Sermon #S043 - When
Enough Is Enough (Part 1)
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Pastor Snell: And so we're going
to go ahead and go quickly into
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the word of God. I'm going to
invite those who are at home, I
need you to partner with us,
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need you to be an Apple apostle,
need you to be an online
evangelist, need you to be a
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digital disciple. So if you're
on Facebook, copy that link and
send it to somebody. If you're
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on YouTube and if you're on
Facebook, hit that share button
a couple of times so that others
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might be able to receive this
word as well. And so fam, I
invite you to stand to your feet
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as we go to the word today.
We're going to begin today in
1st Kings Chapter 19 as we
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continue our series entitled The
Pivot. And what we're going to
be looking at today is how
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sometimes every now and then we
don't necessarily need a
physical pivot, but sometimes
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we've got to pivot in posture.
Can you say amen? So 1st Kings
Chapter 19, and we're going to
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begin together at verse number
one. And again, this word is for
anybody that has ever gone
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through something. Anybody ever
gone through something today?
Amen. 1st Kings Chapter 19 and
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Verse One, we find here the
prophet Elijah, right after his
victory at Carmel, where God had
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sent fire from heaven and they
had overthrown the prophets of
Baal. 1st Kings chapter 19:1,
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and we'll see what happens next.
When you get there let me hear
you say amen. Amen. The Bible
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says, and Ahab told Jezebel, his
wife, all that Elijah had done
also how he had executed the
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prophets with a sword. Then
Jezebel sent a what? Sent a
messenger to Elijah saying, so
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let the gods do to me and more
also if I do not make your life
as the life of one of them by
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tomorrow this same time. And
when he saw it, he arose and ran
for his life and went to
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Beersheba, which belongs to
Judah and left his servant
there. But he himself went a
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day's journey into the
wilderness and came and sat down
under a broom tree and he prayed
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that he might what? That he
might die and said, it is
enough. Now, Lord, take my life
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for I am no better than my
father's. Then as he lay and
slept under the broom tree,
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suddenly an angel touched him
and said, arise and eat. Then he
looked and thereby his head was
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a cake baked on coals and a jar
of water. So he ate and he drank
and he laid down what? Again,
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and the angel of the Lord came
back the second time and touched
him and said, arise and eat
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because the journey is too great
for you. So he arose and ate and
drank and he went in the
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strength of that food. How long?
40 days and 40 night as far as
Horeb the mountain of God. Then
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there, he went into the cave and
spent the night in that place.
And behold the word of the Lord
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came to him and he said unto
him, what are you doing here,
Elijah? But I just want to read
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for emphasis verse number four.
But he went a day's journey into
the wilderness and he came down
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and sat under a broom tree and
prayed that he might die and
said, it is enough. Now, Lord,
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take my life for I am no better
than my father's. Today Saints,
I want to talk to you for a
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little while under the subject
When Enough is Enough. Let's
pray together. Father, I pray
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that in this moment that you
would permit me to be completely
possessed by your spirit.
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Father, I'm praying for a
visitation that is rare and
distinct for a visitation that
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moves us from one plane
spiritually to a different
plane. So Lord, would you please
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multiply faith in the hearing of
the word? Once again, would you
please hide me in the shadows of
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the cross that Jesus alone might
be seen, that Christ alone would
be heard? And at the end of our
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time together, may Jesus alone
be praised. We ask this in the
name of the Almighty master
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Jesus Christ, let those who
believe say together. Amen and
amen. You may be seated in the
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house of the Lord. Again,
talking to you today under the
subject When Enough is Enough.
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As we begin today, let me
provide some context for our
lesson. If you recall, king
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Ahab, had one of the more wicked
reigns in the history of Israel
due to his marriage with the
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godless Jezebel idolatry had
began to overtake the land and
the hearts of the people had
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been drawn away from God. And so
God caused the land to be cursed
with seven years of drought that
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was to begin and conclude with
the word of the prophet Elijah.
