Jentezen Franklin - Victory Has A Voice - Part 1
If you have your Bibles, open them with me to the book of 1 Kings 20. And we're gonna read a story in the Old Testament that the Lord laid my heart this week and I want you to let it speak to you. Look in 1 Kings 20. It starts bad, but it ends good. "Now Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and made war against it. When he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, 'Thus says Ben-Hadad.'"
I wanna mention that he was named after his father. His father's name was Hadad and it means the king of whirlwinds. His father was such a brutal man and now the son, which, notice the terminology of the words, it talks about, "I'm gonna make you like dust". He's saying, "I am the reincarnation of my father and I'm coming to destroy like a whirlwind". Verse 3, listen to the enemy. "'Your silver and your gold are mine, your loveliest wives and children are mine.' The king of Israel answered and said, 'O my lord, O king, just as you say,'" no resistance, no opposition. You want my family, you want my marriage, you want my business, you want my finances?
Just as you say. "'And all that I have is yours.'" Verse 5, "Then the messenger came back," because the devil never stops. Once you let him in, he takes more and he takes more. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy. He never stops. If you let him in, he keeps taking. If you don't learn how to resist the enemy, he will never flee. He'll keep coming. "And the messenger came back and said, 'Thus says Ben-Hadad, saying, 'Indeed I have sent you, saying, 'You shall deliver to me your silver, your gold, your wives and your children' but I send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house," coming in your house, "And the houses of your servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes..."
Anything that brings you pleasure, anything that brings you joy, anything that makes you just be glad to be alive or it means something, it's really precious to you and pleasant when you think about it, I'm taking it. "'Whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hands and take it.' So, the king of Israel called the elders of the land, he said, 'Notice, please, how these men seek trouble, and they've sent me... And sent for my wives, and children, silver and gold; and I did not deny him.' And the elders and all the people said to him," it's bad when the people have to tell the leader how to lead.
"'Do not listen or consent.' Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, 'Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent your servant I was willing to do, but this thing I cannot do.' And the messengers departed and he came back," and that's when he says in verse 10, "I'll make you like, I'll come like a whirlwind, won't nothing be left but dust". Verse 11, finally, the narrative changes. The narrative changes. "So the king of Israel," after saying, "Yes, yes, yes you can have it, you can have it". "Tell him, 'Let not the one who puts his armor on boast like he who takes it off.'" Verse 13, "Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, and God said, 'I'll deliver the enemy into your hand".
I wanna talk to you for a few minutes about this story because I believe it's a powerful lesson. You hear a lot in the media today about controlling the narrative. You hear it in politics, you hear it in sports, you hear it even in controversies and crisis. Whoever controls the narrative, controls the outcome. That's the thought. That's what people believe. If you keep saying it, doesn't matter what the truth is, just control the narrative, and you will control the outcome. And in this story, it's like Ben-Hadad, this evil Syrian king and his army links up with 32 other kings because he had tried to conquer Israel before. You read it again and again, and yet again it says and yet again, they came against Israel, and he couldn't defeat them.
But this time was different because he hired 32 different nations, their kings, and their armies against one group of farmers, the Israelites. And it was because Ben-Hadad knew the power of their God and he thought, "This time because I've got 32 kings and their armies plus my own army, they do not have a chance. Their back is against the wall, I'm going to destroy them". The reason you face great resistance is because the devil knows who you are. The enemy knows who you are. I believe that the devil's afraid of this church. I believe he knows, I believe demons know that we're here today. I believe that he's afraid because we're anointed to pray, we're anointed to preach, we're anointed to sing, we're anointed to lift Jesus up, we're anointed to lay hands on people, we're anointed today to set captives free.
We're anointed today, to change the narrative in somebody's life who's accepted addiction and bondage for the rest of your life. That's what the enemy tells you, and as long as you keep letting him come and take and take and take, he'll take your family, He'll take your life, he'll take your aspirations, your dreams, your money, your resources, he will take it all. And then, He'll come after that which is pleasurable and seems good to you, and things that you enjoy to where you're suicidal and you see no reason to keep hoping and keep believing. That's what the enemy wants to do. Ahab had his back against the wall so much so that for the nation of Israel, he was surrendering, he was in the process of negotiating a surrender. And everything the enemy would say is, "I don't surrender. I don't coexist with you. If you let me in your life, I come to destroy your life. Don't ever think I'm here to be your buddy".
