God's NOT done with your story! | Pastor Emma Mullings

In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. He tells us that we're gonna have trouble. And your life experience doesn't disqualify you, it qualifies you once you come out the other end to help someone else who's going through the exact same thing. So, as we kick off week one, are you ready? I am going to speak to you this morning from what the Bible has to say about overcoming depression. Overcoming depression. We're gonna talk about it today, and we're gonna dive deep today. So, I do wanna let you know, this message does have a PG rating. If you have little ears in the room, History Makers Kids is open, and our host team are standing ready at the back of the room if you'd like them to walk your kids over to History Makers Kids. We wanna dive deep and we wanna talk about the real stuff, because we wanna really help people, amen? And the world is talking about it, and the church needs to talk about it. And just for clarity, anxiety and depression are often lumped together, but they're actually two very separate and different things. And anxiety and stress, actually, were other topics that were much requested. We're gonna be covering both of those during this series.

So, make sure you keep coming back. I know God is gonna speak to you. I've titled today's message something very simple, but I wanna declare this over you today. The title of my message, write this down, God's not done with your story. God is not done with your story. And our foundational scripture for today's message is found in John 10, 10. This is Jesus speaking. He says, And most things that trip us up, most of the battles that we fight, it all starts up here first. We win or lose the battle up here in our mind first, before we say it, before we quit it, before we ruin it, before we build it. It all starts up here. And you might be here today and you're like, Emma, I'm actually not facing any battle today. I'm doing good. And if that's you, I'm happy for you. I'm glad that you're doing good. But I want you to know that today's topic is still for you because I can guarantee you there is someone in your world going through it right now. And today we're gonna give you some keys from the word of God that is gonna equip you to be able to walk them through it. Amen.

You're gonna be equipped to be able to help them take the next step and walk from darkness into light. This message is for the person in the dark and for the person who needs tools to help someone else get out of the dark. And mental health affects all of us somehow and the people in our world. And in 2026, the stats have actually increased. Suicide has officially returned to being the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. The total annual deaths are almost 50,000. On average, there are 133 reported people attempting to, or not attempting, ending their life every single day. 2.9 million attempted people attempting to end their life each year. And over the last decade, the rates have increased most sharply amongst black and Hispanic communities, as well as young adults aged between 18 and 25. And I want you to understand that the depth and the weight of what is actually happening across our communities today. And in the past few years, there have actually been multiple pastors, people who are close to God, who know his word, who have chosen to end their life because the weight of depression was just so strong. And I want you to know that help is available. There's a number that's gonna come up on the screen, 988.

I want you to write that down. I want you to take a picture of it. There's a website as well, and it's fully accessible 24-7. Most people don't want to die. They are exhausted from the fight to stay alive. Most people don't wanna die. They're exhausted from the fight to stay alive. Suicide is a permanent, irreversible attempt to solve a temporary problem. It is a permanent, irreversible attempt to solve a temporary problem. And this is not just a world problem. This is something that the church needs to address too. And the church should be the safest place to talk about depression, darkness, hopelessness. And if this battle has been in your home, in your mind, in your family, I want you to know that there is no shame here today. This is a place of hope and healing, and there is a way through. There is a way through. Depression, amen. You can amen to that. Depression is complex, and it does not discriminate. And I'm gonna tell you some of my story today. This is something that I've had to walk through multiple times, and it's interesting because I had really broken it down to four different categories, causes of depression,

and in my preparation for today's message, I was speaking with a mental health expert yesterday, and I told her how these are the four things that I see, the four causes of depression, and she said, absolutely, you're correct. So these are the four. There's one, the biological causes. There's relational causes. There's circumstantial causes. It's something that's happening right now. It's situational causes, and then there's also spiritual causes. And I have walked through deep depression, actually, multiple times in my life. When I was without God, and actually, from a very young age, I can't remember not having feelings and thoughts like that because when my mom died, my mom died when I was four, and from then on, I just wanted to be where she was, and that wasn't here. And I've walked through deep depression without God, and then coming to God at 22 years old, and then later on, I walked through it again with God. And looking back on the journey, I can pinpoint, as we look at those four categories, put those four categories back up, I can pinpoint, okay, that was biological. Okay, that one was circumstantial. There was one where it was 100% a spiritual attack because there is a spirit of suicide,

and we're gonna talk about it today. And there are some very real biological reasons for depression. There are genetic and biological issues that can arise in our minds, but if we give biology, if we let biology have the whole narrative, we'll miss some of the other solutions that are available to us in His Word. And depending on your background, you may feel like there's a bit of a stigma around the topic of depression. I believe it's gotten a whole lot better in the last probably five to 10 years, which is a good thing. Jaz, who is leading us in worship, wears glasses because that part of her body is not operating at its optimum level. So she needs glasses to be able to see you and see the screen, to be able to lead you effectively in worship. Pastor Terrence desperately needs glasses. It's gotten to the point where I'm reading letters to him. He'll give me his phone to read him something. He desperately needs glasses, but he refuses to get his eyes checked. So if you're an optometrist in the room, please give him your number and do me a favor. It does not, just because a part of their body is not operating at the optimum level, it doesn't mean that we judge them.

We don't think less of Jaz because she wears glasses. We're not gonna think less of Pastor Terrence when he finally eventually wears glasses. We will actually be celebrating. And we shouldn't think any less of people because they're struggling in their mind. The mind is part of the body too. It does not need to become part of your identity. Your illness is not your identity. What you're struggling with is not who you are. It's not a sin to be sick. It's not a sin to be sick. It's what you're walking through. It's not who you are. It's what you're walking through. And at History Makers Church, this is not a resort for the perfect. This is a hospital for healing for the broken. And in my honest, honest opinion, we all have a screw loose somewhere. Some of us just got to the hospital sooner, amen. So we're gonna look at the part of the life of Elijah this morning. But before we go there, I wanna give you the end before I give you the beginning. And the end is that God wants you free. He does not enjoy seeing you struggle. And I want you to hear this and understand this because for many years, the inner narrative in my mind was that, well, this is just how it is for me.

This is just how my life is until God showed me that this is actually not His will for my life. And if that's the inner voice that you hear, I need you to know God does not want that for you. I know my God. I know the heart of God. The heart of God is good. He wants you healed. He wants you whole. He wants you free. And I believe that you can live a life, holy, healthy, happy, and bringing heaven to earth. But it doesn't mean that you won't still struggle with things. God wants you free. And He actually walks you through it. And this is key. His word says in Psalm 23, 4, even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me. He walks us through it. He doesn't say there won't be valleys. Galatians 5, 1, it tells us it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. And I think this is a big misconception when it comes to the things of God, that life is gonna be perfect. I've invited Jesus into my heart. Life's gonna be perfect, but it's just not real

because we live in a fallen world and life be lifin' and people be peoplin'. God walks us through it, and His Word says it time and time again, and each step we get stronger, we get wiser, we get more resilient, we learn how to navigate, we learn how to love more deeply. He takes us on lessons and on the journey, and we learn so much on the way. And the Bible does not present a book of perfection as it relates to the people who wrote it, and if that's all you heard, maybe the story of Noah, Abraham, Esther, now that you are grown, you need to go back and read those stories again for yourself, because in kids' church, you got the G-rated version, okay? You got the highlight reel. Can I encourage you to read the whole story for yourself? Even those three people that I mentioned, their stories have more drama than the Real Housewives of Miami. Read the whole story. God uses the worst situations, the worst mistakes, even the worst people, murderers, drunks, He uses it all. Romans 8.28, He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. If you give Him access to that thing, He will find a way to make sure none of your story is wasted. John 16.33 says, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. He tells us that we're going to have trouble, and your life experience doesn't disqualify you. It qualifies you once you come out the other end to help someone else who's going through the exact same thing. When I started to share my story, God, the Holy Spirit said to me, if you'll give me access, I will use what has been your pain to help others find purpose and hope as they journey through theirs. Would you make yourself clay? He'll find a way to make sure none of your story is wasted. And in this book, the Bible, we have apostles and prophets dealing with discouragement and depression, and actually their stories teach us and show us how to walk through it. There's Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet, but he still experienced deep despair. Jeremiah wrote a whole book on depression. It's called Lamentations. Lamentations is a Hebrew word. In English, it means woe is me. And if you've never read Lamentations, let me show you just a little bit. Lamentations 3.17. Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. I cry out, my splendor is gone. Everything I'd hoped for from the Lord is lost. The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I'll never forget this awful time as I grieve over my loss. Lamentations is a man drowning in grief. It sounds like every song I used to write before

Jesus radically changed my life when I was 22 years old. I recorded a whole album in the year 2000, and it's terrible. I mean, the music's good, but the lyrics are terrible. There's a song on there called Puddle of Pain, and the chorus is, I want to drown in my puddle of pain. There's another, the title track was called Fade Away. It says, would you just fade away? Let me live. Let me burn where I fall. Why don't you just fade away? I am so glad that none of that music was released, and I'm so glad that God came and did what he needed to do. Praise the Lord. We have Jeremiah writing Lamentations in the Old Testament, and then in the New Testament, we have the Apostle Paul, the great Apostle Paul, who says, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. He tells us in 2 Corinthians 4.16, therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we're being renewed day by day, day by day, for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. He declares this so boldly, but then in 2 Corinthians 1, he's lamenting with Jeremiah saying, oh, it's so bad. I'm ready to give up. I can't make it through. And in this book, the Bible, we have apostles and prophets dealing with discouragement and depression, and their stories actually teach us how to walk through it. This book is not full of perfect people. It's full of real people learning how to walk with a perfect God. And let me just say this before we jump in any deeper today. I'm not a medical doctor. There are, as I mentioned in the beginning of this message, there are real biological and medical reasons for depression and chemical imbalances in people's bodies. But this is something that I have walked through multiple times in my life. And my mom, who died when she was 37, a beautiful creative soul, also had deep depression. And I've walked through this and had both hands on the steering wheel, knuckles white, counting down, three, two, to put my car into oncoming traffic. And then later on, driving to a very famous cliff in Sydney that people jump off and trying to fight to stay in my car. And even today, although God, there's healing has come,

even today, if God, if there is an attack that's going to come, it's in this area of my life. I'm not immune to an attack from the enemy, but I've dug deep into his word and I've learned how to fight right. And I also, amen. And I also want to tell you that back in Australia, there was a season where I was on medication for depression. And I want to make that clear today because there are cases where medication is the best option for you in that season. And that's okay, it's one of your tools. Okay, it's one of your tools. And I'm going to give you some more tools today direct from the word of God. And I want you to use all your tools together, amen. We're going to give you more tools from his word and you're going to use all your tools together. And we're going to see you start to walk in freedom. Many of you know the story of David and Goliath. He famously goes down, David goes down and he says in 1 Samuel 17, 45, you come against me with a sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will hand you over to me and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. He was bold, he was full of faith, but he still took his sling shot

and his five smooth stones. And people didn't say to him, well, how can you be full of faith? And why then, why are you bringing the stones? Why are you bringing the sling shot? He was full of faith that God was going to do what only God could do, but yet he still bought his tools. And I just want to show you that today. The battle is the Lord's, you will overcome, but I want you to use all the tools available to you, amen. Faith and tools are not enemies. Trusting God and getting practical help are not contradictions. And some of you have come from very religious backgrounds and you needed to hear that today. The battle is the Lord's, but that doesn't mean you go empty handed. You pick up everything available to you. Whatever you're facing, the decisions you make today will determine the stories that you're gonna tell tomorrow. And God does not want you to struggle. His word says who the son sets free is free indeed, completely free, even in our minds. So I want to take you back for a minute to 14 years ago, 2012, I was 30 years old. I had two kids at the time. We now have four, a wonderful husband and a great, you are a wonderful husband. I think it's important to say that because, I think it's important to say that because,

because Terrence has walked with me through all of this. Oh my gosh. Now you should try to, look, you can see the screen. You can see the countdown clock. You'll know what time service is meant to end. This is amazing. Jewel, this is all we needed to do. You're welcome church. Thank me later. I think it's important to mention though, Pastor Terrence, because he's walked with me through this whole journey and he has been so Christ-like. And in this same season of this moment, I'm just gonna share with you, there were times in that season where he would just play cause he's such an anointed keys player. And he would just play over me and it was the anointing. It was the melodies that carried the anointing. He'd play the songs of heaven and they would just wash over me. So I'll give you props today. So taking you back to 14 years ago, from the outside, the season would have looked amazing. I just graduated journalism. I went back to study journalism after having our first two kids and God had opened some radical doors in media. I knew he'd called me to media. I was working at Network 10 in Sydney and I loved it.

I was hosting this music video show and I loved it. And from the outside, things looked great, but on the inside, it was such a battle. And I was just so exhausted from the fight to stay alive. And I couldn't even explain it because there was really no reason. And our channel, our five o'clock news presenter, our main anchor, she was younger than me. I was 30, she was 28, but she had become a mentor to me, just answering my questions and helping me in the journey. And it was Friday and she did not show up to work. And we found out later that that afternoon that she had taken her life after a long, long battle with depression over many years. And I remember hearing the news and feeling so heartbroken, but at the same time, it was the catalyst for me to make some plans of my own. And I felt, I just felt exhausted from the fight to stay alive. And I genuinely felt that everyone else would be better without me, but I'm a planned person. And so I managed all our finances. I added Terrence, made sure his name was on all our accounts. I would email him all the logins to everything. You know, admin is not a gift of his. I would mention things in conversation that I wanted him to know, like I really wanted our wedding dress kept for our daughter. It's hard to express how bad it was, but it was bad.

But fast forward, 14 years later. I'm still here and I am healthy and whole. And honestly, I have been for many years now, but I actually, I had to work hard to get here and I have strong parameters in my life to keep me healthy, physically and mentally. I've learned that my secret weapon is worship. I've learned that my secret weapon is love. I've learned that my secret weapon is worship. There is power in singing the declarations of heaven. But there was a time 14 years ago where it would just wash over me because I couldn't even open my mouth. I was mute. I didn't sing for years. I have learned the power of digging into his word every single morning. I've learned to dig deep wells in my life of connecting with my heavenly father. Time in the word, time in prayer, time in worship, speaking scripture out loud. I've learned to think about what I'm thinking about and I've learned that it's okay to put boundaries in with consistently negative people. I've learned my tools and triggers and I'm gonna share with you some of my tools, which are all from the word of God that I know are gonna help you today. But before we go there, I wanna just look quickly at the story of Elijah.

It's found in 1 Kings chapter 18 and 19. Now I want you to write that down because I can't read you both chapters and I want you to read both chapters tonight. I'm gonna catch you up on chapter 18, basically where we start. It's probably one of the most, I think, famous battles of the Old Testament. Basically, there were these bad people called the prophets of Baal. There were fake prophets, false prophets, and they were worshiping a false God called Baal and Elijah's telling them, no, Baal is not God. Let me tell you about the real God. And he confronts them. He's bold. I love Elijah. And he's like, all right, let's go up to the top to Mount Carmel. You create a big sacrifice. I'll create a big sacrifice. And whoever, you pray to your fake God. I'm gonna pray to my real God. And whoever's is the real God, fire is gonna come down and light the sacrifice. So he says it to them. They all go up there. There's 450 prophets of Baal. They set up the altar and they start chanting and cutting themselves.

This is why you need to read it for yourself. It's very dramatic. But nothing happens because there is no God of Baal. There's just God, okay? And Elijah is over there mocking them, making fun of them, okay? He actually says, where is your God? Is he on the toilet? You won't believe me if you don't read it for yourself. That's why you gotta read it for yourself. And then it's Elijah's turn and he builds the sacrifice and even pours barrels of water on it to make it even harder for it to light on fire. And he says, come on, God, show yourself. And as he prays, instantly fire zaps down from heaven. Everyone knew that day that God was God. It was a huge revival. It was a huge event. Everyone knew that Elijah was the real prophet that he'd been telling the truth about who God is. Everyone knew that God was real. And Elijah then has all the false prophets of Baal who have been proclaiming that Baal is God put to death. Okay, it's Old Testament, it's violent. Okay, so that gives you a bit of background. That's what's just happened, this huge event. And we're gonna pick it up in 1 Kings 19. It says, now Ahab,

who was the leader of all the false prophets, told Jezebel, that's his wife, everything Elijah had done. And now he'd killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel, she's mad, and she sent a messenger to Elijah to say, may the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them. She was spicy. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came back to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there. Important to note, and a big mistake. We're gonna talk about that in a few minutes. While he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. So he leaves his servant and he goes more further on his own. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. I've had enough, Lord, he said. I just wanna pause there for a minute because I know that there's many of you in the room that have prayed that prayer. God, I have had enough. I've had enough. Take my life, I'm no better than my ancestors, verse five. Then he laid down under the bush and fell asleep. I want you to see God's response. All at once an angel touched him and said, get up and eat.

He looked around and there by his head, there was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then laid down again. God didn't beat him over the head. He wasn't angry at him. He said, have a good meal, take a nap. And as the story continues, Elijah keeps running. And he ends up in a lonely, dark cave and he's in the cave and he's confused. And I think this actually describes well what depression feels like. Because you're in a dark cave and when everything is fully dark, you're disorientated. You actually don't know which way is the way out. Sometimes you think there must be a way out, but you can't see it. And I think there's some people in the room who might feel that way now. Your business went under, they filed for divorce, you lost your job. And you feel a little bit like Elijah when he finds himself alone in a cave, dark, isolated. In 1 Kings 19 15, the Lord said to him, go back the way you came and go to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel

and anoint Elisha to succeed you as prophet. What is God saying? He's saying, go back and continue the ministry, a mission that I've called you to. Keep being faithful at your job. Keep serving at your church. Keep leading that group. Keep writing the songs and find a spiritual son or daughter. He says, anoint Elisha to succeed you as prophet. And as we read the rest of the story, Elijah and Elisha together, they changed the world. Everybody needs to identify three key people in their life. For the women in the room, a spiritual mother, a sister, spiritual daughter. For the men in the room, a spiritual father, brother, and a spiritual son. But can we backtrack a little to how Elijah ended up there after a pretty awesome win? I mean, it was an amazing day. He was vindicated publicly. So many believe that God was actually God. How did he end up here? If we trace the story back, Jezebel sent a message to Elijah, is what the word says. It was a DM. It all started with one DM. One comment on your TikTok that has gotten in your head. The message got stuck in his head and it made him run.

