Planted Not Potted - The Power to Stay with Pastor Danni Clay

Well, good evening. I am Pastor Danny.

If you guys don't know me, my husband and I are associate

pastors here at Anchor Faith Church.

I have been here at Anchor Faith Church for a long time, since

the beginning in 2004. I was only a teenager then, but

that's actually what I really felt on my heart.

I wanted to share with you guys tonight is kind of my testimony.

And when you say testimony, a lot of times you think that's

got to be something that's like crazy that's happened to you and

the gods delivered you out of it.

But here's the thing, really, we all were in a crazy situation

and that was that we were separated from Him and there's

nothing that we could have done to get to him.

And he rescued it out of us all. OK, So tonight I want to talk to

you guys about being planted, not potted.

OK, Being planted, not potted, the power to stay.

So it's kind of funny that I, you know, that got this title

because I have two very blocked thumbs.

I am not by any means an arborist or a farmer or anything

of the sort. I super appreciate all of those

people. I have a lot of friends who are

great at it. I also have a grandma Jackie,

who lives with me who's really great at it.

She gets my plants looking great and alive, but I am terrible at

it. However, I do understand the

concept, right? I grew up in a really small

farming town called High Springs.

Anybody. High Springs in Florida, it's

just north of Gainesville, small farming town.

So it was all around me all the time growing up.

I just didn't actually partake in it.

But anyways, being planted and not potted when I was thinking

about this, you know, these scriptures just kept coming up.

I want us to first turn to Psalms chapter one verse one

through 3 Psalms one, one through 3.

It says blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel

of the wicked nor stand in the path of sinners nor sit in the

seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the

Lord and on his law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree planted by streams of water which yield

its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither and

whatever he does, he prospers. When I saw that whenever every

time I think about that Scripture, I think about where I

grew up because I actually grew up in the Florida.

That's not the beach Florida I grew up in like the springs

Florida, the river Florida. So I think a lot of you who are

native Floridians know like there's the beach Floridians and

then there's those of us who grew up like with the springs

and the rivers. And I grew up with the springs

and the rivers. And one of the biggest things

that I remember seeing growing up was Cypress trees.

In fact, my husband and IA long time ago, we used to do young

adults many, many moons ago. And I remember taking Chelsea,

who was just leading praise and worship, who, you know, grew up

in like New York City to the springs for the first time.

And she's like, there's animals in trees.

I'm like, yes, there's animals and trees and there's alligators

and they're snakes. Yes, they that's true.

They're all here. It's I remember taking her in

anyways. I just remember that people who

had never been before remember the Cypress trees.

And Cypress trees are these huge trees that grow beautifully in

the water. In fact, their roots can spread

out up to 20 feet away from the center of the tree.

The tree in diameter can grow up to 6 feet in diameter.

These are huge, massive trees. And the crazy thing is that they

withstand all the flood water. They withstand all the hurricane

winds. Very rarely do we see the

Cypress trees fall down and they have these big knobby roots that

go out in all directions. These are strong trees planted

by the water. So every time I read the script,

Scripture, the Lord always brought that back to my

remembrance. Those Cypress trees that were

strong, that could withstand any flood water and always stayed

exactly where they were supposed to be by the rivers, by the

springs, with their their roots. Not just not just that their

roots were spread deep, but their roots were spread far and

wide. They had a strong wide

foundation and it supported them as a tree.

And I know those of you who are familiar and you go into the

rivers and you are familiar with Florida, you know about the

Cypress trees. Let's keep going in Psalms

Psalms 52:8

chapter 52 verse 8, Psalms chapter 52 verse 8, it says, but

Psalms 52:8

I am like a green olive tree in the House of God.

I trust in and confident rely on the loving kindness and the

mercy of God forever and ever. I was curious what it meant by a

green olive tree. I'm like, is it a like green

olives? Like the type of tree?

I don't know. I like green olives, but I also

like black olives. Is there a difference?

But really that word green meant prosperous.

Like a prosperous tree, it actually means bare or naked.

So a bare or naked, a prosperous tree that's going to be able to

continue to grow and thrive in the House of God because we're

confidently relying on His loving kindness and mercy

forever. In Psalm chapter 92, verse 12

Psalms 92:12–14

through 14. Psalm chapter 92, verse 12

Psalms 92:12–14

through 14, it says the righteous man will flourish like

a palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in

Lebanon, planted in the House of the Lord.

They will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still yield fruit in old age.

They will be full of SAP and very green.

And I really wanted to look at this scripture for a minute

because it says the righteous man will flourish like the palm

tree and it says that he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

But look at that next verse. What does it say?

It says planted in the House of the Lord, they will flourish in

the courts of our God. Not potted, but planted.

You know, when I think about a tree that's in a pot, I looked

it up. I'm like is again, you know, I

told you black thumbs. So I looked it up.

I'm like, what is the benefit of a tree that's planted in the

soil versus a tree that's planted in a pot?

You know, pots are great, especially you live in a big

city. Pots are great inside of my

house because I don't have soil inside of it.

But really a tree, the way that God designed it to be, it's

natural intent is to be planted into soil because whenever it's

in a pot, it's confined, it's limited.

It isn't going to be able to get all the nutrients it needs.

And then I was reading that whenever you put a plant or a

tree in a pot, then it's actually way more susceptible.

And it's easy for it to to, I guess, die to wither and die due

to temperature fluctuations because there's not as much soil

to be able to help absorb and help regulate the temperature of

the soil, whether it's hot or cold.

So even though a pot can be great, even though you can have

a tree in your house in a pot, it is not the same as putting it

in the actual environment that God created to be in, which is

inside of the ground. And The thing is, is that every

time that a, a, a, a plant is in a pot and it starts to get root

bound, the roots have nowhere to go.

They can't grow anymore. They're stuck.

You have to take it out of that pot and got to put it into a

bigger pot. But eventually, guess what's

going to happen? It's going to continue to have

to be moved from pot to pot to pot.

But here in this Scripture and over and over again in the word,

it says that the trees will be planted in the House of the Lord

and they will flourish in the courts of our God.

Planted, not potted. You're not moving from thing to

thing to thing and you're not going to say like, oh, well, my

roots grew here. But now I'm just like, we're

kind of done with this pot. I think I'm going to go to

another pot and I'll let my roots grow a little bit, but

it's limited. It's not going to get the same

nutrients that it needs because that soil is not absorbing

nutrients. It's in a microplastic pot.

Come on, guys. It's like we wonder why, you

know, OK, I won't get started there, but trust me, the plant

is not getting the nutrients that it needs.

It's getting plastic. It's getting maybe at the most,

you know, one of the brown once called terracotta, but still

that's not the natural environment that God created it

to be in. When it's planted into soil,

when a tree is planted into soil, then it's able to absorb

nutrients from all. In fact, the nutrients will come

to the roots because that tree is like, hey, I need some

nutrients and that soils like, yeah, let's do this.

Let's do that. That's the way God created it to

be. He's the one who created in

Genesis chapter one. Hey, we're going to make all

these trees with every fruit and seed bearing its own kind.

And they're going to go ahead and, and continue to grow.

And it's going to be this beautiful cycle over and over

again. And if we would do it the way

that God created us to and let the land rest and do all the

things that we should be doing, it's going to keep making

nutritious soil and it's going to continue to do exactly what

that tree and that plant needs. And The thing is that's amazing

about God is that those trees and plants, I talked about this

in kindergarten. If you guys don't know, my day

job is that I teach kindergarten at Washington Classical

Christian School and I love it. I've worked with children pretty

much from, you know, the beginning of like my career life

at 12 years old. But hey, babysitting jobs were

real back then. So I, you know, I worked with

children. I love them, But I, we talked

about that. I said God was so amazing that

he gave us these trees and these plants and the soil.

