In the Cave

So, we are in a summer salt series. Last week, I talked a little bit about being in the rut, in the spiritual rut, but I felt like we should continue in some areas, kind of getting us out of the cave, okay? So, I'm going to talk about getting us out of the cave today, and this touches me personally, because we've experienced this a whole lot, and there is definitely an epidemic. I was talking to my dad, a few, my dad's a professional counselor, a psychologist counselor. He does a lot of studying of human behavior, and just, we were having a discussion during the pandemic, or as we were coming out of the pandemic, of what it would be like, what people, how people would respond coming back together.

And that, most research suggests that, at that particular time, that people, it would take a while for people to get to a place where they felt normal again. They would be suffering with depression, post-traumatic stress, basically, from everything shutting down in isolation. And we're seeing that. We're definitely seeing that. In fact, he, research even suggests that, if they went into another shutdown immediately, we would have people going into places that they wouldn't even be able to come out of.

That it would be that dark, and that hard, that the stress, and the anxiety, and depression is really up. And praise God, Andrew shared a message with us. He was very vulnerable a few weeks ago about his struggle with depression. Thank you so much, Andrew, for being open about that. But the truth is, we all go through depression.

We go through bouts of depression. Some of it's seasonal. You know, some of you just have a month or two where you're just not feeling right. Some of you may be more severe. You just, you deal with things.

And, but we're seeing this as an epidemic, okay? It's really, we really need to talk about it in church. I mean, in 2020, and just give you some statistics, the mental health hotline went up 90, 900% in 2020. 900%. The CDC said this, that one out of four people under the age of 30 considered suicide.

That divorce rate went up 20%, and antidepressant medication is up 300%. So, as you can see, there's a lot going on with people. And I'm determined it's not something the world can solve, okay? I think it's something that the church needs to get involved in and help solve. And God has a plan for the church to help people through this.

So, I want to talk about that a little bit today. So, this week, I'm going to talk about how do we get in the cave, because we need to look at some flags, some warning signs, and perhaps adjust our travel or our road we're heading towards that cave. Next week, I'm going to use some things to get out of the cave. So, it'll be a two-week message. It's based on Chris Hodge's book.

He wrote it a couple of years ago as reference to the pandemic and what everybody's going through. Because what we've learned as pastors, in fact, I shared a message about a year and a half ago or a year ago on depression. And I got more response from that message than anything else. I had people like, I needed to hear that. I've been going through it.

And I just think it's something that we need to talk about in church. We don't need to be quiet about it. We don't need to just hope for the best and everybody be okay if they believe in Christ. We just need to really dig into this and talk about it. So, there's a few little things here I want to mention before I talk about the biblical perspective and what we see in the Bible to help us through this.

The first thing is we have to understand that it is genetics and biology that play in a lot of this. We don't want to deny that, that some people, the wires just aren't exactly crossing. I heard somebody say that one time. They say, I've got to take my medication so the wires can cross well. You know, it's just a part of life for some of us.

But if biology commands the whole narrative, if biology commands the whole narrative, we will miss out on some powerful tools that God gives us in Scripture to use to get through this, okay? There's more power on the other side because God is even more powerful than medication. We need medication at times, but God is powerful. So, depression is not a malfunction of the mind, okay? It's a signal.

It's a warning sign that says, I need to address some stuff. I'm heading into a cave. I've got to get out of this dark place that I'm heading towards. So, we have to understand that. And the second thing is there's a stigma around the topic.

We don't like to talk about it because, oh, mental health? That's different than anything else. But here's what I want you to see. My wife wears glasses, okay? She has eyesight issues.

Oh, give her a clap. Yeah, because, yeah, there you go. She wears glasses, and she looks good in glasses. I'll tell you what. Sexiest woman I know to wear glasses.

But because she has to wear glasses, she has eyesight issues. So, there's a part of her body that malfunctions. Now, because she can't see well, she has some double vision and things like that, and she's had to go, she's even had to have surgery on her eyes, doesn't mean that she's a different person, does it? Just because she's, oh, those glasses wearers, you know, we need to put them over there. Those eyesight issues, we don't pass an identity on them, right?

We don't say they're those people, right? It's not her identity, is it? It doesn't define her. She's Miranda. She just has something malfunctioning in her eyes in the same way, in the same way.

