1
00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,680
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation

2
00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,160
Speaker 1: Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank

3
00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,520
Speaker 1: you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope

4
00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:12,600
Speaker 1: it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to

5
00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,440
Speaker 1: see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message.

6
00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,200
Speaker 1: And I've been waiting to ask you, are you ready

7
00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:25,320
Speaker 1: for the Word of God? Not be really ready? Why

8
00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,720
Speaker 1: are you ready? Come on, y'all better stretch for this word?

9
00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:36,760
Speaker 1: All right, quit banging on those bongos and let me preach.

10
00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:42,320
Speaker 1: First Kings, Chapter twenty. First Kings Chapter twenty remains standing

11
00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,560
Speaker 1: for the reading of God's word. It's good to see

12
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,560
Speaker 1: my niece Hattie with blonde hair. I barely recognized her. Wow,

13
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,520
Speaker 1: a lot has changed. I used to have blonde hair, Hattie.

14
00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,760
Speaker 1: Look it up. It's on Google. First Kings, Chapter twenty,

15
00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,520
Speaker 1: versus one through thirty four. You want to hurry today? Okay?

16
00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:07,280
Speaker 1: Are you hungry? Hungry for the bread of life, the

17
00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,920
Speaker 1: manna from heaven? I have food to eat that ye know,

18
00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:15,479
Speaker 1: not of Okay, King James, let's do it. One Kings

19
00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:20,840
Speaker 1: twenty verse one. Now ben Hadad, King of Aram, mustered

20
00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:26,479
Speaker 1: his entire army, accompanied by thirty two kings with their

21
00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:30,120
Speaker 1: horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria and

22
00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:34,320
Speaker 1: attacked it. He sent messengers into the city to Ahab,

23
00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,920
Speaker 1: King of Israel, saying, this is what Ben Hadad says.

24
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:44,560
Speaker 1: Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of

25
00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:50,120
Speaker 1: your wives and children are mine. And the king answered,

26
00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,840
Speaker 1: just as you say, my lord, the King, I and

27
00:01:55,040 --> 00:02:03,160
Speaker 1: all I have are yours. How are you going to

28
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:11,640
Speaker 1: give up that easy on what God gave you? I

29
00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,480
Speaker 1: and all that I have are yours. And the messengers

30
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,240
Speaker 1: came again and said, this is what ben Hadad says.

31
00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,320
Speaker 1: I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives,

32
00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,440
Speaker 1: and your children. But about this time tomorrow, I'm going

33
00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,240
Speaker 1: to send my officials to search your palace. In the

34
00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,080
Speaker 1: houses of your officials, they will seize everything you value

35
00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,240
Speaker 1: and carry it away. And the King of Israel summoned

36
00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,680
Speaker 1: all the elders of the land and said to them,

37
00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,280
Speaker 1: see how this man is looking for trouble. When he

38
00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,000
Speaker 1: sent for my wives and my children, my silver and

39
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,600
Speaker 1: my gold, I did not refuse him. Let's key in

40
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: on these next verses. The elders and the people all

41
00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:55,800
Speaker 1: answered don't listen to him or agree to his demands.

42
00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,600
Speaker 1: So he replied to ben Hadad's messengers, tell my Lord

43
00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,519
Speaker 1: the King, your servant will do all you demand it

44
00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:07,480
Speaker 1: the first time, but this demand I cannot meet. And

45
00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:12,400
Speaker 1: they left and took the answer back to Benidad. They

46
00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,760
Speaker 1: left and took the answer back to Benadad. This demand

47
00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:22,920
Speaker 1: I cannot meet. Don't listen to him or agree to

48
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,360
Speaker 1: his demands. Now that that scripture was probably unfamiliar to

49
00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,080
Speaker 1: most of you, how many you never heard that one before?

50
00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,160
Speaker 1: Don't remember hearing it? We can't start my first Sunday

51
00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,480
Speaker 1: back with y'all, lion right here in church. Come on,

52
00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,160
Speaker 1: how many of y'all like I don't really know much

53
00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,520
Speaker 1: about Benadad. I'm gonna balance. I'm gonna balance this and

54
00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,000
Speaker 1: give you a familiar scripture, and then we'll preach. But

55
00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:50,360
Speaker 1: look real quick at Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four,

56
00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:56,440
Speaker 1: verse six. Do not be anxious about anything, but in

57
00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:03,720
Speaker 1: every situation, by prayer, petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests

58
00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:09,680
Speaker 1: to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

59
00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:16,880
Speaker 1: will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

60
00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:23,120
Speaker 1: So for the next few minutes, let's talk about the

61
00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:30,159
Speaker 1: guided mind and the guarded heart. And in case that's

62
00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:36,520
Speaker 1: too pretty, here's the other title. Take it back. Take

63
00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,960
Speaker 1: it back, Father, I thank you for this day of deliverance.

64
00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,880
Speaker 1: Do what you said you would do. In Jesus' name, Amen,

65
00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:47,760
Speaker 1: on your way to your seat, punch your neighbor gently

66
00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,960
Speaker 1: if they are not COVID conscious, and say, take it back.

67
00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,000
Speaker 1: We need to get a new Touch your neighbor, Oh,

68
00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:05,360
Speaker 1: touch your neighbors. Take it back. So I want to

69
00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,640
Speaker 1: make a confession to you. This is one of my

70
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,520
Speaker 1: friends advised me not to share this. I'm gonna share

71
00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,760
Speaker 1: it anyway. About ten years ago, I went to have

72
00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:20,280
Speaker 1: a consultation for liposuction. Buck went with me. This is

73
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:24,599
Speaker 1: not an endorsement or a negative publicity against cosmetic surgery

74
00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,120
Speaker 1: in any way. But I went to get an endorsement

75
00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,240
Speaker 1: for what do you call it? A consultation to see

76
00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:35,560
Speaker 1: if the doctor thought I should do liposuction. I didn't

77
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,719
Speaker 1: do it. He talked me out of it. And the

78
00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:42,719
Speaker 1: reason I went is because I want to have abs

79
00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,480
Speaker 1: and I like fried rice, So that's why I went.

80
00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:50,599
Speaker 1: That's what I told him. So when he heard me talking,

81
00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:55,560
Speaker 1: he said, oh, you're one of these guys, And I

82
00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:57,320
Speaker 1: said one of what guys? And Buck was there, so

83
00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:01,599
Speaker 1: he was there with me. He said, these guys you

84
00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:06,680
Speaker 1: just want to You want me to fix the fat, right,

85
00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,720
Speaker 1: but you still want to eat the food, he basically,

86
00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,320
Speaker 1: And I think the guy had a lot of integrity

87
00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,440
Speaker 1: because he said, get out of here. He said, come

88
00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,960
Speaker 1: see me after you've changed your processes. Come see me

89
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,320
Speaker 1: after you've changed some things, you know, maybe your diet,

90
00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,120
Speaker 1: you're exercising all that. Then if you still he said,

91
00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,920
Speaker 1: but but don't come to me asking me to fix

92
00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:36,000
Speaker 1: what you are unwilling to change. So I left and

93
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,839
Speaker 1: I didn't do it, and I still haven't done it

94
00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:39,240
Speaker 1: to this day, but I might one day. I don't

95
00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,680
Speaker 1: know making any commitments like that. What I've noticed a

96
00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:49,800
Speaker 1: lot of times spiritually is that we bring God our problems,

97
00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:52,680
Speaker 1: and that's good. I want you to know you can

98
00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,919
Speaker 1: bring any problem that you ever have into the presence

99
00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:02,719
Speaker 1: of God. Your problems are welcome in God's presence. You

100
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:04,799
Speaker 1: might as well bring him into the presence of God.

