Elevation with Steven Furtick - Death By Echo (Run It Back)

Episode Date: August 17, 2026

What’s been on your mind? Sometimes the loudest voice in your life is the one in your own head. In this sermon, Pastor Steven teaches from Elijah’s story in 1 Kings 19 and shows us what to do when fear, exhaustion, and discouragement get loud. If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: http://ele.vc/tIepfr Chapters0:00 - Join Us On Tour!1:55 - 1 Kings 199:36 - "How'd You Feel About It?"12:55 - What Are You Replaying?15:56 - Tormented By A Lie19:36 - I'm Both23:34 - What You Really Say To God26:34 - That's Not Really A Prayer31:05 - Pressure Can Cause You To Run33:13 - Replaying The Wrong Thing36:16 - Run It Back38:12 - What's Really Killing Your Faith41:26 - God Came Anyway44:26 - What's Echoing In Your Cave47:07 - Come Out Of The Cave49:11 - This Cave Won't Be My Grave53:03 - For Those Caught In The Echo Scripture References:1 Kings 19, verses 1-19 - Elijah ran and hid in a cave, God came in a whisperJames 5, verses 17-18 – The faith of Elijah to pray about the rainPhilippians 4, verses 6-7 – Present requests to God with thanksgiving 1 Kings 18 – Elijah defeats the prophets of Baal with fire1 Corinthians 15, verses 54-55 – Death swallowed up in victoryExodus 33, verses 21-22 – Moses hidden in the cleft of the rock1 Kings 17, verses 1-6 – Ravens fed Elijah by the brook CherithLamentations 3, verses 22-23 – God's mercies are new every morning1 Kings 17, verses 17-24 – Elijah revives a widow's dead sonEzekiel 37 – Dry bones brought back to lifeJudges 6, verse 15 – Gideon calls himself the weakestExodus 4, verse 10 – Moses says he is not eloquentMatthew 27, verses 57-60 – Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus's bodySee 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. Right now, as I open God's word to you, there are thousands and thousands online that we call our eFAM joining us all around the world. This message will go all over the world and touch lives. Can we make sense? our eFAM feel welcome today and all of our campuses. Come on, every Elevation Church physical location.

If there's not a physical location near you, there's a chance that we're going to be visiting you soon. We've got two tours coming up. Aren't y'all about to hit the road? Elevation rhythm is coming to a town near you. Maybe. Maybe. You excited about it?

Excited to get out and sing with the people. a wide shot. Let them see who's coming. I won't be there. But Nate, you'll be there. Otis, you'll be there. Nick, you'll be there? It's going to be amazing. Go and check that out. An incredible night of worship. Josh, you're going? It's going to be an amazing time of worship. And you can get all of the details somewhere. I thought there was a website up there, but there's not. Just type all of that into Chad GPT. and follow the directions and buy the ticket and we'll see you there. Also, Elevation Nights is coming up.

Let's thank God for Elevation Nights. Now, I will be there. I've got to get the dates out. Yeah, October 9th through October 18th. And you can go to Elevationnights.com, Kansas City, Missouri, Memphis, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, San Antonio, Texas, Lubbock, Texas, Dallas, Texas, Oklahoma, City, Oklahoma, and Houston, Texas. Come on, shout like you're from Texas today.

The Lord has been speaking to us through this series. Would you not agree? I know that voice. And today I want to share with you another installment in this series. I went home and told Holly that was my last sermon in the I Know That Voice series. And the Lord said, are you sure? Because it would be impossible for me to do a series called I Know That Voice and not stop by. this passage of scripture in 1 Kings 19. This scripture has brought me immense comfort in times of my

life where I felt heavy. It's brought me clarity when I felt crazy. It's brought me endurance when I felt weary. And I want to share it to you today, with you today, as a personal word. And I'm going to preach it just like the Lord gave it to me. I actually packed two folders when I left the house today. One was the safe sermon, and then one was the sermon where I really need the Holy Spirit to help me get it right. And I'm going to preach the second one. Because I believe I'll hear from you a few weeks or months from now about what God speaks today. So, tune your heart and turn over to First Kings 19. I'm going to read a little bit longer scripture than I normally would, but it's worth it. First Kings chapter 19, verse one. Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah

had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, may the gods deal with me be it ever so severely if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broombush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. I've had enough, Lord, he said, take my life, I am no better than my ancestors.

Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him, said, get up and eat. Man, I think I might want to make that my life verse right there. I want the Lord to tell me that. Get up and eat. Ice cream and pizza. Yeah, tacos, burritos.

And I want him to cancel out the calories too because he's God. He can do anything. Wouldn't be cool if God just touched you and said eat and then touched the food and made it good for you? Come on. If God just gave the briars the nutritional value of broccoli, God can do stuff like that. But I am amazed how Elijah was running away from God and God fed him anyway. Because hadn't there been seasons in your life where you knew you were doing the wrong thing? Come over to this side.

This side's about to get struck by lightning and it's not even raining outside for lying. Haven't there been seasons in your life where you knew you were off track? But God kept providing for you anyway and kept making ways for you anyway? How many have one of those anyway testimonies? Even when I went the wrong way, he fed me anyway. He kept me anyway. He blessed me anyway. He brought me anyway.

So he ate and drank and then lay down again. Now, verse 6 says there were, by his head, some bread baked over hot coals in a jar of water, and he ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, get up and eat for the journey is too much for you. So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There, he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him. What are you doing here, Elijah?

He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant. They've torn down your altars, and they have put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too. The Lord said, go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord. For the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. sent a wind to get Elijah back. But the Lord was not in the wind. He sent the wind, but he was not

in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him. He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,

torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. The Lord said to him, go back the way you came, and go to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hezal, king over Aram,

also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, king over Israel, and anoint Elisha, son of Shefat, from Abel Mahola, to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escaped the sword of Hezal, and Elisha will put to death any who escaped the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed down to bail and whose mouths have not kissed him. Last verse, so Elijah went from there and found Elijah, son of Shefat.

He was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the 12th pier. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Thus a new beginning. This is a new beginning. is the word of the Lord. I have a strange subject today, but I want to talk to you for a few moments about a very particular way that the enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy in your life. I want to talk to you about death by echo. Echo. Death by echo. And don't worry, this sermon has a happy ending. Father, I thank you in the name of Jesus for what you spoke to me. Now, speak it to them. May it echo. across this place. In Jesus' name, I pray. And everybody said together, amen.

Clap your hands if you love the Lord and receive his word today. You may be seated. Now, Elijah, in this passage that I just read you, may come across to you as somebody who is emotionally imbalanced, and perhaps he is. He may come across to you as somebody who is ungrateful, and perhaps temporarily his view of what God has done has been blocked by what he's going through. But I think that's a good thing. One of the things that people ask me often after I preach, and it's honestly my favorite thing to, well, it's my least favorite thing to be asked, but it's my favorite thing to answer.

Because here's what they'll ask sometimes. They'll go, I'll preach, you know, you pour your heart out, you preach, and they go, Hey, so how'd you feel about that? And it's kind of awkward, because when they ask it, it kind of feels like maybe I should feel different about it than how I do feel. Because I felt like it was all right until you asked me, how did I feel about it? It's kind of like, have you ever gone out the house? And then you came back home and your wife saw you for the first time. And she's like, is that what you wore today?

And it's like, well, yeah, but this is too late to do anything about it. This is it. This is what I wore. What I preached is what I preached. How I feel is how I feel about it? I don't know. How should I feel about it? How did you feel about it? Did you feel like it blessed you? It's just an awkward question to ask. And besides it being an awkward question to answer, is complicated. Because if I really answered you, the truth is that I always feel like, watch this, I failed at some level. because I'm trying to speak for God who is perfect, and I'm me who is not. So how did I feel? Like I fell short of my goal. And you are always going to feel that way when you're speaking for God, unless you're a narcissist.

And so the truth of the matter is when someone is asking me, how did you feel about that? I'm already replaying the message in my brain the way that I meant to say it. And you don't know how I meant to say it, you only know how I said it. So perhaps you thought that I hit the mark, but in my mind it was a mess. Last week was one of those weeks. I preached my whole sermon called What If I Got It Wrong? The message was about how the enemy can beat you up with regret and just cause you to doubt everything down to the core of your faith in Christ. And I meant to say before I left the stage that the better question isn't.

what if I got it wrong, but what if God got it right? And somehow, no matter how many times I wrote that down in my notes, when I finished my message, I left the stage and did not say that part. And to me, that was not the cherry on top of the Sunday. That was the Sunday. That was the ice cream. That was the dish. That was the whole thing that I wanted you to hear. But somehow I forgot to say it. So I went home and Holly was in tears and she was like, that was amazing that really touched me. And I was like, no, it was terrible. And she's like, what do you mean it was terrible? It touched me.

