It’s ok to feel negative emotions, but don’t let them take up permanent residence in your heart.

and the Lord wanted me to tell you

something about all these ghosts you’ve

been living with about all their skills

you’ve been living with about all this

hopelessness you’ve been living with

about all this offense you’ve been

living with all this sorrow you’ve been

living with all these threats you’ve

been living with telling you you can’t

telling you you won’t telling you you’ll

never telling you you’re not God said

now you know they’re there you’ve got

some forum Psalm 55 verse 1 listen to my

prayer O God do not ignore my plea hear

me and answer me my thoughts trouble me

and I am distraught because of what my

enemy is saying because of the threats

of the wicked for they bring down

suffering on me and assail me in their

anger my heart is in anguish within me

the terrors of death have fallen on me

within on he said they bring down

suffering and it causes anguish within

me and now it has overwhelmed me it’s

come on me everything that’s on you

today is a result of something that you

allowed to get in you we’re gonna deal

with this today he said fear and

trembling have be sent me horror has

overwhelmed me I said I wish I could get

out of here I would fly away and be at

rest

I would flee far away and stay in the

desert I would hurry to my place a

shelter far from the tempest and storm

and it kind of goes on and on like this

for 22 verses I want to jump all the way

down to verse 23 where he declares

definitively but you God will bring down

the wicked

I need the response of people to pipe up

and kind of take over the atmosphere now

but you God will bring down yeah you God

will bring down the wicked into the pit

of decay the bloodthirsty and deceitful

will not live out half their days but

asks for me asks for me if this is the

chorus of your heart point to yourself

say ask for me I trust in you touch 10

people tell him ask for me I trust in

God asks for me asks for me

remain standing remain standing I want

to talk to you cut all the music because

I want to talk to you for the remainder

of our time today about this subject I’m

going to talk about the Haunted Hart

the haunted

hard

[Music]

