Keep It In Context

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:07.760 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.680 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:11.480 Hope it gives your. 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:13.560 Perspective to see God is moving in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:14.680 Enjoy the message. 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:20.560 I'm so excited. I've been waiting to share this word 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.440 with you this week. The Lord has been speaking to 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:27.720 us about new loops, same lies. 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:29.160 New loops. 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:32.280 Put my graphic on the screen so they can know 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:33.560 what I'm talking about. 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:36.639 It's important that in this season of. 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.559 Your life that you don't repeat the wrong things over 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:44.080 and over again. The victory and defeat in your life 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.639 is all a matter of what you put on repeat 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:49.199 in your mind and in your heart. How many have 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:53.159 found that to be true. And if you repeat the 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:55.480 wrong thing long enough, it starts to sound like it's 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:58.080 true even though it's not true. I'll always be my 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:01.240 mom was my sister. Is can't break this, I can't 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:03.880 deal with this. So when we say new loops, we're 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.800 talking about getting a new meditation in your heart that 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:10.520 comes from God. And we can't stop the enemy from lying. 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:13.000 But if we can teach you to identify when he's 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.720 doing it. And if we can teach you how to 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:17.720 tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit that is 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.440 speaking of truth over you, we can get you set 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:22.720 free in some areas of your life that you had 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:25.600 become convinced it always has to be this way. So 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:28.280 we're praying for new patterns. How many have been blessed 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:36.280 by the series so far? Amen, Today I want to 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.760 pick up with a scripture that is very powerful in 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:45.480 Second Kings chapter six, Praise the Lord. Second Kings chapter six. 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:52.720 I was thinking about this JJ. 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:56.120 Probably one of the coolest pictures that we get in 0:01:56.160 --> 0:02:01.040 the whole Bible of when you feel overwhelmed and you 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.000 don't know what to do, one of. 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.640 The clearest pictures that we get of what to do. 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.520 And so this will help you today. Second Kings, chapter six. 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:13.959 Let me read the full story. Please start in verse. 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:23.200 Eight. Second Kings six, Verse A. Now, the King of 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:25.280 arab was at war with Israel. 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.239 After conferring with his officers, he said, I will set 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:31.600 up my camp in such and such a place. The 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:33.520 Man of God sent word to the King of Israel, 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.040 beware of passing that place because the Arabians are going 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:38.799 down there. So the King of Israel checked on the 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:42.240 place indicated by the Man of God. Time and again 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:46.120 Elisha warned the king so that he was on his 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:47.400 guard in such places. 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:49.320 This enraged the King of Aram. 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:53.200 He summoned his officers and commanded of them, or demanded 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:56.400 of them, tell me which of us is on the 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.520 side of the King of Israel. None of us, my lord, 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.799 the king, said one of his officers. But Elisha, the prophet, 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.880 who is in Israel, tells the King of Israel the 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.840 very words you speak in your bedroom. Go find out 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:11.880 where he is, the king ordered, so I can send 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.000 men and capture him. And the report came back, he 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:20.440 is in Dothan. He is in Dothan. Then he sent 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:24.359 horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:28.360 by night and surrounded the city. Now verse fifteen, it 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:32.200 gets good. When the servant of the Man of God 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:35.839 got up and went out early the next morning, an 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:40.360 army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. Oh no, 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.960 my lord, what shall we do, the servant asked. And 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:47.640 I want you to really pay attention to how the 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:56.960 prophet answered, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. What do 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:02.000 you mean, don't be afraid when we are surrounded on 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:07.480 every side. No, no, no, don't be afraid, because it cannot 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:11.080 sink you if it surrounds you. It can only sink 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:17.000 you if it submerges you. So regardless of what you 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:21.680 see with your senses, don't be afraid. Those who are 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:27.200 with us are more than those who are with them 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:31.719 in that good and Elisha pray, and Elisha prayed open 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:35.400 his eyes Lord, so that he may see. Then the 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.760 Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:44.279 the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:48.840 around Elisha. One more verse from Romans eight eighteen. King 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.840 James version, Please on the screen, for I reckon that 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:57.039 the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:03.640 be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.840 For I reckon I thought about it a little while 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:10.360 I did the math on it. I added and subtracted, 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:14.240 and multiplied and divided. I sat down with my situation, 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:19.039 and I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:23.080 what I'm going through right now on the outside, I 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:28.640 reckon that that is not worth comparing with the glory 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:33.560 that will be revealed in me. Now let me give 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:36.039 you my title. Turn to your neighbor and say, I 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:43.800 know it's crazy, but keep it in context. Keep it 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:49.320 in context, Keep it in context. Father, I pray that 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:52.760 you would illuminate what you're doing in our situation. Thank 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:54.960 you that you already were speaking while your word was 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:58.800 being read. Now make it so personal that people squirm 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:01.280 like has he been following me around this week? 