The Healing Journey

Amen first king chapter 19 in verse 1 now

I realized that I might be the only thing standing between you and the Super Bowl

But I'm gonna preach a little bit today if that's all right. I said is that all right?

Amen, because I got an assignment today

I got an assignment and I thank God for this word that he's placed in my heart

The word of the Lord says this way and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done

Also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword and

Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying so let the gods do to me and more also

If I do not make your life as a life of one of them by tomorrow about this time

And when he saw that he rose and ran for his life and went to bear sheba which belongs to Judah and

Left his servant there, but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and

Came and sat under a broom tree and he prayed that he might die and

Said it is enough

Now Lord take my life or I'm no better than my father's

And as he lay and slept under a broom tree suddenly an angel touched him and said to him

arise and eat and

He looked and there by his head was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water

So he ate and drank and lay down again verse 7 and the angel of the Lord came back the second time

and touched him and said

Arise and eat because the journey is

Is too great for you with God's help today. I want to speak on the thought the healing journey

The healing journey would you pray with me? Let's ask God to speak to us in this moment father

We thank you for your presence that we feel in this house right now

You have come not only to visit us, but to inhabit the praises of your people and God

I need a special anointing to come upon me right now God to fill my heart in my mouth with your word and

to touch

the hearing of every

Person in this place God surely somebody needs to be healed someone needs to take that next step in their healing

Journey father. I pray that by your divine will empower that will be done

Father I bind all doubt confusion uncertainty and fear

Because perfect love cast out fear in the name of Jesus we give you glory and honor someone say amen

Amen, you may be seated in the presence of God

Elijah's life is in many ways a case study of extremes. I'm fascinated by his life

extreme ups extreme downs

extreme friends

extreme enemies

extreme miracles and

extreme weaknesses

But God would have it no other way

Because this was an extreme time a

Intensely dark period in Israel's history

the extreme nature of evil that spread under the regime of King Ahab and

and Queen Jezebel demanded a man of extreme faith a

man of extreme conviction to

Stand for truth and righteousness and call Israel back to God

so his life and the period in which he lived was all about

extremes and

extremes

attract

extremes and so living extreme for God

Does it do what you might think it does by?

Repel in pain and trouble it actually invites it

in fact the more extreme you get for God not to scare anybody today because there's nothing to be afraid about

But the more extreme you get for Christ and the more extreme you are for him and just in life

in general

The more extreme all life tends to be and we find this is the case through many

Patriarchs heroes and heroines throughout scripture whether it's Elijah like I'm reading about today

Joseph David or even the Lord Jesus Christ himself

Those who love hard often suffer hard. Amen. Those who believe hard

tend to bruise hard those who lead hard also bleed hard and

Probably Jesus is the prime example of this because he came with a powerful mission to redeem to save us from our sins

He was he was God in flesh and he had a powerful mission

And he loved hard and he loved passionately, but he was also as Isaiah wrote and foretold a man of sorrows

acquainted with grief and

So we see these these polar opposites at work even in Christ, but this scene in

Elijah's life shows us how quickly the pendulum swings in life from blessing

to breaking from from high to

spiritual low and

It's one that we ought to pay attention to because if you are extreme in any way in your life

Whether it's extreme faith or extreme love

For for your for your family or your friends if you're extreme in any way in your life

Then there is a high probability that you will extreme

You will experience some kind of extreme hurt because if you love somebody

Extremely and they disappoint you what happens you are

Extremely disappointed amen if you don't love somebody so extremely and they hurt and disappoint you you're not so hurt

Extremely about it. You're kind of like it is what it is

But if you love and do anything if you're extreme about your job

You're extreme about your career and then you lose that job or career

It feels like an extreme loss, but if you don't really love your job and you're kind of looking for a way out

And you lose that job. It's not so extreme, but I think every one of us is a

Extreme in at least one place. I hope one of those places is is in your faith. Amen your relationship with God

But if you're extreme you're gonna experience also some extreme pain at times, especially in the heart

and this is what happened to Elijah and

It also reveals this period in his life this scene reveals three steps to a healing journey

Now, why do I entitle it a healing journey because oftentimes healing is a process?

