(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Sing it out. Now that you've lost everything you've got Now that you're blazing to see my God Lend to my heart what you would have liked Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Lend to my heart what you would have liked Glory to his name I am so wondrously safe from sin Jesus is weak, he abides with me There let the cross enter me Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Lend to my heart what you would have liked Glory to his name Oh, precious mountains of space on sea I am so glad that you're turning Where Jesus saves me and keeps me clean Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Lend to my heart what you would have liked Glory to his name Oh, precious mountains of space on sea I am so glad that you're turning Lend to my heart what you would have liked Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Lend to my heart what you would have liked Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name Glory to his name . . . . . . In my name We trust you Trusting in the Father Let me Sid me He who's always ready of a measure Gives those who we treat like losers Love and peace, love and pleasure He who's learning ways and ways Everything alone shall always be real When we're special, we'll see for each other Oh, I give to you every cheer He who's near is not so proud The protection of his challenged measure Is to charge over something As that means the church shall only measure There's no place to be Oh, I give to you every cheer He who's near is not so proud The protection of his challenged measure Is to charge over something As that means the church shall only measure There's no place to be As that means the church shall only measure Oh, I give to you every cheer He who's near is not so proud We have the Solane Times below that, and of course next Sunday, don't forget to join us a little early for coffee and donuts for everybody celebrating in the month of March. Also this Saturday, which came out quicker than I realized, is March 2nd, which is our last of the Eastside Blitz. So come on out for that if you'd like. We've got the itinerary there. I know there's at least a couple people coming down from Tempe to join us on this one. You don't have to sign up to attend. That just lets us know who's coming. So I feel like everyone knows the deal on that. On the back, we have the new Bible memory passage. So this is Genesis 9-6, and this is due next Sunday. So if you say it early, that's fine too. But that's the new passage, and we'll have some treats for those young children and young people that pulled that off and managed to memorize it. That should be an easy one. Also continue to pray for the expectant ladies in the church. Those are a lot of Tempe members there, but I'm sure they've covered your prayers. And also some other Tempe events regarding small town soloing to York, Arizona. That's always available to anybody here that would like to go also. Didn't know about it for this morning, but there's going to be a... Not this Wednesday, but the following Wednesday, we're going to have Pastor Roger Jimenez preaching up in Tempe. So he's not going to be here, but he will be up in Tempe. So if you want to go up next, not this Wednesday, but the following, just hear Pastor Jimenez preach. He'll be up there in Tempe on Wednesday, and it's always worth it. Pastor Jimenez is a great preacher. He always brings a good message. I'm sure he'll be a blessing to you. We're tentatively planning going as a family. Church band's available. If there's folks here that want to just take advantage of the church band, drive up and back, the gas will be covered, obviously, that way. That's more than available. That's available as well. But who here thinks they might want to go up and hear that preaching? So maybe think about that amongst yourselves. And if you talk to me about any of those details about getting the band involved, we can certainly do that. That'll do it for announcements. Let's go ahead and just count up the solo name going back to Friday. Everyone has a new report from Friday. And I know we had two for the group on Saturday. And then is there anything outside of the group on Saturday? And what about today? Two. Two for today. Praise the Lord. All right. Keep up the great work. Slowly on the one hand, sing one more song before we get into preaching. If you get a look, your song looks to song number 323. Singing the song number 323. More about Jesus again in the song number 323. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. 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More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. 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More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. More about Jesus. We have a positive side to it. You know that it's not like the guys behind the animals just because he likes the view or something, right? He's got them there. You know because someone needs to drag that plow, right? Someone has to put in the labor, the muscle has to get that thing moving dragging that steel and that wood through that hard earth. You know breaking up the rocks moving things out of the way. That's the real bulk of the work isn't it? You know that's kind of the way it is in the Christian life. You know God's there to do a lot of the heavy lifting for us. The Word of God is there to break up the fallow ground. The Word of God is there to to kind of cut in and and break up you know that which is hardened and overgrown and to you know bring uh you know the the fresh soil to the surface that's fertile you know god does that he's kind of the holy spirit is kind of that beast of burden but we as god's people you know we have to be there to make sure that that plow ends up where it