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- [00:00]
Steven Furtick
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Cough and cold season is coming, so make sure you're prepared and stock up on your family's favorite personal wellness products. Now through October 7th. Shop in store and online for savings on products like Mucinex Kickstart Combo, Zyrtec Allergy Relief tablets or Liquid Gels, Halls Cough drops and Mucinex fast day and night so you and your family are armed and ready for the season ahead. Offer ends October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [00:36]
Steven Furtick
And Doug, Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating.
- [00:48]
It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
- [00:52]
Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
- [00:55]
Cut the camera. They see us.
- [00:56]
Ryan Seacrest
Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. Affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
- [01:05]
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- [01:33]
Steven Furtick
Hey, this is Steven Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. I'm so excited. I've been waiting to share this word with you this week. The Lord has been speaking to us about new loops. Same lies, new loops. Put my graphic on the screen so they can know what I'm talking about. It's important that in this season of your life, you don't repeat the wrong things over and over again. The victory and defeat in your life is all a matter of what you put on repeat in your mind and in your heart. How many have found that to be true? If you repeat the wrong thing long enough, it starts to sound like it's true, even though it's not true. I'll always be my mom was. My sister is. I can't break this. I can't deal with this. When we say new loops, we're talking about Getting a new meditation in your heart that comes from God. We can't stop the enemy from lying, but if we can teach you to identify when he's doing it, and if we can teach you how to tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit that is speaking a truth over you, we can get you set free in some areas of your life that you had become convinced it always has to be this way. So we're praying for new patterns. How many have been blessed by the series so far? Today I want to pick up with a scripture that is very powerful in 2 Kings, chapter 6. Praise the Lord. 2nd Kings, chapter 6. I was thinking about this J.J. probably one of the coolest pictures we get in the whole Bible of when you feel overwhelmed and you don't know what to do. One of the clearest pictures we get of what to do. This will help you today. 2 Kings, chapter 6. Let me read the full story, please. Start in verse.
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8.
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Second kings, chapter 6, verse 8. Now, the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, I will set up my camp in such and such a place. The man of God sent word to the king of Israel, beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there. So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king so that he was on his guard in such places. This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, tell me, which of us is on the side of the king of Israel? None of us, my lord, the king said one of his officers. But Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom. Go find out where he is. The king ordered, so I can send men and capture him. The report came back, he is in Dothan. Then he sent horses and chariots and.
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A strong force there.
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They went by night and surrounded the city. Now verse 15. It gets good. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. Oh no, my lord, what shall we do? The servant asked. I want you to really pay attention to how the prophet answered. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid? What do you mean, don't be afraid when we are surrounded? No, no, no. Don't be afraid. Because it cannot sink you if it surrounds you. It can only sink you if it submerges you. So regardless of what you see with Your senses, Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Isn't that good?
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Elisha prayed, open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.
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Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
- [06:18]
One more verse from Romans 8:18, King James Version, please on the screen. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For I reckon I thought about it a little while I did the math on it. I added and subtracted and multiplied and divided. I sat down with my situation. And I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, what I'm going through right now on the outside, I reckon that that is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in me. Now let me give you my title. Turn to your neighbor and say, I know it's crazy, but keep it in context. Keep it in context. Keep it in context.
