Elevation with Steven Furtick - A Ridiculous Reality (Jabin Chavez)

Episode Date: June 21, 2021

Do something ridiculous and you may just see God do something miraculous. In “A Ridiculous Reality,” Pastor Jabin Chavez of City Light Church challenges us to choose courage over worry and to boldly live out God’s calling on our lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 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 fate. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. I'm so blessed to be here. Hello, from Las Vegas. It was 118 yesterday when we flew here. 118 degrees. I don't know if y'all know what that meant. Like not 118 p.m. Like it was 118 degrees this week. So it's good to be here. And it's an honor to be here. God has been doing some great things at our church there in Las Vegas. But I'm very honored to be here. And honestly, we really are the product of relationship. We're the product of amazing people that God has blessed us to connect with. And the first on that list is Pastor Stephen. Pastor Holly Ferdick. We are who we are. I am who I am because of your pastors, because of this house, because of what God has done through them. And I'm so grateful. I've always been so grateful for Pastor Stephen, but especially in this season, the way that he rose and the way that

he stepped up and the way that he led and the way that he preached and the way that he rose. And the way that he wrote songs in the way that he loved us and gave to us and prayed for us and encouraged us. I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm so grateful that Pastor Stephen, honestly, in the pandemic, went, I can't just pastor elevation church. He literally became like an apostle to our nation and to the world. And I'm part of the eFAM. I don't know if you know that. we were recording on Wednesdays, and I would preach on Wednesdays during the pandemic, and then we would stream on Sundays. And Sundays, I just woke up, depressed and frustrated and shut down. And you can only clean your garage so many times on a Sunday.

And I had to join the EFAM because I needed a word. I needed a song. I needed the blessing. I needed graves in the gardens. I needed it. I didn't know I needed it. it might get loud. But I needed that song in my life. I needed rattle. I needed it, and I needed every Sunday morning when I would log in, and I would hear the word, and I'd hear this amazing

team, and I would be fed. And we were a two-year-old church when the pandemic started, and we made it. And I made it because a man of God preached me through hell. Pastor Stephen, I love you. I honor you. I thank God for you. And we just want you to know how much we appreciate the way that you could have sat back, but instead you let us. And we love you. We love Pastor Hawley. Come on. One more time, we show our honor, appreciation. Every local Amen. Why don't you stand for God's word? Stand for God's word. First Samuel chapter 17, verse 32. Why not? I won't keep you long. First Samuel chapter 17 verse 32. David, David speaks to Saul and he says, don't worry about this Philistine. I'll go fight him. Don't be ridiculous, Saul replied.

There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win. You're only a boy. He's been a man of war since his youth. I'll just read the first little line of 34, but David persisted. David persisted. Acts chapter 13, verse 22. Acts chapter 13, verse 22. But God removed Saul and replaced him with David. A man about whom God said, I have found David's son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.

A man. A man. Saul called him a boy. But God said, this is a man. A man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do. Verse 33, Saul gives David a compliment. He didn't know he was giving him a compliment, but he gave him a compliment. He said, don't be ridiculous. I want to preach from that subject for just a few moments today. A ridiculous reality. A ridiculous reality. I have a ridiculous reality. Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for the moments we share. I thank you for the presence we feel. I thank you that one word from heaven, one word from you literally change everything. We're believing for that now. We're leaning in for that.

Our ears are open. Our hearts are open to a phrase, a sentence. Lord, you don't even have to use me. Just use something said today. Use something sung today. Use a phrase. Use an idea. Use a verse to change somebody's life forever. I thank you for it in Jesus' name. And the whole church said, amen. Amen. Here you can be seated online. Lean into this word. I believe God has something for us. Dr. Charles Swindal said that life is about 10% what happens to us. And 90% our response, our attitude, our outlook on what happens to us. I've been saved now for 23 years. I got saved when I was 15. I'm now turning 38 and I've been following Jesus now for 23 years. And I can attest to that statement. I don't like that quote from Dr. Swindall, but I know it's true.

I've been right there where I have to make a decision. I don't like what's happening to me. but my response is more important than what's happening to me. My outlook is more important than my circumstance. My attitude is more important than my surroundings. What I think about God and what I think about His Word and what I think about He's doing in my life has much more weight and can do much more in my life than what is simply going on around us.

Life is so much more about perspective and attitude than it is circumstances. And while we find ourselves praying to get out of things, I find that usually we ignore the thing God is trying to do in us. We pray to get out, but God's trying to do something in. I'm trying to change what I'm surrounded by, but God's trying to change what's going on inside of me. Let me tell you why this is important. It's important because if you get the thing, you think you want to be. want, but never let God do the thing you need. You'll get the thing you want and you'll mess it up.

