"With Us" Pt.2

Hi, this is John O'Zanting, lead pastor of Evolve Church, and this is the Evolve Church Podcast.

Thanks so much for tuning in.

We hope that you find today's message encouraging and full of hope for wherever you're at.

If you've uh spent any time at Evolve and had a chance to get to know Nicole and I a little bit, one of the things that you will know that we love to talk about and we love to teach people and we love to introduce into homes and families, and we love to even just build our own sense of life and purpose on is this truth.

The God that we serve is not far removed.

There's been this lie, I think, that that culture has believed for a long time, that God is somehow like cosmic, way, way out there, far removed, distant.

But that's just not true.

And uh starting last week and over the next few weeks, this series is called With Us.

And it speaks to a very close and personal God that is with us in every season of life.

And we've built this series, and we're gonna really unpack it as we head closer to Christmas.

But Matthew chapter 1, verse 23 in the Bible, here's what it says: Look, the virgin will conceive a child, she will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel.

Matthew 1:23

Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

And Jesus Christ arrived on planet earth in the form of a human child and changed the entire playing field.

Where once before God was far removed.

And God would once in a while show up with just specific people.

Now, as human beings, learning what it means to surrender our lives and follow Jesus, we get to relate to a God in a very up close and personal way.

And all throughout the Bible are these metaphors that are used to talk about the different seasons of life.

The Bible speaks to uh seasons that maybe you would call a valley.

We talked about valleys last week.

And specifically what we said when we talk about God being with us in the metaphor of a valley season of life, here's what we said.

When you're in a valley, remember this: find your strength in the God that is with you.

This is just a season.

Move through the valley.

In the valley, don't forget to pause and dig.

Dig a hole of provision.

We talked about if we dig it, God will fill it.

God says, Show me your faith, and then he says, I'll show you my faithfulness.

We also talked last week about how with every step forward we actually grow from strength to strength.

Even in the valley, with every step forward, we move from a place of strength to strength.

And how God never says that you won't go through valleys, but God does say that you never have to go through the valleys alone.

And so that's kind of a recap of how we unpacked last week God being with us in the valley.

Today we want to use the metaphor of a wilderness.

And a wilderness is different than a valley, usually because a wilderness lasts longer.

Valley seasons tend to be just for a short period of time.

Wilderness seasons tend to last a little bit longer.

And today I want to talk to you about the wilderness season.

Maybe you feel like you're in a wilderness right now.

Maybe you've got a family member who you just know, man, they're they're they're in this place that I can't reach them.

They're in the wilderness.

Maybe in your past you've come through something, and maybe in your future you're gonna find yourself in this situation.

If today you would describe life as being on a mountaintop, that's beautiful.

I celebrate with you and stay there as long as you can.

But in this life, we may experience valleys, we may experience the wilderness.

So, what does a wilderness season look like?

Well, it's barren, it's dry, it's desolate.

You feel very alone in the wilderness.

Like nobody understands, nobody gets what you're going through.

The language of wandering around in the wilderness, sort of this aimless struggle where you lack meaning, lack direction, lack purpose.

Some of us here today are in a wilderness season and we're not sure what we should do next.

You're working a job that you don't love.

Just the act of getting out of bed to go to work feels like labor.

And you stayed put for a long time in unfulfilling work, and you keep asking the same questions.

Should I go back to school?

Should I try something new?

Should I do something different?

Should I, should I, should I?

What do I do?

But you're stuck.

You're alone, it feels hopeless, you don't know how to get out.

Some of you here uh rent a home.

And how amazing that you have that opportunity, but you've had this desire to purchase a property, maybe your first home for a long time.

But maybe you don't have a down payment, and maybe maybe you can't save up enough, and you feel stuck, and you you want to have property, you want to own your own home for your family, you want to grow equity, but you feel when it comes to financial things that you're just sort of in this repeat cycle of feeling stuck.

You feel like maybe you're in the wilderness.

