The Cost of Submitting to Intimidation | Elijah's Rise and Fall

The Cost of Submitting to Intimidation | Elijah's Rise and Fall

In this episode, we discuss something that we all have dealt with at one time or another.... Intimidation...

Elijah was one of the Bible's greatest prophets, and intimidation derailed him.

Join us as we talk through recognizing intimidation and fear, NOT taking the bait of the enemy, and pressing through in your calling.


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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

What's up guys? Welcome to Counterculture with Caleb and Stephanie. We're back, baby.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Um, with my counterculture mug. Uh shout out to your sister.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

She got two of these for Caleb for his birthday.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Last year. Is this the first time that we've actually had?

SPEAKER_00 0:16

This is the first time.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

I love it.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Yeah. I'm I'm totally the beneficiary of your birthday gift.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Yeah, no, that's great. They're great coffee mugs.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Well, how are you today?

SPEAKER_00 0:29

I'm great. Yesterday we had a big surprise. Yeah. Yesterday was a big day for my dad for his 80th birthday. And so my sister had this great idea to take two harps and show up to his church and surprise him. And so we did. We planned for two months. That's a huge surprise.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Little disclaimer Steph plays the harp. It wasn't just like two harps in the church. It's like there.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah. So we show up and we were playing, like, we timed it perfectly. So we were pr playing prelude, and um, the choir director was texting, We're on our way. And so when he walked into the choir, laugh because he sings in the choir, he was like dumbfounded. He was like, What in the world? And then he's like, There's two of them, and then he was just like holding back tears. It was amazing. He um he told us he was like, That was the best day of my life. Yeah, whoa.

SPEAKER_02 1:23

That's a big thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

That's a big statement. But he was like, Yeah, my wedding day was great, but like I was young and I didn't know a lot at that time. He's like, This was the best day of my life. I was like, Whoa, that's a cool, like, that's a really cool response to hear after planning a big surprise.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Not my wedding day, but this. This was it.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

And it was so fun because everyone in the church was like getting on board and they were all keeping the secret, and we were all being quiet in practice, and they're letting us know he's in the choir room, he's not coming, you're good, you're good. Like it was just it was really fun being able to do something like that on that level. And um yeah, you could tell he really appreciated it.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Well, I mean from his reaction.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

He literally that afternoon I called him and he was already watching it on YouTube, watching the replay of the server.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Oh, that's great. Anyways, all right, babe. Elijah. Elijah, the topic of the day. So I was reading the couple, I don't know, like a week or so ago in the New Testament. And as I was reading, it like you know how the Bible will like preface not preface, but it'll reference things from the old testament sometimes or like a call back to something. And so I noticed that it was calling back to like this the section of First Kings. I was like, Oh, cool, I'm gonna go do like I I read that stuff all the time. Like, I'll just flip back and look and say, Oh, okay, I see. And it was really interesting because where it landed was talking about Elijah, and we'll get into who Elijah is, but like it was a specific section in his story that I I've read it before. We talk about this all the time, where you like read the Bible, and then you're like, What wait, what? Like I have read the story of Elijah so many times. Yeah, and and I just I never pick up on like the there's like little nuggets that you pick up and you're like, Whoa, thank you, Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

You know, it's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

So that's where this whole topic even started of Elijah, because it was really just out of my quiet time and the Lord like highlighted that specific story to me, and I was like, Okay, I gotta study this thing. We gotta talk about this on the pod.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Which it's so cool because Elijah has always been one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Yeah, because okay, by the way, if if you love Marvel movies, yeah, this is like your favorite thing to talk about with Elijah. Y'all, Marvel movies were literally just taken from the Bible. Yeah, 100%. And if you're like, what? Y'all, when I started reading the Bible, I was like, like, hold up. This is a Marvel movie, like, but way cooler.

