Instead of wearing yourself out, choose your battles wisely.
you got to be very careful that you
don’t expend all of your energy fighting
battles that are not yours and then you
don’t have any energy left for the
battles that are yours and now you’ve
gotten so tired leaving comments on
Facebook posts with people that you
don’t know in Idaho that you don’t have
any strength to engage with the people
who live in your own house I’m not
trying to run the white house I’m trying
to run my house and I got my hands full
I got three people in my house who are
dependents yeah I know when you’re
wearing yourself out swinging it’s stuff
that’s not even yours to fight yeah I’m
bad about this though I sometimes it’s
as if I don’t have enough drama for my
own self so I start trying to control
other people you know how you can tell
if you’re fighting the wrong battles if
you are trying to control others you’re
fighting the wrong battle you can’t
control others past a certain point you
can only manipulate short-term
behavioral results but you can’t change
somebody’s heart that’s why even the New
Testament says as much as it is possible
with you live at peace with all men
there comes a point where the Peace of
another person is not your
responsibility your peace is your
responsibility and there comes a point
where where you have to say that’s not
my battle
that’s not my battle I’ve done all I can
do but that’s not my battle
in fact let me give you a great little
line to use the next time somebody tries
to draw you into some gossip or draw you
into some drama okay and they’ll usually
say what do you think about so-and-so we
heard about so-and-so what do you think
about people ask me this all time about
another ministry what do you think about
so-and-so and I learned this from an
older Minister they taught me what to
say
what do you think about and here’s what
you say back I don’t
[Applause]
it’ll work for a variety of situations
it can work for a situation that you’re
ignorant about and you only read
headlines so you really don’t have
anything to say because we can’t trust
the information that we’re given it can
work about Donald Trump it can work
about Kanye West it can work about
somebody else that drops their kid off
at school next to you and they’re having
trouble in their marriage what do you
think about so-and-so I don’t my heart
is a full-time drama Factory I do not
need to borrow drama from anybody else’s
personal life I got my own drama BYOD
bring your own drama
I got enough you brought your own drama
to church without judging somebody else
from what you think about them from 10
seconds of their life compared to the
entirety of it I don’t have time for it
and Jehoshaphat didn’t run around
looking at what other people were doing
he went to seek the Lord he went to
inquire of the Lord and this is not just
some glib prayer or this is not just
getting some feeling and going with it
and calling it God and this isn’t just
slapping a scripture verse on something
that you wanted to do anyway so that you
can blame it on God when it doesn’t work
out this is really seeking the Lord in
fact the Bible says that he was shaken
but he wasn’t he wasn’t maybe I should
say it this way he was shocked but he
wasn’t shook
well didn’t see this coming
Ammon Moab and the that’s three
of them I could fight one but there’s
three of them it’s bigger than me and
it’s coming up from behind me you got
something bigger than you that came up
from behind you jehosophat spur is
interesting because he’s praying about
Ammon Moab and the from Mount
Seir but we got three different enemies
we got the world the flesh and the devil
that’s from first John that’s your enemy
the world the flesh and the devil
that’s the values that oppose your
purpose the world the flesh that’s the
patterns that oppose your purpose and
the devil that is the Principality that
opposes your purpose and I could fight
one but how do I fight the devil when
I’m fighting my own flesh how do I fight
the world when actually there’s a part
of me that wants to do it like the world
I could fight one but I can’t fight them
all and they’re bigger than me and it’s
coming up from behind how do I raise
kids in a culture where the information
of the history of the universe is in
their pocket how do I have a sex talk
with kids when they don’t have to go to
a gas station to see pornography they
can do it right beside their Bible app
the nature of the battle determines the
nature of the strategy when you don’t
understand the nature of the battle you
will not understand the nuance of the
strategy so you will fight the battle
not understanding the dynamics of the
battle and you will lose the battle
because you will wrestle on the wrong
level can I preach a little bit today
it’s for 50 people that you are facing
something that snuck up from behind you
didn’t see this coming and it’s
than you I don’t know which one to fight
next when you understand the nature of
the battle you can understand the nature
of the strategy and that’s why I got to
ask God Jehoshaphat resolved to seek the
Lord that means he involved the priests
the Levites and they got together and he
