Death By Echo (Run It Back) | Steven Furtick | Elevation Church

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 our eFam feel  welcome today in all of our campuses? Come on,   every Elevation Church physical location.  If there's not a physical location near you,   there's a chance 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. Are  you excited about it? Excited to get out and   sing with the people? Get 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 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 ChatGPT 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 9-October 18. 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. 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. I want   to share it with you today as a personal word.  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. 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 1 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 1: "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 broom bush, sat down under it and  prayed that he might die. 'I have 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 and said,   'Get up and eat.'" 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, tacos, and burritos." I want him to cancel out the calories, too,  because he's God. He can do anything. Wouldn't   it 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  Breyers 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.

Hasn't there been seasons in your life where you  knew you were doing the wrong thing? I'll come   over to this side. Haven't there been seasons…?  This side is 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? Yeah. 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 was by his head some   bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water.  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 forty days and forty 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, 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, '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…"  God sent a wind to get Eliah 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. 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, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'

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 Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel,  and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah   to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to  death any who escape the sword of Hazael,   and Elisha will put to death any who escape the  sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in   Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to  Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.'" Last verse. "So Elijah went from there  and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was   plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and  he himself was driving the twelfth pair.   Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around  him." Thus a new beginning. This 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 the Enemy wants  to steal, kill, and destroy in your life.

I want to talk to you about 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 I just read to 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 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. I'll preach. You know,   you pour your heart out, you preach, and they go,  "Hey, so how did you feel about that?" 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 of the  house, and then you came back home, and your wife   saw you for the first time, and she was 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. How do 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. Besides  it being an awkward question to answer,   it's 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. You   are always going to feel that way when you're  speaking for God…unless you're a narcissist.

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   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 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 cause   you to doubt everything down to  the core of your faith in Christ.   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?" 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. To me, that was not the cherry on top of  the sundae; that was the sundae. That was   the ice cream. That was the dish. That  was the whole thing I wanted you to hear,   but somehow I forgot to say it. So, I went  home, and Holly was in tears. She was like,   "That was amazing. That really touched me." I  was like, "No, it was terrible." She's like,   "What do you mean it was terrible?  It touched me." How was it touching   to her and terrible to me? Because I'm  replaying the part I didn't say in my mind.

The part 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 were trying to pick up a girl.  I don't know if you were trying to do a business   deal. I don't know if you were just introducing  yourself to someone. Then you walk away and   you're like, "Why did I say that?" Then you  get the chance to see them again and apologize,   and you've worked up your entire apology speech  for what you said. You go to say, "I'm sorry   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 one Christmas,  I was taking out the trash,   and it had all these packing peanuts in it.  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. Graham was sitting in the car,   and I was dragging out the trash, but I forgot  temporarily that Graham was sitting in the car. I also forgot temporarily that I was  saved, and I forgot temporarily that   there are certain words 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. It's   all flying around the yard. I just preached  Christmas, and it's Jesus' birthday. It has   just finished, and here I am cussing at  inanimate objects all around the yard. I got in the car, and my biggest thought was,  "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. My  dad preached, and he took out the trash,   and my daddy is trash. 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." Here I am  tormented about something he didn't even hear. Did you know 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. 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. 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. No sooner does the rain come than the  news of his victory reaches the ears of Ahab.

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." 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 Baal slaughtered and   the 400 prophets of Asherah slaughtered on  the mountain and said, "If the Lord is God,   follow him. How long will you 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, and sent his servant to check seven times. He 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 stops you.'"   And Elijah outran Ahab all the way back down  the mountain. No sooner can he get down the   mountain and the rain release 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, no sooner can he  

move forward into the next assignment God has  until he receives a threat from Jezebel. We   know 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.  If 850 false prophets didn't stop him,   what is one person going to do? What  gods? Somebody say, "What gods?" "Where, O death, is now thy sting? Where, O grave,  is your victory?" Death has been swallowed up in   victory. What gods? 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 also empty. You're also tired.

Any new parents in the 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?   Hope so. Too late now. No refunds.  No instruction manual either,   and no sleep schedule. So, you say,  "I'm thankful, but 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 'anxited.'" I made that up   myself. "I'm anxited." You ever felt anxited  about something? So, I made up a new word to   describe how you feel when God uses you.  It goes like this: "I'm 'thanksausted.'" Use that this week. "How are 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. I'm kind of grumpy because   I haven't gotten quite as much sleep  as I used to get. I'm thanksausted."