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:03.320 Because you have been following them around this week. 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:06.920 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:11.600 of my life. Thank you for speaking. Lord in Jesus' name, Amen, 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:23.640 you may be seated in in the Bible. The kinds 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:27.839 of conversations that we get to hear are really crazy 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.360 if you step back and think about it. To get 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:34.360 to hear Elisha one of the greatest profits. 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:34.960 That God ever made. 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.080 As he is dealing with the situation that is beyond 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:42.920 his control, and how he advises his young servant is 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:47.359 really an incredible masterclass for us in our minds. And 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:51.120 I think it's amazing in this conversation how the servant 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:54.400 wakes up and sees something that is so much bigger 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:58.599 than him and the prophet essentially says, don't make it 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:02.200 bigger than it is. Don't make it bigger than it is. 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.880 And in every marriage there's one person who makes things 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:13.240 bigger than they are. In my marriage, let me go 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:15.720 ahead and give you a framework for my marriage. Did 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:19.360 you see the movie Inside Out? Did you see Inside Out? 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.160 Too? All right? 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:23.360 Our family went to see Inside Out too, because in 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:27.000 Inside Out, the little girl has all these emotions and 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.480 they're personified by characters that sit at the control panel, 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:34.160 And so you've got sadness and disgust and joy and 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:38.520 anxiety and an inside out too. Joy and anxiety are 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:40.160 always battling each other. 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:41.240 Inside of her mind. 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:43.440 So we went to see the movie this summer, and 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:45.760 we were going out to eat, and on the way 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:49.520 to the restaurant, I found out that this restaurant might 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:53.440 be closed, not would be closed, might be closed. And 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:56.400 you think, to yourself, that's not a big deal. But 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.960 to my mind, the restaurant being closed is an unacceptable 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:02.520 first domino in what could be a very bad day. 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.200 I feel like if everybody's blood sugar crashes to a 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.680 certain point, then it may cause the kids to fight. 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:10.520 That the kids fight too much, it may cause me 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:12.560 to respond in a terrible way. If I respond in 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:14.360 a terrible way, I'm gonna feel shame. I'm gonna have 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:17.440 to humble myself and apologize. And so as I'm going 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:19.400 back and forth with Holly in the car, driving to 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.000 the restaurant that might be closed, not is closed, might 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.080 be closed, and talking to her about unacceptable, the outcome 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:28.120 of the restaurant being closed would be Graham says from 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:30.640 the back seat. You know, watching mom and Dad talk 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:34.360 is literally like watching a conversation between anxiety and joy. 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:41.720 Now in the passage that I read to you, it's 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:45.720 literally like watching a conversation between the wisdom of the 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:50.280 experience of the older prophet Elisha and his young servant 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:54.440 who has never faced a situation like this before. I've 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:58.120 never faced a situation like this before. I've never been 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:02.360 in this stage of life before. And we get through 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:08.000 the miraculous conservation of the scriptures and inside and in 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:13.400 some ways candid seat to this conversation, and the prophet says. 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:14.679 Don't make it bigger than it is. Now. 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:17.040 That's a crazy thing to say when you're surrounded by 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:21.000 horses and cheriots. Because whatever it is that you're going 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:23.120 through today, in your life, It's not this. Can we 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:27.160 all agree it's not this. This man is a national 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:30.320 security threat, it's not this. They're not all coming to 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.400 get you, although our minds will try to tell us 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:36.240 that it is so. In our relationship, Holly is always 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:40.160 the one who says it's not a big deal. Even yesterday, 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.880 I was preparing this message for you, and as I 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.400 was sitting down to study, she was flying to a 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.760 speaking engagement and she started texting me. And I was 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:51.959 looking for an illustration to talk about how sometimes my 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.520 mind tries to make it bigger than it is, and 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:58.040 she started texting me about a flight delay. Now she's 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:01.360 the one flying, I'm not, but I'm the one freaking out, 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:05.559 not her, because I texted her, Oh, no, this is horrible. 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:07.720 She said, no, it's fine, and I was like, no, 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.480 it's not fine, because why do they always just get 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:14.240 to delay our flights whenever they want to. Somebody needs 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:17.280 to say something about this and do something about this. 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:22.480 This is unfair, This is unjust, This is actually this 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:25.320 is actually bigger than just your flight today, Holly. This 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.679 is actually a way that they're treating consumers that is unacceptable. 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.160 I mean, you paid for the ticket. This is not 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.840 a prison you are in. This is an actual place 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.200 that you paid to be, and you have a place 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:40.240 that you need to be and you are not going 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:42.360 to get to the place that you need to be 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.480 because the place that you paid to be did not 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.400 provide the service that. Have you ever tried to work 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:50.559 somebody who was like, is not a big deal? Into 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:54.560 a Oh yes, it is a big deal situation, and 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:58.080 that's me and her. I'm outraged. She's drinking Starbucks for her, 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:05.839 it's extra time for me. It is a travesty of travel, justice, anxiety, 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:09.520 and joy. Just having a conversation, you know, is not 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:12.360 a big deal. Yes it is, because if you don't 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:13.199 make it to the event. 