That's what Ben-Hadad, "Don't ever think we're just gonna get along. I'm coming. I'm taking your children, I'm taking your grandchildren, I'm taking your wife, I'm after your husband. You think he's cute, I'm after him. I wanna mess him up, I wanna mess your family up, I wanna mess your life up, I wanna mess your body up. I wanna mess you up. I am not here to play games with you". You gotta see Satan in this story, right? And his narrative for your life is disaster and kill, steal, and destroy according to John 10:10. That's all he's after. It may be pleasure for a moment, but ultimately, he comes to kill, steal, and destroy. That's hell's agenda. The devil keeps pushing for more, and more.
"I want every precious thing in your sight. Whatever's precious to you, I want it. Everything you like". And there's that moment when the elders spoke to Ahab with such authority that they said, "Don't consent". What do you mean you, "He kept taking and you haven't stood up". And there comes that moment when the whole narrative of the story changes because if you change the narrative, you change the outcome. So many of us just sit back and let the enemy attack, and we think we are helpless, and that's just how it goes, and we don't have any say so. But I've come today, to preach about when victory begins to discover that it has a voice. Don't let the enemy do all the trash talking. Don't let the enemy do all the threats and the fear mongering among your life. Don't let the world and other people's opinion even control the narrative of your life.
One hundred and sixteen times Jesus said, "But I say unto you". He knew when He came into the world, the devil in the garden of Eden had captured the narrative and he was in control and he said, "Death," he said, "Steal," he said, "Kill," and man just had to go along. But Jesus said, "I am here now, and the word has become flesh and I'm dwelling among you". And the enemy says you're defeated and you don't have a hope and you don't have a future, but I say unto you, I say He's not gonna kill, steal, and destroy everything pleasant in your life. "I have come to give you life and give it more abundantly".
Victory has a voice. You have to talk the victory. You have to get to that moment, and I love it because there came that moment when something snapped in him. Something said, "I have surrendered and gave up all that I'm going to give up. I'm taking everything you've got," Ben-Hadad said, and he said, "I was, when I started this conversation, okay". And some of you have your back against the wall. The enemy is coming right now like a flood, like a whirlwind, and he's promising to reduce you down to ashes and nothing but dust. And I love the power of an anointed service because you're watching me on television and the enemy said, "I want your gold and your silver, and your business is under attack". And he's coming, he said, "I want your children and your children are under attack, and your marriage is...I want your wife, I want your husband".
It's all hitting on every front. And then, he's going through saying, "I'm gon' take the pleasure and the joy out of life, I'm gonna make you so miserable, so mean that you can't even enjoy, you don't have peace. I want you sucking your teeth. I want you negative. I want you walking around just hating life, and bitter, and angry, and mad, and upset. Everything pleasant I'm coming after". And that might be how you walked in here, but you came to the wrong service and you're watching the wrong program. Because the prophet showed up with a word from the Lord in the text that I read, and that word is still alive in this year, in this day, in this hour, and in our lives and our families.
You know, he said basically I like what Ahab, something hit him. Something came all over him. You know, there's two kinds of fighters. There's, like, people who train and they do MMA, and judo, and karate, and they are ready. I mean, they are planned. They've been waiting on this day their whole life. They go into kung fu mode and they're ready to go. And then, there's those people who they don't work out much, but if you don't watch it, sometimes you can catch 'em on the wrong day. I'm one of those people. I will run any day. I can run. I'm a runner. I'll outrun you. I don't wanna fight you. But there are days, I don't even wanna tell the story that keeps coming to my mind.
But when my little boy, Drake, was about that big and he was playing football and there was a man out on the field that was on the other team, and he grabbed my son and jerked him and shook him like that by his shoulder pads, and he wasn't his coach. He's just shaking him. Something came over me. I jumped over the fence. It was like slow motion. I was running through the field, "Get your hands off my boy"! And thank God one of our members happened to be out there and he ran across and grabbed me and said, "Hold on, Pastor". And I snapped back to who I am. We were gon' fight. It was going down right there on that field. And that's how we ought to feel when the enemy says, "I'm gonna destroy your children and your family".
Because this battle is not ours, we're fighting with God backing up. The cross has won the battle. The blood has won the battle. "It is not by might or power, it's by my spirit," sayeth the Lord of hosts. I need somebody to give God a praise if you believe. I do not intend to let hell control the narrative. Well, you got cancer, so now you got a decision. Are you gonna let hell control the narrative? Because hell is gonna tell you what to say. "Just give up. Just know that you're gonna die. Just know there's no hope, and people die". And so, "God doesn't heal anymore, and you know so many people who died, so just give up". Or you can say, "Devil, you cannot threaten me with Heaven". Are you crazy? "What if you die"?
What If I do? It's called a shortcut to Heaven. Nothing can separate me from the love of God. And so, I will, until my last breath, say things like, "By His stripes I'm healed". And when people ask me to pray for 'em, I don't care what condition they're in. If I'm coming, I'm gonna lay my hands and say, "Lord, I commit 'em to you, but I'm praying that you'll heal 'em. Either heal 'em in this room or take 'em to Heaven and heal 'em, but no more suffering". And I'm gon' tell you what, God is still a healer by His stripes. You better learn. You better learn not to let the enemy just keep coming and attacking your mind, your body, your family, and you have no resistance. You control the narrative.
The Bible said in Proverbs 18, "Life and death are in the power of your tongue, and you eat the fruit thereof". Somebody's in the storm of your life, you're ready to throw up your hands and quit, you're already negotiating the surrender. But the Lord has sent me today to tell you, victory has a voice. And it wasn't until that king began to use his voice to proclaim victory that the battle started turning. These stories were written for our learning, the Bible said. We're supposed to react like God shows us in the scripture. And victory doesn't come until we understand that victory has a voice. You should say things like what the Bible says. If you're barely hanging on and you're in a bad place, there's a scripture in the Bible that says, "Now thanks be unto God who always gives us the victory in every place".
There's nowhere I'd go... What does that mean? Does that me I won't go through stuff? Does that mean I'm not suffering? Does that mean I won't ever go through pain? I won't ever go through attacks? I won't go through loss? I won't go through any negative stuff? No. Listen to what He said. "Now thanks be unto God who always gives us the victory in every place". What does that mean? That means it doesn't matter where I find myself, it doesn't matter what happens to me and my family, God still has promised victory, and we are to put a voice to that victory. The cross has won, the blood has won, the name of Jesus has won, and here's what the Bible said that I carry with me. Jesus is with me. No matter what I go through, that's what He promises. No matter how much I'm broken and crying, He's with me. Therefore, He cannot be defeated, and I am His child.
Take a praise break right now. When victory starts talking. Devil, you wanna fight? You might beat me, but you're gonna know you were in a fight. I'm gonna swing, I'm gonna hit, I'm gonna scratch like a girl, I'm gonna poke you in the eye, I'm gonna pull your hair, I'm gonna spit, I'm gonna kick you in places you don't want me to kick you. I'll fight any way I have to fight, but you're not getting my family, you're not getting my finances, you're not getting my joy and my pleasure in life, for in His presence there's fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. Turn to somebody and say, "The sorrowful, crying days will not last forever". Pleasure needs to come back. "Well, I'm single and looking". Pleasure. Change that. Change the narrative. "I'm single and looking for Jesus to come. And if He decides to give me a mate, great. If He doesn't, I'm happy just like I am. Go anywhere I wanna go, do anything I wanna do".
The most miserable people I know are not people who are single. Let's just tell the truth. Now, I just wanna say somebody needs to give victory a voice. Not when you get a ring, not when you get the job, or not when you get the house, what about right here, right now in every place? Pleasure. Enjoy the goodness of God. You could be hooked up to a ventilator. You could be getting chemotherapy, but here you sit and you're letting worry torment you. Control the narrative and you control the outcome. Let victory start speaking through your mouth. Let joy start speaking through your mouth. Let peace start speaking through your mouth. Let purpose start coming through your mouth. Let faith start coming.
Talk faith, talk victory, talk good success, talk blessed. I tell you, I feel like saying it like it wrote it. I walk in favor, hallelujah, I walk in wisdom. I walk in blessing. I know the enemy's got weapons pointed at me, but no weapon formed shall prosper. I'll just control that narrative. I refused to preach until the dead heads shout too. Everybody that's got breath give God some praise. Oh, I feel this thing. It's more than a preacher getting you hyped up. When you begin to do what that book says, when you begin to praise Him when you're going through suffering, and pain, and brokenness, God notices things people don't notice.