WEBVTT - Death By Echo (Run It Back) 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.440 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:10.520 Church and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:13.680 so we can get you these new sermons every week. 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:23.000 I hope you're blessed today. Right now as I open 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:25.840 God's Word to you. There are thousands and thousands online 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:27.880 that we call our e FM, joining us all around 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:30.080 the world. This message will go all over the world 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:34.240 and touch lives. Can we make our EFM feel welcome 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.879 today and all of our campuses come on every Elevation 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:43.440 Church physical location. If there's not a physical location near you, 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:45.800 there's a chance that we're going to be visiting you soon. 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:48.960 We've got two tours coming up. Aren't y'all about to 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:53.160 hit the road. Elevation Rhythm is coming to a town 0:00:53.240 --> 0:01:00.760 near you. Maybe maybe you excited about it, Excited to 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:02.800 get out and sing with the people. Get a wide shot, 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:07.240 let them see who's coming. I won't be there, but 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:12.640 Nate you'll be there, Otis you'll be there. Nick, you'll 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:15.200 be there. It's going to be amazing. Go and check 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:18.240 that out. An incredible night of worship. Josh, you're going 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:21.679 It's going to be an amazing time of worship. And 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:26.000 you can get all of the details somewhere. I thought 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:28.720 there was a website up there, but there's not. Just 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:32.520 type all of that into Chad GPT and follow the 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:35.000 directions and buy the ticket and we'll see you there. Also, 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:38.800 Elevation Nights is coming up. Let's thank God for Elevation Nights. Now. 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:45.360 I will be there. They gotta get the dates out. Yeah, 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:49.480 October ninth through October eighteenth, and you can go to 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:56.040 Elevation Nights dot com. Kansas City, Missouri, Memphis, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, 0:01:56.400 --> 0:02:06.440 San Antonio, Texas, Lubbock, Texas, Texas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Houston, Texas. 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:17.519 Come on shout like you're from Texas. Today. The Lord 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.040 has been speaking to us through this series. Would you 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:24.280 not agree? I Know That Voice? And today I want 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:27.560 to share with you another installment in this series. I 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:29.600 went home and told Holly that was my last sermon 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:32.679 in that I Know That Voice series, And the Lord said, 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:36.000 are you sure? Because it would be impossible for me 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.240 to do a series called I Know That Voice and 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.720 not stop by this passage of scripture. In One Kings nineteen, 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.720 the scripture has brought me, I minse comfort in times 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:50.040 of my life where I felt heavy. It's brought me 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:56.600 clarity when I felt crazy, it brought me endurance when 0:02:56.639 --> 0:02:59.280 I felt weary. And I want to share it to 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:04.320 you today, with you today as a personal word, and 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:06.040 I'm going to preach it just like the Lord gave 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:08.600 it to me. I actually packed two folders when I 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:13.240 left the house today. One was the safe sermon and 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.640 then one was the sermon where I really need the 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:17.680 Holy Spirit to help me get it right. And I'm 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:25.040 going to preach the second one because I believe I'll 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:28.400 hear from you a few weeks or months from now 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:33.080 about what God speaks today. So tune your heart and 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:38.320 turn over to First Kings nineteen. I'm going to read 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.640 a little bit longer scripture than I normally would, but 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:53.600 it's worth it. One Kings, chapter nineteen, Verse one. Now 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:57.640 Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.320 had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:04.760 sent a messenger to Elijah to say, may the Gods 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:07.600 deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.880 this time tomorrow I do not make your life like 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:15.800 that of one of them. Elijah was afraid, ran for 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.000 his life. When he came to Beersheba and Judah, he 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.559 left his servant there while he himself went a day's 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:25.320 journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:29.200 sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:31.400 I've had enough, Lord, he said, take my life. I 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.680 am no better than my ancestors. Then he lay down 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:38.760 under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:43.880 angel touched him and said, get up and eat. Man. 