"I came up on this mountain, and God did a  great work, but I came back down. 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. 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 do 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 'amazy.' It's amazing and it's crazy. What's  crazy is I brought my crazy into the marriage,   and their crazy was already filling up every  room in the house. 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 somebody else,   'What do you want to watch?' Now  I've got to orient my schedule."

You can smile, and you can say you're blessed.  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 "blessure." "I've got a lot of blessure in my life  right now. Come on, bear with me. Be   patient with me. I got blessure in my… I'm  not asking God to take the responsibilities   away. It's not that I'm not thankful. I'm  just exhausted. I'm thanksausted. 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." He makes a statement. Now, get ready for this,   because this is where I want to teach  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… I'm going to show you  this. James 5:17, a summary of Elijah's faith.   It 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 Tishbe in Gilead  walked in and said, "No rain till I say so." 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." 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  4, chapter 19, where he came to a broom bush,   sat down under it, and prayed that he might  die. James doesn't put that part in, because   it didn't fit that particular illustration,  but let's talk about the prayers 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." Now, 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 the thing 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 to   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 he would die. That is not really a prayer. 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 you knew  how to do. 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 (the pain in  your body). Every situation (something you   can't talk about). "…every situation, by  prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,   present your requests 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. When you   are empty, you have to get intentional, because  if you don't fill that space, the Enemy will. Look   at what he said in the text. He said (verse  6), "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  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." Philippians 4:6 says, "In every situation,  by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,   present your requests to God." 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 I have to step  into your situation, until you come   out of listing the reasons 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. He runs to a   place called the cave. Not just any  cave. This is the same cave (Horeb,   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 Elijah went to was a  40-day journey away, like 90 miles away, from the   place God had called him to. Remember, God sent  the rain, and he ran. So, God answered the thing   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 God sent you.

So now you find yourself pushing away  relationships you asked 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. "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?" 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.

I've 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 Baal 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. Now all you   can see is what's against you. Now all  you can see is what you're up under. Now all you can see is what you lost. Now  all you can see is what you fear. Now all   you can see is what you don't want. Now  all you can see is "What if it doesn't   happen?" Now all you can see is all of the  people who let you down. With every step,   remember, he's replaying it. He's  replaying it. He's replaying it.

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, did you hear that?")   and then stepped aside… Because God has  got something for Jezebel. Because God   hasn't moved from his throne. Is my mic  on? I said, God has got something for   diabetes. God has got something for  this cancer. God has got something. If you've just got to replay  something, replay the ravens.   Remember, Elijah was by the brook  called Cherith in the Cherith ravine,   and there was no food and no water in the land,  but God sent ravens to feed his revivalist in a   time of famine. So, if you're going to  replay 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 compassions fail not. They're  new every morning. 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. Elijah was   staying at a woman's house, and her little  boy died. 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've just got to replay something, replay  the resurrection and remember that nothing is dead   till God is done with it. Nothing is over till God  says so. Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. I   mean, if you've just got to run it back, run back  the time he fed you. Run back the time he led   you. Run back the time that he did come through.  Run back the ones who put their arm around you.

High-five seven people and say, "Run it back."  Run it back. Run it back. Run it back right.   Run it back right. Run it back right.  You've been replaying the wrong things,   haven't you? You've been replaying stuff the  Devil can't even bring up against you because   it's nailed to the cross. "My sin, oh, the  bliss…" I've got to stop. Let me illustrate. Run it back. 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 fails. I know a God who cannot   lie. I got him." I'm changing my title. When  you put it on YouTube, call it Run It Back.   Run it back. Run it back. Run it back. Run it  back. He's been good to you. Run it back. He's   more than enough. Run it back. Jehovah-Jireh  always provides. Run it back. You're not alone.