SPEAKER_03 4:08

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

Oh, no, literally, Elijah. If you're gonna see this, Elijah literally runs like the flash. Like, you think I'm joking? We're gonna get to it. We're gonna read the exact scripture. He runs like the flash.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

The only one that like Marvel type stuff, like you've got people disappearing, reappearing somewhere else. Yes, you know, yes, so it's like oh you've got the invisible man, you've got, yeah, like the the like showing up somewhere else, like yeah, the running like the flash, the the ascent, the the descension down from heaven, like with uh with Jesus at his uh transfiguration, dude.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Yeah, it's like what like Marvel was just taken from the Bible, bro. Like for real.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Copyright.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

So, anyways, we're gonna get into Elijah because his story is so cool, it's so profound, and there's so many different directions that you can go from in his story. Yeah. Um, so we're just gonna we're just gonna touch on one of the directions today.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

Well, and so to just like some people probably know who Elijah is, like if if you've read the Bible or read his story, but if you haven't, so the Bible has these guys that are prophets, right? And a lot of times they're there to give messages to the people of Israel, um, sometimes to go like Jonah to Nineveh to like, you know, essentially tell people that they're doomed, kind of thing. But um, these prophets would go to the kings and they would talk to the kings and things like that. And so Elijah was the main prophet in the time of King Ahab. Now, King Ahab was a freaking loser, okay? He was bad, he was terrible, and what's funny, he like it literally says in the Bible that he was worse than Jeroboam, which Jeroboam was like the king that everybody knew was terrible. Then no, you don't want to be like Jeroboam, and freaking Ahab is like said that he's worse, you know. Not he didn't say that. People like the Bible says that he was worse than Jeroboam.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Yeah, in the study, uh in the study Bible that I have, the amplified study Bible, it says that Ahab is the very lowest point in the degeneration of the spiritual life of the kings of Israel. Each of the kings of the northern kingdom had been guilty of walking in the steps of Jeroboam, but Ahab's sins made Jeroboam look trivial.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

His greatest crime was his promotion of bail worship as a state religion, which was interesting because that whole thing happened because of his wife, who was a bad mamma jamma. She was a bad mamma jamma. Okay. So Jezebel was like the daughter of a Sidonian king, and he was like that, they were like the people of Baal worship, like that was their thing.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

He was a priest, he was a king, and he was a priest of Baal.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

Yeah. And it's like, so, and okay, just just pause. The Lord already told the people not to do that very thing, like go and marry outside because of the infiltration of those things that were happening. Um, and so Baal worship was the exact thing that she brought with her into the Israel, like into the Israelite kingdom, and it just infiltrated. Like, and isn't that a thing though? Like something that people could look at as like, oh, it's not that big of a deal. But then it's like, oh, it actually just starts creeping and seeping through, just like with Jesus calling out the be beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. Well, this was the yeast of Jezebel. Oh Christ.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Maybe oh my gosh, you got me tickled.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Well, Jezebel was. She was she was gnarly. She was terrible. Yeah, she was really, really bad. Jezebel and Ahab, like in the Christian circles, I feel like every church knows about Ahab and Jezebel because they were so bad.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Like you hear about them, it's not good.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

So Elijah, though, comes on the scene in 1 Kings 17. And the thing with that is like it doesn't tell us much other than he's like a Tishbite. That's it. And then it goes into like his immediate word to Ahab. So Elijah comes on the scene and ends up giving this prophetic word to Ahab that there's gonna be this drought. And this drought is gonna take place, right, for the next few years is kind of what the text says, and until another word from the Lord is given. Now, we could like pass over that, right? But why, why the drought? Like, why would the Lord send a drought?

