God’s Got Your Back Part 2

0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:05.280 Hello evam, especially our West Coast family, we have an 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:10.760 announcement for you, Elevation Nights twenty twenty two West Coast. 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:15.040 Are you ready for this? October twenty fifth through November third, 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:17.480 We're coming your way so exciting. You can get your 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:21.240 tickets right now at Elevation Nights dot com. It's gonna 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:26.480 be me Holly, Elevation Worship. It's gonna be amazing, unbelievable 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:29.840 these nights. Don't want to miss So if you're in Glendale, Arizona, 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:35.920 Las Vegas, Sacramento, California, Eugene, Oregon, Seattle, Oakland, California, San 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:41.279 Diego and La or anywhere near those areas, we want 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.360 to see you. Elevation Nights dot com. Don't miss it. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.600 Elevation Nights dot com. Get your tickets Elevation Nights dot com. 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:52.600 See let's go to the message. It's time for me 0:00:52.680 --> 0:01:01.800 to preach the word of God. And you know what 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.640 I want to do. I preached two weeks ago God's 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:10.360 Got three people. Remember y'all act like it was two 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:16.080 years ago. Two weeks ago I preached God's got your Back. 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.080 I want to revisit that thought. This message is called 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:24.880 God scot your back, Part two, and I want to 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:26.839 give you description real quick and then we'll be seated. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:28.560 I want to share a story that I intended to 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:31.199 get to the last time I preached, but I didn't 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:33.280 quite get there. But I'm going to go back and 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:37.720 revisit that today. Isaiah thirty, verse twenty one. What a 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.720 beautiful promise the Lord says. Whether you turn to the 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:44.960 right or to the left, your ears will hear a 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:50.800 voice behind you. That's why I said God's got your back, 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:53.880 because you can't always see what he's doing, but you 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:59.680 can always believe that he is doing exceedingly abundantly above 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.240 all that you ask or imagine, according to His power 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.600 that works mightily on the inside of you. How many 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:11.560 believes that shout us, say God's God, My say it, 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:15.920 God's God. My fact, you will hear a voice behind 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:20.480 you saying this is the way. Walk in it, Holy Spirit, 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:23.200 have your way. As we preach and teach today, I 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:25.840 asked that every heart would be open. I asked that 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.919 every mind would be attentive. I asked that every devil 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:31.160 would be put on notice. You have no place in 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:33.600 the hearts of these people who belong to God today. 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:39.120 So we evict you now, Satan, and we ask you 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:44.480 to speak Lord Jesus in your name, we pray amen, 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:56.480 you may be seated. Oh stay one second, Chris Brewmn. 0:02:57.960 --> 0:03:00.440 I got so mad at him the other day. We 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.000 were talking about a song we wrote together, and I said, 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:08.240 what's your memory of writing that song? He goes that 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:13.080 we stayed really late. That's what you said. But that's 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:16.639 all you said. That my entry, He said, I remember 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:20.560 we stayed really late. No, but for me, it was 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.240 just such a beautiful memory. I was like, that's all 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:29.280 you remember. This was my best response. Well, no, in 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:32.120 your defense, here's what he said. He's like, he's like, 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:38.640 you remember everything really, and that's not true. I don't 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:41.560 remember well, I remember everything. I just don't remember everything right. 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:44.920 See my spare time, when I'm not preaching and teaching, 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:49.960 I'm a movie editor. I make movies out of memories, 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:55.280 clip them, sequence them, put new characters in, take certain 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.040 people out. It was worse. It was worse than that, though, 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:00.160 you didn't do the worst thing the other day. And 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.080 I'm just picking on him because we've been friends since 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:09.760 we were fifteen years old, so I can tick on him, like, 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:11.520 don't be so mean. To this guy. You just read 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:13.600 your scripture. You're over here hating on your worship leader, 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:16.120 not hating on this is my guy. This is my guy. 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:18.960 Trust me on that. But Graham the other day said 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:23.000 you weren't even at my sixth grade graduation, and I was, 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:28.520 and so Holly, thank God for her. She goes through 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:34.880 her whole photo archive, finds the picture of me proof 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.200 of parenting. She goes back through the photos room. Thank 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:40.560 god she had it, because apparently now I need an 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:43.800 official record keeper in my house for my kids to 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:45.839 even believe that I was there for their milestones of 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:49.160 their life. That's how they do you. That's how they 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.440 do you. You go to this sixth grade graduation, which, 0:04:52.520 --> 0:05:00.360 let me just tell you, is exciting. I don't even 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:01.839 put you in the movie, okay. I just wanted to 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:05.719 point out that. So we're telling and it got me 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:11.360 thinking about the stories that we tell, which of course 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:16.000 took me to me and Chris's favorite musical, Hamilton by 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:22.560 the Apostle Lynn Manuel Miranda, who wrote the song who Lives, 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:26.599 Who Dies? Who tells your story? And I thought that 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:32.000 was a profound question to ask, who tells your story? 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.880 How did he turn the story of a Treasury secretary 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.480 into something I would pay money to watch. How do 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:45.080 you do that? He told the story in such a profound, enthralling, 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:49.320 entertaining and heart wrenching way. And I have seen Hamilton 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:55.240 now seven times, not on Disney, pluss in person. I 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:57.520 have a whole line item in my budget called Hamilton. 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:00.720 I love it. Saw my wife, saw them take people on, 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.240 drag people, I convert people. I'm an evangelist for Hamilton. 