Because you won't have the character, you won't have the prayer life, you won't have the anointing, you won't have the compassion, you won't have the love for God or love for people to carry the thing that God is put on you. So a lot of you are praying for things. And I would say, don't stop praying for what you're believing God for. Just make sure. sure that you are asking God to do something in you, don't limit God to simply someone who can get stuff for you. Don't limit God to a God who can just do things for you while refusing to allow him to do something in you. Because it's what he does in you. Because here's the reality that if you'll allow God to do something in you, even if you don't get the thing you wanted, you're content.

Even if you don't get the thing you've been believing God for, you're happy. Even if the circumstance doesn't change exactly how you thought it was going to change, because of what the Spirit of God did in you, you're now not tripping as much about what you thought was the thing, isn't even the thing. The thing is the thing God's doing in you. So David had to make a choice. David had no idea that morning he was going to step into a fight.

He didn't expect a fight. He didn't know there was going to be a fight. He had no plans for a fight. His father woke him up one early morning and said, here's some bread, here's some cheese. Shout out to carbs and dairy. Just side note. They're amazing. Praise the Lord.

Pastor Chunks doesn't eat carbs. Carbs, Pastor Chunks, are where they take wheat and they grind it up. And then I know you only eat broccoli and salmon, but some of us got to eat wheat. Amen, praise the Lord. So anyway, he, praise God, praise God. So he gets his bread and his cheese and he's going to serve his brothers. He had no intention to fight that day. He had no idea that he was about to hear the taunts of Goliath. And it was going to provoke something in day. I want to give you a reality that maybe you've never thought about before, but you rarely choose your giants. Usually your giants choose you. You rarely choose your fight. You rarely choose your storm. You rarely choose your struggle. We don't always get to choose our fights, but we must choose to fight. We don't always choose our battles, but we can stand in the presence of God in the midst of our battles.

We rarely choose our storms, but we can trust that Jesus is with us in the storm. We'll sustain us in the storm. We'll not leave us in the storm. We'll see us through the storm. We don't always get to pick our Goliath. Most of the time, Goliath picks us. But we can still have victory, even in situations. that we did not choose. I don't know about you. I didn't choose 2020. Well, maybe you didn't choose

the marriage that you're in right now. You're like, they were awesome when we started. Don't say anything to your spouse. Just, they seem normal. I didn't choose this struggle. I didn't, I didn't choose to lose my job. I didn't choose this situation. I didn't, I didn't choose to be born at this time. I didn't believe for this. This was not on the prayer list. But please don't die as a victim of your circumstance because you're angry with the fight that's been given to you. You may not be able to change the fight, but you can fight. You may not always be able to stop the storm, but you can stand in the storm in the presence of Jesus.

You may not like everything that's going on around you. if you're not careful, you will spend the next year of your life trying to pray out of something that God is trying to do in you, and you'll miss the lesson, you'll miss the growth, you'll miss getting to see Goliath fall because you didn't like to fight. I've had to learn that my greatest seasons of growth have been in moments where I had to take on fights I didn't expect. But David sees some things in the text that David saw that I want to. I want to share with you because I think there's some keys to victory that David had over

his Goliath, and we all have a Goliath. We're all going to face giants. Your last giant is not your last giant. There will be more giants. They have a way of popping up. So I'm going to give you some things that I see from David. And here's the first. In order to have this ridiculous reality, this victory mentality, you have to choose courage over worry. Courage over worry. David said in verse 32, don't worry. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to do something that frightens you. So when David says don't worry, he's not claiming he's fearless.

Courage is not fearless. Courage is the ability to place more faith in God's word than in the mountain. Courage is the ability to put more faith in what God has promised than in the giant. David said, don't worry. Here's what he's saying. He's not saying that the emotion is gone. He's saying, I refuse to let worry and fear dictate every decision in my life. Have you read Joshua chapter one and God tells Joshua, hey, be strong, be courageous.