SPEAKER_00 8:59

Okay, the funny thing about that is that Elijah's pronouncement about the drought was an immediate challenge because Baal was supposed to govern the weather. Right. But Elijah was declaring Baal powerless before the living God.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Yahweh's your sword.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Just a total flex. Because, like, okay, so you're worshiping this false God. Now I'm gonna take what your false God apparently controls, and I'm just gonna be like, nope, you can't have it, and just pull it back. So I thought that was really funny because he goes and he challenges, you know, immediately that. So Ahab hates Elijah, like from the get-go, doesn't like him. Like it's not a good, it's not a good thing for for Ahab when you know Elijah comes around. Fast forward a few a few years later, Elijah is told by the Lord, hey, go give message to Ahab that rain is coming. Yeah. When he shows up on the scene right at Mount Carmel and he goes to tell Ahab, Ahab, before he even gets there, or before he even says anything, is like, oh, you've come to cause trouble. Like, you're here to call. And he's like, I'm not the troublemaker here. You are the one that's like coming out and doing all this false worship to these false gods and all this kind of stuff. So Elijah, I think he gets a little bit frustrated. Okay. So at this point, he goes, Go and tell everyone to come here. Go get your prophets of Baal, the 450, and go get the 400 prophets of Asherah and gather them here. And so, so at that moment, when they all show up, Elijah's like, All right, I'm kind of sick of this whole like, oh, we serve God, we serve Baal, we serve God. He's like, No, no, no, no. Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do a contest here. And the prophets of Baal, they're gonna try to call down fire, and then Yahweh's gonna call down fire, right? And so he goes, but you guys can go first. You guys can go first. Go ahead. And so, and and he goes, So get get two bulls, set up two sacrificial points, which two bulls is really interesting there, because a bull represented Baal in Canaanite Panth in the Canaanite pantheon, which is like kind of cool because in a way, Elijah is setting them up for better success with this whole thing, you know, quote unquote, because oh well, they're they're literally sacrificing something to Baal that's like oh, you know, a representation of himself. It's like it kind of is like an upper hand in their eyes, right? So they start chanting and doing all these things to try and you know, cutting themselves and singing and chanting.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

Yeah, and they it says that um they took the bowl that was given and prepared it, called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, Oh, Baal, hear and answer us. But there was no voice and no one answered, and they leaped about the altar which they had made.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

And then at noon, Elijah starts like mocking them, and he's like, Yo, guys, you you might need to talk a little bit louder. Maybe he's asleep and he can't hear you. Like, he is going in on these guys, and it's so funny. And so at this point, Elijah is like, all right, all right, all right, enough's enough, kind of thing. Okay, so he goes, you know what? He has this like trench built around his his uh his altar, and he's like, I want you to dump water on it, just dump water on it all over the place. And he's like, you know what, do it again, do it again, like yeah, do it, and then do it again. So he his the wood, everything is and he has a trench, he has a trench around it.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

So like he not only has the bowl on the altar and it's completely soaked, like more and more water, but he also has a trench that is now filled around the thing to where there is no way fire will light on this thing, not at all, and so then in that moment, Elijah prays to the Lord and calls down fire, and it doesn't say that it just lit it up just very pretty and all this stuff.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

No, no, no, no. Fire from heaven came down and lit that whole thing, like, and it says that it licked up all of the water surrounding, yeah, in the trench, in the trench, and uh yeah, and it's just like boom, power statement right there. Like, yeah, this is Yahweh, like he is the one true God, and it actually says that all of them like fell to the ground and were like professing, yeah, professing Yahweh as Lord.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

The people acknowledged, yes, I don't know exactly which one because there were also there were people there as well. So I don't know if it was the prophets of Baal. I doubt it was them. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

Probably not, but I think that the the whole goal of that was for the Israelites to see that like you are serving something that is not serving you, right? You know what I'm saying? Like it's not, and not that God serves us, but it is not it like it was a false thing that they were serving because it was something, you know, tangible that they could control and they could, you know, offer these sacrifices and blah blah all this kind of stuff. And Elijah's like, you are so stupid, you're serving the wrong, you're serving the wrong one. And so all of the 450 prophets, do you want to talk about the next part here?