needs to be that it goes down that straight line so we need to understand that the christian life is work that serving god is putting your hand to the plow it's not something that you do by yourself we you know god labors work with us you know we we work alongside god but you know we have our part to do and when you put your hand to that plow the danger what jesus is warning us of is that when you have begun to do that work is to not look back looking back is a mistake looking back is going to lean to you know rows that are not straight they're going to the furrows are going to be all over the place you could end up over in you know your neighbor's yard somewhere you end up plowing somebody else's field right and if you're trying to to plow a straight line you have to look where you're going you can't just look like this because you know you start to turn you start to go like this and he's warning us not to look back you know it's one thing to put your hand on the plow it's one thing to say you know what i'm gonna whatever the cost is whatever the sacrifices i have to make if i have to let the dead bury the dead if i have to you know not bid them farewell what you're at my house if i have to sacrifice and and and be like christ and go without and not have all the niceties of this life uh so be it it's one thing to say that and understand that and be willing to accept that it's another thing to put your hand to the plow and say i'm gonna do the work but then it's another thing all together to say i'm not gonna let anything distract me and in particular that which is in the past you know there's there's there's several different elements there in serving god that we see in this parable yes put your hand to the plow yes be willing to make the sacrifices but don't look back and if we start to look back what does jesus say you're not fit for the kingdom of god and it's not that you're not worthy of being saved obviously nobody is worthy of being saved but he's saying you're not worthy to labor for christ's sake you're not fit for it you're you know that's not going to work you're not going to you're not meeting the requirements right if we were to put out a job advertisement and there was some minimum you know requirements for the job there's some specifications you had to have had this much experience and know how to do this so on and so forth and somebody came in and didn't have any of that we would say you're unqualified right you're not fit for this job and what jesus is saying is that people that who might have good intentions who might even be sincere and putting their hand to the plow if they have a tendency to look back there it's not going to work out for them we're not looking for people who are going to get distracted by that which is behind we need people that are forward thinking people that are looking ahead and there's several different ways in which we can begin to look back in life and i want to look at a couple of these things one of these you know obviously if we're looking back it's it's in the sense that we're looking towards our past right we're speaking figuratively tonight you know people start to reflect on what they've left behind what life you know they'll start to reflect on what life has been up to that moment okay if you would look at hebrews chapter number 12 hebrews chapter number 12 it says in verse 1 wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin so these there's two different things there's weights and sins which so doth easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us right again so paul is trying to direct our attention to that which is before us we don't run a race backwards the gun doesn't go off the starting line and you immediately turn around and start going the opposite direction you're not going to win the race you have to face the right direction in order to win that race you have to look down the lane you have to see where you're going and when we start to look back you know that's a lot of times that can be a weight to us we start thinking about the good old days we start thinking about you know the things we used to be involved in or the things we gave up or whatever it might be you know we're going to break down a couple of things particularly about the past that might be a distraction but let's just first get the idea here that when we start looking back what we're doing is we're not looking unto jesus right look at verse two looking unto jesus that's how you run the race so it's not even about looking at the plow is it you say i'm not i'm not looking in the past i'm just looking right here at this plow and i'm just looking down the line no we need to lift our eyes up a little bit higher and look towards jesus because when we put our hand on that plow sometimes and if all we see is the work that's right before us that can be discouraging you know i remember living in michigan one of my jobs was to mow the lawn and buddy we had a lawn it was i know you all heard it from this it was at least from this wall maybe to the end of the building long and twice as wide as this and it was you know he said it's not that big it was the biggest lawn on the block and to a 13 14 15 year old kid it might as might have been 10 acres you know on a saturday afternoon i got a list of things i'd rather be doing than mowing somebody else's lawn right and here's the thing if all you do is just look right in front of that lawnmower right in front of that plow and all you have is just the work that's right in front of you that could be discouraging you feel like there's no end in sight however if we just lift up our eyes a little higher and look at jesus you know the work won't be such a big deal and if we're going to live this christian life if we're going to plow the way we ought to if we're going