And how was it touching to her and terrible to me? Because I'm replaying the part I didn't say in my mind. And the part that you replay has a lot to do with what you feel. Have you ever replayed the wrong thing in your mind over and over again? Have you ever said something so dumb? And then went back and thought about it for days and days and days. Like, why did I say that to them? Really? Like, I really said that to them.

I don't know if you're trying to pick up a girl. I don't know if you're trying to do a business deal. I don't know if you're just introducing yourself to someone. And then you walk away and you're like, why did I say that? And then you get the chance to see them again and apologize. And you've worked up your entire apology speech for what you said. and you go to say, I'm sorry that I said that. I can't believe I said that to you. And they'll say, I don't remember that. Really? I have been tormenting myself over something that wasn't even important

enough for you to put in your files. You mean I just said that and beat myself up and you completely forgot about it? I remember when Christmas I was taking out the trash and it had all these packing peanuts in it. And the trash can was full of packing peanuts and the wind was blowing. Well, I think you know where this is going. I pulled the trash can out to the street and the wind blows the packing peanuts every which way. Now remember, I've just preached like 50 Christmas services, however many we did at the time. I think it was more like 12 that I preached live and we had 50 across all of our locations. But I was tired and Graham was sitting in the car and I was dragging out trash, but I forgot temporarily that Graham was sitting in the car, and I also forgot temporarily

that I was saved, and I forgot temporarily that there are certain words that you shouldn't say when you're saved and your kid is sitting in the car. I just started letting stuff fly, and it was flying faster than the packing peanuts, and it's all flying around the yard, and I just preached Christmas, and as Jesus's birthday has just finished, and here I am cussing it, inanimate objects all around the yard, and I got in the car, and my biggest thought was like, what am I going to tell my kid? I start to spiral because I'm like, I know where this ends. This ends with he's in therapy.

This ends with he's a drug addict. He's sitting on somebody's couch at some point in the future saying, there was this one Christmas. And my dad preached, and he took out the trash. And my dad is trash. And that's the reason I'm here today. But you know, after 10 minutes of driving and figuring out what I wanted to say to him, I said, I'm sorry about that. He said, sorry about what?

I said, sorry about what I said while I was out there. He said, I didn't hear what you said. I said, that's right. That's right. And here I am tormented about something that he didn't even hear. Did you know that the enemy can torment you with something that isn't even true? He can make you play out scenarios in your mind. I'm telling you, the enemy is very strategic.

because if you read 1 Kings 19 and you know a little bit about who Elijah is, you are surprised to see him running because he got a death threat from Jezebel. And when he says, Lord, take my life, I'm no better than my ancestors because Jezebel, who was the queen, said, I'm going to kill you. In fact, in verse 2, she says this exactly. May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them. Elijah has just won a great victory on Mount Carmel. He has just prophesied and the heavens gave rain. And no sooner does the rain come than the news of his victory reaches the ears of Ahab. And no sooner does it reach the ears of Ahab until he tells Jezebel. Jezebel was really running the kingdom.

Jezebel was really moving Ahab like a puppet. One preacher said the last decision Ahab ever made was I do, and I've seen some marriages like that. I've seen some marriages like that. So Jezebel says, let me handle him. May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I don't kill this guy who killed my prophets. When Elijah called down fire from God and had the 450 prophets of Bail slaughtered,

The 400 prophets of Asherah slaughtered on the mountain and said, If the Lord is God, follow him, how long will ye halt between two opinions? If the Lord is God, how long are you going to go back and forth? And fire came from heaven and licked up what remaining water there was after three years of drought in the trenches, and God proved his presence by fire. Elijah went up on a mountain, put his head between his knees, sent his servant to check seven times, said, I hear the sound of the abundance of rain. I can't prove it, but I hear it.

I can't point to it, but I know it. I can't show it to you, but God is showing it to me. Tell Ahab, hitch up your chariots before the rain stop you, and Elijah outran Ahab all the way back down the mountain. No sooner can he get down the mountain, and the rain released from heaven, and the revival begin in the religious climate of Israel. No sooner can he get down the mountain. No sooner can he celebrate the victory.

