[MUSIC PLAYING] This is the Commission Church online. Welcome to our podcast. We want to be a church who brings heaven on earth with the word of God and the love of Christ. I pray this week's message blesses you. All right, all right, all right. You all ready for the word? You all thought it was over, not so soon. Man, it's going to be good. I thank God for what God is doing here. We're rejoicing, amen. It's a joy to always celebrate with families. Every month, we've had a dedication. It's amazing how we have so many babies and children. And it's amazing. We can't do all the babies together just because of the space that we have, space constraints. So we have to branch them out every month. So thank you guys for your patience. As we do baby dedications, it's a sign of a young church. And we enjoy that, amen. I have a question for you guys before I get into the word today. How many of you have bought a car? Ever bought a car? Can I see your hands? Have you bought a car? Old, new, doesn't matter. You bought a car. Some of you did this. Is that half a car? I don't know what that means, but you bought a car. How many of you have purchased a home before? OK, good. You've purchased a home, all right? How many of you have ever accepted a job offer in your life? Anybody? You have accepted a job, OK? Means you're worth hiring, OK? There's something good in you? How many of you have taken a vacation or plan to take a vacation this year? Can I see your hands? All right, OK? Y'all got excited for that one. Your hands went, oh, I'm ready. How many of you ever applied to a college or a university and probably got accepted? Or you're planning to apply to a university? OK, a bunch of y'all. I can go on and on about life decisions, because life decisions are things that we have to encounter very, very often in life. Major decisions, minor decisions, things that we have to undertake, things that we have to decide on, major plans. It could be whether or not to get married this year, or should I date? Should I not? Should I have children? Should I not? How many years before I have children? How many years before I retire? Should I take up that job? Should I accept that offer? Should I apply for that loan? And today, I felt in my heart that I needed to talk to some people that are probably stressed. And you're probably stressed for the right reasons. And we all get stressed for various reasons, but some of those reasons are reasons that are self-inflicted as well. OK, why do we go through stress? We go through stress because of decisions that we make. Things that happen to us, or decisions that we probably didn't make ourselves, but things that happened. And one of the major decisions is to why we go through stress, or we stress ourselves out, is because we make plans. As human beings, we love plans. We love to make plans. If you have a conversation with somebody, one of the questions that's going to inadvertently come up in the conversation is, what plans you got for today? What you're going to do today? Or it's Friday. The biggest question on Friday is, what plans for the-- yeah, we can. I'm glad we have some weekend people here, OK? What plans for the weekend? Or if you're married, you know the biggest question is planning for dinner. What's for dinner? What do we eat? That's one of the biggest struggles. Plans often work, or they don't work. When plans don't work, sometimes that causes frustration. When frustration arises, sometimes it takes us into this valley of despair, and it takes us into moments of desperation, and it takes us into moments of anxiety that often causes us to crumble under the pressure to either perform or to succeed. Because it is only natural that when man makes plans, you just don't make plans to fail. You obviously make plans in aspirations to succeed. You have a desire that the plans that you make kind of come through, or you don't want them to fall through. You want them to come through. You want them to come to fruition. So because it was originated, because it was started by you, because it originated in your mind. It was your plan. You will do anything and everything in your power to make sure that those plans come to pass. And that's why I said, I want to talk to some of you that are stressed, because some of us are stressed, because the pressure of the world is upon you to succeed on some things that you started, that you initiated, that was your idea to begin with. Why does it happen this way? Because this is naturally who we are. Proverbs, chapter 16 and verse 9, the notes are on the screen. The Bible says this, "The heart of man plans his way." That's the natural heart of the man. Like we are conditioned, we are created to make plans. Why? In the Garden of Eden, God looked at Adam and Eve. He had made a plan for them already. Amen? He created the garden. He created the tree. He created the fruits. And he said, this is my will. My plan is that you eat from this tree. Avoid this tree by all costs. By all means, do not go there. You hear what I'm saying? But he left it up to them and said, but do what you may. Make the right decision. But at that point of time, man decided to make plans for himself. So that curse that began in the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve was a curse that's continued till today. The curse of us trying to make our own plans. To divert from the plans of God. To not be OK with the plans of God. To not be sufficient with the plans of God. But the dire need to know what's out there. What if I can do this? What if I can understand it? What if I can take that extra? What if God doesn't