And I don't mean that as a joke. I mean, seriously, we all have little things. And we need to see mental health the same way, that some of you and some people around us may have mental health issues, but it doesn't define us. My illness is not my identity, okay? It's not, I don't place that on me as my, that's not me.

The true me is underneath the mental illness. It's just a part of me. And what I'm feeling does not define me. The way I feel does not define me. Just, just as I say, your heart leads you wrong.

You know, scripture says the heart is deceitful. Don't let your feelings interpret who you are, okay? You go through feelings, you're, you're, you're a child of God. You're no longer a slave to fear, you're a child of God. And your identity is, is, is found in Christ, not in a malfunction.

And I would like to see the church being a leader in these things, to talk about these things. Because here's the thing, God wants to free us. He does. He does not like us being locked in strongholds and things that, that keep us from being all we can be. God does not enjoy seeing you struggle.

He wants you to come out. And a lot of us have this attitude. Oh, this is just the way it is. This is the way it's always going to be. This is just the way I am.

And this is how it's going to be from now on. But Galatians 5, 1 says, it is for freedom that Christ has set you free. He gives us freedom. We can be free. And we've got to tap into the power of freedom.

We have freedom in Christ. And the best of us struggle, okay? God doesn't put a perfect Bible together, a book together with perfect people, right? He uses bad people, and he uses people that were even depressed. In fact, we have this man that was a prophet named Jeremiah that struggled with depression.

He wrote a book with his title on it, Jeremiah. And if you read that book, it makes you quite sad, right? The weeping prophet is his nickname. He also wrote this book called Lamentations, where he just laments the whole time. He has lament happening all over the place, over and over again.

And here's what we see. Here's what we see in Lamentations. Chapter 3, if you're following along, you can pull up in the Bible app. We'll have it up there as well. It says, I have been deprived of peace.

Can I just say it like this? I have been deprived of peace. I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, my splendor is gone, and all that I had hoped from the Lord. And I remember my affliction, and my wandering, and the bitterness, and the gall.

And I will remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Of course it is, Jeremiah, if you talk like that. It's going to be downcast. And the thing is, this was a prophet. A prophet in the Bible, and even prophets go through it.

Paul went through it, 2 Corinthians 1.8. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experience in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond your ability to endure, our inability to endure. So that we despaired of life itself.

I wanted to die. I didn't want to be here anymore. An apostle of Jesus Christ, which we would call the apostle of apostles, struggled with depression. We all have bouts with depression. And I want to go to one of the greatest prophets in the Bible.

In fact, I think he is the greatest prophet in the Bible, and his name is Elijah. He struggled with it as well. And we're going to dig into this scripture and come up with a few things that I think will help us get through these seasons that we're in. It will help us, and we'll see how do we get in the cave. He was one of the greatest prophets.

In fact, the Bible even elevated him as a prophet among prophets. In the Gospels, we see the transfiguration, which Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus. So heaven elevates him, and he struggled with depression. He struggled hard with depression. Interestingly, it was after a great spiritual victory.

Isn't that crazy? In fact, a lot of times, we do go through lulls when we have great spiritual victories. Sometimes it's before great spiritual victories because the devil is fighting on both ends, on both sides. And here he is on Mount Carmel. He comes up.

He challenges the false gods of that day. He builds an altar. He douses it with water and calls on the name of the Lord to come down. And the fire falls down on the altar, dries up the water, burns the altar. Eight hundred and fifty prophets of Asherah and Baal are put to the sword that day because God demonstrated his glory.

It was a major victory before the whole land. And here he is, depressed because of this. Go to 1 Kings 19. It says, Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely.

If by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of you. So he got that text message. He got that email. He got that letter. And it's amazing how that just changes your whole field.

It takes you down. So Elijah was afraid and he ran for his life. And when he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there. And that was a mistake too. And while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, he came to a broom bush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die.

Great victory. And he said this, I have had enough, Lord. He said, Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors. Where did that come from?

Right? And I bet all of us have been somewhere along that way at times. You know, God, where are you? Why am I going through this? Why do I feel this?

I can't take it anymore. How many of you have had that heaviness? You don't have to raise your hand, but just nod. Just nod. Yeah, I've had that heaviness in life where I said, God, I cannot take it anymore.

