A Ridiculous Reality (Jabin Chavez)

0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.680 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.160 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.520 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:12.559 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:17.959 see Gods moving in your life. Enjoy the message. So 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:23.720 blessed to be here. Hello from Las Vegas. It was 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:28.880 one eighteen yesterday when we flew here, one hundred and 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:30.360 eighteen degrees. I don't know if y' all know what 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:32.320 that meant, like not one eighteen PM, like it was 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:35.680 one hundred and eighteen degrees this week. So it's good 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.960 to be here, and it's an honor to be here. 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:41.640 God has been doing some great things at our church 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:43.440 here in Las Vegas. But I'm a very honored to 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:48.320 be here. And honestly, we really are the product of 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:52.840 relationship with the product of amazing people that God has 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:56.040 blessed us to connect with, and the first on that 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:59.760 list is Pastor Stephen, Pastor Holly Ferdick. We are who 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:03.000 we are or I am who I am because of 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:06.640 your pastors, because of this house, because of what God 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:10.119 has done through them. And I'm so grateful I've always 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:15.440 been so grateful for Pastor Stephen, but especially in this season. 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:20.319 The way that he rose and the way that he 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.600 stepped up, and the way that he led, and the 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:28.480 way that he preached, and the way that he wrote songs, 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:32.080 and the way that he loved us and gave to 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:36.640 us and prayed for us and encouraged us. I don't know. 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:38.600 I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:43.440 so grateful that Pastor Stephen, honestly, in the pandemic went 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:49.160 I can't just Pastor Elevation Churchy. He literally became like 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:55.080 an apostle to our nation into the world. And I'm 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:56.400 part of the e FM. I don't know if you 0:01:56.440 --> 0:02:00.920 know that, because we were recording on Wednesdays, and I 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:03.600 would preach on Wednesdays during the pandemic, and then we 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:05.840 would stream on Sundays and Sundays, I just woke up 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:10.079 depressed and frustrated and shut down. And you can only 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:14.920 clean your garage so many times on a Sunday, and 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.360 I had to join the EPAM because I needed a word, 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:26.160 I needed a song, I needed the blessing. I needed 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:33.520 graves in the gardens I need I needed it. I 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:35.360 didn't know I needed it. Might get loud, but I 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:41.400 needed that song in my life. I needed rattle. I 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:44.960 needed it, and I needed every every Sunday morning when 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.440 I would when I would log in and I would 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.200 hear the word, and I would hear this amazing team, 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.960 and I would and I would be fed. And we 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.120 were a two year old church when the pandemic started, 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:07.280 and we made it. And I made it because because 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:12.640 a man of God preached me through hell. Pastor Stephen, 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.720 I love you, I honor you, I thank God for you, 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.440 and we just want you to know how much we 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:22.200 appreciate the way that you could have. You could have 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:26.600 sat back, but instead you let us and we love you. 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:28.760 We love Pastor Holly. Come on one more time, cluse 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:35.440 show our honor appreciation every location. Amen. Why don't you 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.120 stand for God's words? Stand for God's word? First Samuel, 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:45.200 chapter seventeen, verse thirty two. Why not? I won't keep 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:49.640 you long, First Samuel, chapter seventeen, verse thirty two. David 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:54.320 speaks to Saul, and he says, don't worry about this philistine. 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:59.200 I'll go fight him. Don't be ridiculous. Saul replied, there's 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.920 no way you can fight this philistine and possibly win. 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:06.040 You're only a boy. He's been a man of war 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:09.320 since his youth. I'll just read the first little line 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:17.320 of thirty four. But David persisted. David persisted. Acts Chapter thirteen, 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:21.839 verse twenty two. Acts Chapter thirteen, verse twenty two. But 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:26.800 God removes Saul and replaced him with David, a man 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:29.760 about whom God said, I have found David's son of Jesse, 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:33.880 a man after my own heart, a man, a man. 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:39.760 Saul called him a boy. God said, this is a man, 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:44.800 a man after my own heart. He will do everything 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:50.640 I want him to do. Verse thirty three, Saul gives 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:53.600 David a compliment. He didn't know he was giving him 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:55.520 a compliment, but he gave him a compliment. He said, 0:04:55.760 --> 0:05:00.960 he said, don't be ridiculous. I want to preach from 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:06.640 that subject for just a few moments today. A ridiculous reality, 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:12.880 A ridiculous reality. I have a ridiculous reality. Father. I 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:14.680 thank you for your word. I thank you for the 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:18.760 moments we share. I thank you for the presence we feel. 