have the best in store for me? So the Bible says, the heart of man, what's in the core of your heart, the desire is to make plans. So no matter what God says about your life, your heart will always tell you, make your own plans. It doesn't matter what the Bible says. It doesn't matter what the Bible instructs, make your own plans. Because there's this need inside of us that if we don't manufacture, if we don't create. And I'm not propagating that you'll be lazy and not make plans. That's not what I'm saying. But at some point, your plans will come in direct conflict with the plans of God. Anybody been there before? I've been there plenty. Where I'm like, Lord, these are my plans. I just want you to say amen to it. Anybody been there? That's me all the time. I'm like, God, I wish you can come on board with these plans. It'll be nice if you can put your stamp on them. Because I can say it's from God. And when I go through some crazy stuff, I'm like, that's the devil, the devil. No, no, no, no. It was not that don't blame the devil for everything in your life. But my question for so many of us is all these plans, whether it's university or buying a car, buying a home, accepting a job offer. All of these things are real things in our life. But how many of us really pause, and before you make a big decision, get into the presence of God and say, God, what do you want me to do? What is your plan? What is your desire? How many of us really do that as Christians, as believers? I'm challenging us today because Jeremiah, chapter 29-- you knew I was going here-- Jeremiah 29 and verse 11, kind of like the cornerstone of all verses that have plans in it. It says this, for I know-- come on, what has got-- I know that the plans I have for you declares the Lord. I want to pause there real quick before we even continue. Such a misinterpreted scripture in the Bible are misunderstood scripture in the Bible. A lot of people think that this verse really means for we know the plans he has for us. That's not what the Bible says. This is important, if you get this, you will sleep well tonight. You ready? The Bible says, for I-- who's I? It was-- that's all I heard. Who's I? God. God is declaring over his people and saying, I, God, almighty, omniscient, omnipotent, or powerful, all knowing I for the I know the plans I have for you. You know what that means? It means that you don't need to know the plans. It means that I don't have to know the plans. These plans are not something that God runs by me. The word that makes me sleep tonight is the word no. I know. There's surety in that word. It's like, I've taught this through. I have studied this. I have done the-- I have done the math. I have done the work. I have-- I have things to prove it. I have seen things that you have not seen. I have taken steps and measures that you would not even consider and he says, I know. That's the beauty of this verse. Not, I have plans for you. Don't even go to the last part until you consider the first part. I know the plans I-- so, so, so important for you. I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil to give you a future and a hope. He says, you know-- he doesn't say, you know the plans. He says, I know the plans. Why is this important? Because Proverbs, chapter 19 and verse 21, the Bible says, many other plans of the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Y'all, you can conjure of all the plans in the world you want, but let me tell you, the will and the purpose of God will always come to pass no matter what. It doesn't matter. You can go on preparing, planning. You can go on scheming and saving. And all of this stuff, and it's good, and it's great. But remember, Christian, don't get disappointed when God stands next to you, vetoes your emotion, vetoes your decisions, and saying, y'all, I have nothing to do with that. That's all you. And so many of us go through stress because we are trying to manage and doing damage control and heal things that we started that God's like, I am not in this at all. And we're like, God, why have you let me strand it? God's like, bro, you didn't even ask me. If that's what you want, you should be doing in the first place. Like we're expecting God to bless things that he did not even originate and start. And today I want us to open our eyes to understand that no, the plans of God are things that we don't need to understand. You know what the Bible says in Corinthians 2 and 9? It says, 1 Corinthians 2 and 9, what no eye has seen. No ears hurt, no heart has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. This doesn't mean, oh man, the plans that God has to mean, no, nobody has ever seen or nobody's heart. No, that includes you. That also includes you over here. When the Bible says, no eye has seen, it means it includes your eyes. It means you don't know, you have never seen what God is about to do in your life. It's easy for us to project that on somebody else and say, my wife hasn't seen, my haters haven't seen. These guys have not, my boss hasn't seen. Oh, they're gonna watch and no, no, no, no. I even do not know. Come on, somebody, like my ears have not heard. My heart has not understood. Can we be okay with not knowing? On this side of eternity, there are things that we will not know, that we will not understand, that we will not comprehend. Standing in this side of confusion and mystery, there are things that we'll not understand. Paul says that for we know in part and we prophesy in part. That's what he says. You will never know in full. You will know in part, even what is to come, you will not know fully. All the prophecies, all the things that are going to come to, you're not gonna know. I, the Lord, the omniscient, see, that's what separates divinity from humanity. And some of us has to stop moving as God, like we need to stop wanting to be in control all the time. Some of us gotta say goodbye to control, y'all. Some of us got to let go of control for the need to know, for the need to be in control, for the need to manipulate situations. Some of us are so addicted to control. When I say control, it's just not controlling others, it's controlling your own life. So don't nudge anybody else, I'm talking to your heart today. 