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:14.600 See here's the thing I found out. 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:18.880 When a flight gets delayed for me, my mind opens 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:25.760 a file. Write this down. My mind has files. Did 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:29.559 you know that your mind has files? And so when 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:32.840 a flight gets delayed, it opens a file in my 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.000 mind called every time a flight got delayed and then 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:40.040 got delayed again, and then got delayed again. So when 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.240 she said my flight is delayed, she's like, it's fine. 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:47.760 That's her file. Holly has this huge file called is fine, 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:51.440 It'll be fine. It's gonna be fine. If the restaurant 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:54.480 isn't open, it'll be fine. We're not gonna starve, it'll 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:56.600 be fine. We could even turn it into a fast 0:11:56.840 --> 0:12:00.800 It'll be fine. The biggest file in her is called 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.520 it's fine. So when the flight is delayed, Holly's like, 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.040 it's fine. It's been fine so many times before. There 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.240 have been so many times that it has been fine, 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.320 that it is going to be fine right now. I 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:14.960 did the calculation, the tabulation and the math, and it 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:17.679 is going to be absolutely fine that the flight is delayed, 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:20.520 because we can still get there because I built in buffer. 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.200 But I'm thinking, no, this. 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:26.640 Is just the first in a series of horrible things. 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:29.319 And I go back to when we went to Atlanta 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:32.520 to record a preaching series and we were late and 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:35.440 we didn't get there in time because the flight was delayed. 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.680 This was fifteen years ago, and they were so mad 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.040 at me for not showing up at the taping that 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.440 they banned me from the network, from ever appearing on 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.560 the network. And the ministry was so small to me, 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:48.840 that was the worst thing. 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:49.640 That could ever happen. 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:52.400 So when she says the flight is delayed, I'm like, 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:54.959 you're about to get banned. I don't know who's gonna 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.760 ban her, what they're gonna ban her from, but for 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:00.520 some reason a mild inconvenience in my mind, and watch 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:04.880 this open the file call when this happens. This can't happen, 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:07.320 even if it's not in the probable odds of it, 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:10.959 there is a chance once they start this crap, once 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:14.319 they say we're delayed by ten minutes, that's just the 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.800 first lie. And now the file opens of every lie 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:21.040 that they ever told me on an intercom about the flight. 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.880 It's gonna be fine. Now, Sometimes it's not fine. Sometimes 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:34.640 you get banned, and the servant wakes up and sees 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:38.560 the place surround it and says, it's not fine. 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:40.040 It's not fine. 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:44.480 We're about to die. They have come to capture you 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:45.120 in Dothan. 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:46.559 It's not fine. 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:52.920 And Elisha says, don't be afraid. There's more with us 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.840 than with them. I believe one of the contrasts in 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:01.040 this passage that makes it very powerful is not only 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.160 that Elisha was the prophet and that the servant was 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:07.480 in an administrative position where he had to deal with details, 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:11.240 but that Elisha was a little older and the servant 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:14.680 was a young man, and so when Elishah woke up 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:18.720 that morning and saw the hills surrounded with his enemies, 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:20.640 and go ahead and bring me my teaching scream because 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:22.720 I think I need to draw this for you. How 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:25.000 many have been enjoying my drawings of loops over the 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:30.560 last few weeks. I'm still waiting on someone to get 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:35.520 a tattoo, a little loop tattoo. I know the Book 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.440 of Leviticus says, but that's not what it means. You 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.000 can get a tattoo if it's for the Lord. 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:42.920 Now watch this. 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:44.840 That's going to be the clip that they're going to 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:51.320 put online. 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:50.240 But they won't keep. 0:14:50.040 --> 0:15:03.880 It in context. Okay, So this is how the servant felt. 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:06.400 And I'm not drawing this because I think I'm such 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.360 an awesome artist. We've just been talking about these loops. 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:13.920 The enemy says, God says, the enemy says, God says. 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.200 What does the enemy say? Over and over again, It's 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:20.760 not enough, You're not loved. It's not enough, You're not loved. 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:24.000 And we've been talking about new loops that God can design. 0:15:24.520 --> 0:15:28.120 So the servant, who is a very young man, wakes 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.200 up in the morning and all he sees surrounding the hills. 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:42.360 Is the enemy surrounding Talk about a literal loop. There's 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:45.120 horses and chariots coming to take away the. 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:49.280 Man of God. It is a literal loop around these two. 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:54.000 And the servant sees the enemy and then he sees 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.360 and I wonder can you relate to this feeling? Okay, 0:15:57.080 --> 0:15:59.680 wake up in the morning, and all I feel, all 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:04.040 I all I can sense is the avalanche of anxiety 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.600 of everything that's probably not going to get done today, 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.600 that needs to get done today, or of all of 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:15.800 the potentially awkward conversations that need to happen. And there's 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:19.440 a little voice inside of you saying, it's fine, but 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:24.400 what if it's not. It's fine, but maybe not this time. 