Steven Furtick - I'm Going Through But I'm Running Over
Father, we thank you for your presence and the permeation of your grace in this temporal moment in these our mortal bodies. We invite the fullness of the Godhead in Christ. Flow through us now, living water. Saturate every parched place. Quench and fill to overflow every thirsty soul. Here's our cup, Lord. We lift it up. Lord, I pray for the person on my right and on my left. Fill them. Feed them until they want no more. We declare this done in the mighty name of Jesus, and we clap our hands. Amen.
What a special presence of God. How many appreciate his presence when he touches you? Nobody can touch you like God can. There's no place like the presence of God. Amen? No place like home. I hope you feel at home here. Those of you who are visiting for the first time, those of you who come every week, I hope you feel at home here. Those of you who are watching online, I hope you feel at home here. We're excited to bring God's Word. There is a pop-up in LA today. Hey, LA! I'll tell you what. If you could see this weather in Charlotte, you'd wish you were here. We get it all. We could be 70 and 17 in one week here. We thrive in variety here, the forecast. Shout-out to our pop-up. Shout-out to all of our locations. I don't take the time enough. We have 20 locations meeting all across the region and in different parts of the country and the world. Let's thank God for all of them…our eFam around the world. We're all getting ready. There's so much to prepare for.
I ask you to stay standing for just a moment, because after I get through these announcements, I'm going to read my Scripture, and I want us to stand in honor of the Word of God. But I want to underscore that our Christmas services will begin Friday, December 22, through Sunday, the 24th. There are too many times for me to list specific to each location. It gets complicated with time zones and building capacities. So you'll just go to christmasatelevation.com, and they'll give you the times and locations. On December 31, church will be online only, and then we'll be back in person on Sunday, January 7.
Now, before we give God praise for Christmas… Before we get to any of that, we have our year-end offering next Sunday, December 10. Give God praise for that! Come on. We live to give. I got so excited I went ahead and wrote my check Thursday and put it in the offering. I got it in the ground early in case it rains. I wanted to be ready. I love doing it, and I hope you do too. No pressure to you. You can come every week and never give anything. We'll give to you. But if you believe in this, if this gospel saved you, if you want to help us get it all around the world, then show up next week with an offering and sow it in faith so that people far from God can be raised to life. Let's build up the kingdom together next week. Let's lift up Jesus together. Hallelujah! That will be awesome. It's our declaration of trust. We're calling it our Trust offering. That's the subtitle. Our expansion, our outreach… It will be amazing.
And, guess what. Today I want to read you the most famous Bible verse on trust in the whole Bible, other than Proverbs 3:6…the second most famous. I want to share it with you now. This word for you may feel very personal. Don't be surprised if it does, because the Lord gave it to me, and he knows what you're going through. So, don't get worried, "Does Pastor have cameras in my house"? when I start saying some of this stuff. I don't know what you're going through, but God does. He gave me this word, I believe, for you. Actually, before we read Psalm 23… I want to do it out of order. Give me 2 Corinthians 8:1-2, then Psalm 23. Paul speaking. "And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity". Beautiful.
Now Psalm 23:4-5. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over". Clap your hands for that promise, that timeless, ageless promise from almighty God. Now let me give you the message title. Repeat after me. I'm Going Through, but I'm Running Over. Tell your neighbor two things at once. Say, "I'm going through, but I'm running over". Do you feel that? Say it. "I'm going through…" Tell your neighbor, "You look like you're going through. You look like it too, but you look like you're running over". All right. Y'all be seated. How many married people in the house? You'd better put some enthusiasm on that "woo".
How many would agree marriage changes everything? It changes everything. They don't tell you that marriage not only changes everything in your relationship to the person you're marrying when you commit to be with them all the time, but the thing that surprised me about my relationship with Holly is how much my relationship with her changed my relationship with other things. Not just my time. Like, "Oh, now I've got to be home. You know, the old ball and chain". I don't feel like that. I don't feel like that about her at all. But over time, her preferences have assimilated into me, and now her preferences have become the prism (not prison…prism) through which I experience so much of life.