'Cause I feel like God has spoken to me and told me that, hey, this is something that you want, you need to hear. So as much as I'm speaking this message to each one of you, this message is God speaking to me as well. This morning, I was reading the passage in Psalm 23 where the psalmist says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green passage. He leads me beside quite waters. Man, it enriches me every single time I read that passage. I said this before when we did our series on the Sabbath. The Bible, the psalmist is very clear when he says, he makes me lie down. What does it make me lie down? Sometimes he has to forcefully put me down. Why? Because I won't do it myself. Anybody been there before? That you're constantly on the go. You're constantly thinking, you're constantly scheming and God's like, just calm down. Constantly having the need to make sure you perform, having this need to make sure that you are in control and God's like, man, no, just calm down. He makes me lie down in green passage. He leads me 'cause I like to lead myself most of the time. So God is wanting that steering wheel. Church, giving of control is difficult, but when we think about it, it's logical. I want you to just journey with me here for the next few minutes because I wanna give you this idea of control. Like control, like having control is an illusion. You're never in control of a situation because even when you think you have it, you really don't. What do you mean? Even when you think you're in control, you're really not in control. You know, there's one thing every time my wife looks at me and says, hey, what do you want for your birthday? It's every year, every Christmas, every birthday, it's one answer. She'll always tell you. It's a motorbike. Every year. I started 10 years ago. We've been married for 10 years. Every year I've said I wanna motorbike and the answer's been, nope, but I have faith, okay? Pray with me, okay? I still have faith. And I said, babe, it's okay. She's like, nope, absolutely. I'm your wife and I need you and your kids need you. So no motorbike. And I was like, but babe, I'm gonna be careful. She's like, I don't care. But babe, I grew up in India on the streets where there were motorbikes all over and I rode all the motorbikes and the motorbikes. Every, I am good at this and she says, you might be the best motorbike rider out there, but I don't care. Y'all gotta pray for her, y'all. I'm telling you. The one with the side car. No, but here's the thing she tells me all the time. She says, it's not you I'm afraid of. She is really afraid of me. She's like, I'm afraid of the other people on the road. Them crazies, that's because here's a thing with being in control. You can be in control all you want, but there are things out of your control. And she reminds me all the time. So it's this logical fallacy of sorts that we often buy into, right? We can control how, we can be controlled, we can be careful about how we drive, but we cannot control other people when they drive. We can control the offer that we put on that property, but we cannot control if the offer is accepted. We can apply for that scholarship and apply to that college or that dream university or whatnot, but we cannot control the acceptance. We can ace the interview, we can do great. You can walk out of that interview and you're like, man, they're gonna hire me. And guess what? You may not get that job. Because you don't control that offer letter. Control is an illusion and when we tend to manipulate outcomes, we take on weights that we're not supposed to, or we're not designed to take on, because only God and only God can control the outcome. Can I tell you, Kristen, are we going to be okay? Your heart is going to be settled when you and I begin to understand that my plans may be many, but the plans of God and the will of God is what supersedes them all. He is the sovereign God and we can pray, we can fast, we can seek the face of God, we can pray for deliverance and healing and breakthrough, but the will of God and the sovereign nature of God will always outweigh everything that your heart desires. So can we be submitted to that? Yeah, we pray for healing, yeah, we pray for deliverance. Yeah, we're gonna continue praying for miraculous, we're gonna continue praying for the supernatural, but even if God doesn't do it, we will still pray. And we will still believe, 'cause that's the will of God, we will be submitted to that will and that's how we've always prayed, is the will of God. And some of the weight of anxiety and expectation that you're caring is a result of us trying to control outcomes that was not for us to manipulate in the first place, there was a God, that there's a God that controls these things and we gotta be okay with saying the Lord is my shepherd, he is leading me, he is making me lie down, he is directing my path and as long as you can be okay with that, that he is your shepherd. You can't control the future, you can't control