Jentezen Franklin - Victory Has A Voice - Part 2
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 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 there's that moment when the elders spoke to Ahab with such authority that they said, "Don't consent". What do you mean, "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. 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. Even a rabbit, when it gets away from a predator. You know, they do something? Look this up. Don't do it while I'm preaching, but look this up. When they have a victory in their life and they escape, they'll get somewhere and just jump up in the air and kick one leg out, it's called a binky. They do the binky. I mean, a little rabbit can get away from a fox and say, "The devil thought he had me but he didn't have me". And he'll jump up and kick.
And some of you, God's given you a job, given you a house, blessed you coming in, blessed you going out, and you still too sophisticated to give God a shout. I don't care if you're Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic. I don't care what you are. You ought to give Him a praise if He's been good. Even nature says the victor ought to make some noise. Clap your hands all ye people and shout unto God with a voice of triumph. Listen to this, 1 Corinthians. Everybody say, "Victory. Has a voice". Look how big this voice and look how big this is. 1 Corinthians 15 says this, "This incorruptible shall put on incorruption, this mortal has put on immortality, and then shall it be brought to pass the same death".
Notice the wording, it's: How do you swallow unless you got a mouth? Death is swallowed up in victory. Victory's got a mouth that if He can, if Jesus could give voice. He's saying, "I don't care what you're facing. If I can conquer death, I can conquer anything. And I have swallowed up death in victory". Whenever your team is winning, you're supposed to be the loudest team. Talk victory, walk into the battle with the word of God. Even Jesus, when He comes back after the rapture takes place, the nation of Israel will be surrounded, and the Bible said all nations will turn against Israel. And folks, we're seeing it right before our eyes. They're still fighting that Ben-Hadad spirit. That's all that is.
How can you like this story and not love those people? But the Bible says, it's one of the prophecies, that every nation in the world will turn their back on Israel. And in that moment, God, Jesus Christ will get on a white horse and ride down into the valley of Megiddo where the armies look like they're gonna win, and He will open His mouth. And just when it looks like all the armies are going to destroy Israel, your Bible said a sword will come out of His mouth and consume the anti-Christ, and consume the false prophet, and consume the beast. Oh, hallelujah. Death will be swallowed up in victory. And I wanna say, if you've lost someone that you love, why don't you make your narrative instead of, "It's so sad, and the pleasure's gone, and there's no joy left," why don't you change the narrative and give victory a voice and say, "Death, you have been swallowed up in victory". Because of Jesus, there's an empty tomb and there is eternal life.
I pray today that there would be a holy losing it. That people like Ahab would... There's that trained fighter and then there's those people that just lose it in the moment. And something just takes over. And I'll tell you, part of the battle that we're in is when you decide to give victory a voice in the situation. All things... So, what... How do I give it a voice? Walk out of here, number one, saying, "He's with me. Jesus is with me. He never will leave me. There's nothing that can ever make Him leave me. He is with me. I'm gonna be alright". I'm not promising you that everything's gonna change, I'm promising you that whatever pack of lions you have - lion den, you have to go into, whatever fiery furnace you have to walk through, you gon' find... Jesus said, "I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you, I'll dry your tears, Weeping will endure for the night, I'm going to bring joy in the morning. The sun's gonna shine".
Number one, number two, my Bible said you should walk out, change the narrative by saying this, "All things". Well, since I got a stage. "All things. Work together. For the good". You don't believe that. Not just the good things, not just the pleasant things, not just the successful things, but all things work together. Oh man, I can walk in confidence. I can say, "Well, I don't understand this, I don't understand how eggs and flour and salt and sugar over here are gon' make me a good cupcake. I don't get it". Well, the reason that it's not good is it's not all together yet. All you're tasting is the salty part, all you're tasting is the baking soda, all you're tasting is the flour. Egh, egh. But when He puts it all together. Actually, I don't talk about my wins, I talk about how I was so low that I didn't know how I was gonna make it.
Now, I can praise Him, it makes me love Him more. Not just the wins, thank God for it, but it's the struggles. It all works together for the good. So, change the narrative, quit talking defeat and disaster and depression and hopelessness. Death has been swallowed up in victory. What can the enemy do to you but give you a shortcut to Heaven? I want you to stand to your feet at every campus, no one moving please. "Pastor, I need this, I need exactly what you're preaching. I'm so negative, I'm so eat up with the circumstances, I don't have victory's voice in my life".
If that's you, I want you to come as families, I want you to come as couples, I want you to come and I want you to stand down here, we're gonna declare and we're gonna pray over you today, and I want you to come now. I mean, let's go, let's do this. I don't like to just preach and end it. I don't want this to stop, I want an adjustment in the spirit. All things are working together. Say that, "All things. He's working all things for my good".
Beautiful, come on, come on. Get in as close as you can get, get in as close as you can get at every campus, the pastors are coming. But they're gonna start singing this song, and I felt like it's the right song 'cause it's just declaring it. Can we take a few moments? And if you need to slip out, you can slip out when we begin to pray here. And thank you for being with us, but we're gonna linger just a minute and we're gonna worship the Lord. So, lift your hands up right now. And just declare there's gonna be a victory because of Jesus, because of the cross, because of the blood, because of the blood that He shed.
Somebody walked in this room, and you said, "God doesn't care about me. I don't matter. I don't matter to my family, I don't matter to anybody". The Lord just told me to tell you, "Tell them they matter". Pray this prayer. Say:
Jesus, wash me, cleanse me. I receive by faith in my heart and the confession of my mouth. I receive victory, because victory is mine through Jesus Christ. That means from this day forward, wherever I go Jesus goes. That means from this day forward and even before this day, He works all things together for the good. 'Cause I'm called. And I matter.
Give God all the praise, give Him all the praise. Oh, what a wonderful savior.