hey guys it's Sunday morning I'm backstage with Elevation Worship we're getting ready to have church but we want to let you know that we're also getting ready to go on tour Chris what are the dates February 25th through March 6th and we're going to a city near you so go to Elevation nights.com to see if we're coming near you and make sure that you make plans to join us it's an amazing night it's an arena full of people worshiping Pastor Steven comes and he preaches I'm telling you it's amazing and we want to be there
with you so elevation ice.com make plans to join us and now we're going to get to the sermon Come on, clap those hands all over the house. God bless you. It's so good to see you today. Welcome. Hello to you online. Our eFam is joining us all over the world. Can you all give me just a second? As our eFam tells us where they're watching from right there in the chat, in the comments, I want to appreciate our worship team. The reason I want to do it… You know, it can be easy, if you're a
good singer, a good musician, to just come for a performance and to lock into that, but when you sense that your team is not just here for performance but for presence… I sensed that today while each and every one of you was ministering, so thank you for showing up. While our eFam is joining in and telling us where they're watching from right there in the comments, look at your neighbor and say, "You did good to show up today." Driving through all that fog. Was it still foggy when you came? See, I shouldn't say stuff like
this, because it localizes the message, but I was praying for you today. "Direct their paths, Lord. It's foggy." One thing about fog I just want to point out… You were over at my house the other day, Chunks, and I said, "It's so foggy outside," and you said, "No, it's not." You said, "That's just on the windows." So sometimes it's not foggy, you are. A lot of times, when we come together in worship like this, it's like I'll go all week long and feel like I'm just stumbling around in the fog. I can't think straight. I
don't know about you, but I get foggy. It's amazing how worshiping wipes the windows. I realize, "Oh, wow! God really is still in charge. Oh, wow!" Wow. It stands for wipe our windows. I'm just freestyling. I'm happy to be here. This year, I started praying a different prayer before I preach. I still pray that the Lord would help you, but I started praying every time that he would let me have fun. Not that I wasn't having fun before, but I just don't ever want these moments to pass by without appreciating them. I have a word
for you today that I believe will hit you right in your heart and help you with some of your habits. Last week, I told you that in this year of your life, some of the greatest things that'll happen and some of the hardest things that'll happen will not be in your strategic plan. So, my challenge to you was to make presence your plan this year. Presence is the plan. "I don't know what all I'm walking into this year, but I'm showing up for it." To do that, you'll have to show up unsure from time to
time. You'll have to show up hurting from time to time, and you'll have to show up sometimes when you wish you could pull up the covers and hide. In this passage in Deuteronomy, chapter 20, I want to read you verse 1, and I want to pair it very briefly with a Scripture from Ephesians 6:13. In Deuteronomy 20:1, Moses is giving a speech to the people of Israel to prepare them for what God has positioned them for, so I think this might be relevant to us as well. "When you go to war against your enemies and
see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because…" This is where you have to be very careful. If what you put after because is something you can do, your courage will melt when you face opposition, but Moses said when you face something, and you know it's greater than you, do not be afraid of it. "…do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you." He will be with you. Whatever it looks like, whatever it feels like,
wherever it goes, either way he'll be with me. Now for Ephesians 6:13. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." "After you have done everything, to stand." Sometimes standing is the victory. Sometimes being here is the victory. Last week, I talked to you about Where You Meet With God. This week, my thought is a little bit different. I want to talk to you about something you might be feeling in your heart: When
You Just Can't Win. We'll talk about that for a moment. Father, I thank you that I sense, even as I look into the eyes of the people who are in this room, that this message will not just live and die in this room. It's going forth, not only into our week, but it's going forth into the rest of our year. We lean in now, listening to you. Speak, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. For the next few weeks, you'll probably hear me use illustrations from the sport of wrestling. It's not because I'm going through anything. "Man,
Pastor is talking about wrestling a lot lately. He must really be going through a battle." No. It's just because every Saturday I'm in a gym watching Graham. While I'm thinking about you, I'm watching him wrestle. So in January, I usually use a lot of wrestling illustrations. Yesterday I got a really good one. See, when people come to watch wrestling, it's really weird to them, because it's, for most people, a sport they're not very familiar with. It's not like they're showing up to a basketball game or a football game, so, often, they have very little context