So, the way my wife feels about things changes the way I feel about so many things in my life. My relationship with my wife changed my relationship with so many other things in my life. I'm sure she'd say the same about her relationship with me. For the 21 years we've been married, I've been advocating to her that rock music is God's music, for the Bible says, "He is a rock". I won her over slowly from her having the perspective that most rock music was annoying, and now she knows it's anointed. Her relationship with me changed her relationship with the genre. One of the first times I knew that being married to this person was going to change me and change my orientation toward simple, elemental, basic things… Early when we were married, we woke up one morning, and it was raining outside. I looked over at her, and she was awake, and she was smiling. She said, "I just love a good rainy day. So relaxing. So cozy". I'm like, "Oh, you're one of these people".
Rain, to me, is depressing. I know it shouldn't be. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Pray for me. My sanctification process is still in progress. I'm buffering. She's like, "Oh, what a blessing, a rainy day. Now we can just relax," and all of that. Through her eyes, over the last 21 years, I've kind of come to see it. It can be relaxing. Rain can be relaxing. I never knew that. What I'm trying to say just as a basic illustration to set this up is that my relationship with her changed my relationship to something as simple as rain just by being with her. It didn't make it rain more or less because we're married. It changed my relationship with the rain.
I saw Larry Brey on a video earlier. Is he in the room? Yeah. Remember when it rained early one Sunday? It was about the third or fourth week we had this church, y'all. The attendance momentum was going good. It rained. The attendance dropped by 30 percent. I found out people don't need much to stay home from church. I was mad about it, and I went back just kind of disappointed and all, because in those days we were really trying to survive week to week. This goofball was smiling, just grinning ear to ear. I don't know if you know him, but he's a very over-the-top personality. I said, "What are you smiling about, silly head? Did you not see all of those empty seats for the rain"? He said, "Did you not see our greeter team"?
He had bought these umbrellas with Elevation logos on them, and he was waiting for a rainy day. He got to use his umbrellas. He was grinning like Mary Poppins. I was like Ebenezer Scrooge. I bring that up because I wanted a simple way to say something that's kind of deep and kind of hard to talk about. Your relationship with Christ should change your relationship with adversity. Y'all liked the metaphor about the rain better, didn't you? The rain was cute. You know how we say Jesus changes everything? True, but it needs some explanation. Jesus didn't make me 6'3" when he saved me. He didn't change everything.
Jesus isn't fixing this bald spot on the back of my head. I'd have to pay somebody in Miami to do that. He's not going to change everything. Jesus changes the way I see everything; therefore, Jesus changes everything by changing me. As he changes me, having him, knowing him, walking with him, being in relationship with him, like my relationship with Holly, it changes the way I see the rain. When you see these leaves falling off the trees around here… If you're the one who has to blow them out of the driveway, they're a nuisance, but if you're the soil, those are nutrients. Is it a nuisance or is it a nutrient? It depends on whether you're the soil or whether you're the person who's responsible for lawn maintenance and making it look aesthetically pleasing.
Now, Paul says (I'm finally to the text)… I want you to know about this church in Macedonia. They are amazing, but they are not affluent. They have an abundant mentality in a scarcity situation. Many of us are the opposite. We have an abundant situation and a scarcity mindset. Whether it's because of our overcommitment to all of the things we've done to impress people or get people to like us… It doesn't even really work, because the moment you stop doing it, they stop liking you, so they didn't really like you; they liked what you were doing for them. Now you've run yourself ragged for somebody you don't even have a real relationship with. It can leave you feeling depleted. Paul says just the opposite. I always thought this Scripture was a paradox. Not a contradiction…a paradox.
A contradiction: two things that can't both be true. Paradox: it doesn't look true on the surface, but dig beneath it a little bit and it's true. I'll give you a paradox: less is more. No. More is more…unless it's not. No, that doesn't mean I'm only going to preach for 20 minutes this week because less is more, but there are times where your silent presence will mean more than your best advice. You know that. Have you ever had somebody, and what they didn't say was a blessing? So less was more. That's a paradox. How about the paradox of your personality? How about the paradox of your purpose? How about the paradox of the provision in your life? I'll go through all three of those. Your personality. The fact that there are times when you are very outgoing, and there are times you want to be left alone. That doesn't make you a hypocrite; it makes you a human.