I'm just not able to hold on to where I am. So I'm going to give you six things that we see in this passage. And later on, the reason we're calling it going into the cave and coming out of the cave, the cave, is that later on he goes to a cave. Later on in Scripture, a few Scriptures later, he goes to a cave. He isolates himself in a cave.

And we know that caves are dark, they're lonely, disoriented, and there might be bats in there too. So that's another thing that could get you, right? There's some fearful things in there. And it's not a good place to be. So how do we end up in the cave?

Elijah ended up in the cave. How do we get in the cave? Because in some regards, we get in the cave as well. Now, again, I realize that some of you are going to have to get medication, you're going to have to get counseling, and you're going to have to get help. But you can have Jesus in a therapist too, okay?

It's good to have therapy. But there are some things we have to have control over, and we find it here in Scripture. So the first thing I want to talk about is life imbalances. We're just imbalanced in our life. Our lives are way out of balance.

In fact, Johan Hari said it like this in Lost Connections, a book, Lost Connections. He says, we need to stop talking as much about chemical imbalances and more about imbalances in the way we live. The way we live, we're just kind of go. And research is pointing that depression is because of our lifestyle. Most depression comes from the way we live, our lifestyle.

And Elijah's most depressing time was after his greatest victory, right? So he was going, he was doing. It was powerful. And it's the low after the extreme that brings us down because we're a go lifestyle. That's the way our lifestyle, up and down, up and down, up and down.

For me, it's usually after, you know, I have my up on Sunday morning. I'm excited right now, man. I'm just sharing the gospel. But sometimes on Sunday nights or Monday mornings, I even tell Miranda, let's not talk about church sometimes, you know, because, you know, I have lows. I have lows.

And this is not good. I'm not saying it's good. But there's times you just have lows because you have that spiritual high, that spiritual victory. Everybody's like, wow, that was banging. That sermon was good.

That worship was on today. Man, we came in on fire for God, and we're all excited going out. And then you get home, and then you begin to think about it a little bit because, you know, you're like, oh, man, you know, I said that wrong in the message. The recorder went out again. You know, online is just messing up every week.

And you think about things like that, or so-and-so wasn't here today. I wish they were here. I wonder where they were. Or, you know, this happened or that happened. And it just makes, it just brings you down.

And that's what happened. We put thoughts in our heads. And because we've been going and going and going and going, and then when we stop or we try to stop, we do and think things and say things that probably aren't good. In fact, 90% of ski slope injuries, if you're familiar with skiing and stuff, 90% of those happen, the injuries happen in the last hour of skiing. Why?

Because people are tired and overconfident. And some of you, quite frankly, are arrogant with your lifestyles because you go and go and go and do. And it may be doable for you, but it's not sustainable. And if it's not sustainable, you're going to fall, and you're going to fall hard, and it's going to be, it's not good. It doesn't, it's the fast-paced life.

We create this pace that's impossible to continue, and we're always playing catch-up. We're trying to catch-up, catch-up, catch-up. In the book, The Depression Cure, a bestseller, it says this. Stephen Alardi says it like this. We were never designed for the sedentary, indoor, socially isolated, fast-food-laden, sleep-deprived, frenzied pace of modern life.

What do we do about that? What do we do about that? Ecclesiastes 4.6 says, better one handful of tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. But we like two handfuls because one handful feels good, right?

And we're not content with one handful. If I have a buck in one hand, I want two dollars, right? I got to have more. I got to have more. If I have one donut, I have to have two donuts, right?

I got to have two donuts because two donuts is better. But it says, one handful with tranquility, which means peace and contentment. And having that, then just going and going and going. I got to have more. I've got to do more.

I was successful. I got to be successful in this area. And if I'm not successful, then I'm just falling apart because we push ourselves. We put ourselves up against the grain all the time, working 24-7. We've forgotten what rest is, right?

We don't know how to rest. We don't know how to just be in our bodies and be in ourselves and be in the Holy Spirit and just focus on the Holy Spirit. We don't have time for that. We're just going and going with the busy lifestyle. And it doesn't make us better.

It's like ruminating, you know, or you go through that. And the second thing is comparing ourselves with others. We compare ourselves with others. That's another thing. We compare ourselves with others.

