A Blueprint for Broken Days | Pastor Daniel Floyd

We're so glad that you're with us today. You picked a great day to come to church today. I wanna introduce somebody to you. It almost feels unnecessary to introduce him because he's such a close friend of our house and he's just such a faithful believer, faithful worship leader. Can we just give a gateway welcome to Cody Carnes with us today? So glad that you're here. And come on, let's just fill this place with our worship. Lord, we just honor you. Lord, we glorify your name. Lord, to you be the glory. Lord, we give thanks to you. Yes, Jesus. Whoo! Yeah! If a simple song can please your heart, I'll sing it. ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ If a humble spirit's what you want, I'll bring it ♪ ♪ Make all I am an offering, a living sacrifice ♪ ♪ I'm gonna praise you for all you have done ♪ ♪ I can't say it enough ♪ ♪ Every beat in my chest, every breath in my lungs ♪ ♪ All of my life and all of my love ♪ ♪ I'm gonna praise you for all you have done ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hey, Jesus ♪ ♪ I have searched the world, I know there's nothing better ♪

♪ For your faithful love endures now and forever ♪ Yes, Lord. ♪ From now until eternity, my song will be the same ♪ ♪ My song will be the same ♪ ♪ I'm gonna praise you for all you have done ♪ ♪ God, I'm so thankful, I can't say it enough ♪ ♪ Every beat in my chest, every breath in my lungs ♪ ♪ All of my life and all of my love ♪ ♪ I'm gonna praise you for all you have done ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Oh, I was blind but now I see ♪ ♪ I was bound but now I breathe ♪ ♪ Jesus, you have rescued me ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you, I just wanna thank you ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you before the battle's ever won ♪ ♪ Before the answer ever comes ♪ ♪ It is finished, it is done ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you, I just wanna thank you ♪ Come on, thank Him in this room. ♪ Oh, I was bound but now I see, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, I was bound but now I'm free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, you have rescued me ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you, I just wanna thank you ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you before the battle's ever won ♪ ♪ Before the answer ever comes ♪ ♪ Oh, it is finished, it is done ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you, I just wanna thank you ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you ♪ ♪ I'm gonna praise you for all you have done ♪ ♪ Hey, oh God, I'm so grateful, I can't say it enough ♪

♪ Every beat in my chest, every breath in my lungs ♪ ♪ All of my life and all of my love ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm gonna praise you for all you have done ♪ ♪ All you have done, oh hallelujah ♪ ♪ I was blind, but now I see it ♪ ♪ I was bound, but now I'm free ♪ ♪ My Jesus, you have rescued me ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you, I just wanna thank you ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank you before the battle's ever won ♪ ♪ Oh Lord before the answer ever comes ♪ ♪ And as it is finished it is done ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank You, I just wanna thank You ♪ ♪ I just wanna thank You, thank You Jesus, yeah ♪ Yes Lord, yes Lord. Yes Lord. ♪ When everything around me is shaking ♪ ♪ I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus ♪ ♪ Cause He's never let me down ♪ ♪ He's faithful through generations ♪ ♪ Oh so why would He fail now ♪ ♪ He won't, He won't, still got joy ♪ ♪ And I've still got joy in chaos ♪ ♪ I've got peace that makes no sense ♪ ♪ So I won't be going under ♪ ♪ I'm not held by my own strength ♪ ♪ Cause I've built my life on Jesus ♪ ♪ And He's never let me down ♪ ♪ He's faithful in every season ♪ ♪ Oh so why would He fail now ♪ ♪ He won't, He won't, still got joy ♪

You're so faithful God. ♪ He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail ♪ ♪ Never have, never will, He won't, we celebrate ♪ ♪ He won't fail, I can trust Him, yeah ♪ ♪ He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail ♪ Let's go. ♪ He's never let me down, He's faithful through generations ♪ ♪ Oh so why would He fail now, He won't, He won't, hallelujah ♪ ♪ He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail ♪ ♪ He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail ♪ ♪ He pulled me from the murray pit, and set my feet on the rock ♪ ♪ And I've got a new song to sing, a song of your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Rain came and went, blue were my eyes, and I saw the light ♪ ♪ My house was built on you, and I'm safe with you ♪ ♪ I'm gonna make it through, oh rain came and went, blue were my eyes, and I saw the light ♪ ♪ My house was built on you, and I'm safe with you, I'm gonna make it through, oh rain came and went, blue were my eyes, and I saw the light ♪ Come on, you pulled me through, God. ♪ Oh rain came and went, blue were my eyes, and I saw the light, yeah, I'm safe with you, oh rain came and went, blue were my eyes, and I saw the light ♪ ♪ I'm gonna make it through you ♪ You did it before, you'll do it again. ♪ Oh I'm gonna make it through you ♪ ♪ Cause I'm standing strong on you ♪ ♪ Yeah I'm gonna make it through you ♪ ♪ Cause my house is built on you ♪ ♪ Christ is my firm foundation ♪ ♪ The rock on which I stand ♪ ♪ When everything around me is shaking ♪ ♪ I've never been more glad ♪ ♪ That I put my faith in Jesus ♪ ♪ Cause he's the never let me down ♪