Some of you here are in a dating relationship, and it's been amazing, but it's been amazing for a long time, and you're kind of hoping at some point will this move to the next level outside of a dating relationship, maybe to a proposal, maybe where we commit to a lifetime of love.

But you're waiting, waiting for her or him to propose.

Should I call it quits?

Should I start over with somebody new?

Do I just hang on and hope it gets better?

You're in the wilderness.

Others in the room here today, you're in the wilderness with this whole God thing.

You don't feel close to God.

You try and read the Bible, but it's just like empty words on a page.

You pray, but you're not sure anybody's listening.

You feel alone, you feel dry, you feel barren, you're not sure anybody understands what you're going through.

You're lost, you're disoriented, you're in the wilderness.

And we believe that no one really understands what we're going through when we're in a wilderness season.

That's one of the markers, one of the other differences between a wilderness and a valley is that we really believe that what we're going through nobody else ever has, and nobody else ever will, and nobody gets this.

I'm so alone.

I find it interesting that through the Bible, seasons and stories of wilderness often come right after incredible mountaintop moments.

Even I even think about Jesus himself, God's Son.

Okay, so there's this story in the Bible where Jesus was baptized.

And he steps into the Jordan River and he gets baptized in water.

And when he comes up out of the water, the entire crowd that gathered there heard a heart cry from heaven itself that said, This is my son, my beloved son, in whom I'm well pleased.

And this physical baptism in Jesus' story was this absolutely beautiful mountaintop experience.

Affirmation from the Father, a sense of purpose, a sense of calling.

This is what my life is for.

And we read about that in the Bible, in the book of Matthew, chapter 3, right at the end.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

And then you flip the page to Matthew chapter 4, and Jesus moves from this baptism, acknowledged by his father, called out for a life of significant purpose, mountaintop moment.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

And chapter 4 starts with this at once Jesus is led into the wilderness and tempted for 40 days.

From the mountain to the wilderness.

The wilderness season often follows a mountaintop experience.

And even that, in and of itself, should give you hope today.

Why?

Because if you're in the room and you feel like you're in a wilderness experience, guess what?

It's just a season.

You're gonna get through it.

And if you're in the room today and you're on the mountaintop, guess what?

It won't be long.

You'll be in the wilderness.

And that's okay.

This is life.

God never says that we're not gonna go through the valley, that we're not gonna experience the wilderness.

But he does say we don't have to go through it alone.

You've seen this amazing season of great health, fitness, vitality in your physical body, and then all of a sudden, an injury sends you into a tailspin.

You've had this physical fitness mountaintop for years and years and years.

Peak of physicality.

You pull something, wreck something, pop something, and then you're in a tailspin.

Tailspin of not being able to do the things you've done before.

And your old habits don't work, and you find yourself in the wilderness.

Maybe it's been years of fulfillment in a loving and committed relationship, a mountaintop.

But trust has been broken, and all of a sudden everything's changed.

And what used to be your best friend now just feels like a wilderness.

Maybe for you you've had phenomenal success and track record with your place of employment, just years of faithful work and incredible, incredible success.

But downsizing and cutbacks, have you fearful?

Have you worried?

Have you not sleeping at night?

All of a sudden, what used to be the mountaintop now feels like a wilderness.

You feel alone, no one fully understands, you feel empty, you feel desperate.

If you're in the room here today, and you feel like right now you might be in some kind of season that feels like wilderness.

Right now you feel like you have a deep need.

Maybe you feel alone, maybe you feel desperate.

I want to tell you this too shall pass.

You're not alone.

God is for you.

Jesus is still Emmanuel.

Jesus is still with us, regardless of what season we're in.

And here's what you need to remember if you're in the wilderness today.

This is this is what I want you to take home more than anything.

Your deepest need actually becomes a gift when it drives you to depend on God.

That desperation, that that need that you have right now, that wilderness, like no one understands, nobody gets this, that need actually becomes a gift if you allow it to move you to a place of fully depending on God.