It's interesting that Elijah says, I'm no better than my ancestors. Now, where did that come from? Where did the ancestors piece come from? It just showed up. What does that have to do with anything, Elijah?

That doesn't have to do with anything with what just happened. See, research shows one reason we are stressed is because we are seeing what everyone else is doing because we're on anti-social media. I'm not calling it social media because there's nothing social about it because it separates us, right? And we're comparing our lives and we're placing pictures and we're seeing what everybody else is dressed like. We want to see what kind of shoes so-and-so has on that day.

Who cares what so-and-so is doing? Who cares what they're eating? Who cares what's going on? Sometimes we just need not to care. We need to focus on where we are, what we're doing, and the enemy uses the tool of social media.

And there's good things with social media. I realize that. We use it for marketing and sharing the gospel. But it's used. The devil loves to.

It's just a good tool for the devil to use to get us to compare ourselves to each other. And it kills joy. In fact, one thing I want to share. My daughter and I went out for a little daughter-daddy date about a week from Saturday. It was a Saturday night a week ago.

And I took this nice cute picture of Savannah. My daughter is kind of high-end. She likes sushi. She's eight years old and likes sushi. And I told her she's going to have to marry somebody that makes money because she has some high qualities about her.

But she loves sushi. So we went out and had a little sushi date, kind of impromptu sushi date. And I took that little picture. And she was just the cutest thing. She would sit across the table.

And I started to go on social media and post it. And then the Holy Spirit prompted me. He said, don't post that. I said, okay, why? He said, because what are you doing it for?

Are you doing it to compare your life with somebody else? And what if somebody else sees that and they're sad by it? It saddens them because they're alone tonight. Or it saddens them that they don't have their child with them. Or whatever it might be.

So what are you doing it for? So I pulled away. Why are you posting the things you post? Why are you doing it? Are you trying to compare yourself to other people?

Are you trying to make yourself look better than other people? On the flip side, are you looking at other people and saying, I want to be like them and I can't be like them? Is it pulling the joy from your life? It can depress you. And that's why Theodore Roosevelt says comparison is a thief of joy.

It is a thief of joy. It takes away our joy. It robs us of our joy when we compare ourselves to other people. Just be comfortable being you, who you are. You are the best you in Christ Jesus, right?

As long as you're in Christ Jesus, just get comfortable being who you are. Galatians 6 says it like this, each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load, right? So research shows that it's actually, social media is actually reshaping the minds of people, of our youth. In fact, content creators are even apologizing and they're not even allowing their children to be on it now.

Did you know that? Because they figured out that it is rewiring and reshaping the way we think and the way we see things. And it's a very scary thing, you know. FOMO all over the place. What's everybody else doing?

What am I missing out on? What's going on, you know? We need to set aside some things. We need to choose to set aside some things. Some of you like news and you're like caught up in the news or you're caught up in the internet or you're just all over the place all the time.

You know, it's okay not to know some things, okay? It's okay to cut it off. Now, I'm not saying that you don't need to keep up with politics and things like that or we need to know what's going on in the world, but it's not your life. It's not your identity. It's not everything that you are.

Take time. Just put some time limits on it. Choose to just, okay, I'm going to go in. I'm going to spend five to ten minutes reading a newspaper or whatever it is you do and then cut it off and just be okay with that. I love the phrase selective ignorance.

Someone coined the phrase selective ignorance, meaning that I select what I need to know and what I don't need to know. I'm just going to be ignorant on the things that I don't really need to know and I'm going to know the things that I probably need to know. And some of you need to practice selective ignorance and not be consumed. Not be consumed. This consumerism, I've got to be like, I've got to compare.

That's what kills our joy when we compare ourselves to other people. The third thing is ruminating and self-talk. That's what brings us into the cave a lot of times. Getting alone when you're sad and if you notice, Elijah left his servant. He went by himself.

He's ruminating and he had some self-talk because later on in verse 10, he says, you know, I was zealous for you, God. I've done all these things for you and all the prophets have died except for me. And where are you? Are you noticing me right now? Are you seeing where I am right now?

