Set Free
There is no God like our God!!!
For some the holiday season brings distress.
For whatever reason, death of loved ones, job issues, health issues, mental illness etc.
Be in prayer for God to change their hearts and minds.
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it."
26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."
28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down.
31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, "Israel shall be your name,"
32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood."
34 And he said, "Do it a second time." And they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time." And they did it a third time.
35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God." - 1 Kings 18:25-39
Set free from your depression
Find Godly friends who will build you up.
Stay away from negative people.
Love and encourage them but keep your distance.
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,
25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. - Proverbs 22:24-25
Analyze the reactions to depression.
Elijah ran from his problems.
Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. - 1 Kings 19:3
Elijah forgot who he was.
God sustains you.
Stop and listen.
Know who you are
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers." - 1 Kings 19:4
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." - 1 Kings 19:9-10
Trust the Lord.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10
Apply the remedy for depression.
Maintain your physical health.
5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Arise and eat."
6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. - 1 Kings 19:5-6
Eat.
Rest.
Revive.
God rested!
2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. - Genesis 2:2-3
Eat a balanced diet.
Exercise a little.
Stay close to the presence of God and His people.
11 And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. - 1 Kings 19:11-12
God is in the whispers.
Be still, and listen.
Don't give up on church.
Don't give up on God!
You are precious to God!
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. - Isaiah 49:16
Thanks Pastor Kevin!!!
