The Cure For Spiritual Dehydration | Pastor Shane Idleman

Shane Idleman: You have to pursue this. Maybe you won't change this afternoon. Maybe you won't feel what you want to feel. But we don't go by feelings, we go by faith. You pursue and you pursue and you pursue. Let me tell you, I can tell you one thing: the more you seek Him, the more you find Him. And the more you find Him, the more you seek Him. You might not feel like it, but God says, "I hear that cry." And He might next week pour down His spirit upon you so strong that you only have tears and will not have words. He will answer that commitment. When you pursue Him, you will find Him. And you pray and repent.
Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we hear the fifth and final part of this charged message titled, "The Cure for Spiritual Dehydration." Preacher Samuel Chadwick on fire with the spirit once said, "Nothing would turn the nation back to God so surely and so quickly as a church that prayed and prevailed. The world will never believe in a religion in which there is no supernatural power. A rationalized faith, a socialized church, and a moralized gospel may gain applause, but they awaken no conviction and win no converts." Today, Pastor Shane awakens the dead, sleepy church, calling for a rehydration of God's spirit, which can only come from denying the flesh and seeking more of God. Learn how right now on Regaining Lost Ground. You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the Idleman Unplugged weekly podcast. And now from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here is Pastor Shane Idleman.
Shane Idleman: The woman said to Jesus, "But you don't know what I've went through. You don't know about that first five, how challenging they were, how tough they were. You don't know what they did to me. How can you say that?" Because when you're up to that number, you've got to take responsibility too, to some degree. And she said no excuses. Let me encourage you this morning. If you are an excuse maker, blame shifter, stop ASAP. I can do it too. I love to just shift the blame, then I don't have to take responsibility. But for the deep work of the spirit to take place, we need to own what we need to own. Some of you have done all that you can do. I'm not talking to you. I'm assuming you realize that. But for the vast majority of people listening to this message, we have become really good at blame shifting and not confessing and repenting. And that's what cleanses the line. Do you know what fuels this back up? It's repentance. Repentance will fill that water right back up, so much so that it's... I love that word because what you're really doing, if you think about this, the word means a change of mind. But what are you doing? Now I'm actually walking the way that God wants me to walk. You don't think that will restore that relationship? It's like, "Come on, son. You're walking my direction now. You're walking with me, in accordance to me. Now I can lead you. Now I can guide you. Now I can do all... but if you're walking away from me, continuing in that destructive path, I can't do much with that." You need to repent and realign your heart with my heart. And as a result, you get that living water. "I perceive that you are a prophet." Oh, I bet she did. It's kind of funny. When you read commentators, it's hard because many times they don't always agree on things when you're just looking for all the essentials. But when it's like, "Well, what exactly? Here's what I think." What was Paul's thorn, for example? Fifty different commentaries will say 50 different things. But she said, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet." And what I'm thinking she's like, "While I have you here, let me ask you an important question." That's what it looks like, doesn't it? "You're a prophet. So because of that, I need to know. I need to know about worship." By the way, the worship wars started 2,000 years ago. Many people have their preferences. And then preference becomes the standard. "Why are you singing those songs? I like these songs. Those are a little touchy-feely. We need these kind." And my favorite I've heard over the years, "Shane, men don't like a lot of those emotional songs. You need to have some manly songs." And I get it. The reason is, though, your heart's not full of God's spirit. That's the bottom line. Because I remember when I transitioned. Even my brother just sent me pictures. They're up elk hunting in Idaho. I came from that. So men and worship? That doesn't make sense. That's for women. That's what women do. We go hunt, we fish, we make bullets and things like that. But then when you have that cry out to God and that living water, living water worships. And we need the emotional songs. "Well, they're too sappy. They're too, 'Oh, how I love you.'" Yeah, you should be singing that, you guys. Grow up. What are you talking about, some Viking song? In all cases, it's an excuse to hide their spiritual apathy. And again, we see the worship wars. Old hymns, new hymns. Contemporary, not contemporary. Sitting, standing. Arms up, arms down. My vision's a little skewed because I've experienced a lot of different things. I remember people have left here like, "The worship's too loud, too emotional." And then the wife will say, "That's what he needs." So I've seen it all. And you do have to be careful with the worship. There's some songs we don't do anymore. There's things we're careful about. But she said, "Because you're a prophet, you know what's going on." She didn't even say, "Wow, I can't believe that." She goes, "Okay, he knows my business. He's a prophet. So let me ask you this question I've been dying to know." "Because when it comes to worship, you've