- [07:20]
Father, I pray that you would illuminate what you're doing in our situation. Thank you that you already were speaking while your word was being read. Now make it so personal that people squirm like, has he been following me around this week? Because you have been following them around this week. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. Thank you for speaking, Lord, in Jesus name, Amen. You may be seated. In the Bible, the kinds of conversations we get to hear are really crazy. If you step back and think about it. To get to hear Elisha, one of the greatest prophets God ever made. As he is dealing with the situation that is beyond his control and how he advises his young servant is really an incredible masterclass for us in our minds. I think it's amazing in this conversation how the servant wakes up and sees something that is so much bigger than him. The prophet essentially says, don't make it bigger than it is. Don't make it bigger than it is. In every marriage, there's one person who makes things bigger than they are in my marriage. Let me go ahead and give you a framework for my marriage. Did y' all see the movie Inside Out? Did y' all see Inside Out 2? Our family went to see Inside Out 2 because in Inside out, the little girl has all these emotions and they're personified by characters that sit at the control panel. So you have sadness and disgust and joy and anxiety in Inside out, too. Joy and anxiety are always battling each other inside of her mind. We went to see the movie this summer, and we were going out to eat. On the way to the restaurant, I found out that this restaurant might be closed. Not would be closed, might be closed. You think to yourself, that's not a big deal. But to my mind, the restaurant being closed is an unacceptable first domino in what could be a very bad day. I feel like if everybody's blood sugar crashes to a certain point, then it may cause the kids to fight. If the kids fight too much, it may cause me to respond in a terrible way. If I respond in a terrible way, I'm going to feel shame. I'm going to have to humble myself and apologize. As I'm going back and forth with Holly in the car, driving to the restaurant that might be closed, not is closed, might be closed, and talking to her about how unacceptable the outcome of the restaurant being closed would be. Graham says from the backseat, you know, watching mom and dad talk is literally like watching a conversation between anxiety and joy. Now, in the passage I read to you, it's literally like watching a conversation between the wisdom of the experience of the older prophet, Elisha, and his young servant, who has never faced a situation like this before. I've never faced a situation like this before. I've never been in this stage of life before. We get through the miraculous conservation of the scriptures, an inside and in some ways candid seat to this conversation. The prophet says, don't make it bigger than it is now. That's a crazy thing to say when you're surrounded by horses and chariots, because whatever it is you're going through today in your life, it's not this. Can we all agree it's not this. This man is a national security threat. It's not this. They're not all coming to get you. Although our minds will try to tell us it is. In our relationship, Holly is always the one who says it's not a big deal. Even yesterday, I was preparing this message for you. As I was sitting down to study, she was flying to a speaking engagement. She started texting me. I was looking for an illustration to talk about how sometimes my mind tries to make it bigger than it is. She started texting me about a flight delay. She's the one flying. I'm not. But I'm the one freaking out, not her. Because I texted her, oh, no, this is horrible. She said, no, it's fine. I was like, no, it's not fine. Because why do they always just get to delay our flights whenever they want to? Somebody needs to say something about this and do something about this. This is unfair. This is unjust. This is actually bigger than just your flight today, Holly. This is actually a way they're treating consumers. That is unacceptable. I mean, you paid for the ticket. This is not a prison you were in. This is an actual place you paid to be. And you have a place you need to be. And you are not going to get to the place you need to be because the place you paid to be.
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Did not provide the service. Have you ever tried to work somebody.
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Who was like, it's not a big deal into an oh, yes, it is a big deal situation? That's me and her. I'm outraged. She's drinking Starbucks. For her, it's extra time. For me, it is a travesty of travel, justice, anxiety and joy just having a conversation. It's not a big deal.
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Yes, it is. Because if you don't make it to the event.
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See, here's the thing I found out. When a flight gets delayed for me, my mind opens a file. Write this down. My mind has files. Did you know that your mind has files? When a flight gets delayed, it opens a file in my mind called every time a flight got delayed and then got delayed again and then got delayed again. When she said, my flight is delayed, she's like, it's fine. That's her file. Holly has this huge file called is fine.
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It'll be fine.
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It's going to be fine. If the restaurant isn't open, it'll be fine. We're not going to starve. It'll be fine. We could even turn it into a fast. It'll be fine.
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The biggest file in her mind is called it's fine.
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So when the flight is delayed, I. Holly is like, it's fine. It's been fine so many times before.
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There have been so many times it has been fine that it is going to be fine right now.
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I did the calculation, the tabulation and.
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The math, and it is going to be absolutely fine that the flight is.
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Delayed because we can still get there.
- [13:51]
Because I built in buffer. But I'm thinking, no, this is just the first in a series of horrible things. I go back to when we went.
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To Atlanta to record a preaching series.
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And we were late and we didn't.