people, y'all. You cannot control those coworkers of yours. You can't change the course of destiny, you can't change the way people think about you, you cannot stop fighting a battle that you are trying to win by yourself. And you are anxious, you're taking all those pills, you're getting all that counseling, trust me, some of these things that we're going through, I am telling you, just leave it in the hands of God, stop scheming, stop planning, stop putting the pressure on yourself to achieve and get results, just put in it and say, "Lord, I want to trust you with everything that I have." And this is why I kind of want to hone in on Psalm 23, is that okay, can we spend some time just talking about just the backdrop of Psalm 23? He says, "The Lord is my shepherd." You know, sometimes when, all the time, but when we allow the Lord to lead us and guide us and be a shepherd, it's so important to just yield to whatever He has or what path He's taking us on. And sometimes those paths that God has designed for us and He takes us on are not the paths that are most conventional, not the ones that look straight, not the ones that look or designed or fits our mold of perfection, or fits our mold of this looks like God or this looks like something that God could only create. The Bible says, "For I know the plans I have for you." Next to the step 13 and verse 19, I want you to turn your attention here. The Bible says this when the Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them. I want you to hear this. God leads and He does not lead. This is important. And sometimes He does not lead by leading you. What does that mean, all right? Let's break this down. He did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. It was the shortcut. It was the faster route. It was the most conventional route. Come on, the GPS said, go that way. Come on, somebody, anybody been there before? The GPS said that, but your wife told you not, hmm, come on, all the wives are saying amen to that. But God said, "Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt." Like God knew what He was talking about. Chris messes me the other day and was like, hey pastor, you might want to warn people, man, Parker's crazy with all the construction, they're flat tires and everything. And out of the experience and frustration, they came out of something that they had to experience in their family, reached out to me. So I let people know in our church, hey, keep off, Parker, because there's some crazy stuff happening on that road that's damaging tires. Now the GPS would tell you it's five minutes faster. But if you just go on the other, whatever the other streets are, independence, or whatever the others around here, you just get on them and custer and come right, it might take you a few more minutes, but it'll save you how many dollars, Chris? $1,300. But guess what? They didn't know that. Oh, he did. His son did not know that. They had to learn the hard way. But you know what God sometimes looks at us and says, man, there are things that you don't see. And He's like, if I would have taken you that way, the moment you saw war, the moment you saw calamity, the moment you saw sickness or disease or that job situation or that boss treating you the way you did, you would have quit and run back to Egypt. Come on, somebody. But what did God do, okay? But what did God do? Now, this is what God did. In verse 18, "But God let the people around," by the way of the wilderness towards Red Sea, and the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt, equipped for battle. Let me pause here. Sometimes God will not lead you in the most obvious path. The most convenient way is not always the right way. The best way to you is not God's way. And you're like, pastors, isn't the Bible say, I'll make all the crooked paths straight? How do you know what straight means to God? Like sometimes we try to define God's plans in our idea of mechanics. This is what straight looks like for us so we expect God to do straight things. No, sometimes God's straight is crooked. Case in point, what I just read for you. No, it does not have to look the way you want it to look. God's straight, look at somebody sitting next to you and say, God's straight is sometimes crooked. You hesitated, come on, let's tell them that. 'Cause that's what it is. He said, he let them. He took them by hand and said, no, that's not the way. Go around, it might take you 40 more years. Come on, somebody. Some of y'all are complaining about two months long. Come on, some of y'all are complaining that it's taking a little too long for that job situation or that promotion and God's like, hold on. For my plans that I have for you, no eye has seen, no ears or no heart has come on. Am I kidding, I hear a name, man. This is what we need to understand. That God's straight is not always our straight. (banging) Sometimes God answers you through closed doors. Do you know that? Sometimes God closes some relationships and that's God's answer to you and you're like, Lord, why? Nope, you prayed for an answer and I closed the door for you. What are you complaining about? And David says, Lord, you are my shepherd, I shall not want. I want you to just bear with me. I know we lost a little bit of time with the dedication, but we loved what God did in that moment. But if you would just give me like 10 more minutes, I just want to kind of hone in on this point and want us to understand this. It's not just important to consider who wrote this song or what he says in it, but it's also important to understand when he wrote this song. David is writing this