You're like, I'm trying. Don't ever read stuff like that? You're like, is it that easy? Jesus says, don't worry about tomorrow. working on it, trying, doing my best here. When God commands us not to worry, when God commands us to be courageous, he's not saying that we're going to be robotic and that we're no longer going to have emotion. He's just saying that your faith will go beyond the emotion, that God's promise will go beyond

the feeling, that what God has said about you will be stronger than the fear that you feel in the moment. When David says, don't worry, I think his knees were knocking. When David said, don't worry, I think his stomach was probably turning. When David said, don't worry, I think sweat was falling from his head, but there was something in him that knew that God had done enough in his life that he could get through this because of all God has already done. I'm sorry, I'm already screaming, but I just want to tell somebody that fear doesn't have to be your anchor emotion. Worry doesn't have, and I know these are scary times. And I know these are scary times. I know these are worrisome times. I know these are crazy times. I don't like it either.

But if I got to be in it, I might as well be in it with some courage. So the Bible said for 40 days, every morning and every night, Goliath is cursing the people of God. Forty days, every morning, every night, every morning, every night, every morning, every night, with his youth. Usual taunts. Can I tell you that the devil knows your usual taunts? It might be addiction, it might be lust, it might be anger, it might be hatred, might be fear, it might be greed. I don't know what your taunt is, but the devil knows your taunt. And there's nothing new. So he'll just keep working your taunt.

As long as you let him talk, he will taunt. As long as you allow the enemy to speak every morning and every night, here's what he will taunt you. and he will remind you. And he will bring that up and up and up. So for 40 days, Saul is under this influence of his taunts. Saul was insecure. Saul was troubled by evil spirits. Saul was well aware of his weaknesses and well aware of everyone else's strengths.

That's why he was jealous. So the devil knew exactly what to tell Saul. And I don't know what your taunt is, but many of you, you keep hearing the same thing. You can't do it. You'll never make it. It will always be this way. It was better before you started serving God. It was easier before you really committed to the Lord.

And he will just keep talking to you. I want to submit this. Saul's fear was justified. Goliath was nine feet tall. That's scary. His fear was justified, but living in it was not justified. So I've learned that you're either going to be a don't worry person or a don't be ridiculous person. I've learned that you're either going to be a Saul or you're going to be a David.

You're either going to live in the fear of what might happen and never take a step of faith, or you're going to be like David, and you're going to be ridiculous, and you're going to live in a don't worry spirit that says, you know what, my worry can't change anything anyway. It's doing no good anyway. It's not preparing me for anything anyway, so I might as well stop because all it's doing is stopping me from entering into what God has for me. And I just refuse to be a Saul. I don't want to live that way. I don't want to live small. I don't want to live insecure. I don't want to live talking people out of their dreams. And I know that over the last 15, 18 months, 18 months, I know the devil has worked so hard to just talk us out of our dreams to retreat,

to give up, to quit, to play it safe. But I want to tell you today that you can choose courage over worry, that you can get your fight back, that you can get your prayer back, that you can get your praise back, that you can get your relationships back, that you can get your mind back. I understand that the devil has fought us hard for month after month after month, but I think it's time to fight back a little bit. I think it's fine to say, I refuse to live in the worry of what might never happen. I'm going to step into what God already said would happen. Faith will always look ridiculous.

Courage will always be a rare commodity. Hope will always look unrealistic. But never forget that the miraculous and the ridiculous are always connected. They is. They is. See, every time you see a miracle in the Bible, we read right over it. But every time you see a miracle in the Bible, you will see a ridiculous instruction from God. Every time, they just don't seem crazy now because we've been reading about them since we were five.

But they're ridiculous. The Bible is full of people who need miracles. and God who answers with instructions. Not miracles. Instructions. God, I need a miracle. Do this. I don't want to do that.

I want you to do this. And a lot of us miss out on our miracle because we don't like the instruction. A lot of us miss out on answer prayer because we don't like what God's telling us to do. I don't want to do that. I want you to do something. God goes, I will do something if you will do something. But the thing that God is calling us to do. will usually push us out of our comfort tone. It feels so ridiculous.

Y'all don't believe me. Hey, Noah, what's the boat? Big piece of wood. You're going to live in it because it's going to rain. But it's not going to come up from the grass. It's got to come out from the sky. For over 100 years, Noah builds a boat with no rain, and we read it, and we read it in Sunday school so we don't realize how crazy this is. and we wonder why God never does anything for us. Abraham, just go. Just go. I saw you.

So, like, you want me to tell Sarah, I can't even take my wife on a date until I tell her where we're going. Babe, let's go on a date. Where? And you want me to back on a day? Just start walking? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Nicholas. Elijah, build an altar.

