When my problem is bigger than my victory

The transcript is about the importance of having faith and gratitude in difficult times. It focuses on the story of Elijah and how despite witnessing miracles and victories, he became distraught and focused solely on the threat from Jezebel. The transcript emphasizes the need to trust in God, appreciate the blessings and miracles happening around us, and maintain a thankful spirit. It warns against allowing the enemy to break our fellowship with God and encourages staying strong in faith until the end. It's good to have to fight something good, and it's good to take what God has given, and it's good to take what God has given, and it's good to take what God has given. Hello, my name is Pastor Gia Clinton with Straight to the Heart Ministries, and we're doing a study in the Word. And we're going to talk tonight about when your victory isn't obvious. In other words, the title of tonight's study in the Word is, When My Problem Seems Bigger Than My Victory. That's tonight's title. We're going to look at 1 Kings, the 18th chapter, and the 41st verse. And it reads as thus, Then Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat, and drink, for there is a sound of the abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. Then he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees and said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and said, There's nothing. And seven times he said, Go again. Then it came to pass that the seventh time that he said, Then he said, There is a cloud as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea. So he said, Go up and say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you. Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and the wind and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. Chapter 19 says, And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, So let the gods do make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. No, she said, So let the God do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. So what happened was the prophet Elijah, you know, being, you know, acting in the power of God and being this just bad man, you know what I mean? Like this is the prophet Elijah. He had all of the prophets of Baal executed, all of them with the sword. And these, as you know, were Jezebel's prophets. So she's angry. Not only that, he performed a miracle to the people to prove to them that God was with them. He had 12 stones for the 12 tribes of Israel and it was a trough and full of water and they had all of this stuff, this sacrifice. So the Lord came down and burned up everything, even the stones. He soaked up all the water and he burned up the offering in front of the people to show them this great miracle that God was with them. And so that was enough for King Ahab. He was like, Okay. So he told him to, you know, get up. God is with us right now. And so the miracle happened. He said, But first, you're going to have to repent for what you have done and go back. You know what I mean? You're going to have to slaughter all of those prophets of Baal. You're going to have to get rid of all of them. And so that's what he did. He allowed Elijah to slaughter all those prophets and they were false prophets and wicked ones. They were Jezebel's prophets. And then he went back and told Elijah, he went back and told Jezebel what had happened. So now there are miracles and victories happening all around Elijah. But all he can focus on is that tomorrow Jezebel made this declaration, You're going to be a dead man tomorrow. I don't know who you think you're messing with. You obviously don't know that I am queen, a wicked queen, you know, on top of that. And she was Jezebel. She was the only one in the Bible that could have Elijah quaking in his boots. And so with all the miracles that God had shown him, around him, I mean, it rained. Israel had suffered a drought. The land had suffered a complete drought. God made it rain. He proved himself. He burnt the offering. They slaughtered the false prophets. The people had turned back to God. And all he could think about was this situation that he was facing. Jezebel was going to kill him. She had threatened and sworn to kill him. And many times in our life, when God is allowing us to see his hand and to show us that he's with us and to fight our battles, our situation is so, it seems so insurmountable that the victory just doesn't seem big enough. In other words, our situation seems so much bigger than our victory. And it's just not true. God was with him all the way. And many times when we're going through, we become so distraught. And if you ever get to a place where God is, you know, working on you and you're going to the father about your situation and you just begin to rock, no words can come out because you're so distraught. You just begin to rock and talk to him. And you just begin to say, oh, Lord, I don't know what's going on and I don't see a way out of this thing. This is bigger than me. This is a supernatural experience. And so when you begin to talk to God, he's there listening and he's trying to help you understand that I got this. But we don't always see that because we're so caught up in what's happening. We're so caught up in the problem that we can't see that the solution is standing in front of us. The solution is walking beside us. The solution is Jesus and he's working it out even as we're complaining. So sometimes when you're looking for a miracle, so he was looking for rain. And so he sent his servant up seven times. And he goes back and he says, well, I see the size of a man's hand, a blue cloud coming up from the water. And he said, that's it. Go tell Ahab this is it. So sometimes a small sign, if your heart's not in the right place, if your eyes aren't fixed the right way, you could miss it. And out of that small hand came a great rainstorm. The sky went black and the winds began to come in and the rain came. And so what is Pastor G saying? Pastor G is saying, listen, I know that you're going through and I know that it seems insurmountable. And I know that our situation