Stop Wearing Yourself Out

You've 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 that stuff

that's not even yours to fight.

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 piece is your responsibility.

And there comes a point 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? You heard about so and so?

What you think about People ask me this off 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. 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 ten 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 Maybe I should say it this way. He

was shocked, but he wasn't shook. Ooh didn't see this coming.

M and Moab and the Edomites. 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.

Something bigger than you that came up from behind you.

Jehosha FAST's prayer is interesting because he's praying about Ammon

Moab and the Edomites from Mount Sier. 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 call cure 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 you

a little bit today? It's for fifty people that you

are facing something that snuck up from behind. You didn't

see this coming, and it's bigger 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.

Jehasha Fat resolved to seek the Lord, and 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 at 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's snuck up from behind you.

Every day this week, I want you to open your.

Bible to Second Chronicles twenty verse three, and following read

what Jahasaphat prayed and then prayed it because verse five

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's snuck up from behind you in

God's face this week, for a few minutes every day,

and pray this prayer because Johasaphat stood up verse five

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, O, Lord,

God of our fathers, are you not the God who

is in heaven. I love this man because he has

already shifted his focus from what is coming against him

to the one who rings above him, O, Lord, God

of our fathers, Are you not the God who is

in heaven?

You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. 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 sure 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 cried. This is

not the first time you were sort of breath. This

is not the first time you didn't see away 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.

Ylis 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 Emmin no enemy from Moab,

no enemy from Mount Sierra.

Oh eeda ike can take it away.

And when he says it, on one end 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 will cry out to you in 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 Seer whose

territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they

came from Egypt. Oh Jehashaphah said, this is not my fault. Now,

last time, when I hooked up with AaB, 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 biobedience. 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 and 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 Edomites were. They were

the descendants of Esau. And Esau was the son of Isaac.

He wasn't his favorite son, but he was still a 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

fourth grade called Eric Pye. But then Eric Pye made

friends with Harry Walker. Eric Pye couldn't fight, but Harry

Walker could. Harry Walker was seventeen with chest hair in

the fourth grade. Harry Walker, I 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 is a pold message.

This is to know it might be bigger than me,

but it's not bigger than God.

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