I'm going to send fire. So, put what? on it. Okay. Isaac, so in a time of famine. Naman, dip in the Jordan, but not once, not twice, on three times. Go ahead and dip seven times. Do something that's ridiculous. Do something that offends you. Do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Elijah, you need water? Cool, don't pray for rain. Dig ditches. Don't look up. Look down. Don't pray for clouds to form. Instead, just start digging holes. Widow, you need some food. Go ahead and gather vessels. from your friends.

Servants, y'all need wine. Get some water. So we start praying for miracles, and then we start seeing weird things around us, and we go, God, you're not. And he's going, I am. It just is not what you thought it was going to be. But it is what you need.

You want to feed 5,000 people, break them up into groups of 50. Hey, you want me to raise Lazarus from the dead? Then you roll away the stone. Because if you'll roll away the stone, I'll raise the dead. If you'll do what you can do, I'll do what I can do.

You can't raise the dead. But if you could roll away a stone, if you could park a car, if you could give in the offering, if you can serve in the kids ministry, if you can play a guitar, if you can sing a song, if you can love old somebody,

if you can hold a sign and welcome them to church. If you'll roll away the stone, I'll raise the dead. I want to hold a sign I want to preach. Too bad. Hold a sign. I don't want to be a host. I want to, I want to,

want to sing. No, host. Do something ridiculous that stretches you and offends you and makes you go, God, why are you doing me like that? Because I don't want to just do stuff for you. I want to do stuff in you. And if I just gave you everything, you would never change. So you have to do something ridiculous, and then you'll watch God do the miraculous. Somebody prays. Somebody prays. God. I was going to say I'm almost done, but I'm not, I'm only on point one. Pray for me. Sit down. Sit down. I got to preach. It's ridiculous. You want me to serve in church? Yeah, it's ridiculous. You want me to tithe? Tithe. My friend the other day, she was cutting my hair. She goes, you know, tithing is just, you know, it's from the hearts, whatever you feel led to give. This is a scary conversation to have when they have razor sharp. She goes to our church. I said, actually, oh, it's like, 10%. And she, what? I said, yeah, it's like 10% of your income.

But like, no pressure. Just let me get out of this. But like follow the Holy Spirit. You know, it's like, we're not legalistic. It's ridiculous. You want me to love my enemies? It's ridiculous. You want me to forgive those who are talking about me?

It's ridiculous. You want me to obey. It's all sounds so. it sounds so ridiculous until it works. It feels ridiculous until it looks miraculous. And that point is like really fast. So you feel foolish for a long time. And then all of a sudden you look wise.

Four years ago, we packed up a Penske truck and we left Newport Beach, California. I don't know if you've been in Newport, but Newport's like heaven. For real. And it felt so ridiculous. It felt so ridiculous four years ago to take my six-month-old daughter out of our car, and it was 108 degrees, and she's sweating. And we didn't have a house yet because we didn't have income. So we're living with my brother and sister-in-law in their guest room,

and they go, all good, we got to bed. It was an air mattress. They lied to us. And as I laid in that air mattress, I went, God, you lied to me. And it felt so ridiculous until it looked miraculous. And I won't bore you with the details, but God has been so good to us. But it didn't feel good at first. It just felt like God.

Like I knew it was God, but it didn't feel good, but I knew it was God. but the longer you stay with it, I'm going to create a word right now. The gooder it feels. The better it feels. The wiser you feel because you trusted God when they looked at you and said you were ridiculous, but you knew God put something in you. Number two, faith over facts. Faith over facts. I'm not here to deny facts, but I want you to understand.

something, Saul said, there's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win. He was right. Saul said you can't. Saul was being very realistic. Saul was actually being wise. Saul was looking at a teenager and saying, you can't go up against a nine foot tall giant. I love what he says. He's been a man of war since his youth. Like he's been grown since he was a kid. Like he's, like he was one of those 12-year-olds, and you're like, are you 30? You know, that was Goliath. Saul had a scouting report on Goliath. He said, he's a man of war.

We know about this. You can't. And he was right. Hand-to-hand combat? No chance. Sword against sword, not possible. There was no way David could do that. but faith sees another way.

Faith looks for the possibility in the impossibility. Faith looks for what God could do in the midst of the problem. Faith is not moved by what is seen. Faith will move in the midst of what is seen. There's always going to be an excuse for why you can't fight your Goliath. You can say you can't and you would be right. But if you say you can, you'll be right. Ecclesiastes chapter 11 verse 4 says,

farmers who wait for perfect weather, they never plant. Look at your neighbors. Say, stop waiting. Stop waiting. Type it in the chat, please. Stop waiting. If they watch every cloud, they will never harvest. David could have easily said, I'll fight him,

and then looked at him and said, My bad, just kidding. And if you're waiting for the perfect weather to step out in faith, friend, if the weather was perfect, you wouldn't need faith. You only need faith because there is a cloud in the sky. You only need faith because there is a giant. You only need faith because the circumstances aren't good. So hand to hand, sword to sword, absolutely not.

