Special Strength Is Coming

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This is not an 0:00:57.440 --> 0:00:59.440 offer to buy yourself security snor is it investment legal 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:00.640 or taxi by He'll. 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:02.800 Forget about the video game you gave him on his birthday. 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:04.560 Wow, thanks Grandpa. 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:06.800 But he'll never forget how you invest it in his 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:08.240 future with the units stapp. 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:10.720 Wow, thanks Grandpa. 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.560 The unit stap makes it easy for grandparents and family 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.280 friends to give funds to a child's investment account for 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:18.720 a limited time. Download the uns stapp and use the 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:20.800 code I heeart fifty at sign up to receive a 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:23.319 fifty dollars bonus when you find your account. That's code 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.320 iHeart fifty when you sign up at unest dot co 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.280 for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:35.000 God hasn't forgotten about you. He sees what you're going through. 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:39.479 He sees the lonely nights, the struggles, all those times 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:43.560 you've gone the extra mile. He's about to increase your strength. 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:47.480 The opposition may not change yet, but you're going to 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:51.240 have a new passion, a new fire to stand strong 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:55.320 and outlast what's trying to stop here. Hi, this is 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:59.400 Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. We enjoy 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.120 spending it's time with you. I know you're going to 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:03.760 leave encouraged and inspired. 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:07.000 Make sure you subscribe to get new messages every week 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:09.760 and follow us on social media to stay connected. 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:13.359 We appreciate your support. It helps keep the ministry going. 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:14.680 Enjoy the message. 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.520 God bless you. Great to have you with us today. 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.840 We are praying for you and your family. I hope 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:24.399 you'll stay connected with us during the week. You could 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.440 download our podcast and listen to the messages anytime, or 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.040 go to our YouTube channel. 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:31.680 But thanks for tuning in today. 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.679 I like to start with something funny, and I heard 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.600 about this cat and mouse that died on the same 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.680 day and went to heaven. After a few weeks, Peter 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.600 saw the mouse and ask how he liked it. He said, Oh, 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.239 it's great, but it's so big. I wish I could 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:49.200 get a pair of roller skates. Peter said, no problem, 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:50.280 got him some skates. 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:51.440 A few weeks. 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:53.720 Later, Peter saw the cat and ask him how he 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.919 liked it. He said, Oh, it's fantastic. And just when 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.680 I thought it couldn't get any better, I discovered the 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:00.919 meal on wheels. 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.560 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:06.519 I am what it says, I am. 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:09.399 I have what it says I have, I can do 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.200 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:16.200 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:19.320 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:24.440 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:27.560 to talk to you today about special strength is coming. 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.720 We all have times in life that we feel tired. 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.600 We've been doing our best, standing strong, but it's been 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:36.880 so long nothing has changed. 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:39.360 Now we're fatigued. We don't feel like. 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.360 We have the strength to raise the children, the strength 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.560 to fight the illness, the strength to pursue our dreams. 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.640 A woman I know has struggled with depression for many years. 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:53.600 She's always been so strong, so determined, But I saw 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:57.480 her recently and she was very discouraged. She said, I 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:01.400 don't have any fight left in me, can't do it anymore. 