In our deepest need, God is there.

In the wilderness, he is still Emmanuel, he's with us.

I want to take a look at one of the leaders uh I used to read about as a kid in the Bible, and one of the benefits of growing up in church and going to Sunday school is I heard all these cool stories in the Bible.

And I've always been fascinated with the character of Elijah.

Now, Elijah, uh, we read about him in the book of 1 Kings.

He was uh he was called a prophet, and uh that's not really a word that we use too much in our 2019 vocabulary.

A prophet was kind of God's man or woman, and it was a person who would like hear from God directly and then communicate God's heart to God's people.

Nowadays, we have the gift of God's spirit when we make a decision to follow Jesus and begin a faith journey and a relationship with God.

God gives us his spirit on the inside of us.

You and I, we actually don't need to depend on another person to tell us God's heart.

We get to hear from God personally, we get to hear from God ourselves.

Why?

He's up close, he's personal, he's close at hand, he's very real, he loves you.

But in the uh Old Testament of the Bible, years and years ago, before Jesus, God would use a man or a woman called a prophet to teach his people what he wanted them to hear.

And Elijah was such a prophet.

And I want to use Elijah's story from 1 Kings chapter 18 to kind of unpack a little bit in our few minutes remaining of how God wants to stay with us when we're walking through the wilderness.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

Elijah's literal and figurative mountaintop moment came in 1 Kings chapter 18.

1 Kings 18 · chapter mention

He was on Mount Carmel, on a physical, real mountain.

And God used him there in a display of power over these false gods, over uh false prophets who worshiped a god named Baal and false prophets who worshiped a goddess named Asherah.

And this display of power, literal fire came down and consumed a sacrifice.

And and God used Elijah on a mountaintop to set right the tone of faith in the then-known world.

Where people had strayed off and began worshiping other gods and been consumed with their own agendas.

God used Elijah as a prophet on this on this literal mountaintop moment to show up and do something beautiful.

Now, Elijah's God, the one true God, proved himself, proved himself strong, proved himself faithful.

The country had been experiencing years of drought that actually came because God used Elijah to say, turn back, and in the meantime, it's gonna be bleak, bleak, it's gonna be weary, there's not gonna be any rain.

And after this story on Mount Carmel, all of a sudden Elijah sees a cloud and God brings deliverance.

But for years, Elijah's life had been threatened.

The king hated him, the king wanted him dead, the king wanted everything to do with the one true God to be wiped out of the history books, and Elijah was like a stone in his shoe, always in the way, always speaking God's truth to the people.

And after this physical mountaintop on Mount Carmel, here's what it says in the Bible.

It says that King Ahab goes home and tells his wife, Jezebel, all about what Elijah did on Mount Carmel.

How all of the evil prophets were dealt with, how God proved himself once and true.

And so Jezebel sends word to Elijah and says, Elijah, by this time tomorrow, you're gonna be dead.

So Elijah moves from the mountaintop.

He's a man of God, he's God's man of power.

King Ahab's been threatening his life for years.

All of a sudden, Jezebel gets involved and things turn serious.

I wondered about that.

Why the king, who's been threatening his life for years, Elijah sort of lived with that, but Queen Jezebel says, Elijah, I'm gonna kill you.

And then here's what happens: 1 Kings 19, 1 to 4.

When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way that he had killed all the prophets of Baal.

So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah May the God strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I've not killed you, just as you have a lot of killing going on in the Old Testament.

Just as I'll kill you just as you have killed them.

And then here's what it says Elijah was afraid and fled for his life.

He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.

From the mountaintop, what does he do?

He turns tail and he runs.

Keep in mind, man of the hour, man of power, God's voice to the nation, Elijah the Great, from Jezreel to Bathsheba is like running from here to past red deer.

It's not a short distance, it's a long ways.

Clearly, he's terrified.

Why all of a sudden, after his greatest victory, this threat on his life sends him running into the wilderness.