And both Ahab and Jezebel
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suffered national embarrassment
as Elijah in solitude stood over
against the prophets of Baal and
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a fire making competition. You
see, Elijah challenged them to
call upon Baal to cause fire to
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come down from heaven and
understand that after a day of
praying and dancing and self
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mingling, the impotence of Baal
was revealed as the true God of
heaven answered with such a
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force of fire that not only did
it destroy the sacrifice, it
consumed the altar and it lapped
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up all of the water that was in
the trenches there around. And
understand that Elijah operates
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with so much authority that
Elijah calls Ahab's army to kill
Jezebel's prophets. And this
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display of power left egg on the
face of Ahab and Jezebel and
understand that this was perhaps
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the apex victory in the ministry
of Elijah and his hope friends,
is that this would be a catalyst
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for national reformation and
repentance, that Ahab would see
the era of his ways and that his
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wife Jezebel would begin to
repent. But understand that in
this story, Jezebel is not
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filled with contrition, but in
fact she's filled with a greater
rage so that she sends a message
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to Elijah saying that at least
24 hours from now I'm going to
do to you the same thing that
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was done to the prophets of
Baal. And the strange thing
friends, is that the prophet
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complies, he takes pursuit into
the wilderness and it gets so
bad that he lays down his
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mantale and he summons the sweet
relief of death and understand
that this text teaches us a
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number of things. But the first
thing I need you to understand,
number one is that there is a
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difference between a threat and
an attack. Let me say it again,
that there's a difference
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between an attack and an actual
threat. Are you with me today,
friends? Now, understand that
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humanly, I understand why Elijah
takes cover. As a man, I
understand why he begins to flee
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for his life, but man, this
thing gets so intense that
Elijah literally lays down his
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prophetic mantle and he gives
God his prophetic resignation.
Now, understand saints, that on
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the journey of faith that you'll
experience authentic satanic
attacks. But there will be times
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where the enemy will magnify
himself simply by issuing an
intimidating threat. Are you
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with me? And see what Elijah
cannot see or what he has failed
to see is that his entire life
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has been lived under the
watchful care of the Almighty
God. That God has put a
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restraint in Ahab's heart so
that his advances can only come
so far. In other words, he's not
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recognized that Ahab's attacks
only come to a certain
threshold. And notice now that
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Jezebel knows exactly where
Elijah is. She knows exactly
where he can be found. But did
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you notice that she sends a
messenger, not a murderer? Did
you notice that she sends a
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herald, not a hit man. Did you
notice that she sends an
assistant and not an assassin?
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You would think that if she
knows exactly where he is, that
she would send the armies to
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arrest him and have him killed.
But Jezebel's goal is not
assassination, it's
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intimidation. In other words,
her goal is to simply silence
his voice. She wants him to
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cease and desist. She wants him
to quit voluntarily because she
doesn't have the power to
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overtake or destroy the man of
God. Notice friends of mine, all
she does is send a threat, but
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she does not send an attack. Are
y'all hearing me today, friends?
In other words, you know that
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when somebody's ready to fight,
they don't spend a whole lot of
time talking to you about what
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they going to do. They don't
stand in the corner selling wolf
tickets. Am I telling you the
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truth? In other words, when
somebody's about that life, they
don't spend a whole lot of time
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talking about it. They just
start moving in a whole
different way. Are y'all hearing
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me today, friends? In other
words, it is just like on the
school yard, you know how
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somebody really wants to fight
and when they don't. In other
words, if they saying hold me
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back, hold me back, then you
know they ain't ready to throw
them hands. But when somebody's
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ready to fight, they ain't
asking nobody to hold them back.