101
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,720
Speaker 1: It's not like he doesn't know about them anyway. My

102
00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:14,160
Speaker 1: problems are welcome in God's presence. And that helps me

103
00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,280
Speaker 1: to know that there's nothing that I'm dealing with that

104
00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:18,480
Speaker 1: I have to carry by myself. I don't get extra

105
00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:23,000
Speaker 1: credit for holding it to myself. When I come to God,

106
00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,560
Speaker 1: I can start talking about you know, like Paul said

107
00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:30,400
Speaker 1: in Philippians chapter four, anything he said, don't be anxious,

108
00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:35,000
Speaker 1: but instead pray. And I'm so grateful that there's nothing

109
00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,320
Speaker 1: that I have to hide from God. I can bring

110
00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,280
Speaker 1: him any problem that I have, not just a big

111
00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,160
Speaker 1: one but a small one. Not just a small one,

112
00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,240
Speaker 1: but a big one. God doesn't have a scale where

113
00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,320
Speaker 1: he weighs my problems and says that's too big. I'm busy.

114
00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:53,640
Speaker 1: And on the other hand, God doesn't have a must

115
00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:55,680
Speaker 1: be this tall to ride sign in his presence where

116
00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,840
Speaker 1: he says, if your problem isn't a certain amount, I'm

117
00:07:57,880 --> 00:07:59,680
Speaker 1: not concerned with it, because He's number the hairs on

118
00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,480
Speaker 1: my head. He cares about what I care about. But

119
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:05,880
Speaker 1: lately I felt the Lord challenging me. And I'm want

120
00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,120
Speaker 1: to start this teaching with you today and this will

121
00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,680
Speaker 1: just really be the beginning of it. But God's been

122
00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:17,320
Speaker 1: challenging me instead of always just bringing me your problems,

123
00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,280
Speaker 1: which you're always welcome to do. Why don't you start

124
00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:30,120
Speaker 1: bringing me your thoughts instead of coming to me, you know,

125
00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,560
Speaker 1: like in an emotional state where you're all worked up

126
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:35,959
Speaker 1: and you're so depressed, and you're so anxious and all

127
00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:37,920
Speaker 1: these other things that I know I'm not supposed to be,

128
00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,920
Speaker 1: but I get there and then asking God, will you

129
00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:46,240
Speaker 1: please suck it out? It's been a while. Have y'all

130
00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,000
Speaker 1: prayed any prayers lately? God? Would you please suck this

131
00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,959
Speaker 1: out of me? Have you ever come to the Lord

132
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,120
Speaker 1: for light? Bo is what I'm trying to say, where

133
00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:01,199
Speaker 1: I'm asking God to deal with the consequences, and that's fine,

134
00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:03,600
Speaker 1: and I would not discourage you from that. There's nothing

135
00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,120
Speaker 1: that you've brought in here today that God hasn't seen before.

136
00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,880
Speaker 1: Please don't ever be arrogant enough to think that you

137
00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,520
Speaker 1: have created a new category or species of sin that

138
00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,160
Speaker 1: God is somehow going to be repulsed or surprised by.

139
00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:18,959
Speaker 1: And please don't ever think that you're going to bring

140
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,480
Speaker 1: God something that he would be intimidated or insulted by.

141
00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,120
Speaker 1: At the same time, wouldn't you like to find out

142
00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,600
Speaker 1: what it would be like that instead of letting the

143
00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,880
Speaker 1: problem get to the point where it's so tangled up

144
00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:34,840
Speaker 1: inside of you that you have to bring it to

145
00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,520
Speaker 1: God as a full grown problem. What if you started

146
00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:44,360
Speaker 1: involving God earlier in the process, at the level of

147
00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:49,640
Speaker 1: your thought. When I read you the scripture from One

148
00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,360
Speaker 1: Kings twenty, it was a surprising scripture for me that

149
00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,600
Speaker 1: God led me to to preach, because the main character

150
00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,760
Speaker 1: in the passage is not King David, or you know,

151
00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:03,920
Speaker 1: Man after God's own heart, or Moses who was no

152
00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:09,160
Speaker 1: ordinary child, but a king that we don't preach much

153
00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,520
Speaker 1: about named Ahab. Now, the only time you ever hear

154
00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:16,280
Speaker 1: Ahab's name is in connection with the problem that he caused.

155
00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,360
Speaker 1: And AaB caused a lot of problems in fact, for

156
00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,040
Speaker 1: any of you who feel like you're too bad for

157
00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,480
Speaker 1: God to bless you, or you can't like really give

158
00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:26,840
Speaker 1: what God has for you. The Bible says in One

159
00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,360
Speaker 1: King sixteen that Ahab was the most wicked king who

160
00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:35,000
Speaker 1: ever lived, all right, So that's who we're talking about.

161
00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,000
Speaker 1: And the Bible says that thirty two kings came to

162
00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,280
Speaker 1: attack him, a confederacy of thirty two different kings led

163
00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,040
Speaker 1: by ben Hadad, who AaB fought three different times and

164
00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,800
Speaker 1: I'm just giving you all this background to remind you

165
00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:54,240
Speaker 1: that Ahab, in One Kings Chapter twenty, the king who

166
00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:59,960
Speaker 1: needed for God to do something. Let me read it again.

167
00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,800
Speaker 1: Isn't it crazy? I just read it again that the

168
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:18,480
Speaker 1: king of Israel, the nation that belonged to God, didn't

169
00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:25,880
Speaker 1: even ask for God's perspective before he agreed to the

170
00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:32,160
Speaker 1: enemy's demands. If you notice, there is no section in

171
00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:36,080
Speaker 1: this scripture that Ahab stops and calls for a prophet.

172
00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,360
Speaker 1: There is no section in the scripture that I read

173
00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,480
Speaker 1: you that Ahab stops and says, well, let's see what

174
00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,640
Speaker 1: the Lord says about this. There is no there is

175
00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:52,280
Speaker 1: no indication see aep I hate Ab because he caused

176
00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,880
Speaker 1: all this trouble for the nation and then wanted to

177
00:11:55,880 --> 00:12:00,360
Speaker 1: blame the enemy for an agreement that he him elf

178
00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:05,480
Speaker 1: made with the enemy. How many times in my life,

179
00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:10,280
Speaker 1: in your life, have we asked God to deliver us

180
00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:14,200
Speaker 1: from an agreement that we made with the enemy without

181
00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:22,240
Speaker 1: consulting him. Oh, you're one of those kinds. The life

182
00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,280
Speaker 1: of suction doctor said to me, you just want me

183
00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:27,480
Speaker 1: to suck it out. You just want to bring me

184
00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,360
Speaker 1: the results of your habits and have me fix them

185
00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:36,440
Speaker 1: without adjusting any of them. AaB is so quick to

186
00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:41,560
Speaker 1: agree with the enemy. I wonder how many times in

187
00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:48,040
Speaker 1: your life have you agreed with the enemy without even

188
00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,920
Speaker 1: consulting God. You know what I mean by agreed with

189
00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,720
Speaker 1: the enemy. It comes along in the form of anxiety.