Verse 3 again, Elijah was afraid, fled for his life.

He runs to Beersheba a hundred miles, a hundred and sixty kilometers.

He runs, ditches his servant, and then goes alone into the wilderness.

Verse 4, he went alone into the wilderness, traveling all day.

He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die.

I've had enough, Lord, take my life.

For I'm no better than my ancestors who've already died.

That's it.

I'm done.

I can't do it anymore.

From the mountaintop to the wilderness.

As I read this, I thought about the last 18 years of my life.

From my first job in a little Mennonite church as a youth pastor to years of leading in a great church in our nation.

It's moving here and planting a brand new church.

I thought about every person I've known that's walked into a wilderness season.

And one of the common denominators that struck me when I read this is people walk into the wilderness alone.

They believe a lie.

They believe that no one understands.

They believe that no one gets what they're going through.

They believe they've got no one to turn to.

Elijah runs to Beersheba and then leaves his servant.

Interestingly enough, doesn't that leave it open for interpretation that his servant ran with him?

Hang with me.

When Elijah ran for his life, he fled, he went to Beersheba and then left his servant there.

That means his servant was with him on the journey.

His servant was with him on the mountaintop.

One of his closest companions was right there with him, experiencing the highs of God's mighty man of power.

We don't know his name, we just know that he was Elijah's servant.

But on Elijah's way to the wilderness, he reaches the point where he says, Not even you can come where I'm going.

Why?

Because he believes he's alone.

He believes no one understands, he believes he's all by himself.

And that's one of the lies that Satan wants you to believe when you come into a wilderness season that you're all alone.

Not anybody, not even the people closest to you, not your closest companion, not your family, not your friends.

Nobody's gonna understand what you're going through.

You're all by yourself.

And Elijah reaches this point of absolute exhaustion.

I've had enough, Lord.

And when I read it in terms of timeline, it doesn't make sense to me.

It doesn't make sense that he's on this physical mountaintop, this incredible moment where God shows up, answers his prayers, one word from a woman, a queen, says, I'm gonna kill you, and then everything tailspins.

One threat from an enemy, and everything falls apart.

From the mountaintop to the wilderness.

Elijah says, Take my life.

I'm no better than my ancestors who are already dead.

I've had enough, Lord.

I've had enough.

Maybe you can relate.

Maybe that's your rhetoric in the wilderness.

Maybe you've come through a season where you're like, I just can't do this anymore.

I've had enough.

Enough is enough.

When are things gonna change?

I'm done, God.

Maybe that's been your parenting journey.

You reach a point in a season of parenting where you're like, nothing works.

I'm done, God.

When is this gonna change?

Maybe at work, maybe with your finances.

Maybe at home.

You prepare dinner for your family once again.

Everybody eats, rushes away from the table, leaves all the dishes, nobody helps clean up.

And you're like Jezebel.

Someone's gonna die.

Right?

For the last time! Help me clear the test.

Someone's gonna get it! I've had enough! Right?

That's it.

You handle a lot, and just one little thing pushes you over the edge.

You handle a lot, and things are going way great, and then one little thing just right over from the mountains of the wilderness.

Elijah's story, he literally stood down, evil King Ahab.

He called out a drought in response to this like horrible sin that had covered the nation.

For three years, King Ahab, full force pursuing Elijah, three whole years threatening his life, Elijah just evaded and continued to be God's man.

Even in seasons where he was in hiding, God sent birds to feed him, sent ravens to feed him.

Elijah saw miracles, raised the dead boy to life.

Just like for three years, God providing, God faithful, God with him.

Standing down, 850 false prophets.

One guy and his servant, 850 prophets.

I like those odds.

Come on, those are good odds.

Clearly, God was with Elijah.

Calls down fire from heaven, goes out to the brink and sees a cloud coming.

Calls in the rain.

God's man.

God clearly was with him for years.

Through the miraculous, through the provision, through the supernatural favor and protection.

