Elevation with Steven Furtick - Talk Yourself Into It

Episode Date: April 26, 2024

God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, but often times fear and discouragement get in the way. What have you talked yourself out of that God is trying to bring you into?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 faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. Well, thank you, worship team. I want to go into the Word of God today. I spoke to you last week on the subject of confidence, and I want to continue along those thoughts. From what I could tell, the sermon helped some people. Am I saying it helped everybody? Some of y'all are beyond help.

No, I don't really believe that. It resonated with some people. So in a similar vein today, I want to bring a message of encouragement. Let's look together at Joshua, Chapter 1. Normally I have you stand for the scripture, but I kind of have a few scriptures today, so I thought you could just sit there and I read it for you. And Joshua, chapter 1, verse 6 through 9. And this message that God gave me is a little bit of a problem.

practical thing and something that's been helpful in my life and so I hope that it'll be helpful to you very simple message this is an epic text I can't speak for the sermon the sermon may be may be good it may not be but this text is legendary and we're going into the locker room where God is giving Joshua a half-time talk and he's telling him what he must do and how he's going to do it because Joshua has big shoes to fill and Joshua has a job to do and Joshua has a purpose to accomplish and so God is getting his man ready because how many know that God will never give you a purpose that he will not prepare you for all of your life up until this point the parts that you like the

parts that you didn't like the parts that you understood and the parts that you're still trying to understand you can know this that they were all preparing you for God's purpose The moment that you believe that, you can really embrace whatever comes into your life, knowing that if God didn't send it, he'll still use it. Anything that comes against you can become a weapon in the hands of God fighting for you. So God is telling Joshua in a period of transition for the nation of Israel that the job is too big for him, but the God who is with him is bigger than the giants that stand before him. In convincing him of this, he tells him in verse 6 of Joshua, chapter 1, be strong and courageous,

because you will lead these people to inherit the land. I swore to their ancestors to give them. You notice how good my eyesight is? I can read my Bible from all the way back here. How many of you over 45 are extremely jealous right now? I'm going to employ my good eyesight while I've got it. He said it again. Be strong and courageous.

We already said that, God. Remember in verse 6? Yeah, but I'm saying it again, because I know how you are. And I know how quickly your courage evaporates. I wish Brad Strarup were here. He's on staff with our students, and he asked me a profound question the other day. He said, why is it that no matter how much people encourage me, I can't keep myself encouraged? I'll find some way if somebody compliments me to disqualify the compliment or to

cancel it out. I'll tell myself, well, they're just being nice. They're saying that because they have to say that. They're just saying that to make me feel good. And so maybe there's something to the repetition factor here that God knows that between verse 6 and verse 7, something happened to make you discouraged. And so he encourages you again. Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Don't turn from it to the right or to the left. I know there's a lot of things trying to get you off track and get off course, but don't be distracted. You got a job to do. I want you to be successful wherever you go. This is God's heart for you. And in order to do it, you got to keep this book of the law

always on your lips. Meditate on it, day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord, your God will be with you wherever you go. You're looking for something to write down. Write this down. God's presence is guaranteed, but his promises are optional. I will be with you wherever you go. But how far you want to go is up to you. Even if you don't go, Go into the things that I have prepared for you in your life. I'll be with you.

You make your bed in hell, I'll be with you. Belly of the fish, I'll be with you. Hide out from Jezebel in a cave, I'll be with you. Murder in Egyptian and run to the desert. I'll be with you in Midian. So the fact that God will be with you, his presence is guaranteed. It is not conditional. But the way that you experience his promises, well, a lot of

that is up to you. And so God mentions to Joshua two things. Can I teach a little bit today? He says, don't be afraid, don't be discouraged. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged. I was talking to a friend the other day and we were laughing at each other about how we insert ourselves into biblical stories and shrink down the magnitude of the stories to fit

our situations which are sometimes not that big of a deal. Do you know what I mean? David killed Goliath and you can lose 15 pounds too. Do you know what I mean? Like Goliath just becomes whatever you need him to be, right? Goliath can be your student loan. He's no longer this life-threatening nation-defying giant. Now we've got Goliath representing your car payment.

