The Weapons Are In The House (Pastor Robert Madu)
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Hey, this is Stephen Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. I hope this inspires you. I hope it builds your faith. I hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. Good morning, Elevation Church. If you're new to Elevation, you're going, man, Pastor Stephen looked different. I am not Pastor Stephen. My name is Robert Madu, and I bring you greetings from the great country of Texas.

I live there in Dallas with my amazing wife, Taylor, and our three kids and pastor of church, Social Dallas. And the reason there was no introduction, I just came up because I'm a part of the Elevation family. I hope you know that.

That's the level that we're on. You know those people that come over your house, just go in the fridge and get something without asking. That's the level that we're on. And I've had the privilege, come to this church for years now, and I never take for granted the opportunity that I have to preach the word here. This house has blessed me and my family and our church immensely. And so for me, today is not just about preaching the word of God, but to me, it's also an opportunity to give honor to your pastors.

20 years of faithful leadership, 20 years of preaching the Word of God, 20 years of standing at the gateway of hell and redirecting traffic to heaven. Whoo! 20 years. And I want you to feel that 20 years because often when you do things with excellence consistently, people take it for granted. You just come in, you're like, oh, yeah, we can pass Stephen again, another great word all the time. Don't ever...

Take for granted the gift that God has given you. So I want us to pause right now and thank God for Pastor Stephen, for Pastor Holly. Come on, y'all could do better than that across every location. We love you. Thank you for your faithfulness. You've been a blessing to my life. Where would we be without this church? And so I'm honored to preach the word of God to you today. And it's special today because I came with my baby girls.

I have three kids, but my youngest, Remington Elaine, who's seven years old, said, Dad, I've never gone with you on a trip to ministry, and I want to go by myself, and I want to go to Elevation. So I said, hey, say less. Shout out to my Remington Elaine, who's here with me, and my sisters here today. So we're going to have fun. Y'all ready for the Word? If y'all feel like hearing this like I feel like preaching it, it's going to be good. Go with me to Judges chapter 4 today. Judges chapter 4. I want to look at verses 1 through 9.

I also want to look at verses 17 through 22. Judges chapter 4, start at verse number 1, go to verse 9, and then verses 17 through 22. Once you've found the book of Judges, say, yeah. If you need some time to find it, say, hold up. I heard that. I ain't going to judge you. Give you some time. Judges chapter number 4, starting at verse number 1, and it says, again...

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. And Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Herosheth, Hagoyim, because he had 900 chariots fitted with iron, and he had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for 20 years. They cried out to the Lord for help.

Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lapidus, was leading Israel at that time. And she held court under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. And the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak, son of Abinoam, from Kadesh in Naphtali, and said to him, The Lord God of Israel commands you. It's already good. I love when the first commandment from God is...

Go. Because so often we get stuck in situations and stuck in cycles. And oftentimes in the body of Christ, what's on your mark, get set, get set. Some of y'all been getting set for 30 years. So God often has to come to you and say, what you waiting for? Go. You know, God will tell you to go. Two-thirds of his name. Let's go. Go. Go.

"Take with you 10,000 men of Naphtali and Zebulon "and lead them up to Mount Tabor. "I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, "with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River "and give him into your hands." Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go. "But if you don't go with me, I won't go." That's how he sounds in my head. She said in verse number nine, "Certainly I will go with you," said Deborah, "but because of the course you are taking, "the honor will not be yours."

For the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. So Deborah went with Barak to Kadesh. Let's jump to verse 17. Sisera meanwhile fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the family of Heber the Kenite. Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, Come, my lord, come right in. Don't be afraid. So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

I'm thirsty, he said. Please give me some water. She opened up a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him up. Stand in the doorway of the tent, he told her. If someone comes by and asks you, is anyone there, say no. But Jael, Heber's wife, and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple and he died. I bet he did. Just then...

Rock came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. Come, she said, I will show you the man you're looking for. So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple, dead. I bet he was. That is in your Bible. I want to preach today, not long, probably about three and a half hours, using this as a title. Hear me today. This is a word from God. The weapons are in the house.

The weapons are in the house. I don't know what you are facing. I don't know what opposition is coming against you today, but God told me to tell somebody at Elevation Church that the weapons are in the house. Look at your neighbor one last time and say, I know this is for you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Father, speak to us today. Have your way. Amen. The weapons are in the house.