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.920 I thank you that one word from heaven, one word 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:26.800 from you, literally change everything we're believing. For that now 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.719 we're leaning in for that our ears are open, our 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:34.640 hearts are open to a phrase, a sentence. Lord, you 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:37.359 don't even have to use me. Just use something said today, 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:42.160 Use something sung today, Use a phrase, use an idea, 0:05:42.400 --> 0:05:47.320 use a verse to change somebody's life forever. I thank 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.960 you for it in Jesus' name, and the whole church said, amen, Amen. 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.320 Here you could be seated online lead into this word. 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:59.760 I believe God has something for us. Doctor Charles Swindle 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:03.640 said that life is about ten percent what happens to 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:13.720 us and ninety percent our response, our attitude, our outlook 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:17.480 on what happens to us. I've been saved now for 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:20.359 twenty three years. I got saved when I was fifteen. 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.040 I'm now turning thirty eight, and I've been following Jesus 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.120 now for twenty three years. And I can attest to 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:29.359 that statement. I don't like that quote from doctor Swindle, 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:33.320 but I know it's true. I've been right there where 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:36.160 I have to make a decision. I don't like what's 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:40.920 happening to me, but my response is more important than 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:45.160 what's happening to me. My outlook is more important than 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:49.560 my circumstance. My attitude is more important than my surroundings. 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.279 What I think about God and what I think about 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:54.039 His word, and what I think about He's doing in 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.440 my life has much more weight and can do much 0:06:57.560 --> 0:06:59.920 more in my life than what is simply going on 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:04.120 around us. Life is so much more about perspective and 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:10.800 attitude than it is circumstances. And while we find ourselves 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:15.480 praying to get out of things, I find that usually 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:19.360 we ignore the thing God is trying to do in us. 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:23.400 We pray to get out, but God's trying to do 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:28.160 something in I'm trying to change what I'm surrounded by, 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:31.960 but God's trying to change what's going on inside of me. 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:34.560 Let me tell you why this is important. It's important 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.480 because if you get the thing you think you want, 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:41.920 but never let God do the thing you need, you'll 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.000 get the thing you want and you'll mess it up 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:47.760 because you won't have the character, you won't have the 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.520 prayer life, you won't have the annoying, you won't have 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:52.800 the compassion, you won't have the love for God or 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:56.480 love for people to carry the thing that God has 0:07:56.600 --> 0:08:01.200 put on you. A lot of you are praying for 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:04.280 things that I would say, don't don't stop praying for 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:08.200 what you're believing God for. Just make sure that you 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:12.800 are asking God to do something in you. Don't limit 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:16.960 God to simply someone who can get stuff for you. 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:21.080 Don't limit God to a God who can just do 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:25.800 things for you while refusing to allow him to do 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:29.440 something in you, because it's what He does in you. 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.600 Because here's the reality that if you'll allow God to 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.600 do something in you, even if you don't get the 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:39.439 thing you wanted, you're content. Even if you don't get 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.600 the thing you've been believing God for, you're happy. Even 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.400 if the circumstance doesn't change exactly how you thought it 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:47.480 was going to change. Because of what the spirit of 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.400 God did in you, You're now not tripping as much 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.240 about what you thought was the thing isn't even the thing. 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:58.360 The thing is the thing God's doing in you. Huh. 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:02.600 So David had to make a choice. David had no 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:06.120 idea that morning he was gonna step into a fight. 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:11.559 He didn't expect to fight. He didn't he didn't know 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:15.319 there was gonna be a fight. He had no plans 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.920 for a fight. His father woke him up one early 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.880 morning and said, here's some bread, here's some cheese. Shout 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:28.480 out to carbs and dairy. Just side note, they're amazing. 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:36.320 Praise the Lord. Pastor chunks doesn't eat carbs. Carbs pastor 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:38.360 chunks are where they take wheat and they grind it 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:42.479 up and then I know you want to eat broccolini 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:46.840 and salmon, but some of us got to eat wheat. Amen, 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.960 Praise the Lord. So anyway, he Praise God. Praise God. 