Someone say it's a process

It doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen

Instantaneously all the time. Thank God when it does. Amen. Thank God when it does and and when we

Experience instant healing in any way praise God for that

We love that instant relief that we get but many times the healing that we so desperately want

Takes time or it's at least a multi-step process

That's not something that occurs right away

And when we see Elijah it in this extreme

Emotional low point in his life where his heart is overcome with stress worry anxiety

I mean you name it all of the different I think emotional conditions one could feel all

Kind of came crashing and bearing down on Elijah in this moment

But the first thing that we see in the road to healing is this is that number one you need to

Commune with God in prayer someone say prayer we

Read there in verse 4 it says he prayed and he prayed now before we scrutinize the contents of this prayer

We first need to recognize that he prayed

The Bible says in James 5 and 13 is anyone among you?

Suffering that's the question and the answer is let him pray

Can I just tell somebody right now? It's never wrong to pray

Faster that's so basic, huh? I know it is but let me say it again. It's never wrong to pray

You don't have to wait to feel like praying

You don't have to wait to be in the mood to pray or you don't have to do what a lot of people do is kind of get their

Thoughts and get their emotions to kind of get themselves together and in order

Before they pray no God says my door is wide open and I'm inviting you to come

Just as you are into my presence and pray

Thanks be to God that he doesn't test us and evaluate us and dismiss us

Based on how we are before we go into prayer

But what we see here in Elijah's case is that no matter what condition your heart is God is saying

Why don't you come and talk to me about it? Amen somebody?

It's always right to pray. It's never wrong to pray

Let me tell you even if what you confess in prayer is not a hundred percent right

Even if your conclusions that you are drawing about your life are not a hundred percent right

Prayer is not for perfect people to pray perfect prayer prayer is for

Everybody no matter where you are prayer is a safe space to talk to God about whatever it is

That is on your heart how many of you are thankful for that today? Amen?

Let me tell you that God can handle it

Whatever it is that you need to get off your chest whatever it is that you've been bottling up whatever it is

That's been that's been wrecking you that's been disturbing your peace keeping you up at night

Depressing you making you cry God can handle it my Lord. I felt something when I said that

He can handle it. He's heard it all there was nothing you're gonna tell God that's going to surprise him anyways

He's just waiting for you to get honest with him and say God knows that sometimes we pray things that don't quite

Add up. He knows that sometimes our petitions are misguided and our conclusions are ill advised

They come sometimes we come to God asking for things amiss we start asking for stuff that God knows well

I know those are just your emotions talking. I know you really don't want me to flatten those people's tires

You're just mad right now

How many of you are thankful God doesn't answer every prayer?

Because we have pray some stuff that oops if I could take that one back

Hmm

And thank God that he doesn't do that

But the but the remedy is found in prayer. It's not found in popular psychology

It's not found in and all of the lexicon's in the books of the world

That's not where you start my friend you start in prayer

Oh my god, it's got to begin in prayer and Elijah was honest when he went before the Lord and he confessed

He said God I've had enough

Oh

My Lord he said it is enough and not my friend was not just his fatigue talking

That wasn't just his his emotions talking that it was more than just I've heard people preach preachers preach that

He was just having a big pity party listen

I think it's unfair to Elijah to call this just a big pity party

I think that it was more than just a mental slump

But Elijah had reached a place where he simply couldn't take it anymore

And even if it was partly because of his skewed way of seeing things even if it was partly because

He was a little off track. I believe that as he confesses to God

I've had enough he was being true and honest and raw before God

And you have to understand that the moment he says this to God comes right after his most epic

His most epic encounter with God's power it came right after he had just defeated all the

450 prophets of Baal plus another 400 prophets of Astra on the Mount of Carmel

When he called fire down from heaven and it consumed the wet sacrifice

Proving that Jehovah was God. I mean he just came off of the greatest revival that he's ever had in his life

And all of a sudden from that point to this point he says God

I can't take it anymore all because of one letter that reached him from

Jezebel's desk telling him that by tomorrow

I'm gonna execute you the way that I did all those prophets

How does a man go from seeing the fire of God fall?