They trying to break through the
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barrier. Are y'all with me
today? And understand that your
girl Jezebel may be godless, but
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she ain't crazy. She may be
wicked, but she ain't stupid. In
other words, she notices that
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there is some divine agency upon
Elijah. She knows that God is
with this man and that to
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destroy him is going to bring
judgment upon her own house. So
she doesn't send an attack, she
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just sends an intimidating
threat. Are y'all with me today,
friends? And see what God's
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people need to know is that in
the realm of spiritual warfare,
I need you to know that you have
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a hedge around you that is
equivalent to the hedge that God
placed around Job. I need you to
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know that you've got an angelic
security detail that is with you
in your coming in and your going
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out. And the truth is that like
Elijah, we are not succumbing to
an actual attack, but some of us
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actually get weak because of the
presence of a threat. You see,
notice Isaiah 54 says, no weapon
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formed against you will be
permitted to prosper. But notice
it says the weapon won't
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prosper, but God is going to
allow it to be formed. In other
words, I need somebody to get
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that God is going to cause the
attack to fail even if he allows
the threat to prevail and see
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real talk friends, because
there's somebody today that is
dealing with a very real and
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authentic spiritual attack, but
there is somebody that is
fearful and afraid and
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frightened simply because of the
presence of a threat. You see,
there is somebody falling apart
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because of a likelihood. There
is somebody getting weak because
of a possibility. There is
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somebody afraid of what might
happen. There is somebody that's
lost their faith because of
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probabilities. In other words,
there is somebody that is
employed but you are nervous
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because of the threat your job
might be taken away. There is
somebody whose provision is
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sufficient, but you are afraid
or threatened about what may
happen if it's taken away. There
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is somebody that's preoccupied
with what enemies might be
planning and what people might
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be saying. And we're afraid
about what might come to pass.
And what I want to say to
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somebody is, don't fall apart
because of a threats. In other
words, you might not know what
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tomorrow holds, but how many of
us know who holds tomorrow? You
see, I need you to know that
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Satan has a way of suggesting
possibilities and setting up
evil imaginations that make war
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against your mind and the
posture of faith. And I just
need to say to somebody today
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because there's somebody waiting
on some medical test results,
but I want to admonish you don't
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start living in the worst case
scenario until you are in the
worst case scenario. There is
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some single person and the
devil's tried to convince you
that because you can't see
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anyone, that they'll never be
anyone. Go ahead and enjoy this
season until God brings you into
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the next. There is somebody
worried about the money getting
little low, but you don't know
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what God has in store for your
future. There are times where as
a parent I have to curtail my
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thoughts because when I watch
the news and see these shootings
and kidnappings, I get worried
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about what might happen to my
kids. But God has to let me know
that even though they came from
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you, they don't belong to you.
They actually belong to me. Are
you hearing me today? And see,
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this is the critical message
because when the warfare is in
the realm of threat, meaning
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that the devil is coming for
your peace, the mistake we make
is that when the threat is
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spiritual, we try to secure the
physical. In other words, when
this threat is spiritual, what
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we start trying to do is get a
ring camera for our doorbell and
guns for our houses and
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deadlocks for the doors, and we
start moving money around
bracing for what is about to
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come. But you've got to know how
to respond to a spiritual
threat. You see, the only way to
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respond to a spiritual threat is
with a spiritual promise. Okay,
take your time. The only way to
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respond to a spiritual threat is
to stand on a spiritual promise.
Why pastor? Because understand
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what a threat is. A threat is
not what's already happened,
it's just when the enemy
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promises what he's going to make
happen. And what I'm saying to
somebody today is that a threat
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is just the enemy's guarantee of
what shall be. And what I
believe is that if a threat can
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make you anxious, then a promise
should make you peaceful. Let me
say it to y'all on this side,
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that if Satan's threat makes you
anxious, then God's promise
should make you peaceful. How
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many of us know that Satan's
promise should not outweigh
God's promise and that there is
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a promise for every threat that
the enemy puts in your life? Oh
God, see, I need you to know
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it's God's job to manage the
threat. It's your job to manage
you. In other words, God has got
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the odd economy under control.
God has got the job market under
control. God has got your baby
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mama under control. God has got
your ex-husband under control.
