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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