Divine Rest W/Pastor Ericka

Finding Rest in God's Presence explores how to discover true spiritual peace in today's hectic world. This message delves into the biblical concept of rest that goes beyond physical relaxation—it's about finding spiritual renewal through trust in God.

Through the powerful stories of Elisha and Elijah, we learn two essential aspects of spiritual rest. Elisha's experience in 2 Kings 6 teaches us to see beyond our visible circumstances to recognize God's protection that already surrounds us. When Elisha and his servant were surrounded by enemy forces, Elisha prayed for his servant's eyes to be opened to see the spiritual reality—hills full of horses and chariots of fire protecting them.

Elijah's journey in 1 Kings 19 shows us how God meets us in our exhaustion and isolation. After his great victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah fled in fear and found himself alone in a cave. There, God spoke not through dramatic displays of power, but through a gentle whisper, demonstrating His intimate presence even in our darkest moments.

This message addresses common struggles like anxiety, burnout, spiritual fatigue, and the tendency to strive in our own strength rather than resting in God's provision. It offers practical guidance on how to:

• Recognize where you're striving instead of trusting
• See the spiritual protection God has placed around you
• Hear God's whispers in your daily life
• Command God's rest over specific areas of struggle
• Practice Sabbath rest as a lifestyle, not just a day

Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by circumstances, battling anxiety, or simply exhausted from trying to handle everything on your own, this message provides biblical wisdom for finding true rest in God's presence. Learn how to stop the cycle of striving and enter the empowered rest that comes from complete trust in God's faithfulness and provision.

