Regaining Lost Ground

Shane Idleman: What can the armies do against me? And I will fight them because God is on my side. One thing will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life as I'm walking through that shadow of death. And I behold His beauty, the only beauty of the Only Begotten of the Father. And that's why I said earlier, let the name of Yahweh be proclaimed in this place, church.

Getting back to that place of brokenness and brokenness and humility. Let the pain transform you. If you don't have any pain, that's okay. Just humble yourself and say, "God, I want that brokenness, humility. I want that heart of worship."

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we hear the second and final part of this uplifting message of hope titled Lessons While Walking Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Pastor and author Charles Swindoll once said, "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." Journey with Pastor Shane as you are equipped with this powerful encouragement to walk fearlessly in the face of death, here today on Regaining Lost Ground.

You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at WestsideChristianFellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the Idleman Unplugged weekly podcast. And now, from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here's Pastor Shane Idleman.

Shane Idleman: People need to have hope, even as they're going through the study. And I just couldn't stop writing. Sixty hours. I was in an upper area of a house for two weeks. And it was by far the best experience I've ever had. And from that came this booklet. People have edited it. People have looked at it. I'm not going to get into detail because YouTube's right now. So that's why I'm going public with it.

To help people and to walk into Sprouts or Trader Joe's, "Did you hear?" Yeah, I have the same challenges as everybody else. This one caught me a little off guard. But I thought you're the health and fitness guy. Well, for 30 years I was the debauchery guy. And sometimes that can come back to bite you in the butt. There's nothing's bulletproof. Nothing's perfect. Only God and God alone. We all have trials in our lives.

And so YouTube ticked me off. What I'm hearing in the conventional ways of doing things in the medical has really ticked me off, how people are being treated. And so I think God is using this to really get out there and help people. So I actually do have the rough draft ready. We've had editors looking at it. If you want to see that, let the office know. I've got to be kind of careful on this. But I don't care anymore. You're going to do that? You're going to ban what I said? And I didn't say anything controversial, I don't think.

And the fire was lit. And that's kind of what prompted this. And it's just a short booklet, something like a full assault against cancer. But we're doing really good. We're doing really good as a family. The candle was broken, but the flame still remains. God's doing a deep work. So here's what I want to tell you. And you'll probably see it in places like Christian Post and different places that'll pick up "Pastor has announced cancer."

But it's okay because it's ultimately to help people. That's why I did it. Normally, I would just keep it quiet, deal with it. But it can help a lot of people. And I don't know, I don't know what the future holds. But I know who holds the future. And that's where I'm resting in. So what happens through this valley? The transformation in the valley. Walking through the valley of shadow of death. There's a tenderness that can't be taught.

There's a certain tenderness that can't be taught without going through that valley of the shadow of death. That brokenness, there's no other way to get that deep reservoir of the heart on fire for God. A deep brokenness that can only come from the wells of desperation. Pain is the fire that allows the hammer of God to forge hearts and to shape character. I know we all go through pain. Many of you have come out of it, some of you might be going into it.

If you haven't yet, just keep living. But there can be a purpose in that pain. And I've seen so many people. And the first week was a little touch and go. Really, God? Why, God? And you can get bitter, and you can get in this low spot. And you've got to strengthen yourself in the Lord. And what was meant to really silence me has only awakened me even more.

What was actually I believe meant to discourage, it only emboldened my faith and my preaching. And that's why I truly don't know what the future holds. Should we plan a vacation in October? Of course. Let's just keep—I don't know. I'm taking it day by day. But isn't that life in general? We don't know what the future holds. But thank God we know who holds the future. And so yes, I am telling you the truth. A preacher has been revived through this, and hopefully so is the church.

I expect a much stronger anointing at Westside. We don't have time for games. Look around. The nation is the stench in the nostrils of a righteous, holy God. The watchmen are silent, they're cowards, many. The pastors that are supposed to be shepherding are woke and silent. God help us. There's an urgency. There's an urgency. And when you go through that valley, it changes the way you view things. You don't fear things like you used to fear.

And often the stronger the anointing, the deeper the brokenness. Remember that quote I use often: A.W. Tozer said before God uses a man greatly, He will hurt him deeply. And I also, I'll never forget, I was probably before I met Morgan, I was reading A.W. Tozer. And he was a young man and he said, "I aim to do more in this generation than any other preacher or pastor." And his friend said, "Tozer, if that is truly your aim, be prepared to suffer."