You can take him down in the name of the Lord. That's what we do. In the case of, I don't know, I could use a lot of examples, couldn't I? I was talking to a friend the other day and he was negotiating a real, real estate contract, and he was comparing himself to Moses and the guy who owned the land to Pharaoh. And he said, I feel like Moses going before Pharaoh. And it's just a little 30,000 square foot building, you know.

But he's now got this construct where in his mind he's kind of like put himself in the biblical story. It's easy to do that with Joshua. So now God's telling Joshua, I'm going to lead you into this land. You're going to have to lead millions of vagabond nomadic people who love to complain and forget what I do for them the moment I do it. So I want you to go get them ready and go do that, okay? And by the way, don't be afraid, don't be discouraged.

And it's easy for us to make the jump because we want to personalize the Bible. And all of a sudden, now, instead of taking over the land and leading millions of people, it's just symbolic of whatever we need to do in our lives. So it's like the apartment that we hope we get, or the college we want to get into. And so we can shrink it down, but I think part of that is good. Maybe sometimes I go too far with it because I have a passion as a preacher to make it personal. I feel like I failed if all of that did is teach you a history lesson about somebody who lived a long time ago called Joshua. So there's a part of me that wants to make it personal.

Perhaps sometimes I take it too far, and we forget the magnitude of the miracles that the Bible illustrates. That Joshua going into the promised land wasn't like you asking a girl out on a date. But we can do that in our desire to personalize the Bible, which I think is a good thing. We can, well, we can miss the point or lose the perspective. And so I just want to bring it into perspective here that Joshua must have been terrified. You know, I read that scripture I could feel while I was reading it, that you're like, yeah, yeah, get over it, Joshua, go do it, you know? Just get up and do it.

Get up and do it. Get up and do it. I got to defeat the Jebusites, the Hittites, the Parasites, the Canaanites, the Cainanites, the cellulites, those most dreadful enemies of all. And God tells him to do something. He tells him to do something in the face of all of these enemies that he needs. knows he must encounter. God says, be strong and courageous. Then he tells him what not to do. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Something within me rises to Joshua's defense.

Can't help it if I feel afraid. And I can't help it if I feel discouraged. How can you tell me not to feel afraid God when all of these battles that I've never fought before waiting in front of me how can you tell me not to be afraid when I'm leading people who have only known the wilderness into warfare how can you tell me not to be discouraged when I have to go in under-resourced and maybe overwhelmed how can you how can you tell me not to feel afraid and not to feel discouraged but God didn't say don't feel afraid and he didn't say don't feel I think the essence of what God wants to say to you is just because you feel afraid. Doesn't mean you have to be afraid. Just because you feel discouraged, doesn't mean you have to be discouraged. Just because you have fear doesn't mean fear has to have you. Come on, talk to me, somebody. And for most of us, our default setting is fear and

and discouragement. Our default setting in the situations that are unfamiliar to us is anxiety and discouragement. You see, God has given you a destiny. I want you to believe that even if you can't see it right now. Even if it's not your destiny to lead millions of people into the promised land, God has given you a destiny as a parent. God has given you a destiny. God has given God has given you a destiny. On your job, it's part of your destiny. God has given you a job to do. And no, you're not Joshua, but you have a job to do.

I would like for you to repeat after me the following declaration. I have a destiny. All right. Now, I need you to know that the bigger the destiny, the bigger the enemies. That was helpful for me to realize because in seasons of my life, I was hard on myself feeling like there was something wrong with me. And it's because God's promises in my life, while they seemed attractive, sometimes aren't so automatic as we think that they should be. In the text that I read to you, God is telling Joshua that the real enemies to your destiny are not the Canaanites.

the real enemy of your destiny are not the Hittites. The real enemies of your destinies are not the Jebusites. These are all the people that he would face as he moved forward in faith. But God wants Joshua to know that your real enemy is not another person. Your real enemy is not even a situation. Because if you don't know this, you'll spend your whole life fighting the wrong thing. God says, let me tell you what to fight. Fight your fear.

Let me tell you what to fight. Fight your discouragement. If you can fight discouragement, you can fulfill your destiny. I'm going to say it over my shoulder to the left side of the room. If you can fight your fear, if you can face your fear, you can move forward into your destiny. And this is important for Joshua to know. See, because Joshua has been around a while by the time that God is calling him, Bible background, He's already served under Moses.