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:08.000 But he did a song who Lives Who Dies? Because 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:10.440 he's telling the story of Alexander Hamilton, which we all 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:14.039 heard in history class. Nobody paid to hear it. But 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:18.159 he told the story in such a way that I've 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:22.640 seen it seven times. I didn't repeat history class seven times, 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:25.400 but I went to see how he told the same 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:29.560 story seven times. And one of the songs he did 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:37.560 said who lives? Who Dies? Who tells your story? I mean, 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:39.880 I was telling Chris, I remember when this and that 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:41.960 and with the song and this and that. He's like, 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:44.880 I just remember. It was really late, and I'm sure 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:46.520 he would have said more, but I cut him off, 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:50.640 because see, I don't really like to set through long stories, 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:54.920 especially if I've heard him before. And even when I'm 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:56.680 telling a story, I'm scared to death that the other 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:59.599 person has heard it. And we had a guest preacher 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:03.200 here last week who was amazing. Did you love doctor 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:06.920 Eui Smith? What a great preacher? And as I was 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:10.360 sharing with him after the service and after he preached, 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:12.880 we were getting to know each other and he was 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.120 telling me a story about his life, and he was 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:18.600 cutting it short. And his wife goes, tell him this part, 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:20.480 and tell him that part, and tell him that part, 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:22.720 and so he did, and it was all fascinating, interesting, 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:24.960 but to him it was boring because he'd been telling 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.680 that story for thirty years. Well then I went to 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:29.240 tell him a story, and I told it in like 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.920 two or three sentences in Holly, who has the ability 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:37.360 to really tell good stories and doesn't mind taking her 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:42.360 time in the process, goes, don't cut it short, tell 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:46.880 him the whole story. This is a good one, she said. 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:49.400 And every time I was skipped something, she put it 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:51.520 back in, and she started putting it back in, and 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:53.760 by the time we had sat there, our food was cold, 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:58.240 but we knew each other. I want to tell you 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.880 a story today that kind of ill straits. What Isaiah 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:06.240 said where he said, your ears will hear a voice. 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.720 Your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, watch this, 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:14.320 this is the way walk in it. This, this a 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:18.000 wonderful promise. The problem is the problem is this. Your 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:21.000 ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this is 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:24.440 the way walk in it. But that will not be 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:29.120 the only voice you will hear. If that was the 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:34.000 only voice I heard, I'd be said. If the only 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:38.040 voice I heard was this is the way walk in it, 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:43.440 I would be good to go. I could cut my 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:47.719 sermon prep time in half because I just know this 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.760 is the scripture. Half my time preparing the sermon is 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.360 getting to the right scripture. If the only voice I 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:57.240 heard was this is the way walk in it, well, 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:58.920 just be honest with you. There's some staff I wouldn't 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:02.800 have hired if the only voice I heard was the 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:04.800 voice telling me what to do, how to do it, 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:07.360 when to do it, why to do it. But we 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:10.840 all know right that, as good as that sounds, your 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:14.199 ears will hear a voice saying this the way walk 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:19.440 in in that that is not the only voice. It's 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:26.079 not even the loudest voice that you hear. Because maybe 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:29.719 I should tell you a story maybe I should tell 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:34.880 you a story from One Kings nineteen that will illustrate 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:41.400 about the power of who tells your story, the voice. 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:43.840 Like if this was English class, we talked about history, 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.000 and us talk about English. If this were English class, 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.360 this or English class, we would talk about the point 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:52.240 of view, is it first person, second person, third person? 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:57.000 We would talk about the narrator, the narrative voice. Now, 0:09:57.120 --> 0:09:59.600 if you go to First Kings, chapter nineteen, there is 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:03.560 a well well known, well loved Bible story about the 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:08.320 prophet Elijah, not the one that you like, Not the 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.000 story you like, where he stands on Mount Carmel and 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.840 calls down fire from heaven and says, if the Lord 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.800 is God, follow him, If bail is God, follow him? 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:20.079 How long will you halt between two opinions and call 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:25.480 down fire from heaven? Not that story. This is a 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:27.920 very different story. But I should share it with you 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.360 because it's going to help you to see that not 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.439 only do we hear the voice of God in our 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:36.200 moments of decision and in those crucial transitions where we 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:37.760 have to decide what to do and where to go 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:40.320 and whether to quit, whether to stay, but there is 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.440 another voice and a lot of times. It's not the 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:47.760 absence of the voice of God that stops you from 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:51.760 fulfilling your calling. It is the presence of other voices 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:57.959 that you do not recognize as the enemy's voice until 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.880 they lead you off of the path of God's purpose 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:04.559 for your life. And that's exactly what happened to Elijah. 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:10.160 Can I tell you the whole story. Your enthusiasm is discouraging. 