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.160 Praise God. So he gets his bread in this cheese 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:55.640 and he's going to serve his brothers he had. He 0:09:55.720 --> 0:10:01.160 had no intention to fight that day. He had no 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:03.720 idea that he was about to hear the taunts of 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:08.840 Goliath and it was going to provoke something in David. 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:13.320 I want to give you a reality that maybe you've 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:17.040 never thought about before. But you rarely choose your giants. 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:26.200 Usually your giants choose you. You rarely choose your fight. 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:31.200 You rarely choose your storm. You rarely choose your struggle. 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.680 We don't always get to choose our fights, but we 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:40.600 must choose to fight. We don't always choose our battles, 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:43.440 but we can stand in the presence of God in 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:47.040 the midst of our battles. We rarely choose our storms, 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:50.000 but we can trust that Jesus is with us in 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:52.320 the storm, will sustain us in the storm, will not 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:55.960 leave us in the storm. We'll see us through the storm. 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.080 We don't always get to pick our goliath. Most of 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:03.640 the time Goliath picks us. But we can still have 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.760 victory even in situations that we did not choose. I 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:13.600 don't know about you. I didn't choose twenty twenty. Well, 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:18.520 maybe you didn't choose the marriage that you're in right now. 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:25.520 You're like, they were awesome when we started. Don't say 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:32.880 anything to your spouse. Is they seem normal? I didn't 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:35.360 choose this struggle. I didn't. I didn't choose to lose 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:39.079 my job. I didn't choose this situation. I didn't. I 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:44.720 didn't choose to be born at this time. I didn't. 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:46.840 I didn't believe for this. This was not on the 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:52.160 prayer list. But please don't die as a victim of 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:57.000 your circumstance because you're angry with the fight that's been 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:01.320 given to you. You may not be able to change 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:04.040 the fight, but you can fight. You may not always 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:06.439 be able to stop the storm, but you can stand 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:09.280 in the storm in the presence of Jesus. You may 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:12.959 not like everything that's going on around you, and if 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.320 you're not careful, you will spend the next year of 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.600 your life trying to pray out of something that God 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:22.440 is trying to do in you, and you'll miss the lesson, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:27.319 you'll miss the growth, you'll miss getting to seek Goliath 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:33.440 fall because you didn't like to fight. I've had to 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:37.120 learn that my greatest seasons of growth have been in 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:40.559 moments where I had to take on fights I didn't expect. 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.040 But David sees some things, and I see some things 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:48.760 in the text that David saw that I want to 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.440 I want to share with you because I think there's 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.920 some keys to victory that David had over his goliath. 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.240 And we all have a Goliath. We're all gonna face giants. 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.680 Your last giant is not your last. There will be 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:04.959 more giants to have a way of popping up. So 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.320 I'm gonna give you some things that I see from David, 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:12.400 and here's the first. In order to have this ridiculous reality, 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:18.000 this victory mentality, you have to choose courage over worry. 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:25.720 Courage over worry, David said in verse thirty two. Don't worry. 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:30.800 Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:36.400 ability to do something that frightens you. So when David 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:44.880 says don't worry, he's not claiming he's fearless. Courage is 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:50.280 not fearless. Courage is the ability to place more faith 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:55.280 in God's word than in the mountain. Courage is the 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.760 ability to put more faith in what God has promised 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:02.240 than in the giant. David said don't worry. Here's what 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.680 he's saying. He's not saying that the emotion is gone. 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:08.600 He's saying, I refuse to let worry and fear dictate 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.360 every decision in my life. Have you read Joshua? Chapter 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.720 one of God tells Joshua, hey, hey, be strong, be courageous. 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:21.840 You're like, I'm trying, don't ever read stuff like that. 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:26.520 You're like, isn't that easy? Jesus is, don't worry about tomorrow. Wow, 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:31.880 working on it. Try and do him my best. Here, 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:37.760 when God commands us not to worry, When God commands 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:41.000 us to be courageous, he's not saying that we're gonna 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:43.600 be robotic and that we're no longer going to have emotion. 