How about your purpose? The fact that sometimes you're very sure God told you to take that job, and other times you feel the Lord might be in the moving truck ministry sometime in 2024. How about the paradox of purpose? Then the paradox of provision, which is really central to this text. Paul said there was a church in Macedonia, and out of their poverty… It's unclear in this situation exactly what was happening to them other than it was the effect of persecution. Now they're giving an offering to the church at Jerusalem, and they themselves don't have many basic needs met. Paul says out of this is a miracle. I believe one of the things Christ enables us to do… We should never let an event become our identity. Ever. Watch me work this out now. I'm talking about our adversities and our achievements. No event should become your identity. That is a fragile, flawed foundation to build your house on.
One storm can knock it down. No achievement should be me in my mind. No achievement, no talent, no ability should be conflated with my character as I decide who I am. I remember a lady told me one time, "I grew up in the Lowcountry where you did". She said, "I have a bone to pick with you". I said, "A bone to pick with me? You are from the Lowcountry talking like this. Let's pick". She said, "I've got a bone to pick with you. I listen to your sermons, and you don't talk like where you come from". She had a deep Southern accent. She said, "If you're from Moncks Corner, South Carolina, why can't I hear your Southern accent when you preach"? I said, "Lady, I don't know. I didn't take a class. I didn't have it cast out. I don't know. I can put it on anytime I want to, but I don't know. It just kind of fell off along the way". It's a good question, what she asked me. "Why don't you talk like where you come from"?
I've got a bone to pick with a lot of believers. How our mouths speak so much about what we're missing, and we claim to have Christ as the center of our lives. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". "And through him were all things made that were made," Colossians says. So, the beginning was the Word. The Word was Jesus. Jesus is in you. If Jesus is in you and you came from him, then why do you say you can't make it? If Jesus is in you and you come from him and all the fullness of the deity dwells in Jesus… Not baby Jesus. I'm talking about reigning Jesus. I'm talking about Christ in you, the hope of glory. Touch your neighbor and say, "Talk like where you came from".
Come on. Let's practice. Say, "I'm blessed. I'm highly favored. I'm anointed for this. I'm absolutely dead smack in the center of God's will for my life. He woke me up this morning. My cup is overflowing. I owe him the praise. Do you know where I come from"? I wonder. Did you forget where you came from because of what you went through? "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…" But that's Psalm 23:4. We're not there yet. David started this whole thing off by saying, "The Lord is my shepherd". Identity. "I walk through the valley". Event.
Flip the whole thing around, and you'll feel better. Flip the whole thing around, and you'll be able to breathe again. Flip the whole thing around, and you might be surprised at what you see about your situation. No success makes me who I am. No failure limits what I can be, because the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. We could go home, but we're not going to, because some of y'all are going through. It would shock you what someone on your row might be going through. I had two conversations in the last 24 hours that shocked me. People I had been around and had no idea what they were going through. People I was in regular contact with, and I had no idea their family member committed suicide. They didn't tell anybody. They didn't even tell their pastor. They didn't know if they could. They felt ashamed about it.
I had a conversation with someone I love very much the other day, and they made a statement that I believe expresses the sentiment of many of us, spoken or unspoken. He was in the middle of a spiraling emotional state, and he said to me, "I hate myself so much right now. I hate myself so much right now". I didn't say anything, because that kind of statement needs a little bit of space. But after he had said it as much as he needed to say it, I said, "Let's say it a little bit differently this time. Let's say it, but let's say it differently. Let's say it like we know where we come from. Not 'I hate myself right now.' 'I hate how this is making me feel right now.'" Do you see?
Now I'm talking to addicts. Not "I hate myself because I do this". "I hate how this sin chains me to the 'me' that I don't have to be anymore that is pattern program-based, not potential-conscious. I hate this event, but the event is not the identity. So now I can fight it because I am not it". Say, "I am not it". "My mama told me to pick the very best one, and I am not it". Give God praise that you're not it. "I did it, but I'm not it. I'm in it, but I'm not it. It's with me in church this morning, but I'm not it. It came with me, but it's not going to get in me, and even if it's in me, it's got to get out, because I'm not built…"
My relationship with Holly changed the way I saw the rain. My relationship with Christ, therefore, changes my relationship with what I'm going through. What are you going through that nobody really knows? Don't say it out loud because you won't say the real one. I don't need a single one of you to put it in the chat, because what it really is doesn't belong on YouTube. What are you going through? My friend texted me. This was probably, like, four years ago. He said, "That was a great sermon. What are you going through"? I said, "What do you mean"? He said, "Nobody preaches like that unless they're going through something".