♪ He's faithful through generations ♪ ♪ So I would heal with all the faith we've got ♪ ♪ He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail ♪ ♪ On the earth we'll shout your praise ♪ ♪ Our hearts will cry, these bold, come on, tell it ♪ ♪ We lift our praise to Jesus, we lift our praise to Jesus ♪ ♪ On the earth we'll shout your praise ♪ ♪ Our hearts will cry, these bold, he's worthy of every bit of it ♪ ♪ Great are you Lord, you're so good God ♪ ♪ On the earth we'll shout your praise ♪ ♪ Our hearts will cry, these bold, we bring an offering of praise ♪ ♪ Are you Lord, one more time, on the earth ♪ ♪ On the earth we'll shout your praise ♪ ♪ Our hearts will cry, these bold, we'll say ♪ ♪ Great are you Lord, you're so good, in our hearts ♪ ♪ Oh, it's your breath, in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise ♪ ♪ It's your breath, in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, dear Lord ♪ ♪ We lift your breath, in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise ♪ ♪ It's your breath, in our lungs ♪ ♪ So we pour out our praise, dear Lord ♪ ♪ Be you're great, oh great are you, Lord ♪ ♪ You're so worthy of all the praise, God ♪ ♪ I sing, great are you, Lord ♪ ♪ We bring an offering of praise to you, God ♪ ♪ Oh, great are you ♪ ♪ When I think of all you've done for me, Lord, I sing ♪ ♪ Oh, great are you, Lord ♪

♪ So I throw up my hands, praise you again and again ♪ ♪ Cause all that I have is all I am, come on ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, and I know it's not, I'm nothing else fit for a king ♪ ♪ Except for our hearts singing hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Amen, amen, yeah, don't stop. Hallelujah simply means praise the Lord. Let's give him some praise in this place. He's worthy of the honor, the glory. He's given us breath in our lungs. He's our firm foundation. Come on, just say. One more moment. We thank you, Jesus. You've been so good. You've been so faithful. We stand on an unshakable rock, and his name is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen, amen. Well, listen, as we continue in worship, we have the opportunity to partake in communion. And at Gateway, we practice what's known as open communion. So that means you don't have to be a member of Gateway Church, but if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, we invite you to join us. And when you enter the auditorium, you should have received the communion elements, but if you didn't, would you just raise your hand right now and our ushers will come by and make sure that you have the elements. This weekend is Memorial Day weekend.

And I think it's very fitting that we are receiving communion today. Because when you memorialize someone or something, what you're doing is you're preserving the memory of. In other words, this person, they're so significant, or what they did is so meaningful that you're in essence saying, we're gonna do something to honor them so that we never forget them, never forget them. And what's interesting is in Luke chapter 22, Jesus is sitting around a table with his disciples, and he tells them this. He says, as often as you do this in reference to communion, he says, do this in remembrance of me. In other words, fellas, I know that life is going to happen. I know you'll have some ups and downs and twists and turns, and I know there's some things coming your way you won't expect, but here's the thing. Don't ever forget my broken body. Don't ever forget my shed blood. Don't ever forget that I was sacrificed so that you could live. Don't ever forget. And I say that to you today because I don't know what your week was like. I don't know what happened at home. I don't know what the doctor's report was, but here's what I do know. We have a moment today to pause and to fix our eyes on Jesus,

who by his precious blood redeemed us from the bondage of slavery and brought us into life through his blood and forgiveness. And so today, we're gonna remember Jesus. Would you open the top and take out the bread? And on the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took the bread and he broke it, and he said, this is my body given for you. Would you take and eat? And likewise, Jesus took the cup and he said, this is the new covenant in my blood, which is given for you. Would you take and drink? You can go ahead and put the cup down as we continue in worship. And Father, we just thank you for your broken body that was given so that we could be made whole. We thank you for your shed blood, which is how we receive forgiveness. We thank you for everything that you've done for us. And we decide now to fix our eyes on you because you're the author and the perfecter of our faith. In Jesus name, amen, amen. Come on, let's worship. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Come on, let's do this now. The worthy one, who eats the bread of life and who's would be the first and the last and still to come, Jesus. The worthy one, who eats the bread of life and who's would be the first and the last and still to come, Jesus. Jesus, the bread of life broken for us. The taking of our promise the worthy one, the first, the last and still to come, Jesus. The King, Jesus, the King who overwhelmed the grave the Lord who will forever with a name above all other names

Jesus. Oh, Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name who gets all the glory. Jesus, be the name. ♪ Be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ I could sing your name for all my life and still ♪ ♪ Find more to love each time ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name ever on my lips ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time that I call on you ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, Jesus, you're worthy ♪ ♪ You have been the friend who never left ♪ ♪ And I won't forget your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name ever on my lips, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, it's sweeter every time that I call on you ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, you are the one ♪

♪ There's just something about your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, Jesus, you are the one ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, come on, just speak my name ♪ ♪ Just sing my name, the name that saves, the name that heals ♪ ♪ The name that redeems, Jesus, Jesus, oh, oh, oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Jesus, your name is like the morning light ♪ ♪ The one that darkness can't deny ♪ ♪ The resurrection and the life, Jesus, Jesus, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ And Jesus, your name can save, your name can heal ♪ ♪ Your name can make the storm be still ♪ ♪ You never fail, you never will, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ The bread of life broken for us, the wounded and the worthy one ♪ ♪ The first to rise and still to come, Jesus, Jesus, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, the King who overwhelmed the grave ♪ ♪ The Lord who will forever reign, the name above all other names ♪ Let's sing it again, morning light. ♪ Jesus, your name is like the morning light ♪ ♪ The one that darkness can't deny, Jesus, Jesus, oh, oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Jesus, your name can save, your name can heal ♪ ♪ Your name can make the storm be still, you never fail ♪ Give Him all the praise, He's worth it all. ♪ Oh, Jesus, the bread of life broken for us, the wounded and the worthy one ♪ ♪ Morning light, morning light, oh, Jesus, the King of glory ♪ The one who will, the great who will Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name

Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Oh, Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Oh, Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Sing it again Yeah, Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Oh, Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Jesus, be the name Oh, Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Sing it again Oh, Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Let's just sing this bridge one more time Oh, oh, oh, oh Jesus, the bread of life broken for us the wounded and the worthy one

the first, the last Just set your eyes on Jesus Jesus, the King, the One the World, the Great the Lord, who will forever reign the name above all Sing that again, the bread Jesus, the bread of life broken for us the wounded and the worthy one the first, the last Jesus, the King, the One the World, the Great the Lord, who will forever reign the name above all the name, Jesus Oh, Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name that gives all the glory Oh, Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name that gets all the glory Oh, Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name

Jesus, be the name that gets all the glory Do you sense the presence of God in this room right now? On this Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit is lifting Jesus up in this room. And there's nothing like it. There's nothing like it when the glory of God just is a blinding light, this blinding light of grace. Jesus, how worthy He is. Will you just turn your face toward Jesus again? Lift your hands. Jesus is reigning and seated in the heavens and He's reigning and seated right here in this very room. Jesus, have all the glory. Praise. One more time. ♪ Be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name... ♪ ♪ That gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name... ♪ ♪ That gets all the glory... ♪ Yes, Lord, we declare your name, Jesus. Come on, with me in this room, just say, Jesus. Jesus. There's nothing stronger than the name of Jesus. There's nothing greater than the name of Jesus. There's no one more worthy. There's no one that deserves more glory than Jesus. So Lord, we honor you. God, we glorify you.

Lord, you deserve it all. All the praise, all the honor for your great name, your great name, Jesus. Lord, we say, Jesus. Nothing like you, Jesus. Nothing like you, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Isn't it good just to worship together? There's something so powerful about our unity in this room when we just give glory to God. There's nothing like it. Man, it's a great day. It's a great day that you came to church today. I just wanna welcome all of our first time guests. We're so grateful that you're here with us. We got an amazing message coming up from Pastor Daniel. Can we just thank Cody Karns for being with us? Cody, I just wanna thank you for your faithfulness just even to being here with us. You've stuck with us through everything and you're just such a blessing to us, such a blessing to me, such a blessing to this house. I love you, man. All right, well, let's just, why don't we get around to somebody, introduce yourself, maybe say hi, make somebody feel welcome today. Welcome to Gateway.

Hello. Thanks God for let you know. It's like today is May 4th. Um, we're at the cemetery and we didn't realize when we left that we had the centennial day, the final day of the church. Thanks so much God for this important announcement that we got to share with you and let you know just how grateful and thankful that we are because. And thank you for just for this great welcome. And then consequently, let's just welcome parents along with family and blessings to the Lord. Thanks a lot. We look forward to welcoming you. Thanks a lot too. And enjoy the final day of your graduation and God bless you and we'll see you next time. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Starting route, estimated time of arriving on God's time. Where's the last place you started? Hazards reported ahead, but continue anyway along the way.

Proceed to route. I have food. I want candy. You missed the exit. I took a short cut. Actually, we might be lost. Good morning church. Come on, let's put our hands together for Jesus one more time. Oh, come on, let's do better than that. What a great God we serve. We are glad you are in church. I want to say hello to all of our locations. Want to give a big shout out. To Frisco, Tammy and I got to be there last week and we have visited every campus now. We've been to every Gateway campus. God's doing beautiful things across the life of the church. And of course to everyone joining us online or on demand later in the week and our prison campuses, our Gateway gatherings, such a big family that we have and God's moving in great ways. As you saw, Summer Bash is coming up. So many good things happening in the life of the church this summer. So in June, Summer Bash. So if you have children in that age category, then make sure you get registered. We would not want it to fill up and you miss out.

And so go ahead and get them registered. It's gonna be a powerful time in God's presence, gonna be a powerful time sowing the word of God into your children. And let's be honest, a lot of your moms, you're like, what do I do with them this summer? Can I get a better amen? You're just like, what am I? So we're gonna help you in that. So make sure you get them registered. Of course, Youth Con in July. So many great things. And then we'll start the fall and then it'll be Christmas, everyone, and a new year. Happens that fast, right? But today is a special weekend, not only Pentecost Sunday, but it's also Memorial Day weekend. And my dad was a Vietnam vet and my father-in-law, 36 years in the Air Force. So Tammy and I have a ton of respect and admiration for our servicemen and women all around the world. And today though, we honor those who gave their life, paid the ultimate price. We remember those who sacrificed so we could have freedoms like this, so we could worship freely, preach the word of God freely. And if you don't know this, Memorial Day started in the years following the Civil War and it was originally called Decoration Day. And they would go out and decorate the grave sites

of those who had paid the ultimate price and later become known as Memorial Day. And actually it is observed at three o'clock on the last Monday of every May. And so technically at three o'clock tomorrow is when we pause as a nation to say, we remember those who paid the ultimate price. And I think it's also fitting to remember those who are still here, who will have an empty seat at the table tomorrow, who have family members they have lost. And I'm reminded of John chapter 15, where Jesus said this, greater love hath no man than he laid down his life for a friend. And so we thank God for all of those who have given of their lives so we could have the freedoms we have. Having you know that freedom isn't free, it comes at a price. We put our hands together and thank God for them. We join me in prayer. Father, we're grateful today for those who have paid the ultimate price that we might have freedom. God give thanks that we live in a place where we can boldly proclaim the good news of the gospel, where we can worship without fear of retribution. We're grateful today. And I pray for the family members

of those who will have an empty seat at the table, that your grace and your peace and your presence would be with them in a real and a powerful way. And ultimately today, Lord, we remember the greatest sacrifice ever given and that is your son, Jesus. Thank you for giving your life that we might be set free of sin and bondage and all the things that hold us back. We're so grateful today. We love you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Everybody said amen. Amen. You ready for the word of God today? Good. If you're new to Gateway, we love the presence of God and the word of God. And so we're gonna dive into the word of God today. 1 Kings chapter 17, verse one. I wanna read that. And this is gonna be the verse we work from today. It says, now Elijah, Elijah's an Old Testament prophet. The Tishbite from Tishbe. I don't know why, but when I read that, I just smile. In Gilead said to Ahab, Ahab is the king at the time. He said, as the Lord, it's an important, the reason it's capitalized is because it's Yahweh. If you ever see it uncapitalized, just a little fun fact, then it's probably referring to the name of God Adonai.