We've 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   went into a cave. I'm going to go to the cave  metaphorically now just as an illustration. 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?" It's because it's a cave. It's a cave. 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. I want the Holy  Spirit to help me right now, because he has a   conversation with God in that cave. Verse 9 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 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 this. 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 overdramatizing it, there's something I  want to show you. It says 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? Do 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. Do 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 asked 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 ashamed,   and the shame leads to the same  behavior? What are you doing in   this cave when 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. "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.'" Then the Lord does a little display. I know  I've 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, 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 is doing it different this time,  because the Lord doesn't speak in any of that.

He speaks in (verse 12) 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 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   run away from community and run away from the  right things and 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? You think, "I'm crazy."  You're not crazy; you're just in a cave,   and the cave is making you feel crazy.  And now you're starting to think crazy,   and you're starting to act crazy, because you've  been in this cave, because you stopped praying. But God came, and when God came, he thought  it was going to be big and spectacular,   but really it was intimate and special.  Yet, the Bible says when the voice asked   him the second time, "What are you doing  here, Elijah?" he replied. He replied   according to what he replayed. Listen to 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. 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 than 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…(I…I…I…)" Do you see that? Because when you're in a cave, the sound  bounces around. See? So, he starts off   his speech. He says, "I…(I…I…I…I…)" 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,   I was filling the cave. See, I was filling the  room, and now I can't 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. 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 winepress 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. 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!

He didn't pray, but God came, and because  God came, he didn't stay. Somebody shout,   "I'm coming out of this cave!" I'm coming  out of this cave. I'm coming out of this   misery. I'm coming out of this straitjacket.  I'm coming out of this vault. I'm coming   out of this depression. I'm coming out of  this cycle. I'm coming out of this curse. 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 have brought me this far,   God, and you, you, you are able to  keep me from falling, and you, 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, they  say. I'm coming out of this cave. I'm coming   out of this cave. God has 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 that was loaned to somebody by a man named   Joseph of Arimathea, and they laid him in the  cave for three days. 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. I came to announce, "This cave  is not my grave." No, no, no! I'm coming out.   I'm coming out with my hands up. I'm coming  out with my heart broken, but I'm coming out,   because God came. Because God came. If you  stay in "I…I…I" it's going to die, die, die.

But it won't be death by Jezebel;  it will be death by echo (echo,   echo), 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 (echo, 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. 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. It's too   much pressure, man. I'm blessed. Don't get me  wrong. I'm thankful. I appreciate everything   God has done for me. 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. This is your day.  God has heard you in the cave (cave,   cave). He has 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 eliminate the fear.

He knows how you can't get rid of the things. He  knows you are still trapped in the trauma of what   happened to you, so he came (came, came), and he  said, "Let's go," because Elisha, 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 God wants to enable you to live. When they say, "How do you feel about it?" you  can say, "It's complicated. It's complicated,   because I've got one voice telling me, 'Die  (die, die),' but I heard a whisper that said,   'Live (live, live),' and I'm  choosing to live by the whisper." Would you stand to your feet? Would you stand  all over this room right now? 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 (cave,  cave). I (I, I)…they (they, they)…but he (he,   he)… Do you hear that whisper? That's him. Do you  feel that heart beating in your chest? That's him.

He's not done with you yet. He can't be.  Jezebel can't kill you. Jezebel can't.   The grave couldn't hold him. What can  hold you here? If it has 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. 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 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 of the cave. That's why.

That's why you woke me up at 3:00 a.m. to come  and get them out of the cave. I believe it,   God. I believe somebody is coming out  today. Somebody is coming out today.   Somebody is coming out of something  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 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 stopped  praising, but praise him right now. When   I say, "Halle…" you say "…lujah." Halle!  Somebody say, "Hallelujah." Hallelujah   to the man on the middle cross, the one  who didn't owe the debt but paid it off,   the one who rolled away the stone, the one  who came out of the cave on the third day.

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 whole. I'm coming  out blessed. I'm coming out! I'm coming   out! I'm coming out with a praise! With  a praise! Fill the place with praise! Hey, thank you for watching the Elevation  Church YouTube. [music] I want you to   subscribe. That way you can know when we  go live and post new content. Make sure   to leave me [music] a comment. Let me know what  spoke to you today, where you're watching from,   and what we can pray for you about. And if you'd  [music] like to support the ministry financially,   you can click the give button now  and help us continue reaching people   around the world for Jesus Christ.  Thanks again. I'll see you next time.