And yes, God said they're food for you.

You need them for food, but it's not just that they're food.

The plants need us to breathe out the carbon dioxide and then

the the tree takes that carbon dioxide and they give us oxygen.

It's just this beautiful cycle that God himself was like, I'm

going to make sure that these trees are helping these humans

on my Kingdom earth because we're supposed to come over and

have dominion. Amen.

But the thing about these trees is that they should be planted,

not going from pot to pot to pot.

Because here's the thing, it's easy in our culture to say I'm

done with that. I'm over that.

I'm gonna move from this thing to the other.

I was looking it up because I thought, you know, I, I love

history. Not like my husband where he,

like, knows all the facts. I like to like, read historical

fiction. So tell me a story about the

history and then I'll get it to stick, right?

So I love history. And I was just thinking about

how much our nation has changed. I was born in the 1900s, which I

know because you guys are in here.

So a lot of you were too. But then, you know, I just think

about, I think 1950s, fifty years ago, it's not, which is

crazy. But back in the 50s, you know

that you, you got a job and you stayed at that job and you

finished at that job or that career for the rest of your

life. You bought a house, you stayed

in that house, you paid off that house and you wanted to give

that house to your children, whether they wanted it or not,

you had it. You know, when my husband and I

first got married, my in laws who are the amazing, I have

amazing in laws. They're such a blessing to us.

They had this beautiful bedroom furniture and it is like big

wood, heavy bedroom furniture. And you know, we're millennials.

We were like IKEA, you know, like cheap put it together

ourselves. But guess what?

It's real thin stays in place. They're like when you guys, you

know, one day you want to put it in your wheel.

Do you want our bedroom furniture?

And my husband's like, absolutely not.

We don't want your bedroom furniture.

But that 50 years ago, that's what you did.

You bought a house, you paid it off.

You gave it to your kids. You bought the bedroom

furniture, you paid it off. You gave it to your kids.

You stayed. Unfortunately, in the United

States of America, our culture has shifted.

It shifted from the family and the community aspect to, well,

what about me? What about I'm an individual, I

have preferences. I don't like your big furniture.

I want IKEA furniture. So we've changed me and my

individuality and what I want. And because of that, I was

looking it up. In the United States, it's

average and common for you to change your career 12 * 12

times. That's a lot of career changes.

It's average for you to not buy a house and if you do, to sell

it a few years later, to move often to never really allow

roots to be put down in any place.

And I'm not saying God has not called people to go do that.

But the problem is, is that we're so used to that in United

States of America that we take that culture and that mindset

sometimes and we shift it over into the body of Christ.

Whenever God never intended that, he said I've empowered you

to stay. And if anything, you know, I, I

always thank God when I look back on my life is that he's

kept me. I've always said that God,

you've kept me. And when I say he's kept me,

he's kept me in one spot. I didn't if I was moved, it was

because I did it, not because he did it.

I stayed and you know, I'm so thankful that He kept me and

that I was able to stay because we need to understand that

sometimes there is power, growth, and maturity in the

staying process. Let's keep going.

In Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 5 through 8, it says, Thus saith

Jeremiah 17:5–8

the Lord, curses the man who trusts in man and makes flesh

his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.

For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see

when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in

the wilderness, and a salt land which is not inhabited.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose

hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree

planted by the waters, which spread out its roots by the

river. And she will not fear when he

comes, but it's leaf will be green and will not be anxious in

the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruits, but

we'll continue to be yielding fruit.

I want to really quick. We're going to talk about that

yielding fruit. But back in Psalm 92, whenever

we were at Psalm 92, verses 12 to 14, I want to go back to

Psalms 92:12–14

being planted in the House of the Lord, Not planted wherever

you wanted, but planted in the House of the Lord.

As for me, in my house, we're going to serve the Lord and

we're going to be in the House of the Lord.

You know, my husband and I, when we talked about raising our

children and whenever we started having kids, it was literally an

answer to prayer. You know, we weren't able to

have children for about 2 1/2 years.

And the Lord supernaturally stepped in and miraculously gave

us Charlie. And I was like, well, I know

that Pastor Angie had given a testimony where she'd had some

struggles as well. And God told her, well, if he

did it once because she had Abby, then he'll do it again.

And then like, not even a year later, she had Coco.

So I was like, Lord, I'm going to take that.

If you did it for her, you'll do it for me.

You're no respectable persons. And I have four children.

So, you know, God did it. He, he worked it and he made a

miracle and health and healing happened and we're so thankful.

But when we were talking about having children, you know, we

went back to what did God tell the children of Israel?

How did he tell them to raise them?

When you wake up in the morning, talk about me.

When you, when you're in the kitchen washing dishes, talk

about me. Whenever you're taking your kids

to school, talk about me. Whenever you're vacuuming the

floors, talk about me. Whenever you're cooking dinner

at night, hey, remind them of what I said.

Hey, whenever you're put going to bed at night and you're

reading them stories, hey, tell them who I am.

It was think about his laws and his precepts in the morning, in

the afternoon and in the evening.

Not because we're weirdos and we're constantly going around

just quoting scriptures, but because we're able to say, hey,

you know why that happened and we bring it back to the word.

Yeah, you know why this happened, we bring back to the

word. And you know what?

We knew that for us and our household, we were going to stay

planted in the House of the Lord.

And you know, this is the Old Testament.

And I was just thinking about how the gentiles didn't have a

right to be in that house. They were not of the Jewish,

they were not of the Jewish nation.

They were not a part of Israel. They, they had some laws and

rules like, oh, if a foreigner comes and lives among you, then

make sure that they're following our customs and our laws.

But they couldn't go into the House of the Lord.

In fact, if you weren't part of the Levitical priesthood, in

fact, if you weren't the high priest, but yet the House of

Lord has become so common to us in the United States of America

that we're like, I don't need to be planted anywhere.

I can go to that church, but that church is not really

serving me anymore. So I'm going to go to that

church instead. And we're just potting ourselves

from pot to pot to pot. And our roots are getting bound

up and we're not getting the proper nutrients that we need.

And we're never, ever going to go back to our Scripture here

and Jeremiah never ceasing to yield fruit.

And people wonder sometimes like, well, why isn't this

happening in my life? Well, God told me I was going to

do this. Or they're making it happen for

themselves. And they're wondering, why isn't

the fruit coming like I think it should?

Well, did you plant yourself in the House of the Lord?

And did you stay? Because God has empowered us to

stay so we don't have to be wishy washy and go from pot to

pot to pot, but we can be planted and stay.

Some of the Cypress trees are like 500 years old.

They're like really old trees, OK, Older than any of us in this

room. And some of us all put together.

These trees have history. And why are they still standing

there? Why are they still able to be

strong Cypress trees? When they started colonizing

Florida and everyone started coming here, they were like, oh,

that's really good wood. And they started chopping down

all the Cypress trees, destroyed the ecosystem, caused a lot of

problems because they didn't think things through.

We don't always still think through those things through, do

we? But they started causing a lot

of problems. But they're like, this wood is

so good. It's old, but yet it's so Hardy.

We need to build our houses with it.

We need to do all these things. And they're like, oh, we should

probably stop cutting down all the Cypress trees because now

we're destroying, you know, the rivers and the springs and all

these things because these trees were so rooted for years, for

centuries, because they weren't being stuck in a pot.

They're being planted into good soil.

Now In Colossians chapter 2, verse 7, Colossians chapter 2,

Colossians 2:7 Colossians 2:7

verse 7, it says now having been firmly rooted and now being

built up in him and established in your faith just as you were

instructed and overflowing with gratitude.