He served under Moses as a commander, and he wants some great battles under Moses, and he did some great things under Moses. But now Moses has left the building, and so God is talking Joshua into, now God is very persuasive, okay? So when God tries to talk you into something, as we've already seen, he'll use repetition. But he also knows how to locate the thing that is keeping you from doing what you're called to do. Now the people of God are standing at the edge of something. They are out of Egypt, but they are not yet into Canaan. That's where so many Christians live. I've come out of some things, but I haven't moved into the things.

I've made some progress, but I have not fully possessed the promise. I've become aware of God's presence, but I haven't fully accessed his promises. And that's where Joshua stands. And he's been here before. 40 years ago. And Moses was in a position to possess the promised land. and he sent some spies into the land. A lot of people don't know this part of the story, you know?

I mean, they may have heard a little bit about it, but they don't know the details. The details that kept them from experiencing their destiny. The details that caused hundreds of thousands of them to die in the desert looking at promises that they could have possessed. The details that keep you from being the dad that God called you to be doing the things God called you to do, enjoying the life that Christ himself died to give you. I feel a holy burden on this message today because somebody is looking at a promise that you're not living in. And the reason that you're not living in it has nothing to do with creditors and it has nothing to do with seventh grade teachers. And it doesn't even have anything to do with what you experienced in your past. It is your

fear and discouragement. And so Joshua goes into the land 40 years ago. Remember, he was serving under Moses at this time and he goes into the land and he looks at it and there's 11 other spies there's Joshua and Caleb and 10 other spies and they go into the land and they look around they come back and it's interesting I want to show you this can I show you look at numbers chapter 14 the Bible gives a recording of the report that the men brought back and this is a this is kind of sad to me and It says in Numbers 13, 31, and 32 that the men who had gone up with him said, we can't attack those people.

They are stronger than we are. And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. And they said, the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. Let me point out something to you that you may miss on the surface. They were being realistic. Most of what they're saying is true. They are bigger.

They are stronger. We can't do it on our own. On our own. But Joshua knew something that those spies had forgotten. We're not on our own. We have a promise. We have a promise of God's presence. And if he's with us, he's more than the world against us.

And so these spies are trying to talk Moses out of the very thing that God brought him here for. These spies are trying to... Let me ask you a question. What have you talked yourself out of that God is trying to bring you into? What are you talking yourself out of right now that God is trying to bring you into? In your relationships. What are you talking yourself out of that God is trying to bring you into? in your personal life.

I don't care what category you use. We've all got something that we're talking ourselves out of. The message God gave me today is that you can talk yourself into it, just like you've been talking yourself out of it. You can talk yourself into it. One thing I noticed about myself from an early age is that I can be persuasive when I need to be. And so sometimes in school, when I would need an extension on a paper, I knew I could usually

get one. Because I have this way of talking myself out of things. Do you understand it comes in handy as a preacher to be persuasive because you have to get people to do things that they need to do that they don't want to do? And so you're trying to tell people to trust God in their finances. And the problem with that is they already feel broke. And so now if you tell them that they want to trust God with their finances, if they need to trust God with their finances, they don't want to trust God with their finances

because they don't have many finances, but you want to get them to see that the reason you don't have any finances is because you're not trusting God in your finances. If you trust God in your finances, it would open your eyes to the supply that he has available for you. And if you seek him first as His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things I'm preaching my watch off my wrist. That's how excited I am about the Word of God. Just hold it, Russell. I don't even want it back. I don't even care what time it is.

I might preach through lunch. Because there's some things in your life that you've been talking yourself out of. One time my senior year of high school, they put me in an AP English class with Eunice Cox. And Eunice Cox was rumored to be a tough teacher, but it was a tough teacher. It's no problem for me. I got this because I got the gift. And so I came upon my first book report, and I wasn't going to finish it on time. I knew it wouldn't finish it on time, but I wasn't worried about it because I could talk my way out of it.

I've always talked my way out of things, feeding tickets, and all kinds of things I've talked myself out of. Why not this paper, too? But Eunice Cox was waiting for me at the door, and she said, I noticed you didn't turn your assignment, and I smiled real sweet because I got some Southern charm. I grew up in a small town. I know how to talk to people. I said, Miss Cox, I said, I was going to talk to you about this. And she said, I don't want to hear it. And she said, Stephen Ferdick, you have met your match in Eunice Cox.