Executing one by one. I mean it was a this was just I mean it was gory

You know it was it was just you know now it was rated R the kind of

Bloodshed that took place and it was a decisive victory

How does one go from there to this point of emotional fallout?

Overnight it seems how does he go there? I think it's because like all of us

He's only human and he got into a moment in his life

Where because of one message because of one thing that somebody said against him it took him back maybe years

In the past it took him back to another time in his life where he was weaker another time in his life

Where he knew less of God or another time in his life where he wasn't as spiritual or wasn't it just took him back?

To his lowest place

In life and he got so low that he's even contemplated suicide

He even contemplated taking his own life that how serious it was

He sunk into depression. He said I can't take this anymore and then he says I'm no better than my father's

I'm no better than my father's. I'm no better than them in other words. I'm a failure. I

Must be a defect

Defected product. I must be damaged goods. I'm better off dead God and yes, he might say well

You know Elijah's just being melodramatic

He doesn't really mean all these things and maybe there's a part of him that did it

But but you've got to respect the fact that he is saying these things and he means them to a certain degree

But as he is praying and as he's there he's just kind of laid out before God

He falls to sleep and right in that moment the Bible says that suddenly an angel touched him and

Started to wake him up. Can I just tell you today that no matter how low you might feel how wounded how insulted how hurt

How broken you are in your heart? You are not outside the reach of the touch of God this afternoon

I have come to encourage some. Hey, come on give a God some praise

I've come to encourage you and tell you that the hand of God is in this place to touch your heart and

Heal you and raise you up from where you are somebody say man today

If you would just keep praying God will show up and

His presence is a sign that he is still working

His presence is a sign. I think that when he felt the touch of that angel

It must have surprised Elijah like man. I thought God fired me already. I

Thought he took me off the payroll. I thought I was done and some of you right now

I say this in the Holy Ghost you're feeling the touch of God and that touch of God is an indication to you that

God still loves you and God still has a plan for you and God still shows you

Yes

How you feel doesn't change who you are? How you feel doesn't change God's opinion about you

How you feel doesn't change God's God's his opinion about your life

God does not change his mind about you because you've changed your mind about you

God still has a plan to bless you

God still has a plan to raise you up and he's going to heal and he's going to touch and when heaven touches something

Let me tell you it increases in value

The angel said to him arise in the someone say arise

Someone say eat

Yes, and the next step is after you commune with the Lord in prayer and you continue

Don't stop doing you continue to commune with God in prayer every day pray without season like Paul said you've got to consume

God's provision

Angel said okay, you know enough of this

You need to get up and you need to eat something

When you are physically sick

You lose your appetite most times

You don't feel like eating

I don't care if somebody places in front of you the most delicious meal you have ever smelled or seen

When you're not feeling right, you don't want to eat

You're just like

But it doesn't do anything to you and so it is emotionally and spiritually sometimes

You can tell when someone is sick on the inside when they don't want to eat

Doesn't matter how good the preaching is

Doesn't matter what song has been sung

Doesn't matter what programs are happening doesn't matter what's going on when you're not emotionally

spiritually well

You don't want to eat you lose your hunger for life

For dreams that God's given you for desires that God's placed in you watch what Proverbs 1312 says hope deferred

Makes the heart sick

Hmm, but when desire comes it is a tree of life

Other translations say when desires come it is a tree full of fruit to eat a

Sick heart cannot eat the fruit of life

That was Elijah

He didn't want to eat

He was so wrapped up in his feelings and his emotions you're so wrapped up and how things were going for him

But everything changed when the angel touched him that day and

He shrugged him and he touched him and he said it's time to get up

And I believe as I'm looking up this story that when he felt that touch of heaven on his life

There was a transfer of healing

Because that which was infirm came into contact with that which is whole

Heaven touched earth how many of you know there's no diseases in heaven?