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Get there in time because the flight was delayed.
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This was 15 years ago. They were so mad at me for not showing up at the taping that they banned me from the network from ever appearing on the network. The ministry was so small. To me, that was the worst thing that could ever Happen when she says the flight is delayed, I'm like, you're about to get banned. I don't know who's going to ban her, what they're going to ban her from. But for some reason, a mild inconvenience in my mind opened a file called when this happens, this can happen. Even if it's not in the probable odds of it. There is a chance. Once they start this crap, once they say we're delayed by 10 minutes, that's just the first lie. Now the file opens of every lie they ever told me on an intercom about the flight is going to be fine. Sometimes it's not fine. Sometimes you get banned. The servant wakes up and sees the place surrounded and says, it's not fine. We're about to die. They have come to capture you in Dothan. It's not fine. Elisha says, don't be afraid.
- [15:23]
There's more with us than with them. I believe one of the contrasts in this passage that makes it very powerful is not only that Elisha was the prophet and that the servant was in an administrative position where he had to deal with details, but that Elisha was a little older and the servant was a young man. When Elisha woke up that morning and saw the hills surrounded with his enemies. Go ahead and bring me my teaching screen because I think I need to draw this for you. How many have been enjoying my drawings of loops all the last few weeks? I'm still waiting on someone to get a tattoo. A little loop tattoo. I know the book of Leviticus says, but that's not what it means. You can get a tattoo if it's for the Lord. Now watch this. That's going to be the clip they're going to put online, but they won't keep it in context. Okay, so this is how the servant felt. I'm not drawing this because I think I'm such an awesome artist. We've just been talking about these loops. The enemy says. God says. The enemy says. God says. What does the enemy say? Over and over again? It's not enough. You're not loved. It's not enough. You're not loved. We've been talking about new loops that God can design. So the servant, who is a very young man, wakes up in the morning and all he sees surrounding the hills is the enemy surrounding. Talk about a literal loop. There are horses and chariots coming to take away the man of God. It is a literal loop around these two. The servant sees the enemy. I wonder, can you relate to this feeling? Okay, wake up. In the morning, all I feel, all I see, all I can sense is the avalanche of anxiety of everything that's probably not going to get done today that needs to get done today, or of all of the potentially awkward conversations that need to happen. And there's a little voice inside of you saying, it's fine, but what if it's not? It's fine, but maybe not this time. It's fine. It's good. But when you're surrounded by the enemy and this is what he sees, here's the enemy and here's me. That's about how it feels. This is how big the enemy is. This is me. Can y' all see that? That says me. Big old enemy.
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Little old me.
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What is little old me going to do with the big old enemy? Elisha says it's fine. How is it fine? Because I have a file. I have a file. This is not Elisha's first time in trouble. This is not Elisha's first time outnumbered. This is not Elisha's first time dealing with. It's not enough. One time he was standing at the bank of the Jordan after his mentor Elijah was taken away, who he followed for years and years, seeing miracles, miracles that only God can do. I believe that as he was watching his mentor, as God performed miracles, he was building a file. A file in his mind that God can send fire from heaven. A file in his mind that God can even raise the dead. A file in his mind that enabled him. When he was standing at the Jordan with nothing but the mantle that was left from his mentor, he rolled it up and struck the water, and the water parted. When he saw something as simple as a piece of clothing part, a body of water, that became a new file in his mind. Then there was the time where they brought him to a city and the water supply was bad. In 2 Kings, chapter 2, he took a little salt and threw it in the water, and the water was purified from a little bit of salt. How can a little bit of salt purify a whole body of water? Elisha put it in his mind that God can take a little thing, something that is not enough, something that seems insignificant, he can purify and he can plentify something that seems absolutely beyond human ability. When a widow came to him and said, they're about to take my sons.
- [20:16]
As slaves, Elisha said, what do you have in your house?
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She said, I don't have anything. Just a little bit of oil. Elisha said, that's fine.