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:45.440 I think I might want to make that my life 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:49.159 verse right there. I want the Lord to tell me 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:57.320 that get up and eat ice cream and pizza, yeah, tacos, burritos, 0:04:57.640 --> 0:04:59.600 And I want them to cancel ot the calories too. 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:02.560 Because he God, he can do anything. Wouldn't be cool 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:04.360 if God just touched you and said eating and touched 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:06.560 the food and made it good for you. Come on, 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:09.600 if God just gave the briars the nutritional value of broccoli. 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.919 God can do stuff like that. But I am amazed 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:17.520 how Elijah was running away from God and God fed 0:05:17.560 --> 0:05:22.360 him anyway. Because hadn't there been seasons in your life 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:25.599 where you knew you were doing the wrong thing? Come 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:29.080 over to this side. Haven't decides about to get struck 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.680 by lightning, and it's not even raining outside. For lyon, 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.279 Haven't there been seasons in your life where you knew 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:38.880 you were off track, but God kept providing for you anyway, 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.120 and kept making waste for you. And how many have 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:46.080 one of those anyway testimonies? Yeah, even when I went 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:50.760 the wrong way, he fed me anyway, He kept me anyway, 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:55.760 He blessed me anyway, He brought me anyway. So he 0:05:55.920 --> 0:06:00.479 ate and drank and then laid down again. Now verse success. 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:02.760 There were by his head some bread baked over hot 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:04.280 coals in a jar of water, and he ate and 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.680 drank and then laid down again. The Angel of the 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:08.599 Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.880 get up and eat, for the journey is too much 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:14.040 for you. So he got up and ate and drank. 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:17.839 Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:21.800 nights until he reached Horeb, the Mountain of God. There 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:27.560 he went into a cave and spent the night, and 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:32.960 the word of the Lord came to him. What are 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:39.920 you doing here, Elijah? He replied, I have been very 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:44.520 zealous for the Lord God Almighty the Israelites have rejected 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:47.719 your covenant. They've torn down your altars, and they have 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.280 put your prophets to death with the sword. I am 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.359 the only one left, and now they are trying to 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:57.279 kill me. To the Lord said, go out and stand 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:00.520 on the mountain in the presence of the life, for 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:03.599 the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:08.320 and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:11.360 God sent a wind to get Elijah back, but the 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.239 Lord was not in the wind. He sent the wind, 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.600 but he was not in the wind. After the wind, 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:19.760 there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:24.080 the earthquake. And after the earthquake came a fire, but 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:27.120 the Lord was not in the fire. And after the 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:33.840 fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:37.120 pulled his cloak over his face and went out and 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:42.240 stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:50.320 said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah? He replied, 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:54.560 I have been very zealous for the Lord, God Almighty. 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:58.360 The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:02.480 and put your prophets to death with the sword. I 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:06.400 am the only one left and now they are trying 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:11.040 to kill me. Two. The Lord said to him, go 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.960 back the way you came, and go to the desert 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:19.200 of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazel king over Aram. 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:22.840 Also annoyed Jayhu's son of Nimshi, king over Israel, and 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:28.080 anoint Elisha, son of Shaefat from Abel Mahola, to succeed 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:31.600 you as prophet. Jayhu will put to death any who 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:35.440 escaped the sword of Hazel, and Elishah will put to 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:40.080 death any who escaped the sword of Jehu. Yet I 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:45.440 reserve seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:49.280 bowed down to bail, and whose mouths have not kissed 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:54.640 him last verse. So Elijah went from there and found 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:58.520 Elisha's son of sae Fat. He was plowing with twelve 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:02.440 yokov oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth peer. 