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:28.680 It's fine, it's good, this is good, it's good. But 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.160 when you're surrounded by the enemy and this is what 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:40.640 he sees. Here's the enemy and here's me. So that's 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:44.440 about how it feels, right. This is how big the 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:45.000 enemy is. 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:48.480 This is me. Can y'all see that? That says me, 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:51.160 big old enemy? 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:56.680 Li me? And what is lil o me gonna do 0:16:57.400 --> 0:17:02.440 with a big old enemy? And he just says, it's fine. 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:08.320 How is it fine? Because I have a file. I 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:12.440 have a file. This is not Elisha's first time in trouble. 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:17.600 This is not Elisha's first time outnumbered. This is not 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:22.520 Elisia's first time dealing with it's not enough. One time 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:25.080 he was standing at the bank of the Jordan after 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.800 his mentor, Elijah was taken away, who he followed for 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:34.000 years and years, seeing miracles, miracles that only God can do. 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.080 And I believe that as he was watching his mentor, 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:41.760 as God performed miracles, he was building a file, a 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:44.920 file in his mind that God can send fire from heaven, 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.760 a file in his mind that God can even raise 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.720 the dead, a file in his mind that enabled him 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:53.680 when he was standing at the Jordan with nothing but 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.800 the mantle that was left from his mentor, he rolled 0:17:56.800 --> 0:18:00.200 it up and struck the water, and the water part. 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.040 And when he saw something as simple as a piece 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:06.520 of clothing part a body of water, that became a 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:10.320 new file in his mind. And then there was the 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:12.040 time where they brought him to a city and the 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:16.119 water supply was bad in tewod King's chapter two, and 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:18.080 he took a little salt and threw it in the water, 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:21.000 and the water was purified from a little bit of salt. 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:24.160 How can a little bit of salt purify a whole 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:26.800 body of water? And so Elisha put it in his 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.439 mind that God can take a little thing, something that 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:34.440 is not enough, something that seems insignificant, and he can 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:39.600 purify and he can plentify something that seems absolutely beyond 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.760 human ability. When a widow came to him and said, 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:45.960 they're about to take my sons as slaves, Elisha said, 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:48.880 what do you have in your house? And she said, 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.320 I don't have anything, just a little bit of oil. 0:18:51.359 --> 0:18:53.920 And Elija said, that's fine. But if you get enough 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:58.000 jars and you start pouring what you have, even if 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:01.320 it seems insignificant to you, if you will begin to 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:03.280 do the thing that you can do with the thing 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:06.000 that you do have, God will do the thing that. 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:06.560 You can't do. 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:11.399 Because God specializes in starting with not enough so he 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:14.199 can show that he is more than enough. And I 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.560 believe that as Elisha saw those jars filled and pushed 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.399 to the side, each time a jar was pushed to 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:24.399 the side from a supply that wasn't enough before God spoke, 0:19:24.880 --> 0:19:28.280 he began to fill a file in his mind that 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:31.440 God is faithful and that God is more than enough, 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.880 and that God is greater than a bad situation, and 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:37.480 that God doesn't look for what you don't have, but 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.119 he works with what you do have. And I believe 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:43.359 that by this time in his life, after seeing name 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:46.800 and healed of leprosy, after seeing a little boy that 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:49.960 was not supposed to be born be born and die 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.000 and raised from the dead, by the time he gets 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:55.680 to this place in his life, he has a big 0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:59.400 file in his mind. So when he sees the hills 0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:02.800 that are full of the enemies surrounding him, when he 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:05.639 sees the hills that are full of the opponents that 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.320 have come to take him away, when he sees the 0:20:08.440 --> 0:20:11.240 hills that are full of the thing that threatened to 0:20:11.280 --> 0:20:14.520 take his life, he has got a file that is 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:18.679 full to fight the fear that he feels because he 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.600 knows that if God is not done with me yet, 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:26.400 there's more in me. So I can't die here unless 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:29.080 God is done with me. So why would I be 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:32.719 afraid of something that can't take me until God is 0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:33.480 done with me? 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:35.720 Because I got a file for that. 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:41.639 And your mind has files. 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:46.320 Your mind has a file called worry, your mind has 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:50.800 a file called worship. And the one that you open 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:56.280 is the one that will fill. I just said something 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:59.880 to somebody, and I don't know who. But your mind 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:05.480 has files, one called faith, one called fear, and the 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.639 one that you open is the one that's going to fill. 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:12.160 If you open a file called what could go wrong 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:14.760 on this flight? You will be checking everybody's bag and 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:17.960 you're not even TSA. How far are you going to 0:21:18.040 --> 0:21:21.160 take this? I mean, are you going to interview the pilot? 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:23.639 Will you stop there? Are you going to check the 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:26.480 plane yourself? If you open the file called is this 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:29.560 gonna go well? On the fire? I mean that file 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:34.480 is completely infinite, That loop is complete. That's what the 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:37.520 enemy does to you. He gets you to open the file, 0:21:38.400 --> 0:21:42.320 and you don't have time for that file right now. No, 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:45.560 you let me say that again. You do not have 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:51.479 time to be running every hypothetical scenario in your life 0:21:51.720 --> 0:21:55.959 for what might go wrong, because if you repeat what 0:21:56.040 --> 0:22:00.520 might go wrong long enough, what you repeat is defeat. 