Perfect for anyone seeking spiritual renewal, dealing with burnout, or wanting to deepen their trust in God during challenging times. This teaching combines biblical insights with practical application to help you experience the rest Jesus promised to all who come to Him.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Turn your eyes upon Jesus And I don't mean figuratively, I actually mean really, to turn the eyes of our heart toward him. So just take a moment, breathe in deep, as we settle before the Lord's word and we turn our hearts toward Jesus. we're few here but i just want to recognize that on this labor day weekend while the world is talking about resting from work i believe that we're here intentionally whether you're in the seats or streaming in the holy spirit is inviting us to receive a deeper rest as well in him and not just from your labor but from striving many of the songs talked about from fear from maybe Amen. Amen. Amen. but from a heart that is laid down its fight and has learned to trust God again. Amen. Amen. We get a chance to go into the word of the Lord and we'll pray in a moment. I have not introduced myself for those that are visiting maybe for the first time. Welcome to the house of the Lord. I'm Pastor Erica Williams. I am one of the co-pastors here along with Pastor Andrea, who you will see probably next Sunday, but is off for this weekend. Welcome to the house of the Lord. Let us pray. Holy Spirit, in this moment, as we do stand or sit before your word, we do just that. We ask you to help us to turn our eyes toward you. This moment with you, hearing from you, is maybe for some feels like something that they've checked the box off of, something that maybe they didn't want to do today. But I just want to remind us, this is the most important moment of the week to sit in your presence and to hear from you. I pray that as we do that, you would speak uniquely and individually to each one of us and to transform us by your word. In Jesus name. Amen. We're going to do this a little different today. I do want to invite you into the word of God, where we'll actually glance at two passages, both in the book of Kings, so first and second Kings. But let me give you some context before we get to the verses I want to read over you and into you today. So there's only two scriptures that I'll be reading. So if you'll forgive me for not asking you to stand, just two passages, but we'll get to that in a minute. In 2 Kings 6, the king, we're starting with the king of Aram and he's waging war against Israel. But every time he tries to ambush Israel, Israel's army somehow knows exactly where not to be. He gets so frustrated that he assumes someone is a spy within his inner circle. He thinks he has a But his officers say, no, king, it's that prophet, Elisha. He's the one. And he somehow even knows what you're doing and what you speak in your bedroom. The king sends horses. He sends chariots. He sends this strong show of force by night to surround the city where Elisha is staying. And my contemplative self invites you just for a moment to picture that and let that sink in. A whole army that is sent after one man of God. Elisha at this moment wasn't running from the enemy. He wasn't exposed. He quite literally was asleep. He was resting. And then this is where we pick up in the word Elisha's servant wakes up. He sees that they're surrounded and is shaken with fear. But Elisha, on the other hand, sees something entirely different. So we'll go into 2 Kings 6 and 15 through 17. 15 begins when the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning. An army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city."'Oh no, my Lord, what shall we do?' the servant said." Don't be afraid, the prophet answered, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed, open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see. Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he looked and he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This is the word of the Lord. So then what I love about this story is that it doesn't end there. The Lord kind of gives Elisha the upper hand. He prays again. And this time he asked the Lord to strike the enemy with blindness. And God does. And in an almost humorous twist, Elisha goes out to meet the army, that very army that came to capture him. And he says, you're in the wrong place. Follow me. I'll take you to the man you're looking for. And he leads them straight into Samaria, which is Israel's stronghold. But he practices mercy. And when the king of Israel asks him, should we kill him? He says, no, feed him. Feed them. So they prepare a meal, a feast, in fact. And when they're done, they release the enemy. Not only is Elisha not harmed, but that act of kindness allowed the enemy and caused them to never raid that territory again. So Elisha, the one who rested, the one who saw heaven surrounding him, the one who trusted what God showed him, not only survived, but God shifted the outcome because he trusted him. He had victory. He had wisdom. In the midst of facing the strong force of an army, he had peace because he was rooted in an unwavering faith. in his God. This God who had already proven himself to Elisha. And this is the invitation as we look at this story that I think is before us today, to stop panicking and to start seeing, to stop striving and handling things on our own or attempting to and start trusting God, to rest in maybe not perfect circumstances, let me say that again, and not only just perfect circumstances, because I guarantee you they will never come, but in a perfect God. Knowing that when we abide in our perfect God, no matter what surrounds us, we are already surrounded by so much more. This is the kind of story that I think some of us live more than we realize. On the surface, it wouldn't make sense for the King of Aaron to target Elisha, but actually there's more going on than what you can see in your natural eyes. And I think Elisha knew that. And the same is true for us. This life that we live, these things that we bring before the Lord when we worship and we say, Lord, I'll lay this down and I'll worship you. These are the things that I'm trusting you with. These are the things I'm praying for. Can I just tell you, it's more going on than what your natural natural eyes can see we are living in a spiritual battle and from Elisha we can see oh how threatened the enemy is in someone walking in discernment and in obedience yielded trusting and resting in the host of heaven that surrounds them even when they can't see sometimes Sometimes rest and confidence and trust in God comes not when the battle goes away, but when our vision returns to see we are not fighting it alone. When faith opens our eyes to see what was already true, resting in the knowledge that we have already been surrounded by what looks like fire to our enemies. We have a God surrounding us that's not playing catch up to our problems or our situations. He's already ahead of it. And some of you today, you're being invited maybe out of panic, into expectation, out of blindness to put on new eyes to see that the answer is not in you striving or what you can make happen that keeps coming up for yourself. what you can make happen for yourself, but you're invited to rest in what God says in his word that he will do for you. For if it's not in God, Pastor Andrea said this last week, if God's not doing it, it will fall flat. If God's not doing it, our striving will fall flat. For we live, we move, we have our being in God. Now, that's one story. And I recognize that not every moment feels as clean and as triumphant as what we read in Kings. Some of us We're not in the moment of vision and fire. Perhaps we're in a cave. So let me take you to the story of another prophet. Back, why do we go from 2 Kings to now 1 Kings? Let's look at Elijah. Elijah is Elisha's predecessor who, like Elisha, had also seen the power of God firsthand. In fact, he had just called down fire We know the story from heaven on Mount Carmel in such a dramatic display. This God that rains down fire, that comes down like fire. So much so that wandering hearts were turned back to God. Elijah saw God move in power. He saw him move in boldness, in glory, in victory. But then, right after that high moment, he found himself running from his life, from the life threats, the threats on his life, from Jezebel, who promised, I will do to you exactly what you have done to