Listen, would you please unfollow? Every social media account that feeds you negativity, that makes you feel like life is not worth living, that instills fear in you, paranoia in you. Social media is an echo chamber. You watch one, you're gonna keep getting more of the same thing. And all of a sudden you're spinning out in your head. Just unfollow them right now. Pull your phone out right now and tell them your pastor said, my pastor taught me. Here's the thing, because people have said this, if they send you a screenshot, you know the apps that you pay for that tell them if people unfollow them and they're like, they might send me a screenshot and they're gonna be mad. Listen, if they are paying for an app to tell them who unfollows them, they have more problems than you. So what is the trigger for you? A negative comment from a coworker, a boss, a spouse, and you play it over and over again in your head. When that happens, I want you to declare this scripture to Corinthians 10, five, we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought and we turn it to the obedience of Christ. Uncommon from one evil woman sent him running for his life. He left his servant, he isolated himself, and he prayed that he would die alone.

And oftentimes when your enemy attacks you, he'll try to get you alone because the devil works by isolation. Elijah had this dark experience after a great high, and this often happens. I'm most susceptible to an attack from the enemy after a great high, after a great win. 90% of all injuries happen in the last hour of the day. We've had the high, but we just keep going. We're overtired and probably overconfident. Not everything that is doable is always sustainable. And we create a pace that we just can't continue. Some of us just need to simplify our life a little bit. I'm most susceptible to an attack from the enemy after a great high. There's a group I lead with some of our people that are leading groups and teams, a leadership-specific group. And I did a communication masterclass a couple of weeks ago, and we were talking about preparing for messages. But I said to them, you need to be aware of what happens after you deliver the message because the devil's mad. And I told them sometimes I get a vulnerability hangover because I do share a lot of my story in obedience to what God's asked me to do, and it helps people. We are overcome by the blood of the lamb, and the power of our testimony. But sometimes the next day I have a vulnerability hangover.

I'm like, I'm feeling, I'm just feeling the weight. And I was telling them that our Daughters Conference last year, October the Awakening, was the best conference we've ever, Daughters Conference we've ever put on. And it was amazing. It was the smoothest. It was, I think it's the best, I'm just gonna say it. It was the best message I've ever preached. And there was an awakening. When we declared an awakening, the whole team fasted and prayed, and there was an awakening, and people were healed in the room. Supernatural things happened in the room. People are still talking about what God did in the room and continues to do. It was the awakening. And it was so good to the point where I'm like, do we even do another conference? Because I don't even know if we could do it that good again. Like, do we? This is actually what I said to them. It's a very transparent place. But we are, by the way, we actually just put a deposit on Pine City Center for Daughters Conference 2026. So the devil is mad, but that's fine. But I was telling them the best conference ever,

yet I was hit with just a wave of deep depression the following week. I hadn't even had that for many years, but man, the devil was mad. But I shared that with them. Ecclesiastes 4, 6 says, better one handful and have tranquility. So one job, have less in your life than two and all the things, all the mess, one relationship, one wife. Then two with toil and chasing after the wind. What often happens after the high of a great win, a great conference, this is what happens. 1 Peter 5, 8-9, be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of suffering. You need to be aware. And you need to also understand, church, that you can't live at a perpetual high. You know, we go from mountaintop to mountaintop, but to go from mountaintop to mountaintop, there is a valley in between. You can't live up here the whole time. I know social media probably has you confused and addicted to dopamine, but you can't live. But there's purpose in it.

God teaches you things. He teaches you life skills. He teaches you grit. He teaches you things that are gonna sustain you to an even higher mountaintop on the next one. He uses it all. What we need to do is always have our armor on. Ephesians 6.11, put on the full armor of God so that you can take your sin against the devil's schemes. He's given us authority, but we have to use it. So I want you to write these down. Four quick tools from the word of God that I use in my life and I think will help you in yours. Tool number one, share your struggle. The devil works by isolation. He isolated Elijah in the cave. You know, the epidemic of loneliness is a curable condition. Share your struggle. I shared that with the group that I was leading and they said, hey, next conference, we're gonna be checking on you afterwards. And I appreciate that. Share your struggle. Elijah left his servant. He withdrew. He ended up alone in a cave. Isolation distorts reality. The enemy wants to get you away from the people that God has put in your life to speak his word over your life. The devil will try to get you away from the very people that God has sovereignly placed in your life to echo his voice over your life. Oh, you shouldn't go back to history makers church. You shouldn't go back to that group. And then we put a boundary between us and the very people God has sent into our life to speak life. The enemy will always try and get you alone. The enemy is real and he's not some little guy in red tights.