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:07.399 Your mind has files, and the one that you open 0:22:08.280 --> 0:22:10.520 is the one that will fill. That changed my life 0:22:11.480 --> 0:22:13.560 because it helped me to start saying things to people 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:16.560 like this, man, I don't really want to talk about 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.359 that right now. One of my friends told me the 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:23.439 other day something horrible that somebody said about me, And 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:26.200 they said, but I had your back, and I said, 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:28.160 I appreciate it. Can we be done with this conversation? 0:22:29.160 --> 0:22:31.240 Thank you for having my back. But I'm done talking 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:31.600 about this? 0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:34.520 Why? Because I don't really want to hear about somebody 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:35.119 who hates me. 0:22:36.720 --> 0:22:41.119 I don't want to open that file right now because 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:44.240 that could be a big file and I might start 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:46.639 adding friends to that file that really don't hate me. 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:58.159 Remember when you vent, you invent? So if my heart 0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:00.920 is full of fear, what file. 0:23:00.760 --> 0:23:03.920 Did I open? I'll do a real time example. 0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:05.920 I'm looking around this room right now, and I just 0:23:05.960 --> 0:23:10.760 saw two people yawn while I was preaching right consecutively 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:13.560 in a row, big old I'm not even trying to 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:14.360 cover it up. Yon. 0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:17.760 There's a difference between like, ah, I'm tired, bo I'm 0:23:17.760 --> 0:23:18.440 really enjoying this. 0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:20.800 There's a difference between that and maybe if I do 0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:23.600 it big enough, he'll just finish. That's what it looked 0:23:23.640 --> 0:23:26.960 like to me. But why did I open that file? 0:23:28.280 --> 0:23:32.280 He's not yawning, she's not yawning. You're not yawning. At 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:34.840 least I didn't see you yawn. You haven't yawned. You're 0:23:34.880 --> 0:23:37.919 on the edge of your seat. You've got your thumbs ready, 0:23:38.200 --> 0:23:40.199 you look like you look like you are about to 0:23:40.240 --> 0:23:43.320 beat the devil to death with your thumbs and your 0:23:43.359 --> 0:23:46.320 notes at and you were writing every word of this down. 0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:49.800 Because man does not live on bread alone. Why am 0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:52.840 I watching their mouth yon when he's typing his phone 0:23:52.960 --> 0:23:57.280 is smoking. His phone is about to burst spontaneously combust 0:23:57.560 --> 0:24:00.360 with the wisdom and the power of God. Why would 0:24:00.400 --> 0:24:03.080 I open a file that says you're boring when I 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:05.680 got a thousand people in the room saying, no, I. 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:08.920 Need this work. This is helping me, this is feeding me, 0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:10.199 this is good for me. 0:24:10.640 --> 0:24:13.840 My soul needs to know this. Because I walked up 0:24:13.880 --> 0:24:17.600 this morning and I was surrounded by a really. 0:24:17.320 --> 0:24:21.119 Big enemy and I'm a really little need. But I 0:24:21.200 --> 0:24:25.080 came to open a new file today because I've got. 0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:28.879 A God who is great and dust miracles and for 0:24:29.080 --> 0:24:38.720 Fard's wonder So so the file that I open is 0:24:38.760 --> 0:24:42.000 the one that will fill. So if you tell your 0:24:42.040 --> 0:24:44.520 mind we want to be offended, your mind will find 0:24:44.600 --> 0:24:47.760 things for you to be offended about. Your mind will 0:24:47.800 --> 0:24:50.800 go looking and reading into things, and even taking things 0:24:50.840 --> 0:24:52.680 out of context. 0:24:53.080 --> 0:24:54.320 Just so you can get offended. 0:24:54.359 --> 0:24:57.080 Why because you open the file called I want to 0:24:57.080 --> 0:25:00.600 be offended because it feels good to be But it 0:25:00.640 --> 0:25:02.679 doesn't feel good to be filled with bitterness, does it? 0:25:03.400 --> 0:25:05.520 But when you open the file called I want to 0:25:05.560 --> 0:25:13.240 feel offended, you end up filled with bitterness, even in 0:25:13.280 --> 0:25:15.480 a relationship. I've had to learn over and over again, 0:25:16.400 --> 0:25:18.479 if I start trying to find every way that they 0:25:18.600 --> 0:25:23.440 let me down, when I open that file, the enemy 0:25:23.480 --> 0:25:27.879 will fill it. The devil will start bringing up stuff. 0:25:27.880 --> 0:25:30.639 You'll be like, how do I remember that? And I 0:25:30.680 --> 0:25:34.199 don't remember my middle child's name? Because he wants to 0:25:34.240 --> 0:25:36.040 help you fill the wrong file. 0:25:38.600 --> 0:25:39.160 He wants to. 0:25:39.119 --> 0:25:43.040 Help you fill the file call I'm all alone. I 0:25:43.080 --> 0:25:47.560 love what the prophet Elisha said. He didn't minimize what 0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:53.639 the enemy meant. He just helped multiply the help that 0:25:53.680 --> 0:25:54.400 they already had. 0:25:55.320 --> 0:25:56.320 I don't know if you notice this. 0:25:56.920 --> 0:25:59.320 But the Bible says in verse seventeen that Elisha prayed, 0:26:00.960 --> 0:26:04.679 but he prayed something very specific, didn't he He didn't 0:26:04.720 --> 0:26:14.960 pray for God to send help because the help was 0:26:15.000 --> 0:26:18.520 already there. I feel like taking my shoes off in 0:26:18.600 --> 0:26:26.960 pre sure. I feel like there is somebody listening to 0:26:27.000 --> 0:26:33.439 me preaching today who doesn't understand that your help is 0:26:33.480 --> 0:26:40.040 already here. And you keep asking for God to send help. 0:26:40.320 --> 0:26:43.560 You keep asking God to send something. But today, let's 0:26:43.640 --> 0:26:46.200 change your prayer a little bit. Somebody pray to say, God, 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:53.960 show me something. Show me something that is already in 0:26:54.040 --> 0:26:57.920 my life. Show me something that you already did. Show 0:26:58.000 --> 0:27:01.680 me something that I forgot about that would cause me 0:27:01.800 --> 0:27:04.760 to know that you are greater than what I'm going through. 0:27:06.720 --> 0:27:09.639 You are greater than what I've been through. You are 0:27:09.720 --> 0:27:14.040 greater than the uncertainty that I face. God, show me something. 0:27:14.080 --> 0:27:18.879 Prayed again, God, show me something. He did not pray 0:27:18.960 --> 0:27:21.919 for God to send horses and chariots. It would have 0:27:21.960 --> 0:27:26.040 been redundant. God had already sent them. I believe that 0:27:26.080 --> 0:27:30.520 before the enemy showed up, God did. I believe that 0:27:30.560 --> 0:27:33.960 before the devil started messing with your life, God was 0:27:34.000 --> 0:27:37.399 making a masterpiece of your life. The Bible says that 0:27:37.480 --> 0:27:40.920 before you were born, he formed you in your mother's womb. 0:27:41.040 --> 0:27:44.679 He knew you, so before the attack ever happened. I 0:27:44.720 --> 0:27:47.159 don't know who needs to hear this, but before the 0:27:47.280 --> 0:27:52.159 attack ever happened, the angels were already assigned. God is 0:27:52.280 --> 0:27:55.960 busy in your situation. God is busy in your life. 0:27:56.200 --> 0:27:59.120 God is setting up camp. And if the enemy sent 0:27:59.200 --> 0:28:03.399 a strong force, that means you represent a significant threat 0:28:03.480 --> 0:28:06.879 to Hell. So stop thinking that the reason is hard 0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:10.159 for you is because there's something wrong with you. The 0:28:10.280 --> 0:28:13.480 reason is hard for you is because there is something 0:28:13.640 --> 0:28:18.639 great in you, something amazing in you, something designed about you, 0:28:19.119 --> 0:28:23.959 something wired about you. Remember Elisha was surrounded because he 0:28:24.080 --> 0:28:27.800 was successful. He was so good at doing his job 0:28:27.920 --> 0:28:31.600 for God. He was so good at prophesying. He was 0:28:31.800 --> 0:28:35.080 so being used by God that the enemy said, we've 0:28:35.119 --> 0:28:38.240 got to surround him with something to stop him. But 0:28:38.320 --> 0:28:39.400 the good news is. 0:28:40.920 --> 0:28:43.680 Before the enemy ever sent an assignment to stop. 0:28:43.480 --> 0:28:54.840 Him, God sent the help to support him. So keep 0:28:54.920 --> 0:28:58.280 it in context. I know it's crazy in your life 0:28:58.360 --> 0:29:04.520 right now. Keep it in context. I know it's weird 0:29:05.080 --> 0:29:08.400 in your world right now, but keep it in context. 