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:48.080 He's just saying that your faith will go beyond the emotion, 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:51.520 that God's promise will go beyond the feeling that what 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.600 God has said about you will be stronger than the 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.600 fear that you feel. In the moment, when David says 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:00.960 don't worry, I think his knees were knocking. When David 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.480 said don't worry. I think his stomach was probably turning. 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:06.200 When David said don't worry, I think sweat was falling 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.240 from his head. But there was something in him that 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.480 knew that God had done enough in his life that 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.920 he could get through this because of all God has 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:18.680 already done. I'm sorry, I'm already screaming, but I just 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:22.000 want to tell somebody that fear doesn't have to be 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:25.240 your anchor emotion. Worry doesn't have to And I know 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:28.760 these are scary times. I know these aren't worried sometimes. 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:32.760 I know these are crazy times. I don't like it either, 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:35.880 but if I got to be in it, I might 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:43.520 as well be in it with some courage. So the 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:48.120 Bible said, for forty days, every morning and every night, 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:52.240 Goliath is cursing the people of God forty days every morning, 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:56.680 every night, every morning, every night, every morning, every night, 0:15:56.720 --> 0:16:01.200 with his usual taunts. Can I tell you that the 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:08.800 devil knows your usual talks it might be addiction. It 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.960 might be lost, It might be anger, might be hatred, 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:14.480 might be fear, it might be greed. I don't know 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:16.960 what your taunt is, but the devil knows your taunt, 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:23.880 and there's nothing new. So he'll just keep working your taunt. 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.960 As long as you let him talk. He will taunt 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.080 as long as you allow the enemy to speak every 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.880 morning and every night. Here's what he will taunt you, 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.120 and he will remind you, and he will bring that 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:43.840 up and up and up and up. So for forty days, 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:48.600 Saul is under this influence of his taunts. Saul was insecure. 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:56.600 Saul was troubled by evil spirits. Saul was well aware 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.960 of his weaknesses and well aware of everyone else's strength. 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:04.080 That's why he was jealous. So the devil knew exactly 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:08.440 what to tell Saul. And I don't know what your 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:10.439 taunt is, but many of you you keep hearing the 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.880 same thing. You can't do it, You'll you'll never make it. 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:16.760 It will always be this way it was. It was 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:20.240 better before you started serving God. It was easier before 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:23.280 you really committed to the Lord. And he will just 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:28.320 keep talking to you. I want to submit this. Saul's 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:35.320 fear was justified. Goliath was nine feet tall. That's scary. 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:45.560 His fear was justified, but living in it was not justified. 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.200 So I've learned that you're either gonna be a don't 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:53.760 worry person or a don't be ridiculous person. I've learned 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:56.080 that you're either gonna be a Saul or you're gonna 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:59.560 be a David. You're either gonna live in the fear 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.000 of life what might happen and never take a step 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.080 of faith, or you're going to be like David and 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:07.760 you're gonna be ridiculous and you're going to live in 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.320 a don't worry spirit that says, you know what, my 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:15.240 worry can't change anything anyway. It's doing no good anyway. 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.720 It's not preparing me for anything anyway. So I might 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:22.159 as well stop because all it's doing is stopping me 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:24.800 from entering into what God has for me. And I 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:27.000 just refuse to be a Saul. I don't want to 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.399 live that way. I don't want to live small. I 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:31.400 don't want to live insecure. I don't want to live 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:34.080 talking people out of their dreams. And I know that 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:37.119 over the last fifteen months, eighteen months, I know the 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.040 devil has worked so hard to just talk us out 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:44.639 of our dreams, to retreat, to give up, to quit, 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:48.280 to play it safe. But I want to tell you 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:51.879 today that you can choose courage over worry. That you 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:54.320 can get your fight back, that you can get your 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:57.440 prayer back, that you can get your praise back, that 0:18:57.600 --> 0:18:59.959 you think, get your relationships back, that you think get 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.720 it's your mind back. I understand that the devil has 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:07.439 fought us hard for month after month after month, but 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:09.439 I think it's time to fight back a little bit. 