to do the work the way we're supposed to do it we have to be looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith we have to be reminded of why we're doing what we're doing and that there is a point to this that this isn't just something we're doing as some kind of a spiritual hobby or something but you know we believe that christ is the author and finisher of our faith we believe that he is coming to reward them that serve him we believe that what we're doing makes a difference you know it's always great to hear the testimonies that people share with me when they're out soul winning and hear about how god has worked when they're out soul winning you know it just reminds us like you know god knows we're going out there god knows who we're going to run into and to hear about people having experiences out there where it's just evident that god is in this thing and that god is working through us through this little church here god is getting people saved we have to be reminded that we have to look to jesus but if we're busy thinking about the past for whatever reason if we're busy just looking back behind us and pondering about the things that the way things used to be you know what we're not fit for the kingdom of god we're not fit to do the work the plow is not going to end up where it needs to end up he says looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of god at the hand of the right hand of the throne of god so he uses jesus as the example of who we should look to keep our eyes on him and also as an example because jesus had to go through something too he despised the shame right he endured the cross despising the shame why because he knew that eventually he would be exalted the right hand of the throne of god he too was able to look beyond the plow look beyond what the work the labor that was immediately in front of him and look at the end it had the end in sight so we need to follow his example and do likewise again keep something in hebrews but if you would go over to romans chapter number 12 i know we all know this so what's the what's jesus warning us of in the end of luke nine there don't look back he's saying if you're looking back if you're looking over your shoulder no matter how well intentioned you are remember remember the parable is him that having put his hand to the plow at somebody says i'm going to do this thing i'm going to get involved in this work it's not somebody that he's kind of weeded out by reminding him hey the foxes have holes and the birds have nests but the son of man hath not where where to lay his head let the dead bury they're dead don't bid them from where he's kind of weeded all those people out that that's enough to you know just the idea of having to sacrifice or give anything up that's enough for them they're just say well you know somebody else can run your plow the warning is to the guy that's willing to make the sacrifices to do those things and actually put his hand to the work and actually get involved to not look back that's who he's warning the person who actually intends to do the work someone who has put their hand to the plow the warning is don't get distracted by the past don't look back keep your eyes on jesus look at romans chapter number 12 verse 1 i beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of god that you present your body as a living sacrifice wholly acceptable in god which is your reasonable service it's a reasonable thing to say that i am not my own i am bought with the price that i that god has redeemed me and that i am his even this flesh and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may be able to prove is that good and acceptable and perfect will of god you know we need to make sure that we're willing to make that sacrifice be that living sacrifice someone who's willing to put their hand to the plow and have their mind transformed now if we're always thinking about the past are we really going to have experience that transformation if we're always looking back and always thinking about the past you know we can't really say we're having our minds transformed and look i know that this is a struggle that this is hard to you know a lot of times there's things in the past that haunt us and i want to break down two ways in which the past can be a distraction go to philippians chapter number three two ways in which the past can stop us from being that living sacrifice from having our minds transformed and to know the perfect will of god and to prove it you know one way is thinking about that which is profitable thinking about all the things you gave up for god right which is probably honestly not that much but this is can be a struggle for people they can you know people can start to lament sin which is wicked they can say i'm gonna put my hand in that plow but then they can start thinking well you know i remember what it was like when i i would spend my uh saturday sleeping sleeping friday night off instead of going out and doing the soul winning thing i remember what you know back in the day when i wasn't in church and i just spent my sundays doing you know riding dirt bikes or doing whatever i want not that there's those things are inherently sinful right but people can start to look back on things that maybe not are even sinful or maybe are sinful but they can start to look back and think about things that they considered profitable to them at one time and start to long after those things they can be like the israelites when they came out of egypt right and they were in the wilderness and they started to complain to moses and they started to you know lament after the leeks and the onions and the cucumbers of egypt they were they were saying it'd be better for us to have stayed in egypt and then come out here die they were being oppressed