I don't want to assume anything today. How many of you say by a show of hands that you have never heard me preach before? Can I see your hand if you've never heard me preach before? Oh, Lord, that's quite a few of y'all. I've been coming here a long time. Where y'all been? I'm playing, I'm playing. No, those of you who lifted up your hands and you've never heard me preach before, you should know that most often when I begin a sermon, almost 99.9% of the time when I begin a sermon, I always start with a story.

I start with a story that's usually personal. I start with a story that is funny, that is engaging, filled with levity. And the reason I do that is because embedded within that story is a principle or a thesis that I'm ultimately going to connect to a biblical passage that I'm expounding on. That's my flow. I start with a story. But I dare say that's not going to happen today.

Today's going to be a little bit different because when you are preaching a text about a woman, a housewife, a undercover assassin who takes a tent peg and drives it through the cranium of the commander of the Canaanite army, there's really no cute story you can tell to connect to that passage. Matter of fact, I want to praise God. I don't have a personal story.

To connect to this text. By the way, Taylor, I love you. That's my wife. So a text like this, you just got to get straight to the point. Pun intended. I only have one point in this message today. I don't have three points. I just have one point. It's going to bless you. No takers. You're going to be blessed. You can write it down now. I only have one point in this message today, and this is my one point.

You don't get to choose who God will use because God will use whoever he wants. You don't get to choose who God will use because God will use whoever he wants. Ooh, that's not just a good point. I think that would be a good t-shirt. I think that would be a good bumper sticker. If you're thinking about getting a face tattoo, I have a suggestion. You should just put that right on your forehead. You don't get to choose who God will use because God

God will use whoever he wants to use. What a wonderful thought to consider that whenever God wants to do something in the earth, whenever he has a purpose or a plan that he wants to accomplish, he does not take a poll. He does not galvanize a committee. He does not take a vote because God will use whoever he wants to use and you don't get to choose it. You don't get to pick it. I'm thankful

that God doesn't look at your TikTok following or how many blue checks you got. And he doesn't look at how much money you have in the bank. Whenever he wants to use you, you don't get to choose who God will use because God will use whoever he wants.

Ooh, there's an old school song that some of y'all, some of y'all too young to remember it. And some of y'all are just old enough to think that Britney Spears started this song. And then some of y'all are old enough to know that wasn't Britney that started the song. It was Bobby Brown that started the song. And I love this song because it has like a $20 SAT word in it. And it's a song that God can sing. And the lyrics go, it's my prerogative.

I can do what I want to do. God could sing that song. It's my prerogative. I can use who I want to use. That means that God is sovereign. He has authority without any accountability, that God reserves the right to use whoever he wants to use and he will do it.

Whether you like it or not, God will use whoever he wants. You don't get to choose who God will use because God will use whoever he wants. If he wants to use somebody young, he'll use somebody young. If he wants to use somebody old, he will use somebody old. If he wants to use an introvert, he will use an introvert. If he wants to use an extrovert, he will use an extrovert. If he wants to use somebody that matriculated from the upper

Esh-Chelon, the most prestigious theological seminary, and consistently eats charcuterie, he will use them. If he wants to use somebody from the streets that doesn't even got a GED, don't know nothing about charcuterie, but knows a lot about Kool-Aid and Lunchable, he will use them too. If God wants to use somebody black, he'll use somebody black. If God wants to use somebody white, he will use somebody white. If God wants to use somebody Asian, he'll use somebody

Asian if God wants to use somebody Latino buenos dias he will use somebody body Latino you don't get to choose who God will use because God will use whoever he wants he is sovereign he rules and he reigns I get to choose I will use cuz I use whoever he wants almost a right here Oh God preserves the right to use people you don't like

I'm talking about the person you can't stand. You know God can use them if he wants to. God, hear me, doesn't even have to use. He doesn't even have to use a who because all of creation is incarcerated to the command and call of God. He can use wind. He can use waves. He'll use a whale as Jonah.

He will use frogs as Pharaoh. He will use anything he needs to accomplish his purpose in the earth. Hear me, I am so honored I get to preach here today. I love that I get to preach the gospel. That's why I wake up with passion and energy to do it. But I am fully cognizant and aware of the fact that God don't need me to preach. Oh, no, no. He can put a donkey up here and a donkey will preach the gospel. Matter of fact, let me help some of you today. You know that God doesn't even need you to praise him.

