God’s Got Your Back Part 2

these nights. Don't want to miss So if you're in Glendale, Arizona, Las Vegas, Sacramento, California, Eugene, Oregon, Seattle, Oakland, California, San Diego and La or anywhere near those areas, we want to see you. Elevation Nights dot com. Don't miss it. Elevation Nights dot com. Get your tickets Elevation Nights dot com. See let's go to the message. It's time for me to preach the word of God. And you know what I want to do. I preached two weeks ago God's

Got three people. Remember y'all act like it was two years ago. Two weeks ago I preached God's got your Back. I want to revisit that thought. This message is called God scot your back, Part two, and I want to give you description real quick and then we'll be seated. I want to share a story that I intended to get to the last time I preached, but I didn't quite get there. But I'm going to go back and revisit that today. Isaiah thirty, verse twenty one. What a

beautiful promise the Lord says. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you. That's why I said God's got your back, because you can't always see what he's doing, but you can always believe that he is doing exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or imagine, according to His power that works mightily on the inside of you. How many believes that shout us, say God's God, My say it, God's God. My fact, you will hear a voice behind

you saying this is the way. Walk in it, Holy Spirit, have your way. As we preach and teach today, I asked that every heart would be open. I asked that every mind would be attentive. I asked that every devil would be put on notice. You have no place in the hearts of these people who belong to God today. So we evict you now, Satan, and we ask you to speak Lord Jesus in your name, we pray amen, you may be seated. Oh stay one second, Chris Brewmn.

I got so mad at him the other day. We were talking about a song we wrote together, and I said, what's your memory of writing that song? He goes that we stayed really late. That's what you said. But that's all you said. That my entry, He said, I remember we stayed really late. No, but for me, it was just such a beautiful memory. I was like, that's all you remember. This was my best response. Well, no, in your defense, here's what he said. He's like, he's like,

you remember everything really, and that's not true. I don't remember well, I remember everything. I just don't remember everything right. See my spare time, when I'm not preaching and teaching, I'm a movie editor. I make movies out of memories, clip them, sequence them, put new characters in, take certain people out. It was worse. It was worse than that, though,

you didn't do the worst thing the other day. And I'm just picking on him because we've been friends since we were fifteen years old, so I can tick on him, like, don't be so mean. To this guy. You just read your scripture. You're over here hating on your worship leader, not hating on this is my guy. This is my guy. Trust me on that. But Graham the other day said you weren't even at my sixth grade graduation, and I was,

and so Holly, thank God for her. She goes through her whole photo archive, finds the picture of me proof of parenting. She goes back through the photos room. Thank god she had it, because apparently now I need an official record keeper in my house for my kids to even believe that I was there for their milestones of their life. That's how they do you. That's how they do you. You go to this sixth grade graduation, which, let me just tell you, is exciting. I don't even

put you in the movie, okay. I just wanted to point out that. So we're telling and it got me thinking about the stories that we tell, which of course took me to me and Chris's favorite musical, Hamilton by the Apostle Lynn Manuel Miranda, who wrote the song who Lives, Who Dies? Who tells your story? And I thought that was a profound question to ask, who tells your story? How did he turn the story of a Treasury secretary into something I would pay money to watch. How do

you do that? He told the story in such a profound, enthralling, entertaining and heart wrenching way. And I have seen Hamilton now seven times, not on Disney, pluss in person. I have a whole line item in my budget called Hamilton. I love it. Saw my wife, saw them take people on, drag people, I convert people. I'm an evangelist for Hamilton. But he did a song who Lives Who Dies? Because he's telling the story of Alexander Hamilton, which we all

heard in history class. Nobody paid to hear it. But he told the story in such a way that I've seen it seven times. I didn't repeat history class seven times, but I went to see how he told the same story seven times. And one of the songs he did said who lives? Who Dies? Who tells your story? I mean, I was telling Chris, I remember when this and that and with the song and this and that. He's like,

I just remember. It was really late, and I'm sure he would have said more, but I cut him off, because see, I don't really like to set through long stories, especially if I've heard him before. And even when I'm telling a story, I'm scared to death that the other person has heard it. And we had a guest preacher here last week who was amazing. Did you love doctor