So sooner can he move forward into the next assignment that God has until he receives a threat from Jezebel. And we know that her threat is empty. May the gods deal with me. What gods, Jezebel? Somebody say, what gods? You mean the same ones who you called on on the mountain when God sent fire? I feel that word for somebody.

Say, what gods? You know how the enemy tries to threaten you and intimidate you? What gods? There's only one God. So her threat is empty. Because if she could have, she would have. Because if 850 false prophets didn't stop him, what is one person going to do? What gods?

Somebody say, what gods? Where, oh, death is now thy sting? Where, O grave is your victory? Death has been swallowed. up in victory. What gods? Her threat is empty. Her threat is empty, but so is Elijah. He's empty. And he says, I've had enough, Lord. Her threat is empty, but so is he. Now, when people ask you, how do you feel after you minister? The truth is, you're thankful, but you're all so empty. You're all so tired. Any new parents in the world?

room? May I talk to you for a moment? How do you feel as a new parent? You've got to answer that very carefully because you're so thankful, right? Right? I hope so. Too late now. No refunds. No instruction manual either and no sleep schedule. So you say, I'm thankful, but I'm I'm exhausted. Now, I like to make up words to explain to people how I feel. When people ask me how I feel before I preach, I say, I'm anxious and I'm excited. I'm excited. I made that up myself.

I'm excited. You ever felt anxious about something? So I made up a new word to describe how you feel when God uses you. It goes like this. I'm thanks austin. Use that this week. How you doing? You're so blessed.

You've got this new job. I'm thankful. But I'm exhausted. I'm going to keep preaching until I find somebody who will be real with me. I am grateful, but I'm kind of grumpy too. And I'm kind of grumpy because I haven't gotten quite as much sleep as I used to get. I'm exhausted. I came up on this mountain and God did a great work, but I came back down.

And no sooner did I see the rain than I felt the resistance. Come on. No sooner could I. Praise God for the victory until another problem came along. And so I'm grateful lifting one hand, but I'm having to fight with the other one. Because God did something awesome with one of my kids, but the other one is wearing me out. Have you ever had winning and worn out happening at the same time? Come on, how you feel?

How do you feel about the good things God is doing in your life? How do you feel about being married? Any newlyweds in the house? How do you feel about that? Oh, it's amazing. It's amazing and it's crazy. Because what's crazy is, I brought my crazy into the marriage, and their crazy was already filling up every room in the house,

and I'm happy to be with them. But the fact of the matter is they already had so much baggage when I came into the house. I can't find a place to unpack mine. Now I've got to ask someone. What do you want to watch? Now I've got to orient my schedule, and you can smile and you can say you're blessed, and I know you are blessed, and I'm blessed too, but blessing doesn't cancel pressure. So at the same time I'm blessed, there's pressure coming up behind the blessing, so I'm experiencing

blessing and I'm experiencing pressure. I call that blesser. I got a lot of blesser in my life right now. Come on, bear with me. Be patient with me. I'm not asking God to take the responsibilities away. It's not that I'm not thankful. I'm just exhausted.

I'm exhausted. How's that for an honest testimony? I praise the Lord for what he gave me, and I'm about to collapse because he gave it to me. My praise report just turned into my prayer request. I couldn't get used to the rain before I had a threat coming up on my back. And he makes a statement. Now get ready for this, because this is where I want to you. you, verse 3. He says, I have had enough, Lord. Say it, I've had enough. I've had enough.

In other words, I'm done with this. It is impossible to overstate the severity of Elijah's psychological confusion, bewilderment. I mean, we see in James, let me show you this, James 517, a summary of Elijah's faith that says, Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain. That's when he walked into Ahab's court like a stab of lightning in the midnight eastern sky. Elijah, the Tishbite from Tishby in Gilead and walked in and said, No rain till I say so. And he prayed and God shut off the rain. He prayed and it didn't rain for three and a half years. Again, he prayed, and the heavens gave rain,

and the earth produced its crops. And then James moves on to talk about something else. But go back to verse 18. It says he prayed again. He prayed and it didn't rain. He prayed and it did rain. But it does not mention this prayer in verse four. Chapter 19, where he came to a broombush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die.