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:05.240 Sometimes we see that as a lack of faith, but 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.000 God doesn't expect. 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:08.600 You to be strong all the time. 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:12.600 He understands there will be times that we get weary. 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.840 We don't feel like we can go on. We prayed, 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.240 we believed, but nothing has changed. 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:18.719 Now. 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.360 The weight of what we're facing has left us exhausted. 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:26.400 The good news is God doesn't fault us for feeling weak. 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.680 He doesn't say what's wrong with you? You need to have 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:33.000 more faith. The scripture says, when you are. 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:34.400 Weak, he is strong. 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.159 When you feel overwhelmed, like you can't go on, he 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:42.280 comes in and gives you special strength. Strength that you 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:45.880 didn't get on your own, strength to move forward when 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:50.039 you should be stuck, strength to overcome the addiction, strength 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:55.000 to outlast the opposition. You may feel weak today, fatigued, 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.400 that is not your destiny. You are going to run 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.960 and not be weary. You're going to walk and not faint. 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:06.360 There's going to be a strength that's not natural, but supernatural. 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:10.000 This is what happened with Elijah. There had been a 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:13.679 three and a half year drought in Samaria. Without rain, 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:17.040 the Israelites were going to perish. There was no food, 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:20.280 no way to grow crops. Elijah went on top of 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:24.200 Mount Carmel and begin to pray for rain, but nothing happened. 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:28.159 He prayed again and again had his assistant go out 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:30.320 and check the weather look for clouds. 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:31.120 Still nothing. 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:35.160 Finally, on the seventh time, they saw a small cloud 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.839 start to form in the sky, and Elijah told. 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:42.239 King Ahab that he better get in his chariot. 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.960 And quickly leave because there was about to be a 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:51.320 huge downpour. The scripture says, the Lord gave Elijah special strength, 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:56.719 and he outran the king's chariot to Jezreel. Jezreel wasn't 0:05:56.800 --> 0:06:00.320 just next door. It was a twenty mile journey. A 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:03.320 horse can run twice as fast as an average man. 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:06.680 A man can only sustain that top speed for a 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:10.919 short distance. On top of this, I'm sure Elijah was tired, 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:15.160 being in the famine, not having the proper food. How 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:19.000 could he outrun a chariot. That's not possible. God gave 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:23.200 him special strength. You may look at what you're up against, 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.920 think I don't have the strength, the stamina, the endurance, 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:30.359 the fortitude. Maybe years ago when I was at the 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:32.479 top of my game, but now I'm tired. 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:33.640 No, get ready. 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:38.120 Special strength is headed your way. When you have special strength, 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:41.600 you're going to outrun some chariots. You're going to overcome 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:45.640 what looks impossible. You're going to accomplish dreams that seem 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:50.520 too far gone. Jezreel was known as the city of Chariots. 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:55.039 It had a vast fleet of these powerful vehicles, they could. 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:56.440 Move swiftly into battle. 0:06:56.880 --> 0:07:01.560 They gave the people of Jezrael an incredible enemies new 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:06.680 not to come against Jezreel. It's significant that Elijah outran 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:12.680 a chariot. These chariots represented power, speed, the ability. 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:13.520 To dominate with force. 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:18.440 I can imagine Elijah's standing before King Ahab as A 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:22.360 have sat in his big, impressive, state of the art chariot, 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.600 A have had his drivers up front, his staff in 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:29.680 the back. Elijah looked up to King Ahab said, in effect, 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.920 you have this powerful army. You command a vast fleet 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:38.080 of chariots pulled by these fast, strong horses. I don't 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:41.080 have your equipment. I don't have your horses. I don't 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:44.160 even have a chariot. But I'm not worried. I don't 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.760 need what you have. I'm going to outrun you. 