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Oh, and get this. So then it also says, Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and even the stones and the dust. Oh wow also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell face downward and they said, The Lord He is God, the Lord He is God. And that's the capital L. So they're talking about Yahweh.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Yeah, that's so good.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Then Elijah said, Seize the prophets of Baal, he took them off, you know. And then um, and then this is where it's really cool. Like this is where the marvel part comes in. Because then after that, Elijah says to Ahab, go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the roar of an abundance of rain. So Elijah was hearing the sound of an abundance of rain. So he told Ahab, go up, go eat and drink, celebrate because rain is coming. Which it had been like a massive drought. So it was like it was serious for them.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

It doesn't say this in the text, but I'm wondering now that I'm thinking about it, right? Because or now that we're talking about it, because it says that the people, you know, fell down and worshipped, right? The Lord. Do you think Ahab did that? No, you don't think so?

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Well, I don't know. It says all the people.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

I know. That's why I'm like, because why why why is Elijah telling him to go and rejoice? Like, is he technically on like good terms with Ahab in the moment?

SPEAKER_00 16:04

You know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

That's it. I don't know. I I think it's like good food for thought because we'd have to study that. We'd have to study it. But I think that it's it's really an interesting note. I don't know, it's an interesting thought because like who knows?

SPEAKER_00 16:20

But I know he immediately goes back to bed. So Well, that's that is very So it says that Elijah said to Ahab, go up, eat and drink, celebrate, for there is a sound of the roar of an abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he crouched down to the earth and put his face between his knees. He said to his servant, Go up, look towards the sea. So he went up and looked and said, There's nothing, Elijah. So Elijah said, Go back. And he did that seven times.

SPEAKER_03 16:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

And then at the seventh time, the servant said, A cloud as small as a man's hand is coming up from the sea. And Elijah said, Go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down so that the rain shower does not stop you. In a little while the sky grew dark with clouds and winds, and there were heavy showers. And Ahab mounted and rode his chariot and went inland to Jezreel. Okay, before I get to this next part, so he's telling Ahab, all right, first of all, the faith that Elijah had to exhibit here, he's like, I hear the abundance of rain. Like his confidence in the Lord and the Lord answering that word was just like massive. Yes. And so he's telling Ahab, like, go up and celebrate. Go celebrate because it's coming. And then his servant comes and he's like, No, there's no rain. And then he had to go back and look out. Like, who knows how much time elapsed between his servant having to go out and see where the rain was.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Well, I think coming off of what just happened with him calling fire down, I think his confidence level is quite high. You know, like mine would be, you know, so he's like, go back, go back.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

He's like the Lord, there's an abundance of rain. I hear it. And so then he sends Ahab, right? So Ahab is now on chariot, on his way to Jezreel. And then it says, Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah, giving him supernatural strength. And he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel, nearly 20 miles.

SPEAKER_02 18:22

That is wild. So he almost ran a marathon at like super speed.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

And he beat Ahab, who was who had already been sent ahead of him. Like he had already gone on his way, like haul and butt in these chariots. And he sends him way off. And then at some point later, Elijah runs so fast that he beats Ahab back to Jezreel. Like, bro, do you know how many times I read and missed that in the Bible? And I was like, well, wait, hold up. He outran him.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

He ran like the flash.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Yeah, that's insane. It's so crazy.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

Sorry, I love that part.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

No, I think it's cool. Um, but I think it's it's really important what you touched on, which was Elijah's confidence was like not faltering at all in the Lord in this in this specific time. I mean, we saw the the fire come down from heaven. We see his, you know, prophetic word coming to pass about the rain coming. Um and where the Lord took me the other day in scripture was this next part. And I'm gonna read it, I'm gonna read some of it. Um but it's very interesting how the tables can turn so fast. The tables can turn so fast in our life when we give way to certain things. And so let's I'm gonna I'm gonna read really quick and then we'll we'll kind of discuss it a little bit. So it says, when Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah May the gods strike me and even kill me, if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them. And it says right here in this one, this is this is like super key. It says Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. It says he went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Okay, so leaving his servant there was I think also a little bit of a like like a uh a tactic. Because it it would it would kind of distract them from knowing where he really was. So he left his his his um you know his servant there, and then it says he went alone into the wilderness, traveling all day, and he sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. And he said, I have had enough, Lord. He said, Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died. Then he laid down and slept under a broom tree. But he was sleeping, and an angel touched him, said, Get up. He looked around, and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, then laid down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you. So he got up, ate, and drank, and the food uh gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave where he spent the night. So he flees, right? And then so leaves his servant in Beersheba. Then he flees again, tries to essentially just like I want to die now because he's he's scared for his life. And now he's traveled another forty days and forty nights all the way to Mount Sinai, and he's hiding. In a cave at this point. And the Lord said to him, He said, What are you doing here, Elijah? And Elijah replied, I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty, but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me too. And the Lord tells him, Go out and stand before me on the mountain. The Lord the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by. So when you see like the Lord passing by, it's usually to showcase his glory. Yeah. Um, we see that throughout scripture at different points.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