And James doesn't put that part in because it didn't fit that particular illustration. But let's talk about the prayers that you prayed that you can't pray in public, where you're telling God I can't do this anymore. That's essentially what he's saying, right? I've had enough. I don't remember, this has a happy ending. Elijah doesn't die. Say it.

Elijah doesn't die. I just want to let the air out of that real quick because it feels very tense in here. So Elijah doesn't die. Say it again. Elijah doesn't die. Not only does he not die by the threat of Jezebel, but he never dies.

When it came time for Elijah to be taken up to heaven. The Lord sent a whirlwind. So is it possible that the thing that you are the most freaked out about is never even going to happen? That's a good place for a praise right there. I'm going just go ahead and tell you what to do. Praise God, because Elijah didn't die. He didn't die at the hand of Jezebel. He didn't die from his own depression. Elijah didn't die. In fact, my little sermon only has three points today. You ready? One, he didn't really pray. Number two, God came anyway. Number three, he didn't stay. That's the whole sermon. If you need to meet

somebody for lunch, you're dismissed. But I came to tell you, number one, he didn't really pray. Number two, God came anyway. And number three, he didn't stay. Write all of those in the comments, please. I want to see it on YouTube. Number one, he didn't really pray. Number two, God came anyway. And number three, he didn't stay. This is the word of the Lord today. That Elijah prayed that he would die. That is not really. A real prayer is when you tell God, stop the rain. A real prayer is when you tell God, now make it rain. A real prayer is not just you complaining.

A real prayer is when you move from complaint to supplication. A real prayer is when you go from saying how it is to asking God to make it different. Turn in your Bible to Philippians chapter. 4. Let me teach you the Word of God today, children. Elijah knew how to pray, but he hit something in his life where he forgot to do what he knew how to do. When you hit enough pressure in your life, when you hit enough pain in your life, you forget to do the thing that you knew how to do, and you stop doing the thing that got you where you were, and you stop praising God like you used to praise God. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, do not be anxious.

about anything. But in every situation, Jezebel, every situation, bankruptcy, every situation, addiction, every situation, pain in your body, every situation, something that you can't talk about, every situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ. Jesus. But when Elijah got down from that mountain, he dropped his guard because he was empty. And when you are empty, you have to get intentional because if you don't fill that space, the enemy will. Look what he said. Look what he said in the text. He said, verse six, present your requests to God. Request. I thought I was praying one time. And I don't know how this works. Okay? I know the series is called.

I know that voice. I don't know if. the Lord spoke this or just wisdom told me this. But after I finished going through everything that I felt, it was as if the Lord said, would you like to talk to me about it now? But I thought I was. But it was as if the Lord said to me, you have been thinking for 10 minutes, but you haven't made a request yet. And Philippians 4-6 says, in every situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God. So I was just giving God reasons that I felt the way I felt. I was just processing the regret. And the Lord said, you have not truly prayed to me, recognizing the power that I have to step in to your situation until you come

out of listing the reasons that you feel like you feel and ask me to do something about it. So have you made a request yet? Because Elijah's only request was, kill me. That's not really a prayer, is it? That's an escape. And he runs to a place called the cave. Not just any cave. This is the same cave, Horib, Mountain of God, where Moses hid in the cleft of the rock for the glory of the Lord to pass by. But the problem, I'm going to show you this. I'm going to demonstrate now, is that Moses went into this cave and it took him 40 days in the wrong direction away from the place where God had called him. So the cave that Elijah went to

was a 40-day journey away, like 90 miles away, from the place that God had called him to. Remember, God sent the rain, and he ran. So God answered the thing that he prayed for, and he ran and stopped praying. This is what pressure will do to you. Pressure will let God send the blessing into your life, but cause you to run from the thing that God sent you.