And then Queen Jezebel says, You're a dead man, and he goes, I'm done.

One little thing.

One really angry queen.

I mean, I get an angry woman.

That's terrifying.

I can understand that.

But from the mountaintop to the wilderness.

Verse 4, then Elijah went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day.

He sat down under this broom tree and prayed that he might die.

I've had enough.

You find it interesting.

Maybe it's just me in my world, but I have to be careful what I say because a lot of people in this room are in my world.

But I find it interesting.

I hear it a lot.

I hear it in supermarkets.

I hear it in restaurants.

It's like this response nowadays.

Hey, how were I just so tired?

Have you ever heard anybody?

I'm just, I'm so tired.

I'm just exhausted.

I'm so tired.

I sit with a you know a 24-year-old serving serving me in a restaurant.

I'm just so tired.

Like, I I think about the seasons.

Like I've I've felt tired before, but you know, raising three kids and uh like there's tired, and then there's there's like new parent tired, you know what I mean, right?

Not like I had to work late and then go out with my friends tired.

That not that kind of time.

I'm talking like I'm exhausted, I'm so tired.

Have you heard people use this line?

I'm just so tired.

I'm just is it that they're tired?

Like if they were tired, they could just take a nap and then they wouldn't be tired anymore.

Right?

Like if it was just that they were tired, they could just take a quick nap and then they they'd be fine.

But in our culture, this language of tired isn't just physically tired, it's way deeper than that.

It's actually, when people say that, I what I what I hear them saying is I am spiritually drained, I need to be spiritually replenished.

I am empty.

It's not just that they need a nap, it's way deeper than that.

I'm so tired.

People aren't just tired.

What they are is they're spiritually depleted, they're running on empty.

And whether they acknowledge a God or not, whether they have a faith system of some kind or don't, doesn't change the fact that most people I know in a wilderness season are spiritually depleted.

This needs to speak to somebody today.

Spiritual replenishment requires an encounter with the very real, very up close, very personal presence of an intimate God.

Spiritual replenishment needs an intimate moment where you experience the grace and the wonder and the mercy and the forgiveness and the voice of a God who loves you.

A full-stop spiritual replenishment encounter with a nearby, close-at-hand, personal and loving God.

God is with us, Emmanuel, even in the wilderness.

God is with us.

Back to Elijah.

I love in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah sits under the tree and he says, God, I've had enough.

I'd like what God doesn't say.

God doesn't say, Elijah, where's your faith?

Get up, preach yourself happy.

God doesn't say that.

God doesn't say, Elijah, I'd like you to memorize these ten verses from the Bible.

Just marinate and meditate in my word.

God doesn't say that to Elijah in this moment.

Come on, somebody's getting where I'm going.

God doesn't say, Where's your faith?

God doesn't say, you know, if you just listen to some good teaching for a little while, I'm sure you'll bounce back.

Just pray more.

Pray longer.

Pray more passionately.

Come on, Elijah.

Get out of this funk.

You know what God says to Elijah?

He says, Elijah, rest.

Eat something.

How's that for spiritual?

Take a nap.

Have a snack.

You need a Snickers bar.

My wife in the front row is saying, Elijah's a man.

He's hangry.

No.

Come on.

Look at this.

1 Kings 19, verse 5 and 6.

1 Kings 19:5

Elijah lays down, sleeps under the tree.

As he's sleeping, an angel touches him and tells him, Get up and eat.

Elijah looks around and there beside him, supernaturally, is some bread baked on hot stones.

That sounds good, right about now.

And a jar of water.

It was probably gluten-free bread.

Yeah.

So he ate and he drank and then he laid down again.

You know, sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do when you're in the wilderness is take care of yourself.

And just pause.

Rest.

Have a snack.

That doesn't sound very deep.

But I need to communicate this with the room today, and here's why.

When I'm in a tight spot, when I'm going through something that feels like wilderness, when I even think about wanting to take care of myself and rest, I feel guilty.