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:15.400 I'm gonna do it anyway. Now. Ahab told Jezebel everything 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:20.040 Elijah had done. We'll come back to that, and how 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:26.400 he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel, 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:32.520 after hearing how Elijah slaughtered her false prophets, sent a 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:38.440 messenger to Elijah to say, may the Gods deal with me, 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:42.800 be it ever so severely. If by this time tomorrow 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:46.880 I do not make your life like that of one 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.080 of them, I'm gonna kill you. If there are any 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:51.880 police officers in the room at elevation, Valentine's stand up, 0:11:56.280 --> 0:12:00.960 all right, all right, thank you for your sir, stay standing. 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.720 I got a question. I'm not an officer, I'm a preacher, 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.640 So I got a question for you. If you are 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:12.360 arresting somebody, do you send a messenger or do you 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:17.040 send a bailiff? If you're arresting somebody, do you send 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.199 a messenger to tell them now this time tomorrow, I'm 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:22.439 gonna come back and get you, and I'm gonna put 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:24.880 you on death row and I'm gonna kill you. Do 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:28.920 you send a messenger or do you send handcuffs? Do 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:30.840 you send a messenger or do you send back up? 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.440 It goes to show me that Jezebel couldn't back up 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:37.480 what she was threatening to Elijah that she was gonna do. 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.080 I guess I didn't need you to answer that question. 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:46.240 After all, Please be seated, right. So we see from 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.960 the very beginning that this woman Jezebel wicked as she was, 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:55.280 evil as she was, manipulative as she was, as angry 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:58.840 as she was, as petty as she was, as much 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:01.160 destruction as she has called. She had no power over 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:08.360 God's servant. She had no power over God's prophet. She 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:10.760 had no power to do what she said she would do. 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:14.520 The only hope she had was to threaten him to 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:18.080 the level that he would abandon the place that God 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:22.360 had put him, because she knew, if he stays my 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:27.160 God's camp, if he stays God is with him if 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:29.480 he stays, you know, the enemy knows the same thing 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:33.079 about you that if you ever plant your feet and decide, 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.840 this is what God has called me to do, This 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:38.240 is what I'm gonna do. This is what I'm made 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.880 to do. This is what I'm created to do. This 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:43.000 is what I'm called to do. This is why I 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:46.120 came to earth. This is why I was born. This 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:48.600 is why God gave me these gifts, This is why 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.920 he gave me these experiences. This is what I'm here for. 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:58.280 I'm gonna do it. No matter what Jezebel says about it. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.959 You've never made up your mind about that that you 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:07.240 would be unstoppable knowing this. The enemy sends threats, intimidation insecurity. 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.000 And maybe you're familiar with this story, but I want 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.680 to tell you the story real quick. She said, by 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:16.640 this time tomorrow, I'm gonna kill you. She can't do it. 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:18.720 The proof that she can't do it is that she 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:24.040 hadn't done it yet. I'm gonna say that again. The 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:28.000 proof that the enemy can't do to you what he 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.160 keeps freaking you out that he is going to do 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:36.480 to you, is that if he could, he would have 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:42.400 by now, whoop, whoop, thank you Jesus. So you mean 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.640 so you mean so you mean he doesn't have any 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:49.520 power over me, that my thought patterns don't give him. 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:53.880 That's right. Now. Jezebel is a person in history. She's 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:58.200 a Phoenician queen. She brought bail idols of bail and Astira, 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:00.920 and she really hear in the nation away from God 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:04.480 when she married Ahab. But look at verse three because 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:07.400 it is not her threat that is the most significant 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:13.800 part of this passage, and it's not Elijah's feelings. Because 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:20.800 verse three says Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.640 The way that is worded gives the indication that he 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.480 thought she actually could do what she said she would do. 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.880 I don't believe that. I'll show you why. Now this 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:34.720 is just the introduction. There's just something I want you 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:36.680 to see before we get to the part of the 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:40.200 passage that the Holy Spirit wants to illuminate for your understanding. Today, 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:44.000 said when he came to Beersheba, you got the picture. 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:46.880 He's had a great victory in the name of God. 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.240 He prophesied a three year drought. It didn't rain for 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.280 three years. He said, it's gonna rain. It did rain. 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.200 After he called down fire from heaven and slaughtered all 0:15:56.200 --> 0:16:01.600 the false prophets, and he ran for his life. And 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:04.200 then when he got to Beersheba and Judah, he left 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:07.440 his servant there while he himself went a day's journey 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.840 in the wilderness. He came to a broombush, sat down 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:16.840 under it and prayed that he might die. I have 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:22.040 had enough, Lord, he said, take my life. I'm no 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:27.080 better than my ancestors. So it shows me that if 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.800 he was asking God, who is all powerful, take my life, 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:35.440 that he wasn't really running for his life, because if 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.960 he wanted to die and he thought she could kill him, 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:43.800 he would have just stayed. Maybe it would be more 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:49.080 accurate to say that he was running from his life 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.440 then to say that he was running for his life. 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:59.080 And somebody knows exactly what I'm talking about, because you've 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:03.560 been running from your life too. Not so much that 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:05.560 God didn't give you victories, not so much that you 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:07.240 don't believe He's with you, not so much that you 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:09.560 can't point out times in your past where God came through. 