And it just wasn't true because all the prophets weren't dead. There were actually prophets alive. He was just making up stuff and when we ruminate, we start inventing stories out there, putting things together, tying lies. There's this big lie when we ruminate and self-talk and we're wallowing in our misery and we begin to invent things in our heads and they just simply aren't true. And he was ruminating and he was processing it and when we ruminate it and we process it, it just gets worse.

It just gets worse because what if he, she was thinking this and doing this and we start putting little pieces in the gaps of our stories that aren't necessarily there? And there's little truths in it maybe, but we just got a big old lie going on and we start to believe that lie about what people think about us, what's going on in our lives or shaming ourselves or whatever it might be. And it's like an old cow, you know, that chewing cud. He eats the grass, he chews it up, swallows it, regurgitates it, chews it up again, swallows it, regurgitates it. We call it ruminating animals, right?

Why do we call them that? Because it's never good when it comes back up a second or third or fourth time, it just gets worse, right? Right? And that's exactly what's going on. When we ruminate and we self-talk, we talk about the things that aren't true.

In fact, Satan loves it. Okay? And I'm going to tell you this. This is his battleground to get you to think thoughts. And there is a demonic world out there that's working right now.

There's a demonic world and his main goal is to get your thoughts off of him and your thoughts on yourself and on everybody else that's done you wrong or what you've done wrong to yourself. And they're going to keep you there. And that's why we have to demolish strongholds. In fact, 2 Corinthians says we demolish arguments, every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive. You've got to take captive.

You've got to imprison those thoughts that are in your head, people. You've got to get them out of your head. You've got to take them and lock them away. Take that and put the knowledge of God in place. Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ Jesus.

We need Christ Jesus to reign in our thoughts, to reign in our lives, to reign in our hearts. And it only takes one negative thought to take us down a slippery slope. Just one negative thought. That's why you have to take captive those thoughts. And I can have the best day.

I can have a joyous day. It'll be the most wonderful day. And one person says one thing. One text message comes in. And it can just ruin my entire day.

My emotions can just go different directions. Did you know 95% of your emotions are determined by the way you talk to yourself, according to Brian Tracy? Isn't that something? The way we talk to ourselves? That's why we have to think good things.

That's why we've got to replace it with Holy Spirit things. We've got to face it with God's stuff about what He says we are. That's why Philippians 4 says, Finally, brothers, whatever is true. Because you're listening to a lie. You've been in a lie.

You're listening to those thoughts that the devil's put in your head. Whatever is true. What is true about God? What is true about me? What is true about where I am?

Whatever is noble. Whatever is noble. Whatever is right. Whatever is pure. Whatever is lovely.

Whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent and praiseworthy, praiseworthy, think of those things. Think of such things as those. And what will happen is the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, as we know, will be set over you. And you will be able to move through it.

Because the mind governed by the flesh, according to Romans 8-6, the mind governed by the flesh is death. But the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. Number four, in the scripture we see the inability to process pain in a healthy way. What can bring us into the cave, what takes us into the cave, or leads us to the cave, is our inability to process pain in a healthy way. Because we all have bad days.

And we have wrong expectations of the world and of God. We think the world owes us something. And we think the world should align with our desires. But listen, the world is not aligned with your desires. The world wants to take you down.

That's the reason Jesus came. He came to rescue you from the world. You're looking at it wrong. Oh, the world, the world should do this. People should do this.

Whatever. Man, I must be preaching to myself, man, because I'm feeling good in here. Okay, right? The world wants that. But listen, Jesus says, I come down into this dark world to rescue you from it.

The whole point is, I'm throwing a life preserver out there so you can be pulled out of the world. You don't have to be in the world any longer. So stop aligning your heart with the world. And start aligning your heart with the one who saves you from the world. Because here's the deal.

In this world, you will have trouble. Well, I thought when I found Jesus, trouble would go away. No, it gets worse. Because you got demonic warfare happening around you. Because the devil does not want you to be all that God.

It's easy for him for people who are in the world. That's not an issue for him. He wants the people that are going to be life changers, who are going to be world changers. And he says, in this trouble, in this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I've overcome the world.

You need to be an overcomer. You got to place your mind and thoughts in him who already has it in his hands. He's already won the battle. You can overcome the trouble that you go through by focusing on that statement there. We are overcomers through him.

