You have enough within you to face the battle ahead of you.
who drew your blueprint what I think we
see with Elijah in 1 Kings chapter
19 is someone who expected the rain and
not the resistance who expected that
when the drought was over that the
battle would be over as well but then he
found out something that you have to
learn in life is that more blessings
create more battles more blessings
create more battles do you remember when
the church was praying this for the
churchy people God enlarge my territory
yeah that’s more grass to cut and
property taxes to pay it all gets bigger
all of it and so for me I was like what
did you expect
like that’s what happened to John the
Baptist now Jesus was sending a message
to John the Baptist and he was comparing
John the Baptist to Elijah the prophet
one thing they both had in common is
that they had a blueprint of what the
kingdom of God would look like that did
not match the reality of what it looked
like once God started establishing it in
his way so John the Baptist has preached
his way into prison Jesus is moving
forward in the purpose of God John sends
a messenger to ask him are you the one
or should we expect another is this how
it’s going to be is this really what
serving God feels like is this what it
really means to be a Christian is this
how it’s gonna be for the rest of my
life am I gonna have to struggle like
this forever am I gonna have to hurt
like this forever is it really gonna be
this hard look what Jesus said go tell
John
this is Matthew 11 go tell John Matthew
11 the blind see the lame walk lepers
are cleansed the deaf hear the dead are
raised the wretched of the earth will
learn that God is on their side
that’s good right it depends on your
perspective John wasn’t expecting all of
that when he preached he preached the
kingdom of heaven is at hand repent I
woke you up didn’t I you weren’t
expecting that explosive on the mic and
watch what Jesus said because John was
expecting judgment and Jesus came and
brought mercy his blueprint of the
kingdom of God is now he’s separating
the chaff from the wheat that’s on the
winnowing floor and he’s about to burn y’all
up and Jesus said be healed what were
you expecting that’s what Jesus asked
what were you expecting is this what you
were expecting
then count yourself most blessed
disappointments and expectations are
correlated in such a way that if you
expect the wrong thing a lot of the
times that we’re disappointed it’s
because we went in delusional and how
could we not how could we not when we
watch movies all the time that end at
the wedding that end with the kiss and
show us nothing of the conflict how can
a teenager grow up with a healthy view
of sexuality when the blueprint of
sexuality is we tear each others clothes
off the first night and that’s passion
when that’s not passion what that’s
called is hormonal realities that need
to be brought in subjection or you
will find yourself I don’t feel like
preaching on Mother’s Day God they’re
just gonna look at me but I was
talking about disappointment and
for Elijah now there is the
reconciliation between how he thought it
would be and how it was you got to
imagine that for three years while he’s
running in the drought and waiting for
God to give him the word to release the
rain that he’s imagining that when the
rain finally comes the nation will turn
back to God when the rain finally comes
then they will repent when it is
finally proven to be true that you are
God then the nation’s hearts will be
turned back to you remember Elijah’s
goal was never really rain it was
repentance and when the rain came and
the first drop fell with it felt the
hope that maybe now the nation will turn
back to God so when Jezebel who was
running the nation when Jezebel who had
promoted the worship of false gods sent
word to Elijah I’m gonna kill you
I believe his greatest fear was not that
he would die but that nothing would
change
that’s when it gets hard it’s not hard
to sacrifice when you see the
significance of it what’s difficult is
when you gave it all you had and nobody
said thank you
that’s the disappointment it’s when you
raised your children right I did not
raise them to act this way how am i down
here at this school again who taught
them this it wasn’t me
see it’s not the dysfunction because if
I hadn’t raised them right I wouldn’t be
disappointed it’s the fact that I did
everything I could to show them how to
act and here we are Elijah said
it’s enough I’m done I’m out
I can’t you can have it you can have it I
don’t want this responsibility anymore
oh the responsibility that used to feel
like a privilege that’s my second word
responsibility he said I don’t want this
anymore I don’t want this anymore I’m
tired of being unique I’m tired of being
different I’m tired of fighting against
the culture and trying to raise my kids
in a godly way when all it does is make
them hate me I’m sick of this oh I’m
gonna preach to the three real people
not the little angelic Christians who
came in here like seraphim floating
above the trouble I’m talking about the
people that know that the blessing of
God gets heavy sometimes
hey hey hey the parents that never
complain about being parents aren’t
doing it right
they gave up it’s only the one who gave
it all that they had that can really
know how much it costs so I’m just gonna
break this down cuz I’ve never been a
mother so I can’t talk about it like I
want to talk about it but I have been a
preacher and it is a privilege to preach
God’s word don’t clap for that you don’t
need to it’s a privilege it’s a pr- oh
it’s a privilege it’s a great privilege
and I’m sure Elijah felt that way too
you know I can’t find in the whole
scripture of Elijah cuz I’ve been
studying him now for years probably the
Bible character I’ve preached the most
sermons on I can’t find one time that
God gets mad at him and here he is
writing a suicide note when he should be
celebrating and what does God do cuz you
have this idea that if you really told
God and got honest with God about how
things were that he would strike you
down according to this story when
prophets run from God and have the
honesty to open up and say here’s where
I am and here’s how I feel
he puts Krispy Kreme donuts beside
their head now I want you to notice this
up until this point God has provided for
Elijah everywhere that God has sent
Elijah but now Elijah’s going somewhere
that God didn’t send him and he still
provides can we take 23 seconds and
praise God for the provision we did not
earn for the mercy we did not deserve
yeah
that kind of grace that kind of God
Micronesian Island mercy I said it wrong
didn’t I
I don’t care God knows what I’m trying
to say and so do you I’m trying to say
that he collapsed and there at the place
of his fainting in the shade of the
broom tree which he never should have
seen away from his post there he wakes
and finds bread beside him so that he
can continue the journey being a
preacher is a privilege but I’d be lying
to say that there are not times oh man
how much should I tell them Lord if I tell
them too much they won’t respect me
anymore if I don’t tell them enough they
won’t relate with me I don’t know what to
if I preach too hard they’ll think I don’t
love them but I don’t preach hard enough
they won’t have any change in their life
cuz it’ll all just be sugar-coated nonsense
the difference between me and you is you
don’t know what I meant to say when I
get up here you don’t have the blueprint
some people will say that was a great
sermon and meanwhile I’m
telling God to take my life I mean
I don’t want to die but I don’t want to
preach the 11:30 either it’s somewhere between those two not cuz I
don’t love it please don’t hear me oh
it’s so hard to be a pastor it’s so hard
I’m so sorry for you we’ll pray for you Pastor I’m
not saying I don’t appreciate it that’s
what I used to think it used to make me
feel bad because I would feel like the
fact that I didn’t want to do
it anymore was because I didn’t
appreciate the opportunity to do it okay
we’re gonna break down this
wall for a minute where y’all are
looking at me like I’m the only one how
many parents have ever had a fantasy of
just leaving just I mean just out just fix
your own easy mac pop your own pop
tarts
no note no map see y’all ain’t got no kids
that’s why you’re not standing up you
had never been a preacher that’s why you
can’t relate that’s why I make Holly I
usually make her preach on Mother’s Day
she said if you do that to me this year
I’m gonna make you stay home with the
kids for a weekend I said I’ll preach
it costs you to carry something it costs
you to wear a mantle it costs you to
stay and raise those kids it costs you to
stay in the rain
but what happens to you over time it’s
not that you’re not grateful and it’s
not that you’re rebellious that’s not
why you run that’s not why you run the
reason you say I’ve had enough is
because you don’t feel like you are enough
that’s why he ran hey thank you for
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