you may be seated this guy struggling

could you tell by what he was saying

there in Psalm 55 he’s he’s going

through something he doesn’t say exactly

what I’m kind of glad he doesn’t because

if he said exactly what he was going

through you might not think that what

he’s saying pertains to you but the fact

that he didn’t tell us exactly who his

enemies were but he did tell us how they

made him feel lets us know that whatever

enemies we’re facing today it’s okay for

us to tell God how we feel or is it you

know is it is it all right to say things

like this to say my thoughts trouble me

is it okay to start a prayer with God

why aren’t you listening to me where are

you I can’t see you I can’t feel you

trying to believe in you apparently

you’re busy blessing Bobby because I I’m

struggling and hurting my soul my heart

are in anguish within me this guy

probably needed to join an e group

because if he had joined an e group then

somebody could have told him hey man

come on have some faith you know let go

and let God amen sometimes you just

gotta trust his unfailing promise for

his word is better than life the grass

withers the flower fades at the word of

the Lord will stand forever and then he

would have faith in his heart you know

because if you have a heart of faith and

your heart won’t be in anguish you know

if you have a heart of faith you’ll have

joy and stuff like that all these

goodies that Jesus comes to bring like

freshly baked cookies for the Soul

you’ll be filled with saying he could

have had a better attitude and I would

like to tell him that today that you

know cheer up man come on count your

blessings name them one by one and it

will surprise you what the Lord has done

he sent her Tombaugh you know fear and

trembling have beset me horror has

overwhelmed me this guy must not know

God very well you know because the god I

know when he comes into your life he

gives you confidence and strength

this guy this guy needed to come to

Elevation Church we could have told him

we could have told him yeah man we get

happy come on your best is ahead they

could have told him all that and and

this guy is apparently apparently has a

kind of a weak heart of faith because

only a person who doesn’t have strong

faith says things like you know when he

says my heart is in anguish

it literally means he’s I wrote this

down because it is so strong it almost

seems melodramatic it is palpitating

like a woman in labor pains just give

you a second to have that image right

there

deal with that and he’s and he’s in

these blaming his enemies he’s like you

don’t do that either when you know when

God is your fortress when God is your

defense you don’t blame others you take

responsibility this guy needs a heart

transplant

I sauce but could you could you come

here real quick just come come because I

saw this and I should have studied more

before I you see on the psalm 55 where

it tells us that the psalmist for the

director of music with string

instruments and then it tells us who

wrote it what does it say my skill of

David that messes up my whole thesis I’m

a close talk about that messes up my

whole introduction because when God

chose David to be king he said that he

was a man after God’s own you said now

now I just I have seen somebody to

verify because when I was reading that I

thought I was reading about somebody

whose heart was haunted but but David as

we learned two weeks ago had a huge

heart and how I said that humans measure

height but God measures heart and the

reason that God could use David in such

a big way is because he had such a big

heart a man after God’s own heart God

looks at the heart and now we see the

man who was big hearted enough to fight

Goliath in the name of the Lord

expressing an anguish in his heart that

makes him feel like God isn’t even there

touch somebody say your heart is

complicated

if I could see inside your heart like I

wish I could you would leave real quick

if I started calling out the contents of

all the stuff in your heart because

whether you want to admit it or not and

I know you have the Holy Ghost I know

you love God then with all your heart

with all your soul with all your mind

with all your strength I know your heart

is holy but it’s also haunted it’s also

haunted the haunted heart what makes it

perplexing is that the same person who

would write a song like this the Lord is

my shepherd I shall not want

that’s how he opens Psalm 23 even though

I walk through the valley of the shadow

of death I will fear no evil now hold on

that was David one day but it depends on

which day you catch me on what’s going

on inside of me in fact I want to be

brutally honest it depends one hour of

what day you catch me on in fact I want

to back it up and really zoom out and

tell you how it is

it depends one minute what second my

heart got some stuff going on inside I

will fear no evil fear and trembling

have beset me horror has overwhelmed me

same heart same food same God same

promises same calling holy on one hand

and haunted on the other it’s true it’s

true that this stuff happens in our

hearts I just want to pose a question

today and only you can answer and I

don’t want you to answer it out loud

because if you answer it out loud you

won’t say the real thing you’ll say