for what they're watching. I guess because I've seen the sport of wrestling since I was a teenager, there are certain things about it that I think everybody knows or understands, but it really takes somebody from the outside coming in to remind you how weird this is. Yesterday, we had a couple of people with us who had never seen wrestling, so they were full of questions. Now, Holly is nicer than me, so she'll answer the questions as they ask. I'll just kind of get frustrated, like, "Just watch. Just watch and you'll figure it out. Sit here
and watch, and you'll figure it out. Use some context." Because people come in and ask the dumbest stuff, like, "Is there going to be a DDT? Are they going to jump off the top ropes? Can you put him in a choke hold?" So, I'm a little bit done with answering all of the questions, but Holly is so patient. Yesterday, somebody was asking her what her favorite thing about wrestling is, and she said something that I thought was so deep. She said, "What I love about wrestling…" And I leaned in to listen. She said, "Even if
the person is down by a wide margin of points, and even if there's not enough time left on the clock for them to come back, it's never really over, because they can always get a pin." In other sports, it becomes mathematically impossible to come back. If you are down by 40 in the fourth quarter of a basketball game with a minute left, you will not score 40 points in a minute no matter how "NBA Jam: On Fire" you get. There is no amount of "on fire" that can close the gap in that scenario. The same
is true with so many sports. But in this sport, there is always the chance that even if you have been beaten the entire six minutes, in the last six seconds, it is possible (although not probable) that if you can put your opponent on his back for just long enough for both shoulder blades to touch, every point you were down by becomes irrelevant because of something that happened when it looked like it was over. Everybody else may stop watching, but there's always a chance that even when it looks like you have been completely dismembered and dismantled,
even when it looks like you have been completely outmatched and overwhelmed, in that last minute there is always a chance that something could happen. She said, "I love wrestling because a pin is always possible." When she said, "A pin is always possible," I thought, "That is not just a wrestling lesson; that is a praise lesson." I imagine to people who have never been to a church like ours before, it must look really weird to see us doing what we do. I mean, here we are. We have our own hang-ups and issues, yet our hands are
lifted. Here we are with our own struggles, yet we're singing about the goodness of God. Here we are still dealing with things we've been dealing with for decades, yet we are proclaiming Jesus is our freedom. I imagine if you just walked in, you might have a lot of questions. You might wonder, "How are they praising God? I know them." But you would be mistaken to think that they are praising God because they are always ahead. You would be mistaken to think they're praising God because they always get it right. You would be mistaken to think
they're praising God because the outcome is scripted. I'm praising him because anything is possible in his presence. I don't care what the Enemy says about it. You can still win. In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 20, verse 1, Moses says, "When you go to war…" Not if. "When you go to war…" It's guaranteed. "When you go to war…" It is assumed. So, if spiritual battles are assumed by the Bible, why are they surprising to you? "When you go to war…" Really, you only have two options in the Christian life. One is to stay in the
wilderness, and the other is to go to war. Moses is speaking to a generation that has spent years in the wilderness, but now God is bringing them out of that wilderness place, and he is preparing them for a war. They've never seen war before. All they know is wilderness. If you've never seen war before, it might feel kind of weird. Some of you who are growing closer to God… The proof that you are growing closer to God right now is that the temptation is intensifying in your life. I kind of have a problem with preachers
who lie to you about what their life is like. I hear their podcasts, but I know them personally. If there is one promise I will make to you, it is not that I will always be perfect. If there is one promise I will make to you, it is not that I will always be polished. If there is one promise I will make to you, it is not that I will always be making progress, but I'll be present. A fellow came to me the other day and said, "I'm really sorry. I've been out of church for
the last three years, and I apologize." I said, "You don't owe me an apology. You know where to find me when you need me. If you're drunk and out of the church, I'll be here. If all you can watch is an Instagram clip, I'll be here. If I'm not here, I'll have a pretty good guest. We'll be here. Somebody is going to be here preaching for you." Watch this. The promise of presence is so much greater than the promise of performance. You cannot guarantee your performance. You do not know what your response or ability will
be in certain situations. That's why I want us to start this year with a "plan Be." What did the Lord say in Deuteronomy 20? "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them [even if you did not anticipate them]…" Do not be afraid of them even if you did not anticipate them. Don't be afraid of the ambush, because before the Enemy got there, God did. Before the medical diagnosis was spoken, God's Word was. Before the sea raged, the peace-speaker was
already on the boat. This is our plan for the times in our lives this year when it looks like time is running out. "When you go to war and the enemy that surrounds you is greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, will be with you." So, what is your plan? What is your strategy? It's a plan Be. Do you see it? He said he will be with me. He promised to show up if I would. Now, a lot of what keeps us from
showing up is the feeling that we are not enough to show up, but if you show up enough, it will be. If you show up enough in the Word of God this year, the Word of God will be enough to empower you through your struggle. That's something the Lord gave me personally. I was going into an intimidating situation recently, and he said, "You keep thinking you have to go into situations and prove yourself, but you don't have to bring proof; just bring presence." So, when you show up to that situation, look them right in the
eyes and show up knowing if you weren't enough, God wouldn't have brought you into the situation. The beautiful thing about bad odds is that is God's resting place for the Christian. "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you." As the Lord is bringing his people into the Promised Land, there are battles they are going to have to fight, which confuses some of us, because
we think if God promised something, it will be automatic. God's promises are guaranteed, but that doesn't make them automatic. There are some things God gave you that you didn't go for that are not in your possession now, because you thought just the fact that it was promised made it automatic. For everybody who's in a war today, and the chariots and horses are greater than yours; for everybody who's dealing with mental disorders, and that thing seems stronger in your mind than your will and resolve; for everybody who's dealing today with a challenge that has been going
on so long you have convinced yourself it is insurmountable, I want to give you a word, and I want you to listen well. If the battle is really the Lord's… Now, we need to stop right there. Is it his battle or is it yours? When we are fighting to protect our pride and deflecting to keep our ego intact, then the battle is ours. See, Moses is speaking to people who are taking land God has promised to give to them under the leadership of Joshua. So he says, "As you take this new ground…" Some of you
are in a season where God is giving you new ground, and you've never seen it before, so it feels weird to be at war. It feels weird to be fighting these battles you're fighting at this stage of your life. The Lord said when you fight these battles you've never fought before, if the battle is truly the Lord's, the math won't matter. This is good for everybody who's more of an English kind of person. The math won't matter. I discovered in my life that when it's God's battle, the math doesn't matter. I discovered in studying God's
Word that if it's his battle, the math doesn't matter. You can be 5'6" like David, and he can be 9'2" like Goliath. If it's God's battle, the math won't matter. You can be a little boy with five loaves and two fish, and the crowd can be 5,000 strong just in the men department, but if it's God's battle and he wants to feed the crowd through you, the math won't matter. You can have been stuck in something for 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-7), and everybody around you might be quicker than you, and
you might feel like, "I just can't win. I just can't get there. When the water is stirred, I have no one to help me." But when Jesus shows up, if he wants to heal what's hurting in you, it doesn't matter how many people are in front of you who are faster than you. If it's God's battle, the math doesn't matter. I don't care how long it was like that. One moment in his presence, one moment of his favor, one moment of his holy fire can burn away all the dross. I'm coming out of this, because
the math… Do you hear what I'm saying to you? The prophet said, "Do not be afraid of them, for those with us are more than those with them." Stop looking at what's surrounding you. Touch your neighbor and say, "I'm bad at math." "I'm bad at math, but I'm good at faith." "What do you mean, 'I'm bad at math'?" "I'm too old, but I've got faith. I'm too young, but I've got faith. I don't have money, but I've got faith." If it's God's battle… I don't know who needs to hear this. Your kid is developmentally delayed,