seems bigger than our faith. But if you began to look up and just open your eyes and not become distraught. And allow yourself to see, stand still and begin to see the salvation of the Lord. Begin to see what's happening around you. Sometimes God will send you a cloud the size of a man's hand. He'll give you just enough. Lord, I need more than this. This is bigger than this. What about this? What about that? He may want to deal with your situation one step at a time. One thing at a time. See, what's big to you and insurmountable to you is foolishness to God. It's small. But he wants to show you, I don't need to send you an abundant windfall right now. I can just deal with this one thing at a time so that you can see step by step that God is with you. You can begin to see step by step that miracles still happen. I got this miracle and that miracle and this miracle and that miracle. We don't always need lottery winnings for God to deal with our situation. Some things are just God trying to show you who he is in your life and that the very hairs of your head are numbered and he cares about every little thing that happens to you. And it doesn't matter how big it is. It's going to seem big to you. God, I got this bill and that bill and this bill and, oh, my God, it seems like the world is caving around me. I've been looking for a job for a long time and this isn't happening. And I know what you're thinking, Tess, you can't understand what I'm going through. You don't know that I'm dealing with this and I've got a sick child at home and my husband's trying to divorce me or my wife's trying to divorce me or I'm just not able to find anybody. Listen to me. God is with you in every situation, every situation, through your singleness, through your divorce, through your marriage, if this is your first time married or if your relationship's rocking, he's right there with you. And so, listen, you think that with all those miracles Satan's not going to get upset? Of course he's going to get upset. He's going to get angry. You're experiencing a miracle. God is showing himself mighty and strong in your life. And the devil is mad. Did you see that devil come through Jezebel and threaten the prophet Elijah? She said, as the Lord, listen, she said, I'll tell you what, I'm so angry with you right now, Elijah, this time tomorrow you're going to be dead. And if I'm not a truth teller, may it happen to me because I'm going to make sure that I end your life tomorrow. And so, of course, Elijah's upset. And so, he goes to God in verse 4 in chapter 19, he says, but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under the broom tree. And he prayed that he might die. And he said, it is enough now, Lord, take my life for I am no better than my father's. Then as he laid and slept under a broom tree, poor baby, he was so upset. That old mean Jezebel then threatened him. As he laid down, as he laid under a broom tree and he prayed that he might die. He said, I'm no better than my father. Okay, let's look at verse 5. Then as he laid and slept under the broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, arise and eat. And he looked and there by his head was a cake bake on a coal and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and laid down again. So, I'm going to stop here for a second. He's not considering that an angel of the Lord actually came to him. I mean, it fed him in his distraughtness. All he can think about is the enemy that he is facing. He seems insurmountable. The Bible says that the angel came twice. Then he looked, verse 6 says, then he looked and there by his head was a cake. We read that. And the angel of the Lord came back the second time and touched him and said, arise and eat. Because the journey is too great for you. So he arose and he ate and drank and he went in the strength that the food 40 days and 40 nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. So, what's happening is Elijah's distraught, Elijah's tired. And angels are talking to him and, you know, there's a great earthquake and the Lord speaks to him and he's tired and he feels that this problem is just so big that, you know, there's this wicked king and everybody's turned against me. He said, let me tell you something. He said, there are 7,000 who have not bowed down to Baal, who have not kissed him, who have not bent the knee to Baal. 7,000 in Israel. So, what we're seeing is that the devil knows how to wear us out. He knows how to get us to look past all the miracles that God is doing and keep complaining and keep complaining and just keep denying the power that you're seeing in God. God is doing some great miracles. And we're too scared to trust him beyond the big picture that we're looking at. Not seeing that he's chopping away at every issue that's coming before us. Every tongue that rises up in judgment, he's condemning. Every enemy he's cutting down for you. There's nothing that displeases God more than an ungrateful spirit, than an unthankful heart. And Satan knows that. And his job is to keep you unthankful, is to keep you, listen, murmuring and complaining. Not even looking at the fact that he even spoke to an angel about two, three times and the Lord himself had spoken to him softly. And even in all of that, he couldn't see what was happening. All he could focus on was that, you know, Jezebel was going to do this to him. And he told him, he said, you know what I want you to do? I want you to anoint Nimshi. You're going to make him king over Assyria. I'm sorry, Hazel. Hazel over Syria. And also you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as king over Israel. And you're going to anoint Elisha. He's going to be your replacement. So sometimes when we complain and complain, the Lord will shut us down. Okay, obviously, you know, you can't go no further than this. I want you to anoint Elisha and train your replacement at this time. Because if you're not hearing the fact that I've done all these miracles in your place, listen, in front of your face, he's done them. In front of his face. He didn't hide. Miracle after miracle. I sent angels to talk to you twice, and