Again, there's a firm root and when you're firmly rooted

somewhere, you're not going constantly and digging up your

seed. I don't remember who it was.

I want to say maybe it was Rick Runner, but I heard in a

ministry one time tell a story about how they planted a seed.

They're really excited to see it grow.

And so they're like, woo, I'm going to see it grow.

And they kept checking every day because they were a kid, you

know, they kept checking every day, checking every day,

checking every day. And finally they're like, it's

not working. I'm just going to go dig it up.

Whenever they dug it up, the seed had started to sprout, but

they didn't allow it enough time to come to the surface.

And that's because it's a process.

It isn't like you just immediately start bearing fruit.

My husband and I, again, black thumbs.

OK, so we bought a couple fruit trees because, you know, we live

in Florida, so citrus trees and I'm always like, you know, we

should really get the trees that are already producing fruit.

I know they're more expensive, but again, I'm not sure that

I'll ever get it to the point that producing fruit if we

don't. And so these these trees look

great. But then, you know, I was

thinking about like pineapples takes like 2 years for a

pineapple one to grow pineapple two years.

And then the avocado tree, it's like way longer.

I'm like, I don't have time for this.

I like I said, I really appreciate everybody else who

grows the avocados and the pineapples, but I'm like, I

don't know if that's going to be me.

I really need to buy the tree with the fruit already on it so

that it's actually doing something.

But the problem is, is that we're not seeing the fruit with

our eyes, which that sounds like the opposite of faith.

And so we are are wanting to uproot ourselves and put

ourselves somewhere else. Whenever God over and over in

his word you said, ye be planted, but be planted in the

House of the Lord. In Psalm chapter 27 verse 4

Psalms 27:4–5

through 5, Psalm chapter 27 verse 4 through 5, it says one

Psalms 27:4–5

thing I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek, that I may

dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to

behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he will conceal me in his

Tabernacle and the secret place of his tent He will hide me.

And again, guys, this is talking about, you know, where God dwell

and what his house was. And here's the thing, again,

back then, there was no right for them to be able to go in.

It was holy. Now, are we the temple of the

Holy Ghost? Absolutely we are.

God's presence dwells in us. But we became so individualized

about that. We became so mean when we

shifted, when the church allowed itself to shift and follow the

American culture. Then we no longer said, I want

to be in the house with you, Lord, and with everybody else

who has your presence in with you too too.

It's OK. I got the presence in me.

I can go it by myself. Here's the thing about a lot of

fruit trees though. You can't just plant 1.

You can't just plant one fruit tree.

They have to have cross pollination or they're never

going to bear fruit. They have to have other trees

around it or they're never going to bear fruit.

One tree isn't good enough. You need to be around other

trees. And whenever you look out at

those Cypress trees, it's never just one random Cypress tree.

It's Cypress trees all over the river and there's their, their

roots all intertwine. I personally, because I'm, you

know, non arborist cannot tell which roots belong to which

Cypress tree. That's because they're all

growing strong and keeping each other stable.

OK, so you can't just have one fruit tree.

You have to have other trees around it to help pollinate, to

produce the fruit. And here's the thing, we have

the ability so freely, we are so freely able to go to the House

of the Lord. But yet for some reason it's

become optional. And I think about these

psalmist, I think about David and the other people who wrote

these psalms and these proverbs, and they just so badly wanted to

be with the Lord, these other people from other nations when

they saw the goodness of God. I mean, I think about the kings,

you know, that started with Daniel whenever God proved

himself over and over again, they're like, wow, your God's

real. But they had no right to go into

the House of the Lord. Yet God said, I'm making it to

where I'm putting my presence in you.

And then I want you to gather together.

I want you to root yourself together so that your trees

stand strong, so you guys can pollinate each other, so that

you guys can continue to have fruit growing.

But we've made it optional and for some reason we don't stay.

We want to go, go, go, go and not put down the roots that God

has caught us to put down. In Psalm 23, six, it says you

prepare a table before me and the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over surely goodness

and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will

dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

I want to dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

And guys, I used to think as a kid because I just didn't know

that means I was like, do I have to go around the throne with

everybody else just singing holy, holy, holy, holy.

And then I didn't realize, oh, that was like 1 specific created

beings Job that God had a whole lot more planned for us and I

was like, oh, you know, that makes a lot more sense, but I'm

still going to be in his household forever.

I want to dwell with him forever.

But when I thought, what about Psalm 23, you know, I pulled up

that Scripture because it said I will do on the House of Lord

forever. But I thought about the table.

He prepares a table before me and the presence of our enemy,

and we sing that song, right? You prepare a table before me,

I'm not going to sing because that's not my gifting.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemy.

But so many people get up from the table.

They didn't get excused. God did not excuse them, but

they got up from the table anyways.

I'm full, I'm done. I don't like this food.

You don't have any ketchup. I'm getting up out of this table

thinking about my 4 year old. But here's the problem, stay

sitting at the table. Don't eat one small course and

be like, I'm good, I'm out of here.

Stay sitting at the table. God cannot prepare a table for

you if you don't sit down and stay seated.

We have to sit down and stay seated.

We have to be able to say I'm not getting up from this table.

I know my enemies are around me, but I'm staying right where I'm

at. I'm going to eat every course

the Lord puts before me and I'm not going to get up and say I

don't like the tooth full. I don't eat gluten.

OK, listen, God is preparing a table for you.

Stay seated. Stop getting up from the table.

He did not excuse you again, again, we've shifted culturally

where I get that some families don't even sit down at a table

anymore. They literally do not eat

together at a table. That's something that you need

to do. You got to talk to your kids and

and get together as a family, but they don't even stay seated

at a table. And then kids just like get up

whenever they want to. I'm like, what, what are you

doing? Oh, I'm done.

I'm like, you know, you got to be excused, but God's not

excusing you. He wants you to sit right where

you're at. He doesn't need you to get up

and move. He needs you to stay right where

you're at because you're going to miss something that he's

prepared for you if you don't, If you get up from the table.

And here's the thing, if you get up from the table, then all of a

sudden those enemies that he was keeping at Bay because you were

eating exactly what he told you to eat.

You were doing exactly what he told you to do.

No longer can he continue to do that.

You're putting yourself in a position away from the table.

Stay rooted, stay seated. We have the power to stay.

And again, in today's culture, we just don't.

We just make a lot of excuses of why we don't need to.

Contracts don't matter. Commitments don't matter.

What I once thought was the best thing ever doesn't matter

anymore because I'm done and I'm ready to go.

Don't get up from the table. I think that a lot of times we

honestly just take the presence of God for granted.

Again, we think that we can just get it ourselves.

I can get it by myself, it's no big deal, but God never called

you just to get it by yourself. I want you to know that the

table is not a one seater. It's a real long banquet table,

and it has people next to you and beside you and sitting

across from you who are there to help you at the table.

Like, I know you don't like grits, but you can eat another

bite. Come on.

You got this grits. I don't know.

I pulled that out from my southern roots, I guess.

But, you know, I know you don't like tomatoes, but these

tomatoes are good for you. Take another bite.

It's OK. They're here rooting for you

because sometimes it just don't taste good.

But it's really good for you and you need to eat it anyways.

And you know what I tell my children that I do not make any

poisonous food. 0 food do I poison.

You can try a bite. My oldest daughter, as a texture

thing, she does not like textures and she has a great

ally in this. So squishy meat, basically all

meat that's not like cooked to death or shredded is a no for

her. She doesn't really like chicken

because like squishy parts. She doesn't really like steak

because squishy parts. OK, so I'm always like, I know

you don't like it, but you got to get some sort of protein in

and plants are great. You got to get some more protein

in. You need to have a balanced

diet. OK, so I'm like, can we, she's

like, can we just cook the chicken a little longer?