But slingshot, he's too big to miss. You have to see the same issue. a different way. Same issue, same marriage, different perspective. Same job, different attitude. Same city, different outlook. Do you remember when God was bringing Joshua into the promised land, Joshua chapter three, he said, Joshua, you're going to go in, but you've never gone this way before. You're still going in. You're just going in a new way with a new perspective, with a new route, with a new path, you're going to the same place a different way. David and Saul saw the same giant, but they saw him differently.

David and Saul saw the same enemy, but they saw him differently. David and Saul were looking at the same problem, but they saw it differently, because Saul could only see it one way. But faith is creation. Faith will give you an imagination. Faith will get you looking at the same thing and going, but I know what you're saying, but it feels different to me. When I moved to Las Vegas, I had two incredible, lovely, probably pastors in town, and they called me and they said, you cannot plant the church here and you cannot plant the church there. It will never work. Thanks.

They said, what part of town? I said, well, this part of town. They said, no, no, no one goes to church on the west side. It won't work. Copy. Thanks. And I had to look at the same part of our city a different way. I had to look at the same region with different eyes. I had to look at the same problem, but not see it as a problem, see it as a possibility. I had to look at a zip code that did not have a church like ours in it or a zip code anywhere around us that had a church like ours in us and say to myself, either they're not reset. or maybe my faith and maybe my creativity and maybe my tenacity can outweigh their lack of receptivity. And so I had to see the same thing from a different perspective. I cannot promise you that everything in your life is going to change after today. But I am promising that you can see it different.

Isn't that what Elijah prayed for his servant when they were surrounded by the enemy? And his servant thought, okay, you need to call down fire. you need to help us, you need to call on God. And Elisha prays, but he doesn't pray against the enemy. He prays for his servant. He says, Lord, give him eyes to see. Let him see what I see. Let him see what you see. Let him see the same situation. But instead of seeing it from his perspective, would you allow him to see it from your perspective? And I'm not saying that everything's going to change, but what I am saying is that if you'll see it different, lastly, a ridiculous reality will require God's work. over man's opinion. God's word over man's opinion. You're a boy. He's a man. That's all he could see in him.

You're a boy. He's a man. But God said. And there has to be a but God that gets in your spirit. There has to be something in you, Joseph, that says, but God has turned this thing around for good and for the saving. There has to be something in you that says, I understand what they're saying, but God. I understand why they're saying it, but God. I understand the thought process behind it, but God. I understand the reason Saul that you would declare that over my life. But God said, I found a man. Saul saw a boy. God saw a man. Saul saw a kid. God saw a king. And so much of your life is going to be determined by who you allow to speak into your life. This is why a church like this really matters. This is why it's really important that you're in

this church. It's why it's really important that you attend this church, serving this church, given this church, epham or not, this is why you have to be a part of elevation, because you need somebody with enough faith and enough humility to look at you, week in and week out, and declare what God says about you and not what you're hearing from your family and from your friends and from your frenemies and from your enemies and from everywhere in between. You need a man of God like Pastor Stephen Ferdic two every week. Get up. Stand behind this pulpit. But open the Bible and tell you who God is and tell you who you are. Because if you stop allowing that influence in, there will always be a soul ready to pounce on you and tell you the lies of the enemy and remind you of all of your insecurities and all of your inadequacies and all of the reasons that you are not qualified and all of the reasons that you do not measure up.

You need this man of God in your life to declare, thus say it the Lord, to declare the king. in you to declare the man of God, the woman of God in you to declare the promises of God over you. And not everyone is going to be able to see that, but you don't need everyone to be able to see that. And it's not your job to make them see that. And please don't waste your whole life trying to convince the unconvinced of who you are. Because they can only see you for who you were. They can only see you through your weakness. They can only see you through your mistake. They can only see you through that 19 year old kid or that 25 year old kid or that 15 year old kid. But I know what God sees in me. And I know a lot of people, they waste their

whole life trying to convince somebody. They try to convince a Saul who does not have the eyes to see it. So we don't live our life trying to prove anything to the haters. And we don't live our life trying to convince those who have rejected us. We know who we are. We know whose we are. And we know that God has a word over our life that is greater than their opinion anyway. They did not create you so they cannot call you.