I've spoken to you, and you're still talking about this is not going to work. And I'm telling you now that there are 7,000 that has not bent a knee to Baal, that has not compromised, that has not kissed him. But fears me. So I think that what the Lord is saying here is that in Elisha's case, and Elisha saw victory. Because Jezebel, the dogs ate her flesh. I mean, she was just, I mean, she died horribly. So he will deliver you. He will set you free. He will deal with your enemies. But there's got to be something of you left to appreciate the victory. If you let the devil beat you so badly that you can't appreciate seeing an angel twice and hearing the voice of the Lord twice, I mean, something is really wrong. And not to mention all the miracles in between. It doesn't take an anvil to fall on your head to know that God is moving in your life. But it does take a pliable spirit. A grateful spirit. If you got to get up and say, Lord, I'm thankful for the air in my lungs. Every time I take a breath, I praise you. God, I thank you that my lights is on. I don't know how they still on, God, but you still got them on. I thank you that I got running water. And I don't know how, Lord, they cut this off and cut that off, but I still got food. And though I don't have a job, I'm still making it some kind of way. It's all you, God. And I praise you and I thank you. You got to be having a thankful spirit. You got to at some point say, God, I worship you. I worship you. No matter how this thing looks to you, no matter how Satan is painting this picture, because all he wants to do is to separate you from the fellowship of the Lord. The miracles is not the fellowship. You have to worship the creator, the giver of all things. You have to have relationship and fellowship with him. He's not Santa Claus. He's not somebody just going to bring you presents. He's your Lord. He's your master. He's your savior. Your soon-coming king. And if you can't reverence him and you can't respect him and you can't honor him and you can't thank him for the things that he's doing in your life, something's wrong with you. Something is wrong. You got a problem bigger than the problem you're facing, bigger than your small tribulation. You got a heart condition. And the only way you're going to set that thing right is to say, oh, God, forgive me a sinner. Forgive me, God. You're going to have to go to God and ask him for forgiveness. I may not be able to see what the Lord is doing for me, but I know he's blessing me right now. I can feel his spirit coming down right now. Remember the song? You may not be able to see what the Lord has done for me, but I know he's blessing me. That's faith. And if you don't have that kind of faith, something's wrong. The situation is much bigger than the things that you're asking God for. Those are things. Those are trivial things. Those are circumstances. But he's your Lord. He is the answer. And if you can't see that that is happening, then we've got to take a breath and take a step back and say, all right, Lord. The problem is in me. There's something I lost along the way where I can't be grateful and I can't thank you and I can't see that I'm an overcomer and I can't stay in the fight until the fight is done. No matter what it looks like, I can stand and see the salvation of the Lord. Maybe I'm not going to get the miracle that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego got, but you got your own special way of dealing with me, God, of showing me who you are, showing forth yourself mighty and strong. And so if you can't talk to him like that, then our problem is bigger than we think. And it's time for God to do something in you. It's time for God to come visit you. We need a different kind of visitation. We have a heart condition, a faith condition, and that's a terminal thing. And we need God to fix it before we are on the outs with him, before we break fellowship with him. That's what Satan wants. He doesn't want to. He don't care about the miracles you ask God for. Do you really think he cares? He cares about your faith. He wants to stop your fellowship with him. He is after your soul. And the only way he's going to get it is when you break fellowship with him. He wants to get you to break fellowship with him. He tried to get Job to curse God and die. You think he's not after you? Oh, yes, he is. You're a testimony. You're a miracle. God has done great things in your life time and time again. All he's shown you is his miracle and his power. And we get so stagnated and so, oh, Lord, I'm just beaten down because I'm going through for so long. But you're still standing. And if you can't worship him for anything else, thank you, God, that I'm standing. Thank you, God, that this thing hasn't taken me under. Thank you, God, that I still have breath. The scripture says let everything that have breath praise the Lord. And if we don't praise him, the rocks are going to cry out. I don't want no rocks praising God for me. I know how to worship him. I know how to get down and praise him for what he's done, for what he's going to do. I know how to call forth an existence. I'd have been like, Lord, I thank you Jezebel's dying tomorrow. Woo, I thank you. You're getting rid of my enemy. Now, she said she threatened his life. She threatened his life with God standing there. He was God's servant on God's assignment. Do you really think for a second his life was in danger? But he did. Her threats meant more than all the miracles around him. Her threats were the thing that was ringing in his ear. Angels tapping him on his feet. Angels having conversations, baking him cakes and serving him dinner. He only worried about the fact that this devil said she was going to kill him. He has lost his way somehow. Even the great prophet Elisha can lose his way. So can you. So can I. So we've got to be vigilant and sober in how we deal with one another and how we face situations because Satan is not after your miracle. Satan is after your walk, your relationship with him. He wants to stop it. He wants to break it down. He wants to chip away at it. You can't let him do it. You've got to double down in prayer. You've got to double down in worship. You're going to have to fast and get some of that ugly out of your heart, that evil out of your heart. That comes out through fasting and praying. When doubt has crept in to the point where you don't have a kind word to say to God, you can't raise your head up in faith. That's the enemy. And he came in and he stole something from you. But you've got to take it back in the name of Jesus. You've got to take back your faith. You've got to take back what he's stolen. Don't give him a victory. Listen, as strong as you came in serving the Lord, you've got to go out strong. You've got to go out strong. Your epitaph, when it's time to go home, if you don't cheat death, should say, She served the living God. He walked by faith and not by sight. Oh, what a mighty man of God he was. What a mighty woman of God she was. She served God to the very end. That's what it needs to say. That's what it needs to say. Nobody's going to remember all the miracles you prayed for. They're going to remember how you lived. Did you trust him? Did you walk with him? Did you worship him every time you saw his miracles? Did you worship him when you saw the size of a man's hand? Did you worship him when he had the angels make your cake? Did you worship him when he came through and delivered? When he called you to rise up and kill all those false prophets? Did you worship him when you heard his voice? Something is wrong if all of those things are going on and you're still saying, Oh, no, this is the end. I can't. When you're still not recognizing his presence, something is wrong. Something is wrong. And, listen, if he can wear down the prophet Elijah, we can be worn down, too. And many of us are being worn down. But, oh, what did he say? I got 7,000 that have not bent the knee, that have not kissed the face of that statue. I got 7,000. Because Elijah said, I'm the only one left. There's nobody left. I know what's happened, but there's nobody left, nobody for real. It's just me. He had isolated himself, and he had sunken into what the problem was instead of seeking a solution. And because he did that, he lost sight of God. How many of us have lost sight of God today? How many of us have allowed the devil to shake our problems so far in front of our face that we are not able to see God's hand, no matter what miracles happen, no matter what he does? You're still not able to see him. And you're holding up your own blessing. You're holding up your own fellowship and your own victory because you won't look up. You won't see God. You're going to miss God because all you can do is complain about what's happening around you instead of all the things that he's doing for you in the midst of the trouble. He's giving you victory. And the biggest victory is coming. It's coming. He's chipping away at everything that's going wrong in your life, and he's repairing, and he's rebuilding, and he's presenting a new creature, and he's turning things around. And yes, you've been in it a long time, and yes, you get tired. But you don't want to cut yourself off from his relationship. You don't want to miss the creator. You don't want to miss the giver of all things because you're just so tired. What is Pastor Gia saying? I'm trying to say to you today that victory, your victory, your victory is going to come when you begin to look up and you throw those hands up, those hands that seem too heavy to lift and praise God, and you begin to thank him. I thank you, God, for my circumstances. I know you're working them out, and I know they're not too hard for you. Yes, they seem bad to me, but, oh, God, I know you got it under control, and I worship you. I worship you. That's when you're going to see victory, when you begin to worship him, when you begin to praise him, when you begin, oh, God, it's not food in here, but, oh, I thank you for these can of pork and beans or whatever you find. Begin to worship him. Show him that you're worthy. Show him that you have a relationship, and you're grateful, and you're going to serve him, and you're going to say, for God I live and for God I'll die, no matter what the circumstances are, because he's working on your circumstances while it is happening in real time. And many of us have many miracles round about us, and we're missing it. We're allowing Satan to paint an illusion, and we're missing God, and that's not his will, beloved. That is not his will for you tonight. He wants you to surrender. He wants you to trust him. He wants you to restore the relationship that was broken between you and him. Amen? All right, now, that's all the time Pastor Gia had, but we're going to close in a word of prayer. Father God, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for your victory. We thank you, God, for your miracles. We thank you for your timing, God. We're asking right now for everyone under the sound of my voice that is going through, Father, I'm asking God that you would open their eyes. Let them not see men the size of trees, but cause them to see in real time what is happening in their life. Cause them to see in the moment, God. Rise them up from that bed, Father, that bed of affliction. Wake them up, God. Cause them to see the blessings that you've given them, and that you're still blessing them. You're still, every day that they take a breath, every day that things are happening in their favor, you're moving and you're blessing them. Cause them to see it, God, in Jesus' name. Cause them to see your mighty hand. Oh, God, I'm asking in the name of Jesus that they be able to even say, oh, God, you've done this thing for me. They would declare victory. You've done this for me. And not only declare it in words, but declare it in their hearts. And to see it, God, in the name of Jesus. Restore the fellowship that is broken in them, in Jesus' name. Create in me a clean heart, oh, God, and renew the right spirit within me. Cause them to say it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, that's all the time Pastor Gia has for tonight. Remember, walk with the King today and be a blessing. Amen.