The Whisper That Shatters Our Hopelessness Part 2
Pastor Erickson preaches from 1 Kings 19, where Elijah runs from a single threat after his victory on Mount Carmel and then hears God in a still small voice, showing how the enemy works on our minds with whispers of hopelessness. He calls people to listen for the voice of God, which is bigger than the lies of the enemy, and to hold on to their hope and their joy.
The message in 6 points
The enemy is after your mind
Like a lion looking for something to devour, the devil is not after our things but our minds. If he can control the way we think, he can control the way we act and our destiny, so we must stay sober and vigilant and push wrong thoughts out through worship.
0:02The heaviness after a victory
A heavy feeling often comes right after a great service or a great victory, and he says Monday mornings are some of the hardest for a preacher. The enemy cannot stand a move of God and tries to hit us with his best shot when we are spent.
5:46Elijah runs from one little voice
After defeating the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Elijah ran from a single message from Jezebel. It does not take a great trial to bring us down; one little voice in the mind can leave us alone in a cave ready to give up.
8:28God was in the still small voice
God asks Elijah what he is doing in the cave, then passes by in wind, earthquake and fire, but he is not in any of them; he comes in a still small voice. Pastor Erickson says God is asking some today why they are living so far below his plan for them.
13:12His voice is bigger
He shares a hard season his own family walked through and songs his wife wrote from it. God's voice, even when it is a whisper, is bigger than the lies of the enemy, and just as Elijah's ministry was not over, God holds our future in his hands.
17:56Do not lose your joy
The devil may take our happiness for a time, but we must never lose our joy or our hope. He closes with God's promise of perfect peace to a mind stayed on him and the words of Jesus, ask and receive, that your joy may be full.
26:06
In his words
“You might think you're some kind of superhero in God, but all it takes is just one little voice to get into your mind and start working with your brain.”
“Even with a still small voice, God's voice is still bigger than the lies of the devil, the lies of the adversary that come in and rattle around in our head.”
“Times may not go right for you and you might be hearing whispers and voices in your mind and in your brain, but don't ever lose your joy. Don't ever lose your hope.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added.
Scripture
He reads
1 Kings 19:9-12
9And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
King James Version.
Isaiah 26:3
3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
King James Version.
John 16:24
24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
King James Version.
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