They did not create you so they cannot destiny you. You were not created in their image so their word does not have that much authority. Hallelujah. hallelujah. Verse 34 and David, because this is the moment for me, this is the moment for me, this is the moment, because at this moment, David could have went, you're right. And instead, he persisted. There's a moment that you have to push back. Not only pushing back against the enemy, you have to push back from the voices that are trying to stop you from walking in victory.

You have to, you have to push back. David, persisted. He went, no, no, no, no, you're not going to talk me out of this. I believe this is my moment. I believe this is my time. I did not call myself and I did not choose this fight, but here I am. David persisted. Here's why he persisted because he knew Goliath was an opportunity, not a death sentence. And I want to declare over you, Goliath is always an opportunity, not a death sentence. You need a Goliath because Goliath is your opportunity for elevation. Goliath is your opportunity for promotion. You don't become king without Goliath. You don't walk in greatness without Goliath. You don't step into your call without Goliath. Here's why.

Because Goliath is a very interesting Hebrew word. We can have the band come up, play me out of here like the Grammys, get me off the stage. I'll preach all day. Goliath means Goliath means that the Hebrew language, it means to uncover. I'm already feeling it. I haven't even told you all what I'm feeling yet, but I'm feeling something. Goliath means to reveal. Goliath means to disclose information. Goliath means to reveal oneself and to make oneself known.

The giant you are facing is actually revealing. The giant you are facing is actually uncovering a truth. The giant you are facing is revealing to you that you are bigger on the inside than Goliath is on the outside. Giants always tell on themselves because giants always reveal who they are, who God is, and who you are. And without Goliath, you don't get exposed to it. Goliath of Gath. Gath means the wine press, the pressing place, the uncomfortable place. without a press, without a Goliath, without a gath, without a situation that you never prayed for, but now that you're in it, it reveals something about God that you would have

never known about God. It reveals something about the devil that you would have never known about the devil. It reveals something about you that you would have never known about yourself. Giants reveal our calling. Giants uncover our gifting. Giants make known our anointing to others. Giants teach me to pray. Giants push me to fast. Giants put me on my face. Where I say, God, if you don't move to face my Goliath,

but I'm better for it, bigger for it. I'm stronger for it. I'm more anointed because of it. I pray like I never prayed before it. I give like I've never given before it. I was a different man before I met Jesus, but frankly, I was a different man before I met my Goliath. But after I had to face an enemy, it revealed to me the greatness of my God. It revealed to me the awesome power of my God.

I stopped comparing myself to my giant. And I started comparing my giant to my Jesus. And I realized that my God is great. It was revealed to me that my God is awesome. It was revealed to me that my God is a prayer answering, mountain, moving, way, making God. I didn't know God like I know God after I met my Goliath. Giants caused you to discover that greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. I don't know if I can thank my Goliath, but I am thankful for my Goliath because something had to break on my walk to my giant.

Something new had you come out of me that was not there before. And now that I'm on the other side, I realize how small he really is and I realize how great my God is. So now that I face Goliath, I can say what Paul said. Romans 8, I'm more than a conquer. This is a really interesting phrase in the Greek, and I won't bore you with it, but all to say, this was a run-on word sentence that the Apostle Paul uses, more than conquers is one big word that simply means. that you're actually stronger after the fight.

You actually have more strength after the race. You're actually better after the conflict. You're actually better after the battle. You were good. You were a conqueror. But after you faced Goliath, you've become more than a conqueror. And you could only become that going through. him. I don't know what you're facing, but I know who's greater. Maybe right here in this room at

every location stand, maybe even if you're in your living room or kitchen or whatever, maybe just stand with us for a moment. Our God is greater and he will take what the enemy meant for evil and he'll turn it. And the devil told you it was a death sentence, but it was actually an opportunity for promotion. And I believe God is elevating you. I believe God's promoting you. I believe God is lifting your perspective. So in Jesus' name, I release the grace

and the strength of Almighty God upon you, upon your family, upon everything that you're currently going through. I agree with you for miracles, breakthroughs, signs and wonders. And I also pray for the courage and the faith and the humility to do whatever God, is calling you to do next. I pray, Holy Spirit, give us the grace to take the step. Give us, give us the

faith, give us the courage to break past the fear and the worry and to obey God. Oh, God, would you do this in the name of Jesus, sovereignly by your grace and by your strength? Let it be so. Let it be so. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. is because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now or visit Elevationchurch.org slash podcast 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 at Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you. This is an IHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.