I said, but Ms. Cox, she said, no. I said, but I was going to, no. I said, well, what can I do? She said, well, if I were you, I'd try to get a good grade on all the other ones because you get a zero on this one. And you might want to bring up your average. Now, I want you to understand something. God called Moses. Moses was reluctant to do what God had called him to do.

And Moses had a million excuses, and so do you. Why you can't be it, why you can't do it, why you can't go forward in it? Come on. How many of you are good at talking yourself out of things? How many of you, by the time I get done preaching sometimes and you've even had your lunch, you have forgotten what the sermon is even about? Shame on you! No, I'm just kidding.

It's how it works. We are so quick to talk ourselves out of things. But when Moses started telling God, you know, I can't speak and I can't do it and I'm not eloquent and I'm not trained and I'm not equipped and I'm not able. God said to Moses, you have met your match in Eunice Cox. You have met your match in the Lord your God. Have I not commanded you? I don't even want to hear it out of your mouth why you can't. I am the greater one.

I am the power within you. I am the one who calls you by name. I know what you got because I put it in you. I know what you don't have because I left it out. And I command you to be courageous." So it occurs to me that maybe the reason that God is speaking to Joshua on this level is because Joshua has seen firsthand the devastation that it causes. when God's people talk themselves out of what God is trying to bring them into.

You know, those spies said to Moses, we can't do it. They're stronger. They're bigger. And Joshua spoke up and he got everybody's attention. The Bible says in Numbers 14, 6, that he tore his clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, Hey, come on, guys. The land we pass through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land. A land flowing with milk and honey and will give it to us. Only, do not rebel.

Don't do this. Don't die outside of your destiny. Don't let your fear keep you from your future. Don't be discouraged. Don't rebel if the Lord is pleased to He'll lead us in the land. It's flown milk and I will give it to us only do not repel against the Lord and do not be afraid of the people of the land and stop Get forfeiting your future for your fear of people Stop forfeiting your future for your fear of failure.

You hear me? Stop forfeiting your future because of what they might think about you. Their protection is God, but the Lord is with us. I mean you've got to believe down deep in your soul that God is with me in the this moment. He's with me when I feel him. He's with me when I don't. He's with me when I'm faithful. He's with me when I'm faithless. He's with me when I'm right. He's with me when I'm wrong. He's with me when I'm whole. He's with me when I'm broken. Somebody shout God is with me. Touch your neighbor say he's with you too. He's with you too. No matter how hard Joshua tried, he couldn't talk Moses into it.

You know why? Because nobody can talk you into your destiny but you. Touch your neighbors. Say talk yourself into it. Talk yourself into it. It is interesting that when God speaks to Joshua, he tells him what to do. Lead these people to inherit the land. Now the problem with a lot of us is that we have shrunk our lives down to the size of our own personal interest. We don't have anything bigger than us worth fighting for. So it doesn't take much to discourage us. If I didn't preach every time I don't feel like preaching, you would hear from me three times a year. You know how I preach every week? I talk myself into it. And I tell myself, there's somebody coming to church today who's suicidal. There's somebody coming to church today whose kid is on drugs. There's somebody coming to church today that

has been told all their life they're worthless. And you get to tell you. Tell them God loves them. And maybe you could smile at them and make them feel through your countenance that God has not forgotten them, that he knows them by name. But by the time I stop talking to myself, I'm ready to talk to you. Now we can preach. Now we can do it. Now we can go.

But see, you've got to talk yourself into your purpose. I have a purpose. I don't need to ask God to give me a purpose. I have a purpose. You have a purpose. to glorify God, to be transformed into the image of Christ, to be conformed into the image of Christ. It's not that you don't have a purpose.

It's that every time God tries to bring you into it, you talk yourself out of it. And so he says, this is not just about you, Joshua. There are people depending on you. Your destiny is connected to something much bigger than you. So go do it and be strong and courageous. But God is a good coach. The good coach doesn't just motivate you. He instructs you.

And so he gives him the mechanics. And this is what I was excited about. I mean, that part, I was excited about that part too. But I really wanted to show you this. He said in verse A, keep this book of the law always on your lips. This stood out to me. In Deuteronomy 31, I told you I have a lot of scripture today. Isn't that kind of what you came for, though?