190
00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,400
Speaker 1: I'm not one of these people who wakes up to

191
00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:06,560
Speaker 1: my first alarm clock. In fact, my default disposition in

192
00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:13,040
Speaker 1: the morning is despair and discouragement. Holly, that's too loud

193
00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:14,360
Speaker 1: of a laugh, and you just keep it down on

194
00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:18,760
Speaker 1: that front. Row my default position. And so in some

195
00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,920
Speaker 1: ways the verse I read you in Philippians. I know

196
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,120
Speaker 1: you don't think these two scriptures go together, but I'm

197
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,160
Speaker 1: going to show you how they do. Because Philippians four

198
00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,280
Speaker 1: six to someone like me is just about the most

199
00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,280
Speaker 1: annoying Bible verse in the Bible, where Paul says, don't

200
00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,120
Speaker 1: be anxious about anything. And I want to file that.

201
00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,560
Speaker 1: My first instinct is I want to file that in

202
00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:43,440
Speaker 1: the court of useless advice. And I also want to

203
00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,520
Speaker 1: argue with Paul because his kids didn't have Snapchat, and

204
00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:49,840
Speaker 1: so when he's telling me don't be anxious about anything,

205
00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:51,800
Speaker 1: he didn't even have kids, So how are you going

206
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,480
Speaker 1: to sit here and advise me on a situation that

207
00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,040
Speaker 1: you never had firsthand experience of. And I want to

208
00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:02,600
Speaker 1: argue with Paul, don't be anxious about anything, because to me,

209
00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:09,600
Speaker 1: at first it seems like an impossible demand. So then

210
00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,800
Speaker 1: he says something else. He says, but in every situation,

211
00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:18,440
Speaker 1: by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

212
00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,640
Speaker 1: Do not be anxious about anything. But in every situation,

213
00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,680
Speaker 1: by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. Now,

214
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,640
Speaker 1: this is the end of a letter that Paul wrote

215
00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:29,720
Speaker 1: to the Philippian church. This is not the first thing

216
00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:31,800
Speaker 1: that he said to them. This is not your annoying

217
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,480
Speaker 1: friend that gives you unsolicited advice. This is a church

218
00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,800
Speaker 1: that he had a great relationship with. This is in

219
00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,080
Speaker 1: a time of his own imprisonment where he has more

220
00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,120
Speaker 1: to worry about than they have to worry about. And

221
00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,320
Speaker 1: when we see the word anxious, I know you can't

222
00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,280
Speaker 1: relate to this. But a few people in the church

223
00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:52,000
Speaker 1: have had more anxiety in the past year than they

224
00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,040
Speaker 1: ever had before. There's a few people in the church,

225
00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,720
Speaker 1: just a few dirty sinners. And what the to me?

226
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:05,400
Speaker 1: Over the course of the pandemic is very interesting. It's

227
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:11,320
Speaker 1: almost by getting me to indulge in the little thoughts

228
00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,040
Speaker 1: I noticed that he had. He had, he had tempted

229
00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,240
Speaker 1: me to make agreements that I didn't even know that

230
00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:27,120
Speaker 1: I made. That almost that almost caused me to give

231
00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:33,320
Speaker 1: up what God gave me, an agreement with the enemy.

232
00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,040
Speaker 1: So Ahab has a wife named Jezebel, and she has

233
00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,280
Speaker 1: taught him to depend on idols. She is a Phoenician woman.

234
00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,640
Speaker 1: She does not serve the God of Israel. She has

235
00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,200
Speaker 1: taught them to serve the rain god. Bail the rain God.

236
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,600
Speaker 1: But he has just been proven false on a mountain

237
00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,760
Speaker 1: called Mount Carmel under a prophet named Elijah. And now

238
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,280
Speaker 1: after a state of famine, the nation is weakened, and

239
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,240
Speaker 1: so Benedad makes a strategy. I will attack them while

240
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,480
Speaker 1: they are still week from the famine. And it's not

241
00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:04,920
Speaker 1: just one enemy that you got to worry about. The

242
00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,080
Speaker 1: Bible says that he went and got thirty two other kings.

243
00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,560
Speaker 1: Because you need to know before you agree with the enemy.

244
00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:18,000
Speaker 1: He always brings company that you didn't count on an

245
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:23,480
Speaker 1: agreement with the enemy. Have you made any agreements with

246
00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:30,560
Speaker 1: the enemy that need to be broken? Today before you

247
00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:36,200
Speaker 1: can move forward into the promise that God has for

248
00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:44,240
Speaker 1: your life, do not be anxious about anything. I don't

249
00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:49,680
Speaker 1: like that verse because frankly, I like my anxiety, and

250
00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,000
Speaker 1: I'm not talking about as a medical condition. You know,

251
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,080
Speaker 1: terms get so culturally loaded. They mean different things to

252
00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,000
Speaker 1: different people. I am not telling you not to consult

253
00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,440
Speaker 1: a professional. That is not the point of this sermon.

254
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:05,960
Speaker 1: But many of us have made an alliance with anxiety

255
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,520
Speaker 1: somewhere deep in our hearts, and we have actually grown

256
00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:16,120
Speaker 1: so accustomed to our anxiety that it now feels normal

257
00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,879
Speaker 1: to us, and peace feels foreign. And so now you

258
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,080
Speaker 1: get used to just waking up feeling weird all the time,

259
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,320
Speaker 1: and now you get used to feeling on edge all

260
00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:28,600
Speaker 1: the time, and you begin to think that it is

261
00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:34,239
Speaker 1: normal because it's all that you've ever seen. And I

262
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,040
Speaker 1: love what the elders said to Ahab. This is what

263
00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:39,600
Speaker 1: I believe the spirit of God is saying to somebody today,

264
00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,719
Speaker 1: and it's the message God gave me. Do not listen

265
00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:52,080
Speaker 1: to your enemy or agree to his demands. Just because

266
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:56,399
Speaker 1: my enemy speaks something doesn't mean I have to agree

267
00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:03,080
Speaker 1: with it. After all, it is not the voice you

268
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:07,640
Speaker 1: hear that determines the life you end up with. It's

269
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:13,280
Speaker 1: the voice you believe, and before the enemy can get

270
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:15,879
Speaker 1: you to agree with it, he has to get you

271
00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,000
Speaker 1: to believe it. So in order to get you to

272
00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:22,520
Speaker 1: believe it, he'll get somebody to say it. And how

273
00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:26,520
Speaker 1: many have found out you cannot believe everything you hear?

274
00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:31,440
Speaker 1: Not these days, I was reading the list of things

275
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,240
Speaker 1: that Paul said that we should think about, because he's

276
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,439
Speaker 1: trying to give us a new perspective. You have to

277
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,919
Speaker 1: believe everything that crosses through your mind. You have to

278
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,880
Speaker 1: accept everything that comes across your heart. He said, don't

279
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:46,720
Speaker 1: be anxious about anything, but pray about everything. Now he says,

280
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:48,760
Speaker 1: there are some things we should think about verse eight.

281
00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,399
Speaker 1: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever

282
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:54,879
Speaker 1: is pure, whatever is lovely. But see, I stopped at

283
00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,760
Speaker 1: part one when he said, finally, brothers and sisters, whatever

284
00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,800
Speaker 1: is true, think about such things, because I wondered, how

285
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:06,000
Speaker 1: do I even know anymore what that is? How do

286
00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:11,960
Speaker 1: I even know what is true? How can I possibly know?

287
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:20,680
Speaker 1: In this culture of headlines and highlights. Now you don't

288
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,960
Speaker 1: even just believe the headline. You believe the retweet of

289
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,919
Speaker 1: the retweet of the retweet of the retweet. How do

290
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,960
Speaker 1: I even know what is true anymore? How do I

291
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:37,440
Speaker 1: even know? Because if I make an agreement with the enemy.