Eui Smith? What a great preacher? And as I was sharing with him after the service and after he preached, we were getting to know each other and he was telling me a story about his life, and he was cutting it short. And his wife goes, tell him this part, and tell him that part, and tell him that part, and so he did, and it was all fascinating, interesting, but to him it was boring because he'd been telling

that story for thirty years. Well then I went to tell him a story, and I told it in like two or three sentences in Holly, who has the ability to really tell good stories and doesn't mind taking her time in the process, goes, don't cut it short, tell him the whole story. This is a good one, she said. And every time I was skipped something, she put it back in, and she started putting it back in, and by the time we had sat there, our food was cold, but we knew each other. I want to tell you

a story today that kind of ill straits. What Isaiah said where he said, your ears will hear a voice. Your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, watch this, this is the way walk in it. This, this a wonderful promise. The problem is the problem is this. Your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way walk in it. But that will not be the only voice you will hear. If that was the only voice I heard, I'd be said. If the only voice I heard was this is the way walk in it,

I would be good to go. I could cut my sermon prep time in half because I just know this is the scripture. Half my time preparing the sermon is getting to the right scripture. If the only voice I heard was this is the way walk in it, well, just be honest with you. There's some staff I wouldn't have hired if the only voice I heard was the voice telling me what to do, how to do it,

when to do it, why to do it. But we all know right that, as good as that sounds, your ears will hear a voice saying this the way walk in in that that is not the only voice. It's not even the loudest voice that you hear. Because maybe I should tell you a story maybe I should tell you a story from One Kings nineteen that will illustrate about the power of who tells your story, the voice. Like if this was English class, we talked about history,

and us talk about English. If this were English class, this or English class, we would talk about the point of view, is it first person, second person, third person?

We would talk about the narrator, the narrative voice. Now, if you go to First Kings, chapter nineteen, there is a well well known, well loved Bible story about the prophet Elijah, not the one that you like, Not the story you like, where he stands on Mount Carmel and calls down fire from heaven and says, if the Lord is God, follow him, If bail is God, follow him? How long will you halt between two opinions and call down fire from heaven? Not that story. This is a

very different story. But I should share it with you because it's going to help you to see that not only do we hear the voice of God in our moments of decision and in those crucial transitions where we have to decide what to do and where to go and whether to quit, whether to stay, but there is another voice and a lot of times. It's not the absence of the voice of God that stops you from

fulfilling your calling. It is the presence of other voices that you do not recognize as the enemy's voice until they lead you off of the path of God's purpose for your life. And that's exactly what happened to Elijah. Can I tell you the whole story. Your enthusiasm is discouraging. I'm gonna do it anyway. Now. Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. We'll come back to that, and how

he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel, after hearing how Elijah slaughtered her false prophets, sent a messenger to Elijah to say, may the Gods deal with me, be it ever so severely. If by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them, I'm gonna kill you. If there are any police officers in the room at elevation, Valentine's stand up, all right, all right, thank you for your sir, stay standing. I got a question. I'm not an officer, I'm a preacher,

So I got a question for you. If you are arresting somebody, do you send a messenger or do you send a bailiff? If you're arresting somebody, do you send a messenger to tell them now this time tomorrow, I'm gonna come back and get you, and I'm gonna put you on death row and I'm gonna kill you. Do you send a messenger or do you send handcuffs? Do you send a messenger or do you send back up? It goes to show me that Jezebel couldn't back up what she was threatening to Elijah that she was gonna do.

I guess I didn't need you to answer that question. After all, Please be seated, right. So we see from the very beginning that this woman Jezebel wicked as she was, evil as she was, manipulative as she was, as angry as she was, as petty as she was, as much destruction as she has called. She had no power over God's servant. She had no power over God's prophet. She had no power to do what she said she would do.

The only hope she had was to threaten him to the level that he would abandon the place that God had put him, because she knew, if he stays my God's camp, if he stays God is with him if he stays, you know, the enemy knows the same thing about you that if you ever plant your feet and decide, this is what God has called me to do, This is what I'm gonna do. This is what I'm made to do. This is what I'm created to do. This is what I'm called to do. This is why I

came to earth. This is why I was born. This is why God gave me these gifts, This is why he gave me these experiences. This is what I'm here for. I'm gonna do it. No matter what Jezebel says about it. You've never made up your mind about that that you would be unstoppable knowing this. The enemy sends threats, intimidation insecurity. And maybe you're familiar with this story, but I want to tell you the story real quick. She said, by this time tomorrow, I'm gonna kill you. She can't do it.