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:47.840 To Jezreel. 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:52.880 I can hear Ahab laughing, saying, what are you talking about, Elijah. 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.880 These are the fastest horses of our day. These are 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:58.720 the most skilled driver. This chariot just one of the 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:02.240 JD powers variot of the year. You can't outrun me. 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:07.040 They took off The scripture says the whole way twenty 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:10.360 miles Elijah ran ahead of the chariot. 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:12.400 When Ahab got to Jezreel. 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:15.280 I can see Elijah with his feet up, drinking a 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.440 glass of tea, saying, Ahab, what took you so long? 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:22.640 When God gives you special strength, you're going to accomplish 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:25.240 things you never dreamed you could accomplish. 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:26.800 You're going to overcome. 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:31.320 Opposition that's more powerful, that has more resources. You may 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:33.959 not be up against the chariot, but when you look 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:37.520 at that cancer, it seems so much bigger that addiction, 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.880 the trouble at work, the slow down in your business. 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.360 You don't see how you're going to make it. The 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:47.520 difficulty is discouraging enough, but on top of that, you're tired. 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:51.400 You've been standing strong, but the famine, the lack of 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:54.560 things changing, has worn you down. There's no way you 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.760 can outrun this chariot. In your own strength. 0:08:57.920 --> 0:08:58.480 You can't. 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:02.959 But right now God is breathing special strength into you. 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:07.479 Like Elijah, You're going to have the endurance, the stamina, 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:11.439 the fortitude to do what you can't do on your own. 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:15.160 You may think, how can I raise these children take 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:18.160 care of my elderly parents at the same time, how 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:20.560 can I make it through this treatment. How can I 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:24.160 overcome this anxiety? When you are weak. 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.920 He is strong. Now get ready to outrun some chariots. 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:31.280 God has not brought you this far to leave you, 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:36.679 Isaiah said. God gives strength to the weary. He increases 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:40.040 the power of the weak. You may be weary today. 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:44.200 The good news strength is coming. Maybe you feel weak. 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:48.200 You're worn down by everything that's going on, the pandemic, 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:52.600 the unrest, the uncertainty. God is saying, I'm about to 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:56.920 increase your power. I'm about to make you stronger. It's 0:09:56.960 --> 0:09:59.560 not something you have to muster up. You don't have 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:00.120 to make it. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:00.640 It happened. 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:05.160 It's the hand of God lifting you, empowering you, re 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:10.040 energizing you, causing you to outrun cheriots, giving you special 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:14.520 strength that means strength to outlast, strength to try again, 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:18.720 strength to step up to a new level. When I 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:21.560 look back over my life, I can see these times 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:25.040 where God gave me special strength. When my father went 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:27.720 to be with the Lord, that should have overwhelmed me, 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:31.080 caused me to lose my passion, not be able to 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:31.840 move forward. 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:35.040 But I felt a power rising up in me that 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:36.120 I had never felt. 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:41.200 A strength, a courage, a determination, a stamina that wasn't 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.160 just me being strong, that was God giving. 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:45.040 Me special strength. 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.520 God is not going to let you miss your destiny. 