Stay In The Press | Bro. Alex Mason

Hallelujah, give that. Can't clap it to the Lord.

I'm thankful. Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, you are mighty. Oh Jesus, he's too good.

He's too good. I was thinking of as sister

McGee was speaking to things and and talking about situations,

and I was thinking a song came to mind.

Go figure me song came to mind. Song came to mind that I truly I

love and adore. And it's a very just this is a

very sweet song and it's it's one of those that I turn to when

when I need to know that it's going to keep going.

It's going to keep going. It's it's one of those things we

get in, we get in seasons of life and it feels like

everything is is happening and we have difficulty, have

difficulty with that. And understanding that it's not

over is important. And I just want, I just want to

sing a few of these, these bars of this song here because it

goes, it's not over. It's not finished.

It's only the beginning. When God is in Him, all things

are new. Oh, I know it's darkest just

before the dawn. I know this may be the hardest

season you've experienced. I know it hurts.

I know it hurts. You're closer than you think you

are. You're closer than you've been

before. So look to the sky guys, help is

on the way. It's not over, it's not

finished, it's not ending, for it's holy the beginning when God

is in end all things hardly. It's not over.

She's she's so good. Just to be reminded sometimes

through things like that it's not over.

Understanding that sometimes can be a difficult thing for us to

to come to and understanding that we have to endure more, but

knowing that when he is in it, all things are new.

Knowing that we're closer than we've been before, all things

are new. Amen, Amen.

Sweet presence of the Lord in this place.

I, I come tonight, I hope to encourage, I hope to encourage

you tonight. If you will stand for the

reading of the word, turn to Isaiah 5 chapter #1 or Isaiah 5

verse #1. Excuse me.

Thankful for pastoring his wife, their love and support.

They are great mentors and we appreciate them so much.

Thankful for Bishop and his wife and so thankful for the love

that they show the church people.

So thankful for what they strive to, they strive to still do.

And sometimes we have to tell them, do you really need to be

doing that? And then they'll do it anyways

and that's okay. We love that we love them for

it. I grateful for brother and

sister Mason, my parents. I'm so thankful for them and all

that they do and the varying facets that they have and bring

to the table of this church that we are blessed with.

And I'm so, so grateful for my precious wife.

So thankful. And I don't know what I would do

without her. She is, she is my life partner.

She is the one that helps me, directs me.

Maybe she she is the absolute best.

I love her so much. Isaiah 5 chapter 1, reading a

few verses here, says Now will I sing to my well beloved the song

of my beloved touching his vineyard?

My well beloved, hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.

And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and

planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the

midst of it, and also made a wine press therein.

And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it

brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of

Jerusalem and men of Judah, I judge, pray, I pray you betwixt

me and my vineyard. What could have been done more

to my vineyard that I have not done it, done in it?

Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes,

brought it forth wild grapes. And now go to I will tell you

what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away the hedge

thereof, and it shall be eaten up, and break down the wall

thereof, and it shall be trodden down, and I will lay it waste,

and it it shall not be pruned nor digged, but there shall come

up berries and thorns. And I will also command the

clouds that they rain, no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is in the House of Israel

and the men of Judah, his pleasant plant.

And he looked for judgment, but behold oppression for

righteousness, but behold a cry. I have a very simple thought

focusing on on these these first few verses that I read the first

four in particular in this reading about this this vineyard

very simple. Tonight I hope to encourage you.

It is stay in the press, stay in the press.

You put your Bibles down and help me pray.

Father, I ask you just to move in this place today.

Lord, we have felt your presence so strongly and sweet Lord, I

ask that you would just to move. Lord, touch hearts and minds as

a planting ground for your word that it would fall upon fertile

soil. God touched me.

Lord, anoint my lips of clay that I would speak what needs to

be spoken tonight. Encourage your people tonight,

Lord, through your servant God, I ask that you would just to

move, Lord, throughout this place.

Lord, that your will would be done and that you would get all

the glory and the honor and the praise for it.

In the mighty name of Jesus I pray and everyone said Amen.

You may be seated tonight. Hey, man, stay in the press.

We we come to this segment of Scripture in Isaiah and it's

it's beginning here with chapter 5 is beginning with the song.

It's, it's, this is the care of the vine dresser and, and it,

and it says, you know, I'll sing to you, my well beloved, to sing

a song of joy, beloved touching his vineyard.

And, and this is a picture, if you will, these first 2 verses,

seeing the care that's being taken to this vineyard.