0:29:09.560 --> 0:29:12.040 I know not everybody is nice to you, but keep 0:29:12.080 --> 0:29:15.240 it in context. Not everybody is mean to you. Keep 0:29:15.280 --> 0:29:18.440 it in context. I know there are some struggles in 0:29:18.480 --> 0:29:19.080 your life. 0:29:19.200 --> 0:29:22.080 Who of us doesn't have something that we need to fix. 0:29:24.080 --> 0:29:26.400 Look how far you've come. 0:29:28.800 --> 0:29:30.720 I mean, did you really even think you would be 0:29:30.840 --> 0:29:32.360 in church today. 0:29:33.200 --> 0:29:34.440 Keep it in context. 0:29:34.760 --> 0:29:37.240 I know there's some stuff you're fighting at home, but 0:29:37.360 --> 0:29:42.320 you are here right now, so keep it in context. 0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:45.720 If the enemy can't get you fixated on one situation 0:29:45.880 --> 0:29:48.440 in your life, he will get you fixated on one 0:29:48.480 --> 0:29:54.440 flaw in yourself. So Elisha does not give him an 0:29:54.480 --> 0:29:58.480 elimination of the enemy. Instead, he gives him an illumination 0:29:59.520 --> 0:30:03.160 of his health. Now I want to share my favorite 0:30:03.240 --> 0:30:07.520 verse with you, my favorite verse today. It says in 0:30:07.560 --> 0:30:15.520 first John four four that ye are of God little children, 0:30:16.520 --> 0:30:20.040 and have overcome them, because greater. 0:30:21.280 --> 0:30:21.840 Is he. 0:30:24.080 --> 0:30:30.840 That is in you than he that is in the world. 0:30:31.320 --> 0:30:34.920 So this is how it feels. Right. Oh, no, Lord, 0:30:35.320 --> 0:30:38.320 we are surrounded. What am I going to do about? 0:30:38.320 --> 0:30:41.280 This is coming in from every side, and it is 0:30:41.360 --> 0:30:45.000 the pressure of an attack that hasn't happened yet. But 0:30:45.120 --> 0:30:47.880 might I want to speak about that for a moment. 0:30:48.240 --> 0:30:50.440 Some of you are suffering under the pressure of an 0:30:50.440 --> 0:30:54.920 attack that hasn't even happened yet, but it might. And 0:30:54.960 --> 0:30:57.760 the devil hasn't even done it to you yet, and 0:30:57.800 --> 0:31:00.320 you are already giving him the permission to fill the 0:31:00.360 --> 0:31:03.480 file in your mind as if he did. You are 0:31:03.520 --> 0:31:08.000 already living the injury as if it happened. You are 0:31:08.040 --> 0:31:09.360 already limping from a. 0:31:09.320 --> 0:31:11.520 Blow that the devil hasn't even struck yet. 0:31:12.680 --> 0:31:16.080 You are already giving away this moment in your life 0:31:16.200 --> 0:31:19.320 because the enemy surrounded you. He didn't defeat him, He 0:31:19.440 --> 0:31:23.200 just surrounded him. And when you feel surrounded by the enemy, 0:31:24.120 --> 0:31:25.560 I want you to begin to understand. 0:31:25.560 --> 0:31:30.440 First John four, verse four. Oh, I love this verse, bro. 0:31:31.880 --> 0:31:36.000 Because it gets the idea you are of God little children, 0:31:37.280 --> 0:31:39.600 and it helps me understand why I feel so little 0:31:39.600 --> 0:31:42.160 in the face of my enemy. But then it says 0:31:42.200 --> 0:31:45.840 something that is very important. It says you have overcome them, 0:31:46.320 --> 0:31:53.800 because greater is he that is in me than he 0:31:55.160 --> 0:32:00.400 that is in the world. And Elisha prayed, not God 0:32:00.480 --> 0:32:04.880 shrink my enemy, but he prayed instead God opened his 0:32:05.000 --> 0:32:09.640 eyes to see that what is surrounding him. 0:32:10.400 --> 0:32:10.960 You are. 0:32:13.680 --> 0:32:17.720 Surrounding it. 0:32:20.560 --> 0:32:20.760 LJ. 0:32:20.960 --> 0:32:25.760 Hold me down, because if it's me versus the enemy, 0:32:25.880 --> 0:32:29.680 I'm in trouble. If it's me versus this addiction is over. 0:32:30.240 --> 0:32:33.160 If it's me versus this depression, I'm not going to take. 0:32:33.000 --> 0:32:34.160 A pill strong enough. 0:32:34.680 --> 0:32:37.280 If it's me versus this season of my life, I 0:32:37.320 --> 0:32:40.280 don't have the wisdom for it. If it's me versus 0:32:40.320 --> 0:32:44.479 the enemy, I'm outnumbered. But first John four y four said, 0:32:45.000 --> 0:32:52.880 greater is he that is in me. So I've been 0:32:53.000 --> 0:32:56.680 looking at the enemy, and I've been defeated because that's 0:32:56.720 --> 0:33:01.520 all I see. But I found out that greater is 0:33:01.600 --> 0:33:06.160 he that is in me. And when I remember who 0:33:06.200 --> 0:33:10.040 he is, and what he did, and what he gade me, 0:33:10.680 --> 0:33:14.280 and what I have in him, my enemy is just 0:33:14.480 --> 0:33:19.440 so big anymore. Because I lit my eyes to the 0:33:19.640 --> 0:33:23.000 heels from which cometh my health. 0:33:23.600 --> 0:33:28.600 My health cometh from the Lord, the Manger of Heaven 0:33:29.160 --> 0:33:32.920 and earth. And greater is he that. 0:33:33.000 --> 0:33:39.560 Is in me. So it's not me versus my enemy, 0:33:40.520 --> 0:33:47.000 it's the one who is versus my enemy. This changes 0:33:47.080 --> 0:33:51.720 everything because it opens a brand new file in my mind. 0:33:52.640 --> 0:33:56.200 It lets me recognize that even if I'm surrounded with 0:33:56.360 --> 0:33:59.920 no way out, and even if I'm pressed, hard pressed, 0:34:00.320 --> 0:34:03.719 even if I'm crushed, even if I'm persecuted, even if 0:34:03.800 --> 0:34:07.120 I'm abandoned, even if I'm broke, even if I'm down, 0:34:07.440 --> 0:34:10.480 even if I'm suffocating, even if one thing is piling 0:34:10.560 --> 0:34:13.680 up on another, even if my boss hates me, even 0:34:13.680 --> 0:34:16.279 if my employees hate me, even if I don't want 0:34:16.320 --> 0:34:19.239 to do it, even if I feel lazy, even if 0:34:19.280 --> 0:34:22.080 I don't have what it takes. The one who is 0:34:22.440 --> 0:34:34.919 in me is greater than what's against me. So it's 0:34:35.000 --> 0:34:39.560 not that it's not big. It's just that I found 0:34:39.600 --> 0:34:46.960 something bigger. You're a big boy, unless we put you 0:34:47.040 --> 0:34:53.120 next to something bigger. That's all Elisha did. He say, Hey, 0:34:54.400 --> 0:34:58.200 this is big. Tell somebody this is big. But there's 0:34:58.239 --> 0:35:04.560 something bigger. It's the purpose of God. So keep it 0:35:04.600 --> 0:35:09.480 in context. Paul said, I reckon that the sufferings of 0:35:09.520 --> 0:35:13.960 this present time aren't even worth comparing to the glory 0:35:14.400 --> 0:35:19.680 that will be revealed in us. What is happening to 0:35:19.880 --> 0:35:23.279 me is not even worth comparing to the glory that 0:35:23.320 --> 0:35:27.360 will be revealed in me. When Paul says, I reckon, 0:35:27.520 --> 0:35:31.120 thank you so much. You did a great job. I 0:35:31.200 --> 0:35:35.319 love you too. Just remember that when the devil picks on, 0:35:35.400 --> 0:35:37.640 you find something that's bigger. 0:35:38.880 --> 0:35:40.000 That's all Elishah did. 0:35:40.040 --> 0:35:44.239 He said, open his eyes to see something bigger. And 0:35:44.280 --> 0:35:47.080 could it be that the pain in your life right 0:35:47.120 --> 0:35:49.759 now is a part of a bigger context that you 0:35:49.800 --> 0:35:52.920 can't understand right now, and that this is the reason 0:35:52.960 --> 0:35:55.560 that the enemy has come after you in full force. 0:35:55.960 --> 0:35:58.560 Is because there is something bigger that God is trying 0:35:58.600 --> 0:36:02.880 to do. Paul said, I reckon that word does not 0:36:03.000 --> 0:36:06.200 mean I know. It means I am convinced of this opinion. 0:36:08.120 --> 0:36:11.680 I can't prove it, but I reckon that when I 0:36:11.800 --> 0:36:14.200 see what God is going to do through this situation, 0:36:15.560 --> 0:36:17.480 it will make what I went through to get to 0:36:17.520 --> 0:36:22.760 it seems small in comparison. And that's a decision of faith, 0:36:22.840 --> 0:36:28.200 my friend. And if you want to open a file 0:36:28.239 --> 0:36:30.719 in your mind today of all the ways that God 0:36:30.760 --> 0:36:33.680 could use this situation, if you want to open a 0:36:33.719 --> 0:36:36.480 file in your mind today of all the ways that 0:36:36.520 --> 0:36:40.080 God could turn this around. God has a thousand creative 0:36:40.080 --> 0:36:42.399 ways to use this right. 0:36:43.600 --> 0:36:44.759 You know, I don't think it was. 0:36:46.600 --> 0:36:49.239 I don't think it was coincidental where Elisha was sit 0:36:49.280 --> 0:36:54.480 down and I got something else to tell you, because 0:36:54.480 --> 0:36:58.600 there's something I learned two years ago that I have 0:36:58.640 --> 0:36:59.560 been waiting to share. 0:37:01.200 --> 0:37:02.959 And in this passage, it says that. 0:37:04.480 --> 0:37:09.400 Elisha kept telling his king Jorham where the enemy was 0:37:09.440 --> 0:37:12.840 going to attack him. So the enemy came to attack 0:37:12.880 --> 0:37:17.279 Elisha so that he could attack the nation. It was 0:37:17.320 --> 0:37:23.719 a bigger context. The devil isn't just attacking you. He's 0:37:23.760 --> 0:37:28.160 attacking everyone that your life is supposed to impact, and 0:37:28.239 --> 0:37:30.160 figures that if he can get you to give up 0:37:30.200 --> 0:37:32.840 right here, you won't get to make a generational impact. 0:37:36.080 --> 0:37:38.480 So when you're fighting him, realize you're fighting for your 0:37:38.520 --> 0:37:41.239 family too, and keep it in context. 