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:52.160 He's not going to let you stay overwhelmed. You may 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.920 feel that way at times, but that is not how 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.319 your story ends. You're going to feel a strength that 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:02.120 pushes you forward, a power to do what you couldn't 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:06.200 do before. When we were trying to acquire the Compact Center, 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.640 it was a three year process. After we won the 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:13.160 city council vote, a company filed a lawsuit to try 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:15.920 to keep us from moving in. They were the largest 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:19.760 taxpayer in Texas, a huge real estate business. It was 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:24.800 David versus Goliath. And at first I was passionate. I prayed, 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:28.760 I believed I stood strong. But week after week went by, 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:34.480 month after month, nothing changed. One year, two years, I 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:38.160 started to get weary. Battle fatigue begin to set in. 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:42.240 Not that we aren't strong, we just get tired of fighting. 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:45.360 I thought, they're so much bigger than us, they have 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:48.880 many more resources. They can drag this out for years. 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:53.760 God understands that we can get tired. He understands that 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:57.040 life can wear us down. That's why he said I 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:00.360 will give strength to the weary. I will increase the 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:04.440 power of the week. Don't beat yourself up for feeling weary. 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:08.120 Don't be down on yourself because you're not strong all 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:08.720 the time. 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:11.400 You're human. God's not faulting you. 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:15.080 He's saying, when you're weak, I'm going to step in. 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:16.880 I'm going to make you strong. 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:21.160 I'm going to give you power to outrun the chariot. Well, Joel, 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:22.000 I've been weary. 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:22.720 A long time. 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:27.000 I've been exhausted. I don't see anything changing. Your time 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:31.200 is coming. You wouldn't be hearing this if special strength 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:35.560 wasn't on the way. God hasn't forgotten about you. He 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.160 sees what you're going through. He sees the lonely nights, 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.959 the struggles, all those times you've gone the extra mile. 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:45.680 He's about to increase your strength. 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.560 The opposition may not change yet, but you're going to 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:53.319 have a new passion, a new fire to stand strong 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.840 and outlast what's trying to stop you. At one point 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.720 when I didn't think I could go on, it looked 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.880 like the lawsuit would never resolve. All of a sudden, 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:07.280 it was like God gave me a second wind. I 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:11.120 had a determination that I didn't have before. It wasn't 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:12.040 something I did. 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:14.800 It was God giving strength to the weary. 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:19.040 It wasn't long after that that the company suddenly dropped 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:23.040 the lawsuit and the building was ours. Like Elijah, we 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:27.679 outran the chariot. We defeated something much bigger, much more powerful. 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.600 How did that happen? God gave us special strength. 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:36.240 The scripture says, some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:39.640 but we trust in the name of the Lord, our God. 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.720 God is going to get you to where you're supposed 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.760 to be. The night before Jesus was to be crucified, 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:50.280 he went to the garden of Gasimone to pray. He 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.640 knew the pain and the suffering he would face. Even 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.400 though he's God, he was also human. He could feel 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.640 what we felt. He got tired. There were times he 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:05.120 was weary, fatigued, and felt lonely. In that garden, he 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.760 was so discouraged and so overcome with emotion that he 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:13.240 sweat drops of blood. He told the disciples, my soul 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:15.240 is overwhelmed with sorrow. 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:16.120 Here. 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:20.440 Jesus is the son of God. Yet he felt overwhelmed, like. 