292
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,560
Speaker 1: That's why I was excited about uth X. I think

293
00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:47,320
Speaker 1: that if we can undo some of the untruths and

294
00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:56,320
Speaker 1: keep our young people from making some agreements with the enemy. Now,

295
00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,760
Speaker 1: this is what I'm praying. This is what I'm praying,

296
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,280
Speaker 1: not only for this week, but I'm praying this for

297
00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:04,720
Speaker 1: my kids all the time. You'll know I've got a

298
00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,959
Speaker 1: good prayer life because I've got three children that are

299
00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,159
Speaker 1: still living in my house. You'll know I got a

300
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,679
Speaker 1: good prayer life because one of them as his driver's permit.

301
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,919
Speaker 1: You'll know I got a good prayer life because I

302
00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,120
Speaker 1: have a beautiful ten year old daughter. And oh, I'm

303
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:23,120
Speaker 1: praying every day. Don't let my daughter, don't let my sons,

304
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:33,119
Speaker 1: don't let me make agreements with the enemy. Don't let

305
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,720
Speaker 1: me make an agreement with the enemy. You know, sometimes

306
00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,880
Speaker 1: you get in this self pity mode and you kind

307
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:41,680
Speaker 1: of go with it and you start thinking, oh, I'm

308
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,760
Speaker 1: just worthless, I'm just this, I'm just that, I'm just

309
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:45,399
Speaker 1: the other. You know why you do that, because it

310
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:50,840
Speaker 1: takes the pressure off for a minute. You know why

311
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,720
Speaker 1: Ahab gave up his silver and his gold, and the

312
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:59,320
Speaker 1: Bible said his best wives not you can have the

313
00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:01,399
Speaker 1: other ones, but Lord, let me keep the best ones.

314
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:04,360
Speaker 1: I'm gonna take your silver and your gold, and I'm

315
00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,240
Speaker 1: gonna take your best wives and your best kids. In

316
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,080
Speaker 1: other words, I'm attack the land. They have said, okay,

317
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,800
Speaker 1: because if I agree with you, maybe you won't attack me.

318
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:20,840
Speaker 1: So sometimes we find ways to make the attack stop

319
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,840
Speaker 1: that actually make the battle worse and weaken us on

320
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:31,560
Speaker 1: the inside after the fact. This is the root of addiction. Oh,

321
00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:33,600
Speaker 1: I was praying for our kids when y'all were standing

322
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,480
Speaker 1: up earlier. I was praying, God, don't let them make

323
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:41,600
Speaker 1: an alliance with something early in their life. Don't let

324
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,440
Speaker 1: them make an agreement with something. Some of us make

325
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,359
Speaker 1: agreements with things that provide us with temporary relief. But

326
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:53,000
Speaker 1: they are false gods. They cannot save, they do not

327
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,760
Speaker 1: serve us, they do not satisfy us. They are broken

328
00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:03,520
Speaker 1: cisterns that cannot hold water. So if we're going to

329
00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,920
Speaker 1: preach about anything, if we're going to preach about repentance

330
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,600
Speaker 1: from sin and dead works, we have to first understand

331
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,640
Speaker 1: that before the problem, this is my sermon, before the

332
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,679
Speaker 1: promise of God can be received, your agreement with the

333
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:27,160
Speaker 1: enemy has to be broken. And there are things there

334
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,680
Speaker 1: are things about you that are not true, that are

335
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:34,240
Speaker 1: not right, that are not noble, that are not good,

336
00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,760
Speaker 1: report that are not virtuous, that are not praiseworthy, that

337
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:42,240
Speaker 1: you have begun to believe, because sometimes it is easier

338
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,399
Speaker 1: to believe the lie that looks like the evidence I

339
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:51,640
Speaker 1: can see, then believe the truth that is new. And

340
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,760
Speaker 1: it's easier for me to bring God my love handles

341
00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:02,240
Speaker 1: and ask him to suck them out. Have you ever

342
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:04,520
Speaker 1: crawled up in the presence of God when it's so

343
00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:08,640
Speaker 1: bad that you can't even hardly pray anymore? After you've

344
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:15,880
Speaker 1: been fifteen rounds with Oh God? And I've had God

345
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,720
Speaker 1: help me in those times. To be honest with you,

346
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,120
Speaker 1: I wouldn't bear if he didn't help me in those times.

347
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,760
Speaker 1: So there's nothing wrong with that. But I heard the

348
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,199
Speaker 1: Lord say to me the other day, this would have

349
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:34,040
Speaker 1: been easier if you'd have brought it to me earlier. Listen,

350
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,639
Speaker 1: it starts before you see it. Say that out loud.

351
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 1: It starts before you see it again. It starts before

352
00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,480
Speaker 1: you see it. That's true for a leak in your roof,

353
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,639
Speaker 1: that is true for an emotional state. I was so,

354
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:55,120
Speaker 1: I was so obsessed with Paul's instruction to the Philippians.

355
00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,760
Speaker 1: He said, the peace of God will guard your heart

356
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:00,840
Speaker 1: and your mind. In Christ, he says, look at this

357
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,159
Speaker 1: in verse seven, and the peace of God. So I

358
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,160
Speaker 1: want the peace of God. God, give me your peace.

359
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,399
Speaker 1: I'm so stressed out, I'm so anxious. I don't know

360
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,160
Speaker 1: what to do about it. And he said, well, if

361
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:17,240
Speaker 1: you don't guide your mind, it's impossible for God's peace

362
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:21,840
Speaker 1: to guard your heart. How many know your mind needs

363
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,439
Speaker 1: to be guided. Oh? Let me, Oh, I need to

364
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:30,160
Speaker 1: break it to you. Your mind needs guidance. Your mind

365
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:35,440
Speaker 1: is an undisciplined, rabid dog that will bite the whole neighborhood. God,

366
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,399
Speaker 1: your mind needs guidance. That powerful computer of your mind,

367
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:46,320
Speaker 1: that mind needs guidance. Elon Musk didn't make a self

368
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 1: driving mind yet, y'all. I don't think there's one coming

369
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:56,680
Speaker 1: on the market. So if I'm going to bring God

370
00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:03,359
Speaker 1: into my problems but not bring him into my process,

371
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:10,560
Speaker 1: what's what's going to happen? Every single time? When the

372
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:15,000
Speaker 1: King said to the enemy ben Adad, I can't meet

373
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:19,719
Speaker 1: these demands. The Lord gave a promise in verse thirteen.

374
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,479
Speaker 1: Listen to this. This is Firse King's twenty thirteen. A

375
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:27,360
Speaker 1: prophet came to Ahab, King of Israel, and announced, this

376
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 1: is what the Lord says. Whoo, this is what the

377
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:36,879
Speaker 1: Lord says. I'm supposed to read what comes next, but

378
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:41,840
Speaker 1: that's where I'm stuck. This is what the Lord says.

379
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 1: Everybody say it. This is what the Lord says. What

380
00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:50,880
Speaker 1: did I come to church to hear what the Lord says?

381
00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 1: What do I want to fill my heart with? What

382
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,280
Speaker 1: the Lord says? What do I want my kids to believe?

383
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,520
Speaker 1: What the Lord says? What am I building my life

384
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,359
Speaker 1: on that can't be shaken with a storm? What the

385
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:06,280
Speaker 1: Lord says? What has the power to defeat and uproot

386
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,040
Speaker 1: every lie? I believe? What the Lord says? What am

387
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,760
Speaker 1: I steering my life according to what the Lord says?

