle, I'm not just in the— I love that word right there.

Pastor Tim: 35:58

I'm not in the spectacle.

Pastor Ryan: 36:00

We're just in it because he's in it, but I'm not just in it and we look at our experience, our relationship with God, and we think it's all goosebumps. You know, when I come to church and I man, the Spirit was really moving today and the hair on the back of your neck stands up when the band sings that one song or that you know vocalist hits that one note and you're like, oh, spirit is in this place. Yeah, he's also with you at work on Monday. He's also with you when you're helping your kid do their homework or disciplining your kid, or when your boss is yelling at you, he's still there. I'm not just in the spectacle, I'm there. And those are great moments and I think God loves it too, when we have a heightened awareness of his presence. I think God enjoys being with us in those moments, but just as much God says I enjoy you right here.

Pastor Tim: 36:58

And, more than that, he enjoys you in your sorrow when you've had that loss. And it's just, you just don't know if you're going to be able to crawl your way out. And God encourages you and says I'm here, you don't have to.

Pastor Tim: 37:18

You don't have to reach to crawl out. Right now. Let's curl up here together and and we'll just wait this out till we're strong enough I'll let you know when it's time to crawl out. Yeah, yeah, he's a good God. And so those deep, sad and then scary I don't know what to do. My anxiety's out of control. Is he really going to leave us, or this test result is really scary? The doctor won't talk to me on the phone. He wants me to come in. Those are the oh God. And God is like I'm here. I'm here with you. It's not just in. You know those worship songs, or when I use you to win one of the kids to the Lord at church, or all those great things. He's like I'm here, right here, at this time too.

Pastor Ryan: 38:18

It's a reminder that I think Elijah needed and it's one that we need so that we remember he's I mean he promised I will never leave you nor forsake you. David said where can I go from your presence? You know, if I go to the mountain, you're there. If I'm in the valley, you're there. Like everywhere, you're still there. Where could I go to get away from you? And I think that's what God is teaching Elijah is I'm here too, I'm right here. And then the question to say what are you doing here? You found me here, but what are you doing here? And that pushing him back out into the life that God had prepared for him.

Pastor Tim: 39:05

And to his in his mission, yeah, and in his mission.

Pastor Tim: 39:11

There's something that's happening right after this. He tells him to go anoint a couple kings, and those kings are going to kick Baal's butt and everybody who's worshiping Baal and that's important. But the next thing he does is he has to go anoint his replacement, elisha. And this whole scenario, if he sends Elijah, after he prays for the rain to come, and the rain comes, so he's got resurrection and magic oil pots and all these things under his belt, fire from heaven, destroying the prophets of Baal. That's all in his book. Then he anoints Elisha. Elisha looks like okay, this is where I've got to go from here. I've got to go up, up, up, up, up, up up you know, and so if that doesn't happen, I'm I'm a failure.

Pastor Tim: 40:13

This had to happen to elijah so he can anoint the next guy and let him know. This is what this looks like, and sometimes it don't turn out the way you think it's going to turn out, and what you think is a big win is a longer road than you thought.

Pastor Ryan: 40:37

That lesson is so deep and so profound. If you're listening to this podcast, you need to chew on that this week, because that is oh, there is so much there. Elisha had to know that. You know. To say again, we assume that when we show up and there's 400 or 500 people at Easter service and the full services are packed, man, god is here, god is moving, um and and Tim, you and I, we've been doing ministry together long enough that we have. I mean, I think one of the very first things you told me when we were starting out together is ministry is always in transition. Right, it's always in transition. Together's ministry is always in transition. Right, it's always in transition.

Pastor Ryan: 41:29

And we've seen the church grow and we've seen it decline. We've seen it doing amazing, we've seen it struggling, and it's easy to think, well, god's only in it when things are moving in a good direction, when more people are coming, and you know all this stuff is happening and, and I think what god is telling elijah and elisha and us is I'm with you the whole time. Yeah, when the church had 220 back in 2010, I was there. Yeah, I was also there when the church had 80 people coming out of COVID, yeah, and I'm with you. Now, when you show up on a Sunday morning and you can't find a parking spot and you can't find a seat in the auditorium, and you got to do two services on Easter, I'm there too, right, I'm always. I've always been here and I love what you're saying.

Pastor Ryan: 42:30

Elisha had to know he was with. He was there at the 82 right. He was there when things didn't look good. Um, because, yeah, you look, if it's all just up, up, up and up, you know, up into the right, it's like where do I go right and am I a failure if it doesn't turn out this way? And to see man, elijah went to the valley and then to the mountain and he was hiding and he found God. God hadn't left him. You said it earlier. God is so good, he's so good to us. I don't want to move too much further from that because I want people to chew on that this week. But any final thoughts to kind of wrap this up.

Pastor Tim: 43:17

Oh, what's the scripture? Oh, it's in my Ministry 101 class. God's going to Tim's paraphrase. God's going to use what you went through so you can counsel someone else who's going to go through it too. And man, I can't believe that verse won't come to mind.

Pastor Ryan: 43:40

I know exactly what you're talking about. He comforts us in our comfort so that we can comfort others.

Pastor Tim: 43:46

Right, and that's so important. That's so important and that was what Elijah was going to have to train in Elisha. And so, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, there's a purpose for it. The struggle that you're having and God's only speaking in the whisper, he's not bringing down fire for you it's because you're going to have to talk about faithfulness to someone else one day who's in the same situation as you are. So shake it off, walk that walk and make sure that you're ready to share the hope that you have in Jesus Christ.

Pastor Ryan: 44:33

We're going to wrap it up. Seems like you got a phone call, so let me pray for us.

Pastor Ryan: 44:37

Sorry, that's a good spot to end it. Father, we thank you for this story. God, I thank you for Elijah's faith and his confidence in you and your ability and who you say you are and what you can do. God, I'm inspired of his love and belief that this was going to make a difference for his people and Lord, when it doesn't turn out the way that he thought, I'm glad he went to the mountain to meet you. There he sat and he waited for you and, god, you met him right where he's at. You spoke to him. It was personal and not just to comfort him, but to commission him to lead him back out into the life that you created him to live.

Pastor Ryan: 45:23

Amen, and Father, I pray that you do that for each of us today and meet us where we're at, in our confusion and in our doubt, no matter which way, when we got to the fork in the road, whether we went left or right. Father, I pray that you'd meet us right there and draw us back to yourself. Let us lean in, because we know that you're close, to receive that comfort and that help in our time of need, knowing that it is for a purpose, so that we can bring that comfort and that help in our time of need, knowing that it is for a purpose, so that we can bring that comfort and help to the people around us. Thank you that you're such a good God that you care for us In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

Welcome: 46:00

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