Okay. Just like a sure. In Deuteronomy 31, before Moses died and climbed up on Mount Nebo and he died, and God didn't let the Israelites find his body because he knew that if they found his body, they would continue to worship his bones. Because sometimes the only way for God to get you to move past something in your life is completely taken away. But before he died, he called the nation together. He said, ah, ah, ah, ha. And he gave him a little speech. He gave him a little talk.

He said, I'm not going into the land, but you are. And Joshua is going to lead you. He pulls Joshua beside him, and he tells him, be strong and courageous. For you must go with this, people in the land the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. Not you may, but you must. Not you should, but you must. And you must do it, and as you do it, know that the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.

He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be So when God speaks to Joshua After the death of Moses Joshua has heard this speech before It's not his first time hearing it But when God gives the speech

He adds one thing that Moses left out See Moses told him what to do Told him why to do it God showed Joshua how Would you like to know how to keep yourself in Because you need to know they aren't always going to text you encouragement when you need it. That's part of being a grown Christian. You need to learn to encourage yourself.

I got to tell you, touch your neighbor and say, I can encourage myself. If you encourage me, I appreciate it. If you're nice to me, I appreciate it. If you say kind things to me, that's cool. But I need you to know that even if you're nice to me, I appreciate it. Even if you don't, if you get too busy, or if you forget about me, or if you don't know what to say to me, I need you to know I can encourage myself. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. I learned to encourage myself, because I can't always count on a text, and I can't always count on a hug, and I can't always count on a man, and I can't always even count on my own friends.

But I can encourage myself. So God tells Joshua, he says, I'm not always going to speak to you like this. You know, you have moments in your life where God himself will speak to you, and they're awesome. One time I was coming home to Charlotte when we were first starting the church, and I was nervous, and I was afraid and discouraged. I was discouraged because people weren't showing up yet, and I was afraid because I didn't know if they ever would. And so I was afraid and discouraged. And those are two states you cannot fulfill your destiny in. Let me show you something.

If you are afraid right now, it is not because the devil is making you afraid. There is somebody on your road that has more to be afraid of than you. And yet the confession of their life is, I have fear, but fear doesn't have me. If you are discouraged, it is not because of your conditions or your circumstances. They may have been a contributing factor, but they are not the deciding factor. Discouragement is a decision that I make. Discouragement is a conversation that I have with myself. Discouragement is that thing inside of me that says this is the way it will always be.

See, it's not getting any better. See, that woman right there doesn't like your sermon. Look how she's looking at you and that guy's asleep. Discouragement is that little voice inside of your head that you listen to. And our problem, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, the great Welch preacher once said, our problem is that we spend too much time listening to ourselves and not enough time talking to ourselves. Now, y'all are about to think I'm crazy, but I talk to myself all the time.

How many of you talk to yourself all the time? Well, sure you do. You've been doing it since you were three. But somewhere along the way between putting together Legos, and the big one goes here, and the little one goes here, and you talked yourself through it. Now somewhere along the way, you turned against yourself. And so now you're listening to yourself like the Psalmist did. He was having a bad day.

And so he started talking about the day he was having. And he said in Psalm 42, verse 4, he said, these things I remember. remember as I pour out my soul how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the mighty one with shouts of joy. You know, right before this, he said, my tears have been my food day and night. And he's in this cycle. But he did something in verse five. It's kind of a strange technique.

If you do this, people might think that you're crazy. But if you don't do it, you really will be crazy. So you can decide whether you want people to think you're crazy or whether you really want to be crazy. Because he's been listening to himself for four verses. He's been listening to his tears, he's been listening to his trials, he's been listening to his past. But in verse five, he totally shifts. And instead of listening to himself, he starts preaching to himself. It's very powerful.

Why, my soul, are you so downcast? Did you see the ship? He's like, I'm done with this. If I wake up in the morning and ask myself how you feel, I'm going to be 50-50 at best. So I'm going to wake up in the morning and tell myself, this will change your life and tell myself today we're going to be blessed today we're going to be favored today we're going to be a blessing today we're going to take new ground today we're going to encourage somebody else today we're going to see the goodness of the court lord in the land of the living today why are you so downcast on

my soul why so disturbed in me and then he does something very powerful he puts himself in his place Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him. Sometimes you've got to put yourself in your place. Sometimes you've got to make discouragement, bow its knee in the presence of God, and fear must bow to faith in the presence of God. Somebody give him a praise right now. Hey, Joshua, here's how you do it. Keep this book of the law always on your lips.