The proof that she can't do it is that she hadn't done it yet. I'm gonna say that again. The proof that the enemy can't do to you what he keeps freaking you out that he is going to do to you, is that if he could, he would have by now, whoop, whoop, thank you Jesus. So you mean so you mean so you mean he doesn't have any power over me, that my thought patterns don't give him. That's right. Now. Jezebel is a person in history. She's

a Phoenician queen. She brought bail idols of bail and Astira, and she really hear in the nation away from God when she married Ahab. But look at verse three because it is not her threat that is the most significant part of this passage, and it's not Elijah's feelings. Because verse three says Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. The way that is worded gives the indication that he thought she actually could do what she said she would do. I don't believe that. I'll show you why. Now this

is just the introduction. There's just something I want you to see before we get to the part of the passage that the Holy Spirit wants to illuminate for your understanding. Today, said when he came to Beersheba, you got the picture. He's had a great victory in the name of God. He prophesied a three year drought. It didn't rain for three years. He said, it's gonna rain. It did rain. After he called down fire from heaven and slaughtered all

the false prophets, and he ran for his life. And then when he got to Beersheba and Judah, he left his servant there while he himself went a day's journey in the wilderness. He came to a broombush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. I have had enough, Lord, he said, take my life. I'm no

better than my ancestors. So it shows me that if he was asking God, who is all powerful, take my life, that he wasn't really running for his life, because if he wanted to die and he thought she could kill him, he would have just stayed. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that he was running from his life then to say that he was running for his life. And somebody knows exactly what I'm talking about, because you've

been running from your life too. Not so much that God didn't give you victories, not so much that you don't believe He's with you, not so much that you can't point out times in your past where God came through. But it's just that hm weariness can lead to weakness if not interrupted by worship. Who are you? You talk to me all the time when I'm preaching. I've always wanted to meet you. I love you so much. I hear you on every sermon I have preached for the

last seven years, and I love you for it. Thank you. Send her like five thousand dollars worth of flowers this week for me. I'm telling you because look, look, look the prophet said. The prophet said, take my life, Lord, I am no better than my ancestors. I'm gonna give you a contrast here, and you're gonna find yourself right in it, because you're like, not a prophet. I don't have anybody trying to kill me. I don't even know

why I came out here today. This guy is telling me a story about an epic prophet, and I am just trying to get my kid back in school, and I am just trying to pay my rent and this doesn't relate to me at all. You're wrong, You're so wrong. This dynamic that I see in the story of Elijah's life encourages me that even the people with the greatest faith have to deal with the low moments. Don't let these Instagram Christians fool you. They only post the moments

that they're proud of. But if I could follow them around with a camera just for three hours in the right situations, we would see them in this state as well. Aren't you grateful the Bible didn't take these parts because would have been easy for the Holy Spirit to be like, don't put that on Elijah. Makes him look bad. That's bad pr for the prophet. If we want the prophet to be in the Bible, he's got to be up there on the mountain. But you can't put him down

there by the broombush. Look at this guy. This guy. You would edit this out of your story too. I'm telling you right now you would edit this out of your story if you were the editor. But see, the Bible cares enough about our little moments to tell us that Elijah praid he might die. I have had enough, Lord take my life. I'm no better than my ancestress. Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep, and all at once an angel touched him and said, get read. It's about to be your favorite vers in

the Bible. Get up and eat. I gave you a verse to shout over right there, get up and eat. I think I'm gonna memorize that one. You got to be by the life verses My life verses one King's nineteen verse five, Part B, Part B, Part B. That's a good part. Now look at it. He looked around, and okay, okay, okay, the holy spiritual of this there by his head. By his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. Man, if I hadnt known running from God was this much fun,

I'd have started sooner. God sends him a personal chef. Now the door dash a personal chef to the broom bush and said, there by his head with some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and then lay down again. The Angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you. So he got up, ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he went back

and did what God told him to do. Now he traveled forty days and forty nine until he reached horror of the Mountain of God. And there he went in a cave spent the night. So did you see it? How God had his back even while Elijah was running. Did you see it how God fed Elijah even when Elijah didn't have faith? Did you see it how God carried you through some dark seasons of your life where you denied that He even existed. Did you see it that He followed you right there into that hospital room.