and they're saying we'd be better to go back there and be under pharaoh's hand and be oppressed and be his slaves in egypt if we you know because you know then we could put some cucumbers in our mouth we could eat some food and they doubted god this is what happens when we start to think about the past and dwell on those things you know paul is an example of this he said in philippians chapter number three and verse seven well what things were gained to me those i counted loss for gripe for christ those things which were gained to me those things which were profitable yea doubtless and i count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord for whom i have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that i may win christ a very famous powerful passage for a reason paul obviously it you know if you read the the preceding verses it's talking about how he was a hebrew of the hebrews of the tribe of benjamin and you know concerning the law you know blameless that he had something to glory of that he was somebody in that world in that religious world among the pharisees and the scribes his name was known he was brought up at the feet of gamaliel you know he was somebody in that world you know when they uh when they stoned stephen it was paul's feet or saul at that time is what they called him it was his feet at which they laid his clothes and he consented he gave his approval to the stoning of stephen you know so paul was somebody in that world but he said when i looked at that what i was in the world what i had to gain in this world and i compared that to the excellency of the knowledge of christ i said it dung i didn't say well you know i kind of miss it you know it would have been nice to be able to kind of do both at the same time you know he didn't look back he didn't look over his shoulder and lament you know some career he could have had or some you know thing that he was into some hobby whatever you know he said i count all things but loss for the excellency knowledge of christ he said it's better for me to just serve god and to earn rewards in heaven and to know more know the lord more and to serve him that's the greatest treasure that there is he said everything else is done to me that's an example of somebody who did not look back who put his hand to the plow and said i'm going in one direction i'm going to run this thing all the way to the end that's one one way in which the past can be a distraction to us when we think about that which we think used to profit us the good times the running around the the the sin that we enjoy look the bible says there's pleasure and sin for a season you know people aren't stupid people know that the things that they're doing in the long run are bad for their health nobody drinks because they think it's good for them nobody shoots up heroin because they think it's you know it's got vitamins in it no one smokes fentanyl because they think you know this is going to help my teeth you know they do that stuff because there's there's the you know the dopamine response because they get pleasure out of it for a moment right but they even they understand it's only for a season that there's dire consequences to that you know people count some things profitable they say hey there's pleasure in this this profits me but we as god's people those of us that have put our hand to the plow should never look back on those things and say well you know i used to be better when i could just do x y and z you know i kind of i kind of miss you know when i could go out and just get high and get drunk and sleep around and do this and do that and look people do this this is human nature i mean we already talked about israelites and the lamenting those those vegetables that's what people do and they think it's profitable they need to change their mindset they need to have a transforming of their mind and say you know what it's dung and start to see it that way and if we struggle in this that maybe that's what we need to pray and ask god to say show me what sin really looks like help me to see my sin for the way you how you see it god we'll be repulsed by it if we can start to see our sin that which we maybe think is profitable that which we lament that which we miss the way paul sees it dung in comparison to christ and maybe it's not even something that's sinful but it's if it's if it's something that's causing us to turn our head when our hand is on that plow we need to ask god to help us to see it for what it really is dung and then we'll do that when we start to compare whatever it is that's turning our head to the excellency of the knowledge of christ i mean what are we going to compare to the excellency of the knowledge of christ and say well you know it's a close second nothing there is no close second that's one thing one way in which the past can distract us when we start to think about that which we considered profitable and maybe another one and maybe it's it's not one that we would initially think of is when people think of the past a lot of times they think about that which is painful that which is painful a lot of times we might find ourselves in life looking back and and feeling sorrow you know and honestly rightly so we might look back in our past and just lament and mourn some painful things that we've gone through and look i don't don't don't misunderstand me tonight i'm not trying to minimize anything that anybody's been through but what i am saying is that at some point we have to you know work through those things do whatever we got to do there's a point where we have to just move on and just you know what let the dead bury their dead and go serve god if you would go back to uh hebrews chapter number 12 you know the when we look back on a painful past that that's gonna be a source of torment