And so to showcase that he is Yahweh, that he is God, like supreme.

SPEAKER_02 22:56

And it says that a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the after the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And this is where I think the Lord was trying to see if he would change his response. Because he says, A voice it says, a voice said again, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he replied again with the exact same response. And the response that he did before. And I think what's really interesting that happened with Elijah here is Elijah was on mission. Like he was a prophet of God. God was obviously backing him in all of these scenarios. And he came to this mountain to flee in fear. And it doesn't say that he was supposed to go and flee from Jezebel.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Right.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

But he got so scared and intimidated by this woman that he literally runs in fear and just like almost loses complete confidence in the Lord. And I feel like in life it is so easy to do that. Like sometimes we put these prophets and these people of God on a pedestal. But like they're people. That that causes him to literally forego anything that the Lord wanted to use him after that. Like, I don't think that the Lord was done with him. And I but at the end of the day, the Lord will always find somebody to carry out his will. You know? And I think that that's what's really interesting because right after that, when he doesn't recognize like when when God passed him by, I really believe, like what you were just saying, that that was to showcase his glory, that he's in control of everything. He just went up against the the God of the uh the Baal, the God of like weather, right? And and all of and uh I think the other one fertility. And what happens? What does God showcase in that moment to Elijah that he controls all of it? Baal has no authority. And he's he's calling this out in that moment of like, Elijah, do you not see who I am? Like I'm passing you by to showcase who I am. Do you not see it?

SPEAKER_00 26:15

Which is so interesting because in the New Testament, I think it's a mark when it talks about how the disciples were after the feeding of the 5,000, right? And they get in the boat and they cross over, and Jesus was still praying, and he was like, I'll meet you over there, whatever. And they get stuck in this crazy weather, they're halfway over, and then they're like freaking out because they're like, Oh my gosh, this weather, the waves are they're gonna overtake us, like, what do we do? And they see Jesus walking and they're like, Jesus, Jesus. And this is when Jesus walks on the water over, you know, over to them. And um, it's funny because they're like freaking out, and it says that Jesus, this was after feeding the 5,000, Jesus walked by with the intent to pass by them. And when you read that, you're like, why would Jesus do that? Like, why would he pass by when his loving, like he loved them so much, disciples are struggling and they're fearing for their life and they're yelling out for him, why would he pass by? But it actually, when you look at the original text, it it was the same thing as when God would pass by in the Old Testament, like with Elijah. And what it is, is it is a sign of I am Yahweh, right? The I am. And so what he's trying to do is signify that I am the same as God I am. Like Jesus and God are one. So it's not just Jesus, this guy that they've known or whatever. It's like Jesus is God. So Jesus is trying to show them that he is the I am, the great, the one and only God, like God is trying to show here, like the the all-authority, the all-consuming, amazing power of the one true mighty God. Yeah, and so it's cool that that parallel is there where like God is trying to show Elijah that he is God and Elijah's missing it. Right. And yet, what did the disciples do in Mark? They missed it. They miss it. Like Jesus is walking by and they're like, come back. What are you doing? It's like, yeah, there's so much more to this story, but they're missing it. And so it's funny because you know, like they missed it, and Elijah's also missing it because they were consumed with fear. And isn't that interesting that they were both consumed with fear so much that they couldn't recognize the Almighty God that was walking in front of them, demonstrating his all power and authority?