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:17.080 But it's just that hm weariness can lead to weakness 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:26.520 if not interrupted by worship. Who are you? You talk 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:28.440 to me all the time when I'm preaching. I've always 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:30.840 wanted to meet you. I love you so much. I 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:33.760 hear you on every sermon I have preached for the 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:42.399 last seven years, and I love you for it. Thank you. 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:45.359 Send her like five thousand dollars worth of flowers this 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:50.200 week for me. I'm telling you because look, look, look 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.800 the prophet said. The prophet said, take my life, Lord, 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:57.719 I am no better than my ancestors. I'm gonna give 0:17:57.720 --> 0:17:59.640 you a contrast here, and you're gonna find yourself right 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:01.800 in it, because you're like, not a prophet. I don't 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.200 have anybody trying to kill me. I don't even know 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:06.919 why I came out here today. This guy is telling 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:10.320 me a story about an epic prophet, and I am 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:13.159 just trying to get my kid back in school, and 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:15.080 I am just trying to pay my rent and this 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:18.480 doesn't relate to me at all. You're wrong, You're so wrong. 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:22.679 This dynamic that I see in the story of Elijah's 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:27.480 life encourages me that even the people with the greatest 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:38.280 faith have to deal with the low moments. Don't let 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:43.320 these Instagram Christians fool you. They only post the moments 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.840 that they're proud of. But if I could follow them 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:52.359 around with a camera just for three hours in the 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:56.520 right situations, we would see them in this state as well. 0:18:57.000 --> 0:19:02.480 Aren't you grateful the Bible didn't take these parts because 0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:04.320 would have been easy for the Holy Spirit to be like, 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.560 don't put that on Elijah. Makes him look bad. That's 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:09.679 bad pr for the prophet. If we want the prophet 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:11.000 to be in the Bible, he's got to be up 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:12.600 there on the mountain. But you can't put him down 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:14.920 there by the broombush. Look at this guy. This guy. 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:16.880 You would edit this out of your story too. I'm 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:18.720 telling you right now you would edit this out of 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:22.600 your story if you were the editor. But see, the 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:24.919 Bible cares enough about our little moments to tell us 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.600 that Elijah praid he might die. I have had enough, 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:31.879 Lord take my life. I'm no better than my ancestress. 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:35.359 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep, 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:42.800 and all at once an angel touched him and said, 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:45.119 get read. It's about to be your favorite vers in 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:49.920 the Bible. Get up and eat. I gave you a 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:54.120 verse to shout over right there, get up and eat. 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:02.480 I think I'm gonna memorize that one. You got to 0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:05.280 be by the life verses My life verses one King's 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:10.800 nineteen verse five, Part B, Part B, Part B. That's 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:14.719 a good part. Now look at it. He looked around, 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:17.600 and okay, okay, okay, the holy spiritual of this there 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:24.439 by his head. By his head was some bread baked 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:30.199 over hot coals and a jar of water. Man, if 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:32.240 I hadnt known running from God was this much fun, 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:36.000 I'd have started sooner. God sends him a personal chef. 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:41.560 Now the door dash a personal chef to the broom 0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:45.399 bush and said, there by his head with some bread 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:47.639 baked over hot coals and a jar of water. And 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:51.280 he ate and drank, and then lay down again. The 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:53.639 Angel of the Lord came back a second time and 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:55.600 touched him and said, get up and eat, for the 0:20:55.680 --> 0:20:57.720 journey is too much for you. So he got up, 0:20:57.920 --> 0:21:02.000 ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he went back 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:05.840 and did what God told him to do. Now he 0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:12.359 traveled forty days and forty nine until he reached horror 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:14.840 of the Mountain of God. And there he went in 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:19.120 a cave spent the night. So did you see it? 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:24.000 How God had his back even while Elijah was running. 0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:30.400 Did you see it how God fed Elijah even when 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:34.240 Elijah didn't have faith? Did you see it how God 0:21:34.320 --> 0:21:36.800 carried you through some dark seasons of your life where 0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:39.159 you denied that He even existed. Did you see it 0:21:43.560 --> 0:21:46.480 that He followed you right there into that hospital room. 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:48.720 Did you see it that he followed you right there 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:50.760 into that divorce court? Did you see it that he 0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:55.640 followed you right there to that broom bush. God's got 0:21:56.280 --> 0:21:59.639 your back. Spurgeon preached a sermon. He talked about the 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:03.720 turn back. He talked about not God having his back 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:06.080 to me, but me having my back to God. And 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:08.880 how God will feed you even when you are being 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:15.040 led by your feelings away from his will for your life. 0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:19.680 And there by his head was the provision of God 0:22:20.000 --> 0:22:28.080 right by his head. And yet it wasn't enough to 0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:32.720 turn him around. Because even though the angel dropped off 0:22:33.080 --> 0:22:41.680 the provision by his head, Jezebel was in his head. Yeah, 0:22:44.160 --> 0:22:49.399 the angel drops off the food by his head. Jezebel 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:55.920 is in his head. Life, lesson, be very careful who 0:22:55.960 --> 0:23:05.119 you led in your head. How many people won't let 0:23:05.119 --> 0:23:07.399 people walk in your house unless they take their shoes off. 