but they are going to bloom in a season that is just right for them. Let me tell you another one. Oh, I love this. Some of you think you aren't good at anything. That's not true. You are good at something; you just think it's a small thing, but one small thing you're good at in the hands of God who gave it to you can make everything you're bad at irrelevant. Ask David what one stone can do. "You can't fight a giant." "Yeah, but I can kill a bear." One stone saved a whole nation? Yeah, because
when it's God's battle, the math won't matter. You're going to get there when you're supposed to get there. The math won't matter. God will make up for all of the days you called wasted, and the math won't matter. What you thought was a failure is going to contain the seeds of your growth, and the math won't matter. The conflict was kind of developing your character so that when you get to a place, you'll have the fruit of the Spirit called patience, and the math won't even matter. So, when you go to war and face an
enemy that's bigger than you, remember your plan Be. I want to give you three things today, because sometimes when I preach I get so excited I don't give you anything to write down. I feel bad about that, that you would come all the way to church and not get a single note, so I'm going to give you three words today for when you feel like you just can't win. Now, that phrase you just can't win can be taken two ways. In Deuteronomy 20:1, it says, "When you face an enemy you can't beat, I'll be with
you." So, you literally cannot win this, but God still will be with you and give you the ability. The way to connect to that is, first, remember. Just remember. Just as simple as that. He said when you face an enemy that is bigger than you…more chariots, more horses…when you face something that's absolutely beyond your comprehension or your ability to deal with… You know exactly what that is in your life right now. Do not lie to the Holy Spirit. I'm not even making you say out loud what it is. Just acknowledge it in your heart. When
you face that, remember that the Lord who brought you out of Egypt will be with you. He said, "I'm the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, and I will be with you." One of those is what he did, and one of those is what he is. He's with you. He said, "Just remember that thing I did for you then." Why is that so simple and I suck at it so badly? Why do I constantly get into states of mind that pretend like this is the first time I've ever had a problem like
this? I'm so grateful for perspective. You know, one thing I love about singing songs about God is it gives me perspective. I need that so much in my life. For me, songs of worship are like streams that flow to my heart when it's dry. One of the things it helps me access in that process, when I begin to remember it, is like, "Oh, yeah." I just have "Oh, yeah" moments in the presence of God. You can have an "Aha" moment where you realize something you never realized before, and then you can have an "Oh, yeah"
moment where you remember something you temporarily forgot. Think about all of the things God has already done for his people by the time Deuteronomy 20:1 is spoken through the mouth of Moses. Think about how many odds they've overcome to be in this moment. Think about how many enemies God drowned in the Red Sea just to bring this generation to the wilderness. Think about how he rebuilt their self-image to see themselves no longer as slaves but as settlers. Now, as they stand on the precipice of a new season, they need to remember what God did. I
wrote a song I released on Friday so you can walk around your house and remember, so that when you face a war, you worship, because you realize you can have your back up against the wall, and God can take one stick and split a whole sea and bring a whole nation through. You have seen God do that in your life. You have seen him do things that were once unbelievable. You have seen him align opportunities and appointments and assignments. You have seen God, time after time, do things for you that the Devil is hoping you
will forget as you go through this. You have seen God, time and time again, provide with one jar of oil and feed your whole family. You have seen God, time and time again… Just when you needed the strength to come, it came all of a sudden. The temptation is… We are expecting God sometimes to come like a flood, and when it comes like a trickle, we are tempted to displace our trust, because our trust was in when it would happen, not who was going to do it. It goes like this: "If I was going to
get it, I would have it by now. If I was going to be it, I would be it by now." This is why people stop coming to church. This is why people stop going to their counselor. This is why people stop trying to eat better. "I tried to eat better for three days, and it tasted bad, and I was mad, and I wanted to kill everybody on road rage, so I decided it was better for me to be fat than to kill somebody on road rage." If that's not enough, watch this. Everybody in here is
tempted to forget where you're winning because of where you currently feel weak. Yesterday, Holly came out and spoke for about 15 minutes to many of the leaders in our church. When we got home, I said, "That was so beautiful." I said, "How did you even find the time to do that?" because I know the week she has had. It has been insane. She was filming a study for our youth that's coming out. She filmed five sessions for that. She attended a wrestling match (I already told you that) and a volleyball game. She made meals for