SPEAKER_02 28:30

Right. Yeah, a hundred percent. And the thing was with Elijah, when when the Lord saw that that he was like not getting it, what does he do? He immediately tells him, Go back where you came and go anoint somebody else to be my prophet. And I think that we have to be really, really careful. Not that we are Elijah, but like the Lord calls us to do things, He wants us to do things. Um, and I think that if we're not careful walking in agreement with fear because of opposition, that's exactly what Elijah experienced was opposition, right? He Jezebel opposed him, and because of her authority that she has, right? Quote unquote, um he ran for his life and did not have the confidence in the Lord that he would take care of him, even though he's shown up throughout his entire life of like as a prophet. Um, and so I think that because of that, the Lord was like, Well, I gotta, I gotta get somebody else. And so I think we have to be really careful as people walking throughout life, giving too much weight to the things that are not of the Lord. You know, the the opposite, like the Lord tells you to do something or you feel led to do something, and you walk away from it solely out of the sake of fear. You're just coming into agreement with fear. And how is the Lord supposed, like you've you've now you've now tried like you're you've chosen a different path to walk? And it's like the Lord's like, I'm over here, I really need you back here. And there was a call back to Elijah, like, hey, come back over here. That was the whole point of him showcasing his glory. And it's like, make sure that when you find yourself at that fork in the road of do I go this way, you know, do I back off because I'm receiving opposition, or do I double down and have the full confidence in the Lord? Because I've seen what he's done multiple times throughout my life. I've seen him come through and be faithful. Um, are we going to are we going to falter and split off? Or are we going to continue down the path of even if it is, there's resistance. Right. You know?

SPEAKER_00 31:04

Because there's always going to be resistance when you're pursuing the Lord. Yeah. Because the enemy doesn't want you to. No. And so he's going to have people, people close to you, people far away from you, social media. You will experience resistance when you are walking on the path of obedience. But like we've talked about, the obedience is the reward. Yeah. The obedience is the reward, and you are safest when you are in obedience with the Lord. Like what you were showing when you are walking side by side with the Lord, even though it's scary, you are attached, like the two ox with the yoke that are like the metal yoke that is attaching the two ox together. Like you are attached. So you are safe because half of your side is completely blocked. So if an arrow comes on this side, the Lord is blocking it. You know what I'm saying? You're safe. But when you disconnect from the metal ox, the um the yoke, and you start going off, you are now open to attacks on both sides, on every which way, because you have now walked away from the safety and the security of being yoked together with the father. And so it's like there is so much more safety, even though it seems really scary, there's so much more safety in walking with the Lord than there is by saying, No, that's too scary and choosing to go your own path.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

Yeah. And that's not to say that because somebody is, let's let's say you or somebody you know has kind of done that exact thing and they've they've backed off, or they they know what they should be doing in terms of what God's called them to, but they they're like, I'm I I just I can't do it. I'm not. You're right, you can't. You're right. What did Elijah do in this moment? He relied on himself. He didn't rely on the Lord. I've heard people say, like, well, you know, it's just like, I don't know that I can do it. You know, this thing, this thing that the Lord wants me to do, that he's called me to, whether it's a job, ministry, whatever it is, I can't do it. You're right, you can't. Because if it's a God-sized dream, if it's a God-sized call, yeah, you're never going to be able to do it. It could kill you.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

If you don't rely on the Lord, it could kill you.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

And so I think that that so many times, like we we look at situations, we look at the call that God places on us, and we we look at it as a me game. Well, how am I gonna do it? You won't. You won't do it. And if you did it, you won't do it well. It may it may be going okay for you right now, but that's not gonna last. You will burn out because of the fact that like you are relying solely on your own strength. That's exactly what happened here. Elijah was relying on himself. Well, I'm scared, like they're trying to kill me. Me, me, me, I, I, I. And he was missing the point that it's not about him, him, him. It's about him, him, him. I'm pointing up when I say that. Like the Lord was trying to redirect his focus back to what really matters and what really, like the Bible says, you know, to don't not to fear the people that could kill your earthly body, but fear the one that could throw your soul into hell, right? And it's like we have to, we have to realize that that manly, like manly, uh, fear of man really dismantles the plan of the Lord. Like the more fear of him that you have, and the more care you have towards, and when I say fear, I mean reverence. Like I have a reverence for him. And so therefore, I want to walk down this path that he's told me, right? It's like if I if I do that and I care more about that than these people over here, I'm not giving as much weight to.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