I'll never forget that. And we don't like to hear that. We don't want that, do we? Relaxing, great life. But there's something through walking through the valley of the shadow of death that life itself cannot teach you. Until you go through that valley. And we see we have mountaintops and we have valleys and they coexist. And in this case though, the Psalmist is walking through the valley and he doesn't plan on staying stuck there.

Through the valley of the shadow of death. And here's the wonderful thing as a believer: no matter what the outcome, we know what the final outcome is. And we rest in that. That's our strength, that's our hope. The valley of the shadow of death. Death is only a shadow when the sun is blocked. When we block out Christ, when we focus on other things. And that the valley can become darker and more depressing the farther you drift from the light.

Having Him be your anchor, having Him be everything you cling to. And then comfort in the valley. Comfort in the valley. In the valley, there is a definite shift. We feel vulnerable while enemies look down. It's hard to find comfort in the valley. And shepherds would know this as they would walk the sheep through the valley. What's above them? The enemy. The predators that wanted to take them out.

And it's hard to find that comfort in the valley. But he said, "Yet I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Most people don't realize how profound that is. To just go and eat in front of your—like Air Force go drop into Tehran and have dinner. Just eat in front of their enemy.

And God says, "I will prepare a table before you." Who can stop God Almighty? What enemy can stop Him? See, we've got to strengthen ourselves in the Lord again. Eating and fellowship often represents peace. Come on, let's fellowship. Yes, your enemies are around, but I will guard you. I will hold you. When there's nothing left to hold on to, you hold on to Him tightly.

And through that valley of the shadow, He will slowly remove everything you used to lean on, everything you used to trust in. And it's through that intimate relationship that you truly know Him as the Shepherd. And I have to talk about this one because it's important counsel in the valley. This is a very important lesson. I haven't mastered it and I'm trying. But you need to be very diligent to listen to God in the midst of danger.

Watch out for the godless voices telling you how to navigate your valley. Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. And the enemy will use fear to push you into things. And I'm not against making decisive decisions, getting stuff done. Any Type A personalities out there can relate with me. But when it comes to God, you have to hear the right voice. Because He doesn't have ulterior motives.

He's not going to make profit off you. Did you catch that? Careful who you listen to. I don't have all the answers, but I know who does. The hireling often counsels much differently than the Good Shepherd. What is a hireling? It's a paid person to go watch the sheep. They could care less really about the sheep. They're waiting for their money. But the Good, Good Shepherd—oh, He's a Good, Good Shepherd.

Remember what I said a month ago? Little lamb, little lamb, you've got a Good, Good Shepherd. Avoid the culture of fear and death that profits from your valley. That can be in lots of different areas, couldn't it? Entertainment. Your valley is the divorce and the divorce attorneys are at your throat. Advice from people. Consider and weigh their advice, but do not walk blindly. Do not walk blindly.

Listen for God's voice. Watch the circumstances. Pray about things. God rarely rushes. It's that still, small voice and allowing Him to open the doors in your life. And not getting worked up and worried about things. It can be challenging, can't it? I don't know if I should tell you this, but too late. About four hours ago, at 2:00, I walked in to go get a PET scan where they put the fluorodeoxyglucose.

And I'm ready, I'm going in, and she said, "Sir, we have to apologize. The machine is broke. We'll call you next week." I'm like, "What? I've been waiting for this for a while. Like, we're kind of counting on this. What's going on here?" But do you fear, right? Get to L.A. quick, do something. You've got to—"Lord, You're in control. I don't think this caught You surprise—surprised You."

But listening to the right voice, you've got to get alone with the Lord and hear that voice. It doesn't mean you're not wise, it doesn't mean you're naive. It means I need to hear the voice of the Father. And if I don't hear His voice, I at least need to spend some time with Him so I make a decision based on peace and not on fear, based on God's opinion, not on man's. That's the point of it.

Now I hope you're not thinking I'm saying don't listen to people. The Bible says to seek godly counsel. It's very important to get godly counsel. I would say do not delay getting a diagnosis. "Oh, God will—" No, use wisdom. I think I've been dealing this for probably a year. Just the way I've been feeling and night sweats and things like that. And I could feel my body's just not in a good spot.

It's been a while and I've kept avoiding it. Until a couple physicians shot me straight and I listened to their advice. But truly about hearing the voice of God too, spending that time with Him, in His Word. And let me tell you, sometimes you don't know what to do. You think I knew every step of this journey? Not even close. But Lord, I've sought You, I have peace, this seems wise, I'm going to step out in faith.

And if You're not guiding me, I'm in trouble already. Because oftentimes you don't have exact directions. If I know, okay, tomorrow this and Friday this and Saturday this and Sunday this, that's not faith. That has nothing to do with faith. That's actually security and there's no faith involved. But when you have to step out into that uncharted water, it's where the rubber meets the road.

And I love that verse: He will make a table. He'll just present a table in front of my enemies. That probably means a lot more to me than you because all of you combined probably don't have as many enemies as me. Many will be rejoicing about this announcement. And you just pray for them because demons get happy when Christians get hurt. That's just the way it is. The spirit of me and the demonic realm don't get along.

And you know that as well, correct? Anytime you go up against that spiritual battle, it's hard. They want to silence you. And what I love is what the enemy intends for evil, God has made for good. I said it two weeks ago and I will say it again. I thank God for this. I do. How can you say that? Because it has awakened, it has renewed. There's a relationship so deep, I—it reminds me of 1999 when I first came back to the Lord.

Thank God for that. And probably the closest to sinless perfection I've ever been. That's a good plus too. You know what that is, right? It'll sink in later. Even saying "pissed off," I was like, I probably shouldn't have said that. But then there's conviction in the valley. There's conviction in—oh, we're getting to the end here. Conviction in the valley. The Lord disciplines His children often by using deep valleys.

Could God have been spanking me? Possibly. Wake me up. Just like you, I grow cold, I grow callous, I grow indifferent. That's just what happens. It's hard to stay broken and humble unless God begins to break and humble you. I don't know that for certain, but that should be a part of your prayer if you go through the valley. "Lord, what are You trying to teach me? What are You trying to show me?"

Ask my kids if I'm a better dad or my wife if I'm—there's deep things that God can do. The pain can lead you straight to the cross. The pain can lead you straight to the cross. And you get to a point where you say, "In serving You, I have no regrets." God, if You call me home or call me to fight, I will not give up. Because if we keep reading, maybe I'll do it some other time, I love the part where he says, "And He restoreth my soul. He restoreth my soul."

And there's a song, I don't remember if we do it here or not, but sometimes I put on rewind: "You're my first love, Jesus. You're my first love. In Your presence, I can't help but fall down at Your feet. Savior, beautiful Savior, You became the sacrifice so I could be set free." He speaks in the dark valleys so you can hear His voice more clearly. Let me tell you, the valleys will teach you what the mountains never can.

The mountains will never teach you what the valleys can. Walking through that valley of the shadow of death, it will train you, it will transform you. And so a reminder: the depth of your humility will determine the height of your awakening. The deeper you go in humility and brokenness, the more profound your awakening, your spiritual awakening will be, your revival in your heart.

I mean, think about it: without the valley, I thought about this yesterday, how many Psalms would be out of the Bible and not in there anymore? Right? Three-quarters? I don't know. My goodness. I mean, all those precious promises, what would we do? "The Lord is my light, the Lord is my shepherd, the Lord is my strength, whom shall I trust? What can the armies do against me? And I will fight them because God is on my side.

One thing have I desired, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life as I'm walking through that shadow of death. And I behold His beauty, the only beauty of the Only Begotten of the Father. And that's why I said earlier, let the name of Yahweh be proclaimed in this place, church. Getting back to that place of brokenness and brokenness and humility. Let the pain transform you.

If you don't have any pain, that's okay. Just humble yourself and say, "God, I want that brokenness, humility. I want that heart of worship." One last statement. It's last because I didn't know to say it or not. The first week getting up in the morning was tough. And it can be, but now I just—I love—I can't wait to get up and worship. The transforming power of worship.

On one hand I pray, "Lord, take this from me," but on the other hand I say, "Don't—" I pray, "Don't take this from me. Don't take this power. Don't take this presence. Don't take this anointing, this unction, this desire, God, where I just cry out for more of You." One thing have I desired, that will I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. My heart pants after Him like the deer that pants after that brook.

And you look for Him in that worship. It's like, yes, take this, but also but don't take this. Can I have—is it—can You have it either way? Because that forces me to this: the deep valley. So on one hand you're like, "Lord, take this," but on the other hand, "Don't take Your presence from me. There's nothing I want more than the presence of God." And what's sad for me is there are many people who haven't experienced it.

It's not just feeling something and goosebumps. It's where His Word just comes alive in your heart. It pierces, too, doesn't it? Double-edged sword. Oh, church, be prepared to bleed because we're going into the Word. It's going to hurt, it's going to help, it's going to heal. And there's something profound that takes place because you empty yourself of you. God, there is no hope outside of You.

And you begin—then that's all you have. Does that make sense? There's no other options. He's everything. He's all I have. Doctors don't know, nutritionists don't know, medication—well, try this, try this, try this, try this. No, you need to try this. That's where the hope is.