our family. Now, I'm not up here just to get points; I'm up here to make one, but if you can do both at the same time, why not? We just had a moment (I want to teach you this in case you don't know how to do it) where we listed her wins. The Lord said to tell you, "List your wins." "Isn't that bragging?" It depends on who's behind it. When we went through all of the things she did that week, there was no doubt in my mind only God could have strengthened her to do all
that. Then, a little bit later that night, she said something kind of weird, because we were talking about goals and my sermon. I was sharing a little bit of what I was thinking about preaching with her, but I didn't tell her. I was just working it out with her, but she didn't know it. She said, "You know, one place I didn't win this week is my workouts." Now, here's where she's different than me. She has the ability to laugh at that and to rebalance it. She realizes it's probably not going to be the most significant,
defining event of her year that she didn't get her number of workouts this week. Me, on the other hand? If I miss a workout three days in a row, I don't feel saved. "What does lifting weights have to do with lifting him up?" I don't know, but it just spills over into every area of my life. I mean, it's so quick, because I realize somewhere in my mind and in my soul an expectation was planted that I'm supposed to be winning everywhere all the time. When you live in that kind of captivity, everything feels overwhelming.
You have no strength for the enemy in front of you because you gave God no praise for the victory behind you. When you begin to integrate these things God has brought you through, and you draw from them, not as pride but as strength… When you draw from them as a sense of knowing, "God promised to be present with me," and the proof of that is that he was… The proof that he will is the fact that he was. When you begin to do these things in your week and in your day, I'm telling you, it's
going to make a big difference. The truth of the matter is you are winning somewhere right now, but where you are not winning is causing you to feel weak, and where you feel weak, you become susceptible. Now I'm right where I want to bring you. First is remember, and second is resist. Resist. Moses says, "When you go to war…" And you will go to war to take new spiritual ground. Even Paul said you have to put on the armor. Well, I'm not putting on the armor to take a nap. The only reason we're suiting up
with the armor of God… You know, the breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of peace and the sword of the Spirit and the belt of truth. The only reason I'm getting dressed in this armor is something is going to attack me. So, the provision of the armor is the prediction of the attack. God gives you a really good word when you're going to go through a really big war. When you get in that situation, Moses says, there are certain stipulations for how you are to fight God's battles. I wish I could give you all of
Deuteronomy 20. He talks about, "Send the priests out before the people, and send everybody home who doesn't really want to fight," because not everybody can go with you into everything. I'm going to say it again. Somebody in the back needs to have a "delete" party on their phone. Come on, delete them right now. You know exactly who they are. They're right there on the "recents." Do it right now. Do not pass "Go." Delete their number right now. Not everybody can go with you into this. You don't have to hate them. You don't have to slash
their tires. You don't have to cuss them out. You don't have to fire them as your friend. But he said, "Send the people home who can't go with you, and when you come upon a city…" Now, this is really powerful. I don't want you to get tired on me, because we've already said a lot. I want you to get this thing about resist. He says, "When you get to the cities God is calling you to take over…the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Jebusites…all of these people who are in the places God has promised you…"
Just because an enemy is there doesn't mean God isn't bringing you into it. Just because it's hard doesn't mean God isn't in it. It doesn't mean he didn't speak. It doesn't mean he won't do it. It doesn't mean he isn't doing it. It doesn't mean he's not working. It doesn't mean you should turn back and go home. No, no, no. "When you see the enemies there, offer them a condition of peace, but if they won't make peace with you, you will have to put everything to death that would teach you to follow anything other than
God." Then we get to verse 19. Verse 19 says something very strange to the people. He says, "When you lay siege to a city for a long time…" Laying siege to a city means you can't beat them immediately. They don't just give up quickly. So, God gave you this land. You come up on the land, because he tells Joshua, "Every place you set the sole of your foot I'll give you, but when you get there, you'll still have to fight for it." Sometimes, when you're fighting for it, you will have to lay siege to it.