in a lot of ways you know if we've ever been through anything traumatic or difficult you know uh if we sit there and think about that it's like a lot of times we end up reliving that experience that you know that's living a a tormented life reliving rehearsing painful experiences and our that we've gone through you know those are things that we need to learn to just leave in the past and to not revisit you know and try to make peace with them and look i understand that's easier said than done but this is something that we need to do and this is something we might not immediately think of when we think about you know looking back and looking over our shoulder after we put our hand to the plow it's a lot easier to maybe let go of the sinful things the things that we knew were harming us the things that were no good for us but it might be it's probably a little bit harder to let go of things that you know are more traumatic in nature things that cause us pain the bible says that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me because he trusteth in thee you know if we would just focus on god so how do i do that how do i let go of a painful past focus on god you know keep your eyes pointed forward you know read your bible memorize scripture go to church go preach the gospel honestly go help somebody else i mean i know there's been times i've been feeling sorry for myself and i've gone soul winning and i went wow this person has it way worse you know go up maybe maybe take a trip over to hoda odom and go knock some doors there go down to mexico knock some doors there go to the south side over here and knock some doors there go somewhere where there's other people who are suffering right now look and again i'm not trying to minimize the things people have gone through but there's people that are going those through things right now you know some of us we might have gone through things but we've gone through them they're in the past they shouldn't stop us anymore and what might help us leave those things in the past is when we go out and talk to people and meet people that are going through those things like that or maybe even worse right now you know i remember going out on the navajo reservation going you know way out there by window rock down some two track out there just you know some some trailer out in the middle of nowhere we found on google maps knock on a guy's door i knocked on the door nobody came i started to leave and the guy's wife came pulling up she said no my husband's there you need to go talk to him and so i went okay well he didn't come to the door she says i know but you need to go talk to i went back the reason why the guy didn't come to the door is because he was experiencing ptsd from having gotten jumped in town just a you know a few weeks prior got beat with an inch of his life got carjacked in window rock on the you know on the reservation and he's and he was afraid of people he was afraid of strangers afraid he was going through these things he was just living in that trauma and once he saw his wife you know he came out he got saved praise god i went back a couple weeks later and i saw him again and he had this testimony man after you came it was like all that fear went away after i got saved he said it's it just it just changed everything you know that's that's a powerful experience you know that's that's real you know the gospel changes people you know and it reminded me it's like whatever i've been through you know with i i never i've never been to the point where i'm too afraid to answer the door unless they're mormons then i'm like hold me back hold me back right you know but it's it i've never been to that point in my life you know and look there's so many more experiences like that we could all probably testify that being at the door where there's just a pile of beer cans next to the to the steps where you open up the door and the smell hits you and there's there's kids living in squalor it's it's it's rough out there and i'm not trying to break you know bash anybody but i'm just saying is that might help us get over our own past when we realize that what we've gone through we've gone through and there's other people that are suffering right now that need the hope of the gospel brought to them okay just like somebody brought it to us keep your mind stayed on god keep your you know keep your eyes on jesus you know and that's going to help you stay focused on the future and heading in that direction look at hebrews chapter 12 verse 11 now no chaste thing for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterward yield at the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised there thereby wherefore lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet lest that which is lame be turned out of the way but rather let it be healed so he's talking about being chastened you know if you know if we if we sin because we're god's children we're going to be chastened that's what he says you know in the previous verses that he chastens chastens every son whom he receiveth neither is there any son whom he chasteneth not and if you be without chastisement then your bastards are not sons right we as god's people are going to be chastened because we sin but he's what he's saying is let's lessen that go through the chastening learn your lesson and move on with your life you know if we have a sinful past if we've done things that we shouldn't have done let's you know go through the chastening and then move on and not dwell and live in the past it doesn't seem to be joyous it's grievous but it does yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness but notice in verse 12 what he says he says wherefore lift up the hands which hang down and i whenever i read this i always picture a guy like this you