That is one thing about adversity. I'm going to tell you three things adversity is if you know Jesus. If you don't know Jesus, adversity is a closed door you can't get past. If you don't know Jesus, it's a Jericho wall you can't get over. If you don't know Jesus, adversity is an end point of a dream. If you don't know Jesus, adversity is a reason for you to throw your hands up in disgust, feel sorry for yourself, eat three gallons of ice cream, and let's just get in shape January 1. If you don't know Jesus… But if my relationship with you changed my relationship with the rain, maybe my relationship with Jesus can change my relationship with adversity. The first thing it won't do… I'm going to give you three things it does do, but the first thing it won't do is it won't make you avoid.
If it would, then David wouldn't say, "Yea, though I walk through the valley…" You can't avoid certain adversity. I should say this…through wisdom. I want to let that sink in, because I think sometimes in church we glorify adversity as if it's always God's first way, but sometimes God gives you a command as your first school of learning and adversity as your summer school. If it said, "Yea, though I look at the valley of the shadow of death and God airlifts me out, I will fear no evil…" "Yea, though I glide over the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…" I bet you won't. You're gliding over it. So, when you go through adversity, whatever that adversity is… And I don't mean to say that in a generic way. The Lord specifically gave me that word adversity, and he told me to focus on that adversity in your life.
The first thing adversity is when you put it in the hands of Jesus is an adjuster. Adversity in the hands of God serves as an adjuster. Not all adversity comes from the hand of God. It all must pass through the hand of God. Whatever you're going through, it had to go through God before it got to you, and before it's over, it has to go through God again so he can work it for the good in your life. And watch this. Not all the time, but Paul said sometimes our tendency is to get too high to identify ourselves with our achievement, so Paul said… This is later in 2 Corinthians. He said, "Therefore, to keep me from becoming conceited, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet me". Not like Warren. This isn't a stock in his account. This is "It beat me, but it didn't defeat me. It was an adversity sent to get me grounded in God's grace".
Sometimes God will allow adversity, even if he doesn't send adversity, to adjust you in your life, because he knows right now you're moving a little fast. He knows right now you're looking down on people a little bit. He knows right now "If I give it to you, you'll eat it. You won't sow it. So I have to get you in a place where you can recognize that I'm your shepherd". It's an adjuster. God will use adversity to adjust you. I used to tell the kids all the time when they were very little, "Stop growing up. Stop it. You're so cute right now. Stay really cute like this. Stay at age 9 where you think I'm smart. We're only, like, seven years away from you thinking I'm an idiot and being right. That's the worst part. You're going to be right. You're going to think I'm an idiot, and you're going to be right".
Abbey used to say the same thing every time I'd say, "Stop growing up". She'd go, "I can't". But spiritually you can. Physical growth you have no choice about. Spiritual growth is a choice. I'm saying you don't always get to choose what you go through, but you have to choose to grow through what you go through. Growth is chosen in the spirit. Not in the physical. As it relates to our height and certain things about our bodies… Certain parts of that are not chosen, but growth spiritually is. So, I would ask you the question about the valley in your life. Remember David said, "I walk through the valley". Paul said the Macedonian church… Out of their severe affliction or adversity welled up generosity. They learned how to give through what they lacked. They were brought into a place of abundance by their adversity. That's the way it works if you choose to allow God to do it through you. Adversity can often be an adjuster.
The second thing adversity does… I'll give you a few Scriptures to prove this. It says, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted". It says, "God is a very present help in the time of trouble". David said, "He's with me in the valley". So, the second thing adversity will do is it will give you access. Adversity is an all-access pass to the places in God you can't get any other way. Like, when we go out on Elevation Nights, the team that's working on Elevation Nights has a pass. They can go anywhere in the State Farm Arena, anywhere they want to go. If it says, "Access all areas," they can go anywhere.