You know what a siege is. I'm not insulting your intelligence. This is when you have captured the enemy, but you haven't conquered the enemy. "When you lay siege to a city, and you fight them for a long time…" "Now, wait a minute, God. I thought you were going to give us the victory." God says, "Some of my gifts are gradual." Just because it's gradual doesn't mean he's not giving it. Sometimes it happens so slowly you think it's not. When you lay siege to a city, and it takes you a long time, a little longer than
you thought it would, and you just can't win… You have them captured, but you don't have them conquered. Am I describing some of your sins today, some of your cities, some of your insecurities? "I've got them captured. I know what they are now, but I don't have them conquered yet. I've got them identified. I'm in the right place." That's when you remember, "I'm not in Egypt anymore. I'm not in Egypt, but I'm not fully settled in here yet either." This is where you need a plan Be. He says, "When you get in a city and
have it in a siege…" It was so clear to me while I was studying that there are so many people who are no longer enslaved to sin. They're set free by Jesus, but they are no more free in Christ because they're in a siege season. A siege season is when you can see it, but you don't quite have it. You experience it momentarily…peace. You experience it momentarily…joy. You experience it momentarily…selflessness. You experience it momentarily…goodness, patience, self-control, the fruit of the Spirit, but you're not living in it yet. That's a siege season. You're not a slave
anymore. You're out of Egypt, but you're not exactly free yet either. It's a siege season. Now, we have to be really careful. This is where my pastoral instinct kicks in, and I want to be protective of you in a siege season. Moses says when you are in a siege season… Remember, it's not them who are under siege; it's the enemy. You're right there. It's really happening for you. You really are breaking these chains, but you're in a siege season. When you are, the man of God says… "…for a long time, fighting against it to capture
it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls." Deuteronomy, chapter 20, is over. Everybody, God bless. Moses out. Good night. Don't chop down trees. "Why did you read that weird Scripture?" Because you're doing it. You're doing it. When you go to war and you are in a
siege season and you are frustrated because it's taking a long time… What is your tendency when something is taking a long time? When you've been fighting something for a long time, what do you start doing? Deuteronomy 20:19 says you might start chopping down things God wants you to leave for your future. When you are in a siege season, you might start bringing an ax to things that God is raising up to bless you at a later date. When you are in a siege season, you are frustrated. You are asking God for answers, and you are
lashing out at the messengers he sends to give you those answers. It would be easy for you, if you're going through a siege season, to start chopping down everything you see, because you need these trees in order to build ramps and towers and battering rams. Sometimes you get in a season in your life, and anything will work to make you feel better. Anything will work to knock down a door. Anything will work to survive. "I don't even care if it's right or wrong. I don't even care if it's good or bad. I don't even care
if it benefits my future. I just want to feel good right now." But I want to tell you, relief is not the same as freedom. God doesn't intend for you to stay in this siege season forever. Oh, yeah, I said it. It's not always going to be like this. Do you know how I know? Verse 20 tells me everything I need to know. He said, "You can cut down the trees that don't bear fruit and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls." Until means it will. It will fall,
just not when you want it to. So, the test for you now is this. What do you do until? God says, "It's important for you not to start cutting down stuff I am bringing forth in your life to feed you for who I created you to be." This is kind of difficult to describe if you've been in the wilderness since you've been born, because there are no fruit trees in the wilderness. The only thing this generation has ever seen God feed them with is manna. Look at Exodus 16. This is an anointed Scripture. The Lord
gave it to me while Zeke was singing. "The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan." They ate something until the moment where God fed them something else. I am concerned that God is trying to feed you something better, and you keep cutting it down. I came to tell you, "Stop fighting what God is using to feed you." Stop fighting the processes God is using to mature you. Stop fighting those corrective moments God wants to sit with you in and