know he's just kind of down in the dumps kind of an eor like oh man life's so hard i've been through so much i just can't you know it just seems like i keep struggling blah blah blah you know just people who are just very down right wherefore lift up the hands which hang you know stand up straight put your shoulders back get your you know keep your chin up that's kind of what he's saying here right don't be all slouched over and defeated just because you did some things and you got a beating for it just because god took some took it out on you and straightened you out and he's saying listen don't because he's saying don't do it again right and here's the thing if we if we just keep thinking about the past then we're going to just keep repeating it we need to move on on and learn our lesson lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees strengthen your walk and i love this verse 13 and make straight paths straight paths and that sounds like a good name for a church straight paths amen and make straight paths for your feet what's he talking about he's talking about looking forward isn't he make a straight path for your feet determine where you're going to go say this is where i'm going to end my say this is where i'm going to end up i'm going to make a straight path a narrow path i'm going to walk this walk i'm going to go down this path i'm going to straighten up and i'm going to walk a straight path lest that which is lame be turned out of the way but rather let it be healed he's saying get over your past basically take the chastening accept the punishment and move on with your life and again it's the word of god that's going to help us with this the bible says thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path obviously we're looking to jesus but you know it's sometimes i understand we've gone through things and things can get overwhelming and we don't know what to do next you know sometimes we get overwhelmed by just everything that we feel like we have to get done everything that is our responsibility or whatever it might be but the only thing you have to do is just take the next step in life just do what you know i don't know what to do well just do what you do know what to do how about that i'm not sure what to do well you got to know something about what to do right you know i've sinned i've messed up i don't know how to make everything wait i'm not sure what i'm supposed to do with my life yeah but you know what to do tomorrow when you wake up right no one needs to probably explain that to you you know keith read our bibles and and do our work right we know that much and if we would just do that day in and day out and just do what we know what we're supposed to do day in and day out you know eventually we'll we'll find ourselves plowing that field but when we start looking back you know that's when we we don't do those things that we're supposed to do and i want to look at one example of this real quick if you would go to first kings chapter 19 first king chapter 19 an example of somebody who was kind of looking back and god had to kind of straighten out and say hey you need to get over this and move on and keep serving me right and that's the example of elijah now this is after elijah has slain the prophets of bale he's brought revival he called down fire from heaven and consumed the sacrifice and the altar and the water and the trench was licked up and everyone said you know that that all those backslidden you know people said the lord he is god right and he said grab the prophets of bale and he slew them so he has this great victory but then he hears that jezebel has sworn to take his head off has sworn to to kill him that his life would be go as the her prophets the prophets of bale by the end of that day and he flees and he runs then he leaves his servant and he goes to mount uh to mount uh uh sinai here and it says in first king chapter 19 verse 9 and he came thither into a cave and lodge there so he's going to hide you know and this is this is just you know i'm not trying to again bash elijah here this is life and i can understand this i can relate to this and i'm sure we all can because there's seasons in our life where we just want to hide where we get depressed where we get defeated and even when someone comes in and reminds us like no you're doing great it's like elijah you just slew the prophets of bale you just did one of the greatest miracles in the bible you called down fire from heaven but you could still even after having great victories you could still feel dejected and worthless and just want to disappear you know people go through that people just want to be solitary and left alone and quite frankly just feel sorry for themselves and i think that's a little bit if i can say it kind of what's going on here in elijah okay so he goes in the cave and he lodges there and behold the word of lord came to him that's what i love about the lord he doesn't just leave us in that cave he comes and finds us when we start feeling down and in the dumps and depressed and upset and feeling like we're failures and everything else god will come find us he said i will never leave thee nor forsake thee that in itself should be an encouragement you know because that sometimes that's a struggle i'm just not good enough you know why should i serve god who am i well welcome to the club buddy no one's good enough and god knows that god remembers that we are but dust and he knows that we are that we have this treasure in earthen vessels okay god's not looking for perfection he's just looking for people that you know understand that they're not perfect and will serve god in spite of that okay and he said i have been very jealous for the lord god of hosts now notice there he said not i am very jealous he said i have