388
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,960
Speaker 1: What has the final say over what happens to me

389
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,680
Speaker 1: in this season of my life? What the Lord says?

390
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:25,960
Speaker 1: What has divine power to demolish strongholds and defeat every

391
00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,720
Speaker 1: devil in hell? What the Lord says? This is what

392
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,720
Speaker 1: the Lord says, I heard what you said, Nadadh. But

393
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,880
Speaker 1: this is what the Lord says. Do you see this

394
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:42,600
Speaker 1: vast army. Do you see these problems? Do you see

395
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 1: this situation? This is what the Lord says. I will

396
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:54,080
Speaker 1: give it into your hand today. Then you will know.

397
00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:00,240
Speaker 1: I am the Lord. Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply

398
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,639
Speaker 1: to me. I'm divorced, Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply

399
00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 1: to me. I'm twelve, Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply

400
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,960
Speaker 1: to me. I got a learning disability, Well Pastor Steve.

401
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,280
Speaker 1: That doesn't apply to me. I got an eating disorder,

402
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,480
Speaker 1: Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply to me. I don't

403
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,919
Speaker 1: have any friends, Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply to me.

404
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,840
Speaker 1: I got a ge d. If God did it for

405
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:32,680
Speaker 1: Ahab him sure enough to do it for me. I

406
00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:45,199
Speaker 1: amn this child, Do it for me, Lauren. Do it

407
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 1: for me, Lauren. I have been carrying the burdens of

408
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:59,280
Speaker 1: battles that my decisions created. I have been anxious about

409
00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:06,600
Speaker 1: agreement that I made with the enemy. But the Lord said,

410
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:12,160
Speaker 1: I'm gonna I'm gonna deliver them into your hands today.

411
00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:23,479
Speaker 1: Then you will know. Then you will know, and the

412
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:30,240
Speaker 1: peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your

413
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,680
Speaker 1: heart and mine. Wait a minute, what's the difference heart

414
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:38,680
Speaker 1: and mine? Heart and mind? The heart is the emotions.

415
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:45,200
Speaker 1: The mind is the thought process. And I can't pray

416
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:50,400
Speaker 1: my way out of emotional states that my thinking cost.

417
00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,440
Speaker 1: Y'all didn't shout too good over that heart. Sit down,

418
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:07,160
Speaker 1: We're still we're still just getting started. I'm not very

419
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,479
Speaker 1: I'm not very good at vacation. I don't know how

420
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:17,320
Speaker 1: you can be bad at vacation, but I am. Usually

421
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,320
Speaker 1: I'm too lazy to do anything fun with my kids

422
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:30,520
Speaker 1: and make any memories. But then sometimes when I try stuff,

423
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:34,120
Speaker 1: it just goes horribly wrong. In fact, every time I

424
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:36,160
Speaker 1: try to do something a little interest, it goes wrong.

425
00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,360
Speaker 1: We were talking this summer. We went to the beach

426
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,640
Speaker 1: this summer, and and they've had kayaks that you can

427
00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,800
Speaker 1: ride in the ocean. But it's different. When Holly gets

428
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,240
Speaker 1: in the kayak, it's peaceful. When I get into kayak,

429
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:54,240
Speaker 1: it's cursed. And there's three three times we got in

430
00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,520
Speaker 1: the kayak that it went bad all in one week

431
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,800
Speaker 1: last summer. I didn't get into kayak this summer. It's

432
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,200
Speaker 1: this cursed when I get in one of the times

433
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 1: that the kayak had ended with a man with scissors

434
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:07,640
Speaker 1: pointing them at me, telling me he was going to

435
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,360
Speaker 1: stab me with the scissors. And that happened. That happened,

436
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,360
Speaker 1: and we don't have time to talk about that, and

437
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:13,760
Speaker 1: I don't really want to talk about it. It's a

438
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:19,360
Speaker 1: horrible memory. But even when I'm not in the kayak,

439
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:21,720
Speaker 1: listen how bad I am. Listen how bad I am

440
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:28,080
Speaker 1: at adventures. We swam in the ocean two summers ago,

441
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,360
Speaker 1: and I think I told you all this story where

442
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,560
Speaker 1: the rip title. Yeah, I told you that, But it's

443
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:37,200
Speaker 1: a conversation that I had with Elijah that I wanted

444
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,520
Speaker 1: to say to you. And maybe I'll say more about

445
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 1: this at Youth Thanks, because they're gonna let me preach

446
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:43,640
Speaker 1: a session too, and I might have talk more about this.

447
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:49,680
Speaker 1: I said, Elijah, You've got to be so careful how

448
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:53,959
Speaker 1: far you swim out from me, because even if I

449
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:58,160
Speaker 1: want to get to you out there, there is a

450
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:02,120
Speaker 1: place that you can get so far away from me.

451
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,000
Speaker 1: I'm your dad, I'm your father. If I could get

452
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 1: to you, I'll get to you. But in this particular instance,

453
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,480
Speaker 1: the undertow was so bad I had Abby on one arm,

454
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,400
Speaker 1: and Graham was hanging on the other. And they weren't

455
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,360
Speaker 1: care if I lived or died. They were just using

456
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,440
Speaker 1: me to get out as an object. And I said,

457
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,760
Speaker 1: if you get too far out, it won't be about

458
00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,680
Speaker 1: whether I want to come get you. There is such

459
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:27,960
Speaker 1: a thing, and I used it to parallel to them,

460
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,520
Speaker 1: not just the water. But I just talked about in

461
00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,920
Speaker 1: your teenage years, in your decisions, there is a place

462
00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:43,840
Speaker 1: where you can get far enough out. Now. I'm not

463
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,120
Speaker 1: saying God's love can't reach you wherever you are, especially

464
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:47,480
Speaker 1: for y'all in the back, how y'all doing. I'm not

465
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:52,400
Speaker 1: saying you're too far away for the Lord. But what

466
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,720
Speaker 1: I'm saying is you can't make an agreement with the

467
00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,200
Speaker 1: enemy in your soul and then ask for peace in

468
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:04,200
Speaker 1: your life. If you do, it's going to be cyclical,

469
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,120
Speaker 1: and you're just going to keep bringing your problems to

470
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:10,400
Speaker 1: God over and over again and he'll accept them. But

471
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,360
Speaker 1: the Lord has been asking me, do you always want

472
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,800
Speaker 1: to be bringing me your problems or do you want

473
00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:26,680
Speaker 1: to bring me your thoughts before they become problems? So

474
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:30,320
Speaker 1: I think we have to decide will we be willing

475
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,600
Speaker 1: to let God guide our minds, so that is peace

476
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,360
Speaker 1: can guard our hearts. And the term is a military term.

477
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,640
Speaker 1: It's a great, amazing picture that Paul gives. It's a

478
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,520
Speaker 1: military term. Is talking about a detachment that God will

479
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:44,640
Speaker 1: set up at your heart, the peace of God. There

480
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,920
Speaker 1: are two things mentioned in Philippians chapter four. You may

481
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,040
Speaker 1: not notice them on the surface, but they're both right there.

482
00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:50,880
Speaker 1: One is the peace of God and one is the

483
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:56,080
Speaker 1: God of Peace. In Philippians four seven, it says, in

484
00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,040
Speaker 1: the peace of God which passes all understanding. And every

485
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,520
Speaker 1: time I call someone who's going through something that you

486
00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:03,560
Speaker 1: can't imagine or can't figure out how to deal with,

487
00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,400
Speaker 1: or you can't counsel, the standard thing that I will

488
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,560
Speaker 1: pray for them is God, And I pray that your

489
00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:12,600
Speaker 1: peace that passes all understanding will guard your heart of mind.