I feel like, oh, there's more important things to do.

I should faith my way through this.

I should, somebody needs me, right?

I should go counsel somebody else out of my own wilderness.

I should, I don't, I don't feel great about just resting and snacking.

But here's the heartbeat of this.

What God doesn't say is, I'm going to preach at you.

What God doesn't say is memorize 10 verses from the Bible.

What God doesn't say is, where's your faith?

You know, as a pastor, when I've when I've encountered people in the wilderness, I've I've tried for years to try and teach people out of the wilderness.

Come on, where's your faith?

You've got to get through this.

Pull up your bootstraps, read more, pray more, go to more Bible.

I've tried to teach people out of their wilderness, but it doesn't work.

Not even God tried to do that with Elijah.

God learned to sit and rest and be present with Elijah in the wilderness.

Close, at hand, right beside, providing miraculously for his physical needs.

Be still and know.

Pause.

Rest.

Dig a well.

Verse 7.

Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched Elijah again and said, Get up again and eat some more.

I love this story.

Thank you, God.

I get to eat again.

Just me?

Come on.

Here's what the angel says: get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.

God meets him, sits with him, rests him, provides for him, nourishes him, and calls him to his future.

Eat, rest, restore, replenish, mend, heal.

Why?

Because there's still a journey ahead of you.

You need to fill up right now because the journey ahead.

If you don't, it's going to be too much for you.

So Elijah got up, ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel for 40 days and 40 nights.

How many days was Jesus in the wilderness?

I said it earlier.

40 days.

How many days?

I don't know what something significant.

I just, this wasn't even in my notes.

I just realized that Jesus was in the attempted for 40 days.

And Elijah, 40 days, 40 nights.

And he travels where?

To Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.

From the mountaintop to the wilderness, but straight back to the mountain.

Come on.

There, he came to a cave where Elijah spent the night.

But the Lord said to Elijah, what are you doing here?

You know, we serve a God of second chances.

I love that.

If you didn't get it right last time, God's still with you.

He is still Emmanuel.

He's still there to provide for you again.

Even if you missed it.

God says, What are you doing here, Elijah?

You're in a cave.

What good is this gonna do?

I brought you through the wilderness.

I nourished you, I strengthened you, I replenished you to bring you back to the mountain.

And what you do, you crawl into a cave and fall back asleep.

Now's not the time for sleep.

And here's where I relate to Elijah.

Matter of fact, um, some of you know I studied classical music when I was uh in university, and I was trained as an opera singer.

And uh there's an oratorio uh written about Elijah.

And in a final exam in university, I I performed some of the music from the oratorio Elijah.

And so even when I was in my early 20s and singing classically, this next phrase has always hung with me.

And I'm not gonna sing it for you today.

Because here's why, because it's this beautiful, haunted, lovely melody.

But I that you need to get Elijah's heart here.

First Kings 19, verse 10.

1 Kings 19:10

This is Elijah when God says, Get out of the cave, what are you doing?

Here's Elijah's response.

I am zealously served the Lord.

Oh my name is the people of Israel.

Clearly, Elijah's hurting.

And when you read words on a page, it's important you read them in the proper tone.

And Elijah whines in 1 Kings 19, verse 10.

1 Kings 19:10

He is whining to God.

That was my best whiny voice.

Did I do okay?

Perfect.

A little too good.

I've had some practice.

I have whined in the wilderness.

Trust me.

I have whined in the wilderness.

He's in the spiritual wilderness and he makes this statement I have I've zealously served you, God.

Which I interpret as this, because this has been my whine in the wilderness.

What's the matter, God?

Haven't I served you enough?

Don't I read my Bible enough?

Don't I drink enough?

What's the matter?

I've zealously served you.

And he goes on to whine.

Those other people, they've broken their covenant with you.

Not me.

I stay faithful.

Why do they have it so good enough in the wilderness?

The comparison game?

When you're in the wilderness?

Come on.

The law just says, I'm the only one who's left.