Jesus said in John 10 10, the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. But I have come that you would have life and have it to the full. Freedom is found in the context of community. You hear us say this time and time again. And I want to encourage you. Our groups fair is happening after every service today. After the service, go out, sign up for a group, join a group, find a place, a safe place where you can share your struggle. The first problem in the Bible wasn't sin. It was solitude. In Genesis chapter two, it's not good for man to be alone. The devil will try and make you feel you can't count on anyone. So you isolate yourself. And that's what he did to Elijah. Elijah says to God, I'm the only one here, God. But actually in 1 Kings 19 18, as we read, yet I reserve 7000 in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him. Elijah's like, I'm the only one that believes in you guys. No, there's 7000 others. I've told you this. Just because that's how you feel doesn't make it real. Join a group, tell someone the truth. Talk to a Christian counselor. Stop hiding the battle. The enemy works by isolation, but God works through people. That's number one, write that down, share your struggle, which brings me to tool number two, feel does not always equal real. Feelings are not always reliable. Emotions are valid, name them, acknowledge them, but don't let them become the final authority in your life. Not everyone is against you, there might be one or two. You're never gonna be for everyone and that's okay. But what about the ones that do believe in you? And if you are here in the room and you genuinely feel like no one believes in you, I believe in you and Pastor Terrence believes in you. Jewel Wolin probably does believe in you too. Just because that's how you feel doesn't mean that it's real. Don't follow your feelings, follow the truth that is in his word of how God sees you. If I followed my feelings, we would not be here because you wouldn't be here because the church wouldn't be here because I had a whole lot of feelings about coming here with no team and putting our life savings in to plant a church on the other side of the world, like it completely did not make sense. I had a lot of feelings about that. Fear was a real feeling about that, but God said to me, the safest place for you to be is in the will of God and this is my will for you. I couldn't follow my feelings, I had to be obedient to what God had said. And the safest place for you to be is in the will of God. The most satisfying place for you to be is in your

purpose, the one that God placed on your life. Feelings come and they go, they're like ocean waves. We have to center ourself in the word of God. We're like a little boat being tossed and you need to drop your anchor and be anchored to the word of God. The word of God says that you are more than a conqueror. Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. 2 Timothy 1.7.7 says, I have not given you a spirit of fear but a power love and a sound mind. So what feeling are you facing? You want to quit your job? Well, no. Make a plan first, okay? You can quit but not yet. Make a plan. Plan the work, work the plan. Don't cause more stress in your life because you're following a fleeting feeling and you're really throwing a little tantrum, let's be honest. If God provided the job, ask him first, God, have I completed the assignment that you wanted me to do in this job, in this workplace? Not every feeling is fact. You want to quit the business that God told you to start? Let me tell you, in three years, when you look back, you're going to be so glad you didn't. You're going to be so glad that you didn't follow your feelings. I've had some real feelings in my life and many of you know my story. I had the feeling, I felt that God hated me. I knew that God was real but I felt like God hated me because all this stuff happened in my life and my mom died and there was just so much trauma and I felt like God loves everyone else but he hates me. But is that real? Is that real? Is that real? Is that real? If God loves you, Is that true? No. I felt it, but that was not the truth. if you love God, then you know he loves you. If God hates you, then you know he hates you. Feel does not equal real. I have a purpose. God has a plan for my life. If God loves you, then you know he loves you. If God doesn't love you, then you know he doesn't. I'm a daughter of the most high God. I'm a daughter of the most high God. I'm chosen, set apart for good works. And so are you. Your feelings that you're worthless are not real. It's time to fact check some of the feelings.

The third tool, write this down as well. Think about what you're thinking about. Your thoughts are powerful and your thoughts are shaping your life. And I want you to learn to think about what you are thinking about. Elijah, as we look at his story, Jezebel sent one message, one comment that got in his head. He replayed it and he spiraled. Two weeks ago, we talked about ruminating the cows in the field. They just chew the cut and swallow it and throw it back up and chew it. And it's disgusting, but we do that with our thoughts. And the more we ruminate on them, the less it actually looks like what actually happened. In Australia, I had a radio show and my favorite part was always interviewing different guests and asking them the real questions, the ones that everyone wants to hear. And it was live, so no one could stop me. It was great. And one of my favorite guests is Dr. Caroline Leaf. And she's a neuroscientist and a Christian. I recommend all of her books. And she talks about how scientific research shows that the brain releases chemicals to our body based on our thoughts. Anger, resentment, self-hatred. When you focus there, there's a steady flow

of toxic chemicals from the brain that attack the immune system. From her book, Switch on Your Brain, Dr. Leaf states, research shows that 75 to 98% of mental, physical, and behavioral illness comes from one's thought life. When we dwell on negative or toxic thoughts, the brain's HPA axis stays activated and releases a steady flow of stress hormones, cortisol, to the body. Have you ever stopped to think about what you're thinking about? If our thoughts are powerful enough to make us sick, they're also powerful enough to make us healthy. Dr. Caroline Leaf has proven medically and explains it in her books that the brain knows how to rewire itself. So if you dwell on the right things, your brain starts to create new pathways. If you change your thoughts, you can change your life. Toxic thought patterns make us sick, but healthy thoughts help create new pathways, which brings me to tool number four. Write this down. You can change your thoughts. You can't control what happens to you, but you can control what happens in you. I can't control what has happened to me in my life, but I can control what happens in me today. 2 Corinthians 10, five.