490
00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,040
Speaker 1: Because you know, when you're calling someone who lost their

491
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:17,960
Speaker 1: child as a pastor, or when you're calling somebody who

492
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:19,840
Speaker 1: is in the fight of their life and dealing with

493
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,880
Speaker 1: things that you know they didn't cause for themselves, it's

494
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 1: no good for you to try to explain it to them.

495
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,040
Speaker 1: So I'll just pray that the peace of God that

496
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 1: passes all understanding would guard their heart and their mind

497
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:36,760
Speaker 1: in Christ. But some of the agreements that you make

498
00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 1: with the enemy, instead of keeping out anxiety, peace of

499
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 1: God wants to keep out anxiety. But sometimes your agreements

500
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:50,040
Speaker 1: with the enemy keep out the peace of God. You

501
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,760
Speaker 1: know when I tell myself I'm not worthy. In psychological terms,

502
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,720
Speaker 1: they talk about rumination, and a lot of us we

503
00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:01,720
Speaker 1: think that we're overthinking things. We're really under thinking things.

504
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:04,840
Speaker 1: We're just thinking the same thing over and over at

505
00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,600
Speaker 1: the same level. Never involve God. Just give the enemy

506
00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:09,920
Speaker 1: whatever he wants. Just give him our mind. Just believe

507
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:15,320
Speaker 1: anything that goes through our mind. Right, But the peace

508
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,439
Speaker 1: of God will set up a guard at your heart.

509
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:23,480
Speaker 1: That's your emotions if you guide your mind. And that's

510
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:28,520
Speaker 1: why he says there's power and prayer. I don't. I

511
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:33,320
Speaker 1: don't pray like I like I could, like I should.

512
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:36,640
Speaker 1: Sometimes I don't pray till the pressure gets so bad

513
00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:39,680
Speaker 1: I feel like I'm about to explode, And the Lord's like,

514
00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:41,440
Speaker 1: are you Are you done with that? Now? You want

515
00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,279
Speaker 1: to come on over here? And if you drag that

516
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:47,680
Speaker 1: far enough across the floor, you've got low enough now.

517
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:49,320
Speaker 1: But what if you don't have to wait till it

518
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:55,840
Speaker 1: gets to that point. Lord, keep me from doing something

519
00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:59,040
Speaker 1: crazy in the next five minutes. It's gonna take me

520
00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,360
Speaker 1: the next five years to what if you prayed that?

521
00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:08,359
Speaker 1: What if we prayed about What if you involved God

522
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:13,719
Speaker 1: earlier in the process, like before it goes all the

523
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:16,080
Speaker 1: way to level ten? What if God wanted to meet

524
00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:19,640
Speaker 1: you at two? Oh, this is slipping a little off tray.

525
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,720
Speaker 1: Like if you drove your car like you guided your mind,

526
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:27,320
Speaker 1: you being a ditch. Just let go of the wheel

527
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,680
Speaker 1: until the last minute. You're steering into a semi Now

528
00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:33,320
Speaker 1: you want to drive, but we do it with our souls.

529
00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:39,240
Speaker 1: We wait until let's see exact last minute. Oh, God,

530
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,319
Speaker 1: deliver me from the decisions that I've made all week.

531
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:45,440
Speaker 1: You no, I'm serious, y'all. Do me like that in

532
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,600
Speaker 1: one hour on Sunday. You want me to preach a

533
00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:52,400
Speaker 1: word that will deliver you from the decisions just spend

534
00:35:52,440 --> 00:36:01,960
Speaker 1: all week making. That's not right, it's not fair. I

535
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:04,960
Speaker 1: told the dental hygienist one time, I'm not gonna flyss.

536
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:09,120
Speaker 1: I'll be here every six months. Do the best you

537
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:11,320
Speaker 1: can whenever you can get out of my teeth in

538
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,080
Speaker 1: that time. Just do it and the rest. Leave it,

539
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,640
Speaker 1: and it'll grow for the glory of God until you

540
00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:19,399
Speaker 1: remove it again. I know it's gross, but I let

541
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:22,719
Speaker 1: it build up until the last minute. And God has

542
00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:25,480
Speaker 1: been saying to me, you can bring me your problems,

543
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 1: but you can also bring me your thoughts. Now I'm

544
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:37,279
Speaker 1: at the point where I will pray about absolutely anything

545
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:42,480
Speaker 1: because you know why I do it, because Paul said

546
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:46,360
Speaker 1: I could, and he wrote the Bible. And I know

547
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,640
Speaker 1: you think there's certain things we're not supposed to pray about,

548
00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:52,279
Speaker 1: but you didn't write the Bible. I don't care what

549
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:56,360
Speaker 1: you think about it anymore, because Paul said, don't be

550
00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,920
Speaker 1: anxious about anything. Listen to this. Pray in Eva every situation.

551
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:07,759
Speaker 1: So in Greek every situation means every situation in that

552
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:16,000
Speaker 1: deep I got a degree in the Bible. I'm gonna

553
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,000
Speaker 1: blow your mind. A porn addict can pray while he's

554
00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:24,799
Speaker 1: looking at porn. I'll see y'all next week. We gotta

555
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:31,040
Speaker 1: do this. In doss LJ. You can pray in the

556
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:35,719
Speaker 1: middle of a panic attack, not after it's over and

557
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,080
Speaker 1: you're on the floor. You can pray, you know what.

558
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:40,680
Speaker 1: You can even start with a selfish prayer if you

559
00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:44,000
Speaker 1: have to. You have to wait until you want the

560
00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:46,560
Speaker 1: right thing to talk to God. You've been waiting the

561
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:50,960
Speaker 1: rest of your life. You're too dysfunctional to wait until

562
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,080
Speaker 1: you want the right thing to pray. Delight yourself in

563
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:55,840
Speaker 1: the Lord, and he will give you the desires of

564
00:37:55,880 --> 00:38:06,560
Speaker 1: your heart. He will put them in there. So I

565
00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:08,759
Speaker 1: prayed the man who had the scissors at me, and

566
00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:11,480
Speaker 1: the thing I pray, God, I want to take his

567
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:13,839
Speaker 1: sisters from him, because I was more fit than him.

568
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:16,239
Speaker 1: I could see it. I you know, I sized it

569
00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:21,480
Speaker 1: up real quick. And I and so you know, they

570
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:23,319
Speaker 1: say pray for your enemies. It doesn't say what you

571
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:28,959
Speaker 1: pray for him. So you have to start somewhere like, Lord,

572
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:37,640
Speaker 1: let him fall on his scissors right now. But but

573
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:42,600
Speaker 1: the important thing is that you involve God in the process.

574
00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:51,040
Speaker 1: Right you ever had to pray in anger? Pray angry?

575
00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:54,920
Speaker 1: I was getting ready to preach one time, and I

576
00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 1: start praying to the Lord, why will you hide your

577
00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:00,960
Speaker 1: face from me? Wh're the block? Then I why have

578
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:04,560
Speaker 1: you forsaken me? I wouldn't feel anything to God. And

579
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:09,520
Speaker 1: I thought as if God was saying, oh there you are, there,

580
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:14,120
Speaker 1: you are. Why am I hiding my face from me?