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But if you get enough jars and you Start pouring what you have, even if it seems insignificant to you. If you will begin to do the thing you can do with the thing you do have, God will do the thing that you can't do. Because God specializes in starting with not enough so he can show he is more than enough. I believe that as Elisha saw those jars filled and pushed to the side each time a jar was pushed to the side from a supply that wasn't enough before God spoke, he began to fill a file in his mind that God is faithful and that God is more than enough. And that God is greater than a bad situation. God doesn't look for what you don't have. He works with what you do have. I believe that by this time in his life, after seeing Naaman healed of leprosy, after seeing a little boy who was not supposed to be born, be born and die and raised from the dead, by the time he gets to this place in his life, he has a big file in his mind. So when he sees the hills that are full of the enemies surrounding him, when he sees the hills that are full of the opponents that have come to take him away, when he sees the hills that are full of the things that threatened to take his life, he has a file that is full to fight the fear he feels. Because he knows if God is not done with me yet, there's more in me. So I can't die here unless God is done with me. So why would I be afraid of something that can't take take me until God is done with me. Because I have a file for that.
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Your mind has files.
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Your mind has a file called worry.
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Your mind has a file called worship. The one you open is the one that will fill. I just said something to somebody, and.
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I don't know who, but your mind.
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Has files, one called faith, one called fear. The one you open is the one that's going to fill.
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If you open a file called what could go wrong on this flight? You will be checking everybody's bag. And you're not even tsa. How far are you going to take this? I mean, are you going to interview the pilot? Will you stop there? Are you going to check the plane yourself? If you open the file called, is this going to go well on the flight?
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You.
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I mean, that file is completely infinite. That's what the enemy does to you. He gets you to open the file, and you don't have time for that file right now. Let me say that again. You do not have time to be running every hypothetical scenario in your Life for what might go wrong. Because if you repeat what might go.
- [23:28]
Wrong long enough, what you repeat ends in defeat. Your mind has files, and the one you open is the one that will fill. That changed my life because it helped me to start saying things to people like this man. I don't really want to talk about that right now. One of my friends told me the other day something horrible somebody said about me. They said, but I had your back. I said, I appreciate it. Can we be done with this conversation? Thank you for having my back, but I'm done talking about this. Why? Because I don't really want to hear about somebody who hates me. I don't want to open that file right now because that could be a big file.
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I might start adding friends to that file that really don't hate me.
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Remember, when you vent, you invent.
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So if my heart is full of.
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Fear, what file did I open? I'll do a real time example. I'm looking around this room right now and I just saw two people yawn while I was preaching right consecutively in a row.
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Big ol.
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I'm not even trying to cover it up. Yawn.
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There's a difference between, oh, wow, I'm.
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Tired, but I'm really enjoying this. There's a difference between that and maybe if I do it big enough, he'll just finish. That's what it looked like to me.
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But why did I open that file?
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He's not yawning. She's not yawning. You're not yawning. At least I didn't see you yawn. You haven't yawned.
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You're on the edge of your seat. You have your thumbs ready. You look like you are about to beat the devil to death with your thumbs and your notes app. And you are writing every word of this down. Because man does not live on bread alone. Why am I watching their mouth yawn when he's typing? His phone is smoking. His phone is about to burst. Spontaneously combust with the wisdom and the power of God. Why would I open a file that says, you're boring when I have 1,000 people in the room saying, no, I need this word. This is helping me. This is feeding me. This is good for me. My sin soul needs to know this because I woke up this morning and I was surrounded by a really big enemy and I'm a really little me. But I came to open a new file today because I have a God who is great and does miracles and performs wonders. So the file I open is the.
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One that will fill if you tell.
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Your mind we want to be offended, your mind will find things for you.
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To be offended about. Your mind will go looking and reading.
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Into things and even taking things out.
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Of context just so you can get offended. Why? Because you opened the file called I want to be offended. Because it feels good to be offended. But it doesn't feel good to be filled with bitterness, does it? But when you open the file called I want to feel offended, you end up filled with bitterness. Even in a relationship I've had to learn over and over again, if I start trying to find every way, they let me down. When I open that file, the enemy will fill it. The devil will start bringing up stuff. You'll be like, how do I remember that?