my prophets. So Elijah ran in fear from victory to the threat of defeat he ran. And He was worn out. He was hiding from the very thought, just the thought, just the threat from an enemy that God would not show up for him. Can I be real? No. Does the enemy not do this to us every day? Just the threat. We have testimonies. We have, oh my gosh, we are a community that receives each other's testimonies. To know that God is no respecter of persons. If he does it for one, I can believe him for me. But the lie of the enemy is he will not do it for you. That's how it goes sometimes. You just have to a breakthrough. Things are going well, but you're faced with something new and you're unsure that he will show up for you like he did before. The enemy says, maybe it was just that one time. And the thought of God not showing up, we see in Elijah's story, it almost drains every single drip of hope that he has held onto to believe that the God that he served would rescue him. The God that answers by fire will show up in fire again. He's exhausted by the thought. He's empty. And he's in a cave, bracing himself for impact. And that's where we find Elijah before we go into this passage. In a cave, not just physically isolated, but emotionally done, right? He's crying out to God, not for answers, but he's kind of resigning. You might as well take me, God. I might as well throw in the towel. But God says something unexpected in 1 Kings 19, 11 The Lord says, After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. What Elijah needed wasn't more fire. He didn't need another dramatic display to prove that God was God. He needed the whisper. He needed the presence of God. He needed intimacy because the whisper says, I'm so close that you can hear me whisper. The whisper is the sound of God saying, I'm still here. I see you. I see your circumstances. I'm still God and I change not. I'm not done with you yet. And what follows in this story is even more beautiful. It's not just this, I'm with you, this pat on the back, I'm here. But God gently recommissions Elijah. So he brings him out of this cave and says, let's go. Not angrily, not impassively. but with purpose and reassurance, he gives him his next steps and he reminds him he's not alone. God restores him. So we stand before the word with two prophets, two stories. One opens his eyes to see what's surrounding him and the other stills his heart to hear what's already speaking to him. And so for some today in this place, you don't need chariots of fire. You don't need thunder. You just need a whisper. And it's here. The same God who surrounds you on the hilltop whispers to you in a cave, both saying, I'm Abba. I never fail. I'm near. And yes, on Labor Day weekend, God is inviting us to rest in him. Not merely a physical rest because anyone like me who knows when you fall asleep from exhaustion and your mind won't turn off, true rest does not occur. It's not physical. It begins in your spirit. And we need the rest in our spirit. Jesus Jesus said in Matthew 11 and 28, come to me all who are weary and burdened. Some scripture says heavy laden and I will give you rest. Hebrews 4 and 9 through 11 tells us that there remains, there remaineth a rest for the people of God. It's waiting for you. It's been, when was Hebrews written? It's been waiting. Waiting for you. Sabbath, rest, sure. When we try to, was it Shabbat? Was it Sabbath? All meaning this rest, but a type and a shadow of the rest that is stored up for us through the sacrifice of Christ. This is what Jesus won for us. This was what it was all about, his sacrifice to rescue us, to restore us to the place. Imagine the Garden of Eden, God walking in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve. This is the price Jesus paid to restore us back into intimacy, into oneness, walking with now God and Jesus. walking with them, partakers of the oneness that they share. This is the rest. It's not a passive stance. It's an empowered stance that I do not walk alone. I don't walk alone. I walk in oneness with God and the Father alongside me. And the Holy Spirit does this mysterious thing where he empowers me to do what the Father is calling me to do. This rest that Hebrews 4 says, It has been waiting for us and it is a command over our life. I just want us to get that for a minute. It's not a, it would be nice if you would, or a suggestion. Hebrews 4 says this is a command. He's telling us, I command the rest, my rest over your life. And it tells us in Hebrews 4 as well, that some could not enter into this rest because of unbelief. So we must agree with God. If you've been born again and you're a born again believer through the power of the Holy Spirit, you have the authority, yes, to speak, you have the power over the enemy, but you also have the authority to command the rest of the Lord over your life. And I just want you to have a moment real quick to agree with God. Say, I command the rest of the Lord over me. And for some, it's I command the rest of the Lord over my relationships, over my family, over my body. Body, come into alignment. I command the rest of the Lord over my job. Whatever it is that you've been striving to work on for yourself, we can command the rest of God. So I'll leave you with this question. I believe the Lord is asking us today, what is it that you're striving? Where are you striving when he's calling you to rest? What fear has you frantically working and striving and worrying when he's saying, settle here. My presence is enough. I've already surrounded you with everything that you need. Maybe today you find yourself in the middle of a visible battle like Elisha and Elisha's servant and you're frantic. You're surrounded by maybe real challenges. I don't want to discard those. I don't want to honor that. You're facing maybe real challenges, anxieties, demands. But God is saying to you, let me open your eyes to see that I've already put things in place for you. Or maybe you're more like Elijah. You've obeyed. You've poured out. You've been faithful. And now you're weary and you're tired and you're in a cave wondering if any of it mattered. And to you, God is whispering, I'm still here. I have not failed you. I will not let you fall. And again, I'm not done with you yet. either way this is the invitation come out of panic come to the whisper come out of fear come into rest and let his faithfulness up to this point be your foundation let his record be your reminder that you have a God that will never fail you and you have a responsibility in this you have an act step to command rest over your life. Sabbath rest is not only a day, right? This day that we gather and this, we call this our Sabbath. You can live in a place of rest, in a place of Sabbath. You can return to it anytime. It's not inactivity. He's teaching us how to come in alignment with his perfect will for your life. how to work with he and the father so that you're tucked in and hemmed in. So if you step out of place, if the enemy ever causes, speak some type of accusation, you can come right back into practicing this place of rest with Jesus because he's always been right there. Let's pray. Abba, you are the God who surrounds us when we can't see. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you that your presence doesn't just fight for us in the battle, but you meet us in the stillness. And the service has felt like a peaceful stillness. Thank you for whispering when life gets loud, for opening our eyes when fear tries to bind us and to blind us. Teach us, Lord, to cease from striving. I keep hearing that again. For trying to do what we think we can do for ourselves. Help us to cease from that and to trust the hands that have never failed us. The fourth man in the fire to rest in the arms that have never dropped us. And we say again, you are, we agree with you, you are Abba. We agree with it. We speak it until our heart comes into alignment. You are Abba. You will do exactly what you said that you will do. Help us to live in a place of rest, not in activity, but let your rest overtake our lives and teach us, Holy Spirit, how to live from this place. Lord, search us in this moment as your word is sitting, and I praise sinking into our hearts. I pray that you would deal with every bit of doubt. I pray that you would deal with our trust issues until we become settled in your word and who you are. Help us to yield to you. It is in your son Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen.