Big Idea: Caves are sacred places where God works for good!
“When life caves in, you do not need reasons – you need comfort. You do not need some answers – you need someone. And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation – He comes to us with His presence.” Bob Benson
1. David’s cave …
Where God grows our Intimacy with Him & Grows us into His warriors.
Psalms 34 A place to praise; to record God’s goodness continually … when you look up you will find that God is looking back and right at you!
- Bless the Lord at all times… not just in the good times… It was madness to do good to HIs enemies but did that…
- Perplexed with tough decisions and given no good option David cried out to the Lord who heard him in the midst of his trouble
- The angel of the Lord camps around those who are His children and rescues them. God Lays siege to your heart with His heavenly forces
- There isn’t any circumstance of life in which you feel surrounded by the enemy, abandoned by companions, or brokenhearted by life that God ceases to surround by his power and presence, to be present with you comforting, and to heal your heart with His compassion and care!
Psalms 57 A place for finding comfort with God,and for steadfast trust rather than captivity from fear
- God sends forth to us in trouble his love and faithfulness
- His love reaches to the heave and to the skies… For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
- So I have a steadfast heart. A heart that fear can not affect… because I have God’s love and faithfulness
- God’s love and faithfulness are without end… as infinite as the heavens and sky … you can’t find an end to God’s love and faithfulness.
Psalms 142 A place of prioritizing prayer to God… so that He might release your soul from the prison of fear.
- Cried out to the Lord
- Bring my soul of out Prison…
- David’s prison was fear that God would not rescue Him when He was all David had to trust in. Allusion to Jesus in the grave here.
- Prayer releases our souls from the prison of fear.
What if God is growing a warrior spirit in you by allowing this times.
2. Elijah’s cave
1 Kings 19 Where God reveals Himself, guides, corrects our understanding our place and refreshes us
Caves are never hiding places for followers they are sacred meeting places
- God is The Power
- over the power of wind,
- over the power of the earthquake,
- over the power of fire
- God is The Power in the gentle breeze (A Refreshing Spirit)
- Refreshes
- Renews
- Redirects
Principle: Seize this moment to be renewed in His strength, to know Him, and to know what to do.
What if God is allowing rest so that you can experience His refreshing Spirit, be renewed, and redirected… commissioned.
3. Jesus’ cave …
Where God pauses before He Empowers you as a New creation!
- Was necessary for all our sins to be defeated
- Was temporary for all our hopes to be fulfilled
- Was the starting point not the ending point of faith …
- Nothing was lost in death but everything was gained
- Nothing was taken by death but everything was given
- Nothing was left to sorrow about for death but everything is glorified
Jonah’s whale … It is only when we are stuck in a place dark like death that we realize life to the fullest and seize every moment to do God’s will.
Daniel’s lion’s Den … It is only when we are in the Den of the Lion that recognize the power of God over Kings and creators to shut the mouth of the hungry to give us rest.
Illustration: All superheroes have caves… Hideouts where they draw strength, power, and gain wisdom … Batman… Bat cave… Superman … fortress of solitude where his father spoke to him and refreshed him… The Avengers building where community and unity align to fight evil…
The church is in a cave that powers us up with wisdom and a place where the spirit of the father speaks and refreshes us. It is a building but more a community that is on a mission together. All extraordinary leaders have caves. All leaders cave or leaders cave… David, Elijah, and Jesus never caved to anyone but God.
God made caves so that when the world is caving in we can go into that sacred space our superheroes cave and find what we need!
Challenge: Don’t let the cave become a place of regressing in your faith.
Daniel’s lion’s Den … It is only when we are in the Den of the Lion that recognize the power of God over Kings and creators to shut the mouth of the hungry to give us rest.
Illustration: All superheroes have caves… Hideouts where they draw strength, power, and gain wisdom … Batman… Bat cave… Superman … fortress of solitude where his father spoke to him and refreshed him… The Avengers building where community and unity align to fight evil…
The church is in a cave that powers us up with wisdom and a place where the spirit of the father speaks and refreshes us. It is a building but more a community that is on a mission together. All extraordinary leaders have caves. All leaders cave or leaders cave… David, Elijah, and Jesus never caved to anyone but God.
God made caves so that when the world is caving in we can go into that sacred space our superheroes cave and find what we need!
Challenge: Don’t let the cave become a place of regressing in your faith.
- Make the cave a place of spiritual growth & strengthening by Him
- Make the cave a place of refreshing, renewal, and redirection.
- Make the cave a place of gain not loss, and of rejoicing