If it's like capital L, but the rest is lowercase. But when it's all uppercase, that refers to Yahweh, the God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years, except at my word. As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, whom I serve. Elijah's talking to King Ahab. I wanna bring a message entitled this, a blueprint for broken days. A blueprint for broken days. How many of you would be willing to say you've had some days that from the beginning, you're like, this is a messed up day. And it may be something significant. It may be insignificant. Like when I had the other day, if you get to know me is that I'm a, everything I like things clean. Everything has a place and should be in its place. I can't sit down at the house until everything's in its place. Tammy's like, can't you just relax? I was like, no, because I can't relax until that thing is in the dishwasher. And so I've got to go put it, anybody else with me? All the organized people, we're the things getting things done in the world. That's who we are. I'm kidding.

I'm joking. And I mean, I'm just saying, if your short sleeve shirts aren't all together and they're color coordinated and your long sleeves aren't all together and your pants, how do you find anything? Like, what are you doing with your life? Okay. Just kidding. Sort of. I silently judge you. I got to be honest. Okay. Confession. Okay. So I'm taking the kids to school one morning. I got Jonas and Abigail, the little ones are coming with me and I'm taking them to school because that morning Jonas has a play and he's in Peter Rabbit. First grade, Peter Rabbit. It's a big deal. He's the tree. Yeah. He was playing the tree and it was gonna be awesome. And how many of you know that if you have little kids, you better be there on time because the moment they step on stage, their eyes are scanning, right?

They are looking for mom and dad and that's why all the parents are waving because they don't want to be in trouble later. Because they'll get that sad look on their face. And so I was leaving in time to drop him off, park my car, get in there, get a good seat, do the whole thing. And so I get in the car. I get him in the car. Abigail jumps in. I put my backpack in the back and I sat down. I'm driving down the road and at a light, I look down and I've got a grease stain about this big on my pants. Wasn't there when I left the house. Somewhere between the door and the garage and the car, I get this big grease stain on my pants. And so at this point, my blood is like, my blood pressure went from like zero to really bad. Are y'all with me? I'm a very even kill guy. Very calm. Not a lot rattles me. But when things like that happen, I think words that are not in the Bible. I don't say them. But as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So I repent anyways. Okay, just so you know.

So my blood is boiling. I'm like, where in the world did I get this dirt? And I'm going into the school and look like I don't know how to clean my clothes. And so I thought I'll drop him off. I'm gonna run to target around the corner. I'm gonna find a cheap pair of khakis. I'm gonna change fast. I'm gonna get back when I get there and it's not open. And if I don't get there in time, little God will be looking for me and it won't be there. And so it's about the size of my phone. So I walk into the school and decide I'll hold my phone like this. I'll just walk. So I'm walking around holding my phone like this. And finally I get through the whole thing and get back in the car and I go change and everything. It's good. But how many of you know we have some broken days, right? And it may not be that yours is as insignificant. In the scheme of things, that wasn't really a big deal. I'm happy you know there are some significant moments where we have some broken days and they may turn into weeks and they may turn into months and they may turn into long seasons where we feel like, oh God, when am I gonna get out of this? And so I wanna ask you the question, what do you do on those days?

What do you do whenever things aren't going the way that you want it to? And it may not be your whole life. It may be an area of your life. But how many of you know that when one slice of the pie isn't right, it affects the rest of the pie. So what do you do on those broken days? I wanna talk to you about a blueprint for those days. And I wanna frame it in four questions that I want you to ask yourself when you face those days, because how many of you know life is gonna happen? Come on, how many of you know life's gonna happen? It's gonna happen to all of us, whether we know God or you don't know God today and you're checking it out. Life happens to all of us, it's the human experience. And so what do we do on those days? And I think we get a little lesson in this from Elijah in 1 Kings chapter 17. I wanna give you a little context. So if you're the note-taking type, why don't you write some things down. If you're not, write them down anyways. It'll help you. I wanna give you a little context. So let's go to Sunday school, a little Bible study for a minute. If you're with me, say amen. All right, so Elijah is talking to King Ahab. King Ahab is the king of the Northern Kingdom.

That may not mean a whole lot to you, but Israel, the nation of Israel, 12 tribes, they were a united kingdom until 1 Kings 12. Then they became a divided kingdom. You had the Northern Kingdom, which is Israel. You have the Southern Kingdom, which is Judah. The Northern Kingdom turned their back on God. And it began with King Jeroboam I. That name won't mean a lot to you, but he was the king that started them down an idolatrous pathway, meaning they stopped worshiping the true one God, the living God, and they started worshiping idols. And then it just went downhill from there because how many of you know, when you stop following the ways of God, life always goes downhill. And so it ends up in 1 Kings 16, you have King Ahab comes on the scene and he's the worst king of them all. He's the most evil. He institutes the worship of a false God named Baal. He sets up Asherah poles and he marries Jezebel. Now you may not even have any Bible knowledge, but you're just like Jezebel, that does not sound good. That is not a good one, right? And so he marries Jezebel and leads Israel, the Northern kingdom into even more corrupt and idolatrous things. And so in the middle of all that,

in the middle of a very broken time, national apostasy, national unrest, this is where Elijah is trying to live for God and do what God wants him to do and be a mouthpiece for God. And so here Elijah is in the middle of that and he goes to King Ahab and he says this, as surely as the Lord lives, right? In whom I serve, there's not gonna be dew, nothing coming up from the ground and no rain coming from the sky except at my word. Now, this doesn't seem like a big deal to us other than like, man, what a flex, right? Like you're gonna go and cause this to happen. But the story is much deeper than that because the God Baal in Canaanite mythology was the God of storm and rains. So it was quite savage what Elijah did. It was kind of a punch in the throat. Are y'all with me? You're like, can you say that in church? I did. Because what Elijah basically was saying is that Ahab, what you're serving is a false God and the God that I'm served actually has the power to control the winds and the rains. And I just want you to know that that God whom I serve is gonna cause there to be no rain or dew until at my word. It was a really interesting moment there. Whenever he comes with this message before the king

and just to also point out the king could have killed him. He could have just annihilated him in that moment but here comes Elijah boldly, confidently before the king giving what God had told him to say. And the rest of this story, I think we find the blueprint because Elijah was living in a broken day. And maybe your broken day isn't national apostasy and idol worship that keeps you up all night. And maybe the step of faith God is calling you to take is to go before a king and speak to power the truth of God's word. But no matter what your step is or what your situation is, if it matters to you, it matters to God. So I want us to see what Elijah did and then take four questions and you have to answer them for yourself. I can't answer them for you. But if I leave, if you do, they'll help you on broken days. If you're with me, say amen. All right, so we know from James chapter five, whenever we hear about the faith of Elijah, the Bible says he was a man just like you and I, but he prayed. And when he prayed, what happened? He got the word that we see in first Kings 17, one of what God has told him to go tell Ahab. So question number one is this, whenever you find yourself in broken days, the question one I want you to answer is this, what do you seek first?

What is the first thing that you seek? You may have heard it said before and maybe you've said it. I think probably I've said it before is that, well, I've done all I know to do. I guess now all that's left to do is pray. Maybe we should flip that the other way. How would it change your life? If you got into the habit and your natural response to pressure moments or broken days or whatever language you want to put to it, but what if the first response was no, I run to God first. The very first thing I do is I seek God. We see Elijah in a terrible situation among the nation. And the first thing he does is he goes and he seeks the heart of God. Cause how many of you know that whenever you are facing some things in life, you don't need what your mama thinks about it, your daddy thinks about it. What you need first is what does God say about it? You should seek counsel and have godly wisdom. I'm all for that. But the first thing you should do is God, I need to know what you're saying about this situation. And here's what I found in life is that often, often when life is good, we seek a little bit less. But when there's a little more pressure and pain, we seek God a little more. I've just watched it over and over, been preaching God's word since I was 17,

been leading in church for a long, long time, close to 30 years. And here's what I've noticed about human behavior. When life is tough, people lean into God. When life is tough, people lean in. I mean, church attendance is up. Like, you sit closer to the front. I don't know if you think there's more anointing up here than there is, I don't know what it is, but you just, you know. Preacher I grew up with in Tennessee said, I sit close because I want to be close to the spout where the glory comes out. Sounds good, theologically wrong. But sounds cool, and very country, that's where I grew up. But how many of you know God answers the prayer, God blesses? Gonna watch online this week. Maybe not leaning in in prayer like I used to. And so could it be this, could it be that the pain actually is a gift in our life? Because it caused us to lean into God a little bit more? Could it be the pressure actually became a gift? I know you don't see it like that in the moment. I know in the moment it's like, dear God, just get me out of this. God, remove this from me. But could it be, and I'm not saying God sends those things in your life, I don't believe that, but I do believe Romans eight,

that he works all things together for the good of those who love him and are the called according to his purpose. And so I know they talk bad about you, but could it be a gift? And I know you cried yourself to sleep, but could it be a gift? And I know it didn't make sense in the moment and you didn't wanna walk through that trial, but could it be a gift? Because how many of you know that you came out on the other side more full of faith, stronger, more than a conqueror, loving Jesus more, knowing God in a way that you never would have known him before if you hadn't have walked through that valley. Could it be a gift? And then on the other side of the blessing, may we not be the people that begin to retract a little bit? Because now God fixed it, God did it. And now we don't wanna engage like we used to. Where do you run first? Elijah ran to the Lord. I think we also see in verse one, he says to Ahab, he says, the God, the Lord God in whom I serve. I think number two question I want for you that we see in Elijah is where do you find confidence? Elijah was clear about where his confidence was. I pointed out in the text that it says, Lord all capitalized, that means that it was the name Yahweh.

It's the name that God disclosed to Moses that is his name, Exodus chapter three. If you're with me, say amen. Exodus chapter three, we see that he discloses the name Yahweh whenever Moses is at the burning bush and every says, I am that I am, that's the name Yahweh. It means to exist or to be. So here's what God was saying. It's not great grammar in the English language, but he was saying, I be. That's who I am, I be. I think he left it at that. This is my speculation. I think he left it at that because he would go on later to let us know that he be whatever it is that we need him to be. That he is because Israel would need a deliverer and they would need a provider and they would need a sustainer and they would need a healer. And instead of God just holding Moses for eons and eons, letting him know everything that he was, he just went with Moses, all you need to know is I be. And whenever you get to an issue that you need in your life, I be that too. So he said, I'm Yahweh and that is whom I serve. So Elijah wasn't coming to Ahab because he had some good self-talk. You know, that I'm strong and I'm capable and I can stand before Elijah

and I'm gonna do the Superman pose. No, he wasn't coming in his own strength. He said, I come in the name of Yahweh. How many of you know that when you're fighting some spiritual battles in your life, you better not be coming in your name. You better not be coming in your small group leader's name. You better not be coming in your pastor's name. You better be coming in the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus. See, in the name of Yahweh, there's some things that it highlights. Number one, it highlights his sovereignty, that he is a sovereign God, that it means this. It means that he is in control of all things. There's nothing that is outside of his control. So Elijah wasn't just coming before King Ahab to give him a word from the Lord because Elijah had a type A personality and a whole lot of confidence. And he just went to tell him and he was a great communicator. And that's, no, he said, I come in the name of the Lord that I serve. And this is the sovereign God. Not only does that, it highlights his. Self-sufficiency, that means this, that means that he depends on nothing and no one. God's never had a day where he needed something from someone you and I need things, we need water, we need food,

we need sustenance for us to sustain our, but he is the self-sufficient. He is all good, all by himself. He doesn't need relationship. He's all good, all by himself. He doesn't need our worship. Are y'all with me? He deserves our worship, but he's not up in heaven with some hole in his heart going, man, if only Cody would do that verse one more time, I would really feel fulfilled. Are you following me? We don't serve a needy God. He is self-sufficient all in ourself and he is deserving of our worship and he's worthy of our worship. It also highlights that he is the self-existent God. That means that he has no source other than himself. He's not a Tesla. He doesn't need to plug into something. He doesn't need to plug into some other power. He is the power. He is the source of it all. Come on, can I get a better amen? We're talking about our God today. Let me give you a few more. He's immutable. Some of you are like, I didn't come to go to school today. This is gonna help you. He's immutable, meaning this,

he does not change in his character or his nature. Man, that should give you great confidence today that he's the same God that he was yesterday, he'll be the same today, and he's gonna be the same in our future because he's the immutable God. He's a never changing. If you ever have to worry, is God gonna forgive me today? Yes, he is because he's immutable. His character and his nature do not change. Is God gonna be there with me today? Absolutely, because he's immutable. His character and his nature do not change. But what if I walk away from him? Will he pursue me like the shepherd pursued the one and left the 99? Yeah, because that wasn't a one-off for God. He's immutable. His character and his nature never change. That's our God. That's who he is. It highlights his covenant faithfulness. That means this, he's good on his promises. This is our God. I just show you this. Why, I wanna stir a little confidence in you because here's what happens, is that life goes by, disappointment happens, and we begin to lower God to the level of our experience

instead of continuing to elevate him to the level of who he is. Just because my experience isn't what I want when I want, doesn't change the nature of God. And so Elijah walks in to King Ahab with his spine stiffened and his head up and his shoulders back and declares the word of the Lord. He wasn't speaking the words of Elijah. He was speaking the words of Yahweh, the sovereign, self-existent, self-sustaining, covenant-keeping, immutable God. He was rooted in something deeper, y'all. And if you're gonna make it through broken days, man, you better be more rooted than just a couple of cool phrases that look good on a coffee mug. You better be rooted in Yahweh. He said to him, the God in whom I serve, Yahweh, I'm sending you a message on his behalf. And he actually does control the wind and the waves. He actually does control whether or not rain falls. Then he goes on to say this in verse two. He says, then the word of the Lord, Yahweh, came to Elijah. And he said, leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kareth Ravine, east of the Jordan. Then he tells him how he's gonna provide for him. You will drink from the brook and I've ordered the ravens to feed you there. So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kareth Ravine, east of the Jordan

and stayed there. This is important. He stayed there. He went to the place where God said the provision would be. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening. And he drank from the brook. Question number three is this. Are you willing to go there? There for Elijah was the place of provision. It was the place that God told him, the ravens gonna meet you there. We'll put you by a brook. And I want you to go hide there and the raven will meet you there. This was the place where God said, I will provide for you. I believe that if Elijah had went to another brook against another river, he would have starved to death. Because the place of provision wasn't over there, it was where God said. The raven was gonna show up at the Kareth Ravine at that brook east of the Jordan. It wasn't showing up somewhere else. And some of us were missing the provision of God because we didn't obey the last thing God told us. And God's like, I told you to go there and that's where I'm at and that's where my presence is and that's where my provision is. But you decided to go somewhere else or you decided to stay where you used to be.

But he told Elijah, I want you to leave and hide over there. And some of us don't wanna obey the word of the Lord because we feel like the word of the Lord is taking us backwards. I'm standing before kings, giving the word of the Lord. Then the next word of the Lord is, go hide. That seems backwards. I thought I'd go from being in front of kings to another king. But I went from being in front of a king to hiding. Faith asked me the other day, the second born, she said, dad, can you, she said, dad, can you Apple pay me some money? That's not new. That's not the new part. That happens every day. This was the new part. She goes, I'm wanting to get a disposable camera and I'm gonna take pictures all summer, the summer before my senior year. She'll be a senior next year. Pray for me, I've already cried over it. It means she's gonna go to college somewhere. I don't get it. And I was like, a disposable camera. That is amazing. And I started thinking about this. Sometimes God wants us to hide. It seems like a step back.