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:21.240 He couldn't go on. 0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:24.560 You would think God would say, come on, you need 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:28.160 to be stronger. You need to toughen up. But God 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:35.240 understands life can be overwhelming. There are times we feel weary, tired, distressed. 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.880 Doesn't mean we don't have enough. Faith doesn't mean that 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:43.360 we're not strong enough. When Jesus felt so overwhelmed when 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.119 it looked like he wasn't going to fulfill his destiny, 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:49.000 the scripture says, God send an. 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:51.080 Angel to strengthen him. 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:55.760 You may be tired today, tired of believing for your dreams, 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:58.800 tired of trying to make your marriage work, tired of 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:03.000 raising those children. God sees what you're going through. He 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:06.120 feels the weight of what you're carrying. He's not going 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.160 to leave you there. He has angels come in your 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:13.000 way to strengthen you, to encourage you, to lift you. 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:17.040 Thoughts will try to convince you that you're not strong enough. 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:18.320 You need more faith. 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:22.880 Look at you, tired, discouraged, letting that problem overcome. You. 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:24.680 Don't believe those lies. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:29.840 Jesus, in his human body, felt weak, He felt discouraged. 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:31.600 He didn't know if he could go on. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:36.880 God sees you being your best, raising the children, fighting 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:40.600 that addiction, facing that illness. When you run out of strength, 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:44.480 don't worry. Angels are coming. Help is on the way. 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:48.160 You're going to feel strength that you didn't have joy 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.800 when you could be discouraged, hope when you should be depressed. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.520 You're going to have the power to endure, the favor, 0:15:55.600 --> 0:16:00.440 to overcome, the determination, to outlast. It's not because of 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:05.680 your own efforts. It's the angels ministering to you. Before 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:09.560 Elijah outran the chariot, he called down fire from heaven 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:13.240 and defeated four hundred of the false prophets that worshiped 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:17.840 the god Bail. When King Ahab's wife, Jezebel heard about. 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:18.800 It, she was furious. 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:22.480 She said word to Elijah, saying, if I don't kill 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:26.160 you by this time tomorrow, I will take my own life. 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:29.960 Elijah was so afraid he took off, running into the desert. 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:34.000 He ended up sitting under a tree, so exhausted, so 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.480 overwhelmed that he didn't want to live. 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.720 He said, God, I've had enough. I'm done. Take me 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:42.160 home here. 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.880 He had just called down fire from heaven, he had 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.760 just outran a chariot. He had seen God's goodness and favor, 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:50.200 but he got tired. 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:53.040 When we're tired, we can lose. 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:57.760 Our perspective, problems getting magnified, the sickness looks bigger. We 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.520 think the trouble at work will never resolve. We feel overwhelmed, 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:05.040 like we can't go on. But the beauty of our 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:09.280 God is he understands what we're going through. He knows 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:13.320 life can be overwhelming. He knows it's difficult to get 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:16.520 out of the garden of Gasimine on your own. And 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:20.600 Elijah was under this tree in the desert, depressed, not 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:21.480 wanting to live. 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.720 This could be the end of his story. But what happened. 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:29.320 An angel showed up, just like in the garden, while 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:33.640 Elijah was sleeping. This angel cooked in food. He woke 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.440 Elijah up and told him to eat. Elijah looked up 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.920 and saw freshly baked bread. He thought he was dreaming. 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.240 He ate and went back to sleep. The scripture says 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:47.000 the angel woke him up a second time and said 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:47.680 eat some more. 