So I cook the chicken a little longer.

Then my husband's like, good, this is really dry.

I'm like, one child wants it really dry.

One person wants it really moist.

You know, we got to meet in the middle here somewhere.

She has a texture thing, right? But I always tell her, I'm like,

I'm not poisoning you and I'm not going to make you eat a

whole plate of squishy chicken. I'm not going to do it.

I'm not going to make you eat the fat.

I know it literally makes you gag, but you're going to eat a

couple bites of chicken. It's going to be OK because I'm

not here poisoning you. I know what's good for you.

I know what needs to help you. I'm here to make you grow

strong. You know, she's in a lot of

sports now. I say a lot of sports,

basketball, but it's like a lot of work every single day.

And she's like running. And she's like, Mama hurts so

bad. I'm like, well, you need to make

sure you're eating a good, healthy, balanced diet, getting

what you need to get in because it's going to help you grow.

It's going to help your muscles. It's going to help you not feel

quite so sore. You're going to feel you're

going to be sore. That's a good thing.

It's OK, you're going to be sore, but it's going to help you

not feel quite so sore if you continue to eat what I put

before you at the table and don't get up before you finish

eating what I put before you at the table.

So we have to remember that God isn't poisoning us.

He's not giving you anything that is bad for you.

Even if somebody says something you don't like, even if there's

correction and you don't like it, even if someone's like,

well, you really need to adjust that.

And you're like, I don't really want to adjust that.

I think I'm going to do exactly what I'm doing.

Well, you really can't keep doing what you're doing.

If you want to keep growing, if you really want those roots to

keep going, you're going to have to adjust.

No, I don't like that. Well, no one's poisoning you.

God is not poisoning you. He's not making bad food for

you. Do you trust your Father?

Gosh guys, he literally gave us life.

He literally plucked us out of the dominion of darkness and put

us in to his Kingdom. He is a good, good father.

He is a good, good king. And he doesn't burn his food.

He seasons it really well. But sometimes you got to swallow

something you just isn't your favorite.

And you know what? It's good for you.

So don't get up from the table. We have to stay seated at the

table. I really wanted to look at some

people in the word of God who stayed.

We're going to first look at Samuel.

We're 1st going to look at Samuel.

Now, most of you guys know the story of Samuel, but I'm going

to tell you anyways. Just real quick.

Obviously, Samuel was born to Hannah and she was super sad,

crying. Remember, the priest is like,

are you drunk, woman? Get out of the temple.

You cannot pray here if you're drunk.

And she's like, no, no, no. I'm heartbroken.

I really want babies. I can't have them.

My husband has another wife. She's like bullying me every day

because I don't have kids and she has kids.

I'm distraught. And so the Lord hears her

prayer. The priest is like, oh, then he

prays for her, hears her prayer, gives her Samuel.

And so whenever the son, the baby's born, her husband's like,

hey, she said, oh, I'm going to take him to the House of the

Lord. Once he's weaned, he's like, I

mean, that's what you really want to do.

Now God blesses her and gives her many more children besides

Samuel. But The thing is, Samuel, even

as a boy got brought to the House of the Lord.

So in first Samuel chapter 2 verses 18, it says now Samuel

1 Samuel 2:18

was ministering before the Lord as a boy, wearing a linen ephod.

And then in verse 26 it says now the boy Samuel was growing in

stature and in favor with the Lord and with men.

And here's the thing about Samuel, it's not like it came

from a super, you know, functional household.

And the fact like, obviously there was like a big rift and

conflict in the household between the two wives because

she constantly felt super bullied.

Her husband liked her better, but she didn't have kids.

And obviously in that culture back then, in that day and age,

your children were your status as a woman.

Like if you couldn't have children and now we still should

desire that. God gave us as women a desire to

want to, you know, invest in the children.

It's a great and wonderful thing.

But she was distraught because she felt like she had nothing

whenever the other wife did so, there was dysfunction in the

household. And then Samuel gets brought to

the House of the Lord to Eli, the priest, who we know did not

parent his children. And we're doing terrible things.

And the word says did not correct them.

And then he heard what they were doing.

And it was like, well, you're doing what?

Yeah, you guys can't do that. They're like, whatever and do

whatever we want. And they all died.

And so here is Samuel. He is serving God, you know,

away from his family. But he got brought into the

House of the Lord from a young age.

He stayed in the House of the Lord.

He didn't say, well, should I go back home or is a little

dysfunctional? Should I stay here with Eli the

priest, who he is not really doing what he's supposed to be

doing either. Definitely not correcting,

definitely not disciplining his sons who should be taking over

the priesthood, but they're not. Or, you know, but he stayed.

Samuel stayed. And it says that as he stayed,

he found favor with both God and man.

And we know the story. What happens later.

Samuel's asleep. And they said there was no

common revelation in that day. That means that the Lord wasn't

really speaking because he wasn't going to continue to

speak to a tainted vessel. He couldn't continue to speak to

the people who were constantly in rebellion against him and

against his law. So he, you know, started

speaking to Samuel. And, you know, he went up to

Eli. Yes, no, I didn't call you.

Go back. And finally, Eli's like, oh, Oh

yeah, God, that's God speaking to you.

Next time he calls, say, yes, Lord, your servant's listening.

And so Samuel was able to hear the word of the Lord, which was

literally against Eli. But yet Samuel stayed.

He served underneath Eli, who as a leader, not the best, but he

stayed in the House of the Lord and with the Lord he found favor

with the man. He found favor because he stayed

in the House of the Lord. He stayed and he served and did

what he was supposed to do. Even though there was grief,

there was conflict. A man who failed, you know,

underneath a man who failed to discipline his kids, he still

stayed. He did not waver and leave the

House of the Lord because he saw people around him who weren't

doing right. He stayed in the House of the

Lord because he knew the Lord is good, He is righteous.

And I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying exactly where he

planted me to be and was used mightily by God in his life.

Now, the next person I want to look at is King David.

OK, this story is, you know, a favorite of my sons.

If you know my son Titus, he loves King David.

He has like a picture of David on his wall, Goliath's head like

this, so he can tell you a lot about the story.

First Samuel 16, we see where David's first anointed Saul

disobeyed. He disobeyed and he rebelled and

he lied to Samuel the prophet and lied to God and was like,

oh, I'm good. Gaslighting God is never a good

idea. You won't win.

Just tell the truth. And so God's like, that's it.

Your heart is literally far from me.

And here's the interesting thing.

To me, it seems like what Saul did wasn't that bad, but he

disobeyed God. He was in rebellion.

God knew his heart. And so the anointing was

stripped from him. And now Samuel, you know, is

crying and like upset. He's like, wow, I already told

them don't get a king. They got a king.

What happened? What I said was going to happen

did happen. And now this King's terrible

Lord, this is a terrible situation I'm in right now.

And guess what? Everybody doesn't want to kill

me whenever I say, hey, you can't be king anymore.

And I'm about to go find a new king.

God's like do it anyways. So he gets up, he goes, he goes

to the town, like, do you come in peace or are you about to

like curse us? He's like, I come in peace.

OK. So he goes to the House of Jesse

and he says, you know, go through the sons.

God reprimands them. Look, you're looking at the

outside of the person. I'm looking at their heart.

So, and any person, that's why it's so important that we walk

by faith and not by sight. Guys.

Sometimes we just are too more sight LED than we think.

Because even Samuel, after all the things that he'd been, after

all of the staying in the House of Lord and he did, he goes,

surely it's this one. No, oh surely it's this one.

And finally, God's like, stop, I'm looking at the person's

heart. I need a man who's actually

going to want to be with me. And so he finds David, and it

says that David was between 12 to 15 years old at that time.