song, not just David. King David is writing this song. Why is that important? He is not a shepherd boy tending sheep, holding his harp and book in his hand, writing down this song. That's not him. This is that stage has been passed. He is the king of Israel now. Thrown, sitting on the throne, crown on his head, scepter in his hand. And he is, he's saying the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Let me take you through back in history just a bit. Is that okay? Down memory lane. It was not too long ago that the people of Israel asked for king. Everybody else has a king. We need a king God. No, you don't need a king. You have a problem. No, we need a king God. No, you don't need a king. You have a, no, we need a king God. So God looks at them and says here, I'll give you Saul. So Saul comes into the picture, he's their king, until the point that God looks at the people of Israel and says, I'm not happy, he looks at Samuel and says, I'm not happy with this guy, I don't want him as king anymore. It's ready, I'm ready to anoint this new person as king. So he says, go, I want you to go an anoint, a new king. And he points out to a family and it says, I want you to go to that family's home. And I'm going through the way I'm going because I understand that there are some people here that probably know this story. And there are some people that don't know this story. So please be sensitive to those who probably don't because I'm walking through this story with each and every person here. So Samuel the prophet, who is heard from God, saying anoint the next king of Israel, makes his way towards his house of Jesse. This man called Jesse has sons. And he looks up to Jesse and says, hey, where are your sons? One of your sons are going to be king. Jesse rounds up all his sons, the good looking ones, the buff ones, the apathetic ones, the ones that are talented, the hunters and the skilled ones, the ones that bring stuff to the table, the ones that will make him proud, the ones that look like him. And he lines them up in a parade and Samuel has this horn of oil. That's how they anointed kings back in the day. They would take a horn and they would fill it with oil. And when God told Samuel to anoint the king, he would take that horn and he would pour the oil. And every single time he walked through to each of these boys, he took out the horn and he was ready and God said, no. This one God, nope, he has a height, but he doesn't have the heart. God, this has to be the one. Nope. Seven times. Seven times goes through each of the sons and Samuel's like confused. He's like, bro, is this all your sons? 'Cause here's the thing, you have this big dining table. There's a lot of food that's steak and potatoes, but you better bet that I'm not gonna sit down and eat one morsel of food till you bring the boy that God sent me here to anoint. And Jesse says, oh, there's one guy. You sure you want him? Like he's out there in the room. Like he's David, like you bring him, I am not going anywhere till you bring that boy. David comes in with his shepherds, clothing staff in his hand, raggedy looking into the presence of Samuel. And that horn that wouldn't move started to move. And the oil that wouldn't flow started to flow. And Samuel said, this man and his brothers looked in envy and shock and his son father was like, man, that wasn't my first pick. But God, if that's who you want, go ahead. And the oil is poured on this young man, drenched in oil. Now look at me, drenched in oil. This, Samuel wasn't like being kind and drop a boil on your forehead, cross, none, none of that. This will take the whole amount of oil and pour it upon him. My boy is drenched in oil. I anoint you as king, David. You will be king of Israel. You are going to be God's chosen one, David. From this day on, and guess what he does, immediately. As soon as he does that, what does he do? Does he go to stake in potatoes? No, he takes off to Ramah. He leaves. The prophet leaves. He doesn't want to share a meat, nothing. He leaves. And David's like dripping in oil. He's like, where's my chariot? Yo, you just said I was king. But I have the same clothes. There's no ring on my finger. There's no crown on my head. I need you to understand this church. This is very, very, very important. Seven people got there before David, but the oil did not flow. Seven people got there first, but the oil moved when David arrived. When God has something reserved for you and for me, it doesn't matter who gets there first. Come on, I was expecting somebody to jump up and say, amen to that. They can apply for it first. They can get there first. They can be first in line. They can apply for that scholarship. They can put in their offer first, but if it is yours, God will keep it for you. Can I hear an amen? That is the plan of God that his plans are beautiful in his time. I wanna remind somebody here that's grappling and struggling and stressing over the plans of God. He is always on his time. You heard what I said. I didn't say he's always on time. He's always on his time. Sorry. So stop telling God how he should operate, when he should operate. It's so important to be congruent with what God wants to do in your life. Man, and if you missed it, it was not yours. Like Christians need to be okay with that. Stop casting the devil out for every small thing. If you missed the train, you missed the train 'cause it was in yours, it wouldn't wait for you. Samuel anoints him and he's ready. He's dripping in oil, but the Bible says this. The moment he was anointed from that day on, great power came upon him in a powerful way and