I said to one of them one time, "Isn't it funny if we tried to come back here tomorrow night and just walk in and Florida Georgia Line…" They don't even play together anymore, do they? I need to update the reference. Imagine me going to Taylor Swift or something like that. "Hey, I'm here. They let me in at the last one on Elevation Nights. I can go anywhere, right"? No, no, no. You have to have a pass for that. The fact that I'm here for this event gives me access to certain areas. When you go through certain things, you will discover a grace that you only get when you go through those things. Even though the thing is not what you would have chosen to go through, it is going to… I declare prophetically and biblically it is going to give you grace.
So, that adversity is the access point by which the extra grace will be released by God. You will go through things in your life, and when you get through them, people will ask, "How did you get through that"? and you will only be able to say, "I don't know. God gave me a grace for it". Shout like you know the shepherd. Say, "I've got a grace for it". Come on. Tell your neighbor, "I've got a grace for it. I'm going through it, but I've got a grace for it". If I've got to go through it, it is guaranteed grace. God will never make me go through what he will not give me grace for. So, if you're going through something you haven't been through before, you're about to get a grace you've never had before. You're about to receive an anointing, overflowing like you've never known it before. God will fill you for this.
"This is an event. I'm getting through this. This is an event. I'm not living here. Don't put this as my permanent mailing address, 301 Valley Road. Don't come visit me in the valley next December, because I'm going through this. Yea, though I walk…" I'm talking about the kind of grace that'll make you say, "Yea" as you go through the valley. Somebody shout, "Yea"! That'll preach, won't it? "Yea". Nobody says, "Yea" when the bill is overdue. "Yea". That's crazy. David said, "Yea…" I know he meant it a little differently. Let's have some fun. Come on. Say, "Yea". I wish you would confuse the Devil this week. He has you in the valley. When they call you and tell you the bad news, you just say, "Hang on a second". Mute. "Yea"! You know how she broke up with you in October, and you thought you'd spend the rest of your life alone?
I want you to go back to October in your mind, let God anoint your head with oil, change the way you think about that thing, and realize, "If that was meant for me, it would be meant to be. If it was meant for me, it would be, but if it went away, it couldn't stay". Somebody say, "Yea"! I feel Jesus on this! Jesus got to the tomb of Lazarus. He said, "He's dead, and I'm glad". Somebody shout, "Yea"! Well, why would you be glad? Because these are his friends, and he's about to show them something nobody else has ever seen. I need you to get happy, not about the valley you're going through but about the grace of God that is coming to you.
Somebody shout, "Yea"! I'm not afraid because yea! I'm telling you this message is real to me. I was shouting like this at 5:45 this morning. I was scared I was going to wake the dog up. Abbey said he peed on the couch. I think I made the dog pee his pants, because I was walking around my living room at 5:45 saying, "Yea! Yea! Yea"! Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. Yea! This is the day the Lord has made! He's my shepherd, so he enables me. "You can't minimize people's pain like this, Pastor Steven". I'm not minimizing anything. I'm just trying to reframe the way you see the rain. I'm trying to get you to rethink the leaves.
Did you have somebody leave you? What if that's nourishment for your next season in the soul of your life? I said, "I'm going through, but watch this. I'm going through. Don't let what I'm going through fool you. I'm going through, but I'm not dry inside. I'm going through, but I'm not without a witness. I'm going through, but God is speaking with me. I'm walking through this valley, but I'm not walking through it by myself. Yea, though I walk…" Did you notice in the text, in verse 5, it said something was running, and it was the cup? He said, "My cup runneth over". But in verse 4, something was walking, and that was you. "Yea, though I walk…" I walk, and the cup runs. I need y'all to help me today because my voice is a little bit weak.
I don't know what I was doing just now pushing it, because all week, every day, I was recording my book by audio, and I did not hold back. I did not put my late-night FM DJ voice on this thing. This was not Boyz II Men intro stuff, like tone level, voice level, "This has no bass in it". I preached that thing, all 70,000 words. Let me put an advertisement. My new book, Do the New You, February 13, everywhere books are sold. Preorder right now at dothenewyou.com. I did it all week, and one thing I noticed when I was doing it… When I would rush, I would mess up. You want to get done, because you get tired of hearing yourself talk. How many of you like to hear yourself talk? It's not fun. I do this out of love for you. I don't like to hear myself talk any more than you like to hear yourself talk.
So, I was sitting there listening to myself talk for, like, the second or third day, and I started trying to talk a little fast like that, and I'd make 10 mistakes. Every time it got hard, the secret to getting through was to slow down. That's why it said, "They that wait on the Lord will walk…" "Yea, though I walk…" Slow down. You're worried because you're trying to get there too fast. You're worried because you're trying to do it all in one day. You're worried because you're trying to keep up with people who are 10 years older than you. You're worried because you're trying to keep up with people who are more messed up than you are; they just hide it better. You're worried because you're trying to take in all the information in human history all in the same device at the same time. Slow down, shut down, and walk through the valley. You want to get out of the valley. I understand.
Well, the way through it is to walk. When you run to something else to escape it, you don't become stronger through it. You can't run over if you don't go through. That's the paradox of provision. You can't run over and have wisdom to give others if you do not go through the weakness with God for yourself. That's what this season has been about. The Enemy has been lying to you, telling you that the valley, the shadow, and the enemies at the table represent the end for you. They don't. None of those things do. You see, there's a cast of characters in Psalm 23, including a valley, a shadow, and enemies. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me".
Aren't you glad God has a rod? The staff is how he brings me back; the rod is how he keeps everything away that threatened to devour me. I need both of those. So, sometimes he'll use an event to bring me back to him. Sometimes he'll use an event to keep a wolf away from me, but his identity is the lens through which I view every event in my life, not the other way around. Once I've decided he's the shepherd, that means I'm settled in this and my cup is running over. Well, where is the cup? On the table. Where is the table? We have this misconception that when we get through stuff, it's going to get better. "I'm going through right now, but I can't wait for 2024. That's going to be my year".
You've been saying that since 1947. Elvis had a number one song on the chart the last time you said that. Then we have this misconception that the adversity we're going through will prevent us from being blessed right now. I think that's the thing I really wanted to put as the core of this message. It's one thing to say, "When I get through this, then I will be happy, whole, successful… When I get through this, I will be at peace. When I get that amount of money… I'll be secure". No, you won't, because it's never there. He said out of their trial, in the midst of it, welled up a rich generosity. David said, "My cup runs over at the table in the presence of my enemies in the shadow of the valley of death".
I want to walk through all three of those very quickly. There are three symbols in this text of adversity. Each of them represents adversity. First is the valley. You're in the valley. You're going through the valley. You are going through. You will not live there. You will not die there. You will not move your kids and grandkids into that spot in the valley. That's why you're going through it. They won't have to go through it quite like you do. I believe my dad broke the spirit of suicide off of my life by not killing himself, because his dad did. So, first, it's a valley, but I'm passing through.
My friend Brandon Lake was telling me a couple of years ago… He just wrote a song. I said, "Was it good"? He said, "It's just a song about the valley". I said, "A song about the valley"? He said, "Yeah, a valley. It represents hard things in our lives". I said, "Brandon Lake, you don't have to explain to me what a valley represents in the Bible. Do you think I'm an idiot? I went to cemetery…seminary. I know about the valley". "Well, a valley is a metaphor in the Bible, and it means anything we go through that we don't quite understand, the low moments". "Shut up, man. I know what the valley is. Sing me the song". I know what the valley is. Do I really? I haven't gone through what some of you have gone through. Do I really know the valley? Do I really know the shepherd until I've really known the valley? Can I really run over until I go through and walk through? You don't get the cup full lying down.
Did you notice? He said, "He makes me lie down in green pastures, but then I had to get up and walk, and then he filled my cup". You will go through this. You will go through seasons where you'll question your sanity. You will go through seasons where you "Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they're old they won't depart from it". You will go through seasons of thinking, "Well, they're not going to get old because I'm going to kill them before they get old, and then they're going to depart from the earth". And you will. He said there's a shadow in the valley. The valley of the shadow of death. You won't always see yourself correctly, Jesus correctly, or your situation or next step clearly. All of these people who always know everything God spoke all the time… Check their medicine cabinet. I'm going to say stuff now, because you know what?
When you're really in a valley and people are up on their mountain shouting cute stuff to you about it… You're in the shadows, and people are on there turning on their iPhone light, trying to tell you stuff. The valley has a shadow, and in that place… Listen to me, child of God. As you walk through that valley, as you move through that shadow… He said there's a table and there are enemies. At this point you want to turn around, but you shouldn't. That adversity (valley), that shadow (valley), those enemies (insecurities), and things you've been going through, whether they were launched from hell or whether they came from your own decisions… Those things represented in this passage, that valley, that shadow, those enemies… They all represent adversity, but the Lord showed me something. He said all of those adversities are advertisements.
For there to be a valley, there have to be two mountains. For there to be a valley, there has to be the mountain I came from, which is the last time God did it for me, and the mountain he's taking me to, which is my next testimony and my next level of effectiveness. The valley is advertising the next mountain. How about the shadow, which is advertising… For there to be a shadow, there must be a sun. Since I can't stare directly at the sun, when I see the shadow, I assume the sun is where it's supposed to be and an object is blocking its path. So, every shadow in your life, every wicked thing in your life, is proving the presence of God's grace that is greater than all your sin. The valley is telling you there's a mountain. The shadow is telling you there's a sun.
When you see your enemies, look for a table, because if there are enemies in your path this week, that means it's suppertime, baby. Your enemies… O God. He's a very present help in the time of trouble. No weapon formed against me will prosper. So, if I have an enemy, that means there's a table. If there's a table, that means there's a cup. And if there's a cup, it's about to overflow! High-five somebody and say, "I'm running over. I've got to get to this table. I'm running over. I've got to get to this miracle. I'm running over".
I was scrolling the other day. I was watching something. I showed it to my kids. I said, "Isn't that great"? They said, "No, Dad. That's sponsored content". I said, "What do you mean 'sponsored'"? They said, "Right there: 'Paid promotion.'" I said, "No, this is a good video for fitness". They said, "No. He's trying to sell you a 12-week course for $998 and some protein powder. It's an ad". I said, "It's an ad"? They said, "Yeah, it's an ad. That's not a class; that's an ad. He's just trying to get you… They hide it. They put it there where you can't see it's an ad". They hide it. You don't know it's an ad.
The Devil puts stuff in a shadow…an adversity, an extreme trial, a stubborn child, a breakup, a broken heart…something that causes you to think you're going to lose your mind, but you won't, because the next time it happens, you're going to pray. "God, anoint my head with oil. Show me how to see this in a different way". Everybody, put your hands out like this, like you're ready to receive a running-over blessing. All right. Now pray. "Lord, fill my cup". Well, the Lord said, "Before I can fill your hands, I've got to fix your head". He anoints my head with oil so I can see. The next time it's a valley moment in your life, the next time it's a valley low in your emotion, the next time you go, "O God, where is that coming from?" realize it's an adversity and an advertisement.
It means this valley is pointing at another mountaintop experience that you will stand on and see God's goodness and proclaim his faithfulness to another generation. It's an ad. The next time you see a shadow realize, "There could not be a shadow if there were not a sun. So, God, I thank you for the revelation that is ahead of me". The next time you see enemies, get your napkin and your fork. The next time you see your adversary, I want you to see an advertisement that he would not be fighting you like this… Oh, yeah. We're going to fight him. He wouldn't be fighting me like this, he wouldn't be fighting you like this… "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want". Anoint her mind. Yeah, over here. Anoint her mind. "I don't understand the emotionalism. I'm not going through anything".
You'd better save this message on a bookmark. You'd better put this message on a favorite, because the miracle… If you really look back on it, it's not that I went through, and then I was running over; it's that I was running over while I went through. I don't know how, and I don't know why he did it, but I want you to know about the grace God gave the Macedonian church. I want you to know about the grace God gave me. When I think about him and how he got me through some of the things that looked at the time like the adversary had me… It was advertising. How can I get you to see it? It's a product placement. God wants you to know today that the thing you're going through is pointing to what you're going to be running over with. O God, I need you to fill me in the valley.
"If I get through this…" No, no, no. "As I go through this…" Right here, right now. The presence of an adversary does not mean the absence of the Lord. You just have to do it with anxious feelings. "Yea, though I walk…" You don't have to run. Your cup will. Walk. Because I've got goodness, and I've got mercy, Hallelu, glory hallelujah! If you have a "Hallelujah," this is where it goes. I've got goodness, and I've got mercy, Hallelu… God is going to help you get your mind right. He's going to anoint your head with oil. This is what I pray for. Lift your hands.
Anoint their head with oil, Lord, to see the things in their way as opportunities for you to make them better. That's where my real challenge is: in believing you, trusting you, and thinking like you think. God, I thank you for everything you brought into my life. God, I thank you even for the things that may leave my life, because I understand this valley is an advertisement. This shadow is an advertisement. These enemies are preparing a table for me to demonstrate your glory, God.
I saved the best part for last, y'all. Look at me. Second Corinthians 4:16. I'll give you the heart of my message one more time. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away…" I'm not trying to talk about your wrinkles or saggy this or that, or mine either. I'm going through, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day, step by step. I see you walking in confidence this week that he's with you, because the valley and the shadow and the enemies all conspire to advertise one thing: he's with me. He's with me, and he is my shepherd.
If he advertises himself as a good shepherd, there has to be grass. God is as advertised. If he advertises himself as water, there will be a rock. God is as advertised. If he advertises himself as bread, you will not go hungry. He is as advertised. If he said, "I'm the Great I Am," whatever you need him to be, he is. "I'm running over. I know you can't see it right now, but I'm running over. I know I can't feel it all the time, but I'm running over. It might take my emotions a little while to get with the program and catch up, but God says I'm running over".
Now, with your head bowed and your eyes closed that you've heard the message, I want you to say the title again and see if it feels different. Say, "I'm going through, and I'm running over". You got what you need. Absolutely. You're going through. You'll follow through with this. Father, I never, ever, ever like to make stuff up on the spot. I feel like for somebody in this room, if they don't give their life to you right now, this might be their last chance. I pray right now for that person, God. As I lead into this moment of invitation, I want my whole church praying with me. There is somebody who is in here right now who God has been speaking to, and they have been running. Today, in this message, the Lord spoke to them and said, "It is time for you to give your life to Christ".
Right now, I want to pray for that person, those people. There may be many. I don't know. But I want to pray right now. I want our entire church to agree with me and to pray out loud after me. Repeat this prayer. It's not a magic prayer. It's not a magic pill. But the Bible says that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved and you will receive his grace. Right now, I'm calling you to Jesus, to leave your sin, to leave your excuses, to leave your past, and to come into his arms. They're open wide in this moment. Repeat after me.
Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and today I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he died that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life. I receive this new life. This is my new beginning. I am a child of God.
If you prayed that with me, lift your hands on the count of three. One, two, three. Every location, put them up. Praise the Lord. Praise the name of Jesus. I'm going through, but I'm running over. Clap those hands if you receive the word today. If you just prayed that prayer to give your life to Jesus Christ, please see someone at the tents on your way out. We don't want you to leave before we have the opportunity to give you a Bible, pray with you, and celebrate your decision to follow Christ. Holly, join me on the stage, my love, you little rain lover. I've got her loving rock music now, everybody. She still thinks Foo Fighters are better than Nirvana, but I'm working on her. Let God have his way. I got her to love two things…boiled peanuts and Smashing Pumpkins. Isn't God good?
I want your relationship with Jesus to change the way you go through your week. I do. I want it to change the way you see your challenges. I want it to change the way you talk about yourself and the way you speak to others. I want it to change the way we drive in traffic. We are horrible in our cars, y'all. I want it to change the way you feel about uncertainty. I want it to change you. Jesus changes everything. Everything. Say it again. "I'm going through, but I'm not alone; I'm running over".
Now would you tell your neighbor, "You look so much better than you did an hour ago when he started preaching. You look full now. You looked kind of empty an hour ago, but you look full now". Hey, everybody. When we bring our offering next weekend, let's bring our best. Online, eFam, you be a part too. Let's bring our best. Let's honor God. You never go wrong putting God first. He will not be outgiven.
Everybody leaving, I understand. I ran over. That's right. I get it. Grab hands. Repeat after me. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He leadeth me, he maketh me, he provides for me, and he is with me". Would you hug three people and tell them, "God is with you this week"? I'll see y'all soon. I love you. Have the best week of your life. God is with you in the middle of it. Praise the Lord, everybody! Look at somebody and say, "Yea"! It's going to be good. I'll see y'all soon.