something that’s similar to the real

thing it might be in the same family of

the real thing but it won’t be specific

enough to get the job done I’m gonna ask

you a question what’s haunting your

heart

in this season late at night first thing

you wake up what haunts your heart is it

something that already happened is it

something that might happen is it

something that you wish would happen

that hasn’t what haunts your heart I

don’t know if you need a little help

prompting to think about this I think

you do I really do I think you need some

help because sometimes we just live in

such a state of denial that we can’t

kind of admit things that we’re going

through sighs need a little help would

you go to the stage please and let’s see

I need a would you go to this stage

please I just need some guys to help me

with this would you mind going to the

stage for me yeah I appreciate it

would you go I appreciate that would you

come that’s five I just need five if

y’all could all come up everybody

pointed to just five and I know there’s

a lot of stuff and I’m hesitant to name

it because sometimes if I label it

you’ll disassociate if you don’t find

the exact label but I just figured you

might need some help locating what’s

haunting your heart because what makes a

heart haunted is what’s hidden we used

to run a haunted house for my youth

group work that out theologically but we

did and it was a fundraiser for the

youth choir trip and so I wouldn’t you’d

best or anything like that just a youth

and and we all had our hiding places you

know if we were running a haunted house

and we met everybody at the door hello I

have a chainsaw I’ll be right around the

first corner will work so what’s hidden

in your heart and just for visualization

listen I mean I know that this is a

little silly and all of that but just

for visualization

I wondered would you each would you each

represent a different thing I move over

here a little bit if you would and just

back up a little bit and just standing

there go stand in line that’s good

that’s good if you were just

I feel put that on if you don’t mind I

got a whole box here see I wonder would

you wear this thank you and I think you

need this guy you know you’ve always

wanted wanted to try it that’s great and

see if you can be him just for just for

about the next 20 minutes that’s all and

this is kind of cute just to round it

out if you don’t mind mammals that would

make me think of you and let’s say that

uh that you each represent a different

component again I know that we could all

name different things different

different perversions that exist in our

hearts and different proclivities that

exist in our hearts and and and

different incidents that happen that are

still happening because we keep

replaying them but I just thought for

the sake of illustration just to help

you answer that question what’s haunting

your heart if the psalmist could get

honest enough if David a man after God’s

own heart could get to a point that was

tough enough and rough enough dark

enough that he would say my heart is

overwhelmed with horror if the king

could get to that point I got to believe

that this house might be haunted to this

house haunted with what haunted with

guilt maybe you could be guilt over what

you did or what you didn’t do I think a

lot of dads and moms deal with guilt

over how they couldn’t be there for

everything you know couldn’t do

everything and it’s tremendous the

weight of guilt that people care you can

be guilt because some people’s hearts

today are haunted by guilt some people

are are haunted by hopelessness did you

hear the psalmist words

the same psalmist who declared put your

hope in the Lord had reached a breaking

point of saying I don’t see any hope

left not in my heart not in my heart I

don’t I don’t have any hope left just a

way of looking at situations that can’t

imagine they would possibly improve is

your heart hopeless or maybe we maybe we

have a heart that is haunted with

offense offense you can be offense that

things that people said to you not the

things that you did to others but the

things they did to you or maybe not the

things you didn’t do for others but the

things that others didn’t do for you the

dad that wasn’t there the mom who wasn’t

kind the friend who wasn’t friendly the

man who didn’t stay it can it can be it

can be a little thing it could be the

way they looked at me the way they

treated me the way they didn’t recognize

me I was haunting your heart let’s see

what you could you should be let me look

at you you look like sorrow

you look like sorrow not really this

mask doesn’t match my illustration –

well why don’t you switch with yeah okay

there we go put that on now you you look

like uh you look like sorrow and I don’t

get it because Jesus is my joy and when

he comes into my heart he brings his joy

now how can a heart that’s full of joy

also still have sorrow and you can be

Hannah what you are you’re the threat he

said

he said he said the threats of the

wicked trouble me

you know sometimes nothing bad even has

to happen in your life it’s just a

threat that it might that keeps you up

at night that doesn’t even have to be a

bullet in the chamber it’s just the fact

of feeling steel to your skull that lets