God has got Trump, Biden and
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DeSantis under control. God has
got everything under control.
You've got to get yourself under
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control And see, I need somebody
to know that there is a promise
for every threat that might
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prevail in your life. I need you
to know that when enemies come
up against you, Psalm 46 says
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that God is our refuge and our
strength, our very present help
in the time of trouble. I need
00:20:36.70\00:20:54.08
you to know when affliction
threatens you. Psalm 34:18 says,
many are the afflictions of the
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righteous, but the Lord delivers
them from them all. When
financial woes threaten you, the
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promises of Philippians is that
my God shall supply all your
needs according to his richest
00:21:09.16\00:21:15.37
in glory. Sometimes when folks
threaten and talk about you,
remember the name of the Lord is
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a strong tower and that the
righteous run in and find
safety. Sometimes circumstances
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seem like they'll never work
together. But Romans 8:28 says,
all things work together for
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them that love God and are
called according to his purpose.
And sometimes trouble threatens
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like it's not going to ever end,
but I've got to promise for the
word says, he that shall come,
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will come and he will not tarry
that one day trouble is going to
come to an end. Are y'all
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hearing me today, friends? And
see there are times where we get
all worried about stuff because
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when we're threatened we can't
see God. But I, but I shared
this with you last week.
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Sometimes it doesn't matter if
you can see God, all that
matters is that your enemy can.
00:22:22.77\00:22:31.85
So, last week I was out in Los
Angeles preaching and I took my
sons and we made it a little bit
00:22:31.88\00:22:42.29
of a boys' trip. And so what
happened is I go inside of they
were in this little mall area
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and I go inside of a department
store. And so the boys did not
want to go in, so they just
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played out in the little open
square. And so what happens is,
mom, I I'm looking at them
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through the window of the
department store and as I'm
looking at them, I see two older
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boys that looks like they're
roaming and casing them as if
they are interested in my oldest
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son's cell phone. And so I need
you to know that when I see them
seeing my sons, I don't really
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go out and make a big deal. I
just go stand outside of the
door and let them see me. And
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it's crazy, as soon as they see
daddy, they start moving in the
other direction. No, I need you
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to know my boys never saw me,
but they didn't need to see me.
Their enemies just needed to see
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me. Oh God, there are somebody
today that's saying I can't see
God. It doesn't matter if you
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can see him. As long as your
enemy sees him, you going to be
okay as you stand strong in him.
00:24:10.58\00:24:15.28
Are y'all hearing me today,
friends? Second thing, our story
teaches us today, friends is
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never create your own
expectations for God. Now,
again, it's okay to have
00:24:23.29\00:24:33.47
expectations of God, but don't
set your own expectations for
God. You see, we find Elijah in
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the place of disappointment and
disillusionment. And can I just
say this, to help your faith out
00:24:41.34\00:24:51.12
along the way that you'll wind
up being disappointed when your
expectations are based on your
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preferences and not God's
promises. And the reason Elijah
responds to God the way that he
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does is because of mismanaged
expectations. You see, friends,
Elijah has been in the
00:25:05.67\00:25:11.61
uncomfortable portion of faith
for an extended period period of
time because of the persecution
00:25:11.64\00:25:17.45
and threats of Jezebel. He has
lived in the outposts and the
outskirts of society and he had
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to move with a certain amount of
caution. You see, because the
drought commenced at his word.
00:25:23.49\00:25:31.63
Remember, Elijah has been in
this uncomfortable place of
dependence. In other words,
00:25:31.66\00:25:35.00
during these seven years, he
does not live with a fridge
filled with food, but he
00:25:35.03\00:25:43.67
literally lives from day to day
as he is dependent upon a raven
to send bread and meat. And he
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is sitting by a brook that is
consistently drying up. Now,
watch what happens church. He
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has been in this posture of
uncomfortable faith. But what
happens is that after the
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victory at Mount Carmel, Elijah
sets an expectation that because
God answered by fire and because
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