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:10.880 So what in the world are you doing on Facebook 0:23:10.960 --> 0:23:20.439 letting people walk all through. I'm so sorry that was 0:23:20.560 --> 0:23:23.880 so confrontational. I'm just trying to help you to see 0:23:23.920 --> 0:23:28.520 the discrepancy that a lot of times we will protect 0:23:28.560 --> 0:23:33.600 everything more than we protect our headspace. Everything. Don't get 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:36.600 in my car with don't get in my car with 0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:39.399 those dirts. You can't leave trash in my car, but 0:23:39.520 --> 0:23:46.040 I will go seek out trash on my phone and 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.080 I can get a new car. But I only have 0:23:49.280 --> 0:23:54.240 so much headspace. I only have so much. I only 0:23:54.280 --> 0:23:56.720 have so much, and I need it for my family, 0:23:56.920 --> 0:23:58.880 and I need it for my church, and I need 0:23:58.920 --> 0:24:00.760 it for those who count on me, and I need 0:24:00.760 --> 0:24:03.480 it for my future. So no, you just can't walk 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:07.560 through my mind with muddy shoes. I'm not being mean. 0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:19.080 I'm being strategic because I got a call on my life. 0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:23.200 And he went in a case and spent the night 0:24:23.480 --> 0:24:26.520 forty days away from the Northern Kingdom, where the wicked 0:24:26.600 --> 0:24:30.040 king Ahad was still reigning, even though Yahweh God had 0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:33.440 just sent a shower to prove his presence and revival 0:24:33.560 --> 0:24:36.120 was on the way. Ah But the enemy always wants 0:24:36.160 --> 0:24:38.600 to threaten you, to make you run at the time 0:24:38.640 --> 0:24:45.760 of revival. I never did anything important for God that 0:24:45.880 --> 0:24:49.719 the intimidation didn't increase right before I did it. I'm 0:24:49.760 --> 0:24:54.280 talking about breaking down, crying, freaking out, stomach sickness, all 0:24:54.359 --> 0:24:58.360 of it, just to try to get me to run 0:24:58.400 --> 0:25:03.840 from what God is doing. And he goes in a cave. 0:25:05.119 --> 0:25:08.440 How many times have you heard me preach about this cave, Holly, 0:25:09.000 --> 0:25:12.880 she said a few? How many times have you seen 0:25:12.920 --> 0:25:21.440 me go in that cave in my personal life? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, 0:25:21.440 --> 0:25:26.199 I know this cave well, because not so much the 0:25:26.240 --> 0:25:28.800 physical implications of the cave. You know, we call it 0:25:28.800 --> 0:25:31.760 a man cave, and that's supposed to be a good thing. 0:25:33.240 --> 0:25:37.520 But when a man goes in the cave, the cave 0:25:37.560 --> 0:25:46.480 of your own counsel, now the enemy has got you 0:25:46.560 --> 0:25:49.679 right where he wants. You know, as many times as 0:25:49.680 --> 0:25:52.440 I've preached about the cave, there's something that's even more 0:25:52.480 --> 0:25:57.320 important than where Elijah ended up in the cave. Because 0:25:57.320 --> 0:25:59.560 God called him out of the cave. But by the 0:25:59.600 --> 0:26:02.520 time he got there, the Bible says, you ever seen 0:26:02.520 --> 0:26:06.440 this before? In verse nine, it says, excuse me, verse eight, 0:26:07.240 --> 0:26:12.439 he traveled forty days and forty nine. Now, the last 0:26:12.560 --> 0:26:17.879 recorded conversation that he has had with God happened forty 0:26:17.960 --> 0:26:25.080 days ago. You cannot go forty days on the strength 0:26:25.880 --> 0:26:31.840 of your last conversation with God. You cannot go four 0:26:31.920 --> 0:26:38.080 days on the strength. You can't go four hours. You 0:26:38.160 --> 0:26:42.040 can't go four minutes. When I'm preaching. Let me tell 0:26:42.040 --> 0:26:47.440 you a little secret. I'm talking to God about you 0:26:48.359 --> 0:26:52.280 while I'm talking to you about God. So if you 0:26:52.280 --> 0:26:54.880 can see the conversation in my head in between each 0:26:55.000 --> 0:26:58.080 sentence is an internal conversation where I'm sam, what do 0:26:58.119 --> 0:27:00.320 they need next? Lord? Of what I've studied, of what 0:27:00.400 --> 0:27:03.400 I've prepared, What do you want to say next? Holy Spirit? Oh, 0:27:03.520 --> 0:27:05.360 thank you for that, Lord, that's good. No, I'm gonna 0:27:05.359 --> 0:27:07.159 skip that because that's me, that's not you God. Oh 0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:09.200 I'm gonna say this next because it might be vulnerable, 0:27:09.200 --> 0:27:13.240 but it might help set somebody free. And that constant 0:27:13.280 --> 0:27:20.800 conversation with God is not just for preachers, It's for 0:27:21.000 --> 0:27:31.320 all God's people. Yes, you, forty days is too long 0:27:31.480 --> 0:27:34.600 for you to go. I told you last week. You 0:27:34.680 --> 0:27:37.879 can't let every Sunday be the next time you expect 0:27:37.880 --> 0:27:42.520 God to speak. You really can't. You can't. And the 0:27:42.560 --> 0:27:45.800 way people do church now if probably we're being honest 0:27:45.800 --> 0:27:49.080 about it, it's about every three or four Sundays people come. 0:27:49.640 --> 0:27:51.520 So when I say what I preached two weeks ago, 0:27:51.640 --> 0:27:53.320 some of you all are like, was that your Easter sermon? 0:27:53.320 --> 0:27:56.280 That's the last one I heard. I'm not beating up 0:27:56.320 --> 0:27:59.600 on you. That's fine. We all get busy, just as 0:27:59.680 --> 0:28:05.640 long as you are talking to God along the way. 0:28:06.640 --> 0:28:09.639 The last thing he said to God was kill me, 0:28:10.960 --> 0:28:15.040 kill me. I'm done. That's it. I'm finished. I have 0:28:15.240 --> 0:28:22.440 had enough. Flord and God follows him all the way 0:28:23.280 --> 0:28:26.160 to the mountain that he wasn't supposed to be at, 0:28:26.840 --> 0:28:29.200 after feeding him on the journey he wasn't supposed to take. 0:28:29.560 --> 0:28:34.159 Thank God for his grace. And this is how, this 0:28:34.240 --> 0:28:36.240 is how, this is how intent God is. I'm getting 0:28:36.280 --> 0:28:38.160 our attention for what he wants to do in the earth, 0:28:38.960 --> 0:28:40.880 not because we're so important, because what he wants to 0:28:40.920 --> 0:28:45.480 do is so important. He replied, I have been very zealous. 0:28:45.600 --> 0:28:47.400 Oh sorry, I missed the best part. I missed it. 0:28:47.400 --> 0:28:49.480 I almost left out the best part. And the word 0:28:49.480 --> 0:28:51.360 of the Lord verse nine party and the word of 0:28:51.360 --> 0:28:57.360 the Lord came to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? 0:28:57.960 --> 0:29:00.840 I will resist the temptation to preach question because I've 0:29:00.840 --> 0:29:02.560 done it many times before. I want to shay something 0:29:02.560 --> 0:29:05.880 different this time. He replied. I have been very zealous 0:29:05.920 --> 0:29:10.800 for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, 0:29:10.840 --> 0:29:13.240 torn down your altars, put your prophets to death with 0:29:13.280 --> 0:29:16.000 the sword. I am the only one left, and now 0:29:16.480 --> 0:29:20.280 they are trying to kill me. To leave that verse up, 0:29:20.560 --> 0:29:22.760 I want you to find the lie in what Elijah said. 0:29:25.040 --> 0:29:31.400 Find the lie? What'd you say? Okay, okay, let's keep going. 0:29:31.520 --> 0:29:33.480 Let's see if he's right. I just wanted to quiz 0:29:33.520 --> 0:29:35.120 you real quick so you can hold onto what you think. 0:29:35.240 --> 0:29:38.320 He said, I've been very zealous for the Lord of Almighty. 0:29:38.320 --> 0:29:40.640 The Israelits have rejected covenant twenty afters put your pphets 0:29:40.640 --> 0:29:41.960 as the sword. I'm the only one left. Now they're 0:29:41.960 --> 0:29:43.800 trying to kill me. To go to verse eleven, the 0:29:43.840 --> 0:29:47.440 Lord said, go out and stand on the mountain in 0:29:47.480 --> 0:29:50.080 the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about 0:29:50.120 --> 0:29:54.000 to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore 0:29:54.520 --> 0:29:57.640 the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord. 0:29:58.160 --> 0:30:01.160 But the Lord wasn't in the wind. After the wind, 0:30:01.160 --> 0:30:03.959 there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in 0:30:03.960 --> 0:30:08.360 the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the 0:30:08.400 --> 0:30:11.720 Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came 0:30:11.760 --> 0:30:17.400 a gentle It was next verse. When Elijah heard it. 0:30:17.560 --> 0:30:21.640 He pulled his cloak over his face and went out 0:30:21.920 --> 0:30:27.080 and stood at the mouth of the cave. In that 0:30:27.120 --> 0:30:30.680 an interesting phrase. I know this isn't what it means, 0:30:31.200 --> 0:30:34.040 but it almost reminds me that the whole time he's 0:30:34.120 --> 0:30:38.560 in the cave, that there's talk going on that doesn't 0:30:38.600 --> 0:30:43.560 come from God the mouth of the cave, that the 0:30:43.640 --> 0:30:47.280 whole time he's in that cave, he's playing a conversation. 0:30:47.800 --> 0:30:51.280 The whole time he's in that cave, there's a conversation 0:30:51.760 --> 0:30:55.160 happening in the cave. The whole time that you withdraw 0:30:55.360 --> 0:30:58.560 from people, the whole time that you pull back from community, 0:30:58.840 --> 0:31:01.280 the whole time that you skip what God gave you 0:31:01.360 --> 0:31:05.200 to do, because it's tuorl the cave keeps talking. It's 0:31:05.240 --> 0:31:08.480 an echo chamber. It just bounces around, It just goes 0:31:08.560 --> 0:31:11.280 back and forth and back and forth. Forty days to 0:31:11.320 --> 0:31:14.280 get to the cave, spend the night in there, and 0:31:14.320 --> 0:31:16.960 the Lord asked the question, what are you doing here 0:31:17.080 --> 0:31:19.600 and watch his answer in verse fourteen, give me verse fourteen, 0:31:20.400 --> 0:31:22.600 he replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord 0:31:22.600 --> 0:31:25.640 God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down 0:31:25.640 --> 0:31:27.760 your altars, put your prophets to death with the sword. 