you know you can be succeeding and

afraid of failure because the higher you

climb the farther you have to fall it’s

the threat they might leave me they

might not like me

they might not accept me the threat the

sorrow the offense and the hopelessness

and the guilt of a haunted heart guilt

gee hopelessness H offense Oh sorrow s

threat T Vesta huh huh that’s the ghost

you’re living with and so the psalmist

thought if he called on God that God

would chase him away that’s what we want

him to do that’s what we expect him to

do because we know he’s capable of that

that’s how I thought it worked honestly

you know give your life to Jesus Christ

he’ll come in and he’ll when he comes in

everything else has to go so I expected

you know dear Jesus my I accept you as

my personal Lord and Savior come in my

heart forgive me and cleanse me of all

my sins and forgive me all

unrighteousness in Jesus name Amen

I thought I said Amen they’d all vacate

the premises

I said Amen and they all stay so I

stopped my foot said it again amen in

Jesus name Amen

in Jesus name Amen jesus name amen amen

still there please don’t sit there

looking like the moment that you prayed

and gave your life to God all this stuff

left your heart

I know that what I’m teaching is a

little bit theologically controversial

because some would teach that if anyone

is in Christ he is a new creation you

get a new heart and that’s true you get

a new heart you get a new capacity to

love but that doesn’t mean that all the

tenants who took up residence are gonna

evacuate immediately not in my case how

about yours in fact the only people who

will argue that theologically the moment

you give your life to God all this stuff

goes away are the people who are really

good at hiding it there’s nobody in this

church that got rid of all their ghosts

there’s just some people who have snuck

them in some corners and put them in

some bathrooms and shut him in some

closets for my class man I’m telling the

truth I even got my ghost clapping I’m

preaching so honestly somebody say it’s

still there it’s still there that’s the

thing that confuses me I thought that if

I worship God I could chase it away boom

fear go boo depression go boo sorrow go

boom guilt go and for a minute it felt

like it did but you’re still here still

reminding me even though that the blood

of Jesus pay for all my sins even though

that he nailed it to the cross even

though I don’t have to bear it anymore

even though my shame was trampled on by

the finished work of Christ and you’re

still here if you don’t believe it’s

still here how can you still remember

what you did when you were seven

how can a man still remember the first

time he saw a pornographic image because

the guilt doesn’t just go away how can

how can somebody who has been forgiven

of all of their sins still be offended

by the sins of others what’s haunting

your heart it’s just a question and I

can’t chase it away come to church

clap my hands and my tie and my heart is

still haunted so if I can’t chase it

away David said maybe I can escape it

put verse 6 on the screen oh that I had

the wings of the Dove I would fly away

and be at rest I can’t chase it away so

maybe I can escape it only problem with

that is I’m trying to escape something

that I’m carrying with me

wherever I go I change relationships but

all these jokers showed up with me in

the next one – I changed jobs I moved to

Charlotte

but all these chokers came to Charlotte

with me and I will run but how can I

outrun what’s happening with it escape

mentality what’s happening in my heart

is so hard for me to deal with that

maybe instead of living from my heart

I’ll just live from my head cuz I don’t

want to deal with what’s really

happening within so I don’t really love

anymore I don’t really laugh anymore I

don’t really live anymore

because to live and to love and to laugh

I have to be at home

in my heart but when the home of my

heart is haunted where can I go if it

were an enemy I could run if it were a

bomb I could step away but what about

when the detonation is within I can’t

chase it hello movie up

hallelujah okay I can’t escape it we’re

gonna go from your presence if I send to

the mountains you’re there if I make my

bed in hell behold you there wherever I

go there I am touch somebody say

wherever you go there you are

and all your crazy dysfunction – can’t

chase it can’t escape it but maybe maybe

I can expect it and expose it can I

preach this please can I preach this the

Lord told me to tell you that fear only

operates effectively by the element of

surprise I say that again fear only

operates effectively by the element of

surprise and this is where I’m smarter

than Holly because when we go to a movie

I have the good sense to discern the

genre of the movie before the viewing

experience begins there are many areas

of life in fact one could argue most

where she is superior in her

intelligence to me and and her skill and

her ability and her goodness as a human

being and her virtue but when it comes

to movies I don’t understand how she can

be in a movie that we knew was about

somebody getting killed and they could

be playing music can you play something

scary Brian just anything scary just

really like terrifying

[Music]