He wants praise, but he don't need you to praise him at all. Your God does not have an inferiority complex. If all of us chose to zip our lips and fold our arms, the rocks would cry out and start giving God praise. Oh, I'm glad you came to Elevation, but please don't think you did God a favor today. The rocks would start praising him if we refused to praise him because God can use whoever.

He wants, however he wants, to do whatever he wants in the earth. If he wants to use a man to kill an enemy, he'll use a man. But if he wants to use a woman to defeat an enemy, he will use a woman. Which brings me to my text today. This under-preach...

seldom forgotten story of JL. It intrigues me. Y'all, I have been in church my whole life. I am a proud Sunday school alumnus. Y'all went to vacation Bible school. I mean, come on, went to youth camp. And I cannot count on one finger how many sermons I heard about sister girl JL.

Who put a tent peg through the head of an enemy? Why are we not preaching more about JL? This is a big moment in the Bible and nobody talks about it. Well, I think I know why. Because have you noticed, especially in church, how we typecast and relegate certain passages of scripture to heroic deeds and bravery? It's like we typecast. It's like, so anytime you think of valor or bravery, you already have a biblical image in your mind of King David with the slingshot.

Yeah, or you have Moses saying let my people go or Samson with a jawbone of a donkey time out with a jawbone of a donkey I killed a thousand men with a job on a donkey. I made donkeys at them You know, he was dropping bars and fighting at the same time We have all these images of people men, especially her doing brave things but today it is my goal to change that image in your mind and add JL the tent peg and a hammer time by way yet

Sister girl who was not an Israelite, sister girl who was not trained in battle, she wasn't even a part of the army, and yet God still used her. Why in the world would he use her? Because you don't get to choose who God will use. God will use whoever he wants. So let me put JL in context. Her story is found in Judges. Judges, y'all, is one of the most depressing books in the Bible.

No, I'm serious. If you're new to faith, don't go to judges. Just go to John. Start there. Because judges will depress you because all you see in judges is the sick cycle of sin.

Over and over again. The sixth cycle of sin that the children of Israel got themselves into. If you don't want to read the book of Judges, here's the book of Judges. All of a sudden, the Israelites would do evil in the eyes of the Lord. After they would do evil in the eyes of the Lord, God would do evil in the eyes of the Lord.

would then allow them to be taken captive by an enemy. They would get in captivity and then they would open up their mouth and say, God, we're sorry. We ain't gonna do it no more. Sound familiar? God, I'm sorry. I ain't never gonna do that again. And once they would cry out to God, then God would raise up a deliverer and then he would bring them out. That is the story of Judges.

over and over again. They would do evil in the eyes of the Lord. God would use an enemy to get their attention. He would allow them to be in captivity. And when I started looking at that, I said, God, that's messed up. Why in the world would you allow them to be taken captive by their enemies to bring repentance out of them? God, you shouldn't use an enemy to get your children's attention. That's bad.

parenting. Don't use an enemy to get their attention. Then he reminded me of my point. You don't get to choose who God will use because God will use whoever he wants. He will use an enemy to get your attention. Some of you don't even know right now that your enemy is doing more for your walk with God than your friends are.

Oh, yeah, your enemy is making you pray. Your enemy is making you fast. Your haters are making you seek God. Oh, it's something about a person that betrays you that will produce forgiveness on the inside of you. Your enemy is provoking more out of you than a friend ever could. You don't even know God is using them to bring Christlike character out of your life.

He used their enemies to get their attention. And they would cry out to God for a deliverer. And God would raise up a deliverer. And then they would go right back into the same cycle. In our text today, the deliverer that God chooses to raise up is Deborah. 12 judges he will raise up. Only one of them is a woman. Her name is Deborah. God raised up Deborah as a leader. I don't know about that. I don't know that there should be

A female leader. I don't know if I like that, God. You should have made them all men judges. You don't get to choose who God will use because God will choose. Raised up sister girl, Deborah. Oh, she deserves a sermon all by herself. Deborah is the only person in the Bible explicitly called a prophet and a judge.

She is a prophet and a judge. She is a prophet, which means she declares what the Lord is saying and speaks truth. But she's also a judge, so she administers justice. That's why it blessed me when I found out that her name means be. Be. Be.