I also feel like that, I don't know, this is for somebody, but I also feel like there is a whole nother aspect to it of if Elijah were trying to be like the other prophets that Jezebel had already killed, right? If Elijah was trying to be somebody other than who God called him to be, his plan would have never worked out to begin with. If Elijah was trying to fit into a mold that's some of some other prophet, it would never have even turned out as good so far.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

And I feel like there are a lot of people that are looking at their God assignments and they're going, okay, but I need to look like this. Like maybe God has called you to start a podcast. Maybe you're supposed to start a podcast. But you know what? Like, your podcast is not supposed to look like ours.

SPEAKER_03 35:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:35

Just like when we started this podcast, we both knew that like this is gonna have to be a God thing because like we feel ill-equipped. We don't even know the Bible enough. We don't know all these things, right? Yet God has shown up every single time. He's here right now. Like, I know that these words are from the Lord, and I know that if we screw it up, God's gonna change the words out of our mouth through this microphone and you're gonna hear what God wants you to hear. That our words are gonna fall to the ground and his words are gonna penetrate. And I think that's the thing. If you're trying to be us or we're trying to be somebody else, it's never gonna work because God has created all of us individually. God has created a special purpose for each one of you that can only be accomplished if you walk in your true identity, the way that God has called you to walk. That's not that's not mimicking anybody else. Don't try to look at anybody else. You might be saying, okay, I feel called I feel called to start this podcast, but I'm supposed to have all the lighting and I'm supposed to have all the stuff and I have to have a fancy microphone and camera. No, you don't. You just have to do what you have with what you have and allow the Lord to grow you as it comes. Do you know how many times the Lord has shown up immediately when we needed it and given us the finances to be able to buy this microphone?

SPEAKER_03 36:48

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:49

Like you're you're literally when we started the podcast, we started on your birthday last year. The Lord supplied, the Lord supplied birthday money for you to be able to buy the microphone. Like literally, like every step of the way, all the lights, like all the stuff that you see, the Lord has supplied exactly when we needed it. And so if we would look at other people and say, well, we don't have all this stuff, so we can't start, no, forget it. You just need to start and start with what the Lord is calling you to do with your identity. That's gonna look different than everybody else, and run with it and trust him.

SPEAKER_02 37:23

Yeah, and also the Lord will never give you an assignment that doesn't require your true identity in him. And I think that that's why they can feel so intimidating at times because there are times, guys, when we I know for me, like I don't always feel like I'm a son, you know, or that I'm worthy. Like I don't always feel those things, I don't always feel like I can do the thing that the Lord wants me to do, like with this podcast, I don't always feel equipped to do this thing. Um we tried to film this the other day, and I was like really in my head and super anxious. But why? Because I was making it about myself. And when I don't operate with like when I don't operate in identity with what the Lord has called in what the Lord has called me to do, there will always feel this weird distant dissonance, and it's gonna feel harder because I'm not walking like you know, I'm too concerned about excellence. That's a trap. Excellence is a trap. Yes, the Lord loves excellence, like excellence is a good thing. We should do things well. It's not what I'm saying. But when that becomes an idol, you're missing, you're missing the point. No, obey the Lord will supply you with the knowledge and the things like yes, I need to co you know, co-work and study, but like there is like he is the focus, not the excellence. And so I think that for me, if we don't operate in identity from identity, in this whole thing that the Lord has called us to do, then it is all for nothing.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

And so I think with this, with this specific thing with Elijah, it was a really big wake-up call for me. Because I don't ever want to back down because of fear. I don't ever want to receive opposition and then go, I can't do that anymore. Then I gotta I gotta go the other way. Because the enemy's always going to come at with intimidation. That's one of his tactics is intimidation.