Some, I've read some accounts, you know, 10 years old.

I've read some up to 17 years old.

But he was probably about 12 years old keeping his father's

sheep. My son Titus just turned 11 on

Monday. Have you guys met my son Titus?

Probably most of you, right. You know, about yay big.

And he sure loves a slingshot. Sure does.

But, you know, imagining him fighting a lion or a bear, Wow,

you know, that's crazy. But here's the thing about David

is that he stayed with his father's sheep.

Watching the sheep wasn't the most glamorous job.

You know, it's like, hey, go pick up all the poop in the

yard. It's like that kind of chore,

you know, hey, go clean up after the dog they just threw up.

It's that kind of chore. Hey, go take care of the sheep.

Stay over there in that field. Don't move, don't leave.

Because, you know, sheep are a little bit like Bah, Bah, Bah.

And they'll go over by themselves.

You got to make sure they come back to the flock.

You got to make sure they stay together.

They'll keep doing it. You got to keep keeping them

together. You got to make sure they know

your voice. You got to make sure you protect

them from the lions and the bears and you know, the coyotes

and all the things. So watching the sheep was like

the youngest kids Job, like you can go watch the sheep.

But David did it faithfully. In fact, there were some of the

Psalms and songs that he wrote while he was taking the sheep

because he had a heart after God.

He was praising him and worshipping him and he stayed

faithful to his father. He said, sure, I'll watch the

sheep so much, in fact, that they're like, surely it's not

David. They were like, finally Samuel's

like, do you have any more kids? Because you got to have at least

one more. And he's like, oh, oh, yeah.

I mean, like, you know, you mean David, the one that's watching

the sheep. Oh, well, yeah, He's like the

youngest. OK, fine.

Bring him. And then Sam's like, no, no, no,

don't even sit down. We're standing here to honour

him. He's the king.

I know it. So they bring him in and they

anoint him as king. He's 12 to 15 years old.

And here's the thing. He finds his purpose at a young

age. Wow.

I'm destined to be king. And then immediately goes back

and watch the sheep. He immediately goes back, picks

up the poop. He immediately goes back and

does the lowest chore. He stays.

He doesn't go. Wait a second, guys, I'm king.

I don't know if you know, but Samuel came and anointed me and

thank you, but here's my rod. I'm done.

Peace, deuces. No, he said.

I'm staying. I'm staying and I'm watching the

sheep because my father told me to keep the sheep, so I'm going

to stay. Now.

Did he get called by Saul? Yes.

To be his armor bearer, to play the heart, because then Saul

started going crazy. Yes, he did.

But he stayed with his father. He didn't immediately be like,

all right, I know my purpose, I'm going to do it.

He went back to the field and he allowed the Lord to work on him.

He allowed the word Lord to prepare him for his purpose.

He didn't try to rush and jump into it.

He stayed right where he was supposed to be, which is

watching the sheep. And in that process of watching

the sheep, he was praising the Lord, singing about how good he

is. The Lord was helping him,

helping his character. He was growing into the mighty

man of valor that God destined him to be.

And then one day his dad's like, hey, come here, I know you're

watching the sheep, but I got another tour for you.

I need you to be my errand boy. I need you to run and bring some

groceries to your brothers. They're hungry.

Bring him some lunch. They're out on the field now.

Obviously they're at battle and again, back then they didn't

have Mr. ES, you had to go bring them some food, make sure they

were eating. And so he's like, I need you to

bring your brother some lunch. They've been, you know, fighting

the Philistines. It's like 30 day battle going

on, nothing's really happening. But they're terrified.

So go bring him some lunch. You know, maybe he went back and

forth multiple times, I don't know.

But he did go and bring them some food.

And when he got there, he's like, wait a second, what's

happening? Somebody tell me what's going

on? Is this, wait, you guys are

scared of this uncircumcised Philistine who would dare defy

the armies of God? 17 years old.

Now we know some 17 year olds in here and they might have grown

to be like men, but that doesn't always mean the brains fully

developed to be like a man yet. You know what I'm saying?

I'd say 25 makes it a little better.

That's science. But here's David saying no, no,

no. I've stayed watching my father's

sheep. I've defeated the lion and the

bear because who dares come and gets my father's sheep?

Not when I'm here. And so he says, you know who

dares, comes and defies the armies of God?

Not while I'm here. I know who my God is and I'm

going to stay. I'm not running and hiding

behind the rock. I'm staying.

And so he defeats Goliath. And then Saul's like, realizes,

right? Starts getting jealous.

But here's the thing about David, he stayed.

He stayed again 21 * 21 times. So I'll try to kill him 21

times. Most of us in here have not had

one of our bosses try to kill us ever.

Surely not 21 times. Probably not with a spear saying

I'm going to throw the spirit you so I can pin your body to

that wall. Most of you have never

experienced that. I'm not saying no one in here,

but most of us have never experienced someone literally

assassinating us, having a plot out to kill us, especially

somebody who's, like, has all the power in your country.

OK, I know we got a lot of conspiracy theories about the

government, but they have not come against you.

Stop it. Not 21 times.

But yet David stayed. Yeah, but he ended up running

and, you know, going over to this land for two years and

having to hide in caves. How do I know that David stayed

even though in order to save his life, finally Jonathan and God

are like, go, gotta go. Yeah, he's really he's really

going to kill you if he sees you got to go.

How do we know that he stayed? We know because if we turn over

to second Samuel, chapter 1, one through 16, Second Samuel

2 Samuel 1 · chapter mention

chapter one, verse one through 16.

And I just want you to know this is right after Saul.

Instead of going to fight at the battle where he should have been

because he was the king and supposed to be, like, leading

the army, he went and chased David down to a mountain and

literally had him cornered and was like, this close to killing

him. And then they're like Saul.

No, literally like, we're about to, like, get overturned.

Like they're gonna come and we're gonna, they're about to

take over our whole country. You got to go.

And he's like, so he left. OK.

So David was like, you know, this close to getting killed

again. This is right after that in

Second Samuel chapter one verse one through 16, it says, and now

it came about after the death of Saul, when David had returned

from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained

2 two days in Ziklag. On the third day, yeah, on the

third day, behold, a man came out from Saul with his clothes

torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he said

to David, he came to him and fell to the ground and

prostrated himself. Then David said to him, from

where do you come? And he said to him, I've escaped

from the camp of Israel. David said to him, how did

things go? Please tell me.

And he said the people have fled from the battle.

And also so many of the people have fallen and are dead.

And Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.

So David said to the young man who told him, how do you know

that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?

The young man who told him said, By the chance I happened to be

on the mount, that mount. And behold, Saul was leaning on

his spear, and behold, the Chariots and the horsemen

pursued him closely. When he looked behind him, he

saw me and called to me. And I said, Here I am.

He said to me, Who are you? And I answered him, I am an

Amalekite. Then he said to me, please stand

beside me and kill me, for agony has seized me because my life

still lingers in me. So I stood beside him and killed

him because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen.

And I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet

which was on his arm. And I brought them here to the

Lord. Now the kid was lying, like, you

know that, right? Because really Saul ended up

killing himself. The guy was like, I don't want

to kill you. Like I know you're the king, I

don't want to kill you. But then he's like, oh, wait,

wait, this is the guy. Oh, this is the guy that's

actually king. And Saul hated him.

So maybe if I tell him I killed him, like I'll get some honor or

something. So I better just like, save

face, right? So then it says, then David took

hold of his clothes and he tore them.

And so also did all the men who were with him.

They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his

son Jonathan, and were the people of the Lord and the House

of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

David said to the young man who told him, Where are you from?

And he answered, I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.

Then David said to him, How was it that you were not afraid to

stretch you out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?