Some of you need to put this up on your wall. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We take captive every thought and turn it to obedience of Christ. So what does this mean? As we think about what we're thinking about, you need to actually know the antidote from the word of God. And I need to explain this to you because I don't want you just to, my pastor used to explain it to me. It's like the birds come and they try and, negative thoughts, they try and build a nest on your head. You got to rebuke it in the name of Jesus before it builds a nest. And that is true, but you need to actually know the truth, the antidote from the word of God and replace it with his truth. His word says, you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. Let me give you an example. What's the narration in your mind? I'm a failure. Here's the antidote. If God is for me, then I'm more than an overcomer. Romans 8 31, what then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

What's the thought? Stress over finances. If that's the thought, and you're thinking about what you're thinking about, what does the word of God say? It says in Philippians 4 19, my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Debilitating fear over applying for that promotion. Deuteronomy 31 6, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them. Who is them anyway? For the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. You feel alone? Okay, well, Psalm 139 verse seven says, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you're there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. You cannot escape the presence of God. But you've got to learn to replace the lie with the truth. Don't just rebuke the lie, replace the lie with the truth from the word of God. But if you don't know the truth, you'll believe the lie every time. Jesus said, you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. He wants you to know the truth. Have you ever considered that that one area of your life

that causes you the most stress, the most anxiety that keeps you up? at night is probably the area of your life where you trust God the least. What is that one thing for you? I want to encourage you to find the truth in His Word and start to declare that. When the thought comes, you speak out what His Word says. And you might say, that sounds real nice Emma, show me that in the Bible. Okay, I'm glad you asked. This is church. Jeremiah did this in Lamentations 3, 21. He says, yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. We are not consumed for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. He changed direction. He changed direction by choosing what He would call to mind. He says, yet this I call to mind. It wasn't naturally there, He had to call it to His mind. Great is your faithfulness God. One last thing, Dr. Caroline Leaf also says, it's been found that 12 minutes of focused prayer over an eight-week period of time can change your brain to such an extent that it can be measured on a brain scan. So I want to challenge you church, not encourage you, challenge you to try it for 10 days. Set your alarm 12 minutes earlier. Start your morning with 12 minutes of focused prayer. I promise you things are going to start to change. Darkness tried to end Elijah's story but God still had a purpose for him. Darkness tried to end my story but God still had a purpose for my life. Darkness might have tried to end your story but God is not done with your story. There is still a purpose on your life. He's not done with you yet. He's not done with you yet. Your four tools, share your struggle, feel does not equal real, think about what you're thinking about and you can change your thoughts. He's not done with you yet church. He still has things for you to do. If you wake up with breath in your lungs this morning, He still has things for you to do. He's not done with you yet. Would you stand to your feet? Ministry team, could you come? I've asked with every single service today and please don't go anywhere. Just give us five more minutes. This involves everyone what we're about to do. I've asked our ministry to come at the end of each service and I want to give you an opportunity if you are struggling, if you are feeling more exhausted from getting, it's harder for you to get up every day than not. If you are struggling with darkness behind the scenes, maybe you've never even told anyone, we want to open our altar and I want every single person to get prayed for that needs prayer this morning. And I want you to know that He's not done with your story. He is for you. He is with you. He is

with you every step of the way. And I truly believe as I was praying and preparing for this morning that He is gonna, there's something that's gonna shift. You know sometimes there is a tipping point in a meeting. He pours out His presence and His Spirit and He can do something in a moment that you've been trying to do for months and months and months and months. For some of you maybe it's years and years and years and years. So I'm gonna ask you to be bold and come forward. Would you come forward right now if that's you? Just come forward. Our team are gonna lay hands on you. They're gonna pray. And the Spirit of God is gonna meet you right there. Amen, amen, amen. Come forward, come forward. I sense the presence of God in the room so think right now. Just come forward. The reason church why I told you don't move is because these are your brothers and sisters in Christ and they need you now. So we are gonna start to pray. And church you need to start to pray. If you're in your seat extend your prayers towards the people down here on the front. Open your mouth. Extend your prayers. These are your brothers and sisters on the front. Open your mouth. Extend your prayers. These are your brothers and sisters in Christ. You need to intercede for them. Intercede for them right now. Lift your voice. Pray for healing in their life. God we pray for every single person on this altar. God I thank you that the Spirit of God is here. I thank you that your presence is here to break chains. God I pray that you would just pour out healing in this place. God I pray for those who who have a chemical imbalance that you start to bring everything back the way you need it. God you start to bring everything back balanced perfectly the way you designed it. God I pray for those that are walking through heavy situations. I pray practically you would bring solutions. But God I just pray that you would start to pour out your joy in this place. I pray for a fresh hope in this place. God I pray and pour it out supernaturally. God pour it out. Pour it out. Pour it out. God we intercede for our brothers and our sisters. God I pray that you would speak to them. I pray that they would know your presence. God I pray that they would have a sense of joy from you. God I pray that have a sense of hope from you God. God I pray that you would would shift something today. God, I pray that we just expose the spirit of suicide. We expose it in the name of Jesus. And church, you need to know that there is a spirit of suicide that comes to steal, kill and destroy. And so we expose it in the name of Jesus. We bind it in the name of Jesus. We call it out. We expose you and we rebuke you in the name of Jesus. You have no place in this house. You have no place in these people. You have no