Is that an actual is he actually the only one?

Didn't he ditch his servant?

Like, is he actually the only one?

These big wide sweeping statements we use in the wilderness because we believe a lie.

I'm the only one.

Right?

God meets Elijah right there in the cave in the moment of his need.

Why?

Because your deepest need becomes a gift if you allow it to drive you towards dependency on God and God alone.

And as we close, here's where it gets good.

1 Kings 19, verse 11 and 12.

1 Kings 19:11

God is Emmanuel, He's with us.

He's with us on the mountain, he's with us in the valley, He's with us in the wilderness.

And here's what God says in response to Elijah's whining.

He says, This, Elijah, go out and stand before me on the mountain.

Then as Elijah stood there, the Lord God passed by.

And a mighty windstorm hit the mountain.

It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord God was not in the wind.

And after the wind, there was an earthquake.

But the Lord was not in the earthquake.

And after the earthquake, there was a fire.

But the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

The wind, the Lord wasn't in the wind.

The earth shaking, God wasn't in the earthquake.

The fire roaring, it wasn't in the fire.

The earth shook, the wind raged, the fire burned.

Earth, wind, and fire.

If you were born in the 70s or earlier, you just got that.

God's not in any of it.

He's not in the earth, wind, and fire.

He quietly whispers, you're a shining star.

That's who you are.

So let's groove.

It's an earth, wind, and fire joke.

Google it later.

God wasn't in the remarkable, he wasn't in the spectacular.

Notice he wasn't in the show of power.

He was just in the ordinary whisper.

God was in the whisper.

When you and I, when we're in the wilderness and we're overwhelmed and we're like, I'm done! I've had enough.

We're overwhelmed by stress.

We're overwhelmed by anxiety.

We're overwhelmed by not enough.

We're overwhelmed by fear.

We're done.

Why does God's voice seem so quiet when we're in the wilderness?

Have you ever asked why is why is God so quiet?

Why doesn't he show up strong?

Why doesn't he scream and shout?

Why doesn't he speak to us in a loud, spectacular, and powerful way?

Well, if he really wants me to know him, if he really wants me to experience him, if he really wants me to trust him, why does he whisper?

Why does God whisper?

He whispers because he's always close.

He's really close.

What do I do with my kids?

What do I do with my kids when I want them to hear their dad's voice?

If you're a parent in the room, we sure know that yelling and screaming never works.

Right?

What do we do with our kids if we really want them to pay attention?

If we really want them to know what we think, what do we do?

That's what God does.

He whispers.

But why does he whisper?

He whispers because he's close.

Right?

He says, I love you.

He says, I see you.

I know it's been hard.

I know you felt alone.

I know you don't understand.

But I'm right here.

I'm with you.

We're gonna get through this.

That's why he whispers.

He whispers because he's close.

But if you don't believe that God's capable of that kind of intimacy, then you don't know God.

And if you've been looking for God to shout and scream, that's how the enemy works.

The enemy, his lies, they're loud.

Because he's far removed.

He has to shout to make a dent.

But God whispers his truth.

God's close.

We aren't wandering out there all alone in this wilderness season.

He's still whispering.

Psalm 34, 18.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Why does he whisper?

Why does he whisper?

Why?

Because he's close.

He's right there.

And I love the mountain.

I do.

But I would rather be in the wilderness with God right here than on the mountaintop all by myself.

I would rather be moving through the wilderness in this innate sense of a God who is close at hand right here, whispering in my ear, son, you've got this.

Then just kind of live on the mountaintop and be my own man, figure it out.

Your deepest need actually becomes a gift when it drives you to depend on God.

We enjoy God on the mountaintop, yep.

We get to know God intimately in the valley, absolutely.

And when we're wandering in the wilderness and feel like no one understands, God understands.

Because God is always with us.

He's close.

Your deepest need is a gift.

If it drives you to lean in close to the Father, depend on Him, Him alone.