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:49.520 Elijah ate the food. 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.120 Now he had the strength to make a forty day journey. 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:57.600 His whole attitude changed. He got his fireback, he got 0:17:57.600 --> 0:18:01.160 his passion back. He realized God was still on the throne, 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:02.040 that he was. 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:03.800 Bigger than what he was facing. 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:07.320 Elijah went on to fulfill his destiny. 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:09.440 What I want you to see is. 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:12.240 When you are weak, God is going to strengthen you. 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.800 When you can't go on, Angels are going to show 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.879 up and make things happen that you couldn't make happen. 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:22.840 I love how the Angel didn't just help Elijah find food. 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:25.480 He didn't just lead him to an animal where he 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:28.920 could hunt, lead him to water. The Angel not only 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:31.960 brought the food to Elijah, but he cooked the food. 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:35.439 God is not going to just help you get stronger, 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.120 but he's going to cook some food for you. He's 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:43.359 going to bring blessings, increase favor, healing that he's already prepared. 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:46.240 It's going to be easier than you thought, and it's 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:50.800 going to happen quicker than you think. Martin Luther King Jr. 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:54.120 Told how in the height of the Civil rights movement, 0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:57.840 when so much was coming against him, he felt overwhelmed. 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.560 He didn't know if he could go on to make 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:01.320 matters worse. 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:04.640 One evening, in the middle of the night, the phone rang. 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:08.120 When he answered, there was an angry voice telling him 0:19:08.440 --> 0:19:11.160 how he wasn't wanted in that town, how he was. 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:14.000 Going to be harmed if he didn't leave King was 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:16.679 so distressed that he couldn't go back to sleep. He 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:18.000 began to pace the floor. 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:21.600 Exhausted, he tried to think of a way he could 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:25.800 quietly bow out of leading the movement without appearing to 0:19:25.840 --> 0:19:30.080 be a coward. Feeling overwhelmed, all of his courage gone, 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:34.000 he said, God, I'm here taking a stand for what 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:37.480 I believe is right. But I'm afraid I'm at the 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:40.600 end of my ability. I have nothing left to give. 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:45.600 I cannot continue on. Martin Luther King said, at that moment, 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:50.000 he felt the hand of God, a divine presence, something 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:54.440 that he had never felt before, strengthening him, encouraging him, 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:56.840 breathing new life into his spirit. 0:19:57.400 --> 0:19:58.040 What was that? 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:02.399 A ministering angel. God is not going to let you 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:05.000 give up. He's not going to let you get so 0:20:05.160 --> 0:20:08.919 discouraged that you can't become who you were created to be. 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:12.879 You may feel that way at time. The task looks 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:16.760 too big, the opposition too strong, the dream is taken 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:17.359 too long. 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:20.879 You don't have the strength. Don't worry. Angels are on 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:21.320 the way. 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:24.840 You're about to feel a strength that you've never felt, 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:28.880 power that you've never had. God is about to lift you. 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:35.120 He's breathing victory into your spirit, encouragement, hope, not just strength, 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.720 but special strength. Strength that causes you to outrun a chariot, 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:44.240 strength to overcome the sickness, strength to outlast what's trying 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:44.920 to stop you. 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.120 Strength to accomplish what God put in your heart. 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.639 When Jesus was about to be crucified, the custom in 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.960 that day was the person had to carry their own cross. 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:00.000 Jesus was so exhausted, he had not slept the night before, 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:02.720 He'd gone through much suffering and pain. 0:21:03.080 --> 0:21:04.040 He did his best. 