place in their lives, in their minds. There is no space for you here. The presence of God is here. The presence of God is here. We rebuke you in the name of Jesus. You will have no grip on their life. You will have no access to their mind. You will have no access to their life. They are set apart for good works. They have a call on their life. Their purpose will be walked out and will be completed. They will walk all of the days that God has ordained for them. So we rebuke you, devil, and we bind you in the name of Jesus. You have no authority here. And God, I pray for a supernatural joy from heaven, a supernatural hope from heaven. I pray you would pour it out in this place. Pour it out in this place. Pour it out in this place. Lift your hand to receive if you need it from him this morning. Just lift your hand to receive it if you need it from him. He's here to meet with you. He's here to meet with you. Pour it out, God. Pour it out. Pour it out. Pour it out. Wash away everything that is not of you. Pour it out, Jesus. Pour it out like a river God. Pour it out like a river God. Pour it out. Pour it out. Pour it out. You're not done with me yet. There's so much more. There's so much more to the story. You're not done with me yet. You're not done with me yet. You're not done with me yet. There's so much more to the story. You're not done with me yet. You're not done with me yet. You're not done with me yet. There's so much more to the story. You're not done with me yet. You're not done with me yet. There's so much more. You're not done with me yet. There's so much more. There's so much more to the story. You're not done with me yet. You're not done with me yet. You're not done with me yet. There's so much more to the story. You're not done with me yet. And if there's anyone in your seat and you didn't come forward, I want you to know that God sees you and I'm going to pray for you right now. God, I just pray for any person in their seat that didn't come forward. God, I just thank you that you know their situation and circumstance. God, I pray that you would set them free. God, I pray that you would just renew them with a fresh hope from heaven. I pray you'd renew them with a fresh joy from heaven. I come against any attack of the enemy, against their life. We rebuke it in the name of Jesus. I just expose the spirit of suicide. I rebuke you. I bind you in the name of Jesus. And God, I pray you would pour out your spirit in this house. God, I pray that even right now, wherever they're sitting, even at the very back, that there would just be an amplifier

on your whispers, that they would know that you're right next to them. God, that they would just sense the presence of God. God, I pray that you would cover them, Father God. I pray that you would protect them, Jesus. I pray for a supernatural joy coming into their life. God, I pray you'd renew their mind, Father God. Renew their mind. Renew their mind. Renew their mind. Supernatural healing in Jesus' mighty name. And God, I pray that you would do for them what you've done for me. God, I pray that you would do for them what you've done for me. I pray that they would walk out their testimony, Father God. I pray that they would see the goodness of God in the land of the living. I pray that there would be a time that they could look back and see that God has done it for them just like he promised, that he is for them, that he is with them, that no weapon formed against them will prosper. In the name of Jesus. And all God's people said amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey church I want to thank you because you all stayed and I want you to know because you all stayed it speaks volumes to your brothers and sisters down here because you all stayed and you prayed and you interceded this is what the body of Christ should be this is where friends become family this is what we should be doing for each other so I want to thank you for staying we're gonna continue to worship for a few minutes and and I don't want anyone to leave down here without being prayed for but we're going to release the rest of you so service is over but we're going to say we're going to keep out our altar open and our ministry team is here so come down I don't want anyone to leave without getting grateful that needs prayer have an amazing week church and we'll see you next week amen hey heaven is celebrating and we are celebrating with you and we want to walk this journey together so if you prayed that prayer or you just want to know more about Jesus follow the prompts that are on the screen right now we are so proud of you and honestly God's vision for you is to see you live that better story epic and eternal we say like this to see you holy healthy happy and bring in heaven to earth and if you're watching and you want to help others find Jesus like that you can partner with us and together we can make that epic difference and giving details are

coming up on the screen and we just say God's blessed you you can be a blessing to other people as well and hey if you're here in the South Florida area would love to see you in person check out the description below for times and the location where you can come to a service we would love to see you soon this is history makers chat where friends truly become family see you soon