say, "See? This. Do it differently next time." He will bring about everything he accomplishes in your life. He will bring about everything he assigned for your life. He will bring about everything he imagines and plans for your life. It's his plans. He will be with you as you face the things that are too strong for you. But notice what Moses said. "Don't take an ax to the tree that has your future fruit on it." The thing about them was they didn't know much about trees. "I don't know this tree is going to bring me fruit,
because all I ever had was manna." When you never had good love, it's easy for you to settle for lust. When you never had good friendship, it's easy for you to settle for codependency. When you never had real fruit, it's tempting for you to become frustrated. You say, "This is taking too long. I'm going to handle this. I'm going to handle this another way. Yeah, I'm going to lay hands on them. Isn't that in the Bible? I'm going to handle this the way I used to handle this. I've got a Bible verse for it." Be
careful. You might be chopping down something God wanted you to chew on later. You might be taking down a tree that is capable of bearing much fruit, but it just isn't the season yet. Nobody is going to chop down a tree that has fruit visible on it and use it for a battering ram. But what if the tree was bare, not because it didn't have the ability to bear fruit but because it wasn't the season for fruit? What if you have something in you…? Come on, use your holy imagination for a moment. What if there
is something working in your life, that Jeremiah 29:11 really is true, that he knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future? What if it's really in me, but it's just not my season yet? "Blessed is the man who walks not in the path of the wicked, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. They will bear fruit in season." You will bear
fruit in season. Do not eliminate in a season of frustration what God intends to use to bless you in the season of your favor. So then, we have a question to ask. "What am I attacking that God has actually called me to embrace?" That's why I looked at you the other day and said, "It happened for a reason." I don't know why yet, but I'm not cutting down that tree. I'm going to let God do what God wants to do. When I saw the picture, I was like, "Will it make sense if I tell them,
'Stop chopping down trees that are going to bear your fruit for the future'?" I was like, "You know what? They'll know exactly what that tree is for them." The whole Bible started when somebody didn't know what to do with a tree. Moses said, "We've got to get this tree thing right." Eve, Adam, y'all were buck naked all along. You're just now knowing that because you don't know what to do with the tree. We didn't know what to do with the tree until Jesus, who took a tree and turned the instrument of death called the cross,
made from wood, into the emblem of victory for the church that would bear his name. Have you ever read that part where Jesus said, "I could call down legions of angels and back all of y'all up. It wouldn't be anything either." At the moment where they thought he said, "It is finished" because he lost, he was winning. What if you're winning? What if you're winning where it really matters? What if you're winning where it really counts? What if you gain 20 pounds, but it's not because you're undisciplined? What if you've been running your kids around,
and that's going to last a lifetime, and you can lose 20 pounds in three months? What if you're winning where it really matters? Resist the temptation to cut down something God is growing because you don't have the patience to wait for it to become what it can be. The last thing I want to leave you with is remain. Let that tree grow. Remain. "I just can't win, man. If I'm making my family happy, I'm making my boss mad. I just can't win. If I'm making my boss happy, I'm making my wife mad. I just can't
win." "I haven't made my wife happy in 12 years. I just can't win." I've heard it all. I've thought it all…except that last thing. I make Holly pretty happy all the time. I came to you at the beginning of last year and taught you the power of the one-day win. I taught you that faith is not something simply for the future; faith is the recognition of what God is already doing right now. It's the one-day win of this day. The man of God said, "When you go to war…" And you will. You know, you only
have two choices, brother: the wilderness of wandering around in the same thing or the war of trusting God to be with you as you go forward. When you face that war, he said, "I'll be with you." Now, that statement, as simple as it sounds, is really all you need to believe for what's next in your life. There are trees growing right now in your life that if you don't cut them down, they will be your future food. Moses would not go into the Promised Land himself, but he sent a generation. Some of the things that
