Mental Health Matters
Notes
Transcript
Mental Health Matters
Mental Health Matters
Illustration of running from Levi’s house
high rock and 112
stolen a backpack chair and some boiled peanuts and gatorades
15 miles
swamp
spent the night in the field
hang clothes up try to start fire
STOP AT THE NIGHT IN THE FIELD
no one was even after me
I was running as if my life depended on it.
This reminds me of the story of Ahab, Jezebel, and Elijah.
Ahab was 7th king of the northern kingdom in the 9th century bc
the Bible says he did evil in the sight of the Lord
As a matter of fact the Bible says he did more evil than all those before him
It says that Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings before him
Ahab was a spinless puppet if you will
He married a woman named Jezebel
An evil controlling woman that would seek to rebel and destroy anything and anyone of God and His Truth, especially those given authority by God
You see Ahab and Jezebel worshiped Baal
They even set up alters for Baal
Baal: Meaning “lord, husband, owner,” Baal was the predominant god in Canaanite religion. He was the storm god who provided the rain necessary for the fertility of the land. The worship of Baal had infiltrated Israel long before the time of Ahab. However, Ahab gave it official sanction in Samaria through building a temple for Baal.
You see Ahab was the king but in reality Jezebel was the ruler.
That brings us to Elijah, God’s annotated prophet.
The MacArthur Study Bible Chapter 17
17:1 Elijah. His name means “the LORD is God.” The prophet Elijah’s ministry corresponded to his name: He was sent by God to confront Baalism and to declare to Israel that the Lord was God and there was no other.
God commissions Elijah to go to Ahab and call a drought.
Elijah then disappears for several years during which Jezebel murders hundreds of God’s prophets
Elijah returns to confront Ahab and all 400 baal prophets and the 400 prophets that work for Jezebel
Elijah calls down fire from heaven, executes all the false prophets and ends the drought
Elijah has just won the Superbowl
It is often on the tail of our greatest spiritual victory that we fall victim to spiritual warfare on our minds and mental health.
Ahab runs back to tell Jezebel and she threatens to kill Elijah
What does Elijah do?
He runs.
The irony of seeing God move in such a powerful way. Knowing that He is in full control and then loosing faith, tucking your tail and heading for the hills.
It leads me to wonder how many of us are running from something that is not even chasing us?
If your willing and able please stand for the reading of God’s word.
3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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 a still small voice.
13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Pray. Thank you. You may be seated.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them.
from Biblical Psychology, 189 L
1) We tend to run in despair
1) We tend to run in despair
working out illustration
3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
You see Elijah is running on the treadmill of life, wasting energy, and Jezebel is getting in her car leaving.
We run from our problems or maybe we compartmentalize them
As we recognize mental health during the month of May, let’s look at some statistics.
statistics from Forbes.com
21% of U.S. adults experienced a mental health condition in 2020
As of 2020, suicide is the second leading cause of death for U.S. children ages 10 to 14, preceded only by unintentional injury
The impact depression and anxiety has on the global economy can be measured in $1 trillion in lost productivity each year
An estimated 2 million times each year, people with serious mental health conditions are jailed or imprisoned in the U.S.
93.5% of adults with a substance abuse disorder did not receive treatment in the past year (2022)
1 out of every eight emergency room visits involve a mental health or substance abuse disorder
The majority of youth (70%) in juvenile detention centers have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder
Severe mental health conditions cost the U.S. economy $193.2 billion in lost revenue.
CDC.gov estimates 4000 suicides per month in the U.S. alone
Friends mental health is serious. Look at Elijah. A man who had just called fire from heaven. He was ready to just die.
If you and I are not careful, we can allow comparison, worry, doubt, fear, all of these things consume us to the point where our quality of life, our mental health, aren’t worth anything to us .
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
speak on pat and the devo
2) God will give you all the provision you need
2) God will give you all the provision you need
1353
5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
Our God promises to give you anything and everything you will ever need
If I’m being honest we, myself included, have trust issues.
God has constantly showed up and showed out in mine and Natalie’s life and I still tend to worry
3) God will speak to us when we least expect it
3) God will speak to us when we least expect it
when I actually realized the 1353
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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 a still small voice.
13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
How often do we wonder why God doesn’t speak to us.
The question is do you even know His voice.
Do you read His Word?
Do you pray.
Do you listen?
How many times do we think to why only me?
14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
Elijah was being self-centered
So as I wake up the next day in the field
tractors plowing along
I get dressed and continue to town
nothing left to drink or eat
I finially made it to town and went to a friends house and raded his fridge and washed my clothes
I thought I had won but actually the longer I remained free the worse my life would become.
our definition of winning and God’s definition of winning can be on opposite ends of the spectrum
we’re winning in our finances
we’re winning in our relationships
we’re winning in our hobbies
The question we must all ask ourselves is ARE WE SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
Poor Elijah finds out after his pity party that he is not the only one left. There are 7000 waiting on him.
We also learn that the suicidal, self-isolating, depressed, worrying, Elijah is one of two men that do not die. He is later carried to heaven in a chariot.
In what ways are you not seeking first the kingdom of heaven
invitation