And you will have pain. So the question is, are you going to go to the world? Oh, I'm experiencing all this and, you know, God, where are you? And God, why aren't you answering my prayers? And God, why aren't you doing this?

You know, I'm just going to run back to the world. What does the world offer you? How do you get through trouble with the world? Alcohol. How do you get through the world?

Drugs. Sexual addictions. Video games. Binge watching. Whatever it might be.

We go to the world for those things. But did they bring you hope? Let me ask you, how are you doing with that if you're doing that right now? Is it making you feel better? Maybe temporarily.

But it ultimately takes you down a path you don't want to go. In just one month of the pandemic, drug addiction went up 18%. In the first month, 29%. And in the third month, 42%. When people were in darkness, they went for the things of the world.

You will not find hope in the world, people. You'll only find hope in Jesus Christ. He has overcome the world. And you can be an overcomer by placing your trust in Him. There's a Jewish psychiatrist named Viktor Frankl.

Many of you probably have heard of him. He lived in post-World War II and wrote a book called Men's Search for Meaning. It's a really, really powerful book. He manned a clinic in Austria and he worked with victims that were in the Holocaust. So, Jewish Holocaust victims.

And every one of his clients were depressed. Every one of them. Because of what they went through, the post-traumatic stress they experienced and all of that. And he had a different theory than Sigmund Freud's popular theory at the time, which the goal of life was pleasure. Freud said the goal of life is pleasure.

That's where we're going. But Frankl believed that the goal of life was purpose and meaning. And Frankl believed that when you don't have it, you will dull your life with pleasure, which brings no purpose and meaning. And the real meaning of life is not circumstantial, but to know that life really matters. That what I do really matters.

The way I live really matters. And what I'm doing. And he came up with logotherapy. Logotherapy is really popular today. It's meaningful work.

And he wrote these points. He says, Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones. Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life. And we have freedom, whoa, to find meaning in what we do and what we experience, or at least in the stance we take when we face a situation of unchangeable suffering. In other words, the reason and meaning for our suffering...

In other words, there is reason and meaning for our suffering... That there is purpose in pain. And when we are walking out our purpose, we realize that the struggles and the pain that we experience in this life is so that we can potentially be used, we can be purified and be used for the glory of God to help others who are going through similar situations. In Christ Jesus we can do that. And 2 Corinthians says it like this.

Bible. I love how psychology and Bible line up. It's beautiful. God comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the suffering of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation. There's purpose in your pain. If you are going through painful time right now, there is purpose in your pain. There is a reason for your pain. Your pain is not going just unnoticed.

God cares about your pain. God is concerned about your pain. But God allows us to go through pain so that we can be all that He has called us to be. Life experiences doesn't disqualify us. Life experiences actually qualify us to be what God called us to be.

And there's purpose in our pain. Number five, isolation and loneliness bring us to the cave. We are the loneliest society. Did you know this? We are the loneliest society in recorded history.

We've got so much technology. We've got so much ways of communicating with each other, yet we are the loneliest society in human history. And the problem in the Bible wasn't, the first problem in the Bible wasn't sin. The first problem in the Bible was isolation. We were isolated from God.

And Genesis 2.18 says this, the Lord God said, it is not good for man to be alone. And we use that as a good marriage verse. And the woman was made for the man and this and that. But this is very broad.

We were not meant to be alone. We're not meant to be in isolation. And when we go through times, what is the first thing we usually do? I just want to get alone. I just want to be by myself.

And maybe there's a period where you need to process some things. I'm not saying that alone time doesn't help. But you can't stay there. You can't be alone. We weren't meant to be alone.

Genesis 2.18 says, the Lord God said, it is not good for man to be alone. Okay? When he says it's not good for man to be alone, he means we need to be together. And it's not me.

It's we. We are together as a church. And you're here today. And I just thank you for being here today because you are coming in. You are with people.

And you want to be in the fellowship of the saints. And it builds us up. It helps us. It grows us. It brings us through.

Because we understand that being together, worshiping together, working together, you are not meant to be alone. And as Romans says, since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other. And each of us needs all the others. You are not one body part. We are a body.

You're not an isolated body part just walking out there one leg just hopping around. That doesn't work, does it? We need to be together. We need to be together. And then the last one I want to mention, because research doesn't actually dig into this.