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And.
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And I don't remember my middle child's name. Because he wants to help you fill the wrong file. He wants to help you fill the file called I'm all alone. I love what the prophet Elisha said. He didn't minimize what the enemy meant. He just helped multiply the help they already had. I don't know if you noticed this. The Bible says in verse 17 that Elisha prayed, but he prayed something very specific, didn't he? He didn't pray for God to send help because the help was already there. I feel like taking my shoes off and preaching.
- [27:56]
I feel like there is somebody listening.
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To me preach today who doesn't understand that your help is already here.
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You keep asking for God to send help.
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You keep asking God to send something. But today, let's change your prayer a little bit. God, show me something. Show me something that is already in my life.
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Show me something you already did.
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Show me something I forgot about that would cause me to know that you are greater than what I'm going through.
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You are greater than what I've been through. You are greater than the uncertainty I face. God, show me something. Pray it again.
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God, show me something.
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He did not pray for God to.
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Send horses and chariots.
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It would have been redundant.
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God had already sent them. I believe that before the enemy showed up, God did.
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I believe that before the devil started messing with your life, God was making.
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A masterpiece of your life.
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The Bible says that before you were born, he formed you in your mother's womb.
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He knew you.
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So before. Before the attack ever happened. I don't know who needs to hear this, but before the attack ever happened, the angels were already assigned. God is busy in your situation. God is busy in your life. God is setting up camp. If the enemy sent a strong force, that means you represent a significant threat to hell. So stop thinking. The reason it's hard for you is because there's some something wrong with you. The reason it's hard for you is because there is something great in you. Something amazing in you. Something designed about you, something wired about you. Remember, Elisha was surrounded because he was successful. He was so good at doing his job for God. He was so good at prophesying. He was so being used by God that the enemy said we have to surround him with something, something to stop him.
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But the good news is, before the enemy ever sent an assignment to stop him, God sent the help to support him.
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So keep it in context. I know it's crazy in your life.
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Right now, but keep it in context.
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I know it's weird in your world.
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Right now, but keep it in context.
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I know not everybody is nice to.
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You, but keep it in context.
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Not everybody is mean to you.
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Keep it in context.
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I know there are some struggles in your life. Who of us doesn't have something we need to fix? But look how far you've come. I mean, did you really even think you would be in church today? Keep it in context. I know there's some stuff you're fighting at home, but you are here right now. So keep it in context. If the enemy can't get you fixated on one situation in your life, he will get you fixated on one flaw in yourself.
- [31:24]
Elisha does not give him an elimination of the enemy. Instead, he gives him an illumination, his help. Now I want to share my favorite verse with you. My favorite verse today. It says in 1 John 4:4 that ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. This is how it feels, right? Oh no, Lord, we are surrounded. What am I going to do about this? It's coming in from every side. And it is the pressure of an attack that hasn't happened yet. But might I want to speak about that for a moment? Some of you are suffering under the pressure of an attack that hasn't even happened yet. But it might. The devil hasn't even done it to you yet, and you are already giving him the permission to fill the file in your mind as if he did. You are already living the injury as if it happened. You are already limping from a blow the devil hasn't even struck yet. You are already giving away this moment in your life because the enemy surrounded you. He didn't defeat him, he just surrounded him. When you feel surrounded by the Enemy, I want you to begin to understand. 1 John 4:4. Oh, I love this verse because it gets the idea you are of God. Little children. It helps me understand why I feel so little in the face of my enemy. But then it says something that is very important. It says, you have overcome them because.
- [33:18]
Greater is he that is in me.
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Than he that is in the world.
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Elisha prayed, not God, shrink my enemy, but he prayed instead.
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God open his eyes to see that.
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What is surrounding him, you are.
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Surrounding.