So that now you find yourself pushing away relationships that you ask God to send you. You're running from the wrong thing. You are running from the wrong thing. When you are empty, like Elijah was empty, he was not only physically empty from running all the way past Ahab's chariots, but he was spiritually empty because he had carried the burden and the faith of an entire nation alone through three years of drought. Come on, don't act like you've never felt a pity party for yourself, that why is nobody taking care of me? Why is nobody meeting my needs? Why is nobody cooking for me? Why is nobody cleaning for me? And all the way away

from, let's let this represent his post, he's walking away and he is not praying even after God feeds him, He does not pray. He knew how to pray. He knew how to call on God. He knew how to intercede for people. He knew how to intercede for himself. And he walks away. And I got to imagine that with every day he went toward the cave, he was replaying what Jezebel said. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you. Now watch this. He's replaying the wrong thing. Because what he should have been replaying was when God sent down fire to prove that he is God and that bail is not. He's replaying. Why would you replay what Jezebel said when you know her threat is empty? Because when you are empty, the enemy feels real and your victories feel invisible. When you are empty, you begin to forget your victories. This is what I want to say.

When you're empty, you forget your victories and you fixate on your enemy. And now all you can see is what's against you. And now all you can see is what you're up under. And now all you can see is what you lost. And now all you can see is what you fear. And now all you can see is what you don't want. And now all you can see is what if it doesn't happen. And now all you can see is all the people who are,

let you down. And with every step, remember, he's replaying it. He's replaying it. He's replaying it. And Jezebel's threat is empty unless you let it echo. If she said it once, I'm going to kill you. And Elijah prayed like he knew how to pray. God, you hear that? And then step aside. Because God's got something for Jezebel. Because God hasn't moved from his throne. Is my mic on? I said God's got something for diabetes. God's got something for this cancer. God's got something. God's got something. So if you just got to replay something, replay the Ravens. Remember Elijah was by the brook called Cherith in the Carruth ravine, and there was no food and no water in the land. But God sent ravens to feed his revivalists in a time of famine.

So if you're going to replace something, run back the ravens. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. It was God's mercies that I wasn't consumed because his compassion's fail not. They're new every morning, and every morning I had bread, and every evening I had something to drink. Because I remember those ravens God sent. And if you don't remember the Ravens, remember the resurrection, because Elijah was staying at a woman's house and her little boy died. And Elijah stretched out his body over that boy and breathed into that boy. And that boy that was dead got up and started walking around.

If you just got to replace something, replay the resurrection. And remember that nothing is dead till God is done with it. Nothing is over till God says so. the word of the Lord. I mean, if you just got to run it back, run back the time that he fed you, run back the time that he led you, run back the time that he did come through, run back back the ones who put their arm around. High five, seven people say, run it back, run it back, run it back right, run it back right, run it back right, run it back right. You've been replaying the wrong things had you. You've been replaying stuff that the devil can't even bring up against

you because it's nailed to the cross. My sin, oh the bliss, I got to stop. Let me illustrate. Run it back. Run it back. That's what he should have told Jezebel. She said, I'm going to kill you. Elijah should have said, let's run it back. Meet me on the mountain. I know a name that never failed. I'm changing my title. When you put it on YouTube, call it run it back. Run it back. He's been good to you. Run it back. Run it back! He's more than enough! Run it back! Jehovah Gyra always provides run it back. You're not alone. We got to talk about the cave, because all he had to do was run it back.

That's all he had to do. But instead he turned his back on the blessing God gave him because the pressure he was under was too great. And he didn't really pray. He didn't really pray. He didn't really pray. He went into a cave. I'm going to go to the cave, metaphorically now, just as an illustration. And you say, why do you do this? Are you performing? I'm not performing. But I am trying to give a picture that will help you know what's really killing your faith,

what may be killing your relationships, what may be killing your marriage. It's not death by Jezebel, it's death by Echo. Because with every step you take away from what God called you to do, and you go to the cave. Now, the cave is the place where you feel safe. It makes you feel safe, but it actually makes you more anxious. Why does this addiction that makes me feel safe only make me more anxious and make me more crazy? is because it's a cave. It's a cave. And he went to the cave, far away from where he should be with his back to what God had for him and what God had just done. And I want the Holy Spirit to help me right now because he has a conversation with God in that cave. Verse number nine says there he went into a cave and spent the night.

It feels awkward having my back turned to you like this when I know my job is to preach to you. But isn't that exactly what Elijah did? Isn't that exactly what we do? we turn our backs on the thing that God gave us, the responsibility God gave us, even the blessings. We will turn our back on a blessing because of the pressure. I have had enough. Now, I've got to face you for one moment to tell you. If he said I have had enough and he meant it in a positive sense, I would get it.