And David called one of the young men and said, Go, cut him

down. So he struck him, and he died.

And David said to him, Your blood is on your head, for your

mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord's

anointed. OK, so how do we know that David

stayed? Even when he had to run and save

his life, he stayed faithful. He stayed loyal to Saul, who

hated him, who literally wanted him dead, to the one who had his

job, the job that God gave him. But David stayed.

It didn't matter that his boss was trying to kill him 21 times.

It didn't matter that he kind of was like destroying the nation,

the nation that he was going to have to go, like, fix and like,

OK, now I'm taking over this nation that's like in shambles

and like, everything's kind of destroyed and you've been in war

and you've not been doing your job.

David stayed. He didn't even allow the fact

that the man was trying to kill him to say, yeah, I think I'm

done. God, if you really want me,

King, you're going to do that. But I got to go because, you

know, I don't want to die. He stayed faithful.

That's how I know David stayed. It doesn't matter that, yes, he

had to go to The Cave and he had to go live somewhere else.

He stayed faithful and he stayed loyal to a man who wanted to

kill him. And in the United States of

America, people won't stay faithful or loyal to a boss who

asked him to work overtime or to stay late or to cover a shift.

They won't stay faithful or loyal to someone who asked him

to do anything other than what my job description, like right

here, it's not in my job description.

So I'm actually not going to do that.

They won't stay faithful and loyal to someone because they

get offered something better and looks better and and seems

better and pays better and has better notoriety over here.

Because we are no longer in a culture that chooses to stay.

Instead, we're in a culture that just goes from pot to pot to pot

and we're really limiting ourselves.

Our roots are being bound up. We're not nutrition.

We're not as as strong and healthy as we should think that

we are because we're not getting the nutrients that we really

should get because we don't choose to stay.

The next person I wanted to look at that chose to stay was

Elijah. Now Elijah did not serve us all.

Elijah served Elijah and he was a good master to him.

We know this story pretty familiar, but if we turn over to

2nd Kings chapter 2 verse one through 14, Second Kings chapter

2 Kings 2 · chapter mention

2 verse one through 14, it says, and now it came about when the

Lord was about to bring Elijah up by a whirlwind to heaven that

Elijah left Gilgal with Elijah and Elijah said to Elijah stay

here please, for the Lord has sent me out as far as Bethel.

But Elijah said as surely as the Lord lives and as the and as you

yourself live, I will not leave you.

So he went to Bethel. Then the sons of the prophets

who were at Bethel went out to Elijah and said to him, are you

aware that the Lord will take away your master from you today?

And he said, yes, I'm aware. Say nothing about it.

And Elijah said to him, Elijah, just stay here, but the Lord has

sent me to Jericho. But he said, as surely as the

Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.

So they came to Jericho. Then the sons of the prophets

who were at Jericho approached Elijah and said to him, Do you

know that the Lord will take you away from your master today?

And he answered, Yes, I know, say nothing about it.

And Elijah said to him, Please stay here, for the Lord has sent

me to the Jordan. But he said, As surely as the

Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.

So the two of them went on. Now 50 men of the sons of the

prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the

two of them stood by the Jordan. And Elijah took his coat, folded

it, and struck the waters. And they were divided here and

there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

When they crossed over, Elijah said to Elijah, Ask me what I

should do for you before I'm taken from you.

And Elijah said, Please let a double portion of your spirit be

upon me. He said, You've asked a hard

thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when

I'm taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if not, it shall

not be so. And as they were walking along

and talking, behold, a chariot of fire appeared with horses of

fire, and they separated the two of them.

Then Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven, and Elijah

was watching it, and he was crying out, my father and my

father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen.

And he did not see Elijah again. Then he took hold of to his own

clothes and tore them into two pieces.

He also took up the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him

and went back and stood by the Bank of the Jordan.

Then he took the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him and

struck the waters and said, where is the Lord the God of

Elijah? And when he had struck the

waters, they were divided here and there and Elijah crossed

over. And if we look at the miracles

that happened in Elijah's ministry versus the miracles

that happened in Elijah's ministry, they were literally

double. I believe Elijah had like 16 and

Elijah had 32 and they literally were double the amount of

miracles. But here's the thing.

If Elijah chose not to stay, if he said no, you're right.

You know what? I'm I'm not going to go with

you. I'll, I'll stay over here, but

I'm not going to stay with you. If he chose not to stay to the

person he was assigned to, Elijah was literally assigned to

Elijah. Elijah came, Remember the story

of how he called him? Hey, he was out there just

working for his family and doing his job, doing his thing.

And he's like, hey, drop it. Come follow me.

Come on. God's got something for you to

do. And he went and he did it.

God literally assigned Elijah to Elijah.

And if he had chosen not to stay, then he wouldn't have had

a double anointing. And then Elijah said, hey, this

is a hard thing you've asked for.

Now, I did not look up what that meant that word hard meant, but

it wasn't necessarily easy. Think about what Elijah did.

Remember that time he sat underneath the tree and was like

crying, like, I'm the only one, Just kill me now.

And God's like, Oh my gosh, like you're being a little dramatic.

I've actually hit in people away in caves that you don't know

about. Then he like sent birds and, you

know, with food and had to send them the water and all the

things, right, because Elijah. But it was hard, you know, like

that's the one who had to call the fire down.

It wasn't easy what he asked them to do, but he said, but if

you'll stay with me, then the Lord's going to grant that to

you and your ministry will be double because you chose to stay

and not do the easy thing. But you chose to stay and do the

hard thing with the person I've assigned you to.

Gosh, that is something that I think a lot of believers miss.

God, yes, assigned you to a vision.

He assigned you and places you in the body that we're going to

read here in a minute where it pleases Him.

And he assigned you with people. Now, Pastor Earl, Apostle Earl

said it multiple times, if you're not assigned here, don't

stay here because you're never going to be fruitful and

prosperous like you should be. But if you are assigned here,

stay here because you're not just assigned to these walls,

you're not just assigned to this carpet, you're assigned to these

people. You're assigned to this five

fold ministry. We're assigned to each other.

And if you'll stay, then your ministry and your purpose will

double what it was going to be. But if you choose to go from pot

to pot, you're limiting yourself.

You're going to end up getting yourself root bound and you're

never going to accomplish all the things that God has for you

to do. There's a fourth person I want

to look at who stayed and that's Timothy.

Timothy was faithful. Timothy was faithful in service

in Philippians chapter 2 verse 19 through 22, it says Paul here

Philippians 2:19–22

talking, but I hoped in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you

shortly. For I have no one else of

kindred spirit who would genuinely be concerned for your

welfare. For they all seek after their

own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

But you know of his proven worth that he served with me in the

furtherance of the gospel, like a child serving his father.

And then in First Corinthians chapter 4 verse 17, it says for

1 Corinthians 4:17

this reason I sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and

faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways

which are in Christ. Timothy spoke like his father in

Christ, Paul. He said, I'm going to remind you

of what Paul taught us because Paul is speaking only straight

from the Lord. So here Timothy was faithful.

And then it says in Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 10

2 Timothy 3:10–15

through 15, and Paul is literally talking to Timothy.

He says, now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose,

faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions and

sufferings that the Lord rescued me from all, indeed all who

desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

It's going to happen. But you, however, continue in

the things you have learned, knowing from whom you have

learned them from, and that from childhood you have known the

sacred writings, but you're able to give you wisdom that leads to

salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

So here we see that even Timothy, from the time that he

was a child, desire to serve the Lord and wanted to serve the

Lord. And then the Lord's like, hey,

you're going to go be with Paul. And Paul says, hey, he's the

only one who hasn't forsaken me. I can only send you Timothy

because all the rest seek their own interests.