are happening in your life right now that feel like failure are actually just for your future. The most beautiful thing about God's Word in my life is every time I feel surrounded by the Enemy, I have an opportunity to become even more connected to the Vine. I read a Scripture that helped me through one of the hardest seasons of my life in John 15:4, where Jesus said, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself." Stop cutting yourself off from Christ when you struggle. Come to him quicker when
you sin. Come to him quicker when you doubt. Come to him before you start drowning and say, "Help." Ask Peter. It works. Come to him quicker in this season. No matter how long it takes, he says, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you." As the worship team begins to play, I want to remind you that you can't bear fruit by yourself; you must remain in the Vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Jesus. There are some things in your life that are taking a little longer than you want them to
take. I know. There are some victories in your life that although promised are not automatic. I know. If you've never been to a wrestling match before, it looks kind of weird. If you've never worshiped through a storm before, it might feel kind of weird, because you're so used to taking matters into your own hands, but I want to remind you what Holly said. She said, "A pin can happen anytime." A pin is still possible. God can turn your entire life around, and every regret can become a blessing if you remain in him. Let's stand all
over the auditorium. Please, no one trying to get to the doors. Let's respect the Holy Spirit enough to give a moment in his presence. Presence is the plan this year. I'm showing up for stuff this year. I'm staying in the Vine. I'm letting the things God has planted in my life grow this year. And you know what? Every bit of fruit that's not supposed to be on my tree anyway, somebody else can grow it. I'm done being busy just to be impressive. I'm done trying to post stuff to prove that I did stuff. Not this
year. This year is going to be a root system year for me. Father, I thank you for the Word. Oh, it's so good to me, Lord. I could stay in it so much longer, but I thank you that long after I have stopped speaking, you will still continue to speak. Now, God, I want to partner with you in this process, because what I said is what I said, but what you say is what only you could say. To each person in this room today, this message will mean something very different. There's an area in their
life where they feel like they just can't win. "I get the victory for a little bit; it slips away. I do better for a little bit; it goes away." God, may we realize that some of the greatest growth in our lives happens underground. Some of the greatest cultivation will be of our character, and some of the fruit is for our future. I pray that you would give them the armor of God today and that they would stand, therefore; after they've done everything they know to do, that they would stand like a tree planted, that they
would not quit, not cut it off, and not stop, but they would stand and abide in the Vine, bearing much fruit. Father, I even pray for those right now who are going through a pruning season where your gardener shears have been cutting back in their life. They've been perceiving it as a loss, but it's not a loss. It is preparation for the next stage of their fruitfulness in you. They will bear more fruit. They will teach more truth. They will have more wisdom. They will share more peace. Father, we are just branches. We only can
grow if we are in you. I thank you that they're in your hands, God. Will you do the simplest thing in the world? I know it looks weird if you've never done it, but just lift your hands in worship. Before one of the singers sings, I want you to open your mouth. Yeah, all over the room, open your mouth, and don't stop. Respond to the Lord. Tell him, "Lord, I'm staying. I'm staying in faith in this season. God, I trust you in this season." Just tell him what you need to tell him. I don't want
to just leave you with my words. I want you to have his Spirit. Lord, I trust you in this season. I thank you that you're greater, Lord. I thank you that you're greater, greater than what I face, greater than what I fear. I thank you, Lord, that the victory is mine. I thank you that the victory is already won. I thank you it's already worked out. As it is in heaven shall it be on earth, in the name of Jesus. Now let's begin to praise him because we know anything can happen when we do. Anything
is possible when we praise him. It might look weird if you've never seen it before, but I'm praising him because it can turn around. I'm praising him because he's growing me by his grace. hey thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube I want you to subscribe that way you can know when we go live and post new content make sure leave me a comment let me know what spoke to you today where you're watching from and what we can pray for you about and if you'd like to support the ministry financially you can click
the give button now and help us continue reaching people around the world for Jesus Christ thanks again I'll see you next time