Everywhere I've gone, you've provided. I've had enough. When I was by the brook, I had enough. When I was on the mountain, I had enough. There was enough provision. There was enough power. But now he's like, I'm not enough. And I've had enough.

And he goes in the cave. Without over-dramatizing it, there's something I want to show you. Because it says that he went into the cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him. This is verse 9, please, on the screens. What are you doing here, Elijah? Isn't that crazy that he didn't really pray in the cave, but the Lord came? You remember my three points?

He didn't really pray, and God came. I want you to thank God for the times you didn't even really pray, but he came. Come on, you can do better than that. You can do better than that. The times where you said die and God said live. The times where you said no, but God's yes was bigger. The times where you thought, what if I got it wrong, but God said, what if I got it right? See, I had to get it in because I missed it last week, but I got it in.

You hear that devil? I ran it back and I got it in. Now leave me alone. In this cave. I'm in this cave. And the Lord ask a question. Watch this. You always want God to give you answers.

What if he wants to give you better questions? You need a better question. What are you doing here, Elijah? You who have seen miracles, you who have called fire, you who have prayed for rain, you who have been sustained. What are you doing here, 90 miles away? What are you doing here in this jacked up toxic relationship just to get somebody to pretend like they love you when you know they're not loyal to you?

What are you doing here in these destructive patterns that promise you safety but only make you a shame? The shame leaves to the same behavior. What are you doing in this cave? You know how to pray. God came and said, what are you doing here? And he replied. Do you see that in verse 10?

Is it on the screen? He replied? Say yes, teacher, if it's on the screen. Yes, teacher. He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars. and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

And then the Lord does a little display. I know I got my back to you. I know it's awkward, but this is what he did. He turned his back to his blessing because he was caving in under the pressure. You've been caving in under the pressure. The Lord put on a little show for him. He sent a wind, and he sent a fire, and he sent a fire. And he sent an earthquake because he was running back what he did when he appeared to Moses.

This was an echo of when God appeared to Moses, but God's doing it different this time because the Lord doesn't speak in any of that. He speaks in verse 12, a whisper, a whisper, a whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went and stood at the mouth of the cave. Did you know that the cave has a mouth? Did you know that when you go in your cave, the cave talks back? Did you know when you go in the cave and you run away from God and you run away from community and you run away from the right things and you run toward the wrong things?

Did you know when you replay the wrong things and the regrets and the rejection? Did you know that when you talk to the cave, the cave will talk back and you think I'm crazy? You're not crazy, you're just in a cave. And the cave is making you feel crazy. Now you're starting to think crazy and you're starting to act crazy because you've been in this cave because you stop praying. But God came, and God came when God came, he thought it was going to be big and spectacular, but really it was intimate and it was special. And yet, the Bible says when the voice asked him the second time, what are you doing here, Elijah? He replied.

He replied, according to the first. what he replayed. And so listen what the first word he says. Put verse 14 up on the screen. He's in the cave. He's all alone. He's disappointed. He's under pressure.

And listen, you can tell why he's depressed by the way he starts his speech. God says, what are you doing here, Elijah? I have more for you this. Why did you turn your back to what I blessed you with? Why are you running from the right thing? Why are you not trusting me anymore? Put the verse up on the screen. He says, I.

You see that? Because when you're in a cave, the sound bounces around, see? So he starts off his speech, he says, I, and see, that's never going to get you out of the cave. Because when you start with, I have had enough, and I don't have what it takes, and I, I, I, I, see how it's filling the cage, see how it's filling the room, and now I can hear the whisper. Because I, can't you hear it in our marriages? I guess I'll do the dishes again. I will just do it. it so nobody else is going to do it, so I'll just do it.

I am so tired of this. I don't have what it takes. I hear Gideon in a wine breast saying, I am the smallest and the weakest. I hear Moses at the burning bush saying, I am not good at speaking. I hear all of the people who have come before us, and I hear Elijah in the cave saying, I, but I hear God in verse 15, turn to the prophet who is empty and speak in the cave. which is empty and the voice of the Lord speaks into an empty cave in verse 15 and God says go go go because I've got something ahead of you that is bigger than anything that's behind you give God a shout of praise

that he didn't pray but God came and because God came he didn't stay somebody shout up I'm coming out of this cave. I'm coming out of this misery. I'm coming out of this straight jacket. I'm coming out of this bull. I'm coming out of this depression. I'm coming out of this cycle.