Yes, be, because that's what a bee will do. A bee will sting you with the truth, and a bee will produce honey that is sweet. And I thought about her office that she sat in, that she would speak the truth and sting you when she needed to because she's a prophet, but she would administer justice, and justice is sweet to the people that receive it. Look at her, being all she could be. I like Deborah. Matter of fact, I want you to look at your neighbor real quick and say, neighbor, be who God called you to be.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Somebody needs to take that word right there because you can't really seize the moment like J.L. did until you get comfortable in being who God created you to be. Oh, stop trying to be somebody else and be who God created you to be. You know why I'm

why I'm chillaxing up here today? Because I know I'm not a Pastor Steven. I know I'm not a Don Cherie. I know I'm not a Charles Metcalf. I know I'm not a Mike Todd. I'm the best Robert Madu you have ever seen in your life. I've got to be me. And somebody needs to be liberated today. You have got to be you. Stop comparing other people and step into the fullness of your call and be who God created you to be. Shout out Deborah. Hair done, nails done. Everything did. Profit

And judge. And look at what Deborah does. Sister B goes to Brother Barak and says to him, has not the Lord gone before us? Let us go up and fight. Translation, brah.

What are you waiting for? Let's go defeat this army. Understand, Sisera and King Jabin and the Canaanites had been oppressing them for 20 years. 20 years of oppression. 20 years of subjugation. They had been under this. And she goes up to Barak and says, Barak, get the troops. Let's go fight. And Barak says something and gets on my last nerves. Oh, I'm telling you, let me get a drink of water. Barak says to her, um,

If you go with me, I'll go. But if you don't go, I don't want to go. When I read that, I was livid. I said, Barack, do some push-ups, bro. Get some creatine. Get some protein. What you talking about? What you mean if she don't go with you, you're not going to go? You should be, I'm already ready to fight. Oh, I was so mad at Barack. Why are you waiting on her? Isn't it funny how you judge other people's battle when you're not the one that has to fight it?

Oh, I'm telling you, I judged Barak on the surface and still started doing my due diligence and looked at who he was about to fight. Do you understand that he was fighting against King Jabin and Sisera? Some scholars say that they had an army of 300,000 men. The Israelites only had 10,000 men. Y'all, they had iron chariots, 900 iron chariots that they were going to have to face.

So it's easy for me to look at Barack and say, "What's wrong with you? Why are you scared? Go fight." When he's the one that was going to have to face all of those chariots. Just like it's easy for you to look at other people that are going through a battle that you're not in and say, "You should have had more faith. You should pray more. Are you in my fight?

You don't have a clue what I'm facing. I actually want to shout out Barack. He might have been reluctant to go, but at least he went. At least he ended up going. Matter of fact, he probably took Deborah because he knew, I need more than push-ups for this fight. I need a prophet. I need somebody that's going to declare what thus saith the Lord in this battle. Oh, that's why you ought to thank God that you have a church and have a pastor that preaches the Word of God.

every single Sunday faithfully? How many of you have gotten something that's helped you on Monday get back in the fight? Look at this. Straight up, said, Deborah, I want you to go with me. Maybe he wasn't scared, or maybe in spite of being scared, he still took a step of faith. I'm glad that you can be faithful and still have some fear, that you can take a step, and even if the step is shaky, God will honor it. How do you know God honored it? Because of Hebrews.

Isn't it interesting that Barak is actually mentioned in the Hebrews Hall of Faith? And so he still, even though he needed Deborah to go with him, even though he might have been a little reluctant, still says, all right, let's go. Let's go fight. And they get ready and they rally up the troops. Can you see them? Can you see them? They've got 10,000 soldiers.

They're perhaps facing an army with 300,000 men, iron chariots. That's like going into a knife fight and somebody's got a military tank. They're outnumbered. These aren't warriors. These were like farmers. They're out there with pickets. No militaristic training. And they feel like some of you right now are facing something so much bigger than you, facing something that you're saying, I don't have the experience for this.

And God, why in the world would you even put me in this position? And your knees are knocking and you're scary and your voice is shaking. And you're like, God, look at what they have and look at what we have. And I love Deborah because she reminded Barack of the one thing that he had going for him. And I want to remind you of the one thing you have going for you.