0:31:28.000 --> 0:31:30.720 I am the only one left, and now they are 0:31:30.760 --> 0:31:33.400 trying to kill me too, y'all. I'm sorry. I think 0:31:33.440 --> 0:31:36.280 the tech team screwed up. That's the same verse we 0:31:36.320 --> 0:31:39.960 read in verse ten. So y'all put verse fourteen up 0:31:40.000 --> 0:31:44.640 real quick. Who brought a paper bible with you? I'm 0:31:44.680 --> 0:31:47.280 looking for a rapture ready Christian with a paper bible. 0:31:50.840 --> 0:31:53.320 You got it. Look at verse fourteen. They messed it up. 0:31:53.840 --> 0:31:55.640 They had the same verse on fourteen they put on 0:31:55.720 --> 0:31:59.280 verse ten on them. Give me a new scripture. Person 0:31:59.320 --> 0:32:04.200 back there. Huh oh, that's the right verse, But put 0:32:04.280 --> 0:32:09.360 verse timback off. He replied, I've been very zealous for 0:32:09.400 --> 0:32:11.320 the Lord God Almighty. The Israelis have rejected your governant, 0:32:11.320 --> 0:32:13.200 torn down your altars, put your prophise dead with the sword. 0:32:13.320 --> 0:32:15.400 I'm the only one left, and now they are trying 0:32:15.400 --> 0:32:19.920 to kill me too. Verse fourteen, he replied, I have 0:32:20.000 --> 0:32:25.640 been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites 0:32:25.680 --> 0:32:28.280 have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put 0:32:28.280 --> 0:32:31.000 your profits to death with the sword. I'm the only 0:32:31.040 --> 0:32:34.640 one left now they're trying to kill me too. You mean, 0:32:34.800 --> 0:32:40.680 God just sinn an earthquake, a windstorm, and a fire. 0:32:40.920 --> 0:32:45.000 God just sent earth, wind and fire, and you're still 0:32:45.040 --> 0:32:57.320 singing this same little sad song. Say leave it up, 0:32:57.440 --> 0:32:59.040 leave it up. I just want you to see it 0:32:59.080 --> 0:33:08.080 for yourself, how we can get stuck in a story 0:33:08.920 --> 0:33:12.560 and God can do crazy things all around you to 0:33:12.680 --> 0:33:16.440 show you I'm still who you thought I was. I'm 0:33:16.480 --> 0:33:18.560 still who you claimed me to be in the mountain, 0:33:18.560 --> 0:33:29.240 as you forgot in the cave. But it sounds like 0:33:29.360 --> 0:33:34.560 to me Elijah has rehearsed this so much he actually 0:33:35.040 --> 0:33:39.520 can't get out of the conversation even when he comes 0:33:39.560 --> 0:33:43.400 out of the cave. God can bring you out of 0:33:43.440 --> 0:33:47.840 a situation, but if it's in your spirit what you rehearse, 0:33:48.760 --> 0:33:52.640 you will take a bad spirit into a blessed situation. 0:33:59.120 --> 0:34:02.160 I mean, after all, Oh, he had forty days to 0:34:02.240 --> 0:34:06.360 practice this speech. He's got it down now. With every 0:34:06.440 --> 0:34:10.040 step he took away from the will of God for 0:34:10.080 --> 0:34:13.480 his life, away from the purpose of God for the 0:34:13.520 --> 0:34:18.640 prophet away from where God showed him miracles. Every step 0:34:18.719 --> 0:34:25.239 he took away in isolation, Jezebel's voice got louder, and 0:34:25.280 --> 0:34:30.520 then he just starts leaving out the best stuff in 0:34:30.560 --> 0:34:33.799 the story. I don't think this is the story he 0:34:33.840 --> 0:34:37.880 was telling forty days ago, fresh off the encounter on Carmel. 0:34:39.239 --> 0:34:41.319 I think when he started walking away from where God 0:34:41.360 --> 0:34:44.719 called him, he was probably saying some other stuff too. 0:34:46.160 --> 0:34:48.280 You know, this is really hard, and I'm really tired, 0:34:48.520 --> 0:34:50.799 and I want to die. I mean, I saw God 0:34:50.840 --> 0:34:53.520 do great things on Mount Carmel, and I do believe 0:34:53.560 --> 0:34:55.279 that there's hope now that God has sent the rain. 0:34:57.120 --> 0:35:05.080 With every step that he took the wrong story, it 0:35:05.239 --> 0:35:11.200 reinforced how big his enemy was, how intense his loneliness fell, 0:35:12.080 --> 0:35:19.200 and it diminished what God had done. That's exactly what 0:35:19.320 --> 0:35:25.319 Jezebel intended with her threat. If I can get you, 0:35:26.480 --> 0:35:29.359 this is what the devil does too. If he can 0:35:29.400 --> 0:35:33.840 get you to rehearse the wrong story, you will literally 0:35:33.840 --> 0:35:35.759 think it's true by the time you get to the cave, 0:35:38.440 --> 0:35:44.239 and then you cave. You cave. You don't have the 0:35:44.280 --> 0:35:50.920 strength to stand. You're not weak, you're weary, and with 0:35:51.000 --> 0:35:55.200 every step that he took by himself without talking to 0:35:55.280 --> 0:35:58.640 the god who brought him this far, the devil was 0:35:58.680 --> 0:36:02.360 able to delete different things that could have been in 0:36:02.360 --> 0:36:05.840 the story. They said that ah have told Jezebel everything 0:36:06.360 --> 0:36:10.240 Elijah had done, and that's why she threatened him. AaB 0:36:10.280 --> 0:36:15.319 goes home and tells Jezebel, this dude, don't mess with 0:36:15.360 --> 0:36:18.000 this dude. You better do something about him. He's gonna 0:36:18.040 --> 0:36:20.600 yank your whole idle worshiping kingdom out of your hands. 0:36:20.600 --> 0:36:23.120 He's gonna send you back back into Phoenicia. This dude 0:36:23.160 --> 0:36:26.080 is crazy. He had him cutting up bulls. This dude 0:36:26.160 --> 0:36:29.040 had This dude told them to take water in a drought, 0:36:29.160 --> 0:36:31.799 four jars of water and pour the water on the 0:36:31.840 --> 0:36:34.719 wood three times, and then called for fire. This is 0:36:34.800 --> 0:36:39.200 not exactly a strategic mastermind, but he is a spiritual giant. 0:36:39.760 --> 0:36:44.600 He was wedding wood and praying for fire. That's what 0:36:44.680 --> 0:36:50.360 a have said. That's what they have said. His enemy 0:36:51.360 --> 0:36:53.759 was doing a better job telling his story than he was. 0:37:00.320 --> 0:37:05.160 Ahab wouldn't shut up. He told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. 0:37:05.320 --> 0:37:07.759 He didn't leave out any details, and then he got 0:37:07.760 --> 0:37:09.799 the bulls and then he started taunting them, and then 0:37:09.840 --> 0:37:11.839 he was like, hey, maybe you should call louder. Maybe 0:37:11.840 --> 0:37:16.760 bills in the bathroom, he told everything Elijah had done. 0:37:17.800 --> 0:37:21.360 He told how Elijah had told him in for chapter eighteen, 0:37:21.920 --> 0:37:25.120 where he said there's a cloud the size of a 0:37:25.160 --> 0:37:28.320 man's hand. And his servant said, I don't see anything, 0:37:28.760 --> 0:37:31.439 and Elijah said, well, the problem isn't with God's word, 0:37:31.520 --> 0:37:35.160 it's with your eyes. Go look again. He sent that 0:37:35.200 --> 0:37:36.920 poor servant. Remember when I had you running up and 0:37:36.960 --> 0:37:40.239 down the stairs one time preaching this passage. Yeah, I 0:37:40.239 --> 0:37:43.440 sent him back and forth seven times, the most cardio 0:37:43.760 --> 0:37:47.560 he had ever done in his life. And then I 0:37:47.560 --> 0:37:50.160 sent him back and forth and talked about the frustration 0:37:50.280 --> 0:37:53.879 of faith. He told a Jezebel, all that Aha did, 0:37:53.920 --> 0:37:56.880 the enemy did, the enemy did because the enemy is 0:37:56.880 --> 0:38:01.600 a better storyteller than most of God's children. He'll tell 0:38:01.640 --> 0:38:03.520 your stories. Here's how good he is, here's how good 0:38:03.520 --> 0:38:07.720 he is. He will just make up stuff that might happen, 0:38:09.640 --> 0:38:15.600 that might happen, and then he will emphasize the hypothetical 0:38:17.600 --> 0:38:24.200 as you forget the historical. So all Elijah really had 0:38:24.239 --> 0:38:29.239 to do was give the devil a history lesson all 0:38:29.280 --> 0:38:33.239 Elijah really had to do to stop himself from going 0:38:33.280 --> 0:38:36.720 in the wrong direction, from sinking into the depths of despair, 0:38:37.120 --> 0:38:39.919 to be saying I'm suicidal. I don't want to live, 0:38:40.160 --> 0:38:42.600 I don't want to do this. They're trying to kill me. 0:38:43.080 --> 0:38:46.680 All he had to do while he was walking was 0:38:46.800 --> 0:38:50.520 stop for one moment and tell the story like it 0:38:50.680 --> 0:38:54.279 really happened. Because I thought I was so only one, 0:38:55.080 --> 0:38:58.319 But my God is your way. I stood all that 0:38:58.560 --> 0:39:02.560 nothing all alone. I coughed down fire. I've wept that 0:39:02.840 --> 0:39:06.400 good heyk God came through. I went to the brooks 0:39:06.480 --> 0:39:10.200 called Thereah, and the birds brought me food. I went 0:39:10.280 --> 0:39:13.600 to the widow's house and I've looked apply her oil. 0:39:18.200 --> 0:39:21.200 Why do you keep deleting all the stuff that God 0:39:21.280 --> 0:39:24.719 did and adding stuff that the enemy might do and 0:39:24.960 --> 0:39:34.920 running from your purpose? That's Jezebel, see, because you can 0:39:34.960 --> 0:39:38.640 have Jesus in your heart and Jezebel in your head. 0:39:41.680 --> 0:39:44.600 Oh yeah, I'm saved and going to heaven. I got 0:39:44.680 --> 0:39:48.479 Jesus in my heart. I believe you, I really do. 0:39:49.200 --> 0:39:51.319 All you gotta do is ask him and to come in. 0:39:52.239 --> 0:39:55.320 That's not the heart part. The hard part isn't getting 0:39:55.360 --> 0:39:58.399 Jesus in your heart. That's my grace anyway. And then 0:39:58.440 --> 0:40:00.520 like you did so much good stuff, He's like, okay, cool, 0:40:00.520 --> 0:40:02.239 this is a five star hotel. I'll come live in 0:40:02.280 --> 0:40:06.759 your heart. No, no, no no, no, nor your heart. Your 0:40:06.760 --> 0:40:10.959 heart is nasty, your heart is filthy. Your heart looks 0:40:10.960 --> 0:40:13.720 like a college dorm room, looks like a frat house 0:40:14.040 --> 0:40:17.000 been torn apart. Your house looks terrible. And he came 0:40:17.040 --> 0:40:24.719 in anyway, that's not the