Timothy is the only one I got who is not being selfish, who is

not saying what's in it for me, who's not like this is an

individual thing. What about me?

What about my preferences? I really don't like that church.

I really don't like that steak. I really don't like eating that,

he said. No, it's not about me.

It's about furthering the gospel.

And it's funny because like I told you guys, I'm a class, I

teach at Washington Classical Christian School, and we learned

something called the timeline song.

If you have a child in Washington Classical Christian

School, I know you've heard the timeline song and you haven't

even heard all yet. Brian, it's 13 minutes song.

We've only 4 1/2 minutes in. OK.

But one of the things we learned this week was persecution spread

the gospel. And you know, in the United

States of America, we don't really like that word because

like, you know, we have freedom here.

And so we don't really like the word persecution.

But yet persecution furthered the gospel in that whole time.

And here Paul's talking to Timothy and like you've stayed

with me even through all the persecution because persecution

is going to happen. Jesus said, Hey Lord, I know

that persecution is going to happen.

I know things are going to happen, but I don't actually

take them out of the world, just protect them from the evil. 1

And when we choose to stay, we're protected.

But whenever we choose to uproot ourselves, we're causing

ourselves to just be like that tree, like that foundation

that's just wobbling in the wind, that when the storm comes,

it's not going to stand because the roots aren't deep.

They're not interconnected with other trees.

They're not interconnected with other roots.

They're just over here by themselves.

Even if they're planted in some soil, they're not planted with

other trees. They're not continuing to allow

themselves to strengthen each other.

So God in First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 18 through 25,

1 Corinthians 12:18–25

First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 18 through 25, it says now

1 Corinthians 12:18–25

God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body just as

He desired. If they were all one part, where

would the body be? But now there are many parts,

but one body. And the I cannot say to the

hand, I have no need of you, or again, the head to the feet, I

have no need of you. On the contrary, it is much

truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are

necessary, and those parts of the body which we consider less

honorable. On these we bestow greater

honor, and our less presentable parts become much more

presentable, whereas our more presentable parts have no need

of it. But God has so composed the

body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked.

So there may be no division in the body, and that the parts may

have the same care for one another.

It's funny because when we read the scripture, we kind of just

think about the parts that we see, but there's a whole lot

that happens in the whole body that we don't see.

When I was in high school, I took biology twice.

I don't know why I did that, but I did.

I took it twice. I took biology honors and I took

AP Bio. And so I learned a lot about

biology that, you know, I don't know how it's going to go for my

purpose, but I learned about it. And so in biology, you know, we

started learning about the parts of a cell.

You know, there's the mitochondria, it's the

powerhouse of the cell. You guys remember this, right?

You know, we learned about all these different parts of the

cell, the gold glide, something Golgi bodies.

See. Where's our doctors in the

house? Golgi bodies.

OK, those are parts of the. We don't really talk about them.

I'll be like, I hope my Golgi bodies are doing what they're

supposed to do today. I really hope so.

You don't wake up in the morning saying that.

You just know you got some stuffy nose.

Also, we think mucus is gross, but it's needed for a whole

bunch of reasons in our body. You know, ear wax, we need it.

We don't talk about it. You know, the little hairs that

are inside of our ears and the tiniest bones that we have,

which are inside of our ears need them or you'd fall on the

ground and not be able to walk. Best tubular system.

I know that one helps you stay balanced, right?

Nobody's talking about those parts of the body.

We don't think about our little tiny bone inside of our ear.

We don't think about little hairs, but helping us stay

balanced. They just seem like honorable

parts, but they're keeping the whole body exactly where it

needs to be. And here's the thing, God's

like, you know what? Tiny bone, tiny bone in the ear

right here, hairs right there. Why?

That way they can walk straight and not look like they're, you

know, literally falling on the ground.

When I was looking this up, what's interesting, I even found

about the hyoid bone. Hyoid bone, only freestanding

bone in your throat lets you swallow things and not choke.

OK, so we need these bones, right?

We need these bones. We need these parts.

But these aren't honorable. These aren't glamorous.

I'm not talking about my ear wax and my mucus because that's

gross. But yet they're needed parts of

the body that we need. And God's planted us here.

God says, you know, I put that bone there.

I put those hairs there. I put that mucus there.

You need that ear wax. Why are you trying to get rid of

it? Why are you trying to move it

around? Why aren't you allowing me to

place you in the body where it pleases me?

And, and I start thinking about biology and I remember learning

about translocation, right? Translocation of genes and if

they're not exactly where God designed them to be on your DNA

in the genome and it causes major problems.

There's balance, translocation. I learned how to look this up or

imbalanced. OK, I'm sure I learned it a long

time ago, but balance is where everything seems like it's right

on the outside. You can't look at person and

tell that they have something going on, but yet whenever they

try to have children one day, then those same things will be

passed on to their children. It causes fertility issues.

It causes generational things to start happening.

Now, unbalanced translocation is like very obvious, OK, there's

duplications, there's things that were moved in the wrong

spots and you can tell. But balance makes like, you can

look like you're right on the outside, but on the inside you

really allowed yourself to shift and you're not in the location

that God put you in. And so it seems like you're OK

because on the outside you seem OK, but then you start trying to

reproduce because that's what God created us to do, produce

ourselves into others. And something's just not right.

It's because you moved out of the location he put you in.

You didn't stay planted. And God never designed that.

Anytime we try to tweak and mess with what God's designed, we've

seen this in science, it never ends up good for us as humans.

It always causes problems because God planted us exactly

where he wants us to be. We should not be moving

locations. We should not be saying, oh, I

really don't like that spot. I'm just going to just get over

just a little bit. Scooting over a little bit is

causing disruption in the entire body.

So God determines our placement. God created us for

interdependence on each other. Not codependence, but

interdependence. Which means I need you and you

need me. I know you know the song My,

what's this head? What is it?

My, my funny, my bones connected to my head.

What is that song? You guys know what I'm talking

about, right? When we sang as kids, the knee

bones connected to the, I don't know, thigh bone.

You guys remember it? They're all connected to each

other. And then there's this stuff

called fascia. Fascia.

I listen to my chiropractors. There's this thing called fascia

that connects us together, that holds all of that stuff

together. So it's not just like wobbling

around inside of our bodies. And we need it.

We need each other. We need the fascia, we need the

bones, we need all of it. And if we try to get out of

alignment. Then something isn't going to

work right, and it doesn't matter how much you look like

you can do it right on the inside.

When you start reproducing, something's going to be off and

wrong and you're not going to be able to reproduce the way that

you're supposed to. OK, so this vision keeps us

planted. In Proverbs chapter 29, verse

Proverbs 29:18

18, it says where there's no vision that people perish.

But he that keepeth the law happy Is he joyful is he that

keepeth the law? Where there's no vision, that

people perish? When we decide to stay connected

to the vision and stay planted where we're supposed to be, then

we won't perish. In Habakkuk 2 chapter 2,

Habakkuk chapter 2 verses 2 through 3, it says, then the

Habakkuk 2:2–3

Lord answered me and said, write the vision, make it plain on

tablets that he may run who reads it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time.

But at the end it will speak and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it because it will surely come.

It will not tarry. The vision protects and directs

the believer, and it keeps you anchored.

When the season's delayed. When I say the season's delayed,

let me explain that when you plant a fruit tree, it isn't

immediately going to grow fruit the next day.

It might take years. It even will look like sometimes

it looks like it should definitely start having fruit,

but it's going to take a while. Are you going to stay through

the process? Are you going to allow the full

vision of that tree to come to life?