got surrounded by the right people he’s
not going to Ahab this time he’s not
asking all his friends what they think
about it this time he’s not looking for
celebrity culture to influence his
decisions this time he’s going to the
right place but he doesn’t have a plan
and I want you to see his prayer because
it’ll help you if you’re facing a battle
that is bigger than you and it snuck up
from behind you every day this week I
want you to open your Bible to second
chronicles 20 verse 3 and following read
what Jehoshaphat prayed and then pray it
because verse 5 says out loud I want you
to pray this every day this week if
you’re fighting a battle that is bigger
than you and it snuck up from behind you
get in God’s face this week for a few
minutes every day and pray this prayer
because Jehoshaphat stood up verse 5 in
the Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at
the temple of the Lord in the front of
the new courtyard this is Solomon’s
Temple this is the one they dedicated to
God this is the one where God promised
to pour out his presence for any problem
you face and he starts reminding God of
what God said Oh Lord God of our fathers
are you not the God who was in heaven
I love this man because he has already
shifted his focus from what is coming
against him to the one who reigns above
him Oh Lord of God of our fathers are
you not the God who is in heaven you
rule over all the kingdoms of the
nation’s power and might are in your
hand and no one can withstand you O our
God did you not drive out the
inhabitants of this land before your
people Israel remind God of what he’s
already done when you’re not
what he’s doing right now not so he can
remember but so you can come on you need
to remember this is not your first rodeo
cowboy this is not the first time you
cry this is not the first time you were
sort of breath this is not the first
time you didn’t see a way clear this is
not the first time you were hurt this is
not the first time your heart was broken
this is not the first time you didn’t
have enough money this is not the first
diagnosis that came up from behind
Phylis presence did you not do it before
your people Israel and give it forever
to the descendants of Abraham your
friend watch this he said you gave it
forever and since you gave it forever
it can’t stop now since you promised to
fulfill your purpose no enemy from Emin
no enemy from Moab no enemy from Mount
Sierra no Edom I can take it away and
when he says it on one hand he’s
praising God but it almost sounds like
he’s blaming God notice the tone it
shifts in verse eight they have lived in
it and have built in it a sanctuary for
your name saying if calamity comes upon
us whether the sword or judgment or
plague or famine we will stand in your
presence before this temple that bears
your name and we’ll cry out to you and
our distress and you will hear us and
save us but now God
Great God respectfully King sir the
righteous one but now here are men from
Ammon Moab and Mount Seir whose
territory you would not allow Israel to
invade when they came from Egypt uh-oh
Jehoshaphat said this is not my fault
now last time when I hooked up with a AB
that’s on me but this one somebody shot
this one
this one we’re doing the best we can
this one we’re praying in the temple
this one we were acting according to the
wisdom that we had for the situation we
were in this one nobody really knew how
to do it this one
we couldn’t have prevented by obedience
this one is different this one is
different and you’re going through
something right now that’s a little
different sure you’ve got sin and you’ve
got things you need to repent of and I
do too
and if you dare look at me with an
angelic face when I say that I promise I
will prophesy God will show me something
about your life that you do not want on
these IMAX screens I’ll do it but this
one this battle this this coalition is
three enemies they joined up to fight me
and the whole reason they’re even here
is because when Moses led the people out
of Egypt you told him that he couldn’t
drive him out because they were the
relatives of Esau that’s who the
were they were the descendants
of Esau and Esau was the son of Isaac he
wasn’t his favorite son but he was still
his son he gave away his birthright but
he was still a son and Isaac was the son
of Abraham and Abraham was God’s friend
and so God did not let the Israelites
drive out somebody that belonged to his
friend when you’ve got a friend who
knows how to fight it will make you
confident when you’ve got a friend who
knows how to fight I remember this kid
we used to pick on in 4th grade called
Erik pie but then Erik Phi Erik PI made
friends with Harry Walker Erik PI
couldn’t fight but Harry Walker could
Harry Walker was 17 with chest hair in
the fourth grade Harry Walker had a
prison record in the fourth grade Harry
Walker said you pick on him you pick on
me now look at somebody confidence say
you fight me you gotta fight my friend
this Apple message this is to know it
might be bigger than me but it’s not
bigger than God hey thank you for
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watching