0:37:42.920 --> 0:37:46.200 Tell your neighbor. I know it's hard, but keep it 0:37:46.239 --> 0:37:47.000 in context. 0:37:48.080 --> 0:37:51.719 Tell him it's not just about you give them deep 0:37:51.719 --> 0:37:54.239 penetrating eye contact. When you say that part. It is 0:37:54.280 --> 0:37:57.880 not just about you. Put that into comments. It is 0:37:57.960 --> 0:38:05.000 not just about me, Because there's a lesson in this 0:38:06.160 --> 0:38:08.840 that it was not only who said don't be afraid 0:38:09.280 --> 0:38:14.200 Elisha the prophet, but where he said it. See in 0:38:14.239 --> 0:38:17.680 Second Kings six thirteen, they were looking all around for Elisha, 0:38:17.800 --> 0:38:21.239 and they said in verse thirteen, go find out where 0:38:21.239 --> 0:38:24.480 he is so I can send men and capture him. 0:38:24.480 --> 0:38:27.080 And the report came back, he is in Dothan. 0:38:28.440 --> 0:38:30.799 Now, I almost called this sermon the Devil went down 0:38:30.840 --> 0:38:34.560 to Dothan. I thought that would be a cool thing 0:38:34.600 --> 0:38:36.720 to call it, but I knew it could also be corny, 0:38:36.880 --> 0:38:38.480 and I didn't want to take the risks, so I 0:38:38.600 --> 0:38:41.879 just called it. Keep it in context, you know, when 0:38:41.880 --> 0:38:44.880 you read the Bible, there's a specific place and time, 0:38:45.520 --> 0:38:48.360 the geography. All of these details in the Bible carry 0:38:48.440 --> 0:38:51.920 rich meaning. And the place called Dothan is not a 0:38:52.040 --> 0:38:54.319 very famous place in the Bible. In fact, it is 0:38:54.360 --> 0:38:58.640 only mentioned twice in all of scripture. This is once 0:38:59.800 --> 0:39:05.440 and another occurrence is found one thousand years earlier. There 0:39:05.480 --> 0:39:08.759 was a dysfunctional family in the Book of Genesis, a 0:39:08.880 --> 0:39:10.919 dad named Jacob who had a son that he really 0:39:10.920 --> 0:39:14.320 loved named Joseph. One day he sent his son, Joseph, 0:39:14.360 --> 0:39:16.760 who was the son of the wife that he loved, 0:39:17.200 --> 0:39:19.880 to go check on his other brothers. And he had 0:39:19.920 --> 0:39:23.120 given him an amazing coat. And his brothers not only 0:39:23.160 --> 0:39:26.640 hated his coat, I think they really began to despise 0:39:26.880 --> 0:39:30.000 the destiny that was on his life. So while his 0:39:30.080 --> 0:39:33.200 brothers were hurting sheep, Joseph was for some reason at home, 0:39:33.719 --> 0:39:36.239 being young as he was, and his dad said, go 0:39:36.360 --> 0:39:37.960 check on your brothers. This is in the Book of 0:39:38.000 --> 0:39:41.400 Genesis chapter thirty seven. And he went to a place 0:39:41.440 --> 0:39:44.239 called Shechem, where he expected to find them tending the sheep, 0:39:44.239 --> 0:39:46.800 but they weren't there. And we pick up the story 0:39:46.800 --> 0:39:51.399 in Genesis chapter thirty seven, verse sixteen, He told the men, 0:39:51.680 --> 0:39:53.120 I'm looking for my brothers. 0:39:53.800 --> 0:39:57.760 Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks? 0:39:58.680 --> 0:40:03.160 Now, the response that came next would have been a 0:40:03.200 --> 0:40:06.680 story that Elisha the prophet would have been familiar with, 0:40:07.840 --> 0:40:10.560 because when he said where are they, the man answered, 0:40:10.560 --> 0:40:13.440 they have moved on from here. I heard them say, 0:40:14.400 --> 0:40:19.400 let's go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers 0:40:19.520 --> 0:40:24.200 and found them near Dothan. This is the only other 0:40:24.320 --> 0:40:28.280 time in the Bible that Dothan is mentioned. 0:40:28.760 --> 0:40:30.120 It is only mentioned. 0:40:29.760 --> 0:40:32.480 Twice, and this is one of them. So he goes 0:40:32.560 --> 0:40:35.359 to Dothan to find his brothers. But look what verse 0:40:35.400 --> 0:40:39.920 eighteen says. They saw him in the distance, and before 0:40:40.280 --> 0:40:45.960 he reached them, they plotted to kill him. And they 0:40:46.000 --> 0:40:49.719 took Joseph, and just as they were about to kill him, 0:40:50.440 --> 0:40:53.160 Ruben said, let's don't do it, And so they decided 0:40:53.200 --> 0:40:57.239 to throw him in a cistern in Gothan, and they 0:40:57.280 --> 0:40:57.839 put him in. 0:40:57.760 --> 0:40:59.120 The cistern, not sure what. 0:40:59.160 --> 0:41:03.840 To do lunch, when just about that time, a caravan 0:41:04.000 --> 0:41:06.880 of Ishmaelite traders were well, let me just show you 0:41:06.960 --> 0:41:08.000 this on the map real quick. 0:41:08.719 --> 0:41:11.280 Just about the time that they were having their lunch. 0:41:11.280 --> 0:41:14.279 You see that red line where Joseph started out that day, 0:41:14.560 --> 0:41:17.760 and he goes all the way up to a place 0:41:17.800 --> 0:41:20.000 on the map called Dothan. 0:41:20.760 --> 0:41:21.239 And when he. 0:41:21.200 --> 0:41:23.919 Gets to Dothan, his brothers try to kill him because 0:41:23.960 --> 0:41:25.960 they're envious of him, and they don't get him. And 0:41:26.000 --> 0:41:27.719 so just as they're about to kill and one of 0:41:27.719 --> 0:41:30.399 the brothers cries out and says, no, let's don't kill him. 0:41:31.120 --> 0:41:33.439 Let's just put him in this cistern. So they leave 0:41:33.480 --> 0:41:35.640 him in the cistern, perhaps to leave him for dad, 0:41:35.640 --> 0:41:36.760 to hide him from the father. 0:41:37.080 --> 0:41:38.799 What are we gonna do? But just at that. 0:41:38.840 --> 0:41:41.560 Time, you see that blue line that comes down right there, 0:41:41.760 --> 0:41:43.680 and it kind of matches up with the red line. 0:41:43.680 --> 0:41:45.040 You see the one that comes up from top. 0:41:45.320 --> 0:41:48.800 That's the caravan that was coming through, the Ishmaelite caravan 0:41:48.840 --> 0:41:51.160 that was coming through. And just about the time they're 0:41:51.160 --> 0:41:53.719 coming through and Joseph is in a cistern, one of 0:41:53.840 --> 0:41:57.200 Joseph's brothers named Judas, says, hey, what if instead of 0:41:57.280 --> 0:42:00.239 killing him, what if we sell him this sea seems 0:42:00.280 --> 0:42:00.440 to be. 0:42:00.480 --> 0:42:01.480 An opportune time. 0:42:01.800 --> 0:42:05.200 The caravan is coming right now, Joseph is in the cistern, 0:42:05.520 --> 0:42:08.240 if we sell him right now, we can profit twenty 0:42:08.320 --> 0:42:10.960 shekels off of him and we don't have to kill him. 0:42:11.160 --> 0:42:16.040 And so Joseph is sold into slavery right but he 0:42:16.200 --> 0:42:20.960 is also sent to be a deliverer for his family 0:42:21.719 --> 0:42:28.200 in Egypt. And both are true, and both happened in Dothan. 0:42:28.880 --> 0:42:32.240 It was in Dothan that they tried to take his life. 0:42:32.880 --> 0:42:33.479 It was in. 0:42:33.520 --> 0:42:37.319 Dothan that God stopped it. It was in Dothan that 0:42:37.360 --> 0:42:39.000 he was sold into slavery. 0:42:39.440 --> 0:42:40.040 It was in. 0:42:40.040 --> 0:42:43.239 Dothan that he was positioned to be a deliverer. It 0:42:43.320 --> 0:42:45.640 was in Dothan that he got in the right cart 0:42:46.160 --> 0:42:49.000 at the right time, so that he could be positioned 0:42:49.040 --> 0:42:51.600 in the right house, so that he could have the 0:42:51.680 --> 0:42:55.279 right answer when the famine came to Egypt, when the 0:42:55.320 --> 0:42:58.840 famine came to the whole world, so that his family, 0:42:59.160 --> 0:43:02.360 who had tried to kill him would come to him, 0:43:02.440 --> 0:43:04.840 so that he would have the bread that they needed 0:43:05.160 --> 0:43:08.480 in the season that they never saw coming. And all 0:43:08.560 --> 0:43:12.960 of that happened in Dothan, because I'm trying to tell 0:43:13.040 --> 0:43:17.200 you that God does stuff in Dothan, See don't. It 0:43:17.360 --> 0:43:20.360 is a place you might not have chosen Don'tan is 0:43:20.400 --> 0:43:23.040 a place you might not like. Don't it is a 0:43:23.080 --> 0:43:26.120 place you might not have voted to go. Dothan can 0:43:26.160 --> 0:43:29.080 be a scary place. Don't It is a place where 0:43:29.080 --> 0:43:33.240 you can feel surrounded. But Dothan is a place where 0:43:33.280 --> 0:43:37.239 God will send the right car, the right person, the 0:43:37.320 --> 0:43:41.799 right thing, the right idea, the right redemption, the right 0:43:41.920 --> 0:43:44.280 opportunity at the right tide. 0:43:44.760 --> 0:43:47.959 Us store the right one becaus I hand. The God 0:43:48.120 --> 0:43:51.799 is on you, and it's always been on you. And 0:43:51.960 --> 0:43:55.200 you will not die in Dothan. 0:43:55.640 --> 0:44:03.440 You will not die in Dothan. You can't die in Dothan. 0:44:04.719 --> 0:44:08.080 And Elisha had a file in his mind. When he 0:44:08.160 --> 0:44:13.200 saw the chariots surrounding him in Dothan, he thought back, 0:44:13.600 --> 0:44:17.480 I remember somebody who was in Dothan and it looked 0:44:17.520 --> 0:44:20.440 like it was over. And his mind went to a 0:44:20.560 --> 0:44:24.080 file from a thousand years ago that if God brought 0:44:24.160 --> 0:44:28.200 Joseph to Egypt to save Israel through a place called Dothan, 0:44:28.560 --> 0:44:31.799 He's gonna do something in my situation right here. 0:44:31.960 --> 0:44:32.479 Right now. 0:44:32.800 --> 0:44:35.800 And I need one hundred glad people to shout about 0:44:35.840 --> 0:44:36.879 the fact that. 0:44:37.040 --> 0:44:40.040 God will not let you die in Dothan. 