Did you see it that he followed you right there into that divorce court? Did you see it that he followed you right there to that broom bush. God's got your back. Spurgeon preached a sermon. He talked about the turn back. He talked about not God having his back to me, but me having my back to God. And how God will feed you even when you are being led by your feelings away from his will for your life. And there by his head was the provision of God right by his head. And yet it wasn't enough to

turn him around. Because even though the angel dropped off the provision by his head, Jezebel was in his head. Yeah, the angel drops off the food by his head. Jezebel is in his head. Life, lesson, be very careful who you led in your head. How many people won't let people walk in your house unless they take their shoes off. So what in the world are you doing on Facebook letting people walk all through. I'm so sorry that was

so confrontational. I'm just trying to help you to see the discrepancy that a lot of times we will protect everything more than we protect our headspace. Everything. Don't get in my car with don't get in my car with those dirts. You can't leave trash in my car, but I will go seek out trash on my phone and I can get a new car. But I only have

so much headspace. I only have so much. I only have so much, and I need it for my family, and I need it for my church, and I need it for those who count on me, and I need it for my future. So no, you just can't walk through my mind with muddy shoes. I'm not being mean. I'm being strategic because I got a call on my life.

And he went in a case and spent the night forty days away from the Northern Kingdom, where the wicked king Ahad was still reigning, even though Yahweh God had just sent a shower to prove his presence and revival was on the way. Ah But the enemy always wants to threaten you, to make you run at the time of revival. I never did anything important for God that

the intimidation didn't increase right before I did it. I'm talking about breaking down, crying, freaking out, stomach sickness, all of it, just to try to get me to run from what God is doing. And he goes in a cave. How many times have you heard me preach about this cave, Holly, she said a few? How many times have you seen me go in that cave in my personal life? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I know this cave well, because not so much the

physical implications of the cave. You know, we call it a man cave, and that's supposed to be a good thing. But when a man goes in the cave, the cave of your own counsel, now the enemy has got you right where he wants. You know, as many times as I've preached about the cave, there's something that's even more important than where Elijah ended up in the cave. Because God called him out of the cave. But by the time he got there, the Bible says, you ever seen

this before? In verse nine, it says, excuse me, verse eight, he traveled forty days and forty nine. Now, the last recorded conversation that he has had with God happened forty days ago. You cannot go forty days on the strength of your last conversation with God. You cannot go four days on the strength. You can't go four hours. You can't go four minutes. When I'm preaching. Let me tell you a little secret. I'm talking to God about you

while I'm talking to you about God. So if you can see the conversation in my head in between each sentence is an internal conversation where I'm sam, what do they need next? Lord? Of what I've studied, of what I've prepared, What do you want to say next? Holy Spirit? Oh, thank you for that, Lord, that's good. No, I'm gonna skip that because that's me, that's not you God. Oh I'm gonna say this next because it might be vulnerable,

but it might help set somebody free. And that constant conversation with God is not just for preachers, It's for all God's people. Yes, you, forty days is too long for you to go. I told you last week. You can't let every Sunday be the next time you expect God to speak. You really can't. You can't. And the way people do church now if probably we're being honest about it, it's about every three or four Sundays people come.

So when I say what I preached two weeks ago, some of you all are like, was that your Easter sermon? That's the last one I heard. I'm not beating up on you. That's fine. We all get busy, just as long as you are talking to God along the way. The last thing he said to God was kill me, kill me. I'm done. That's it. I'm finished. I have had enough. Flord and God follows him all the way to the mountain that he wasn't supposed to be at, after feeding him on the journey he wasn't supposed to take.

Thank God for his grace. And this is how, this is how, this is how intent God is. I'm getting our attention for what he wants to do in the earth, not because we're so important, because what he wants to do is so important. He replied, I have been very zealous. Oh sorry, I missed the best part. I missed it. I almost left out the best part. And the word of the Lord verse nine party and the word of the Lord came to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

I will resist the temptation to preach question because I've done it many times before. I want to shay something different this time. He replied. I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me. To leave that verse up, I want you to find the lie in what Elijah said. Find the lie? What'd you say? Okay, okay, let's keep going.