been i have been very jealous for lord god of hosts sounds like you're living in the past a little bit elijah in your cave sounds like you're in that cave all by yourself in the dark think about what you did do the way you have been i have been very jealous for the lord god of hosts for the children of israel have forsaken thy covenant thrown down thine altars and slain thy prophets and with thy sword all that's true isn't it that's exactly what they've been doing they've been in uh you know idol worship you know he kind of leans out the the victory he just had and then he kind of and then you know the pity kind of the self-pity kind of comes in at the end and i even i only am left it's just me there's nobody else nobody else understands nobody else is going through what i'm going through this is self-pity folks and you know we can all be guilty of this you know god puts these stories in there because they're relatable we can understand something about human nature from these things we all probably have felt like that at some point or one day we will maybe we haven't lived long enough to experience that but there might come there very likely will come a day if it hasn't already to every single person in this room where we just feel like nobody else understands nobody else gets it gets it i only am left and every you know everybody else is the problem and what we don't see when we are when we act like that is it's just it's self-pity and they seek my life to take take it away now i'm not saying this is necessarily the case for elijah but it could be when he's sitting there and saying well i have been very jealous for the lord you know that could be taken it's kind of a proud statement i only am left nobody else has served god like i have everybody else is just backslidden and wicked that that's kind of a proud statement to just assume that well it's like well did you go take a census did you go did you go poll everybody and ask them who they're worshiping did you call everyone in israel and say you know give them multiple choice which god are you serving and find out that you're the only one of course not but yet he's bold enough to make that statement and we know the story verse 11 and god said go forth and stand upon the mount before the lord and he said behold the lord excuse me and behold the lord passed by and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and break in pieces the rocks before the lord but the lord was not in the wind and after the wind and earthquake but the lord was not in the earthquake and after the earthquake a fire but the lord was not in the fire and after the fire a still small voice and it was so when elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entering the cave and behold there came a voice unto him and said what doest thou hear elijah so it's the same question what are you doing elijah why are you in this cave and notice his response is the exact same response and he said i have been you know he's he's thinking about the past he's thinking about the things the way he perceives things i've been very jealous lord god of hosts because the israelis because the children of israel have forsaken thy covenant throw down their altars and slain thy prophets with the sword and i even i only am left and they seek my life to take it away you know and as much of that as might be true it's still self-pity because you're serving the lord god the same god that he just saw come down in a pillar of fire it's like what are you afraid of why are you afraid of jezebel and her her empty threats what is she going to do if god is for us if god before us who can be against us we are more than conquerors to him that loved us but in spite of that and even when we know that we can all kind of get into this cave of self-pity and just thinking about the past and the way we feel things are and feeling bad for ourselves and i love the lord's response here he didn't say you know what elijah get over yourself because he gets it he knows how we are but he did say this he said to him go return go back go forward don't sit here in this cave he didn't he didn't console him he didn't hold his hand and he didn't you know let him you know cry on his shoulder about it he didn't give him any space for his self-pity he said you know what you need to just here's the solution go and return go do what you're supposed to be doing get back in the work start put your hand back in that plow quit looking back and start looking forward that was the solution go return on thy way to the wilderness of damascus when thou comest anoint hazale to be king over israel excuse me syria and jahu the son of nimshi shall be anointed to be king over israel and elijah the son of shafat of abel mahola mahola shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room and it shall come to pass him that escapeth with the sword of hashelio shall jahu slay and him that escapeth and sword shall jahu shall jahu shall elijah slay he's saying are you worried about these people i got the solution if you'll just go and trust me if you'll go in faith and anoint these people you're not going to have to worry about anybody because this person and this person they'll destroy your enemies but you have to go anoint them right you have to move forward because that's what happens in the story elijah's slain people and then you got jay who's slain people and jay who literally ran over the woman that was threatening elijah's life saying that she's going to kill him remember that i wish we had more time because it's a great story remember he goes up he pulls up to the the palace or whatever and she sticks her painted face out and says heads in my peace who slew his master right being all sassy then he looks up he doesn't even respond to her he just looks at the eunuchs and says you