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.480 I think it's time to say I refuse to live 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:17.000 in the worry of what might never happen. I'm gonna 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:25.320 step into what God already said what happened. Faith will 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:30.920 always look ridiculous, Courage will always be a rare commodity, 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:38.600 Hope will always look unrealistic. But never forget that the 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:49.840 miraculous and the ridiculous are always connected. They is they is. 0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:53.680 See every time you see a miracle in the Bible, 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:56.720 we read right over it. But every time you see 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:59.280 a miracle in the Bible, you will see a ridiculous 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:06.160 instruction from God every time. They just don't seem crazy 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:08.639 now because we've been reading about him since we're five. 0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:14.280 But they're ridiculous. The Bible is full of people who 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:25.160 need miracles and God who answers with instructions, not miracles. Instructions. God, 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:27.800 I need a miracle, do this. I don't want to 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:33.119 do that. I want you to do this. And a 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:35.119 lot of us miss out on our miracle because we 0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:39.040 don't like the instruction. A lot of us miss out 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:41.879 on answer prayer because we don't like what God's telling 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:43.439 us to do. I don't want to do that. I 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:45.199 want you to do something that goes I will do 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:50.440 something if you will do something. But the thing that 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:53.399 God is calling us to do will usually push us 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:56.800 out of our comfort zone. It feels so ridiculous, y'all 0:20:56.840 --> 0:21:06.160 don't believe me. Hey, Noah, build a boat, bro, what's about. 0:21:09.880 --> 0:21:12.439 It's a big piece of wood. You're gonna live in 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:20.240 it because it's gonna rain. Beat what's rain? It's water, 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:22.120 but it's not gonna come up from the grass. Gotta 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:29.399 come up from the sky. Bet it's ridiculous. And so 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:33.320 for over a hundred years, no it builds a boat 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:38.120 with no rain, and we read it, and we read 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:40.680 it in Sunday school, so we don't realize how crazy 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:44.080 this is, and we wonder why God never does anything 0:21:44.119 --> 0:21:54.040 for us. Abraham, just go just go where I saw you? 0:21:59.119 --> 0:22:01.520 So like you want to tell Sarah, right, not like 0:22:03.320 --> 0:22:06.359 I can't even take my wife on a date until 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:10.320 I tell her where we're going. Fay, let's go on 0:22:10.320 --> 0:22:15.080 a date where and you want me to fack of 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:19.560 my wife? They just start walking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:31.200 It's ridiculous. Elijah, build an altar. I'm gonna send fire, 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:35.280 so put water on it. Okay, Isaac, so in a 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:38.320 time of famine, naming dipping the Jordan, but not once, 0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:41.280 on twice, on three times, go ahead and dip seven times. 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:45.080 Do something that's ridiculous, to something that offends you, to 0:22:45.280 --> 0:22:49.280 something that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Elisha, Uh, 0:22:49.320 --> 0:22:52.200 you need water, cool, don't pray for rain to ditches, 0:22:55.600 --> 0:23:01.199 don't look up, look down, don't pray for out to form. Instead, 0:23:01.320 --> 0:23:04.560 just start digging holes. Widow, you need some food, Go 0:23:04.560 --> 0:23:11.600 ahead and gather vessels from your friends, servants. You'll need wine, 0:23:12.080 --> 0:23:19.560 get some water. We don't even know what we're praying for, 0:23:19.840 --> 0:23:22.720 so we start praying for miracles, and then we start 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:25.160 seeing weird things around us, and we go God, You're 0:23:25.200 --> 0:23:27.000 not head, He's going I am. It just is not 0:23:27.080 --> 0:23:29.399 what you thought it was gonna be, but it is 0:23:29.440 --> 0:23:34.119 what you need. Hey, you want to beat five thousand people, 0:23:34.359 --> 0:23:36.679 break them up in the groups of fifty. Hey you 0:23:36.720 --> 0:23:39.639 want me to raise Lazarus from the dead, then you 0:23:39.840 --> 0:23:42.960 roll away the stone. Because if you'll roll away the stone, 0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:46.000 I'll raise the dead. If you'll do what you can do, 0:23:46.080 --> 0:23:49.120 I'll do what I can do. You can't raise the dead. 0:23:49.280 --> 0:23:51.840 But if you can roll away a stone, if you 0:23:51.880 --> 0:23:54.840 can park a car, if you can give in the offering, 0:23:55.200 --> 0:23:57.720 if you can serve in the kids ministry, if you 0:23:57.760 --> 0:24:00.920 can play a guitar, if you can a song, if 0:24:00.960 --> 0:24:03.439 you can love old somebody, if you can hold a 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:06.440 sign and welcome them to church, if you'll roll away 0:24:06.520 --> 0:24:13.720 the stone, I'll raise the dad. I don't want to 0:24:13.760 --> 0:24:16.200 hold a sign. I want to preach too bad hold 0:24:16.200 --> 0:24:21.040 a sign. I don't want to be a host. I 0:24:21.680 --> 0:24:26.400 want to sing. No host. Do something ridiculous that stretches 0:24:26.440 --> 0:24:31.600 you and offends you, that makes you go, God, why 0:24:31.600 --> 0:24:36.120 are you doing me like that? Because I don't want 0:24:36.119 --> 0:24:38.760 to just do stuff for you. I want to do 0:24:38.880 --> 0:24:43.520 stuff in you and if I just gave you everything, 0:24:44.240 --> 0:24:48.480 you would never change. So you have to do something 0:24:48.600 --> 0:24:56.680 ridiculous and then you'll watch God do the miraculous. Somebody 0:24:56.720 --> 0:25:02.359 praise God. I'm I was gonna say I'm almost dumb, 0:25:02.359 --> 0:25:04.679 but I'm not. I'm only on point one. Pray for me. 0:25:05.119 --> 0:25:11.320 Sit down, Sit down, I gotta preach. It's ridiculous. You 0:25:11.640 --> 0:25:15.760 want me to serve in church. Yeah, it's ridiculous. You 0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:21.000 want me to tie tie tie. My friend the other 0:25:21.080 --> 0:25:22.520 day she was cutting my hair. She goes, you know, 0:25:22.600 --> 0:25:24.920 tithing is just you know, it's from the hearts, whatever 0:25:24.920 --> 0:25:27.920 you feel lad to give. This is a scary conversation 0:25:28.000 --> 0:25:32.440 to have when they have razors. Sharp just goes to 0:25:32.480 --> 0:25:35.639 our church. I said, actually go always like ten percent, 0:25:36.960 --> 0:25:41.480 and she's just what I said. It's like tenbers out 0:25:41.480 --> 0:25:44.080 of your income. But like, no pressure. Just let me 0:25:44.119 --> 0:25:49.000 get out of this. But I follow the Holy Spirit. 