Let's see if he's right. I just wanted to quiz you real quick so you can hold onto what you think. He said, I've been very zealous for the Lord of Almighty. The Israelits have rejected covenant twenty afters put your pphets as the sword. I'm the only one left. Now they're trying to kill me. To go to verse eleven, the Lord said, go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about

to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord wasn't in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle It was next verse. When Elijah heard it. He pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. In that

an interesting phrase. I know this isn't what it means, but it almost reminds me that the whole time he's in the cave, that there's talk going on that doesn't come from God the mouth of the cave, that the whole time he's in that cave, he's playing a conversation. The whole time he's in that cave, there's a conversation happening in the cave. The whole time that you withdraw from people, the whole time that you pull back from community, the whole time that you skip what God gave you

to do, because it's tuorl the cave keeps talking. It's an echo chamber. It just bounces around, It just goes back and forth and back and forth. Forty days to get to the cave, spend the night in there, and the Lord asked the question, what are you doing here and watch his answer in verse fourteen, give me verse fourteen, he replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, put your prophets to death with the sword.

I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too, y'all. I'm sorry. I think the tech team screwed up. That's the same verse we read in verse ten. So y'all put verse fourteen up real quick. Who brought a paper bible with you? I'm looking for a rapture ready Christian with a paper bible. You got it. Look at verse fourteen. They messed it up. They had the same verse on fourteen they put on verse ten on them. Give me a new scripture. Person

back there. Huh oh, that's the right verse, But put verse timback off. He replied, I've been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelis have rejected your governant, torn down your altars, put your prophise dead with the sword. I'm the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. Verse fourteen, he replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put

your profits to death with the sword. I'm the only one left now they're trying to kill me too. You mean, God just sinn an earthquake, a windstorm, and a fire. God just sent earth, wind and fire, and you're still singing this same little sad song. Say leave it up, leave it up. I just want you to see it for yourself, how we can get stuck in a story and God can do crazy things all around you to show you I'm still who you thought I was. I'm still who you claimed me to be in the mountain,

as you forgot in the cave. But it sounds like to me Elijah has rehearsed this so much he actually can't get out of the conversation even when he comes out of the cave. God can bring you out of a situation, but if it's in your spirit what you rehearse, you will take a bad spirit into a blessed situation. I mean, after all, Oh, he had forty days to practice this speech. He's got it down now. With every step he took away from the will of God for his life, away from the purpose of God for the

prophet away from where God showed him miracles. Every step he took away in isolation, Jezebel's voice got louder, and then he just starts leaving out the best stuff in the story. I don't think this is the story he was telling forty days ago, fresh off the encounter on Carmel. I think when he started walking away from where God called him, he was probably saying some other stuff too. You know, this is really hard, and I'm really tired,

and I want to die. I mean, I saw God do great things on Mount Carmel, and I do believe that there's hope now that God has sent the rain. With every step that he took the wrong story, it reinforced how big his enemy was, how intense his loneliness fell, and it diminished what God had done. That's exactly what Jezebel intended with her threat. If I can get you,

this is what the devil does too. If he can get you to rehearse the wrong story, you will literally think it's true by the time you get to the cave, and then you cave. You cave. You don't have the strength to stand. You're not weak, you're weary, and with every step that he took by himself without talking to the god who brought him this far, the devil was able to delete different things that could have been in the story. They said that ah have told Jezebel everything