Are you going to be like, you know what, it's been a couple

years. I think I'm going to go because

there's no fruit yet on this tree, but you've not allowed the

fruit to mature. I remember Apostle Earl told us

that story one time. He had a banana tree, I think in

his yard and he was like, oh, I'm just going to eat one.

And he's like, my mouth literally turned inside out.

Nastiest thing I've ever had in my entire life because the

banana wasn't ready. And if you just say like, I'm

not going to go through this process, I'm not going to stay

with the vision of the tree. I'm not going to let it continue

to grow fruit and produce in my life, then the vision isn't

going to come to pass. But the vision needs you.

The orchard needs your fruit from your tree.

Don't uproot yourself and allow that fruit to not ever produce

or mature. I've had some really gross fruit

that was not ready and was not mature and it's because we

didn't let it go through the process.

But if you allow yourself to go through the process and produce

mature fruit, we just read earlier that you'll never cease

to continue yielding that fruit. But you have to choose to stay.

You have to choose to allow those roots to come and, and

state and stick together, You know, really quickly.

I know we'll be wrapping up here soon, but really quickly.

You know, I, I've talked about my testimony and guys, I've been

in two churches my whole life. When I was 2 years old, my

parents decided to get into church.

They had me very young and you know, they were like, we need to

do something. We're going to get to church.

I got into a Rhema church. My pastors were Rhema pastors.

And I'm so thankful. I grew up in that church until I

was 17 and God sent us to Anchor Faith Church.

It was my senior year of high school.

I was super involved in the town I grew up in.

You know, we had like maybe 5000 people in the town, 3

stoplights. They took one away, so we had

two. Small, tiny town.

We didn't even have a high school.

We had to go next door because it was too small of a town.

Hastings vibes. OK, small town, tiny town.

And you know, I was very involved in high school.

I was the manager of the basketball team.

I was going to be the editor of the yearbook.

I always invited my friends to church.

I followed the Lord. I wanted to follow the Lord.

I had a heart for the Lord and I wanted to serve him the best way

that I knew how. And then, you know, God called

us, Thank your faith church. And my parents said, well, you

choose. You can hear from the Holy

Spirit. I was like, the easy thing was

to not go where God was calling me to go.

So I was like, Lord, what do I do?

And I knew that he was calling me to Saint Augustine.

I knew he was calling me to this vision.

And so I came my 10 year of high school and God was just able to

really work. I prayed, I said, Lord, I just

need a friend. I need one friend because I'm

like I'm almost 18. It's kind of awkward for me to

be making like new friends now. So just one friend and he got

sent me a friend, a spirit filled girl who you know, had

grown up in the town and she befriended me on the 1st day.

She thought I was a freshman because I'm short.

I just never grew past 11 years old.

This is this is as tall as I got.

So you know, she's like you a freshman.

I'm like, no, I'm a senior. She's like, oh, you're new.

I said, yes, I am. And so she became my friend and

I was so thankful for that, that God took me and planted me here.

You know, I look back at the church I grew up in and all I

can say is I'm so thankful. I'm thankful for those pastors.

I'm thankful for the vision. I'm thankful for the word that

they put in me because they taught me who I was in Christ.

They taught me the authority of the believer.

They taught me that I should read my Bible.

They taught me that, you know, that I should go to church and

not miss. And so I'm so thankful for my

pastors there. But I knew God called me here

and wanted me to stay. And my husband said something

one time. He said, you know, the hardest

thing that I've ever done is also the easiest thing I've ever

done. And that's stay because it's not

that there's not been marvelous opportunities in the last 20

something years to leave. You know, when I was three, I

used to go around telling kids in the children's church and I

had a little bit of a lisp. Like when I grow up, I want to

be a preacher and a teacher and an author.

And I knew from a young age, you know, God had to continue to

confirm that to me and, and reveal that to me that I truly

felt called to the ministry. But I did feel that at a young

age. That doesn't mean that in my

brain I was like, well, Lord, I've served you, I've loved you.

I've I've kept your word, I've never gone out and done any of

these sins. I know you've saved me and I'm

so grateful, but surely I'm just going to like step right into

it, right? And he's like, no, no, you're

not. You got to get your character

developed. I'm like, oh, OK.

So I'm so thankful though, that I stayed because there were so

many opportunities to not stay. Plenty of opportunities to not

stay. Plenty of what I felt like was

valid reasons not to stay. But Lord, you know, I mean, do

you know what happened? But God said stay and I'm so

thankful that I can look back and say I stayed.

I did not allow myself to get uprooted and that I allowed

myself to go through the process to start bearing fruit because I

want to be a Cypress tree. I want to be strong.

I want to stay for centuries. I want my children to say we

stayed with the Lord and those children say we stayed with the

Lord. My testimony of staying in the

Lord keeping me is not better or worse than any of your

testimonies. Here's the thing, the world

likes to bond over trauma. They call it trauma bonding, but

God never called us to bond over trauma.

In fact, in Colossians, no, we're gonna Yeah.

In Colossians chapter 3, verse 14, it says beyond all these

Colossians 3:14

things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

He told us to bond over love and unity.

And then in Ephesians chapter 4, verse one through 3, it says,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in

a manner worthy of the calling, which I've called you with all

humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for

another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the

Spirit and the bond of peace. So we cannot continue with this

mindset of, oh, the world's like, oh, you, you've been

through that. Yeah, I've been through that

too. And now we have the shared

experience and we can bond over that.

We're not bonding over our trauma guys.

We're bonding over the love and peace that God's put us in.

We're bonding over the vision that he's placed us in.

We're bonding over the people and community that he's put us

in. And if we'll stay and allow our

roots to grow, that's the bond that is unbreakable.

That's the bond that God says, I'm coming back for church.

That's what about spot or wrinkle?

That's the bond that's going to produce fruit that the world's

like. Wait a second.

What? So it's not that my testimony is

like some oh, well, you've never experienced any of these things.

No, I experienced separation from God, and then I experienced

me realizing I need Him and nothing else is better than Him.

And you experienced that too. So we can't bond over the trauma

that we've been to. We got to bond over the Kingdom

that we've been placed in. We're going to bond over the

vision that we've been placed in because God's put us in a

vision. He's placed us in a body where

it pleases Him. He is the true vine, and our

Father is the vine dresser, and He's pruning us so that we can

bear more fruit. But you got to stay on the vine.

You can't hop off of it and be like, Nah, this hurts.

That oof. I don't like being pruned like

that. That hurts.

We have to continue to stay. And whenever we continue to

stay, whenever we continue to say I am not going anywhere, I

am going to continue to allow God to produce fruit in me

because I'm going to continue to stay faithful.

And I'm going to continue to allow him to go through the

process of me, mature me, prune me.

And it's not just for me, it's for this whole community around

me. And it's not just about us as a

church. It's about us reaching out to

those who are hurt and who are lost.

Yes, because the Bible ministry is equipping the Saint to go do

the work. It's about you going to do the

work. It's about he's returning really

soon. And are we going to be bonded

together over the vision? Are we going to stay planted?

Are we going to choose not to waver?

Are we going to choose to allow ourselves to be in real soil,

not in a microplastic pot? Are we going to allow ourselves

to not get root bound? But I'll allow our roots to grow

so that we can be strong. I believe that we are, and I

hope this encouraged you tonight that we're going to stay.

Nothing's going to make me move. Not being killed almost 21

times, though again, I don't think you guys are experiencing

that. Not, not things not going the

way that I think it should go. Not my feelings being hurt.

Not someone saying something to me that I didn't like.

Not them doing that. The way that I'm like, Is that

the best way to do it? That's not going to move me.

I'm staying. I'm staying planted in soil.

I'm going to stand with all the rest of the trees around me so

that we can continue to allow our roots to grow out strong

with a strong foundation. Amen.