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:09.960 Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:13.000 Thus a new beginning. This is the word of the Lord. 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:15.800 I have a strange subject today, but I want to 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.400 talk to you for a few moments about a very 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.000 particular way that the enemy wants to steal, kill and 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:22.800 destroy in your life. I want to talk to you 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:32.199 about death by echo, echo, death by echo, and don't worry. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.200 This sermon has a happy ending. Father. I thank you 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:38.360 in the name of Jesus for what you spoke to me. 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:42.960 Now speak it to them. May it echo across this 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:47.360 place in Jesus's name, I pray, and everybody said together, Amen, 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:50.199 clap your hands. If you love the Lord and receive 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:53.240 his word today, you may deceived. 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:06.120 Now, Elijah, in this passage that I just read, you 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:10.880 may come across to you as somebody who is emotionally imbalanced, 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:11.720 and perhaps he is. 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:15.880 He may come across to you as somebody who is ungrateful, 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.959 and perhaps temporarily his view of what God has done 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.320 has been blocked by what he's going through. But I 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.840 think that's a good thing. One of the things that 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:29.680 people ask me often after I preach, and it's honestly 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:34.800 my favorite thing to uh, well, it's my least favorite 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:37.800 thing to be asked, but it's my favorite thing to answer, okay, 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:40.920 because here's what they'll last. Sometimes they'll go, I'll preach, 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:42.200 you know, you pour your heart out, you preach it 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:47.080 a go, hey, so how'd you feel about that? And 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:51.000 it's kind of awkward because when they ask it. It 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:54.720 kind of feels like maybe I should feel different about 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.199 it than how I do feel because I felt like 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.959 it was all right until you asked me how did 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.000 I feel about it? It's kind of like have you 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.280 ever gone out the house and then you came back 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:06.679 home and your wife saw you for the first time 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.679 and she's like, is that what you wore today? And 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:11.240 it's like, well, yeah, but this is too late to 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.240 do anything about it. This is it, This is what 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:15.280 I wore. What I preached is what I preached. How 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:16.920 I feel is how I feel. How do I feel 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:18.360 about it? I don't know how should I feel about it? 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:19.599 How did you feel about it? Did you feel like 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:22.360 it blessed you? That? It's just an awkward question to ask, 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:26.800 And besides it being an awkward question to answer is 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:30.840 complicated because if I really answered you, the truth is 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:35.240 that I always feel like, watch this, I failed at 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:39.520 some level because I'm trying to speak for God, who 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:43.040 is perfect, and I'm me, who is not. So how 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:45.360 did I feel like I fell short of my goal? 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:48.920 And you are always going to feel that way when 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:53.720 you're speaking for God, unless you're a narcissist. And so 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.800 the truth of the matter is when someone is asking me, 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:00.440 how did you feel about that, I'm already re playing 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:04.040 the message in my brain the way that I meant 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.400 to say it, and you don't know how I meant 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:08.040 to say it. You only know how I said it. 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.360 So perhaps you thought that I hit the mark, but 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:14.199 in my mind it was a mess. Last week was 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:17.600 one of those weeks I preached my whole sermon called 0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:21.480 what If I Got It Wrong? The message was about 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:25.040 how the enemy can beat you up with regret and 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.120 just cause you to doubt everything down to the core 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:31.360 of your faith in Christ. And I meant to say 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:34.600 before I left the stage that the better question isn't 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:37.679 what if I got it wrong, but what if God 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:43.160 got it right? And somehow, no matter how many times 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:46.160 I wrote that down in my notes, when I finished 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.440 my message, I left the stage and did not say 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:52.079 that part. And to me, that was not the cherry 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:56.160 on top of the sunday. That was the Sunday, that 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:58.960 was the ice cream, that was the dish. That was 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:01.679 the whole thing that I wanted you to hear, But 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.960 somehow I forgot to say it. So I went home 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:07.280 and Holly was in tears, and she was like, that 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.400 was amazing. That really touched me. And I was like, no, 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:10.920 it's terrible, and she's like, what do you mean? It 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.920 was terrible? It touched me? And how was it touching 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:18.320 to her? And terrible to me? Because I'm replaying the 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:22.160 part I didn't say in my mind, and the part 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:26.120 that you replay has a lot to do with what 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.680 you feel. Have you ever replayed the wrong thing in 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.360 your mind over and over again? Have you ever said 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:37.040 something so dumb and then went back and thought about 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.960 it for days and days and days, like why did 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.439 I say that to them? Really? Like I really said 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:44.719 that to them. I don't know if you're trying to 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:46.240 pick up a girl. I don't know, if you're trying 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:47.800 to do a business deal. I don't know if you're 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:50.600 just introducing yourself to someone. And then you walk away 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:52.719 and you're like why did I say that? And then 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:55.559 you get the chance to see them again and apologize, 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:59.079 and you've worked up your entire apology speech for what 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:01.800 you said, and you go to say, I'm sorry that 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:04.319 I said that. I can't believe I said that to you, 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:10.320 And then I say, I don't remember that. Really, I 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:14.720 have been tormenting myself over something that wasn't even important 0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:18.920 enough for you to put in your files. You mean 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.560 I just said that and beat myself up, and you 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:26.560 completely forgot about it. I remember when Christmas, I was 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:29.240 taking out the trash and it had all these packing 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.600 peanuts in it, and the trash can was full of 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:34.840 packing peanuts and the wind was blowing. Well, I think 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:38.040 you know where this is going. I pulled the trash 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.760 can out to the street and the wind blows the 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:44.200 packing peanuts every which way. Now, remember, I've just preached 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.960 like fifty Christmas services, however many we did at the time, 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:50.040 I think it was more like twelve that I preached live, 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:53.040 and we had fifty across all of our locations. But 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:57.080 I was tired, and Graham was sitting in the car 0:14:57.440 --> 0:14:59.680 and I was dragging out the trash. But I forgot 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:01.800 temper rarely that Graham was sitting in the car. And 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.160 I also forgot temporarily that I was saved. And I 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:06.680 forgot temporarily that there are certain words that you shouldn't 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.200 say when you're saved and your kid is sitting in 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:11.840 the car, And I just started letting stuff fly, and 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:14.440 it was flying faster than the packing peanuts and it's 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.400 all flying around the yard and I just preached Christmas 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:20.440 and it's Jesus' birthday has just finished, and here I 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:23.600 am cussing it in him and objects all around the yard. 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.960 And I got in the car. My biggest thought was like, 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:28.640 what am I going to tell my kid? And I 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:31.240 start the spiral because I'm like, I know where this ends. 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:33.720 This ends with he's in therapy, This ends with he's 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.600 a drug addict. It all goes he's sitting on somebody's 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:38.920 couch at some point in the future saying there was 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:42.960 this one Christmas and my dad preached and he took 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:46.160 out the trash, and my dad is trash and that's 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:49.200 the reason I'm here today. But you know, after ten 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:52.280 minutes of driving and figuring out what I wanted to 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.440 say to him, I said, I'm sorry about that. He 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.880 said sorry about what I said, Sorry about what I 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:02.160 said While I was out there, He said, I didn't 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:10.760 hear what you said. I said, that's right, that's right. 