0:44:44.680 --> 0:44:47.680 I had to get an attitude with the enemy, and 0:44:47.760 --> 0:44:49.480 tell him there's more in me. 0:44:50.600 --> 0:44:53.400 Greater is he who is in me. 0:44:53.960 --> 0:44:57.440 What I'm going through right now is nothing compared to 0:44:57.520 --> 0:45:01.480 the glory that will be revealed in And if you 0:45:01.520 --> 0:45:04.239 have faith to say it right now, say I've got 0:45:04.320 --> 0:45:04.920 more in me. 0:45:06.320 --> 0:45:09.560 I've gotten more in me. I've got more love in 0:45:09.640 --> 0:45:12.680 me than i've God hated me. I've got more good 0:45:12.800 --> 0:45:16.040 days ahead of me. I've got more dreams in me 0:45:16.480 --> 0:45:18.120 that I have disappointment. 0:45:23.320 --> 0:45:25.640 I know it's odd to preach off of a map, 0:45:26.600 --> 0:45:28.840 but if you look at that map one more time, 0:45:30.000 --> 0:45:33.040 it will remind you of the lesson of Elisha, who said, 0:45:33.400 --> 0:45:36.439 don't even worry about it. Keep it in context. There's 0:45:36.480 --> 0:45:39.520 more with us than against us. It will remind you 0:45:39.600 --> 0:45:42.640 of Joseph that said you meant it for evil, but God. 0:45:42.480 --> 0:45:43.279 Meant it for good. 0:45:43.719 --> 0:45:46.080 It will remind you if you look at Dopton for 0:45:46.160 --> 0:45:47.040 a moment. 0:45:47.920 --> 0:45:54.680 You'll see that it's just a dot. It's not a destiny. 0:45:58.560 --> 0:46:02.800 And that little dot was a place where the most 0:46:02.840 --> 0:46:06.480 horrible thing happened to Joseph. I'm sure he never fully 0:46:06.520 --> 0:46:10.719 recovered from what happened, but he was restored enough from 0:46:10.760 --> 0:46:14.000 what happened to move forward in the revelation of who 0:46:14.080 --> 0:46:18.319 God was. And that is what I am trying to 0:46:18.400 --> 0:46:23.799 say to you is that if you if you let 0:46:23.840 --> 0:46:28.279 this dot define you, this hard thing define you, this 0:46:28.480 --> 0:46:32.840 dothn define you, you got to remember that there's always 0:46:33.719 --> 0:46:38.600 more in me than against me, because God is in me. 0:46:40.400 --> 0:46:42.440 So what could I go through that would be greater 0:46:42.520 --> 0:46:46.160 than His plan for me? And if you keep this 0:46:46.239 --> 0:46:49.160 in context, you can say, like. 0:46:49.080 --> 0:46:57.040 Paul, I reckon. Tell your neighbor, I reckon. 0:46:58.360 --> 0:47:02.960 Because I recognize because I lift. 0:47:02.719 --> 0:47:03.680 My eyes. 0:47:04.920 --> 0:47:08.680 And I see help in the hills, and I am 0:47:08.760 --> 0:47:12.239 reminded that before my heart was filled with fear, the 0:47:12.360 --> 0:47:16.240 hills were filled with my help because He is my help. 0:47:18.520 --> 0:47:24.520 And it was so good when God gave it to me. 0:47:25.000 --> 0:47:28.600 He said, this is just a dot in your life. 0:47:28.760 --> 0:47:30.719 This is just a dot in your life. I'm coming 0:47:30.760 --> 0:47:32.879 to this side. I feel pulled to this side. I'm 0:47:32.880 --> 0:47:35.520 gonna keep my shoes on and come over here. It's 0:47:35.560 --> 0:47:38.160 a dot in your life. Put it back up there. 0:47:38.320 --> 0:47:41.720 It is a dot. He could not die there because 0:47:41.760 --> 0:47:42.919 he had more to do. 0:47:43.320 --> 0:47:44.840 God is not done with you. 0:47:45.200 --> 0:47:54.520 God is not finished with you. And I reckon. I 0:47:54.560 --> 0:47:56.880 reckon the season of suffering in your life is just 0:47:56.920 --> 0:48:03.399 a dot. Hardest men for you. I've been hearing about it. 0:48:04.160 --> 0:48:05.799 I know that some days it's all you can do, 0:48:05.840 --> 0:48:09.279 and everybody's saying how positive you are, and sometimes you 0:48:09.320 --> 0:48:12.719 feel like, well, who's gonna encourage me? But in light 0:48:12.760 --> 0:48:15.799 of what God is doing through you, this is. 0:48:15.760 --> 0:48:16.439 Just a dot. 0:48:17.560 --> 0:48:20.600 It's not even worth comparing the way that God is 0:48:20.680 --> 0:48:23.839 using your life. Do you not understand that your testimony 0:48:23.960 --> 0:48:28.120 is changing grown men's lives. They are hearing about your 0:48:28.120 --> 0:48:31.080 faith and your perseverance and what you are going through. 0:48:31.200 --> 0:48:34.879 Although it is difficult. It is a dot. God is 0:48:35.360 --> 0:48:47.600 not through with you, because the. 0:48:47.560 --> 0:48:51.880 Devil went down to Dothan, but God got there first. 0:48:53.800 --> 0:48:59.759 I'm closing. I'm closing, but just to remind somebody that 0:49:00.120 --> 0:49:08.640 God got their verse before the enemy was visible. God 0:49:08.920 --> 0:49:13.279 was there invisible, and He is in your situation, and 0:49:13.320 --> 0:49:18.160 He is in your struggle. And God is not surprised. 0:49:19.440 --> 0:49:26.640 And this is just a dot because greater is He 0:49:27.880 --> 0:49:32.759 that is in me than any enemy that is against me. 0:49:41.920 --> 0:49:45.120 And I got a file in my mind called it's 0:49:45.160 --> 0:49:48.640 not fine, but He's faithful. 0:49:52.120 --> 0:49:55.759 Let's open that file for a moment. Today, What. 0:49:57.280 --> 0:49:59.400 Would it look like for you to open the file 0:49:59.440 --> 0:50:04.120 in your mind to just reframe your situation with the 0:50:04.160 --> 0:50:08.160 faithfulness of God. For all the Dothans that you thought 0:50:08.200 --> 0:50:10.759 you wouldn't survive, how many have already seen a few 0:50:10.760 --> 0:50:14.320 Dothans come and go, But God stay faithful. Raise your hand, 0:50:16.000 --> 0:50:19.239 jump up on your feet, now waive in me if 0:50:19.239 --> 0:50:21.479 God has been faithful to you up until this point 0:50:21.480 --> 0:50:24.680 in your life, and now clap your hands and thank 0:50:24.760 --> 0:50:25.680 Him that he did it, that he. 0:50:25.760 --> 0:50:26.160 Left you with. 0:50:29.400 --> 0:50:32.279 So ruth. 0:50:37.719 --> 0:50:40.320 Dothan is a place where you can admit it's both 0:50:41.440 --> 0:50:44.920 I'm surrounded and I'm secure. 0:50:46.120 --> 0:50:48.000 Because I keep it in context. 0:50:49.280 --> 0:50:53.520 When you begin to praise God for his faithfulness, you 0:50:53.640 --> 0:50:55.800 shrink the enemy. 0:50:56.640 --> 0:50:58.160 And he has no power over you. 0:50:59.360 --> 0:51:01.800 When you begin to open up your mind and say, God, 0:51:02.120 --> 0:51:04.640 I've seen good days and bad days. 0:51:06.560 --> 0:51:06.759 God. 0:51:06.800 --> 0:51:08.960 I've seen times when I thought I wouldn't make it, 0:51:09.520 --> 0:51:10.400 but I did. 0:51:11.239 --> 0:51:11.479 God. 0:51:11.480 --> 0:51:13.400 I've seen how You've used things in my life that 0:51:13.480 --> 0:51:16.640 I never would have imagined to open doors I never 0:51:16.680 --> 0:51:19.799 even knew to pray for God, I'm praying that. 0:51:19.800 --> 0:51:20.400 Right now, this. 0:51:21.920 --> 0:51:24.960 Moment in my life, this dot on the map of 0:51:25.000 --> 0:51:27.840 your mission and your purpose for me would not define me. 0:51:30.040 --> 0:51:30.320 Father. 0:51:30.360 --> 0:51:33.120 I pray for those today who have felt in their 0:51:33.160 --> 0:51:35.759 hearts and in their spirits like this is the end. 0:51:39.280 --> 0:51:43.920 I agree with your truth concerning them, that it is 0:51:44.000 --> 0:51:46.520 nothing compared to the glory that you will reveal in them. 0:51:47.560 --> 0:51:49.040 I thank you for what you're doing in their life. 0:51:49.040 --> 0:51:52.360 Even now, you're developing fruit and character and maturity, and 0:51:52.440 --> 0:51:55.719 you will not leave them alone in Dothan. God, I 0:51:55.760 --> 0:51:57.440 thank you for the moments that you showed up for 0:51:57.480 --> 0:52:00.839 me in Dothan. I was surrounded, didn't know what to do. 0:52:00.920 --> 0:52:04.360 I couldn't understand it, but you put it in context, 0:52:04.400 --> 0:52:08.280 and you reminded me that not only are you faithful 0:52:08.280 --> 0:52:10.960 and not only are you good, but you can get 0:52:11.000 --> 0:52:12.400 glory out of any situation. 0:52:12.880 --> 0:52:13.800 Hallelujah. 0:52:13.840 --> 0:52:15.799 I thank you Lord that you're getting glory out of 0:52:15.840 --> 0:52:18.960 my situation right now, even if it doesn't feel good 0:52:19.000 --> 0:52:21.800 to me, you're getting glory out of my situation right now. 0:52:22.280 --> 0:52:24.040 I thank you that I'm going to turn around and 0:52:24.200 --> 0:52:27.640 encourage others with the hope that you encouraged me with. 0:52:27.719 --> 0:52:30.720 I thank you, Lord that you're making me more graceful 0:52:31.000 --> 0:52:33.680 toward others because of the grace that you've given me, 0:52:34.160 --> 0:52:36.080 and now just slip both of your hands up in 0:52:36.120 --> 0:52:44.040 the air in this moment and lift your eyes to 0:52:44.160 --> 0:52:51.319 the hills where your help comes from. And know in 0:52:51.360 --> 0:52:59.360 this moment that whatever is surrounding you, your God is 0:52:59.400 --> 0:53:01.359 surrounding it. 0:53:03.680 --> 0:53:11.359 Thank you, Lord, Thank you for joining us. 0:53:11.680 --> 0:53:14.120 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:53:14.200 --> 0:53:17.680 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:53:18.120 --> 0:53:20.319 You can click the link in the description to give 0:53:20.440 --> 0:53:24.560 now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more 0:53:24.600 --> 0:53:28.400 information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:53:28.680 --> 0:53:30.000 You can share it with your friends. 0:53:30.280 --> 0:53:32.560 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:53:32.600 --> 0:53:34.719 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:53:34.760 --> 0:53:35.600 Elevation Church. 0:53:35.680 --> 0:53:42.319 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.