Elijah had done, and that's why she threatened him. AaB goes home and tells Jezebel, this dude, don't mess with this dude. You better do something about him. He's gonna yank your whole idle worshiping kingdom out of your hands. He's gonna send you back back into Phoenicia. This dude is crazy. He had him cutting up bulls. This dude had This dude told them to take water in a drought, four jars of water and pour the water on the

wood three times, and then called for fire. This is not exactly a strategic mastermind, but he is a spiritual giant. He was wedding wood and praying for fire. That's what a have said. That's what they have said. His enemy was doing a better job telling his story than he was. Ahab wouldn't shut up. He told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. He didn't leave out any details, and then he got the bulls and then he started taunting them, and then

he was like, hey, maybe you should call louder. Maybe bills in the bathroom, he told everything Elijah had done. He told how Elijah had told him in for chapter eighteen, where he said there's a cloud the size of a man's hand. And his servant said, I don't see anything, and Elijah said, well, the problem isn't with God's word, it's with your eyes. Go look again. He sent that poor servant. Remember when I had you running up and

down the stairs one time preaching this passage. Yeah, I sent him back and forth seven times, the most cardio he had ever done in his life. And then I sent him back and forth and talked about the frustration of faith. He told a Jezebel, all that Aha did, the enemy did, the enemy did because the enemy is a better storyteller than most of God's children. He'll tell your stories. Here's how good he is, here's how good

he is. He will just make up stuff that might happen, that might happen, and then he will emphasize the hypothetical as you forget the historical. So all Elijah really had to do was give the devil a history lesson all Elijah really had to do to stop himself from going in the wrong direction, from sinking into the depths of despair, to be saying I'm suicidal. I don't want to live, I don't want to do this. They're trying to kill me.

All he had to do while he was walking was stop for one moment and tell the story like it really happened. Because I thought I was so only one, But my God is your way. I stood all that nothing all alone. I coughed down fire. I've wept that good heyk God came through. I went to the brooks called Thereah, and the birds brought me food. I went to the widow's house and I've looked apply her oil. Why do you keep deleting all the stuff that God did and adding stuff that the enemy might do and

running from your purpose? That's Jezebel, see, because you can have Jesus in your heart and Jezebel in your head. Oh yeah, I'm saved and going to heaven. I got Jesus in my heart. I believe you, I really do. All you gotta do is ask him and to come in. That's not the heart part. The hard part isn't getting Jesus in your heart. That's my grace anyway. And then like you did so much good stuff, He's like, okay, cool, this is a five star hotel. I'll come live in

your heart. No, no, no no, no, nor your heart. Your heart is nasty, your heart is filthy. Your heart looks like a college dorm room, looks like a frat house been torn apart. Your house looks terrible. And he came in anyway, that's not the hard part. Hey, hey, hey, if you believe in repent and turn to him, he come in your heart. But if Jesus is in your heart and Jezebel's in your head, you won't follow him.

You'll follow fear and fear watches makes you forget. Every step he takes away, he's telling himself this same story, and with every step he takes away from what God has brought him into. Do you know what I mean when I say that, or do I need to break it down? It's when God has called you to be really present, really invested, really faithful, really take the next step. Don't be afraid to look like a fool, Just do

what He gave you to do. God has called you, He's given you a gift, and every step he takes away from that and he rehearses the wrong story. It becomes so solidified that by the time he gets to the cave, he's got this story down. Not even the earthquake, the windstorm, or the fire can reverse what he's rehearsed, not even the greatest act of God. So God, come here, Ole. So God's like, I know what to do. Come come on upstate, coming upstairs. God's like, I know what to do.

Since I got your back, you know, since I know you, since I made you, since I called you. I'm a whisper it because I'm right here. What are you doing here, Elijah? Elijah's like, I have been very zealous for the Lord God all mine. Now, Now here's why. Here's why I think. Here's why I think Elijah's speech sucks. That's why I think his story is trash. Put it back up verse ten or fourteen, doesn't matter. They're both the same stupid story, the same stuff over and over again. You know how

you get when you get stuck in a story. We used to say in my house, that's my story, And I'm all right, let me tell you something new. Your mama didn't tell you this one, that's your story, and you're stuck in it. Even then, God blessed the cave apart. Now there's no real cave for you to stand in, but you're still trapped in that conversation in your head. What Jezebel said, So anyway, he's like, I have been

very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your profits to death with a soul. That is why the story stopped because of what he started with, I I I AH. Wherever this story goes next, it is going to be confined by the point of view of the narrator. You can't narrate by faith in first person. In fiction, they have what's called a third person narrator. It's when the character isn't saying I did this, and I did that,

and I went here and I went there. So basically, like the way we live our lives, what do they think of me? What are they saying about me? Why didn't they invite me, Why don't they like me? What's wrong with me? Third person narrator is different. It describes the event. Watch this because remember Holly has a book club and then they have third person omnission. This is a narrator that knows stuff that they have no business knowing, and they say stuff that the characters in the story

can't see. So God said, you have been stuck in first person frustration. But when the third person mister it the Father, the Son, and the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit speaks, when the Spirit tells your story, When the Spirit interprets your situation, when the Spirit clickens you, when the Spirit of God shows you what's up. When the Spirit of God tells you, I still got something for you to do. When the