My god

There's no sicknesses in heaven. There's no depression in heaven. There's no sadness in heaven

There are no tears in heaven

So when heaven touches earth like it did here in this scene

It had to transfer something into Elijah with all of a sudden when he woke up

He probably got his hunger back again and in verse 6 it says then he looked and

Thereby his head was a cake of bread on coals and a jar of water

You didn't know that angels could cook, huh?

And I'm not talking about angel hair pasta

It's okay. You can laugh. I know it's corny. It's all right

Angel food cake. No, this is a different type of angels food cake

But this angel whipped up something for Elijah and say hey man

Wake up and eat and it was bread and water cake there doesn't refer to like a birthday cake

Okay, this is actually bread and he's got bread and water and this is significant

It's very symbolic. Why because we see these pictures all throughout scripture

Anytime God gets ready to restore someone not just physically but emotionally and spiritually

Bread and water is what's on the menu. You say well, what is that? Well bread represents the word of God

Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone. Amen, somebody but by every word that

Proceeds out of the mouth of God. So what is that that bread that bread is the word of God?

Let me tell you today

Hear me loud and clear if you are struggling today or if you find yourself struggling tomorrow

You will not get any better unless you feed yourself the word of God if you want to be healed

Listen and stay healed

Then you need a steady diet of the word of God you need to consume the word of God

And then somebody hallelujah Jesus said the word that I speak to you are spirit hallelujah

And they are life

This word this Bible the scriptures they come to us not just to inform us and not just to

Move us in a certain way

But they not just to teach us but they come to reach us and they come to build us up

Hallelujah, and if you're going to get healed and stay healed it's got to be through the consumption of his word

Get in his what break his break break that daily bread and get into the Psalms and get into the word

And see what the say of the Lord, but not only that

But he also had for him a jar of water and the water represents the Holy Ghost

The water represents the spirit of God not only do you need to continually to feed yourself the word of God

If you're gonna stay healed and be healed, but you need to drink from the refreshing fountains of the spirit

Hallelujah, you've got to get into the spirit of the Lord

I feel something right now and drink deeply from the Holy Ghost and pray when you pray

Pray in the spirit pray in tongues because as you do you are edifying yourself

Hallelujah, you've got to pray and into the spirit and this is how we're gonna stay healed and move

Towards healing in our hearts and as you get the water of the spirit into your heart

Not only is it gonna quench every drop place in your heart

Not only is it gonna quench your thirst, but what the water does it starts to wash away

All of the toxins it starts to cleanse your system

Hey, man somebody hallelujah

It starts to wash away and wash your wounds and treat your wounds

You've got to get the water of the spirit

It's flowing in your life so that it can wash away the bitterness come on wash away the hatred

Wash away the anger wash away all the depression somebody give God some praise today

The step to healing is about communing with God in prayer. It's about consuming the word

And thirdly it's about connecting with the right people

Connecting with the right people

Something happened as Elijah

Was in this low point

It's very unfortunate and many of you know exactly how this feels in some way or another

But as he sunk into despair verse three tells us

That he and his only confidant his only remaining friend his servant parted ways

They parted ways

And they came a point in his journey where Elijah basically told him

We don't know the servant's name his friend, but but he tells them look stay right here

Now on the surface that sounds like Elijah didn't want him to go with him

But it wasn't that Elijah didn't want him to go with him

Elijah didn't want him to go with him out of obligation

Elijah wanted his company, but what he didn't want was charity

He wanted somebody that wanted to be with him because they wanted to be with him

And so he gave him an opportunity to walk away

And I think this guy was so relieved

He was like man, this is bad

You know everything was great when we were calling fire down from heaven on Mount Carmel