hard part. Hey, hey, hey, 0:40:24.840 --> 0:40:26.920 if you believe in repent and turn to him, he 0:40:27.040 --> 0:40:30.359 come in your heart. But if Jesus is in your 0:40:30.360 --> 0:40:38.000 heart and Jezebel's in your head, you won't follow him. 0:40:38.200 --> 0:40:46.359 You'll follow fear and fear watches makes you forget. Every 0:40:46.400 --> 0:40:52.800 step he takes away, he's telling himself this same story, 0:40:53.960 --> 0:40:58.360 and with every step he takes away from what God 0:40:58.440 --> 0:41:00.920 has brought him into. Do you know what I mean 0:41:00.960 --> 0:41:02.200 when I say that, or do I need to break 0:41:02.200 --> 0:41:04.600 it down? It's when God has called you to be 0:41:04.640 --> 0:41:08.319 really present, really invested, really faithful, really take the next step. 0:41:08.320 --> 0:41:10.239 Don't be afraid to look like a fool, Just do 0:41:10.320 --> 0:41:12.040 what He gave you to do. God has called you, 0:41:12.080 --> 0:41:14.439 He's given you a gift, and every step he takes 0:41:14.480 --> 0:41:21.000 away from that and he rehearses the wrong story. It 0:41:21.120 --> 0:41:23.759 becomes so solidified that by the time he gets to 0:41:23.800 --> 0:41:28.960 the cave, he's got this story down. Not even the earthquake, 0:41:29.840 --> 0:41:34.840 the windstorm, or the fire can reverse what he's rehearsed, 0:41:37.719 --> 0:41:45.440 not even the greatest act of God. So God, come here, Ole. 0:41:47.000 --> 0:41:50.120 So God's like, I know what to do. Come come 0:41:50.160 --> 0:41:53.520 on upstate, coming upstairs. God's like, I know what to do. 0:41:56.480 --> 0:41:59.360 Since I got your back, you know, since I know you, 0:41:59.400 --> 0:42:02.719 since I made you, since I called you. I'm a 0:42:02.800 --> 0:42:14.040 whisper it because I'm right here. What are you doing here, Elijah? 0:42:14.440 --> 0:42:18.000 Elijah's like, I have been very zealous for the Lord 0:42:18.040 --> 0:42:23.759 God all mine. Now, Now here's why. Here's why I think. 0:42:24.000 --> 0:42:29.080 Here's why I think Elijah's speech sucks. That's why I 0:42:29.080 --> 0:42:33.120 think his story is trash. Put it back up verse 0:42:33.120 --> 0:42:37.440 ten or fourteen, doesn't matter. They're both the same stupid story, 0:42:38.120 --> 0:42:39.799 the same stuff over and over again. You know how 0:42:39.840 --> 0:42:42.560 you get when you get stuck in a story. We 0:42:42.680 --> 0:42:46.719 used to say in my house, that's my story, And 0:42:46.800 --> 0:42:49.960 I'm all right, let me tell you something new. Your 0:42:49.960 --> 0:42:53.759 mama didn't tell you this one, that's your story, and 0:42:53.800 --> 0:43:02.080 you're stuck in it. Even then, God blessed the cave apart. 0:43:02.120 --> 0:43:03.880 Now there's no real cave for you to stand in, 0:43:04.760 --> 0:43:08.640 but you're still trapped in that conversation in your head. 0:43:10.280 --> 0:43:13.440 What Jezebel said, So anyway, he's like, I have been 0:43:13.560 --> 0:43:18.840 very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have 0:43:18.960 --> 0:43:27.399 rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your 0:43:27.520 --> 0:43:39.600 profits to death with a soul. That is why the 0:43:39.760 --> 0:43:52.040 story stopped because of what he started with, I I 0:43:52.040 --> 0:44:03.160 I AH. Wherever this story goes next, it is going 0:44:03.239 --> 0:44:08.800 to be confined by the point of view of the narrator. 0:44:10.160 --> 0:44:18.320 You can't narrate by faith in first person. In fiction, 0:44:18.480 --> 0:44:22.759 they have what's called a third person narrator. It's when 0:44:22.800 --> 0:44:25.680 the character isn't saying I did this, and I did that, 0:44:25.840 --> 0:44:28.600 and I went here and I went there. So basically, 0:44:28.640 --> 0:44:30.359 like the way we live our lives, what do they 0:44:30.360 --> 0:44:32.160 think of me? What are they saying about me? Why 0:44:32.200 --> 0:44:34.160 didn't they invite me, Why don't they like me? What's 0:44:34.200 --> 0:44:38.520 wrong with me? Third person narrator is different. It describes 0:44:38.600 --> 0:44:40.719 the event. Watch this because remember Holly has a book 0:44:40.760 --> 0:44:48.120 club and then they have third person omnission. This is 0:44:48.160 --> 0:44:54.640 a narrator that knows stuff that they have no business knowing, 0:44:55.719 --> 0:44:58.440 and they say stuff that the characters in the story 0:44:58.760 --> 0:45:02.239 can't see. So God said, you have been stuck in 0:45:02.360 --> 0:45:07.920 first person frustration. But when the third person mister it 0:45:08.600 --> 0:45:14.120 the Father, the Son, and the third person of the Trinity, 0:45:14.600 --> 0:45:19.120 the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit speaks, when the Spirit 0:45:19.200 --> 0:45:23.600 tells your story, When the Spirit interprets your situation, when 0:45:23.640 --> 0:45:27.160 the Spirit clickens you, when the Spirit of God shows 0:45:27.200 --> 0:45:30.239 you what's up. When the Spirit of God tells you, 0:45:30.520 --> 0:45:33.480 I still got something for you to do. When the 0:45:33.520 --> 0:45:36.959 Spirit of God speaks. When you speak to God through 0:45:37.000 --> 0:45:41.480 spirit and He speaks to you through spirit, something happens. 0:45:41.800 --> 0:45:51.600 Maybe he tells, come so so, Holly, Holly, I'm not 0:45:51.640 --> 0:45:54.080 gonna holler at you. I'm just gonna let you know 0:45:54.560 --> 0:45:58.680 I'm writing with you and we can talk. We can 0:45:58.719 --> 0:46:02.719 talk talk about this. Talk to him, Talk to him 0:46:02.760 --> 0:46:05.160 about it, Talk to him about what you're afraid about. 0:46:05.360 --> 0:46:07.600 Don't you go forty days trying to figure it out 0:46:07.600 --> 0:46:10.600 in your own strength, starve in your soul, starve in 0:46:10.680 --> 0:46:14.279 your spirit, eating junk food, wondering why you're weak. I'll 0:46:14.280 --> 0:46:17.280 tell you why you're weak. You can't go forty days 0:46:17.280 --> 0:46:25.680 telling yourself stuff that starts with eye cause you tell me. 0:46:26.040 --> 0:46:28.560 I'm gonna tell you what the kids taught me. They 0:46:28.600 --> 0:46:31.640 taught me that. In video game, you have an NPC. 0:46:33.000 --> 0:46:37.680 You'll know this term, the what's it called non playable character. 0:46:38.160 --> 0:46:40.320 That's the people that's just there over to the side. 0:46:41.080 --> 0:46:44.400 They don't do anything, They just there. And then, of 0:46:44.440 --> 0:46:48.520 course you're the main character, y'all. That's a boring game 0:46:49.120 --> 0:46:52.239 when everything else in your life is NPC and you're 0:46:52.280 --> 0:46:55.640 the only character that matters. What about what God wants? 0:46:57.560 --> 0:47:03.160 What about what he wants to do through you? I 0:47:03.160 --> 0:47:07.600 have been very zealous, true for the Lord God Almighty. 0:47:08.640 --> 0:47:11.200 They give me, give me Verse ten, verse fourteen, Verse ten, 0:47:11.440 --> 0:47:16.000 verse fourteen. The Israelies, I know what's wrong with us now. 0:47:16.120 --> 0:47:17.799 I saw it in the text. I saw what's wrong 0:47:17.840 --> 0:47:21.520 with me. I saw why I'm stuck in my story 0:47:22.440 --> 0:47:28.000 because it says I and them I have been very 0:47:28.040 --> 0:47:31.200 zelfil of got of money. They have rejected your covenant, 0:47:32.520 --> 0:47:34.319 torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death 0:47:34.320 --> 0:47:36.160 with the sword. Wait a minute, Elijah, you killed eight 0:47:36.239 --> 0:47:38.160 hundred and fifty of them. Yeah, I'm not going to 0:47:38.239 --> 0:47:45.680 tell that part. Leave an emper down. Oh, be very 0:47:45.719 --> 0:47:50.920 suspicious of any story that has self pity. Be very 0:47:50.960 --> 0:47:54.759 suspicious of it. Anytime that little voice inside you start 0:47:54.800 --> 0:47:58.120 saying stuff like nobody appreciates you, call it into question. 0:47:58.360 --> 0:48:03.319 That's probably not true. She's getting fired off. Now. I'm 0:48:03.320 --> 0:48:06.120 getting ready for a fleck, y'all. I'm getting ready for 0:48:06.200 --> 0:48:09.799 a fled because I want you to know when you 0:48:09.880 --> 0:48:12.920 go to prepare to preach to the ladies Friday, God's 0:48:12.960 --> 0:48:17.000 voice won't be the only voice speaking to you. Jezebel 0:48:17.000 --> 0:48:19.200 will be telling you stuff too. Who do you think 0:48:19.200 --> 0:48:22.120 you are to preach this? You don't have anything to say. 0:48:22.360 --> 0:48:24.640 Nobody wants to hear from you. You struggle with all 0:48:24.680 --> 0:48:29.359 this same stuff too, you hypocrite. By the way, Jezebel 0:48:29.840 --> 0:48:33.719 will be the loudest voice you'll hear, because Jesus will 0:48:33.760 --> 0:48:41.520 whisper to watch this. Jezebel's trying to attack you from 0:48:41.520 --> 0:48:48.600 the outside. Jesus is empowering you from the inside. Oh God, 0:48:50.080 --> 0:48:53.759 I feel somebody getn't set free today. I feel you 0:48:53.800 --> 0:49:01.080 will hear a voice behind you saying, just at this, 0:49:01.200 --> 0:49:03.400 how I wants you to raise those kids. This is 0:49:03.400 --> 0:49:05.440 how I want you to do. Great stuff for your husband. 