Not in the earthquake, not in the raging wind, not in the burning fire, but in the gentle whisper.

That's the Father's heart.

So to close out today, to recap, if you're in the wilderness, or maybe you're on the mountaintop and you're like, ah, is there a wilderness coming?

That doesn't sound like faith to me.

It might.

I'm not a doomsday prophet.

I'm just in love saying every life in this room represents seasons, mountains, valleys, dry places, life-giving places.

And so if you're in the wilderness today, let this speak to you.

And if you're not, I love you.

But let this speak to you when you are there.

Number one, stop for a moment.

Stop from the busyness of the rush and the pressure and the desperation of the wilderness season.

Just stop for a second.

Number two, allow yourself to rest and replenish.

Like spiritually replenish.

Number three, it's not in the striving, it's not in the labor, it's not in the hustle, it's not in the chaos that we experience God.

It's in the still, quiet, small rest where his gentle whisper is heard.

And lastly, if you've been in the wilderness for so long that you don't even know what his whisper sounds like, please remember this.

You're a part of a family.

You're not alone.

God is with you, but there are other faith-filled mountaintop men and women just waiting.

Waiting to sit with you, waiting to rest with you, waiting to walk with you.

Not to try and just teach you out of your pain, but to be present with you, to be God with you.

Emmanuel, God is with us in our best moments on the mountaintop, but also in the valley and in the wilderness.

He's with us.

Amen.

Amen.

In a moment, I want to close and pray.

And um we have two more messages in this series, and uh we've talked about valleys, we've talked about wilderness.

Next week, we want to talk to you about how God is with us when we're going through a storm.

And I've asked uh one of the leaders in our congregation, uh part of our community, uh Bennett Globish, is gonna preach next week's Sunday.

We're gonna be here, but but um uh you get to hear from Bennett next week.

And if you know Bennett and Megan and their story with with Merrick and just life in general, their their faith as a family uh inspires me.

And when I see a family in in a storm, leaning into the truth that God is still with us in a storm, I just knew that I had to ask Bennett to speak next week.

Week.

I just so don't miss next week's Sunday.

And on December 22nd, I'm gonna wrap up this series with a message how God is with us always.

And the true heart of Christmas and Emmanuel got with us.

And if you know somebody that you just know needs to be in the room next week, get them here.

Bring them out with you.

We've got some fun things planned next week's Sunday, our big's performing, uh some special music, uh, some treats after the service and after party.

It's gonna be a super fun Sunday.

Uh, but if you know somebody who's in a storm right now, bring them with you next week, Sunday.

Because I just know that God wants to uh to speak to their life and remind them that He is able, He is strong, He's faithful, He is personal, He is close, He is near, He is with us in every season.

Let's pray.

God, thank you so much for the opportunity to be here together today, to gather like this, to sing songs that kind of lift our eyes up on you, to laugh and enjoy just the gift of kids, but also to hear from the Bible some words that inspire us to remember how good you are.

God, I've been guilty of this, and I know others in the room we've come through, but we've had moments where we've cried out, God, where are you?

I've had enough.

Moments where we've walked into the wilderness and and wandered for far too long.

And so I just ask by your spirit, God, by your presence here in the room today, that you would drive down deep into our hearts the understanding and the revelation that you are close at hand, that you are near.

Your mouth, your heart, your words coming at us like a gentle whisper.

A discernible, recognizable, beautiful voice of God the Father in our ears saying, You're not you're not alone.

I see you.

I know how you're hurting.

I know how you're desperate.

I know how you're broken.

I know that you feel like you can't go on, but I'm right here with you.

And as we learn the rest and the spiritual replenishment and the beautiful presence of God, we move out of the wilderness and back to the mountaintop.

Back to purpose, back to hope.

Only God can do that.

Thank you, Father.

Thank you so much for listening to today's message.

If you're ever in the Edmonton area, pop by for a visit.

And if you need any more information, visit EvolveChurch.com.

We hope to see you soon.