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It. Lj, hold me down. If it's me versus the enemy, I'm in trouble. If it's me versus this addiction, it's over. If it's me versus this depression, I'm not going to take a pill strong enough. If it's me versus this season of my life, I don't have the wisdom for it. If it's me versus the enemy, I'm outnumbered. But first John 4:4 said, Greater is he that is in me. So I've been looking at the enemy and I've been defeated, because that's all I've seen. But I found out that greater is he that is in me. And when I remember who he is and what he did and what he gave me and what I have in him, my enemy isn't so big anymore. Because I lift my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. And greater is he that is in me. So it's not me versus my enemy. It's the one who is versus my enemy. This changes everything because it opens a brand new file in my mind. It lets me recognize that even if I'm surrounded with no way out, and even if I'm pressed, hard pressed, even if I'm crushed, even if I'm persecuted, even if I'm abandoned, even if I'm broke, even if I'm down, even if I'm suffocating, even if one thing is piling up on another, even if my boss hates me, even if my employees hate me, even if I don't want to do it, even if I feel lazy, even if I don't have what it takes, takes. The one who is in me is greater than what's against me.
- [36:05]
So it's not that it's not big. It's just that I found something bigger. You're a big boy unless we put you next to something bigger. That's all Elisha did. He said, hey, this is big. Tell somebody this is big. But there's something bigger. It's the purpose of God, so keep it in context. Paul said, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time aren't even worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us. What is happening to me is not even worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in me. When Paul says, I reckon. Thank you so much. You did a great job. I love you too. Just remember that when the devil picks on you, find something that's bigger. That's all Elisha did, He said, open his eyes to see something bigger. Could it be that the pain in your life right now is a part of a bigger context that you can't understand right now, and that this is the reason the enemy has come after you in full force is because there is something bigger God is trying to do? Paul said, I reckon that word does not mean I know it means I am convinced of this opinion. I can't prove it, but I reckon that when I see what God is going to do through this situation, it will make what I went through to get to it seem small in comparison.
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That's a decision of faith, my friend.
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If you want to open a file in your mind today of all the ways God could use this situation, if you want to open a file in your mind today of all the ways God could turn this around, God has a thousand creative ways to use this. I don't think it was coincidental where Elisha was.
- [38:20]
Sit down.
- [38:21]
I have something else to tell you. There's something I learned two years ago that I have been waiting to share. In this passage, it says that Elisha kept telling his king Joram where the enemy was going to attack him. So the enemy came to attack Elisha so he could attack the nation. It was a bigger context. The devil isn't just attacking you, he's attacking everyone your life is supposed to impact and figures that if he can get you to give up right here, you won't get to make a generational impact. So when you're fighting him, realize you're fighting for your family too, and keep it in context. Tell your neighbor, I know it's hard, but keep it in context. Tell them it's not just about you. Give them deep, penetrating eye contact. When you say that part, it is not just about you.
- [39:28]
Put that in the comments. It is not just about me.
- [39:35]
There's a lesson in this. It was not only who said, don't be afraid, Elisha the prophet, but where he said it. See, in 2 Kings 6:13, they were looking all around for Elisha, and they said in verse 13, go find out where he is so I can send men and capture him. And the report came back, he is in Dothan. I almost called this sermon, the Devil Went down to Dothan. I thought that would be a cool thing to call it, but I knew it could also be corny, and I didn't want to take the risk. So I just called it. Keep it in context. You know, when you read the Bible, there's a specific place and time, the geography. All of these details in the Bible carry rich meaning. The place called Dothan is not a very famous place in the Bible. In fact, it is only mentioned twice in all of Scripture. This is once. And another occurrence is found a thousand years earlier. There was a dysfunctional family in the book of Genesis. A dad named Jacob, who had a son he really loved, named Joseph. One day he sent his son Joseph, who was the son of the wife he loved, to go check on his other brothers. He had given him an amazing coat. His brothers not only hated his coat, I think they really began to despise the destiny that was on his life. While his brothers were herding sheep, Joseph was for some reason at home. Being young as he was, his dad said, go check on your brothers. This is in the book of Genesis, chapter 37. He went to a place called Shechem, where he expected to find them tending the sheep. But they weren't there. We pick up the story in Genesis, chapter 37, verse 16. He told the men, I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks now? The response that came next would have been a story Elisha the prophet would have been familiar with. When he said, where are they? The man answered, they have moved on from here. I heard them say, let's go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. This is the only other time in the Bible that Dothan is mentioned. It is only mentioned twice, and this is one of them. So he goes to Dothan to find his brothers.