You can read a lot of material and literature, write-ups, podcasts, whatever it is. But nobody really talks about this when it comes to mental health and depression. And that's spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare.

That there is actually spiritual warfare going on all around us. All the time, every day. There's actually demonic forces playing in this picture. And this is where the church needs to enter in. I'm not a doctor, but I'm a pastor.

And this is where we need to realize that we are spiritual beings. And there is a spiritual force that wants to take this spiritual being from God. We are not human beings having temporary spiritual experiences. We are spiritual beings having a temporary body experience. And there is demonic warfare happening.

I tell my kids, and I'm not here to scare you because we have hope in Christ because we're believers and we're Christians. But there is definitely demonic things attached to mental health. And we need to understand that. We need to see that. We need to know that as a church.

What if I told you this? That I had some intel and you, sir, you may, and somebody has the keys to your house and they plan to come in tonight while you're sleeping and take your belongings, take everything that you love in your life, take your children, take everything, take everything that just is precious to you. What if I told you that that was happening? What if I told you, what would you do? Would you sleep?

No. You'll be like, I'm going to introduce my friend Smith and Weston to this person and I'm going to stay up all night well aware of what's going on. We're going to be aware of what the enemy's up to. I can tell you this. Some people just need deliverance.

They need to see. They need to be aware that the demons are working behind the scenes. And we get hush-hush about this and we make things so practical. But I'm telling you guys, there are demonic forces. I was telling my kids the other day, look, you've got angels and you've got demons fighting all the time around us.

There's things happening in places we don't see and we don't know. And it's very, very real in the Bible. Michael and, you know, the angels and Satan and the demons and all these things that are happening all around us. It sounds like a kid's story, but it's very, very, very real. And spiritual oppression is real.

And this is where next week we need to really pick up on some stuff that I think will help us. But are you sleeping is my question. Are you sleeping? Because 1 Peter says this, be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

He wants to devour you. He wants to steal your life. He wants to steal your soul. This, this, this lion, this, this lion, he's, he's seeking, he's sneaky and he's coming in the back door and he wants to take everything that you are. He wants to put you in a place that you can't, you don't know you can get out of.

You don't think you can get out of. He doesn't want to just take little things from you. He wants to destroy you. And it's very real. But it says this, resist him and stand firm in your faith.

Be aware. Be alert. Be on guard. Ephesians says you need to put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. See, the full armor is there.

The question is, are we putting it on? We have the tools to fight Satan and his enemy and the enemy. We have. The question is, are you going to use them? Are you going to put on those tools?

That's what I want to share next week. Some tools that we can use. So are you ready? Are you ready to be alert? Are you ready to fight?

Are you ready to do this? Imagine a church that takes the responsibility of looking at these things and saying, you know what? We are going to be a part of this. We are not going to be the problem, but we are going to be the solution to this. That's the problem.

Amen? The devil wants to take everything that everybody has. He wants to steal things from our life, from our church, our ministries, our families, but we are not going to let them. We are going to be self-aware and controlled. And listen, all these things I mentioned today, I have been through all of them.

But my hope is there is a reason I went through them. I have been through them. All six of these. There are times I have faced this, but my hope is that maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe just, by me going through these things that will help one of you or help somebody else. Because there is a purpose and there is a reason.

Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Lord, the Summer Assault Series. It's not for the lighthearted, we know, Lord, because your word divides flesh and bone, meaning it divides what is of God and what is not of God, Lord.

And we allow your word to do that. And we're so thankful that we have it available to us and it guides our life as a guiding light. Father, Father, I just pray over our congregation today. Maybe some of you out there, let me just ask this, with all heads bowed, all eyes closed, see, see, the first way to, to, the first step is to admit, God, you know, I've got a lot going on. Right?

And now we just, we just pray, Father, Father, I pray over these souls here today, these heavy souls, God. Just everything in life just seems to weigh down on them, Lord. But perhaps, God, not only are we going through this to help someone else, but God, you've got, you've got a greater purpose for all of creation, all of mankind. And we just, help us understand that, that there is a purpose in our pain. There is a purpose in all of this, Lord.