got to know if you're right. Our fathers, Samaritans, worship on this mountain. But you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place you have to worship at the Temple of God or on this mountain. Hey, we're worshipping God. We need to know what is right. And if you're right, why are you right?" "You worship what you do not know. We know," in other words, Jesus the disciples, "we know what we worship." And even the Jews, even unbelieving Jews, knew who God was intellectually. Salvation came from the Jews. It's of the Jews. Jesus is the Messiah. However, the hour is coming. And check this out: it's now here. He says it. So it's been this way for 2,000 years. That's why true worship is not bound by a physical location or a sacred site or outward rituals. The hour's coming and now is when the true worshippers... so you can be here, you can just be singing, you can be doing one of these things. They will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. In spirit means you have the Holy Spirit. You have the Holy Spirit. Actually the Bible says the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, cries, "Abba, Father." All of those who think they're worshipping God, they are not worshipping God if they do not know Jesus Christ and have a relationship. They are not worshipping God in spirit. They are going through ritual movements and praying at this time, it's all mechanical. There's no true worship because they are not worshipping God in spirit. And then in truth. So when you worship God, it's got to be the true worship of God. You have to know the true and living God. Because I've seen videos out in the sequoias or out in these meadows, and it's this New Age group and they're humming and holding hands and worshiping. And then they interview them like, "I felt so great after the weekend." I bet you did. It was just relaxing. But you're not worshipping. You're not worshipping the true God. You are out of sync with the Creator. You need to repent and you need to believe in Jesus. Hollywood is great at this, aren't they? And this message is heard in Hollywood Monday through Friday in the morning. So hopefully we'll get some of those people coming on the freeway and challenge them. All the yoga and spirituality and crystals, that's not worship at all. Question came in: should a Christian do yoga? No, I would not do yoga. I would call it Christian stretching and stretch somehow. Those are all poses to gods. Now, you're not going to hell. It's just not a good idea to stretch and pose to other gods. I don't know what doors it could open. Just stretch. There's plenty of videos online. But these things, they're poses of worship. Millions and millions of people think they're worshipping God and they're not. They're not worshipping God in spirit or in truth. Now, this part, are you kidding me? "For the Father is looking for those who worship Him." It's one thing if we come and we worship, but God is seeking, is looking for true worshippers. Probably to bless, probably to honor, probably to fill with His spirit, probably to come alongside and build up and strengthen and lead. He's looking. And then you parallel with the Old Testament. The eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the whole earth. What's He doing? Looking for those who passionately pursue Him. The eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him. So God is looking for the genuine worshippers. So just that, even though you don't feel it, even though you don't see immediate results to your prayers, I will pursue Him and seek Him until the day I die, as will many of you. And He's looking for that. "Here's somebody. I can go through anything as long as I have the presence of God, as long as I have the power of God and the assurance of His salvation." You can take a person through a lot of things as long as they know the Lord is with me. Because they know this is just an earthly journey. Listen, you guys ready to hear this? (Pastor Shane takes a deep breath and exhales sharply). That's your life. That's your life compared to eternity. And you're worried about (exhales sharply again). Incredible. God's looking. Jesus said it. "For the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit." Like I said, you have to have the Holy Spirit. How do you have the Holy Spirit? You repent and you believe. And you are then born again. That's why many people have it intellectually, but they walk away from the faith. That's why they deconstruct. They never had genuine saving faith. They're deconstructing because they had... "Well, what about, can you lose your salvation?" I just know they never had genuine saving faith. Because you don't walk away from God. You might temporarily as a prodigal son, but you're miserable. You're not all excited about making a video to tell people how God doesn't exist. God forbid. Intellectual knowledge. "God is spirit, those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." This is why we also not only do we want to be a church... and R.T. Kendall, I was listening to a video just yesterday. He talked about with churches that they have the passion and the zeal and they're excited and worship is great, but they need some truth. That's why they're letting all this weird stuff happen and not calling people out and holding people accountable. It's just like, "If it's odd, it's God. If it's love, it's God. Just let God handle all that." No, you're called to handle it as a church. You're called to rightly divide the word of truth. And that's not biblical. We need to call that out. We need to guard the church from things that are not good and godlike. So you have to have the spirit and truth. But then you have other churches, it's all just the truth. And you know it because they look grumpy. Probably the King James, no offense, but just grumpy and mad and angry and pounding the pulpit all the time. "Hey, put your arms down. Don't get too excited, ma'am. We don't do that here." I know of churches where the deacons will go and they'll go, "Ma'am, we don't do that here." Bible teacher, I respect the church too. But it's like, are you kidding me? "No, no, don't get too... ma'am, are you starting to cry? We got a prayer room... well, they don't have a prayer room usually, but can you go out in the lobby? Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Jesus." "Don't say, ma'am. Was that a tongue I heard?" I'm joking, you guys aren't ready yet. But that's what it is, the truth side. They quench the spirit of God. (Guitar starts playing softly). Richard, you can even strum quietly. It might actually work pretty good here. They must worship in spirit and in truth. God is looking for true worshippers. Why? What's so important with worship? Westside, why do you emphasize it so much? Because worship breaks down the gates of hell. Worship pulls down strongholds. That's what it does. This is how I fight my battles: on my face before almighty God. Worship breaks the gates of hell. It pulls down strongholds. It dismantles demons. It annihilates deception. It restores the brokenness of our family and of our lives and of our nation. Church, we've got to get back to worshipping. How do you get through what you're going through? I worship. I love the word. I read the word. I saturate the word. But sometimes I've got to put down the word and get on my knees and begin to call out to almighty God to come down and visit your people again. And then she said, "Oh, I know the Messiah is coming. I know that He is coming. And when He comes, He will tell us all things." Oh, what a statement. Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." That's a mic drop moment right there. Can you imagine the look on her face? "Woman, I am He." "My God, my God," she probably said, "my prayers have been answered. The Messiah is here. I've been restored. I've been made whole." And this is what I talked about last week. She said, "I know that Messiah is coming." She knew intellectually. See, many listening, you know intellectually. You can say the same thing. "Oh, I know Jesus is coming. I heard about it in church." That's intellectual knowledge. Intellectual knowledge will not save you. The heart has to break and cry out to God and repent, confess Him as Lord and Savior. There is no other king in my life but King Jesus. And you have to cry out and ask for Him to restore your life. Do you know Him intimately? Because even the demons know Him. Does that Bible verse blow your mind? Even the demons believe in Jesus and they tremble. But they don't know Him. In other words, they're not on His side. They have no relationship. The Bible says return to me with prayer and fasting. That was the cry of God. Do you know that same call goes out today a couple thousand years later? The prophets were about 3,000 years ago, 2,700, 2,500 years ago. And God says, "You've left your first love. You're worshipping Baal, Ashtoreth. You're putting your children on the hot arms of Molech and you're killing them." Sound familiar? Man, if I were God, here comes a meteor the size of Denver. But He says, "Return to me. Return to me with prayer and fasting and I will return to you." Church, that's why we're in a season of fasting. We need to tell King Stomach to shut its mouth for a season. Take it to the Lord and join us in September, October, whatever God puts on your heart. We can all do something. Return to me. You've drifted. Maybe that's a message to you: return to me. This is how you rehydrate. You ask. You desire it. Say, "Lord, I need that. I've drifted." Or maybe some of you, you've never had it. You've never had the fire of God. Why do you think I do this? Why do you think I get so passionate about it? Because when you drink of that living water, you will never thirst again. And you want to tell other people about it. "Hey, have you drunk deeply? Have you fully surrendered?" Because God can change that. I see it all the time. Marriage problems? Get both of them full of the spirit. There's no more problems. They'll rip up the divorce papers. Absolutely. They're both drinking deeply of the living water that Christ gave and they're full of the spirit. They'll recognize their abusive relationship and they'll repent and they'll restore. There's no way around it. For that to happen, it takes one to be rejecting God. In order for that union to take place again, they both need to get back on fire with God. And you have to pursue. You have to pursue this. Maybe you won't change this afternoon. Maybe you won't feel what you want to feel. But we don't go by feelings, we go by faith. You pursue and you pursue and you pursue. Let me tell you, I can tell you one thing: the more you seek Him, the more you find Him. And the more you find Him, the more you seek Him. You might not feel like it, but God says, "I hear that cry." And He might next week pour down His spirit upon you so strong that you only have tears and will not have words. He will answer that commitment. When you pursue Him, you will find Him. And you pray and repent. Repentance restores. Repent of hard-heartedness, of arrogance, of pride. And then what, Shane? What do I do? You worship. You worship. And that renews that relationship. Isn't that where you get the fire back? You guys know. Prayer's great, I love prayer. But when prayer meets worship, something miraculous takes place. Because Jesus said, "My house will be called a house of prayer," not preaching. And prayer and worship go together.