0:25:49.040 --> 0:25:51.439 You know, it's like who we're not legalistic. You know, 0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:58.800 it's ridiculous. You want me to love my enemies, it's ridiculous. 0:25:59.800 --> 0:26:02.080 You want me to forgive those who are talking about 0:26:02.080 --> 0:26:06.879 me is ridiculous. You want me to you want me 0:26:06.920 --> 0:26:11.680 to obey, It's all sounds, so it sounds so ridiculous 0:26:12.160 --> 0:26:20.960 till it works. It feels ridiculous until it looks miraculous, 0:26:23.680 --> 0:26:28.960 and that that point is like really fast, so you 0:26:29.119 --> 0:26:33.879 feel foolish for a long time, and then all of 0:26:33.920 --> 0:26:38.359 a sudden you look wise. Four years ago, we packed 0:26:38.440 --> 0:26:42.440 up a Penske truck and we left Newport Beach, California. 0:26:42.440 --> 0:26:43.560 I don't know if you're a bet at Newport, but 0:26:43.600 --> 0:26:54.080 Newport's like heaven for real. And it felt so ridiculous. 0:26:55.119 --> 0:26:57.639 It felt so ridiculous four years ago to take my 0:26:57.720 --> 0:27:00.399 six month old daughter out of our car and it 0:27:00.440 --> 0:27:03.479 was one hundred and eight degrees and she's sweating, and 0:27:03.520 --> 0:27:05.760 we didn't have a house yet because we didn't have income. 0:27:06.080 --> 0:27:08.880 So we're living with my brother and sister in law 0:27:09.359 --> 0:27:11.320 in their guest room and they go, all good. We 0:27:11.359 --> 0:27:13.680 got to bed. It was an air mattress. They lied 0:27:13.720 --> 0:27:16.720 to us, And as I laid in that air mattress, 0:27:16.760 --> 0:27:23.920 I went, God, you lie to me. And it felt 0:27:24.000 --> 0:27:32.720 so ridiculous till it looked miraculous. And I won't I 0:27:32.760 --> 0:27:35.920 won't bore you with the details, but God has been 0:27:35.960 --> 0:27:39.960 so good to us. But it didn't. It didn't feel 0:27:40.119 --> 0:27:45.359 good At first, it just felt like God, like I 0:27:45.440 --> 0:27:47.280 knew it was God, but it didn't feel good. But 0:27:47.320 --> 0:27:50.760 I knew it was God. But the longer you stay 0:27:50.800 --> 0:27:54.919 with it, I'm gonna create a word right now. The 0:27:54.960 --> 0:28:00.440 gooder it feels, the better it feels, the wiser you 0:28:00.520 --> 0:28:04.480 feel because you trusted God when they looked at you 0:28:04.560 --> 0:28:07.560 and said you were ridiculous, but you knew God puts 0:28:07.560 --> 0:28:14.200 something in you. Number number two, Faith over facts, Faith 0:28:14.280 --> 0:28:18.480 over facts. I'm not here to deny facts, but I 0:28:18.560 --> 0:28:23.879 want you to understand something. Saul said, there's no way 0:28:24.000 --> 0:28:31.920 you can fight this philistine and possibly win. He was right, 0:28:35.119 --> 0:28:40.720 Saul said, you can't. Saul was being very realistic. Saul 0:28:40.840 --> 0:28:45.000 was actually being wise. Saul was looking at a teenager 0:28:45.040 --> 0:28:48.360 and saying, you can't go up against a nine foot 0:28:48.400 --> 0:28:51.280 tall giant. I love what he says. He's been a 0:28:51.280 --> 0:28:53.760 man of war since his youth, like he's been grown 0:28:53.880 --> 0:29:00.320 since he was a kid, Like he's he was one 0:29:00.320 --> 0:29:02.320 of those twelve year olds. And you're like, are you thirty? 0:29:02.400 --> 0:29:08.160 You know that was Goliath. Saul had a scouting report 0:29:08.280 --> 0:29:10.400 on Goliath. He said, he's a man of what we 0:29:10.480 --> 0:29:17.640 know about this, you can't and he was right. Hand 0:29:17.680 --> 0:29:26.040 to hand combat, no chance. Sword against sword not possible. 0:29:27.320 --> 0:29:33.240 There was no way David could do that. But faith 0:29:33.600 --> 0:29:44.600 sees another way. Faith looks for the possibility in the impossibility. 0:29:46.680 --> 0:29:49.600 Faith looks for what God could do in the midst 0:29:49.640 --> 0:29:54.480 of the problem. Faith is not moved by what is seen. 0:29:55.800 --> 0:29:58.480 Faith will move in the midst of what is seen. 0:30:01.040 --> 0:30:03.239 There's always going to be an excuse for why you 0:30:03.280 --> 0:30:07.920 can't fight your goliath. You can say you can't, and 0:30:08.000 --> 0:30:12.800 you would be right. But if you say you can, 0:30:14.280 --> 0:30:19.600 you'll be right. Ecclesiastes chapter eleven verse forces farmers who 0:30:19.600 --> 0:30:23.760 wait for perfect weather they never plant. Look at your neighbors, 0:30:23.760 --> 0:30:26.680 say stop waiting, stop waiting, stop waiting. Type it in 0:30:26.720 --> 0:30:30.400 the chat, please stop waiting. If they watch every cloud, 0:30:30.560 --> 0:30:34.640 they will never harvest. David could have easily said I'll 0:30:34.680 --> 0:30:36.920 fight him and then looked at him and said, my bad, 0:30:37.240 --> 0:30:41.720 just kidding. And if you're waiting for the perfect weather 0:30:43.120 --> 0:30:46.920 to step out in faith, friend, if the weather was perfect, 0:30:46.920 --> 0:30:50.280 you wouldn't need faith. You only need faith because there 0:30:50.320 --> 0:30:52.040 is a cloud in the sky. You only need faith 0:30:52.040 --> 0:30:54.600 because there is a giant. You only need faith because 0:30:54.640 --> 0:31:00.360 the circumstances aren't good. So hand to hand, sword to sword, 0:31:00.440 --> 0:31:08.480 absolutely not. But slingshot, he's too big to miss. You 0:31:08.640 --> 0:31:15.520 have to see the same issue a different way. Agree 0:31:16.240 --> 0:31:25.000 same issue, same marriage, different perspective, same job, different attitude, 0:31:25.000 --> 0:31:29.480 same city, different outlook. Do you remember when God was 0:31:29.480 --> 0:31:33.240 bringing Joshua into the Promised Land Joshua Chapter three? He said, Joshua, 0:31:33.400 --> 0:31:36.440 you're going to go in, but you've never gone this 0:31:36.560 --> 0:31:42.280 way before. You're still going in, You're just going in 0:31:42.320 --> 0:31:46.000 a new way, with a new perspective, with a new route, 0:31:46.240 --> 0:31:50.240 with a new path. You're going to the same place 0:31:50.880 --> 0:31:57.320 a different way. David and Saul saw the same giant, 0:31:57.400 --> 0:32:02.000 but they saw him differently. David and Saul saw the 0:32:02.040 --> 0:32:05.960 same enemy, but they saw him differently. David and Saul 0:32:06.000 --> 0:32:08.360 were looking at the same problem, but they saw it 0:32:08.440 --> 0:32:12.880 differently because Saul could only see it one way. But faith, 0:32:13.080 --> 0:32:19.280 Faith is creative. Faith will give you an imagination. Faith 0:32:19.320 --> 0:32:21.760 will get you looking at the same thing and going 0:32:21.840 --> 0:32:25.200 But I know what you're saying, but it feels different 0:32:25.240 --> 0:32:27.560 to me. When I moved to Las Vegas, I had 0:32:27.560 --> 0:32:32.320 two incredible, lovely probably pastors in town, and they called 0:32:32.360 --> 0:32:34.640 me and they said, you cannot plant the church here 0:32:34.960 --> 0:32:41.400 and you cannot plant the church there. It will never work. Thanks. 0:32:45.760 --> 0:32:47.640 They said, what part of town? I said, well, this 0:32:47.680 --> 0:32:49.400 part of the said no, no no, no no, one goes to 0:32:49.520 --> 0:32:56.760 church on the west side. It won't work. Copy. Thanks. 0:32:58.320 --> 0:33:01.080 And I had to look at the same part of 0:33:01.120 --> 0:33:06.640 our city a different way. I had to look at 0:33:06.640 --> 0:33:10.080 the same region with different eyes. I had to look 0:33:10.080 --> 0:33:13.040 at the same problem, but not see it as a problem, 0:33:13.120 --> 0:33:15.320 see it as a possibility. I had to look at 0:33:15.360 --> 0:33:17.280 a zip code that did not have a church like 0:33:17.320 --> 0:33:19.840 ours in it, or a zip code anywhere around us 0:33:19.840 --> 0:33:22.920 that had a church like ours in us and say 0:33:22.960 --> 0:33:28.400 to myself, either they're not receptive, or maybe my faith 0:33:29.080 --> 0:33:32.720 and maybe my creativity and maybe my tenacity can outweigh 0:33:33.600 --> 0:33:37.600 their lack of receptivity. And so I had to see 0:33:37.640 --> 0:33:41.680 the same thing from a different perspective. I cannot promise 0:33:41.720 --> 0:33:44.000 you that everything in your life is going to change 0:33:44.040 --> 0:33:47.000 after today, but I am promising that you can see 0:33:47.000 --> 0:33:50.640 it different. Isn't that what Elisha prayed for his servant 0:33:50.680 --> 0:33:53.840 when they were surrounded by the enemy, and his servant thought, Okay, 0:33:53.960 --> 0:33:55.560 you need to call down fire, you need to help us, 0:33:55.600 --> 0:33:57.840 you need to call on God. And Elisha praise. But 0:33:57.920 --> 0:33:59.880 he doesn't pray against the enemy. He prays for his son. 0:34:00.200 --> 0:34:02.640 It says, Lord, give him my eyes to see. Let 0:34:02.760 --> 0:34:04.959 him see what I see. Let him see what you see. 0:34:05.360 --> 0:34:09.160 Let him see the same situation. But instead of seeing 0:34:09.160 --> 0:34:11.600 it from his perspective, would you allow him to see 0:34:11.640 --> 0:34:15.320 it from your perspective. And I'm not saying that everything's 0:34:15.320 --> 0:34:16.839 going to change, But what I am saying is that 0:34:16.920 --> 0:34:27.719 if you'll see it different. Lastly, a ridiculous reality will 0:34:27.719 --> 0:34:39.960 require God's word over man's opinion. God's word over man's opinion. 0:34:40.600 --> 0:34:50.840 You're a boy, he's a man. That's all he could 0:34:50.880 --> 0:34:56.680 see in him. You're a boy, he's a man. But 0:34:56.920 --> 0:35:04.880 God said, But God said, and there has to be 0:35:04.920 --> 0:35:08.680 a But God that gets in your spirit. There has 0:35:08.760 --> 0:35:11.320 to be something in you, Joseph that says, but God 0:35:11.440 --> 0:35:13.960 has turned this thing around for good and for the 0:35:14.600 --> 0:35:17.200 saving of There has to be something in you. That says, 0:35:17.200 --> 0:35:21.239 I understand what they're saying, But God, I understand. I 0:35:21.320 --> 0:35:24.279 understand why they're saying it. But God, I understand the 0:35:24.840 --> 0:35:28.760 thought process behind it. But God, I understand the reasons 0:35:28.840 --> 0:35:31.040 saw that you would declare that over my life. But 0:35:31.239 --> 0:35:37.520 God said, I found a man. Saul saw a boy, 0:35:37.560 --> 0:35:42.960 God saw a man, Saul saw a kid, God saw 0:35:43.080 --> 0:35:48.200 a king, And so much of your life is going 0:35:48.239 --> 0:35:52.240 to be determined by who you allow to speak into 0:35:52.320 --> 0:35:55.480 your life. This is why a church like this really matters. 0:35:55.520 --> 0:35:57.600 This is why it's really important that you're in this church. 0:35:57.760 --> 0:35:59.600 It's why it's really important that you attend this church, 0:35:59.640 --> 0:36:02.440 serving the church, given this church, this Epham or not. 0:36:02.560 --> 0:36:04.239 This is why you have to be a part of 0:36:04.280 --> 0:36:09.200 elevation because you need somebody with enough faith and enough 0:36:09.280 --> 0:36:11.680 humility to look at you, weak in and weak out 0:36:12.040 --> 0:36:14.799 and declare what God says about you and not what 0:36:14.840 --> 0:36:17.880 you're hearing from your family and from your friends, and 0:36:18.000 --> 0:36:21.560 from your frenemies and from your enemies and from everywhere 0:36:21.600 --> 0:36:24.240 in between. You need a man of God like pastor 0:36:24.280 --> 0:36:28.920 Stephen Verdicude. Every week, get up, stand behind this pulpit, 0:36:29.040 --> 0:36:32.160 open the Bible, and tell you who God is, and 0:36:32.239 --> 0:36:35.760 tell you who you are, because if you stop allowing 0:36:35.800 --> 0:36:38.840 that influence in, there will always be a Saul ready 0:36:39.200 --> 0:36:42.799 to pounce on you and tell you the lies of 0:36:42.840 --> 0:36:45.880 the enemy and remind you of all of your insecurities 0:36:45.920 --> 0:36:48.840 and all of your inadequacies and all of the reasons 0:36:48.840 --> 0:36:51.280 that you are not qualified, and all of the reasons 0:36:51.600 --> 0:36:54.439 that you do not measure up. You need this Man 0:36:54.480 --> 0:36:57.080 of God in your life to declare. Thus say it 0:36:57.200 --> 0:36:59.920 the Lord, to declare the King in you, to declare 0:37:00.280 --> 0:37:02.320 the Man of God, the Woman of God in you, 0:37:02.480 --> 0:37:06.200 to declare the promises of God over you. And not 0:37:06.400 --> 0:37:08.440 everyone is going to be able to see that, But 0:37:08.560 --> 0:37:10.319 you don't need everyone to be able to see that. 0:37:12.120 --> 0:37:14.600 And it's not your job to make them see that. 0:37:16.040 --> 0:37:20.240 And please don't waste your whole life trying to convince 0:37:20.280 --> 0:37:24.000 the unconvinced of who you are, because they can only 0:37:24.040 --> 0:37:26.839 see you for who you were. They can only see 0:37:26.880 --> 0:37:28.960 you through your weakness. They can only see you through 0:37:28.960 --> 0:37:31.600 your mistake. They can only see you through that nineteen 0:37:31.680 --> 0:37:33.440 year old kid, or that twenty five year old kid, 0:37:33.520 --> 0:37:35.680 or that fifteen year old kid. But I know what 0:37:35.760 --> 0:37:41.560 God sees in me, and I know a lot of people. 0:37:41.560 --> 0:37:46.640 They waste their whole life trying to convince somebody. They 0:37:46.680 --> 0:37:48.680 try to convince a soul who does not have the 0:37:48.760 --> 0:37:55.240 eyes to see it. So we don't live our life 0:37:55.680 --> 0:37:59.560 trying to prove anything to the haters. And we don't 0:37:59.600 --> 0:38:02.480 live our life life trying to convince those who have 0:38:02.560 --> 0:38:08.000 rejected us, we know who we are, we know whose 0:38:08.160 --> 0:38:11.160 we are, and we know that God has a word 0:38:11.239 --> 0:38:16.480 over our life that is greater than their opinion. Anyway, 0:38:18.000 --> 0:38:20.359 they did not create you, so they cannot call you. 0:38:21.920 --> 0:38:25.200 They did not create you, so they cannot DestinE you. 0:38:25.200 --> 0:38:28.160 You were not created in their image, so their word 0:38:28.200 --> 0:38:34.920 does not have that much authority. Hallelujah, somebody say hallelujah. 0:38:35.160 --> 0:38:38.080 Verse thirty four. And David, because this is the moment 0:38:38.120 --> 0:38:39.640 for me, this is the moment for me. This is 0:38:39.680 --> 0:38:41.440 the moment because at this moment, David could have went 0:38:41.480 --> 0:38:53.000 you're right, and instead he persisted. There's a moment that 0:38:53.080 --> 0:38:59.520 you have to push back. Not only pushing back against 0:38:59.560 --> 0:39:03.600 the enemy, you have to push back from the voices 0:39:04.280 --> 0:39:06.520 that are trying to stop you from walking in victory. 0:39:06.560 --> 0:39:11.200 You have to you have to push back. David persistity. 0:39:11.400 --> 0:39:12.680 No, no no, no, no no, no, You're not gonna talk me 0:39:12.719 --> 0:39:16.440 out of this. I believe this is my moment. I 0:39:16.480 --> 0:39:20.360 believe this is my time. I did not call myself 0:39:21.080 --> 0:39:23.319 and I did not choose this fight. But here I 0:39:23.360 --> 0:39:28.000 am David persistent. Here's why he persisted because he knew 0:39:28.080 --> 0:39:33.360 Goliath was an opportunity, not a death sentence, and I 0:39:33.360 --> 0:39:37.200 want to declare over you, Goliath is always an opportunity, 0:39:37.760 --> 0:39:45.279 not a death sentence. You need a Goliath because Goliath 0:39:45.440 --> 0:39:51.480 is your opportunity for elevation. Goliath is your opportunity for promotion. 