as kind of scariest Church scary but how

can we be in this movie it’s dark

they’re coming around the corner and you

still jump when I’ll get it when we were

dating I kind of liked it cuz it gave me

an opportunity you know what I’m saying

I got you

goodbye little killers baby I slash a

slasher for you I’m not even worried

about this now I’m married and you know

that’s not cute anymore every time being

in a movie just gonna jump fingernails

all my arms and stuff get off me I’m

saying we’ve been married a little while

now God but you can also have some fun

with it I found out you can also have

some fun with it

husbands don’t try this at home

he’s so the other day I’m sorry

I heard him pulling up in the garage and

I decided to give him a little something

and I had the presence of mind to pull

out my phone thank God for video

capability in your pocket amen and I

captured the result I was waiting on him

because my kids always run in so fast

from the garage it’s tearing through how

[ __ ] each other stuff like that I was

waiting on him don’t you see what

happened next I got the video

I was trying to scare the kids that was

I promise I was I mean

99 times out of 100 she’s not the first

one in the door it’s just what happened

this time let’s watch that again just so

we can appreciate it now that you know

what’s coming just maybe one more time

one more time I want you to appreciate

the nuance of the look on her face one

more time just one more time I was

trying to scare the kids I put that on

Instagram with permission as a

demonstration of my amazing abilities

but if you think about that scenario the

only reason it were only reason that

created the response it did is because I

was hidden behind the door had I texted

her when you come up the steps I’m gonna

be behind the door and my objective and

Amos whoever comes through the door next

I’m gonna terrify him within an inch of

their life I’m also gonna video it show

it to 20,000 people at some point in the

future and on television as well to

hundreds of thousands around the globe

her response would have been different

now my action could have been exactly

the same I’m gonna get you to see

something as simple but the reason that

stuff keeps defeating you is because

stuff keeps surprising you

watch this if she had known I was behind

the door she could have had something

ready for me when I jumped out talk to

me she could have had something ready

they could they could have turned it on

me

those were glass milk jugs Elijah was

carrying into the house you know what

they could have done to me had they

known I was behind the door it only

worked because I was hidden and the Lord

wanted me to tell you something about

all these ghosts you’ve been living with

about all this guilt you’ve been living

with about all this hopelessness you’ve

been living with about all this offense

you’ve been living with all this sorrow

you’ve been living with all these

threats you’ve been living with telling

you you can’t telling you you won’t

telling you you’ll never telling you

you’re not God said now you know they’re

there you’ve got some forum oh I got

some for you killed I got some for you

hopelessness I got something for you

touch somebody say I got something for

you but as for me I trust in you how can

you say that David after 22 verses of

the spear see I walked through the house

enough now I know where everything is

hidden so when it jumps out at me I know

exactly what to do with it coz I

expected it and since I expected it I

can expose it

I can’t expose it I can’t chase it I try

to I can’t escape it I wish I had wings

I’d live but since I have to live with

all this stuff I might as well here’s

what it said on 100 house I drove by

this week it said prepare to be scared I

thought that’s a message for the church

prepare to be scared arm yourself put on

the full armor of God so that you can

take your stand against the devil’s

schemes

expect it and expose it think that said

I don’t have wings but remember David in

Psalm 27 you said the Lord is my light

and my salvation didn’t he say that

didn’t he say that so I don’t have wings

to escape it I don’t have the power to

chase it but I got the light to expose

it the Lord is my light and my salvation

I’m not scared of you anymore I see you

there but I see you for what you really

are yeah you don’t look so scary like

this you look so scary now that I got

the light on it oh man up under that

mask God was speaking to you honey

that’s what happens when the mask comes

off everything that you were dealing

with in your heart becomes exposed in

the presence of God and every fear that

held you captive has to release you and

let you go when you get the light on it

come on get the light on it get the

light on offense before I put the light

on you you look like guilt but now you

look like an opportunity for grace it’s

not that the guilt went away it’s just

that now I see my guilt as an

opportunity to receive this grace talk

to me somebody

we’re unmasking things in the presence

of God today you still look hopeless

not you you still look like hopelessness

but I see you now as an opportunity for

greater faith because faith is the

substance of things hoped for and the

evidence of things not seen but I can

see it in the line everybody say light

God wants to shine light in your heart

today search me O God know my heart try

me

waise see if there’s any offensive way

in me put your light on it God show me

what it really is take the mask off of

the fist you’re not my father and every

offense that comes in my life is also an

opportunity for forgiveness now I see

you for what you are

I still feel offended but I don’t have

to be offended just cuz I feel offended

cuz I’ve been forgiven shout somebody

you look like sorrow but I also see that

my greatest sorrow can become my

greatest strength don’t you understand

that what you’re going through right now

it’s making you stronger for where

you’re going you don’t look sorrowful

you look strong in your Dickies plan you

look strong clapping those hands

you look like strength in the light you

don’t even look scary in the mask cuz I

realized that no weapon no threat no

weapon no threat that is formed against

me watch this

you can stay here you can stay here and

talk all you want but you can’t scare me

anymore cuz I realize the threat is

empty I realize that the devil roars

about like a roaring lion seeking whom

he may devour but I found out he doesn’t

have any teeth all he can do is roar

does even if he kills me I get to rain

when crack

[Applause]

yeah yeah yeah yeah but get you fired up

about Jesus today yeah he is my life

yeah he is my salvation whom shall I

fear I am persuaded me the life nor

death no anything else

oh trying to say is you can’t run a

haunted house with the lights on can you

imagine how stupid it would look if they

brought you in the haunted house and

here comes the chainsaw your chainsaw

sounds scary

but I happen to notice in the light you

don’t have a chain what the light of God

does in my heart is it shines to every

darkened place every horrible place and

once I’ve been through this house a few

times you don’t scare me anymore it’s

not that I don’t have fear it’s that

fear doesn’t have me jump up on your

feet if that’s your declaration fear

doesn’t have me not anymore

ass for me I trust in God Thank You

ghost you can leave now you gotta go now

give it up for the ghost as they make

their way off this stage and maybe their

exit off this stage it’s a symbol of

some stuff that’s leaving your heart

today that’s been holding you back

it’s here but it doesn’t have me it’s

here but it doesn’t hold me it’s here

but I see it I expect it I expose it I

expect it I expose it I’m not trying I’m

not trying to get out of here anymore

I’m gonna live in this place I’m gonna

live from my heart because I do have

wings

David had wings he just forgot how to

use them for a minute not the kind of

wings that make you fly away but the

kind of wings that help you get a buff

you got wings touch somebody say you got

wings no wonder you’re tired you know

the scripture says in Isaiah that those

who trust in the Lord will walk and not

grow weary running not faint

they will mount up on wings like eagles

what does that mean

what what what does it mean to mount up

on wings like eagles what what wings was

he speaking of it that it can’t mean

that I get to leave every uncomfortable

every horrible every hard every horror

filled every haunted situation I got to

live in my own heart you know I got to

live with the memories I have I can’t I

can’t get rid of them I got to live with

the disadvantages that were handed to me

so I got to live here but I don’t have

to live here at this altitude I don’t

have to live here on this level

I got wings I got wings I got I got

wings I got one wing called the word

that’s one way I got I had a word from

God and no word from God will ever fit

his word is seated above his name I got

wings

I got wings there’s somebody to remind

them you got wings I got one wing called

the word and I got one wing called

worship

all that I had wings on but you do you

do you just gotta use them you got to

get a word from God you got to get worse

up in your heart you got to start

singing when you get scared

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