I'm coming out of this cave. Because I know how to pray, see. So I'm not starting this prayer with I, I, I, I'm going to say, You, you, you, you have brought me this far, God, and you, you, you are able to keep you me from falling. And you, you are going to get the glory from my life. It's about you, you, you. It's not about me, me, me. I don't care what they, they say, I'm coming out of this cave. I'm coming out of this cave. God's been too good for me to stay in this cave. I am coming out of this cave. As a matter of fact, I just remembered another cave, another cave that was loaned to somebody by a man named Joseph of Aramaphia.

And they laid him in the cave for three days. And you say, wait a minute, pastor, it wasn't a cave, it was a grave. No, it wasn't a grave because he didn't stay there. He did not stay. And I came to announce this cave is living. Not my grave. No, no, no. I'm coming out with my head.

With my heart broken, but I'm coming out because God came. And if you stay an eye, it's going to die, die, die. But it won't be death by Jezebel. It will be death because the regret can only paralyze you if you keep replaying it. Write this down. It's not the threat that kills me. It's the way I let it echo. It's the way you keep replaying your shame,

rather than realizing that he paid for it. I said he paid for it. I said he paid for it. So hold on, devil. Watch this. You want to put me in a cave of shame? Let's run it back. Let's run it back.

What happened after he came down off the cross? What happened after he went down in the cave? You say, it's a grave. Why do you keep saying cave? Because it's empty. Because it's empty. For the empty people in the room today, who have felt just like Elijah. Maybe you don't say I want to die, but maybe you say, I can't live like this anymore.

There's too much pressure, man. I'm blessed, don't get me wrong. I'm thankful. I appreciate everything God's done for me, but I'm thankful. I'm exhausted. I don't have a word for it. I have had enough. Remember, even though he didn't really pray, not like he was supposed to pray, God came anyway. And this is your day that God has heard you in the cave, cave, cave. He's heard the way the thoughts keep rattling around in your head. He knows how you can't expunge yourself of it. He knows how you can't. He knows how you You can't eliminate the fear. He knows how you can't get rid of the things.

He knows that you are still trapped in the trauma of what happened to you. And so he came. And he said, let's go. Because Elijah, the successor of Elijah, was already in the field, but he's not in this cave. So you've got to come back to the place where you know God called you to be and live the life that God wants to enable you to live. And when they say, how do you feel about it? You can say, it's complicated. It's complicated.

Because I got one voice telling me, die, die, die. And I'm choosing to live. Would you stand to your feet? Would you stand all over this room right now? And with your heads bowed and eyes closed, somebody be honest with me. When I say three, I want you to shoot your hand if you've been in the cave, they, they, they. But he, if it's been you, and you need me to pray for you today, because you've got a cave you need to come out of. I want you to be bold and shoot your hand up and hold it up.

I'm praying for you. One, two, three, hold it up, hold it up, keep it up. Repeat after me. I'm coming out of this. Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare that where your spirit is, there is freedom. for these who have lifted their hands. And you are asking, what are you doing here today to them? God, I pray that they would realize that that question is prophetic.

What are they doing here? They're here because you have something for them. They are here because you are not done with them. They are here because you came to get them out the cave. That's why. That's why you woke me up at 3 a.m. to come and get them out the cave. believe it, God. I believe somebody is coming out today. Somebody is coming out today. Somebody is coming out of something that they thought was going to kill them, but it is not going to kill

them. It will not be the end of them. So we lift our hands and we lift our eyes. And we declare that just as Jezebel has an echo, so does heaven. The echo of heaven is holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Thank you, Jesus. The echo of heaven is worthy, worthy, worthy, worthy. is the Lamb of God. The echo of heaven is hallelujah. Somebody say hallelujah. Come on with your hands lifted up and a heart filled with praise. You know how to praise. You just stop praising, but praise him right now. When I say halley, you say looia. Somebody say hallelujah. Hallelujah to the man on the middle cross, the one who didn't owe the dead, but he paid it off. The one who rolled away the stone, the one who came out of the cave on the third day.

And if he rolled the stone away, and if he got up, I'm getting up too. I'm coming out of this cave. I'm coming out of this. I'm coming out better. I'm coming out healed. I'm coming out home. 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.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.