But I don't want to be a part of that, you know

Ha things that this is not what I signed up for and so I think that his servant friend

Was relieved because he wanted out

And as painful as it was I'm just about done as painful as it was

Listen, this was a moment of clarity

For Elijah

This was a moment of clarity

It was a moment of clarity because he found out

Some things that sometimes you don't find out until you hit an emotional or spiritual low

You find out who's really with you

Because now he knows who was really with him

Some of you are realizing that not everyone who started with you

Is going to finish with you

And wouldn't it be nice if they did

But not everyone who starts with you finishes with you

Man

I know that firsthand

I've experienced throughout my own life and and it seems like those departures they always feel so ill timed

Like really

Like this is what I need you the most

You're gonna walk out of them

But Elijah didn't fight for him today because he said if I

If I have to convince him now i'm gonna spend the rest of my life convincing him

And some of you need to be free from that

Because real friendship and partnership in the kingdom of god

Is not about holding people

Hostage in your life and say no you you you have to

Amen

Like Elijah's friends

Some

Will stand with you on the mountain of god

They'll stand with you in the good times. They'll stand with you on the mountain

But they'll vanish

In the valley

Hear me today, I don't say what I'm saying today

To

To bash those people

No, that's not what we're doing

We're not going to start sending them hate mail

No

Because it's not even about them

We're learning through our healing journey

We're learning that there is a friend

Who sticks closer than a brother

Whoo

Aren't you glad you came to church? Oh my god

I'm glad I came to church today. I needed to hear that

There is a friend

Who sticks closer than a brother?

And you need to understand this

Hear me today. Not everyone. This is going to help somebody not everyone is qualified

To walk with you in your wilderness

And everyone is qualified

But there would come a day

And that day would come soon because

Everything would change for Elijah because

In this moment of healing

God begins to speak to Elijah and you can read the rest of the story there. There's lots of details in

Chapter 19 of first kings, but he tells them to go out on the mountain of God. He shows them lightning

He shows them thunder. He shows them wonders from heaven

And then there came a still small voice

And God begins to talk to Elijah and one of the things he tells him is this which was a key to his step in healing

He says you're gonna go and you're gonna anoint Elijah

God is saying

I did not intend for you to take this journey by yourself

It's just that that relationship

Went as far as it couldn't go

That person went as far as it can go, but now I've got a new community for you. Hmm. My god

Don't get spiteful. Would you stand with me today?

Don't get spiteful

Don't get positive

possessive

Don't get

Even

The best thing that you can do

Is let them go

Whoever hurts you

Whoever wounded your heart whoever said that nasty thing

Whoever took advantage

Whoever wasn't in it for the long haul. Would you close your eyes right there? I just feel the spirit of God

I just

I just need to tell somebody

That letting go is the key to loving again

My god, it's the key to loving again

It's the key

To finding the community

Finding the friendship

The love

The church your church family is here

God

Is here

Hmm my lord

everything

I say that you need

Is right here, but there's a still small voice that's talking

And saying when you let that go

You can hold on to this

This is what the word of the lord says in psalm 147 verse 3. He heals the brokenhearted

Psalms 147:3

He binds up their wounds. I don't know if there's somebody right now under the sound of my voice who just needed to hear this word

Somebody who needs to take the next step in your healing journey

But I'm gonna invite you to pray because what did I say in the beginning?

It all starts with prayers. Shella mama come to love over you

I'm gonna invite you right there where you are to open up your heart and begin to talk to God

I want you to begin to talk to God right now. I want you to begin to

Express to God whatever you want is in your heart

Whatever step you are in in your journey

Whatever step you are in in your healing hallelujah, whatever step you are

In god restoring in god reviving in god rebuilding

Something in your heart something in your life wherever you are my friend it all starts

Uh had an altar of prayer it all starts when you begin to go before god

They start telling him what's on your heart. Oh hallelujah. Yes your cares upon him

Because he cares for you