Can I show it to you? It's in Judges chapter 4, verse number 14. I love what Deborah says to him. Let's look at it. Judges chapter 4, verse number 14. Can you put that on the screen? She says to him, get ready. This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera for the Lord is marching ahead of you.

I wish you could catch that in your spirit today. The only thing they had going for them was that the Lord was marching ahead of them. Is there anybody in here that is wise enough to know that the only thing that you got going for you is that the Lord is marching ahead of you? And as long as he's marching ahead of me, I got everything that I need. I might not have the training. I might not have the experience. I might not have the credit score.

But I want to take a praise break and thank God that as long as he's going before me, I'm going to get the victory because God before me is all that I need. If God before you, who can stand against you? Are you so obsessed with what you don't have that you've forgotten what you do have?

Are you so blinded by your own insecurities and inadequacies that you've forgotten that the only thing you need is that God has gone before you? Deborah says, come on, Barack. I don't care about them little iron tanks. I don't care how many people they got. As long as God is going before us, we're going to get this victory. And so they start marching out. Ooh, look at them. Iron chariots, perhaps 300,000 facing 10,000. Can you see them? Ooh.

Going, oh, Lord, I hope you really did go before us because we need you right about now. Have you studied the Bible? Here's what blows my mind about the Bible is that God's militaristic strategy never makes sense. Have you noticed this? It is the most ridiculous militaristic strategy. If you are studying the militaristic strategy of God, you will be confused because it looks stupid. Oh, it looks stupid. Read your Bible. I mean, come on. He's downsizing armies before the fight. Talking about you got too many people. Gideon's like, huh?

You got too many people. What you talking about, God? Cut the army down. Cut them down. Why? I don't like the way they drink water. Are you serious? He doing stuff like, send the worship team out first. God, we ain't making an album. We fighting a battle. What you mean? Here's my favorite. Walk around the wall and then yell.

It looks so crazy. It looks like it makes no sense. But when it worked, it just proves that God went before you. And I'm trying to help somebody that's in a season right now where you look so crazy. It doesn't make sense. But you need to know that God has gone before you. And when you get the victory, he's the only one that can get the credit. And you can say it was not by might. It was not by power. It's by his spirit that I won. So they go out.

And they're starting the mountain of Tabor and they go down into the valley of Kishon. And I need you to see something that's powerful that happens in the valley while they're fighting.

They're facing iron chariots. They're in the valley fighting. And something happens in the valley that you don't even get unless you read Judges chapter 5 and you hear Deborah's song. And I need everybody at every location to help me help you experience what happened while they're fighting in the valley. They're fighting in the valley. 10,000 versus several hundred thousand. They got iron chariots. But all of a sudden in the middle of the fight, something happens.

And I want to show you. Can y'all help me across every location now? I need 100% participation in this moment right now. This is critical. I want everybody to hold up this finger, just one finger like this. Yeah, every location. And hold up this hand like this. In the valley fighting. A little bit harder. Across every location, I see you. Come on, a little bit harder. All of a sudden, as they're fighting, it starts to rain. Come on, follow me. And as they're fighting, it starts raining harder and harder and harder.

In the middle of the fight, don't stop before you know it. It is a torrential downpour. What good is an iron chariot when it's stuck in the mud because you serve a God that knows how to make it rain. So when the rain came down, it proved that their God could use anything. I need somebody to give God some praise like you know. He's the only one that knows how to make it rain.

You gonna use rain in the battle because you don't get to choose, but God will use. God will use whatever he wants. How them iron chariots working in that rain?

The mud got them stuck. They had to get out in hand-to-hand combat, and they defeated every last one of them because of a God that went before them. Now I understand why the Bible says some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, but we trust in the name of God.

Of the Lord. I don't know what you're trusting in, but I'm going to trust in the name that is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. Watch this. Because God made it rain, the chariots get stuck in the mud, and they defeat every last one of them except for Sisera, the commander.

He saw all his homeboys dead, and he says, okay, you got to know when to hold them, when to fold them. I'm out. And he runs away, and he runs towards the tent of Jael. You know, Jael is married. Her husband's name is Heber. Heber. Heber's an interesting character, very interesting. Matter of fact, I just want to say this. It's not a sermon about dating or relationships, but if you're dating somebody and their name is Heber, run. Because Heber, his name means ally, companion, companion.