581
00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:18,480
Speaker 1: Why are you hiding from me? You keep God out

582
00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:23,359
Speaker 1: of the process, You keep God out of the then

583
00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:27,120
Speaker 1: you end up just being just like a half Oh

584
00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:30,960
Speaker 1: I hate a haveb but I gotta be honest. I

585
00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:34,799
Speaker 1: kind of relate to him. Enemy is attacking me with

586
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:38,200
Speaker 1: thirty two kings. Okay, you can have it. You can

587
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:44,160
Speaker 1: have it. It is easier to just believe the lie

588
00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:50,000
Speaker 1: than it is to you know, you got to train

589
00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:58,200
Speaker 1: yourself in truth. It doesn't come naturally. Paul said, whatever

590
00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:04,120
Speaker 1: things that you have seen, received or heard from me,

591
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:09,320
Speaker 1: a lot of us have never actually seen a pattern

592
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:14,799
Speaker 1: of how to fight our battles with God's help. We

593
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:16,680
Speaker 1: believe the way that we've seen it done is the

594
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,280
Speaker 1: only way that it can be done. We don't really believe,

595
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,520
Speaker 1: like really believe that I can give my battle to

596
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:28,600
Speaker 1: the Lord. I don't really believe that the peace of

597
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:34,480
Speaker 1: God will guard my heart in my mind. But I

598
00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:40,319
Speaker 1: want you to watch what happened to Ahab. You know,

599
00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,560
Speaker 1: the enemy doesn't just attack you once and if it

600
00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:49,759
Speaker 1: doesn't work, he leaves you alone. Because the Lord gave

601
00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:54,800
Speaker 1: Ahab a victory over Benedad. But just after the victory,

602
00:40:54,840 --> 00:41:03,880
Speaker 1: the prophet comes back and came to Ahab again. And

603
00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:07,080
Speaker 1: look at this. In verse twenty two, he said to

604
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:12,680
Speaker 1: the King of Israel, strengthen your position and see what

605
00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:18,240
Speaker 1: must be done, because next spring the King of Aram

606
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:27,640
Speaker 1: will attack you again. I'm under attack again. I'm dealing

607
00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:32,840
Speaker 1: with depression again. Jesus died for me, and I believe

608
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:38,880
Speaker 1: that his blood cleanses me. But I'm struggling with unworthiness again.

609
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,200
Speaker 1: And the prophet said something very interesting. It's not just prayer,

610
00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,480
Speaker 1: it's not just peace. He says, strengthen your position and

611
00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:51,160
Speaker 1: see what must be done, because see the officials. Verse

612
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:53,720
Speaker 1: twenty three of the King of Aram had a theory

613
00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,440
Speaker 1: on why God gave the victory to the Israelites the

614
00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:02,280
Speaker 1: first time, and they advised him their gods are gods

615
00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,560
Speaker 1: of the hills. That is why they were too strong

616
00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:07,640
Speaker 1: for us. But if we fight them on the plains,

617
00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:12,160
Speaker 1: surely we will be stronger than they. So do this,

618
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:15,799
Speaker 1: remove and replace them, or remove all the kings from

619
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,200
Speaker 1: their commands and replace them with other officers. Remove and

620
00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:21,000
Speaker 1: replace would be a good sermon, by the way, to

621
00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:24,000
Speaker 1: remove and replacement, not today. You must also raise an

622
00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:25,480
Speaker 1: army like the one you lost. Horse for horse and

623
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:28,040
Speaker 1: cherio for chery. So we can fight Israel on the plains.

624
00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:30,360
Speaker 1: Then surely we will be stronger than they. And he

625
00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:38,279
Speaker 1: agreed with them and acted accordingly. He agreed with the

626
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:42,000
Speaker 1: lie and acted accordingly. This has been a dad the enemy.

627
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:45,680
Speaker 1: He agreed with the advice of his counselors. He thought

628
00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:51,160
Speaker 1: that God Yahweh, was like Bail of the Phoenicians. He

629
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:55,280
Speaker 1: thought that God was only limited to one geographical locale.

630
00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:58,359
Speaker 1: So the reason they beat you was because you fought

631
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:00,440
Speaker 1: them in the hills. But if you fight them in

632
00:43:00,440 --> 00:43:02,520
Speaker 1: the low place. Now here's the thing. Some of you,

633
00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:05,760
Speaker 1: the enemy attacked you on one level, and it didn't

634
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,760
Speaker 1: work because you still have your faith and you still

635
00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:11,480
Speaker 1: have your sanity, and you didn't blow your brains out,

636
00:43:11,719 --> 00:43:14,160
Speaker 1: and you didn't give in, and you didn't walk away.

637
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,960
Speaker 1: But now watch this, he's hitting you with a low blow.

638
00:43:19,040 --> 00:43:21,160
Speaker 1: He said, if you fight them in the plains, will

639
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,520
Speaker 1: be stronger than them. But look what the word of

640
00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:25,360
Speaker 1: the Lord says. And I want to show you this

641
00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:27,640
Speaker 1: in verse twenty eight, and I'm closing. I'm closing because

642
00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:29,839
Speaker 1: it says that they lined up against them, and they

643
00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 1: seem like a flock of small goats, and they look

644
00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:34,799
Speaker 1: too small, but they had God fighting for them. Verse

645
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:36,399
Speaker 1: twenty eight. The Man of God came up and told

646
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:38,960
Speaker 1: the King of Israel. Here it is again. This is

647
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:43,200
Speaker 1: what the Lord says. This is what the Lord says,

648
00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:48,560
Speaker 1: because the Eramians think the Lord is a god of

649
00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:57,560
Speaker 1: the hills and not a god of the valleys. Because

650
00:43:57,719 --> 00:44:02,359
Speaker 1: the enemy face that if he hits you in your

651
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:05,799
Speaker 1: weakest spot. Just be honest, how many of you the

652
00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:09,200
Speaker 1: enemy has hit you with a low blow lately, like

653
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:12,319
Speaker 1: in the place where it hurts the most. This is

654
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:16,000
Speaker 1: what the Lord says, because he hit you where you

655
00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:20,520
Speaker 1: were the weakest. I am going to display my strength

656
00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:27,799
Speaker 1: in the greatest way because the enemy thinks, oh, if

657
00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:31,000
Speaker 1: I fight him there, they'll give in. But he's wrong

658
00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:34,920
Speaker 1: about it. The harder he hits you in the most

659
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,760
Speaker 1: vulnerable place, the greater a candidate for the grace of God,

660
00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:48,160
Speaker 1: you become. Some of you. The enemy couldn't defeat you

661
00:44:48,239 --> 00:44:50,680
Speaker 1: while you were awake, So now he started sneaking into

662
00:44:50,719 --> 00:44:53,200
Speaker 1: your sleep. You've been having dreams in the middle of

663
00:44:53,239 --> 00:44:55,680
Speaker 1: the night about scenarios. You've been waking up in a

664
00:44:55,719 --> 00:44:58,480
Speaker 1: cold sweat, not even rested. He couldn't fight you, couldn't

665
00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:02,719
Speaker 1: beat you awake, so now he's fight you asleep. Some

666
00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:05,799
Speaker 1: of you. The enemy took a lot from you personally,

667
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:07,880
Speaker 1: but it didn't cause you to lose your faith. So

668
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:12,279
Speaker 1: then he hit your kids. There was one thing for

669
00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:14,320
Speaker 1: you to be dealing with it, but now you're watching

670
00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:17,400
Speaker 1: your kids suffer. Oh, if I can't beat them in

671
00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:23,959
Speaker 1: the hills, I'll fight them on the plains. God said,

672
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:37,440
Speaker 1: I am the God of unconditional victory. I believe that

673
00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:41,680
Speaker 1: God is calling somebody today to take back not only

674
00:45:41,719 --> 00:45:46,240
Speaker 1: the high places. But God said, because your enemy thinks

675
00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:51,400
Speaker 1: that I am only the God of the hills, I

676
00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:56,960
Speaker 1: am going to show you a victory in the valley

677
00:45:57,120 --> 00:46:03,560
Speaker 1: so you will know I'm not like bail. I don't

678
00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:09,080
Speaker 1: operate based on physical location. I don't need perfect circumstances

679
00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:13,200
Speaker 1: to do my work. In fact, if you have faith

680
00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:16,840
Speaker 1: to believe it, I hear God saying I stack the

681
00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:22,960
Speaker 1: odds against myself. That's what the Lord said. I'm making

682
00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:26,960
Speaker 1: it so impossible because I want you to know that

683
00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:31,680
Speaker 1: it's your weegh. I want you to know that it's God.