Spirit of God speaks. When you speak to God through spirit and He speaks to you through spirit, something happens. Maybe he tells, come so so, Holly, Holly, I'm not gonna holler at you. I'm just gonna let you know I'm writing with you and we can talk. We can talk talk about this. Talk to him, Talk to him about it, Talk to him about what you're afraid about. Don't you go forty days trying to figure it out in your own strength, starve in your soul, starve in

your spirit, eating junk food, wondering why you're weak. I'll tell you why you're weak. You can't go forty days telling yourself stuff that starts with eye cause you tell me. I'm gonna tell you what the kids taught me. They taught me that. In video game, you have an NPC. You'll know this term, the what's it called non playable character. That's the people that's just there over to the side. They don't do anything, They just there. And then, of

course you're the main character, y'all. That's a boring game when everything else in your life is NPC and you're the only character that matters. What about what God wants? What about what he wants to do through you? I have been very zealous, true for the Lord God Almighty. They give me, give me Verse ten, verse fourteen, Verse ten, verse fourteen. The Israelies, I know what's wrong with us now. I saw it in the text. I saw what's wrong

with me. I saw why I'm stuck in my story because it says I and them I have been very zelfil of got of money. They have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. Wait a minute, Elijah, you killed eight hundred and fifty of them. Yeah, I'm not going to tell that part. Leave an emper down. Oh, be very suspicious of any story that has self pity. Be very

suspicious of it. Anytime that little voice inside you start saying stuff like nobody appreciates you, call it into question. That's probably not true. She's getting fired off. Now. I'm getting ready for a fleck, y'all. I'm getting ready for a fled because I want you to know when you go to prepare to preach to the ladies Friday, God's voice won't be the only voice speaking to you. Jezebel will be telling you stuff too. Who do you think you are to preach this? You don't have anything to say.

Nobody wants to hear from you. You struggle with all this same stuff too, you hypocrite. By the way, Jezebel will be the loudest voice you'll hear, because Jesus will whisper to watch this. Jezebel's trying to attack you from the outside. Jesus is empowering you from the inside. Oh God, I feel somebody getn't set free today. I feel you will hear a voice behind you saying, just at this, how I wants you to raise those kids. This is how I want you to do. Great stuff for your husband.

Be really nice to them. He's wonderful to the Lord says stuff like this, just for example. And I want you to understand the power of the story that you tell yourself. If the story that you tell yourself starts with I, it's going to end in insecurity. If the story that you tell yourself starts with I, it's going to end in inadequacy. By the way, if the story you tell yourself starts with EYE is going to end in idolatry, and you will find yourself leaning on a

God that cannot prop you up. I wish Elijah would have said, tell Jezebel, you know just Oh, I can't say it like I wanted to. If I can say it like I wanted to, Josebel, please, that's what I want to say. Oh, I can't say it like I want to say it. Don't you remember what God Dad. The last time you'll challenge me, you'll fill me devil, Get your hands off my house, get your money, feet

out of my buck. Don't sum liver the blood of Jesus, the lamb that was slave just about park the lamb that was slave drumped up down, fass up the world. The Lord said, I heard your story. It sucks. Verse fifteen. Let's change the main character, the Lord said to him. The Lord alright said to him, hop prophesy drives here the word of the Lord. So so now we're switching point of view. Eli just said I did. They're trying. Hey, hey, you decide what part of the story you emphasize. Go

back to verse fourteen. I'm gonna make it better. I'm gonna make it better. I'm gonna fix it up. I've been very else rely got the money. There's a real list of reject your coven. Toy on the ultras. Put your prophess the sword. I'm the only one left. And now they are trying, trying. First of all, everybody isn't trying to kill you, Eli, Joe, one woman is so stop exaggerating. Who is that word for a razor hand? Be honest, don't lie. God, I'll strike you right now.