She went, I was like, why don't you use like the Fuji app on your phone? Cause it'll create the same kind of picture, but she wanted the disposable. Now, if you don't know what a disposable camera is, there was a day back in the 1900s. Where you didn't take pictures with a device. You know, you took them on a camera and it went click. Then you rolled it. You're like 24 pictures left. Then you would take that to the Walmart, not Walmart, the Walmart. And you'd give it to them. And then about a week or two later, 90% chance you would get your pictures. Come on, I'm taking a better, amen. Right, that's true right there. That is true right there. And so what would happen is in the meantime, is they would take that film into the dark room and in the dark room, they would develop the film. Can I tell you something? There's some things God wants to do in your life that can only happen in the dark room of God's work in your life. Sometimes he's gonna take you hide. He's gonna put you by a ravine where no one is seeing you and no one notices you and no one's watching you serve and no one's seeing you be faithful to the word of God and faithful to prayer and faithful to worshiping

and faithful to loving people that are right in front of you. But can I tell you, he's developing something in you. God does his best work in the dark room. Hello, Moses, I'm gonna send you to the backside of the desert for 40 years where no one knows your name and no one sees you. No one knows your name and no one sees you so that one day you can lead my nation out of bondage. I'm gonna put you in hiding. Don't resist the dark room of God. He does some of his best work in the dark room, but you've gotta be willing to go there. I don't know if you ever heard of this, but whenever an eagle has little eaglets, it builds this massive nest at a very high altitude and it'll cover the bottom of the nest with fur. And whenever it's time for the eagles to learn to get standing on their own two feet and strengthen their arms and learn to fly, he will take half of the fur out so that the branches are exposed so it begins to hit their belly so they're forced to push themselves up. Some of us, God is just trying to strengthen something in us and we're asking, what are you doing to me? God goes, no, I'm doing something for you. I'm trying to strengthen faith in you, but you've gotta be willing to go there. But God, I need you to fix my marriage.

Great, I want you to release the bitterness and offer forgiveness. I can't go there. God, I need you to do something for me. God, I need you to restore this relationship. God, I need you to give me promotion at work. Great, I want you to do what no one else is with. I don't want to go there. God, I need a blessing on this next contract and I need the business to grow and I want to sell. I want your hand on it. Great, begin to tithe. I don't want to go there, but there is the place of his presence. There's the place of provision. There is the place of obedience. Are you willing to go there? I think many times we're waiting on God to give us the next thing and God is waiting on us to obey the last thing he said. Watch this. Elijah doesn't get the word for Ahab and he doesn't share it with him and if he doesn't share it with him, he doesn't get the word for the brook. If he hadn't listened to God for the word for Ahab and have the boldness to go share it with the king, then he doesn't get the word about the brook and he doesn't get provision in a drought. Sometimes we haven't obeyed the last thing God said

and we're asking God to do the next thing. I would say back up, do the last thing he told you. God, I want to know the deeper things of your word. He's like, let's start out with being forgiving. How about we start out with blocking and tackling? The basics, generosity, loving people that are hard to love, kindness. How about we just start with fruits of the spirit? But I want to know if the Leviathan is going to come back and eat the head of the, what? But we're nasty to people that we work with? Right. What are we doing? We have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof? Happy Memorial Day, everybody. Are you with me? Are we willing to go there? So then he's there, some commentators, scholars say anyway between a year and two years, the drought was about three years. So he's there for a while. And then the word of the Lord comes to him again. It says this, sometime later, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, go at once to Zarephath and Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food. So the supply had dried up and he said,

now I'm moving you and I have a new supply for you. So he went to Zarephath and when he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked her, would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink? As she was getting it, he called out, Anne, bring me please a piece of bread. Question number four, final one. Can you change? Think about this for a moment. Two years by the brook. Two years of God's provision by the brook. Two years by the brook because God said, go to the brook. I imagine the brook was pretty comfortable. I mean, bird in the morning, bird at night. I imagine the first month he may have been like, you know, every morning, but he probably got to a place like, oh, the bird's showing up regularly. Comes at about 8.45, comes around 4.45 p.m. Okay, got this going. Got some water here, loving life. And then God says, now you need to move. Here's my question. When God begins to do a new thing, can you let go of the old thing and move on? Can you let go of the old thing God was doing? Some of us would rather die by a dried up brook of God's previous provision,

than we would move to the new thing that God wants to do in our life. And so we stay by the brook. Church people, we're the best at this. I mean, we'd put a chapel by the brook. We'd put a plaque. back outside honoring the raven. Come on y'all, y'all know I'm telling the truth. We would've got a film crew in, interviewed the raven. Where'd you find the food? Interviewed Elijah. We would've sat there by the dried up brook. We'd have put a committee together, did a fundraising campaign with a thermometer on how we're gonna revitalize the brook. We're gonna get water flowing in this brook again. We're gonna make this happen. There's some way to do it. We're gonna fix this brook. That's why on any given Sundays, there's memorials all around our nation to what God used to do. Instead of churches that are in on what God is doing right now. May we never become that. Amen. Amen. But in order to embrace the new thing, you have to let go of the old thing. But God, I like the brook.

I've been here two years. I like the raven. We became friends. I named the raven. It's Bob the raven. But he's like, in that season, I was doing brook and raven. Now I'm doing widow. In that season, I was using the bird. This season, I'm wanting to use somebody else to be the supply. Elijah, you gotta be willing to move. You gotta be willing to change. You gotta be willing to let go. You gotta be willing to let go of old mindsets, Elijah, of old patterns. I'm wanting to do something new. And if you'll go on and read the story, it wasn't even about Elijah because the widow was about to die and she had no bread and God wanted to do a miracle in her house. But if Elijah had stayed by the brook, then that widow wouldn't have run into Elijah. And if she hadn't run into Elijah, he wouldn't ask her for bread. And if he hadn't asked her for bread, then she wouldn't have went home and made the bread for the prophet of God before she made it for her and her son.