There's a land I'm taking you to, there's a promise that I'm leading you to, but you're going to have to talk yourself into it. Meditate on the law day and night. The law was five books of the Bible that we have now. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Torah. It was the Bible that Joshua had. God said, your life will follow the direction of your conversation. Your courage comes from your conversation. So does your fear. So does your discouragement. Not just your conversations with others, but your conversation with your self. So keep this book of the law on your lips. Not just in your mind, on your lips. The Hebrew word for meditate is haga. And it means to mutter. Because there was a Hebrew tradition that while they studied the text and reflected upon it, they would mutter.

Love the Lord you God without your heart without your soul. See, it's not enough to read the Bible. You have to rehearse the Bible. Come on, Gas on campus. It is not enough for you to hear this word. It is not enough for you to listen to me speak. If you are going to live in that place, what place? go into the land of Canaan. No, no, no, but God has promised you his peace. If you are going

to have his peace in your life, you're going to have to talk yourself into peace. God has given you his courage. If you are going to live in courage and fulfill your purpose, you're going to have to talk yourself into your purpose. Keep it on your lips. So what you need, and I'm going to get very practical now, because what good is all this screaming and shouting? If the moment it leaves my lips, it leaves your heart. The way that you keep it is you need a phrase to fight with. You hear me?

Your mind is always going to be murmuring and muttering. Have you noticed that? It's always going to be doing it. So what you want to do is take control of the conversation by the Spirit of God. And the way you do that, you need a phrase to fight the devil with. Here's my current phrase to fight the devil with. This is how I fight fear, because I have a lot of fear. I know I'm not supposed to.

I know I'm the pastor of the church, but I get scared sometimes, scared of big stuff and scared of stupid stuff. But I have learned that if I'm in a state of fear, the reason I'm there is because I talk I talk myself, and if I talk to myself, then I can talk myself. Only two fears. They all fall under these categories. It's the fear of falling short and the fear of running out. Any fear you have in your life falls into one of those two categories.

If you're scared to lose a relationship, it's because you're afraid of falling short in someone's eyes or you're afraid of running out of love. And if they're not there, you won't have love. Every fear that you've ever had in your life falls under those two. categories, fear that I will fall short or that I will not be enough, and fear that I will run out that I will not have enough. So since I know that the key to me persevering in courage and in strength and in purpose is to fight back, somebody say fight back.

You are not going to take the land automatically, and you are not going to live in peace and purpose automatically. So I've got a phrase that I do, and it's four syllables on the front and it's four syllables on the back. And I did it in four because you can breathe in four times and breathe out four times. So I do it all the time. And the devil doesn't like it. He really, really hates it. So I'm doing it more and more because I like to make him mad and I like to fight back. I like to let him know he can't just push me around and keep me stuck in the wilderness. And he's not going to have my destiny and he's not going to disrupt God's dream for my life with discouragement. And anytime he rolls

up on me and tries to make my soul down cash, I got something for him because it's trained my fingers for war and my hands for battle and he will not keep me out of the land God's promise. He will not keep me out of the purpose. I am going to raise my kids to love God. I am going to serve God in my generation. I am going to complete the calling that God is placed on my life. I am going to go forward in Jesus' name. I am going to build the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. I am going to see it come to pass. So I just do this. I say, Christ is in me. That's the first half. I am enough. Why don't you try it?

You know if you're sitting at a restaurant and someone says, here, taste this, taste this, taste this. You try it. Say, say, Christ is in me. I am enough. Tell it to your neighbor. Tell them, Christ is in you. You are enough.

I love people who absolutely refuse to participate with anything you do in church. Do they have a secret meeting before church? Where does this happen in the lobby? When he says, touch your neighbor, do nothing. It's okay, it's okay. Let's go for 97% participation, okay? I think we're about 80.

Touch your neighbor. Say, Christ is in you. You are enough. Now, you've got to get it in that order, because if you start with you are enough, it's just a matter of time before you find out that is just not true. They're stronger than we are. Yeah, but didn't you hear the verse, devil?