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:15.800 And here I am tormented about something that he didn't 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:21.320 even hear. Did know that the enemy can torment you 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:25.440 with something that isn't even true. He can make you 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:28.640 play out scenarios in your mind. I'm telling you the 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:32.520 enemy is very strategic, because if you read First King's 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:36.040 nineteen and you know a little bit about who Elijah is, 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.880 you are surprised to see him running because he got 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:44.440 a death threat from Jezebel. And when he says, Lord 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:49.480 take my life, I'm no better than my ancestors, because Jezebel, 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:53.600 who was the queen, said I'm going to kill you. 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.960 In fact, in verse two, she says, this exactly made 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:01.360 the gods deal with me. Be it ever so severely, 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:03.800 if by this time tomorrow, I do not make your 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:07.159 life like that of one of them. Elijah has just 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:11.080 won a great victory on Mount Carmel. He has just prophesied, 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:14.879 and the heavens gave rain. And no sooner does the 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:18.239 rain come than the news of his victory reaches the 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:21.240 ears of Ahab. And no sooner does it reach the 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:25.200 ears of Ahab until he tells Jezebel Jezebel was really 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:29.360 running the kingdom. Jezebel was really moving Ahab like a puppet. 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.240 One preacher said, the last decision Ahab ever made was 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.280 I do And I've seen some marriages like that. I've 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:38.439 seen some marriages like that. So Jezebel says, let me 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:41.639 handle him. Made the gods deal with me, be it 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:45.000 ever so severely if I don't kill this guy who 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:48.800 killed my prophets. When Elijah called down fire from God 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:51.760 and had the four hundred and fifty prophets of Bale 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:55.280 slaughtered and the four hundred prophets of Asherah slaughtered on 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:58.480 the mountain, and said, if the Lord is God, follow him? 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:01.760 How long we ye halt between two opinions? If the 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.040 Lord is God, how long are you going to go 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:07.160 back and forth? And fire came from heaven and licked 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.639 up what remaining water there was after three years of 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:13.879 drought in the trenches, and God proved his presence by fire. 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.159 Elijah went up on a mountain, put his head between 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:19.240 his knees, sent his servant to check seven times, said 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:22.320 I hear the sound of the abundance of rain. I 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:24.760 can't prove it, but I hear it. I can't point 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:26.959 to it, but I know it. I can't show it 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.960 to you, but God is showing it to me. Tell Ahab, 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:32.719 hitch up your chariots before the rain stop you. And 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:36.760 Elijah outran Ahab all the way back down the mountain. 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.840 No sooner can he get down the mountain and the 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:43.159 rain released from heaven and the revival begin in the 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:46.520 religious climate of Israel. No sooner can he get down 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.040 the mountain. No sooner can he celebrate the victory. No 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:53.760 sooner can he move forward into the next assignment that 0:18:53.840 --> 0:19:00.320 God has Until he receives a threat from Jezebel. And 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:08.560 we know that her threat is empty. May the gods 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:14.200 deal with me? What God's Jezebel? Somebody say, what gods? 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:19.480 You mean? The same ones who you called on on 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:23.040 the mountain when God sent fire? I feel that word 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:26.520 for Somebody say, what God's You know how the enemy 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.840 tries to threaten you and intimidate you? What Gods? There's 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:34.800 only one God? So her threat is empty because if 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:39.920 she could have, she would have. Because if eight hundred 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:43.120 and fifty false prophets didn't stop him, what is one 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:47.560 person going to do? What gods? Somebody say, what God's 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:51.919 Where old death is now thy thing? Where old grave 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.240 is your victory? Death has been swallowed up in victory? 