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:07.080 He was as strong as he could, but he fell 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:10.639 down under the weight of the cross. God could have 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:13.160 given him the strength to carry it the whole way. 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:16.280 He could have given him a second wind to finish 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:19.440 the journey and not look weak and not fall down. 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:23.439 But God was sending this message, you don't have to 0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:27.480 be strong all the time. It's okay to feel overwhelmed. 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:30.800 It's okay to say, like Martin Luther, king God, I 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:34.719 don't think I can do this. Sometimes the weight of 0:21:34.760 --> 0:21:38.439 what we're carrying gets heavy. We think this child is 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:41.480 too hard to raise. I can't stay in this marriage, 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:43.360 I can't deal with this sickness. 0:21:43.440 --> 0:21:47.320 I'm lonely. I'm hurting. Voices will try to condemn us. 0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:50.640 You don't have enough faith. You need to be stronger. 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:53.640 God's not going to help you. You're too weak. Don't 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:54.720 believe those lies. 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:59.800 Even Jesus couldn't carry the weight of his own cross 0:21:59.800 --> 0:22:01.200 in interesting is. 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:03.760 When he fell down. God didn't leave him there. 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:06.840 He sent a man by the name of Simon to 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:10.480 come across his path and carry the cross for Jesus. 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.720 When you're down, when you're discouraged, God is not going 0:22:14.760 --> 0:22:18.160 to leave you there. He'll always have someone to help 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:22.000 lift you back up, someone to encourage you, someone to 0:22:22.040 --> 0:22:25.280 help you carry the load that you can't carry. If 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:28.480 it's not an angel, God will send a person. There 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:32.520 will be a Simon there for you. One time Moses 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:36.280 was up on a hill. Joshua and the Israelites were 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:40.480 in the valley below fighting the Amalekites. Moses held his 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:43.440 rod up in the air. As long as his rod 0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:45.640 was up, the Israelites were winning. 0:22:45.960 --> 0:22:47.200 When he put it down. 0:22:47.160 --> 0:22:51.879 The Amalekites would prevail. The battle kept going longer and longer. 0:22:52.200 --> 0:22:56.080 The problem was, Moses got tired. He couldn't hold his 0:22:56.160 --> 0:22:59.680 hands up that long. God didn't say, Moses, you should 0:22:59.680 --> 0:23:03.320 be you should have more endurance, more stamina. 0:23:03.960 --> 0:23:06.639 God sent two men, Erin and Her. 0:23:07.160 --> 0:23:10.159 They stood on each side of Moses and held his 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:14.199 hands up for him. God has the right people that 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:17.000 will be there to help hold up your hands. 0:23:17.560 --> 0:23:19.639 God knows we're going to get tired. 0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:22.600 He knows there will be times that we don't have 0:23:22.680 --> 0:23:25.720 the strength on our own to do what we need 0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:29.960 to do. He doesn't fault us, he doesn't cancel our destiny. 0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:33.520 He sends the right people and Erin and Her to 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:37.600 lift our hands. A few years after I became pastor, 0:23:38.040 --> 0:23:42.080 everything was growing. We were seeing great favor God's blessing. 0:23:42.640 --> 0:23:45.200 But at the same time, there were people that didn't 0:23:45.320 --> 0:23:48.760 understand us, and at one point it seemed like things 0:23:48.760 --> 0:23:51.560 were coming against us from the left and the right. 0:23:52.240 --> 0:23:54.160 I had never had any opposition. 0:23:54.720 --> 0:23:57.080 I thought, all we're doing is giving people hope and 0:23:57.320 --> 0:24:00.000 letting them know that God is good. Didn't make sense 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:02.879 to me why people would be against that. I was 0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:05.800 concerned about how it was going to work out, and 0:24:05.920 --> 0:24:08.919 thoughts told me that we weren't going to last, and 0:24:09.240 --> 0:24:12.439 these other voices were too strong. I was tempted to 0:24:12.480 --> 0:24:17.600 live worried, discouraged, afraid. One afternoon, I was walking through 0:24:17.640 --> 0:24:20.119 the lobby of the church, about to get on the 0:24:20.160 --> 0:24:24.320 elevator when the door's open. An older lady stepped out 0:24:24.560 --> 0:24:26.000 that I've known all my life. 0:24:26.400 --> 0:24:28.320 She used to take care of me in the nursery. 0:24:28.880 --> 0:24:31.760 I hadn't seen her in years, but I always knew 0:24:31.840 --> 0:24:34.920 that she prayed for me. Every time I would see 0:24:34.920 --> 0:24:37.639 her growing up, she would smile and say, Joel, you 0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:41.000 know I'm praying for you. I thought, yes, I know, 0:24:41.200 --> 0:24:43.960 You've told me four hundred times. I gave her a 0:24:43.960 --> 0:24:46.880 big hug. She said, Joel, I can't believe I ran 0:24:46.920 --> 0:24:49.520 into you. I was going to send you a note. 0:24:49.960 --> 0:24:52.760 When I was praying for you this morning, I heard 0:24:52.800 --> 0:24:55.520 God saying, whatever you're worried. 