And she only had one piece of bread left and they were gonna die. And that was the plan. But then God did a miracle in her life. God did a miracle in her house and they lived because Elijah was willing to change. Listen to me, someone in your life is waiting for you to embrace the new thing that God wants to do because whenever God works in your life, it is not about your life only. It is about the lives around you that God wants to impact. And you gotta be willing to let go. You gotta be willing to leave Virginia, everybody. Can I say it that way? You gotta be willing to let go and say, God, I'll do the new thing because my life is yours, wholly yours. There's a military story about a soldier in World War II in World War II from the opposing side, went into the Philippines, was doing guerrilla warfare, gathering intelligence. And the war was over and he continued to fight like it was going on for 29 years because he didn't believe the war had ended. He wasted 29 years of his life fighting a war that was over. And how many of us are wasting days, weeks, months, and years at brooks that have dried up?

Don't waste your life because you're unwilling to change. We serve the God who declares of himself, I am the God. Behold, do you not see I am doing a new thing? And he's doing it in your life. He's doing it in my life. Can you see it? And will you embrace it? What do you do on broken days? You seek God first. You root your confidence in him. He is Yahweh. You obey. You go there. Where's there? Wherever he's telling you. And then you embrace the change because he's moving you from victory to victory. He's moving you from victory to victory. Because he's moving you from victory to victory, from glory to glory. He will. will not let you stay stationary as long as you're following Jesus. Do you receive the word of God today? Is that helpful? Will you pray with me? Every head bowed, every eye closed. I don't know what the spirit of God

may be saying to you today, but where is there? Where is the place of obedience? Where's the place that he's guiding you to? Where's the place that maybe you've resisted saying yes, been putting off saying yes, don't put it off anymore. Let today be the day where you let go. Maybe what he was doing, but he's wanting to do a new thing. Maybe you're here today and the step that you need to take is to make the most significant decision you'll ever make in your life, and that is to surrender your life to Jesus. The Bible tells us that we all have a problem, all of humanity. We have a problem that none of us can fix, and it's called sin. That's why Jesus came. Because sin separates us from God, Jesus came to bridge the gap. He came and lived the life you and I can never live a perfect life. He died the death you and I deserved so that you and I could have the forgiveness of sin. And if you're not confident today, completely confident that your sins have been forgiven, that the grace of God has been applied to your life, in order to give you the opportunity to receive that, the Bible says that if we'll confess with our mouth, Jesus as Lord, believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, then we will be saved.

So I wanna give you the opportunity, wanna lead you in a prayer that simply does that, that makes that confession and expresses that belief. So no one's gonna come to you or point you out, ask no one to look around, but if you're here today and you say, pastor, that's me, I need a fresh start. I need a new beginning. Then when I count to three, I just want you to slip your hand up real high. I just want you to slip it up high and long enough for me to see, or the pastor at your campus, and then we're gonna pray together. But if that's you, you just shoot your hand up on three. One, two, three, just shoot it up high. God bless you. God bless you. Keep it up, keep it up. Very back up in the balcony, I see you. God bless you. Incredible, you can put it down. Church, will you pray this out loud with me for the benefit of those who just lift their hand up? Just say, Jesus, I need you, I ask you to forgive me. Of all my sin, I believe you died for me. I believe God raised you from the dead. Today, I make you my Lord and Savior. Thank you for a brand new beginning. In Jesus' name, everyone said amen. Amen. Can we celebrate those who made that decision?

It's incredible. Hey, the best decision you'll ever make in your life. And we as a church, we exist to help come alongside you in this journey of faith and would love to do that. And there's a few ways you can let us know if you just made that decision. And one easy way is the text, just the name Jesus to 71010, and our team will follow up with you. You can go to Connect Central out in the lobby and some of our team there would love to meet you. Just let them know, hey, I prayed that prayer and made that decision. Or of course, you can come and meet with someone on our prayer team. Just a second, we're gonna sing a quick chorus. And if you have a prayer need at all in any way, maybe you've been facing some broken days and you're like, man, I need somebody to pray with me and agree with me. We'd love to do that. And so I'm gonna ask you to stand all over the room and ask our prayer team to make their way down, down front and up in the balcony. But if you need prayer for any reason, we would love to serve you in that way. You go and slip out of your seat right now as the team leads us in one more chorus. ♪ The glory, oh Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪

♪ That gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ The glory, Jesus the bread of life ♪ ♪ Broken for us, wounded and the worthy one ♪ ♪ The first and last and still to come ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus the king of overwhelm ♪ ♪ The great, the Lord who will forever reign ♪ ♪ The name above all other names, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gets all the glory ♪ Amen, amen. Can we just put our hands together and thank God for such a powerful message, so challenging, encouraging, learning what to do on broken days, so good. And I'm gonna share a few closing announcements, but even as I do, if you have a prayer need, we have leaders here at the front, we have leaders there in the balcony. As I share these announcements, you can keep coming front. We coming forward, we still wanna pray with you, so please give us that opportunity. We'd love to just partner with God and see what he does in your life. Just a couple of reminders for you. First of all, don't forget to register your kids for Summer Bash.

You can do that by texting SUMMERBASH to 71010, or you can go on our website, but you don't wanna miss it. It's gonna be three incredible days of fun for the kids, but also really helping them grow in their faith, so make sure you sign up for that. Also, again, we wanna welcome you if you're here for the very first time or just new to Gateway. We're so excited that you chose to be with us this weekend, and we love the opportunity to personally connect with you. And there's a couple of ways to do that. First of all, out in our lobby, there's an area called Connect Central, and I'll be there along with some of our leaders to meet you, love to get to know you a little bit, answer any questions that you have, and we also have a gift for you. But then if you can't do that for whatever reason, or maybe you're joining us online, you can simply text the word CONNECT to 71010, and we can follow up with you there as well. Let me pray a blessing over us today out of Numbers chapter six. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen, God bless you, we love you,

and we'll see you next week.