- [42:06]
But look what verse 18 says. They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. They took Joseph, and just as they were about to kill him, Reuben said, let's don't do it. So they decided to throw him in.
- [42:26]
In a cistern in Gothen.
- [42:28]
They put him in the cistern, not sure what to do. Had lunch. When just about that time, a caravan of Ishmaelite traders were, well, let me.
- [42:38]
Just show you this on the map real quick.
- [42:40]
Just about the time they were having their lunch.
- [42:43]
You see that red line where Joseph.
- [42:45]
Started out that day? And he goes all the way up.
- [42:48]
To a place on the map called Dothan.
- [42:52]
When he gets to Dothan, his brothers try to kill him because they're envious of him and they don't get him. Just as they're about to kill him, one of the brothers cries out and says, no, let's don't kill him. Let's just put him in this cistern. So they leave him in the cistern, perhaps to leave him for dead, to hide him from the father. What are we going to do? But just at that time, you see that blue line that comes down right there? And it kind of matches up with the red line. You see the one that comes up from top? That's the caravan that was coming through. The Ishmaelite caravan that was coming through. Just about the time they're coming through, and Joseph is in a cistern, one of Joseph's brothers named Judah, says, hey, what if instead of killing him, what if we sell him? This seems to be an opportune time. The caravan is coming right now. Joseph is in the cistern. If we sell him right now, we can profit 20 shekels off of him and we don't have to kill him. So Joseph is sold into slavery, right? But he is also sent to be a deliverer for his family in Egypt. Both are true. Both happened in dothan. It was in Dothan that they tried to take his life. It was in Dothan that God stopped. Was in Dothan that he was sold into slavery. It was in dothan that he was positioned to be a deliverer. It was in dothan that he got in the right cart at the right time so that he could be positioned in the right house so he could have the right answer. When the famine came to Egypt, when the famine came to the whole world, so that his family who had tried to kill him would come to him, so he would have the bread they needed in the season they never saw coming. All of that happened in Dothan. I'm trying to tell you that God does stuff in dothan. See, dothan is a place you might not have chosen. Dothan is a place you might not like. Dothan is a place you might not have voted to go. Dothan can be a scary place. Dothan is a place where you can feel surrounded. But dothan is a place where God will send the right car, the right person, the right thing, the right idea, the right redemption, the right opportunity at the right time. But you're the right one because the hand of God is on you, and it's always been on you. And you will not die in Jonathan. You will not die in Dothan. You can't die in Dothan. Elisha had a file in his mind. When he saw the chariots surrounding him in Dothan. He thought back, I remember somebody who was in Dothan. And it looked like it was over.
- [45:50]
And his mind went to a file from a thousand years ago that had.
- [45:55]
God brought Joseph to Egypt to save Israel through a place called Dothan. He's going to do something in my situation right here, right now, and I need a hundred glad people to shout about the fact that God will not let you die in Dothan. I had to get an attitude with the enemy and tell him, there's no more in me. Greater is he who is in me. What I'm going through right now is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in me. If you have faith to say it right now, say, I have more in me. I've got more in me. I have more love in me than I have hate in me. I have more good days ahead of me. I have more dreams in me than I have this appointment. I know it's odd to preach off of a map, but if you look at that map one more time, it will remind you of the lesson of Elisha who said, don't even worry about it. Keep it in context. There's more with us than against us. It will remind you of Joseph that said, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. It will remind you, if you look at Dunkton for a moment, you'll see.
- [47:20]
That it is just a dot. It's not a destiny.
- [47:30]
That little dot.