684
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:37,040
Speaker 1: See when they're fighting you in the mountains, when they're

685
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:40,120
Speaker 1: fighting you in the good time. You think it's you,

686
00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:42,880
Speaker 1: You think it's your leverage. This is what the Lord

687
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:46,440
Speaker 1: says in this season, I'm going to do something in

688
00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:51,480
Speaker 1: the lowest place, in the most vulnerable place, in your weakness.

689
00:46:52,840 --> 00:47:03,080
Speaker 1: I am strong. So what does the Lord say? That's

690
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:08,480
Speaker 1: what I want to know. I don't want to agree

691
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:14,880
Speaker 1: with the enemy about anything that keeps me from hearing

692
00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:22,000
Speaker 1: what God has said about me, whether it's why I'm unworthy,

693
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:28,320
Speaker 1: why I'm incompetent. In fact, Lord, right now, in the

694
00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:35,160
Speaker 1: name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, I break

695
00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:39,680
Speaker 1: the power of the agreements that your children have made

696
00:47:39,719 --> 00:47:45,080
Speaker 1: with the enemy, and we call on you, God of Peace,

697
00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:53,799
Speaker 1: to set up an armed guard at our hearts. In Christ, Jesus,

698
00:47:54,280 --> 00:47:58,560
Speaker 1: we thank you that our position in you is permanent

699
00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:06,640
Speaker 1: and it is fixed. Lord. Today, we don't want to

700
00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:10,839
Speaker 1: give the enemy so easily what you died with your

701
00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:15,080
Speaker 1: blood to purchase for us, and you came to give

702
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:20,960
Speaker 1: us peace right now, standing all over this house, every location,

703
00:48:21,160 --> 00:48:28,239
Speaker 1: watching online, God said, take it back. You agreed with

704
00:48:28,280 --> 00:48:32,640
Speaker 1: the enemy, but take it back. I know I agreed

705
00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:34,320
Speaker 1: in my heart that I was workless. I know I

706
00:48:34,360 --> 00:48:36,600
Speaker 1: agreed in my heart that my best days were behind me.

707
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:38,799
Speaker 1: I know I agreed in my heart that I wouldn't ever.

708
00:48:39,040 --> 00:48:42,680
Speaker 1: But I take it back, because this is what the

709
00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:48,120
Speaker 1: Lord says. God, We're not going to be so quick

710
00:48:48,120 --> 00:48:50,040
Speaker 1: to hand over the best of what you gave us.

711
00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:54,680
Speaker 1: We've let the enemy have enough. He's taken enough ground

712
00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:59,359
Speaker 1: in this season. We've given up enough ground. Not another inch,

713
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:09,080
Speaker 1: not another inch. I thank you that now, in this moment,

714
00:49:09,239 --> 00:49:19,360
Speaker 1: you are releasing your peace, your unconditional victory. Lord. I

715
00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:21,799
Speaker 1: want to pray for somebody today who has believed the

716
00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:24,240
Speaker 1: lie that you are a god of the mountains, only,

717
00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:29,080
Speaker 1: that you can only win into hills, that you can

718
00:49:29,120 --> 00:49:30,799
Speaker 1: only use perfect people, and that you can only work

719
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:35,560
Speaker 1: in perfect circumstances. It's a lie. And because the Aramians

720
00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:37,440
Speaker 1: think that you're only a god of the hills and

721
00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:41,640
Speaker 1: not the valleys, I dispatch victory into the valleys of

722
00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:45,600
Speaker 1: your people's lives today. Well, I thank you for it.

723
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:50,200
Speaker 1: I thank you for it. In advance. We have heard

724
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:54,200
Speaker 1: your word today. This is what the Lord says. We

725
00:49:54,280 --> 00:49:57,400
Speaker 1: have sung your word today. This is what the Lord says,

726
00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:02,640
Speaker 1: and we thank you Jesus your name. Then, over these

727
00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:06,560
Speaker 1: next seven days of our life, as we meditate on

728
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:12,880
Speaker 1: this word, we will not rehearse the reasons that we

729
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:16,240
Speaker 1: should feel defeated, and we will not rehearse the reasons

730
00:50:16,280 --> 00:50:20,640
Speaker 1: that we should be afraid. We will remember the victories

731
00:50:20,719 --> 00:50:24,080
Speaker 1: that you have given and anticipate the ones that you

732
00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:28,719
Speaker 1: have promised. All of God's people who agree with this word,

733
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:32,080
Speaker 1: lift up a great shout of braves, lift up a

734
00:50:32,080 --> 00:50:38,239
Speaker 1: great shout of friends. Thank you Lord. Come on, lift

735
00:50:38,239 --> 00:50:44,479
Speaker 1: your hands, lift your hands. I declare victory over your life.

736
00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:48,000
Speaker 1: This is what the Lord says. I'm gonna give it

737
00:50:48,400 --> 00:50:53,160
Speaker 1: into your hands. Receive it, receive it right now, receive

738
00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:57,160
Speaker 1: it right now. I give it in your hands. It

739
00:50:57,320 --> 00:51:03,200
Speaker 1: is a kid. See that. All the people who receive

740
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:09,680
Speaker 1: this word clap your hands and say Amen. So good

741
00:51:09,719 --> 00:51:13,840
Speaker 1: to see you again. I missed you. Have you missed me? Well,

742
00:51:14,080 --> 00:51:17,759
Speaker 1: we're back back together again. I pray that you heard

743
00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:20,720
Speaker 1: something from the Word today that you can put into practice.

744
00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:22,960
Speaker 1: That's what Paul said, and Philippians for check it out.

745
00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:26,279
Speaker 1: He said, and whatever you received, put it into practice.

746
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:29,240
Speaker 1: So you're going to practice what God says this week

747
00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:32,799
Speaker 1: instead of rehearsing what you heard from the enemy. I

748
00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:35,319
Speaker 1: just pray that this week you come into agreement with

749
00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:39,120
Speaker 1: what God says about your future, about your gifts, what

750
00:51:39,200 --> 00:51:41,360
Speaker 1: God says about you as a person. He loves you,

751
00:51:41,400 --> 00:51:44,080
Speaker 1: has a great plan for you. Thank you for being

752
00:51:44,120 --> 00:51:46,560
Speaker 1: a part of the ministry, all of you who give

753
00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:50,880
Speaker 1: and pray and share these messages and come here regularly.

754
00:51:51,080 --> 00:51:54,120
Speaker 1: Just it's a blessing to be connected with you. I

755
00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:55,919
Speaker 1: look forward for what God is going to do next.

756
00:51:56,400 --> 00:51:57,919
Speaker 1: I love you. Take it back