SPEAKER_00 39:52

Yeah, it's a big one. And unfortunately, it gets a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 39:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:56

Unfortunately, I know people that have been like walking down paths that the Lord is calling them to, and then they get a lot of resistance from social media or from people, and they immediately back down because it's too scary and because they don't like it, and because fear takes root, because they're afraid of what the repercussion of these people's threats and things like that. And unfortunately, unfortunately, it does like it does stop a lot of people from walking in their true identity and walking in the blessings that come from being obedient, even when it seems really scary, and even when it seems like, I can't, I can't do this. Like, you're right, you can't, not without God. You have to rely on God. All of the most beautiful stories in the Bible were were stories where people had to trust God. When Queen Esther risked her entire life to go before the king, she knew that there was a really high chance that she would be killed because of it.

SPEAKER_03 40:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

Like every great story in the Bible came because someone risked their life to be obedient to the Lord and trust in him. And what did the Lord do? He never let them go to the grave. Even Daniel went to the lion's den and the lions didn't touch him, even though they were starving. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo went into the fire, and the people that threw them in the fire got burnt up, but they were untouched because God was with them. The Bible shows us time and time again that if God's calling you to something, he will establish you, he will be with you in that fire, and he will not let you burn to the ground. He will not. So if you're at that turning point, you just gotta lean in. When you're feeling fearful about something, you've got to lean into the Lord. He will speak through his word, he will speak to you, he will give you that peace. Literally pray Psalm 91 over your life. That is the best psalm for peace and comfort. Like the Psalms are just so wonderful because David was experiencing fear himself. He was running for his life. So go to the Psalms and read that and proclaim that. Thank you, God, that you cover me. God, thank you that even though 10,000 may fall at my right side, I will not even strike my foot against a stone because you've commanded your angels concerning me to guard me in every single way that I go. Yeah. So running to the Lord, grasping onto him in the midst of this scary is the solution.

SPEAKER_02 42:19

Yeah, absolutely. So be encouraged, even if you have walked off track and you're like, man, how do I how do I get back on? Just seek him. Just seek him. Start taking steps to return back to the thing that he's called you to. Right? Like, we don't have to like sit back and whoa is me, like my life is over now. It's like, no, he's actually, he loves you. Like he he wants a relationship, like a thriving relationship with you. And I'm not saying that if you veered off that, oh, you lost your salvation. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that like he wants, like, he has plans for your life. Yeah. Like, and he has a really good one. And he wants to be able to use you, but you have to allow him to do that. You have to surrender the false identities, the fear, all this kind of stuff that literally is just an entrapment from the enemy to keep you from doing the exact thing that he wants you to do. Yeah. I would just say, guys, too, like the last thing is like repent. Repent for the false identities. Repent for allowing, you know, the the enemy, the enemy's whispers to derail you off of the plan that God has for you. And then just move on. With the Lord. Move on with the Lord.

SPEAKER_03 43:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:37

100%. Like that's it. I think that that that realization and that change of direction is so pivotal and key to the success of God's plan in your life. Yeah. So let's pray. And we'll end it out. Jesus, we love you so much. God, thank you for an amazing conversation. God, thank you for the example of Elijah, like in multiple aspects of his confidence in you, and then the humanness of him, God, to where he doubted you so much to the point that he faltered in fear. But God, help us to learn from that. God, help us to realize that we don't have to walk in fear. But God, if you've called us to something, you will finish that thing with us if we trust in you and we put our faith in you. So, God, we surrender all fear in Jesus' name, all anxiety, all lies of the enemy. Lord, we repent of accepting those things. And we choose right now to hop back on the road with you so that you can complete what you desire to complete with us. We love you, Lord. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, guys, this has been Counterculture with Caleb and Stephanie. We'll see you in the next one. Love you.