0:39:52.760 --> 0:39:56.480 You don't become king without goliath. You don't walk in 0:39:56.640 --> 0:40:00.840 greatness without Goliath. You don't step into your all without Goliath. 0:40:00.880 --> 0:40:04.200 Here's why. Because goliath is a very interesting Hebrew word, 0:40:04.239 --> 0:40:05.960 we can have the band come up, play me out 0:40:05.960 --> 0:40:07.520 of here like the Grammys, Get me off the stage, 0:40:07.560 --> 0:40:11.560 don't preach all day. Goliath means Goliath means of the 0:40:11.600 --> 0:40:18.920 Hebrew language, it means to uncover. I'm already feeling it. 0:40:18.920 --> 0:40:20.560 I haven't even told you all what I'm feeling yet, 0:40:20.600 --> 0:40:25.279 but I'm feeling something. Goliath means to reveal. Goliath means 0:40:25.320 --> 0:40:30.279 to disclose information. Golith means to reveal oneself and to 0:40:30.400 --> 0:40:37.480 make oneself known. The giant you are facing is actually revealing. 0:40:39.360 --> 0:40:43.240 The giant you are facing is actually uncovering a truth. 0:40:44.000 --> 0:40:47.160 The giant you are facing is revealing to you that 0:40:47.320 --> 0:40:51.000 you are bigger on the inside then Goliath is on 0:40:51.120 --> 0:40:56.800 the outside. Giants always tell on themselves, because giants always 0:40:56.880 --> 0:41:01.440 reveal who they are, who God is, and who you are. 0:41:02.560 --> 0:41:08.279 And without Goliath, you don't get exposed to it. Goliath 0:41:08.320 --> 0:41:11.040 of gath Goth means the wine press, the pressing place, 0:41:11.120 --> 0:41:16.280 the uncomfortable place without a press, without a Goliath, without 0:41:16.280 --> 0:41:19.759 a gath, without a situation that you never prayed for, 0:41:19.840 --> 0:41:22.840 but now that you're in it, it reveals something about 0:41:22.920 --> 0:41:25.520 God that you would have never known about God. It 0:41:25.560 --> 0:41:27.719 reveals something about the devil that you would have never 0:41:27.800 --> 0:41:30.640 known about the devil. It reveals something about you that 0:41:30.680 --> 0:41:35.760 you would have never known about yourself. Giants reveal our calling. 0:41:37.560 --> 0:41:43.640 Giants uncover are gifting. Giants make known our anointing t'thers. 0:41:45.000 --> 0:41:52.680 Giants teach me to pray. Giants pushed me to fast. 0:41:54.440 --> 0:41:59.520 Giants put me on my face where I say God, 0:41:59.680 --> 0:42:09.520 if you don't move, I'm gonna die. I hated to 0:42:09.719 --> 0:42:17.000 face my Goliath, but I'm better for it, bigger for it. 0:42:18.040 --> 0:42:22.600 I'm stronger for it. I'm more anointed because of it. 0:42:23.239 --> 0:42:26.879 I pray like I never prayed before it. I give 0:42:27.000 --> 0:42:30.440 like I've never given before it. I was a different 0:42:30.520 --> 0:42:33.440 man before I met Jesus, but Frankly, I was a 0:42:33.480 --> 0:42:36.319 different man before I met my Goliath. But after I 0:42:36.360 --> 0:42:39.040 had to face an enemy, it revealed to me the 0:42:39.080 --> 0:42:42.320 greatness of my God. It revealed to me the awesome 0:42:42.360 --> 0:42:46.840 power of my God. I stopped comparing myself to my giant. 0:42:47.160 --> 0:42:51.480 Then I started comparing my giant to my Jesus. Then 0:42:51.480 --> 0:42:55.000 I realized that my God is great. There was revealed 0:42:55.040 --> 0:42:58.000 to me that my God is awesome. There was revealed 0:42:58.040 --> 0:43:03.240 to me that my God is are answering, mountain, moving, 0:43:03.480 --> 0:43:08.200 way making God. I didn't know God like I know God. 0:43:08.719 --> 0:43:18.800 After I've left my Goliath. Giants cause you to discover 0:43:18.960 --> 0:43:22.280 that greater is he that's in you than he that's 0:43:22.320 --> 0:43:27.760 in the world. I don't know if I can think 0:43:28.520 --> 0:43:39.520 my Goliath, but I am thankful for my Goliath, because 0:43:39.560 --> 0:43:48.360 something had to break on my walk to my Giant. 0:43:52.200 --> 0:43:55.480 Something new had you come out of me that was 0:43:55.520 --> 0:44:02.880 not there before. And now that I'm on the other side, 0:44:02.200 --> 0:44:08.280 I realize how small he really is, and I realize 0:44:08.280 --> 0:44:12.799 how great my God is. So so so, now that 0:44:12.880 --> 0:44:19.640 I faced Goliath, I can say what Paul said Romans eight, 0:44:19.719 --> 0:44:26.160 I'm I'm more than a conqueror. This is a really 0:44:26.200 --> 0:44:28.879 interesting phrase in the Greek and I won't I won't 0:44:28.880 --> 0:44:31.600 bore you with it. But all all to say, this 0:44:31.840 --> 0:44:35.799 was a run on word sentence that the apostle Paul 0:44:35.920 --> 0:44:40.440 uses more than conquers. This one big word that simply 0:44:40.480 --> 0:44:50.120 means that you're actually stronger after the fight. You're you 0:44:50.239 --> 0:44:56.840 actually have more strength after the race. You're actually better 0:44:57.360 --> 0:45:04.680 after the conflict. You're actually better. After the battle, you 0:45:05.040 --> 0:45:10.360 were good, you were a conqueror, but after you face Goliath, 0:45:10.440 --> 0:45:15.880 you've become more than a conqueror. And you could only 0:45:16.000 --> 0:45:25.040 become that going through him. I don't know what you're facing, 0:45:27.400 --> 0:45:32.480 but I know who's greater. Maybe right here in this room, 0:45:32.520 --> 0:45:35.319 at every location, stand maybe even if you're in your 0:45:35.360 --> 0:45:39.520 living room or kitchen or whatever, maybe just stand with 0:45:39.640 --> 0:45:49.359 us for a moment. Our God is greater, and he 0:45:49.440 --> 0:45:54.160 will take what the enemy meant for evil and he'll 0:45:54.600 --> 0:45:59.920 and he'll turn it. And the devil tolds you it 0:46:00.239 --> 0:46:04.160 was a death sentence, but it was actually an opportunity 0:46:05.080 --> 0:46:10.480 for promotion. And I believe God is elevating. I believe 0:46:10.480 --> 0:46:13.359 God's promoting you. I believe God is lifting your perspective. 0:46:17.120 --> 0:46:19.759 So in Jesus' name, I release the grace and the 0:46:19.800 --> 0:46:26.439 strength of Almighty God upon you, upon your family, upon 0:46:26.520 --> 0:46:31.080 everything that you're currently going through. I agree with you 0:46:31.160 --> 0:46:35.240 for miracles, breakthrough signs and wonders. And I also pray 0:46:35.280 --> 0:46:38.480 for the courage and the faith and the humility to 0:46:38.520 --> 0:46:42.840 do whatever God is calling you to do. Next. I pray, 0:46:42.920 --> 0:46:46.080 Holy Spirit, give us the grace to take the step, 0:46:46.160 --> 0:46:49.520 give us, give us the faith, give us the courage 0:46:49.800 --> 0:46:52.400 to break past the fear and the worry and to 0:46:52.560 --> 0:46:56.640 obey God. Oh God, would you do this in the 0:46:56.719 --> 0:47:00.920 name of Jesus sovereignly, by your grace and by your strength. 0:47:01.000 --> 0:47:06.400 Let it be so. Let it be so. Thank you 0:47:06.440 --> 0:47:08.960 for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who 0:47:09.000 --> 0:47:12.000 give generously to this ministry. Is because of you that 0:47:12.040 --> 0:47:14.960 this ministry is possible. You can click the link in 0:47:15.000 --> 0:47:19.080 the description to give now or visit Elevationchurch dot org 0:47:19.120 --> 0:47:22.840 slash podcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, 0:47:23.120 --> 0:47:25.840 you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. 0:47:26.120 --> 0:47:28.400 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:47:28.440 --> 0:47:30.560 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:47:30.600 --> 0:47:39.200 Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you