BE REVIVED IN '25: REFILL

We continue our series, Be Revived in ‘25.  We hope that you are experiencing a sense of newness and energy as we go through this series.  Spiritual strength is important.  Some writers even talk about a “spiritual quotient,” which is a measure of a person’s ability to understand their purpose, values, and meaning in life. As we engage in life, we are all at times drained and overwhelmed. We not only experience this, but we see the impact of this all around us: fatigue, stress, anxiety, fear, and the list continues!  Even believers at times are drawn into a downward spiral that challenges their faith!  What are we to do when we sense the inevitable drain of the circumstances that we encounter in life?  In the sermon Refill we turn to 1 Kings 19:7-13 and the prophet Elijah. This prophet is one of the great spiritual forces in the Bible.  He would not experience death because of his close relationship with God.  Yet in this passage, he is fearful, discouraged, and overwhelmed.  It happened just after he had won a great victory and brought an end to the drought in Israel! If this man of God can be overwhelmed, what hope is there for us?  Plenty!  Because we serve the God who was so very faithful to Elijah.  God uses this event in Elijah’s life as a wonderful illustration of his love, faithfulness, and power for every believer who has nothing left in their spirit.  This moment is not only transformative for Elijah, but can be transformative for us.  We pray that you will sense being refilled with the power of God that filled Elijah as you read 1 Kings 19:7-13:

1 Kings 19:7-13: ⁷ The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” ⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” ¹¹ The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.  And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  (NIV)