the anointing of God fell upon him. But Chris, but he is dripping with oil still in Shepherd's clothes. His anointing changed, his calling changed. (breathing heavily) But something did not change. He wasn't king. You left me where I am, like you anointed me as king, but you left me where I, like, like, I'm empowered. I'm empowered, but my ability has changed by my responsibilities are the same. Anybody got a title at work and they just gave it to you. They didn't give you a pay increase. They made it, they gave it to you to make you feel better. Assistant to the assistant regional manager, anybody? Some of y'all got that joke. And some of y'all are happy about that, but David is assistant to the assistant regional manager and he's sitting back there and he's like, God, you've anointed me, you've called me king, but now dad's telling me to go back to the fields. He's dripping with the anointing. Some of y'all are dripping with God's calling and a promise that God gave you. Five years, you're dripping and you have the promise on you, but you're still in shepherd's clothing. Somebody needs to hear this today. Some of you, your faith is weaned off because you're dripping. You still come to church, you're dripping. You still show up, you're still tithing, you're still doing, but your faith is slowly weaning because you're not seeing what you're supposed to see. And David's back in the fields, he's back in the fields, faithfully serving his father. And out of nowhere, Saul has a demonic attack. And the people say, and back in the day, there was music therapy, before there was music therapy, today it was music therapy back then. And they said, well, bring us a musician and there was a musician. And people said, man, there's a man called David. He plays a harp, he's awesome, he's annoying. The power of God is through and they bring him in. I want somebody to listen to me. Even when you think nobody's watching, somebody's watching, be excellent at what you do, be faithful at what you do, even when nobody's watching, because somebody is watching. And when your time comes, God will not just show favor upon you, and you will not find the favor of God, only you will also find the favor of man. I came to preach today, y'all, help me out. So he gets his moment, shows up with the palace with the harp and everything. Saul from the moment he comes in does not like him. Yeah, he's anointed, he plays. But here's the thing about the anointing. The enemy hates the anointing, because the Bible says the anointing breaks the yoke, so the yoke's gonna try everything in its power to throw spears at you. Some of y'all got that. But you know, I wanna remind somebody today, that God's anointing is on your life for a season, for a reason. And when God's anointing is, just use it, and if it was me, man, David has some issues, like if somebody threw a spear at me once, that would be the last time they threw a spear at me. David went back. I was like, David, what's wrong with you, bro? But he went back, because you know what? He stayed faithful. And as soon as he was done there, he went back to daddy's house, because there was sheep waiting, come on. He's dripping, he's dripping, the anointing is, he's going to be king and in his heart, he's going to be king, but he can't believe. I got to go back to my sheep. I got to go back to that crazy job. I got to go get custard. I got to go and face a bear and a lion to, like imagine. But I'm dripping. He just anointed me, but I'm still in that old job. I'm still in that old life. I'm still struggling with that old sin. I'm still struggling with those old things. David, stay faithful. Stay faithful, because the plans of God are bigger than anything you have ever imagined and somebody needs to hear this today. But what helped him stay focused in that mentality, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want from a shepherd to a king. It did not change. It was God knows what's going on in my life. God knows my financial instability. God knows the job that I'm going through. God gave me the anointing to God gave me the calling. God gave me the promise. God gave me the prophecy and if he gave it to me, he is not a man that he will lie. My time is coming. And one day he's serving the king on the way to work, on his way to his job as a harpist, making sure that he is giving therapy to the king. He watches as the armies are all surrounding in this valley and he sees his brothers around and he's like, what's going on? I hear this ruckus and there is this giant called Goliath. He's standing over there, screaming on top of his lungs. And David says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine? When everybody else saw him as a giant, he looked at him and said, who is that uncircumcised Philistine? You know what that literally means, right? Who is this person out of the covenant? Who is a person out of the covenant? Circumcision was a covenant between God and man and somebody that was uncircumcised was outside of the covenant between God and man. And he was literally saying, who is a person that is out of the covenant to threaten somebody that's in a covenant? And all of you, scaredy cats here, freak it out. Nobody's stepping up. And he said, put me in, coach, throw me in, throw me in. His time is coming. He walks into it dripping, still in shepherd's clothes, still with arsenal and weapons from his previous, come on somebody, he is not equipped for battle, but what he knows is I don't come in power or in might, strength or might, I come in the name of the Lord. So I says, hey, do you want this armor, go ahead and put this on? And he's like, man, this is not for me. None of this is for me. He says, I gotta go and do what God has called me to do. And he says, this guy doesn't stand a chance. And David's like, what's in for me? What do you get if you win? And he says, David, you better win 'cause you're gonna get the King's daughter's hand in marriage. And David was like, man, I'm gonna be King. So I don't even know why that's better. And then he said, oh, you got free taxes too. And he's like, sign me up, sign me up. True man, he was like, free taxes, you got me. David walks into that battlefield. Goliath, sword drawn, full military armor, giant, as everybody else sees it. But David says, I can't do that. That's not my weapon. Can I go get my stones? 