- [47:33]
Was a place where the most horrible thing happened to Joseph. I'm sure he never fully recovered from what happened, but he was restored enough from what happened to move forward in the revelation of who God was. That is what I am trying to say to you. If you let this dot define you, this hard thing define you, this dothan define you, you have to remember that there's always more in me than against me. Because God is in me. So what could I go through that would be greater than his plan for me? If you keep this in context, you can say, like Paul, I reckon. Tell your neighbor, I reckon, because I recognize, because I lift my eyes and.
- [48:36]
I see help in the hills. I am reminded that before my heart.
- [48:42]
Was filled with fear, the hills were filled with my help, because he is my help. It was so good. When God gave it to me, he said, this is just a dot in your life. This is just a dot in your life. I'm coming to this side. I feel pulled to this side.
- [49:04]
I'm going to keep my shoes on and come over here.
- [49:07]
It's a dot in your life.
- [49:09]
Put it back up there.
- [49:09]
It is a dot. He could not die there because he had more to do. God is not done with you. God is not finished with you.
- [49:19]
I reckon.
- [49:26]
I reckon this season of suffering in your life is just a dot. I know how hard it has been for you. I've been hearing about it. I know that some days it's all you can do and everybody is saying how positive you are. Sometimes you feel like, well, who's going to encourage me? But in light of what God is doing through you, this is just a dot. It's not even worth comparing the way God is using your life. Do you not understand that your testimony is changing grown men's lives? They are hearing about your faith and your perseverance and what you are going through. Although it is difficult, it is a dot. God is not through with you because the devil went down to Dothan. But God got there first.
- [50:27]
I'm closing, but just to remind somebody that God got there first. Before the enemy was visible, God was there invisible. And he is in your situation and he is in your struggle. And God is not surprised.
- [50:51]
This is just a dot because greater is he that is in me than any enemy that is against me. I have a file in my mind called it's not fine, but he's faithful. Let's open that file for a moment today. What would it look like for you to open the file in your mind today to just reframe your situation with the faithfulness of God? For all the dothans you thought you wouldn't survive, how many have already seen a few dothans come and go, but God stayed faithful.
- [51:45]
Raise your hand, jump up on your feet. Now wave at me if God has been faithful to you up until this point in your life and not clap your hands and thank him that he did it, that he left you here.
- [52:09]
Dothan is a place where you can admit it's both. I'm surrounded and I'm secure because I keep it in context. When you begin to praise God for His faithfulness, you shrink the enemy.
- [52:28]
And.
- [52:28]
He has no power over you. When you begin to open up your mind and say, God, I've seen good days and bad days, God, I've seen times when I thought I wouldn't make it, but I did. God, I've seen how you've used things in my life that I never would have imagined to open doors I never even knew to pray for God. I'm praying that right now, this moment in my life, this dot on the map, your mission and your purpose for me would not define me. Father, I pray for those today who have felt in their hearts and in their spirits like this is the end. I agree with your truth concerning them, that it is nothing compared to the glory you will reveal in them. I thank you for what you're doing in their life. Even now you're developing fruit and character and maturity and you will not leave them alone in Dothan. God, I thank you for the moments you showed up for me in Dothan. I was surrounded. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't understand it, but you put it in context and you reminded me that not only are you faithful and not only are you good, but you can get glory out of any situation. Hallelujah. I thank you Lord, that you're getting glory out of my situation right now. Even if it doesn't feel good to me, you're getting glory out of my situation right now. I thank you that I'm going to turn around and encourage others with the hope you encouraged me with. I thank you Lord, that you're making me more graceful toward others because of the grace you've given me. Now just slip both of your hands up in the air in this moment and lift your eyes to the hills where your help comes from. Know in this moment that whatever is surrounding you, your God is surrounding it. Thank youk Lord. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to Give now or visit elevationchurch.orgpodcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. You can click the Share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us Levation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
- [55:14]
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- [55:46]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [56:16]
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- [56:47]
Steven Furtick
This is an iHeart podcast.