And as we focus on you, as we reach for you, maybe perhaps, and we know that the Spirit of God that gives peace will come down and rain on us, Lord. Lord, send peace in our hearts right now, all over this place, God. Of all these people who are dealing with pain and depression and heartache and hurt and worry and fear and anxiety, Lord Jesus, we're just praying over them right now, God. Deliver them, Lord, from their pain. Deliver them from their misery, Lord Jesus.

Bring them, lift them up. Let us be good, like, let us be Christians with life and hope and peace and joy and strength and purpose and meaning. Because we know that the meaning of life is purpose, Lord. Give them a new sense of purpose. Give them a new sense of identity.

A new sense of who they are in Christ Jesus. Because we know that you have a great purpose for everybody with us today. And there are some of you here today in that same spirit of worship that have never taken the next step of knowing Jesus today. I invite you to do that. You're pulled towards God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I feel like I'm not adequate. I feel like I'm not aligned with God. I don't feel like I have a relationship with God. If you feel that way today, that's because God's saying, Hey, I'm here and I'm ready to have a relationship with you. The Holy Spirit is making you.

It's called conviction. And with conviction, we respond. We can either respond or not respond. And that's what the gospel is all about. Is that, hey, you're not getting it right, but guess what?

I've come to save you out of this world. I know it's dark, but I've come to save you. If that's you today, will you just pray this with me? Father, in the name of Jesus, I believe that you're the Son of God, that you died on the cross for my sin, and that you're coming back one day to make all things right. Today, just come into my heart, come into my life, and change me from the inside out.

I pray, God, in the name of Jesus, that I would walk out of this place a new creation, a new soul, a new spirit, Lord. Alive in the spirit inside of me to this new creation, God, so that I can live with you from this day forward. In Jesus' name, amen. Man, can y'all give God a hand clap of praise? If you gave your life to Jesus today, we would ask you to fill out that card.

You can make it, if you're not an open person, you know, about that right now, that's okay. You can just fill out that card and let us know. We just want to send you some information and let you know how you can take the next steps. Also, if you want to take the next steps of baptism or what have you, you know, taking those next steps to openly declare your salvation, that's another way of, you know, walking into that new life. So we're excited about that.

Amen, amen. Just want to mention, if you're a guest with us today, don't feel obligated to give, but thank you for all of you who continue to give without ceasing, honoring the vision of our house and believing God for great things. Here's some ways to give. You can, you know, always give cash or check. You can just drop it off.

We don't pass around a bucket, but you can just put it outside the door there as you're walking out. You can do it online at saltchurch.org or you can text. You can do it by text to give, 84321. And we would love to share in the gospel message what we're doing here.

Everything that you give is for the purpose of extending the kingdom of God across this world. We do lots of things, like even the random acts of kindness we did yesterday, buying all the stuff. That's all you're giving, right? We give out to missions. We give out to local church planting in different areas.

There's just all kinds of things we're giving to. We don't just hold on. We're not hoarding. We're actually giving out. And we believe that the reason God blesses us is because we give.

So if you're, you know, continue to give, church. Continue to give without ceasing. Just continue to believe God for big things. Let's do this together. Let's change this world together.

If we're going to reach 1,000 people for Jesus Christ, and I really believe we've got a lot. I mean, there's a lot of things happening now that are aligning, and I know God's moving in that direction. So let's just keep. See, we've got to believe. We've got to believe, right?

Let's give. New location, financially, prayer. All these things are part of where we're gearing to go to. Amen. Amen.

So thank you so much for being with us today. If you would just stand one more time, one more time as we leave today. And we're going to pray over the offering, and we're going to pray over as we leave today and go into our weeks. God, Lord Jesus, thank you so much again for... Just everything that you do, God.

I pray over the offering today. I'm just praying over it right now, Lord, that you would take this financial blessing that you've given to our church, Lord, and use it for your glory. The hands that are giving it, bless them, Lord. Bless those who are managing our board and all those who manage our finances and put budgets together to aim towards what God wants us to do, Lord. Help the leaders of this church to have all they need to be able to reach more children for Jesus Christ, to reach more lost people for Jesus Christ, to reach our communities for Jesus Christ through our giving.

So, God, I just pray over that and I pray for this day. I pray as people leave here, Lord, that you would just really use them. We ask this in your name. Well, God bless you guys. Y'all have a great Sunday.

We'll see you back next week for part two of that series.