And that's exactly what he was. He was a companion to the Canaanites and a companion to the Israelites. Heba represents the person that is friends with the world and friends with Christ. Heba represents the person that wants to profess Christ on Sunday but live however they want on Monday through Saturday.

One foot in, one foot out. So he makes an alliance with the enemy because he is comfortable with the enemy. Run away from people that are comfortable with sin and comfortable with the enemy. And so no wonder Sisera, the commander of the army, felt comfortable running to the tent of Heber. Because he said, oh, Heber is my boy. He's on my side. But here's what made me shout. Heber wasn't home. Jael was. And here comes Sisera.

who's been oppressing the people of God for 20 years. He's on the run. He gets to Jael's tent. And Jael, watch how she gets him. She says, "Hello, my Lord, my Lord. "Come on in. "Don't be afraid." Do you see how cunning and brilliant Jael is? She's not calling him Lord as Savior. She's calling him Lord because she understands the way to speak to a man is through respect. Again, I'm not in a relationship series.

But men don't respond well to disrespect. That's why in Ephesians 5, Paul admonishes men to love their wives and women to respect their husbands. Men, love them like Christ loved the church, because that's hard for us to do. Women, respect your husbands, because that's hard for us to do, especially when they're acting a fool. But Jael, she's smart. She says, my Lord, my Lord. She respects him. She does not come out of the tent and say, ha, ha, ha, you about to die today.

"Uh-huh, sister, well, where you at now? Where your little cherry is now? Where your little army now? I'm about to kill you!" "What in the world?" "Sister girl, it's smart!" She says, "Uh, she says, 'My Lord, don't be afraid.'" Calms him. Says, "Come on, in the tent." Look at your neighbor say, "The weapons are in the house." Yeah, y'all can play. She gets him in the tent, and I want you to see what she does. Play real soft, make it sound real spiritual. I can see her. Once she gets him safe enough in the room, I don't know if she has any kids,

But I feel like she went to her diaper bag. Look at your neighbor and say, work what's in your bag. See, your weapons are always at your disposal. You're trying to look outside of you, but God will always put what you need within your reach. Work your bag. She gets him in and she says, come on in. Come on in. Can you see this big dude walking in? Probably built like Shaquille O'Neal. She says, come on in. And the first thing she does is she covers him.

She covers him, gets him real comfortable. He said, I bet you're tired. Yeah, I'm fighting a lot of people. Gets him real comfortable. And then once she gets him comfortable, he says, oh, can I get some water? Real thirsty. She does not bring water. Convinced. She had water. He just drank it all. She said, oh, you want some water? Oh, I bet you're tired from fighting. Oh, let me, let me.

Let me help you real quick. I know you asked for water, but I'm not going to give you what you asked for because I have a plan. She brings him milk. You do know milk has a property in amino acid that actually makes you... She's strategic in what she's about to do. This is your season to be strategic in what's been fighting you. You cannot play with the enemy. She

She says, "Oh, there you go. There's some milk, baby Huey," and gives him some milk. And once he is fast asleep, she realizes, "This is my moment. This is my moment. I have no other opportunity than now. I got to use what's in my bag." Can you see this woman got him in her tent? He is a warrior.

fast asleep, and she doesn't have time to go to military school. She doesn't have time to go on a seven-day fast. She doesn't have time to read the book of Leviticus. She just knows that he has been oppressing people and hurting people for years, and this is my only opportunity to take him out. I don't know who this is for, but please don't let the comedy mitigate what

God is trying to speak to you. There are things in your life that God has assigned you to kill. He's assigned you to destroy that addiction in your family. He's assigned you to break those generational curses in your family. It's on you. This is your moment to say, I am tired of the enemy oppressing me. I am tired of the enemy beating me down with depression. I'm tired of the anxiety. It's time for me to take you out. Can you see her? Can you see her?

moving with stealth and with strength. Can you see her walking towards him? You understand this is a moment that she has to seize. If she misses and he wakes up, it's over. She's only got this one opportunity. Can you see her? Palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, vomit on a sweater already, mom's spaghetti, she's nervous.

But on the surface she looks calm and ready to drop bombs, but she keeps on forgetting what she wrote. No, never mind. Y'all are offended by that. Don't get offended. Because you don't get to choose who God will use. God will use whoever he wants and he goes up to her. Goes up to him as he's sleeping. And I started thinking to myself, where in the world did she get such accuracy of aim?