Exaggerating stuff. The whole nation after ma A, I've my ras alas they Hi, they Hi? They Where's God in your story? They are trying, but they can't quit misquoting Isaiah fifty four seventeen. No weapon will be formed against you. No no weapon formed against you will prosper. It will always be formed. It won't work, it won't when it won't prevail, it will not be the end of you. Cool. You better sit down, babe. I feel like Christian. I

feel like Christian. I feel like Christian. I feel like coming for everybody who has been under the spell of Jack's the bell. Get it out of your head. Get it out of your head, Get it out of your mind, get it out of your thoughts, get it out of your meditation, get it out of your phone. Get it out of your head so you can hear the whisper, and then you will hear a voice behind you. Watch what God said to Elijah verse fifteen. Go back the way you came. God will send certain words in your

life that will be turning words. Lors, I'm preaching to somebody today that might not even be in this room and may not even see this message for years. This is a turning word for you, A turning word, A turning word, a turning word. Go back the way you came. But stop telling the story that you've been telling. Some of your suffering is not because of your situation. It's because of your right. This why is happening. This is why they did that. No no no, no, no, no no,

go back the way you came. And here's the brilliance of it. God says, when you get to the desert of Damascus, annoying Jaseel king over Aaron. That's right, star walking,

star walking. And as you go, you will hear a voice saying, this is the way verse sixteen, and annoyed Jay Whu's son of them she king over Israel, and annoying Elisha's son of say Fat from able Miloa to succeed you as prophet Jay, who will put to death any who escaped the sword of Jseel and Elivesha will put to death any who escaped the sword of Jehu. You mean God has already worked out what I'm worried about. Spoiler alert. Jezebel is trampled by horses at the end

of her life. Eli is taken up by horses and chariots of fire. Who tells your story? Come on live, man will help me preach? Who tells your story? I am redeed by the blood of the laft hop standing by the grace of God. Hop going how the wonder. This is the word of the Lord. Jezebel can't or she would have anxiety. Can't or it would have depression. Can't or it would have sin was strong. Jesus's stronger, greater is he is in need. Whisper, Holy Spirit, Whisper, Whisper, Whisper,

whisper the wind words. Whisper to your servants. They're tired, Lord, they want to quit, they want to give up. They're stuck in a story. Oh, everybody let me because I'm defected. Oh, everybody walked away from me. They can't even see what's in front of them. You already had seven thousand that had not bowed their need to bail, or whose mouths had not kissed him. Oh God, we thank you for what we can't see when we're stuck in our own story.

We thank you for being the third person. The Holy Spirit, the spirit that gives life, the spirit that raises dead, the spirit that speaks truth, the spirit that confirms, the spirit that answers the door when condemnation knocks. The spirit that sets us free, the spirit that leads and guides into truth and seasons. The Spirit of God is here. Speak Holy Spirit, Speak, Lord, Speak Lord, guide them back to the place they belong. They don't belong in a bottle.

They don't belong in any kind of bottle, not a bottle of pills, not a bottle of too many drinks, not a bottle of their own battles that they can't get out of. No God, No God, I call them out of the cave, right now, Holy Spirit, call them out of the Okay, you sent the earthquake, they didn't listen. You sent the fire, they didn't see it. You sent the wind. They still went back inside. Oh, my Holy Spirit, if you whisper like only you can, that I've already

worked out what you're worried about. It took Elijah forty days to get back, just amount of time it took him to get there. But I gotta imagine that with every step he took back to God's assignment, he told himself the real story. As you step into a new week, as you step into a new season, as you step into a new challenge, with every step, I want you to tell the story of a God who brought you this far and did not bring you the far. Believe you of the sustaining God, the Saving God, forgiving God,

the Covenant God, the Loving God, the kind God. Every step tells a story. Every step tells a story. You can't believe what God brought me through. You can't believe where He brought me from. You can't believe how much He delivered me out of He's been so faithful. So instead of starting your story with how zealous you've been, why don't you start with how faithful God is. Well, if you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple things I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate,

and review this podcast. You can also help us reach others by investing today at Elevation Church dot org, slash and give and thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast