SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Life Family Church Sermon Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: If this is your first time listening, you can check us out on our website at lifefamily.church or on Facebook at LFTbeer.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's get right to the message.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say this with me.
SPEAKER_01: Say the Lord is good and his mercy endures forever.
SPEAKER_01: I say that almost every day.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord is so good.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: We serve a good God.
SPEAKER_01: Religion has painted God as an angry God who looks down from heaven looking for everything that you do wrong so that he can punish you.
SPEAKER_01: But that is not the God we serve.
SPEAKER_01: Our God is not looking at you and trying to find fault in you.
SPEAKER_01: If he's looking, he doesn't have to try very hard, does he?
SPEAKER_01: He's looking at you, but he sees you through the blood of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And when he looks at you, he sees exactly what his son provided.
SPEAKER_01: Hope and a future and an expected end.
SPEAKER_01: He sees that.
SPEAKER_01: And he looks at you and he has favor on you.
SPEAKER_01: We have a God who looks at you and says, I favor you.
SPEAKER_01: What is that?
SPEAKER_01: That means he gives you preferential treatment.
SPEAKER_01: Wake up every morning and say, My God gives me preferential preferential treatment.
SPEAKER_01: That's a tough word to say.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Say it, say God loves me.
SPEAKER_01: As if I'm the only person on this earth to love.
SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say it again.
SPEAKER_01: He's not mad at you.
SPEAKER_01: And he's not even in a bad mood.
SPEAKER_01: He chose you before the foundation of the world.
SPEAKER_01: He loved you that much.
SPEAKER_01: And he gave his son to die, to be crucified on your behalf.
SPEAKER_01: What makes you think that he's gonna spend all his time up in heaven consumed in anger towards you?
SPEAKER_01: He loves you.
SPEAKER_01: Religion wants to teach us do this for God, do this for God, do this for God.
SPEAKER_01: It's not enough.
SPEAKER_01: You got to do more, you gotta do more.
SPEAKER_01: God is saying, My son did it all.
SPEAKER_01: All you have to do is lay back, relax, and rely on the everlasting love of the of the of Jesus Christ who gave himself for you.
SPEAKER_01: It's that easy.
SPEAKER_01: We make church, we make faith so hard.
SPEAKER_01: It's not hard.
SPEAKER_01: It's simple.
SPEAKER_01: Put your faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Are you believing God this morning?
SPEAKER_01: Are you believing for a word this morning?
SPEAKER_01: I am too.
SPEAKER_01: Um I want to say to you Happy Memorial Day.
SPEAKER_01: And for those who um have gone on before us, who have served, uh we truly do honor them for what they did, what they did for us.
SPEAKER_01: Um we don't take our freedom in this country lightly, but it cost someone to their life.
SPEAKER_01: And for those who have served and and for those who are serving currently, we honor you.
SPEAKER_01: But today is about honoring those who have gone on before us, and that we truly do, is we honor them and we remember them for their honor and their sacrifice for this country.
SPEAKER_01: It means so much.
SPEAKER_01: I know the world is crazy and politics and all this stuff is just nuts.
SPEAKER_01: But this country was set in place by God Almighty.
SPEAKER_01: And this country is still the number one producer of the Word of God that sends missionaries all over the world to spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so grateful, I know things are crazy, but man, I'm so grateful that I live in this country because if you talk to anyone else all over the world, they dream of a place called America.
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, even in even in our struggles, we're still better off than everyone else.
SPEAKER_01: Even in our turmoil and even in our imperfections, we're still better off than everybody else.
SPEAKER_01: But we all, every one of us, we need to uh continue to uh live our life worthy of their sacrifice.
SPEAKER_01: So when you live, live free.
SPEAKER_01: Don't live in bondage.
SPEAKER_01: They didn't die so that you could be held in bondage, consumed with the news, consumed with all this garbage.
SPEAKER_01: Get free of all that stuff and just live life.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: I know people that will spend 10 hours a day watching news.
SPEAKER_01: And they'll tell you, oh, it's the good news, it's not the bad news.
SPEAKER_01: I don't care if you're watching Sesame Street, you're not watching good stuff, like you're spending too much time watching TV.
SPEAKER_01: This world is consumed in one thing and one thing over only, and that is greed and the love of money.
SPEAKER_01: And all the news wants to do is get your viewership because the more views they get, the more money they get.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So, what I do, and this is just an example, what I'll do is I'll turn on, I'll look at my phone and I'll look at the headlines.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's enough.
SPEAKER_01: I'm done.
SPEAKER_01: I know what's going on, I'm educated.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need to get so consumed in this world that it causes me to go down.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: We're supposed to be people that set the atmosphere and not can, you know, just be consumed with it.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Um, that was free of charge.
SPEAKER_01: That was not a part of my message.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, this morning I am going to be talking just a little bit about he's the God on the mountain.
SPEAKER_01: And before I get going, um years ago when I was a kid, my mom used to sing a song.
SPEAKER_01: And uh this song was um, you know, I remember her leading the worship, and there was never a dry eye in the building.
SPEAKER_01: People would just be crying, and just the emotions would be everywhere.
SPEAKER_01: And um, I'm not asking you all to do that, but I am gonna sing this song um because I truly uh truly um I was listening to uh YouTube, some worship songs, and this old song came up and I started listening to it, and I'm like, my mom used to sing this song, and she would get behind that piano and just worship and cry and cry, and I'd be sitting on the bench beside her because I was a little I was a little guy, and as she was playing and she was worshiping, she'd be smacking my hand because I'd be trying to play with her.
SPEAKER_01: That's when I learned a valuable lesson that you can be in the spirit and you can be in the flesh at the same time.
SPEAKER_01: You really can.
SPEAKER_01: It's possible, trust me.
SPEAKER_01: Um but my mom used to sing this song, and it's called The God of the Mountain.
SPEAKER_01: It was written, I think, by the McCainies years ago.
SPEAKER_01: And if you know it, don't sing it because you're gonna mess me up.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just saying, no, I'm I'm gonna get up there and I'm gonna play it, and I'm just gonna worship God, and I know it's not gonna be perfect.
SPEAKER_01: Um, but we serve a perfect God.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to minister this song to you because I want to remember this.
SPEAKER_01: She was such a worshiper.
SPEAKER_01: She loved God.
SPEAKER_01: This is the day to remember those who gave sacrifice and service.
SPEAKER_01: And growing up with a worshiper.
SPEAKER_01: I would be doing my thing as a teenager, just hanging out, doing my crazy things that an adolescent or a teenager does.
SPEAKER_01: But my mom would be on the piano in the house worshiping God.
SPEAKER_01: And I mean she's getting ready for church too, but she's not, she's not getting ready for a concert, she's not getting ready for a production.
SPEAKER_01: She's worshiping God.
SPEAKER_01: And I remember that.
SPEAKER_01: Why is this so hard and why am I so emotional?
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01: My pastor told me years ago that people can't hear you if you're up there crying.
SPEAKER_02: So life is easy when you're up on the mountain, and you've got peace of mind like you never know, but then things change, and you're down in the valley for the same.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, the Lord is good, amen.
SPEAKER_01: And he's always present.
SPEAKER_01: He'll never leave you, he'll never forsake you.
SPEAKER_01: This song carries a powerful truth that every believer needs to learn: that God does not change based on circumstances.
SPEAKER_01: He's just as faithful in the valley as he is on the mountaintop.
SPEAKER_01: The mountain season is wonderful.
SPEAKER_01: It is.
SPEAKER_01: There are times when your prayers are being answered, joy is present, it's overflowing, finances are stable, health is good, and everything seems to be falling into place.
SPEAKER_01: It's easy to worship God during those times, amen.
SPEAKER_01: It's easy to hold your shoulders back and to smile, and I'm blessed and highly favored, and walk happy and joyful.
SPEAKER_01: But faith is not truly proven on the mountaintop experience.
SPEAKER_01: My brother-in-law told me one time, and coming from him, this was like, wow, that was awesome.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Can I preach this one day?
SPEAKER_01: He's like, sure, that's fine, just give me credit.
SPEAKER_01: He said, if your faith needs proof, it's proof that you have no faith.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Whoa, that was good.
SPEAKER_01: Say that again.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I will.
SPEAKER_01: If your faith needs proof, it's proof you have no faith.
SPEAKER_01: Faith is revealed to us in the valley.
SPEAKER_01: The valley is where prayers seem delayed, the valley is where tears fall, the valley is where battles rage in the mind.
SPEAKER_01: The valley is where discouragement tries to convince you that God is nowhere to be found and he has left you.
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever felt that way before?
SPEAKER_01: Anyone in here?
SPEAKER_01: Show me your hands.
SPEAKER_01: You ever felt like God is gone?
SPEAKER_01: Where's he at?
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Yet the message of the song that I sung, the God on the mountain is still God in the valley, is ever ringing true today.
SPEAKER_01: That God never stopped being God because your situation's changed.
SPEAKER_01: The scripture reminds us Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.
SPEAKER_01: That's in Hebrews 13, verse 8.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus doesn't change based on your circumstances.
SPEAKER_01: He's the one that, the only one that can change your circumstances if we'll put our faith in him.
SPEAKER_01: When Israel stood at the Red Sea, he was God.
SPEAKER_01: When David was at the lion's, or Daniel was in the lion's den, he was still God.
SPEAKER_01: When Paul sat in prison, he was still God.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus hung on that old rugged cross, he was still God.
SPEAKER_01: David said this, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
SPEAKER_01: You notice David didn't say, if I walk through the valley, he said, though I walk, I'm sorry, David did not say, if I walk through the valley, he said, when I walk through that valley.
SPEAKER_01: If you're on a mountaintop right now, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: There's a valley coming.
SPEAKER_01: You say, well, you're such a downer today, crying and telling us that we're going into the valley.
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm telling you the truth this morning that if you might be on a mountaintop today, but there's times coming in your life where you need to remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore, even in bad times, he doesn't change.
SPEAKER_01: And he will not change his word to fit our experiences.
SPEAKER_01: Our experiences need to change based on his word.
SPEAKER_01: So the word will not change and God will not change.
SPEAKER_01: Valleys are, unfortunately, a part of our experience in life.
SPEAKER_01: But the valleys are not a permanent destination point.
SPEAKER_01: Too many people make valley experiences their permanent destination.
SPEAKER_01: The valley experience is not your identity.
SPEAKER_01: That thing you're going through right now is not your identity.
SPEAKER_01: Don't take it as this belongs to me, because it does not belong to you.
SPEAKER_01: This is a part of your experience, but that's going to change because experiences are temporary.
SPEAKER_01: They're here one day and they're gone the next.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's important for all of us to remember this that God never changes, that he's always remaining the same.
SPEAKER_01: So who will be the one that needs to change?
SPEAKER_01: It has to be us.
SPEAKER_01: God never intended for the valley to destroy you.
SPEAKER_01: In the valley, he can develop you.
SPEAKER_01: He can strengthen your faith.
SPEAKER_01: Did he cause the valley?
SPEAKER_01: No, not necessarily.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't cause it.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't make it happen.
SPEAKER_01: There's an enemy to your faith.
SPEAKER_01: There's an enemy that's trying to get you off your game.
SPEAKER_01: There's an enemy that's trying to kill, steal, and destroy you.
SPEAKER_01: But in John chapter 10, verse 10, he said, The thief comes but for to steal, kill, and to destroy.
SPEAKER_01: But I have come that they may have life and that they may have it to the abundant.
SPEAKER_01: So anybody can praise God when everything's going right.
SPEAKER_01: But there's something powerful.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, somebody, there's something powerful about a believer who can still worship while they're hurting.
SPEAKER_01: Still worship when everything around them seems to be falling apart.
SPEAKER_01: But they can still stand tall with their shoulders held high and say, God, you're more than enough.
SPEAKER_01: And I know in whom I serve.
SPEAKER_01: And my God is a way maker.
SPEAKER_01: The kind of faith, guys, this is the kind of faith that will shake hell.
SPEAKER_01: It's when nothing can move me.
SPEAKER_01: Nothing can shake me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm standing firm on God's unfailing love.
SPEAKER_01: The second verse says this.
SPEAKER_01: Now in the valley of trials and temptations, we uh we sung just a moment ago about that.
SPEAKER_01: That's when your faith is really put to the test.
SPEAKER_01: Tested faith becomes strong faith.
SPEAKER_01: You need we were talking about this earlier.
SPEAKER_01: This is so funny.
SPEAKER_01: It's funny how a lot of the songs you were saying was kind of lines up to this.
SPEAKER_01: But you need to be tested.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of us.
SPEAKER_01: You go to school.
SPEAKER_01: You go to class, you cram for tests, right?
SPEAKER_01: You put in the work, you do what you're supposed to do, you go to class, you do the things.
SPEAKER_01: But eventually there's going to be a test.
SPEAKER_01: And you better know what you what you're made of.
SPEAKER_01: You better know what you're you've been studying.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible talks about study to show yourself approved.
SPEAKER_01: A workman rightly dividing the word of truth.
SPEAKER_01: Why is that?
SPEAKER_01: Why is it important to study the word of God?
SPEAKER_01: In the good times, it's important to study the word just as much as it's important to study in the bad times.
SPEAKER_01: Because in the good times, you're preparing for the test.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: And in the bad times, that's the test.
SPEAKER_01: You succeed, you move on to another glory.
SPEAKER_01: And guess what's waiting at the other end of that one?
SPEAKER_01: Another test.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't like school, I'm sorry, but you're going to be in school for a long time.
SPEAKER_01: You're going to go from test to test to test.
SPEAKER_01: And the more you go through it, the better it gets, the easier it gets.
SPEAKER_01: The more you prepare yourself, the easier the test becomes.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: And you don't, you're not, you don't have the luxury of using Chat GPT for these tests.
SPEAKER_01: You have to grow up in the faith and be a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ, prepared for every battle that comes to try to take you down.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Gold is purified by fire.
SPEAKER_01: Steel is strengthened under pressure.
SPEAKER_01: And believers are tested through trials.
SPEAKER_01: And just like pressure, I think it's coal.
SPEAKER_01: Enough pressure on that coal, is it what produces diamonds?
SPEAKER_01: If you're getting too technical on me back there, I don't know, I don't know a word you just said.
SPEAKER_01: But the pressure produces.
SPEAKER_01: It produces something that's sustainable and worthy and worth something.
SPEAKER_01: So when you're going through a trial and you're going through the biggest test you've ever gone through in your life, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: When you come out, you're going to be like a diamond.
SPEAKER_01: And you're going to shine bright like a diamond.
SPEAKER_01: I know who's carnal in here now.
SPEAKER_01: The enemy wants the valley to silence your praise, weaken your prayer life, and make you question God's goodness.
SPEAKER_01: But the valley is often where God teaches us to depend on Him more than ever before.
SPEAKER_01: Some of the greatest miracles in the scripture happened in desperate places.
SPEAKER_01: Water came from a rock in the wilderness.
SPEAKER_01: Those people, I'm telling you, those, those, those people from Israel, you just want to smack them across the face.
SPEAKER_01: But the problem is they didn't have the whole Bible to study out and say, oh yes, God provided.
SPEAKER_01: I should just trust him.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, if we were in their position, we would have been doing the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: Complaining, complaining, you know, why did you bring us out here and can't even give our animals water to drink and we're going to just die?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: We serve a God who's not just going to take you halfway to your destination and leave you and say, okay, fend for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: We serve a God who'll take you the whole distance.
SPEAKER_01: And when things get tough, and they will, he'll make a way where there seems to be no way.
SPEAKER_01: He will take you from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from righteousness to righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: God is only looking for someone to do this.
SPEAKER_01: Trust him.
SPEAKER_01: When things look dark, trust him.
SPEAKER_01: Stop trying to figure him out.
SPEAKER_01: I've done this many times.
SPEAKER_01: How is God going to provide this for me?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, maybe he's going to use this person, maybe he's going to do this, maybe he's going to do this or that.
SPEAKER_01: And I'll try to figure it out my mind, and guess what?
SPEAKER_01: He'll do something totally different than what I'm expecting.
SPEAKER_01: I think he does it on purpose.
SPEAKER_01: He might have had a plan.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, your mom and dad's going to help you.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you said your mom and dad's going to help you.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we're taking them off the table.
SPEAKER_01: They're not helping you anymore.
SPEAKER_01: Now you're going to have to believe and trust God differently this time.
SPEAKER_01: Don't try to figure out God.
SPEAKER_01: Just figure out one thing.
SPEAKER_01: He is our provider.
SPEAKER_01: And when we need him, he'll be there with the supply that we need.
SPEAKER_01: And we don't have to worry because what does worry do?
SPEAKER_01: It encapsulates you and doesn't cause you to grow at all.
SPEAKER_01: You're just sitting there.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't benefit you one bit to worry and to fret about things.
SPEAKER_01: Just say, I trust you.
SPEAKER_01: Take all the reservations out of your life and say, I just trust you.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how it's going to come about.
SPEAKER_01: I trust you.
SPEAKER_01: And when he says, do something, do it.
SPEAKER_01: But when you don't have anything else to do and you're in the middle of the valley and you're standing by yourself, stand and know that my God will provide all my needs according to his riches and glory.
SPEAKER_01: You might be going through the biggest trial of your life right now, but don't let worry enter in.
SPEAKER_01: Worry is praise in the wrong direction.
SPEAKER_01: Turn your praise to God and start thanking Him that He's your provider.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Mana fell during a season of extreme lack.
SPEAKER_01: They needed food.
SPEAKER_01: They didn't have food, so God just provided manna.
SPEAKER_01: I remember a long time ago I needed more money.
SPEAKER_01: I was working at Rhema, and if you worked at Rhema, you would know you probably need more money.
SPEAKER_01: They don't pay very well there, just saying.
SPEAKER_01: They're like, oh, you need to believe in faith.
SPEAKER_01: That's why you're here.
SPEAKER_01: And my bad attitude at the time was the teachers need to believe in faith and pay me more.
SPEAKER_01: They're the experienced ones.
SPEAKER_01: I'm the student.
SPEAKER_01: That was my bad, that was a bad way to look at that.
SPEAKER_01: But anyway, I remember uh we were in um, I was doing a job, and and I might have told you this before, but I'm gonna say it again.
SPEAKER_01: Uh repetition's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01: Paul said that.
SPEAKER_01: Um, I was working and I was complaining.
SPEAKER_01: I was, it was sprinkling, I was working hard, I was trimming these shrubs, and I'm like, I did this a couple months ago, and I made like$400 in two hours doing the same thing, and here I am working for uh, you know, nine dollars an hour, and then all of a sudden the Spirit of God arrested me.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was like God just put his foot down and shook me to my core.
SPEAKER_01: And he spoke this word to me.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Who told you you made that?
SPEAKER_01: And he he didn't explain anymore.
SPEAKER_01: That's all he said, but everything he said was enough for me to know exactly what he was saying.
SPEAKER_01: He was telling me, we're the ones that determine the worth.
SPEAKER_01: We're the ones that determine that, not him.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't put me there to make nine dollars, he put me there to serve him and to work for him.
SPEAKER_01: He will provide my needs.
SPEAKER_01: And I remember him speaking this to my spirit.
SPEAKER_01: You don't just walk in the spirit, you work in the spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And that shook me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, whoa.
SPEAKER_01: So you know what?
SPEAKER_01: I made the adjustment.
SPEAKER_01: It was just a small adjustment, guys.
SPEAKER_01: Many large things in your life, hear me, many large things in your life that you considered being huge are just a small adjustment in your character.
SPEAKER_01: Just a small adjustment can change big things in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Just having a smile on your faith, face, not faith.
SPEAKER_01: Have a smile on your faith too.
SPEAKER_01: That's a good one.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: Put a smile on your face.
SPEAKER_01: Be good to people, be honest.
SPEAKER_01: Those little things can take you a long way.
SPEAKER_01: When you say you're going to be there at 7 o'clock, be there at 6:55.
SPEAKER_01: Waiting till 7 o'clock.
SPEAKER_01: What is that?
SPEAKER_01: That's just a minor adjustment.
SPEAKER_01: I just need to just be just a little earlier.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because those are character things and they mean something.
SPEAKER_01: Those little things like that can take you a long ways.
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, it might be well, it might not be that.
SPEAKER_01: It might be something else.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's just you need to make a small adjustment in your life.
SPEAKER_01: But these things will help you go further in life.
SPEAKER_01: Remember Lazarus, he came out of the grave.
SPEAKER_01: He was in a pretty, pretty desperate situation, wasn't he?
SPEAKER_01: You know what's so good about Lazarus?
SPEAKER_01: He couldn't do anything about his condition.
SPEAKER_01: It was just totally God.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus loved him so much.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes, and I'm going to say this, sometimes you need to get yourself out of your way.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you don't even need to pray about it.
SPEAKER_01: You just need to just just be quiet and trust God.
SPEAKER_01: Because we let our tongues get in the way a lot of times of what God's trying to do in our life.
SPEAKER_01: And we say things that don't line up to the Bible, and we destroy the faith that we have through our unbelief in our words.
SPEAKER_01: So it's very important if you don't have, it's just another lesson I learned as a kid.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all, right?
SPEAKER_01: If you're saying something contrary to this Bible, it's not nice.
SPEAKER_01: It's bad.
SPEAKER_01: So say nice things.
SPEAKER_01: Say what God says about things.
SPEAKER_01: Amen?
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: Resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: Think about this.
SPEAKER_01: The resurrection came after the crucifixion.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody's like, wait a minute, are we in like third grade right now?
SPEAKER_01: But the point I'm trying to make is good things are about to happen in your life if you won't give up and give up hope.
SPEAKER_01: You're about to see the greatest miracle you've ever seen in your life.
SPEAKER_01: You're about to see the greatest source of income coming into your life that you never would have believed it was that good.
SPEAKER_01: But don't give up because you're in a valley.
SPEAKER_01: Don't give up because times look hard.
SPEAKER_01: Don't quit at the brink of your miracle.
SPEAKER_01: It's almost here.
SPEAKER_01: God specializing, he specializes in bringing life out of dead situations.
SPEAKER_01: So if someone's walking through a valley right now, the song I sang earlier, you're not abandoned, you're not forgotten, and you're not fighting alone.
SPEAKER_01: He's the same God who blessed you.
SPEAKER_01: When you were young, he's the same God who'll bless you when you're old.
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm going to transition just a hair.
SPEAKER_01: It's the same message, but I want to put a little bit of a rabbit trail into this.
SPEAKER_01: But it's a prepared rabbit trail, see?
SPEAKER_01: And this is my last page of notes, so I'll get you out of here so you can have your hot dogs.
SPEAKER_01: We have the mountaintop seasons and we have the valley seasons.
SPEAKER_01: But there's another season that this morning the Lord woke me up and spoke to me in my spirit that there's another season in your life.
SPEAKER_01: And it's called the cave season.
SPEAKER_01: There's a cave season in your life.
SPEAKER_01: See, there's a mountaintop season, there's a valley season, but there's another season.
SPEAKER_01: And it's the cave that David entered into when he was running for his life.
SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't on a mountaintop and it wasn't in a valley.
SPEAKER_01: It was in a hillside.
SPEAKER_01: It was in a cave.
SPEAKER_01: It was in a different terrain.
SPEAKER_01: And what was happening in this moment brought great change and maturity to David's life.
SPEAKER_01: David's cave wasn't a comfortable place.
SPEAKER_01: It was the cave of Adulum.
SPEAKER_01: It was where he was running from Saul because Saul recognized the anointing was on David, and David was going to be king.
SPEAKER_01: And when you're king, guess what you do?
SPEAKER_01: When you take over a kingdom, you kill everyone that had ruled previously.
SPEAKER_01: You kill the whole kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Anyone that was a part of Saul's lineage, David, normally in a situation where another person becomes king, they will go in and they'll kill everyone that was a previous kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: That just doesn't sound nice.
SPEAKER_01: That's not good.
SPEAKER_01: Well, that was how it was.
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't nice, but that's how it was.
SPEAKER_01: That's why it was so important for Jonathan to break covenant with David and to be his armor bearer and to stand with David and make David give a commitment that he would not destroy his family.
SPEAKER_01: And David made a covenant with Jonathan that he would not destroy them all.
SPEAKER_01: That's where we later on we'll talk about this.
SPEAKER_01: A guy by the name of Mephibosheth was a part of Jonathan's lineage.
SPEAKER_01: But moving right along, David in the cave wasn't a comfortable place and it wasn't a polished system.
SPEAKER_01: It was a refuge where people came as they were hurting, in debt, and discouraged and looking for direction.
SPEAKER_01: Under David's leadership in this cave, it became a place of formation, order, loyalty, and purpose.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm looking at this, the Lord just spoke this to my spirit this morning.
SPEAKER_01: And the cave represents the church.
SPEAKER_01: There's a place where if you're broken, you can come.
SPEAKER_01: Where if you're having problems, you can come.
SPEAKER_01: Come to this church.
SPEAKER_01: That cave wasn't a cave full of people that had it all together.
SPEAKER_01: And I dare say that this church is not a place where people have it all together.
SPEAKER_01: That we're a place where we're going to be developed and turn into something.
SPEAKER_01: People that are loyal, people that are honorable, people that serve well a king.
SPEAKER_01: The church reflects the same spirit of the cave of Adulum.
SPEAKER_01: A place where people don't have to pretend they're already whole to belong.
SPEAKER_01: We don't want people here that feel like I've made it, I've I've arrived.
SPEAKER_01: Look at me when I walk through the door.
SPEAKER_01: Guys, none of us are at that place, me included.
SPEAKER_01: Now, none of us are standing and and and just not moving forward either.
SPEAKER_01: We're all attempting to grow and develop, but none of us has reached the destination of perfection.
SPEAKER_01: So every one of us have room to grow.
SPEAKER_01: And that cave represented an opportunity for these men to be set aside to develop.
SPEAKER_01: And I started seeing exactly what Wednesday night services are about.
SPEAKER_01: They're exactly people coming into the cave of Adum to be prepared for battle, to be prepared, to be, and honestly, I'm a little bit more rigid, I'm a little bit more blunt, I'm a little bit more Bible college teacher type, where I'm just not sugarcoating things, but I'm just telling the truth what the Bible says, and it's not easy to swallow all the time, but we'll cut it up in little small bites so you can eat it.
SPEAKER_01: But but we're telling the truth like it is, and it's the truth that'll make you free.
SPEAKER_01: So as I teach, it's a little bit more stern and a little bit more directional.
SPEAKER_01: But I would dare say that when they came into the cave of Adulum, that David just sat there and said, All right, guys, let's talk about our problems.
SPEAKER_01: That's not what happened.
SPEAKER_01: When they came in, they started to develop skills that they'd never had before.
SPEAKER_01: They started to develop an attitude like they've never had before.
SPEAKER_01: They started recognizing, whoo, we're in the we're in the cave where the anointing and the anointed is.
SPEAKER_01: And they started catching on to that anointing that was on David.
SPEAKER_01: Because when you serve the anointed one, the anointing that's on the anointed one will get on you.
SPEAKER_01: And it will separate you, consecrate you to service.
SPEAKER_01: And there were men that were put in that cave to serve and honor David, one of them so much so, a couple of them left, went into the enemy's camp and got water for David, brought it back to him because he said, I'm thirsty.
SPEAKER_01: I'd love to have a drink from the king's palace.
SPEAKER_01: So they all snuck off and went and got him water and brought it back to him.
SPEAKER_01: And he looked at it and he's like, I can't drink this because I'm gonna use this to worship God.
SPEAKER_01: So he pours it out to honor God.
SPEAKER_01: Now, to a lot of people, that might offend you.
SPEAKER_01: I just risked my life for you and you just went and poured it out.
SPEAKER_01: But these men were loyal to David.
SPEAKER_01: It didn't matter.
SPEAKER_01: He could have taken that water and he could have just threw it on their face and they would have just taken it.
SPEAKER_01: Because they had learned loyalty to the anointing and the anointed one.
SPEAKER_01: And when we come to church, that's what we're doing.
SPEAKER_01: We're growing up into the full nature of the God head bodily.
SPEAKER_01: And when we come to church, that's what we're doing, is we're growing up together as one body in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And it's so valuable to the kingdom, so valuable that we grow together so that when one has a need, the other one takes up the slack and helps them, pulls them off the battlefield and nurtures them back to health and helps them in time of trouble.
SPEAKER_01: When you're going through a valley, you need someone with you.
SPEAKER_01: You need others that are by your side that won't just push you down when you're having a hard time, but will lift you up and encourage you and say, You got this, you can make it.
SPEAKER_01: Don't give up, don't quit.
SPEAKER_01: Keep your eyes on Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You need people like that in your life.
SPEAKER_01: And you need people that are on the mountaintop telling you, don't get too high, mighty.
SPEAKER_01: Don't think too highly of yourself.
SPEAKER_01: If it wasn't for the Lord Jesus, you wouldn't be where you are.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: When you see horrible things, you need someone with you that will speak the truth.
SPEAKER_01: And when you're seeing wonderful things, you need someone with you that will tell you the truth.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to surround myself with people that will tell me what I want to hear.
SPEAKER_01: I want to surround myself with people that will look me square in the eye and say, you're missing it because you're not honoring God, and this is what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to be so rude about it.
SPEAKER_01: There's an important balance to keep in mind.
SPEAKER_01: The cave only became powerful because David was there.
SPEAKER_01: The king was only as powerful as the anointing that was there.
SPEAKER_01: It would not have developed them to just be in a cave hanging out in a cave.
SPEAKER_01: So if you're like, if you're like in a cave right now hanging out by yourself, I can do this on my own.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need anybody's help.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need God.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need anything.
SPEAKER_01: I'll just do this on my own.
SPEAKER_01: You are so missing it, and you're going to miss out on so much life.
SPEAKER_01: You need people.
SPEAKER_01: You need to be in a place where people will speak the truth to you in love.
SPEAKER_01: You need that anointing on your life.
SPEAKER_01: You need Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So if the church is like the cave, it shouldn't mean disorder or staying in a broken condition.
SPEAKER_01: It should mean people are welcome, uh, welcomed in their distresses, but they don't stay there.
SPEAKER_01: They're led into healing, maturity, and purpose.
SPEAKER_01: There was a guy by the name of Eliezer.
SPEAKER_01: He was in that cave.
SPEAKER_01: He was indebted, he was broken, he was a mess.
SPEAKER_01: He came into that cave, spent time with the anointed one, spent time with the soon or the already anointed.
SPEAKER_01: King of Israel spent time with him so much that he becomes so confident in his skills that he fought a battle on his own.
SPEAKER_01: He's fighting so hard that he gripped the sword so hard that his hand would not let go of that sword.
SPEAKER_01: It was locked.
SPEAKER_01: He was willing to fight to the end for that king.
SPEAKER_01: And he wouldn't stop.
SPEAKER_01: So there was loyalty there.
SPEAKER_01: So much so he could not release his hand at all.
SPEAKER_01: That's pretty awesome.
SPEAKER_01: I want someone like that fighting for me, don't you?
SPEAKER_01: So here's my question to you.
SPEAKER_01: Will you be that kind of friend that will grab a hold of a sword when the enemy's coming in to destroy your friend?
SPEAKER_01: That you'll be that kind of person, that I'm gonna hold on to this sword and I'm not gonna let go.
SPEAKER_01: This Bible is the sword of God.
SPEAKER_01: And we should hold on to this Bible with everything we got, and our hands should be so clenched on this word that we can't let go.
SPEAKER_01: We're stuck to this word.
SPEAKER_01: I need a friend like that that won't let go when it gets tough, that won't walk away from me when things get rough, right?
SPEAKER_01: I don't need friends around me that just want to be around me when I'm grilling steaks all the time and smoking meat all the time and buying all kinds of things for them and doing all this fun stuff for them.
SPEAKER_01: I need friends that will stick with me when I'm in the valley.
SPEAKER_01: Those are the kind of friends you need.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: And those friends, look around you guys.
SPEAKER_01: Here's where they are, right here.
SPEAKER_01: They're in this church.
SPEAKER_01: We are the friends that you need.
SPEAKER_01: We'll be here for you when you go through tough times.
SPEAKER_01: We're not going to let go of the sword for anything.
SPEAKER_01: There's a guy by the name of Shammah, he was in that cave.
SPEAKER_01: And this is a guy who, when the Philistine armies every year would come in and they would plunder the crops of the people, he finally got fed up with it.
SPEAKER_01: And he stood between the crops and the army.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Stop it.
SPEAKER_01: You don't go any further.
SPEAKER_01: And his name is powerful.
SPEAKER_01: One part of his name means something totally different, which I'm still learning, but the other part of his name in other scriptures means God is present.
SPEAKER_01: So you need a person standing with you.
SPEAKER_01: In tough times when you can't see clear, you need someone that will stand in the gap for you and stand on your behalf.
SPEAKER_01: When you can't see and you can't you can't protect yourself, you need someone who will stand in the gap for you.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: One more person is a guy by the name of Benediah.
SPEAKER_01: Um like I said, these were guys that were in a mess when they came into the cave, but when they left the cave, this guy was able to kill lions.
SPEAKER_01: He was wild.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you think about it.
SPEAKER_01: If I if you got a friend that can kill lions, you got you got some cool friends, right?
SPEAKER_01: We talk about that bear man guy, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: Like he went through a lot.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that was awesome.
SPEAKER_01: If you ever hear his testimony, awesome.
SPEAKER_01: This guy's testimony was I killed a lion.
SPEAKER_01: How did he have that kind of anointing?
SPEAKER_01: Think about it.
SPEAKER_01: Who else killed a lion?
SPEAKER_01: David did.
SPEAKER_01: The anointed of God.
SPEAKER_01: When the anointing was on David, he could kill a lion.
SPEAKER_01: When that same anointing came on this man, he was able to do the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: And the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ is on every one of us.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of us are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think according to the power that works in us.
SPEAKER_01: What is that power?
SPEAKER_01: That's the anointing of Almighty God on your life.
SPEAKER_01: And when you serve Jesus and when you gave your life to Jesus, the anointing of God came on your life.
SPEAKER_01: And the same anointing that He had, you have.
SPEAKER_01: And you can go through trials, you can go through suffering, you can go through anything.
SPEAKER_01: You can go through the pit of hell and come out on the other side because there's resurrection power on the inside of you.
SPEAKER_01: If our King could do it and he had the anointing to do it, I have the same anointing on the inside of me.