know who's on my side and and they're like yeah just throw her down and they threw her down and they trod upon her and the bible says that her blood went upon the horses and the walls and they tread her over and they went sat down and ate a meal and then he said well she is a king's son so let's bury her but they went out and they found out the dogs had eaten everything but her skull and her hands i mean that's an awesome story right and what god is telling elijah here is don't worry what do you what are you sitting around feeling sorry for yourself why are you sitting here and lamenting the past and feeling so defeated don't you remember who you served you need to go and anoint some people and just trust me to take care of the problem i'll do it but you need to go and return get back on that path get back get your hand on that plow and keep your eyes pointed forward don't sit around in this cave feeling sorry for yourself and then he reminds him of verse 18 yet i have left me seven thousand in israel so sorry elijah no you're you're not the only one that's left there's seven thousand other men which have not bowed the knee to bail at every mouth which has not kissed him so he's wrong about that you know he just assumed that in his self-pity well i'm the only one nobody else knows what it's like no actually you're not it's maybe it's not as bad as you think and if you would just go serve god you'd see that and i love we'll close here he says so he departed fence and found elijah the son of sheafat who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him here's a guy who would put his hand to the plow and he with the 12th so his hand was not a plow he was actually in the yoke but and elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him and he left the oxen and ran after elijah and said let me i pray that he kissed my father and mother and then i will follow thee and he said to him go back again what have i done to thee elijah just always comes across as kind of a crotchety old man to me you know well you threw your mantle on me bud that's what you did unto me and he returned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave the people and they didn't eat then he arose and went after elijah and ministered unto him so here's a guy that gets called out of plowing with these yoke of oxen and just to make sure that there's nothing for him to go back to in the ministry to leave the ministry and just go back to he burns it and kills all the oxen and feeds everybody has a great feast and he goes and he follows and we don't hear about elijah for several more chapters all we hear is that he is the servant of elijah that he poured waters upon the hand of elijah what i love about elijah is that when he decided to follow god he just burned everything and he just said there's nothing there for me to go he had so much faith that i'm i know i'm gonna get involved in this ministry i'm gonna go serve god and i'm not even gonna leave anything for me to come back to he started out saying i'm not going to look back you know and that's such a great example and you never see elijah elijah having a pity party you never see him hiding out in a cave you know he serves god with with great zeal and i think part of it is because he's somebody understood that when you put your hand in the plow you can't look back you have to keep moving forward you have to keep a straight furrow in that field you have to keep moving forward you you can't be looking over your shoulder which is why he said hey i'm getting the ministry you can just burn all this you know and that's that's a that's good advice for anybody that's thinking about getting in the ministry you know young men that might be thinking about being a pastor someday it's not something you dip your toe in and say let me try this out and see if i like it because let me just go ahead and break it to you there's going to be times where you don't like it right there's going to be times when you tell yourself why am i doing this just being honest there's gonna be times where you might even start to feel sorry for yourself and have a little bit of a pity party of your own but you have to understand if you like elijah and just say there's no going back there's no getting out of this the only way to fail is to quit so don't that's the lesson don't look back don't don't look at the past don't lament you know the sin that you left behind don't be you know overly sorrowful about a painful past understand there's people that are suffering out there right now that are going things that you've already gone through don't look at the past and don't look at don't even look at the plow don't just sit there and think oh the christian life is just work work work work work work yes it is work you need to look at the prize of the high calling of god and christ jesus that's what paul said to do you need to press toward the mark as he said in philippians don't look at the past don't look at the plow look at the prize let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer dear lord again thank you for the bible and lord thank you that uh you we are we're new creatures in christ lord that you can we can renew our minds lord as we present our bodies a living sacrifice and lord i prayed help us as a church body as individuals to not be held back by our past whatever it might be if it's a painful past or maybe there's temptations and things that that seek to draw us back into a life of sin what i prayed help us to to be like alicia and burn those things and to leave them behind lord help us to put our hand to the plow and look unto you the author and finish of our faith we ask these things in your name amen all right we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we are dismissed tonight so is him oh me is me me me you