Christ is in me. Let's take the volume up a little bit. Christ is in me. Not that fear that you have. Look at it and say, Christ is in me. Think about what was discouraging you last night, robbing you of your sleep, robbing you of your joy, robbing you of your peace, robbing you of your purpose. And shout it out loud, say, Christ is in me. I am enough.

Now, now break it down. If you walk around shouting like that, it's going to cause some trouble for you at your job. job. So God tells Joshua, he says, keep it on your lips as the background, as the soundtrack and take it into any situation that you face. I love it because God at once gives him a big destiny. How many of you believe that God has a destiny for you? How many of you want to believe that God has a destiny for you? It's kind of hard sometimes because I thought I'd be there by now and I'm not there by now. Well, he gives him a big destiny,

but he gives him a small direction. He said, for you to fulfill your destiny, you're going to have to talk yourself into it. So I was flying into Charlotte. You can stand. I'm closing. I was flying into Charlotte one time. Did you get blessed by this word at all today?

I was flying into Charlotte one time, And I started to tell you this story, how I was discouraged and afraid. And while we were landing, I opened my window. And I remember it real clearly because the guy next to me had been sleeping. And he was kind of mad when I opened the window. But I opened the window and looked out. And it was the perfect setting, like the sun was setting. And remember, I was afraid and discouraged.

And I'm not comparing myself to Joshua. I don't have some kind of grandiose idea of what God put me in the earth. do but you know for my calling for for my part to play in the kingdom I take it very seriously and I believe that God has given me a promise and I believe that God has given me a purpose and I believe that he desires me to live in peace as I fulfill that purpose and possess that promise and so I was we were landing and it was like men like a scene out of Thomas Kincaid you know what I'm saying like the do you know that guy the guy who paints all this stuff it was like the the the city

of Charlotte was bathed in the orange sunset and orange was our church color and it's also the color of God's team the Clemson Tigers and so these two things served to confirm to me that God was speaking I just felt something I got my notebook out that I had and I just wrote down just fast as I could write the impressions that I was receiving as we were landing in Charlotte and it started with this idea this is your city I have given it to you for influence not that it is in other people's city too but just that God it called me here you made the right decision you did it and I want to give and it was about a page and a half of stuff that I wrote down and a couple days later I read it to our team. It's very

encouraging, very inspiring. The reason I told you that story is because I have landed in Charlotte many times since then. Almost every time I'm landing, I open my window just in case. That can happen again. And you know what? It's never happened like that again, ever. Ever. I mean, I've even put my notebook out and gotten my pen ready. And what I see is buildings. But see, You can't live in a place where you're depending on God to always give you a sunset and a poem. And the sense I get from the Lord is, I've already spoken my promise to you. Now you've got to speak it to yourself. There are some promises in your life that you have not yet possessed.

And you're waiting on somebody or you're waiting on God or you're waiting on a circumstance to align. It's not going to happen that way. If you are going to experience the peace of God, it won't be because God gives it to you. He's already given you peace. In John 14, 27, when Jesus, like Moses, was preparing his followers for his departure and telling them about the Holy Spirit that was coming, not only to live with them, but to live in them. God told Joshua, I'm with you, but God tells you something even better. He says, I'm in you.

Christ is in me, and I'm more than enough. And he tells his followers, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I don't give like the world gives. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Don't let them be afraid. Do you see it? Don't let your heart be troubled.

Don't let it be afraid. Why are you so downcast? Stop listening to your situation and start preaching to your situation. the name of the Lord. Dry bones will live in the name of the Lord. The promise will come to pass. So Jesus said, I have given you my peace. Now talk yourself into it. Day and night, the refrain of my heart. You need a phrase to fight the devil with. I'm not afraid anymore. I feel fear, but I'm not afraid. He didn't say I couldn't feel it.

He just said I had to face it. He didn't say that the fear wouldn't come upon me. He just said that it shouldn't define me. Come on, I'm preaching to somebody. You've been stuck. You've been afraid. You've been terrified. You've been worried about it.

You've been stressed. But lift your hands in the presence of the Lord and say, Christ is in me. I am enough. Say it again, Christ is in me. I am enough. One more time. said it three times to Joshua. I want you to say it three times to Christ is in me. I am enough. Now clap your hands and thank God. Clap your hands and praise God. Open your mouth and speak praise,

speak peace, praise him. My Lord. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now or visit elevationchurch.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.