SPEAKER_01: I can do it.
SPEAKER_01: Let's all stand up this morning.
SPEAKER_01: We serve a good God and He loves you all so much, and He's given all of us an anointing to break through.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of us has an anointing, but that anointing is developed through times where it doesn't seem so easy.
SPEAKER_01: That anointing in your life for the next season will be developed through trials and temptations.
SPEAKER_01: And if you will overcome those trials and temptations, you will step into your next season.
SPEAKER_01: And then you'll go through those tests and those trials and you'll step into that next season all along, giving glory and honor to God and having those around you that are standing with you, guarding you, protecting you, being a friend that sticks closer than a brother, having that same anointing that was on Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It's on the inside of me.
SPEAKER_01: You can win this test and you can go forward and receive God's best from glory to glory to glory.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Let's all bow our heads this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_01: We thank you that on the mountain we can praise you.
SPEAKER_01: In the valley, we can praise you.
SPEAKER_01: And in the cave, we can prepare for the battle.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, I thank you that you've given us all we'll ever need because the anointing that was on you is now upon us.
SPEAKER_01: And Father, I pray that each and every one of us would just trust you and receive that same anointing that was on Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: The Spirit of the Lord was upon him to go and preach the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, I thank you for your gospel.
SPEAKER_01: If you're in here today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Savior, and you'll say, you know, I don't know if I'm ready to meet the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I'm prepared.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: I would like to know for sure if that's you, and you would like to know that you're ready to meet the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: If you were to die today, are you ready to meet the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: If that's you and you don't know that, and you would like to have a no-so experience with God, if you would just come out from where you are, come up here to the front.
SPEAKER_01: I want to pray with you and lead you to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: If you're in here and you want to have that no-so experience with Jesus, where you know beyond a shadow of a doubt, if I were to die today, I would meet the Lord in the air.
SPEAKER_01: If that's you, come up here to the front, I'll pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: I'll just give you a few moments and then we'll move on.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, everybody look at me, please.
SPEAKER_01: If you're going through anything right now, and you might be in a valley, you might be in a down season of your life, and you need someone to agree with you, and just stand with you, grip this word with you, and hold on, and to release faith with you, and to agree with you if you need that.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna be right here and I will pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to encourage you.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna push you down on the ground and all that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_01: What I am gonna do is I'm just gonna agree with your faith that you're gonna walk through this valley and you're gonna come out on the other side, and you're gonna see victory in your life.
SPEAKER_01: If that's you, the altars are open.
SPEAKER_01: You guys are more than welcome to come up, and I would love to pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So if you want to come on up here, we'll pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: If I have uh a chance for some of the prayer team to come up here, that'd be great.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We have victory, amen.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say it again.
SPEAKER_01: We have victory, amen.
SPEAKER_01: Are you a church that loves everybody?
SPEAKER_01: I am.
SPEAKER_01: I I want to be a part of that church.
SPEAKER_01: I want you guys to participate in this.
SPEAKER_01: So why don't we do this?
SPEAKER_01: Why don't anyone who wants to come up here and I want y'all to get behind these guys if you want to.
SPEAKER_01: Come on up here.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to pray with these guys, come on up here.
SPEAKER_01: I want them to pray with you too.
SPEAKER_01: So if you want to pray with these these ladies, come on up here.
SPEAKER_01: I want these ladies who are up here to notice what's happening.
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of good women around you.
SPEAKER_01: And if y'all want to come around, some of you ladies come around the front too.
SPEAKER_01: Come on over here.
SPEAKER_01: I'll pray.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have to touch anybody, so y'all can come around the front.
SPEAKER_01: And I want you all to lay hands on these people that are up here, and we're gonna pray and bless them in the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Come on up.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give them time.
SPEAKER_01: You all just let's just worship the Lord if you want to.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to sing a song or anything, you're welcome to do that.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, I thank you that we're the body of Christ, and that Lord, we carry that same anointing that you carry to go and heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cast out devils, to do the same work you did, to go in battle, to win the victory.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, I thank you that we are victorious in you.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, we're gonna stand in faith.
SPEAKER_01: Even in the middle of the valley, we're gonna begin to praise you and worship your name, and we're gonna declare your goodness even in the valley.
SPEAKER_01: Because we trust you, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: We trust you.
SPEAKER_01: We're not gonna quit, we're not gonna give up, we're not gonna look at the circumstances, we're looking to the author and the finisher of our faith.
SPEAKER_01: And we're looking to you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: The anointing that's on you and the anointing that you delivered to us, we take hold of it right now in the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: The same anointing that healed, delivered, set free is upon us right now.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of Jesus, we have that same anointing.
SPEAKER_01: And that anointing sets free, it makes us free, it delivers us.
SPEAKER_01: The captive has been set free, the broken has been healed.
SPEAKER_01: Those who are in bondage are set free.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of Jesus, we're free.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: We thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We are free.
SPEAKER_01: And we work if you look, we work to be able to do it.
SPEAKER_03: Lord, we love you.
SPEAKER_04: We thank you, being thank you for flying in the street.
SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next week.