0:19:55.840 --> 0:20:00.959 What God's? Her threat is empty? Her threat is empty, 0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:06.800 But so is Elijah. He's empty, And he says, I've 0:20:06.840 --> 0:20:12.320 had enough for her. Threat is empty, but so is he. Now. 0:20:13.600 --> 0:20:16.560 When people ask you how do you feel after you minister, 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:21.600 the truth is you're thankful, but you're all so empty. 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:28.360 You're also tired. Any new parents in the room, may 0:20:28.400 --> 0:20:30.879 I talk to you for a moment? How do you 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:36.240 feel as a new parent? You gotta answer that very 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:42.919 carefully because you're so thankful right right? Oh, so too 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:50.399 late now no refunds, no instruction manual either, and no 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:59.040 sleep schedule. So you say, I'm thankful, but I'm exhausted. Now. 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:01.040 I like to make up word to explain to people 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:03.120 how I feel. When people ask me how I feel 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:06.480 before I preach, I say I'm anxious and I'm excited. 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:10.760 I'm a excited. I made that up myself. I'm excited. 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:13.520 You ever felt anxcited about something? So I made up 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:16.280 a new word to describe how you feel when God 0:21:16.400 --> 0:21:22.600 uses you. It goes like this, I'm exhausted use that 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:26.359 this week? How you doing? You're so blessed You've got 0:21:26.359 --> 0:21:32.000 this new job. I'm thankful, but I'm exhausted. I'm gonna 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:34.040 keep preaching till I find somebody who will be real 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:38.479 with me. I am grateful, but I'm kind of grumpy too. 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:41.960 And I'm kind of grumpy because I haven't gotten quite 0:21:42.400 --> 0:21:46.000 as much sleep as I used to get. I'm exhausted. 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:48.399 I came up on this mountain and God did a 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:51.440 great work, but I came back down, and no sooner 0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:54.920 did I see the rain than I felt the resistance 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:59.480 come on. No sooner could I praise God for the 0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:04.160 victory until another problem came along. And so I'm grateful 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:07.280 lifting one hand, but I'm having to fight with the 0:22:07.320 --> 0:22:10.879 other one because God did something awesome with one of 0:22:10.880 --> 0:22:13.800 my kids, but the other one is wearing me out. 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:19.360 Have you ever had winning and worn out happening at 0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:23.639 the same time? Come on, how you feel? How do 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:25.959 you feel about the good things God is doing in 0:22:25.960 --> 0:22:29.400 your life? How do you feel about being married? Any 0:22:29.440 --> 0:22:32.800 newly weeds in the house? How do you feel about that? Oh, 0:22:32.960 --> 0:22:37.840 it's amazing, it's amazing, and it's crazy. Because what's crazy 0:22:38.000 --> 0:22:42.280 is I brought my crazy into the marriage, and they're crazy. 0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:45.439 Was already filling up every room in the house. And 0:22:45.480 --> 0:22:48.080 I'm happy to be with them. But the fact of 0:22:48.119 --> 0:22:51.160 the matter is they already had so much baggage when 0:22:51.160 --> 0:22:53.920 I came into the house. I can't find a place 0:22:53.960 --> 0:22:56.960 to unpack mine. Now I got to ask somebody else, 0:22:57.000 --> 0:22:59.119 what do you want to watch? Now? I've got to 0:22:59.160 --> 0:23:02.320 orient my skin. And you can smile and you can 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:05.040 say you're blessed, and I know you are blessed, and 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:10.480 I'm blessed too. But blessing doesn't cancel pressure. So at 0:23:10.480 --> 0:23:14.679 the same time I'm blessed, there's pressure coming up behind 0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:20.440 the blessing. So I'm experiencing blessing and I'm experiencing pressure. 0:23:20.680 --> 0:23:23.880 I call that blessure. I got a lot of blesser 0:23:23.960 --> 0:23:26.560 in my life right now. Come on, bear with me, 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:29.600 be patient with me. I got blessure in mine. I'm 0:23:29.600 --> 0:23:32.919 not asking God to take the responsibilities away. It's not 0:23:33.040 --> 0:23:37.080 that I'm not thankful. I'm just exhausted. I'm exhausted. How's 0:23:37.119 --> 0:23:40.359 that for an honest testimony. I praise the Lord for 0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:42.920 what he gave me, and I'm about to collapse because 0:23:42.960 --> 0:23:46.639 he gave it to me. My prayer, my praise report 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:50.040 just turned into my prayer request. I couldn't get used 0:23:50.080 --> 0:23:52.520 to the rain before I had a threat coming up 0:23:52.520 --> 0:23:56.800 on my Okay, and he makes a statement, I get 0:23:56.840 --> 0:23:58.240 ready for this because it's I want to teach you. 0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:04.680 Verse three, he says, I have had e enough. Lord 0:24:04.720 --> 0:24:08.400 say it. I've had enough. I've had enough. In other words, 0:24:08.440 --> 0:24:12.439 I'm done with this. It is impossible to overstate the 0:24:12.480 --> 0:24:22.720 severity of Elijah's psychological confusion. Bewilderment. I mean, we see 0:24:22.800 --> 0:24:26.679 in James, let me show you this James five seventeen, 0:24:27.320 --> 0:24:31.879 a summary of Elijah's faith that says Elijah was a 0:24:31.960 --> 0:24:38.040 human being even as we are. He prayed earnestly that 0:24:38.119 --> 0:24:42.399 it would not rain. That's when he walked into Ahab's court, 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:45.440 like a stab of lightning in the midnight eastern sky. 0:24:45.520 --> 0:24:48.679 Elijah the tispike from Tishpee in Gilead and walked in 0:24:48.720 --> 0:24:51.840 and said, no rain till I say so. And he prayed, 0:24:52.080 --> 0:24:54.399 and God shut off the rain. He prayed and it 0:24:54.440 --> 0:24:59.800