Where in the world did she get the calmness and the steadiness of hand to hit it in one shot? If she misses this shot, it is all over. Where did she get this from? And then I found something out about JL. I found out that she is a Kenite. And Kenites were nomadic in nature.

They didn't have houses. They had tents that they would set up and tear down, set up and tear down, set up and tear down, set up and tear down every single week and month, setting up, tearing down, setting up. And guess whose responsibility it was to set up the tent and tear down the tent. It was the responsibility of the women to set up the tent and tear down the tent. JL didn't know.

All those years of setting up that tent and tearing it down was practice for this one shot to take the enemy out. Oh, who am I preaching to? You don't even realize the season you're in right now is just practice for you to take out the enemy. That thing that looks like it's menial, that doesn't matter, God is using it to give you practice to take out the enemy in one shot.

Remain standing, everybody that can. Stand to your feet. Every single day, every single moment she set up that tent and tore it down, it was practice for her shot. What am I saying to you? There are things you're doing right now you don't even realize. Practice for the moment that God is going to call you to step into and take out the enemy with one shot. It's practice. Every moment of power.

is preceded by countless hours. She put the tent peg through his head, killed him dead. Just like some of you are called to kill things in your family. Sisera is a picture of sin. Sin cannot be played with. You have to destroy it. She took the enemy out. Then Barak came back, thought he was going to get the victory. She comes out, you know you crazy. God can use crazy. You kill somebody and then come out calmly and say, uh,

Come real quick. Let me show you who you're looking for. He's dead. Look at JL. What does she really point to? Why is this story in the Bible? It's in the Bible because God's letting us know that he can use anybody. He can use you. It's also in the Bible because JL is just the foreshadowing of our Savior. Think about it. She had to kind of lie and say, oh, come on in, make him feel safe. She had to kind of use deceit. Still got the job done.

She tricked him to get in, kill him. Here's what I love about our perfect Savior. He was the perfect spotless lamb with no deceit. Nails to go through his body to defeat sin forever. He is a much better JL. Defeated sin on the cross and rose from the grave with all power. And then came back and said, look, look at the nail prints in my hands. I did this for you. How could you not respond to this wonderful, beautiful Savior?

who died not just to save you, but also wants to use. Are you disqualifying yourself not knowing that he's already gone before you? You don't get to choose who God will use. God will use whoever he wants. And I love it because every weapon that she used was already in the house. You didn't know all that was back there, but it was there the whole time. Because the weapons are always in the house. Can I tell you over this house? The weapons are already in this house.

God wants to use you to do things that eyes have not seen and ears have not heard. Neither has it entered into the heart of men the things God would do in this city and around the world if he could just get vessels that are available and open. I'm going to ask every head to be bowed, eyes to be closed. Father, thank you for your word. Father, thank you that you defeated the enemy. God, when those nails went through your hands and through your feet, you put a tin peg through the head of Satan. You destroyed him.

You defeated sin and death so we don't have to be afraid anymore. We can put our faith in you. Thank you for being a much better JL. God, I thank you that you can use every single person. God, I pray for the person who's disqualifying themselves. But God, you can use whoever you want, whenever you want, however you want to use them. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed today. If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, I would love to give you that opportunity today.

You don't have to get your record together and get your record clean because it's not about what you do. It is about what has already been done through Jesus. So with heads bowed and eyes closed today, across every location, eFam, you say, hey, Pastor Robert, I need to put my faith in the Savior who can use anybody, including me, but I need to surrender my life to him. That's you. Would you just lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it? Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord. I'm just going to lead you in this prayer. I'm going to give you the words, but you say it from your heart. Would you say this? Say, Jesus, I need you. I cannot do life without you. Jesus, I believe that you are the son of God. Jesus, I believe that you lived the life that I was supposed to live and you died the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place. So I'm responding to that. Forgive me of my sin. Make me brand new. And from this moment forward,

I'm walking with you in Jesus' name. Amen, amen, amen. Somebody give God some praise today. Oh, come on, you can do better than that. Give God some praise. If you know the weapons are in the house. God bless you, Elevation.

Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now or visit elevationchurch.org slash podcast for more information. And if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.

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