0:24:55.200 --> 0:24:59.320 About is going to be fine. The people the opposition 0:24:59.680 --> 0:25:02.959 is not going to last. When she said that, it 0:25:03.040 --> 0:25:05.919 was like a weight was lifted off of me. I 0:25:06.040 --> 0:25:07.040 walked away from. 0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:12.119 There, strong, confident, re energized. Two minutes earlier and I 0:25:12.119 --> 0:25:15.080 would have missed her two minutes later, she'd. 0:25:14.800 --> 0:25:16.080 Have been gone. 0:25:16.119 --> 0:25:19.439 God knows how to bring the Simons across your path, 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:22.679 people that will encourage you and help lift. 0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:23.160 You back up. 0:25:24.080 --> 0:25:27.720 Before Jesus was crucified, he went up a high mountain 0:25:28.119 --> 0:25:33.119 with Peter, James and John. Jesus' appearance changed. His face 0:25:33.240 --> 0:25:37.400 shined like the sun. His clothing became dazzling white. It's 0:25:37.480 --> 0:25:42.520 known as the Mount of Transfiguration. Suddenly Moses and Elijah 0:25:42.560 --> 0:25:44.960 appeared and started talking with Jesus. 0:25:45.480 --> 0:25:48.120 It's interesting that those two were chosen. 0:25:48.480 --> 0:25:53.040 There were other great heroes of faith, Abraham, David, Joseph. 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:56.600 Jesus was about to face all this hardship and suffering, 0:25:57.000 --> 0:26:00.000 go through things that were very difficult, things that could 0:26:00.200 --> 0:26:05.920 be overwhelming and exhausting. Maybe Elijah was there because, even 0:26:05.960 --> 0:26:09.160 though he had performed great miracles, even though he'd called 0:26:09.200 --> 0:26:12.520 down fire from heaven, raised a little boy from the dead, 0:26:13.080 --> 0:26:16.240 at one point he was too exhausted to carry on, 0:26:16.760 --> 0:26:20.280 too weary to move forward. Then God sent angels to 0:26:20.320 --> 0:26:24.800 strengthen him. I don't know what the conversation was, but 0:26:24.920 --> 0:26:29.600 maybe Elijah encouraged Jesus that God would give him special 0:26:29.680 --> 0:26:32.960 strength to make it through, that angels would be there 0:26:33.000 --> 0:26:37.800 to minister to him. Maybe Moses reminded Jesus how when 0:26:37.840 --> 0:26:40.560 he was too tired to hold up his hands, when 0:26:40.560 --> 0:26:43.840 he was fatigued and couldn't do it any longer. God 0:26:43.880 --> 0:26:47.080 sent people to hold his hands up for him to 0:26:47.200 --> 0:26:49.719 lift him when he fell, to help him carry the 0:26:49.760 --> 0:26:53.680 weight of the cross. Maybe God has you hearing this 0:26:54.000 --> 0:26:57.439 to remind you when you face these times where you 0:26:57.520 --> 0:27:01.320 feel fatigued, overwhelmed, like you don't have the strength to 0:27:01.400 --> 0:27:07.360 go on, That's okay. Jesus felt overwhelmed. Moses, Elijah, they 0:27:07.359 --> 0:27:08.120 didn't think they. 0:27:08.040 --> 0:27:08.600 Could go on. 0:27:09.280 --> 0:27:12.800 God is going to have angels to strengthen you. The 0:27:12.920 --> 0:27:15.880 right people are going to show up. God is not 0:27:15.920 --> 0:27:19.280 going to let you miss your destiny. He gives strength 0:27:19.400 --> 0:27:23.560 to the weary, not condemnation, Not why aren't you stronger? 0:27:24.119 --> 0:27:25.240 Take the pressure off. 0:27:25.680 --> 0:27:28.959 Even Jesus fell down under the weight of the cross. 0:27:29.440 --> 0:27:33.200 Sometimes your cross is too heavy to carry by yourself. 0:27:33.960 --> 0:27:37.200 Like Jesus, you may fall down, but God will always 0:27:37.240 --> 0:27:40.280 have a simon there, someone to help you carry it. 0:27:41.040 --> 0:27:43.040 Perhaps today you don't feel like. 0:27:43.040 --> 0:27:45.320 You have the strength to move forward, the. 0:27:45.280 --> 0:27:48.680 Strength to fight the illness, the strength to raise your children. 0:27:49.000 --> 0:27:52.000 Remember when you are weak, He is strong. 0:27:52.400 --> 0:27:56.520 Now. I believe, right now, God is breathing special strength 0:27:56.600 --> 0:28:00.480 into you. That burden that's weighed you down is being lifted. 0:28:00.800 --> 0:28:04.200 This is a turning point. God is re energizing you 0:28:04.560 --> 0:28:08.720 with fresh passion, fresh vision. You will run and not 0:28:08.920 --> 0:28:12.840 be weary. You will walk and not faint. Like Elijah. 0:28:12.960 --> 0:28:15.959 You're about to outrun some chariots. You're going to think, 0:28:16.000 --> 0:28:19.399 where did I get this energy, this power, this ability. 0:28:19.600 --> 0:28:21.960 It's God giving you special strength. 0:28:22.440 --> 0:28:26.760 I believe and declare you are strong, you are victorious, 0:28:27.000 --> 0:28:30.679 you are well able. You're going to accomplish dreams bigger 0:28:30.720 --> 0:28:35.680 than you imagine, overcome obstacles that looked insurmountable, and reach 0:28:35.800 --> 0:28:40.800 the fullness of your destiny. In Jesus's name, I'd like 0:28:40.840 --> 0:28:42.560 to give you an opportunity to. 0:28:42.560 --> 0:28:44.680 Make Jesus the Lord of your life. 0:28:44.920 --> 0:28:49.080 Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I 0:28:49.200 --> 0:28:52.160 repent of my sins. Come into my heart. 0:28:52.760 --> 0:28:54.920 I make you my Lord and savior. 0:28:55.800 --> 0:28:58.480 If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:28:58.520 --> 0:29:01.840 born again. We love to send you some free information 0:29:02.240 --> 0:29:04.240 on your new walk with the Lord. Just text the 0:29:04.320 --> 0:29:06.960 number on the screen, We'll get it to you. I 0:29:07.000 --> 0:29:10.080 hope you'll get into a good Bible based church and 0:29:10.200 --> 0:29:11.760 keep God first place. 0:29:14.960 --> 0:29:17.560 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:17.640 --> 0:29:20.440 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:20.480 --> 0:29:23.960 podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired all through the week. 0:29:24.120 --> 0:29:26.360 Help us to continue to share the message of hope 0:29:26.360 --> 0:29:29.800 with those all around the world. Visit Joelosting dot com 0:29:29.920 --> 0:29:32.520 or click the link in the description to partner with 0:29:32.600 --> 0:29:33.120 us today. 0:29:33.360 --> 0:29:35.840 We hope you'll share this message with a friend and 0:29:35.920 --> 0:29:37.880 be sure to follow us on social media. 0:29:38.160 --> 0:29:41.440 We're praying for you. 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