'Cause here's my thing, you're not meant to get into the boxing ring with the devil. You lose. You stand outside and throw your prayers. You throw, you hold stones at him that God has equipped you with. And that's the word of God sometimes. And David says, man, if I go up to him, I'm gonna go into his battlefield. I don't wanna get into his battlefield. I'm gonna be equipped with what I can and what I know. Stop adopting what's worked for somebody else. It's not gonna work for you. Their armor isn't gonna help you win your battle. I'm gonna close this out if you can stand up to your feet with me. David looks at Solomon and says, if you allow me to get to my rocks, I can do with my rocks, what others can't do with their spear. Trust me. My weapons can target zones that spear scan target. Sometimes you look at your weapons and you wonder if you can do it. You look at your bank balance and you're like, man, who am I? You look at your diploma, your degree, and you're like, man, what, or your education, you're like, I probably won't get that job. I probably can't have a child. You look at that medical report that the doctors gave you and you're like, it's physically impossible for me, genetically impossible for me. And you have these cards that you're dealt and you're like, kid, I have got any worse of a hand than what I have right now. But I wanna remind somebody today, Goliath might have the best weapons for close combat, but he doesn't have the weapons to reach as much as David's did. Some of you have been tasked with prayer and you have the ability to go into the presence of God and cry and weep and pray and fast and that's something that nobody else can compete with. Kristin, I cannot stress the importance of the believer getting into the presence of God and before you have to make a decision saying, God, what do you think of this? God, what do you want me to do? Seek His face and leave me today. Be my shepherd, be my guide. It would change your life. You could just listen to the voice of God and heat to the voice of God. When He tells you to leave, to leave, when He tells you to stay, to stay. When He tells you, I got your back to say, God, I trust you with everything that I have. You know, Proverbs 7, 3, verses 5 to 6, it says, "There's trust in the Lord with all your heart "and do not lean on your own understanding "and all your ways acknowledge Him "and He will make your path straight. "David is sitting on the throne "and he is reminiscing and he's looking back. "At the time that the lion came at him "and the bear came at him. "And he takes every stage of his life into account "and he's like, "What do I write about this season?" And he says, "The Lord is my shepherd. "I shall not want." He did not say, "I did not want." He said, "I will not, even where I am today. "I will not." He says, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, "I will fear no evil." Why? Because he walked through all of that. And guess who brought him out? He shepherd his guide. It's so important church to be led by God. To submit to the will of God and say, "God, would you lead me and guide me "into ways that I cannot even comprehend?" Here's what I want to do as the worship team comes up. I want to just give you a few moments to reflect on the message. I'll come back up. I'm going to pray. I'm going to dismiss you guys. We're going to have some pray partners up here to pray for you, but I just want you to take a moment. I want you to think about the message, and I want you to consider where you are in your life right now. What situation, what phase, what are the promises that God has given you? What are you dripping with? I don't know who's dripping here today, but some of you all are dripping and you're wondering, "What's next?" Where's your purpose? What's your destiny looking like? What does God have in store for you next? And can I tell you the answer is only found in one place, not in a message that I preach, that the answer is found in the presence of God. Can you just lean in, be honest, vulnerable, and say, "God, would you speak to me right now? "Would you show me the direction I need to take? "Somebody needs to hear this. "Somebody needs to hear this. "This is going to change your life. "If you can just lean in and say, "God, "I just want to completely submit. "Lead me, guide me, lead me, guide me." And there's nothing else you know what to pray about today. Just say, "God, would you guide me? "Would you lead me? "I want to give up my need to control my situation. "I want to give up my need to control my life. "Would you take complete control?" Thank you for listening. We love bringing you the word on so many different platforms. We are so thankful for what God is doing in and through us. We'd love for you to subscribe so you don't miss out. And don't forget to share this message if it has blessed you. [MUSIC PLAYING]