0:49:05.520 --> 0:49:08.479 Be really nice to them. He's wonderful to the Lord 0:49:08.520 --> 0:49:13.839 says stuff like this, just for example. And I want 0:49:13.920 --> 0:49:22.239 you to understand the power of the story that you 0:49:22.280 --> 0:49:26.840 tell yourself. If the story that you tell yourself starts 0:49:26.840 --> 0:49:33.279 with I, it's going to end in insecurity. If the 0:49:33.320 --> 0:49:36.279 story that you tell yourself starts with I, it's going 0:49:36.280 --> 0:49:40.560 to end in inadequacy. By the way, if the story 0:49:40.600 --> 0:49:43.239 you tell yourself starts with EYE is going to end 0:49:43.280 --> 0:49:49.560 in idolatry, and you will find yourself leaning on a 0:49:49.760 --> 0:49:56.200 God that cannot prop you up. I wish Elijah would 0:49:56.200 --> 0:50:02.680 have said, tell Jezebel, you know just Oh, I can't 0:50:02.719 --> 0:50:04.520 say it like I wanted to. If I can say 0:50:04.560 --> 0:50:08.440 it like I wanted to, Josebel, please, that's what I 0:50:08.480 --> 0:50:12.719 want to say. Oh, I can't say it like I 0:50:12.760 --> 0:50:21.120 want to say it. Don't you remember what God Dad. 0:50:22.000 --> 0:50:25.680 The last time you'll challenge me, you'll fill me devil, 0:50:25.960 --> 0:50:29.200 Get your hands off my house, get your money, feet 0:50:29.239 --> 0:50:33.120 out of my buck. Don't sum liver the blood of Jesus, 0:50:33.400 --> 0:50:37.680 the lamb that was slave just about park the lamb 0:50:38.160 --> 0:50:41.760 that was slave drumped up down, fass up the world. 0:50:49.160 --> 0:50:53.759 The Lord said, I heard your story. It sucks. Verse fifteen. 0:50:54.239 --> 0:50:59.360 Let's change the main character, the Lord said to him. 0:50:59.520 --> 0:51:05.080 The Lord alright said to him, hop prophesy drives here 0:51:08.239 --> 0:51:13.560 the word of the Lord. So so now we're switching 0:51:13.600 --> 0:51:20.960 point of view. Eli just said I did. They're trying. Hey, hey, 0:51:21.280 --> 0:51:25.239 you decide what part of the story you emphasize. Go 0:51:25.280 --> 0:51:27.600 back to verse fourteen. I'm gonna make it better. I'm 0:51:27.600 --> 0:51:29.160 gonna make it better. I'm gonna fix it up. I've 0:51:29.160 --> 0:51:31.000 been very else rely got the money. There's a real 0:51:31.040 --> 0:51:32.520 list of reject your coven. Toy on the ultras. Put 0:51:32.520 --> 0:51:34.200 your prophess the sword. I'm the only one left. And 0:51:34.239 --> 0:51:44.640 now they are trying, trying. First of all, everybody isn't 0:51:44.680 --> 0:51:47.640 trying to kill you, Eli, Joe, one woman is so 0:51:47.680 --> 0:51:51.799 stop exaggerating. Who is that word for a razor hand? 0:51:51.840 --> 0:51:54.280 Be honest, don't lie. God, I'll strike you right now. 0:51:55.520 --> 0:52:02.360 Exaggerating stuff. The whole nation after ma A, I've my 0:52:02.520 --> 0:52:11.360 ras alas they Hi, they Hi? They Where's God in 0:52:11.520 --> 0:52:21.080 your story? They are trying, but they can't quit misquoting 0:52:21.160 --> 0:52:26.560 Isaiah fifty four seventeen. No weapon will be formed against you. 0:52:26.600 --> 0:52:30.879 No no weapon formed against you will prosper. It will 0:52:30.920 --> 0:52:40.440 always be formed. It won't work, it won't when it 0:52:41.480 --> 0:52:50.359 won't prevail, it will not be the end of you. Cool. 0:52:51.719 --> 0:52:54.080 You better sit down, babe. I feel like Christian. I 0:52:54.120 --> 0:52:56.640 feel like Christian. I feel like Christian. I feel like 0:52:56.719 --> 0:52:59.680 coming for everybody who has been under the spell of 0:52:59.719 --> 0:53:02.319 Jack's the bell. Get it out of your head. Get 0:53:02.360 --> 0:53:04.360 it out of your head, Get it out of your mind, 0:53:04.480 --> 0:53:06.279 get it out of your thoughts, get it out of 0:53:06.280 --> 0:53:08.759 your meditation, get it out of your phone. Get it 0:53:08.760 --> 0:53:15.000 out of your head so you can hear the whisper, 0:53:15.800 --> 0:53:20.640 and then you will hear a voice behind you. Watch 0:53:20.680 --> 0:53:25.680 what God said to Elijah verse fifteen. Go back the 0:53:25.719 --> 0:53:32.759 way you came. God will send certain words in your 0:53:32.800 --> 0:53:38.480 life that will be turning words. Lors, I'm preaching to 0:53:38.480 --> 0:53:40.160 somebody today that might not even be in this room 0:53:40.200 --> 0:53:42.160 and may not even see this message for years. This 0:53:42.239 --> 0:53:47.120 is a turning word for you, A turning word, A 0:53:47.239 --> 0:53:52.479 turning word, a turning word. Go back the way you came. 0:53:53.400 --> 0:53:57.160 But stop telling the story that you've been telling. Some 0:53:57.239 --> 0:53:59.400 of your suffering is not because of your situation. It's 0:53:59.440 --> 0:54:03.600 because of your right. This why is happening. This is 0:54:03.600 --> 0:54:04.960 why they did that. No no no, no, no, no no, 0:54:05.719 --> 0:54:08.800 go back the way you came. And here's the brilliance 0:54:08.840 --> 0:54:12.480 of it. God says, when you get to the desert 0:54:13.120 --> 0:54:16.959 of Damascus, annoying Jaseel king over Aaron. That's right, star walking, 0:54:17.000 --> 0:54:19.480 star walking. And as you go, you will hear a 0:54:19.560 --> 0:54:23.080 voice saying, this is the way verse sixteen, and annoyed 0:54:23.120 --> 0:54:25.520 Jay Whu's son of them she king over Israel, and 0:54:25.560 --> 0:54:28.719 annoying Elisha's son of say Fat from able Miloa to 0:54:28.719 --> 0:54:31.919 succeed you as prophet Jay, who will put to death 0:54:31.920 --> 0:54:34.239 any who escaped the sword of Jseel and Elivesha will 0:54:34.280 --> 0:54:37.520 put to death any who escaped the sword of Jehu. 0:54:38.640 --> 0:54:44.920 You mean God has already worked out what I'm worried about. 0:54:52.800 --> 0:54:57.359 Spoiler alert. Jezebel is trampled by horses at the end 0:54:57.400 --> 0:55:02.200 of her life. Eli is taken up by horses and 0:55:02.280 --> 0:55:07.759 chariots of fire. Who tells your story? Come on live, 0:55:07.800 --> 0:55:12.959 man will help me preach? Who tells your story? I 0:55:13.080 --> 0:55:16.800 am redeed by the blood of the laft hop standing 0:55:16.960 --> 0:55:21.279 by the grace of God. Hop going how the wonder. 0:55:25.640 --> 0:55:29.680 This is the word of the Lord. Jezebel can't or 0:55:29.760 --> 0:55:34.320 she would have anxiety. Can't or it would have depression. 0:55:34.480 --> 0:55:39.279 Can't or it would have sin was strong. Jesus's stronger, 0:55:39.800 --> 0:55:51.120 greater is he is in need. Whisper, Holy Spirit, Whisper, Whisper, Whisper, 0:55:51.239 --> 0:55:55.360 whisper the wind words. Whisper to your servants. They're tired, Lord, 0:55:55.600 --> 0:55:57.960 they want to quit, they want to give up. They're 0:55:58.000 --> 0:56:01.400 stuck in a story. Oh, everybody let me because I'm defected. Oh, 0:56:01.440 --> 0:56:04.720 everybody walked away from me. They can't even see what's 0:56:04.800 --> 0:56:08.440 in front of them. You already had seven thousand that 0:56:08.520 --> 0:56:11.680 had not bowed their need to bail, or whose mouths 0:56:11.719 --> 0:56:14.400 had not kissed him. Oh God, we thank you for 0:56:14.440 --> 0:56:17.320 what we can't see when we're stuck in our own story. 0:56:17.640 --> 0:56:20.680 We thank you for being the third person. The Holy Spirit, 0:56:20.920 --> 0:56:24.000 the spirit that gives life, the spirit that raises dead, 0:56:24.320 --> 0:56:27.640 the spirit that speaks truth, the spirit that confirms, the 0:56:27.640 --> 0:56:31.480 spirit that answers the door when condemnation knocks. The spirit 0:56:31.520 --> 0:56:34.600 that sets us free, the spirit that leads and guides 0:56:34.600 --> 0:56:39.640 into truth and seasons. The Spirit of God is here. 0:56:40.000 --> 0:56:44.680 Speak Holy Spirit, Speak, Lord, Speak Lord, guide them back 0:56:44.719 --> 0:56:47.440 to the place they belong. They don't belong in a bottle. 0:56:47.600 --> 0:56:49.600 They don't belong in any kind of bottle, not a 0:56:49.640 --> 0:56:52.360 bottle of pills, not a bottle of too many drinks, 0:56:52.600 --> 0:56:54.640 not a bottle of their own battles that they can't 0:56:54.680 --> 0:56:56.799 get out of. No God, No God, I call them 0:56:56.840 --> 0:56:59.640 out of the cave, right now, Holy Spirit, call them 0:56:59.640 --> 0:57:02.560 out of the Okay, you sent the earthquake, they didn't listen. 0:57:02.719 --> 0:57:05.160 You sent the fire, they didn't see it. You sent 0:57:05.239 --> 0:57:08.520 the wind. They still went back inside. Oh, my Holy Spirit, 0:57:08.600 --> 0:57:13.280 if you whisper like only you can, that I've already 0:57:13.280 --> 0:57:20.640 worked out what you're worried about. It took Elijah forty 0:57:20.720 --> 0:57:23.760 days to get back, just amount of time it took 0:57:23.800 --> 0:57:29.040 him to get there. But I gotta imagine that with 0:57:29.120 --> 0:57:32.800 every step he took back to God's assignment, he told 0:57:32.880 --> 0:57:38.280 himself the real story. As you step into a new week, 0:57:39.280 --> 0:57:42.280 as you step into a new season, as you step 0:57:42.320 --> 0:57:48.320 into a new challenge, with every step, I want you 0:57:48.360 --> 0:57:55.160 to tell the story of a God who brought you 0:57:55.240 --> 0:58:01.400 this far and did not bring you the far. Believe 0:58:01.600 --> 0:58:08.200 you of the sustaining God, the Saving God, forgiving God, 0:58:08.600 --> 0:58:16.000 the Covenant God, the Loving God, the kind God. Every 0:58:16.040 --> 0:58:20.240 step tells a story. Every step tells a story. You 0:58:20.320 --> 0:58:23.160 can't believe what God brought me through. You can't believe 0:58:23.160 --> 0:58:25.800 where He brought me from. You can't believe how much 0:58:25.840 --> 0:58:31.680 He delivered me out of He's been so faithful. So 0:58:31.840 --> 0:58:36.800 instead of starting your story with how zealous you've been, 0:58:38.120 --> 0:58:42.080 why don't you start with how faithful God is. Well, 0:58:42.080 --> 0:58:44.520 if you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple things 0:58:44.600 --> 0:58:47.840 I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate, 0:58:48.200 --> 0:58:51.120 and review this podcast. You can also help us reach 0:58:51.200 --> 0:58:54.720 others by investing today at Elevation Church dot org, slash 0:58:54.760 --> 0:58:57.120 and give and thanks again for joining us on the 0:58:57.160 --> 0:58:58.280 Elevation Podcast