The vine dresser is taking forth and, and, and moving stones and

putting up a watchtower. We're seeing this as a picture

of God's love for us. And, and he has, he has, he's

cleared obstacles in, in the path.

He's, he's planted his, his word in our heart.

He has, he has done the things to protect us from harm and, and

he's poured out unto us because he sees the potential, he sees

the, the growth opportunity and he knows what you're capable of

even when you don't. The vine dresser works to set up

the success of the grapes. He chooses the best location.

The the vineyard was planted on a fertile hillside, perfect

conditions for growth. The vine dresser didn't stop at

just the best location though. He, he dug up the ground, he

removed, he removed the stones, anything that would hinder

growth. He planted the best vines.

He, he didn't settle for second best and and he also built the

watchtower to protect and to guard the vineyard.

And then he prepared a wine press.

He planted for the grapes to be pressed and transformed into

wine. Everything that this vine

dresser has done has done for success, for transformation of

grapes into wine, for precious grapes, good sweet grapes to be

grown and for them to be pressed in a wine press for wine.

He planned it all out. He did everything for the basic

success of the grapes being fruitful.

The issue we have when we get to verse 3 and 4 is the

disappointment of wild grapes. He he is, he's done all this

tender care and, and done all of these different things that you

would think while he has done it, this is going to be, this is

going to be some of the best grapes you've seen because he

has not, he's not only thought of of just built, you know,

going into a fertile hill. He didn't just think of going

and using the best vines, but he also thought of removing stones.

He also thought of building a watchtower for this vineyard.

We hear this vine dresser's heartbreak in verse three and

four and and it's it's he's like, what could have been done

more? What more could I have done?

This vine dresser is at a loss of what on earth could I have

done more? And the wild grapes, they're not

just rotten, they are untamed. They, they grow without

submitting to the, the vine dressers care.

They, they, they are sour, they are unusable for wine and they

are wasted. What causes wild grapes?

Well, the, the the grape vines, they need to be pruned and and

produce good to produce good fruit without pruning.

They they grow wild and But sometimes the grapes can resist

pruning process just as we do it.

Sometimes our vine dresser comes to give some pruning and we

resist. Wild grapes are a result of

neglect, but in our situation, our vine dresser is not

neglecting us. If anything, we're like a block

of marble. To a sculptor it the sculptor

just chiseling away and and hitting and striking to remove

what doesn't belong. And to us, the marble as the

marble, we might feel like it is destruction and what on earth is

going on, but to the sculptor, the sculptor sees the

masterpiece within. This vine dresser saw the

masterpiece within, was aghast and just not understanding.

Why are there wild grapes? I say that more often than not,

when there are wild grapes, it is because we neglected

relationship with the vine dresser.

When we get in those situations, we neglect relationship with the

vine dresser. The vine dresser is trying to

prune and we resist the purpose after we have the purpose of the

pressing. The wine press is is where the

grapes are crushed their juice. At first glance, just like the

sculptor, it looks destructive. It looks, it looks very

destructive. Some something whole is now

being broken apart. But the pressing is not

destruction mind you, it is transformation.

The value of the grape even isn't in its outer appearance,

it is in what was on the inside and only.

The only way to access the value that is on the inside is through

the press. The transformation requires

pressure. It requires, just like coal

requires pressure to make diamonds.

Grapes do not turn into wine on their own.

And let's be honest, nobody likes the pressure.

No one likes the pressing. I did it.

It's uncomfortable, it's messy, it's often painful.

It is painful to you, not only your physical body.

It is painful to your spirit when life feels like it's

pressing you from every direction.

It is natural to question God's purpose.

It is natural. But.

But here is the truth that we have to accept.

And sometimes it is difficult. The pressing isn't punishment.

It is preparation. Preparation.

Pressing can take many forms of preparation.

It might look like waiting on God for a promise that seems

delayed. It might look like a financial

struggle that detests your faith.

It might look like a conflict in relationships in your life where

you're forced to confront your own flaws.

In those moments, it's easy to feel like God has abandoned you

and he's just putting his thumb on you, if you will, just to see

what happens. He's not trying to see what

happens. The Vine dresser cares deeply

about every single detail. He wouldn't be pressing if he

didn't know that it was time to press.

What if the pressing is his way to prepare you for something

greater? And we ask why?

Why is it is a very famous one word sentence?

Why hear kids say it all the time?

Why I'll give an assignment and the kids at school will be like,

but why is it because we're doing the assignment?

I said so, but why just do your work?

No, but why does God press us? We we have questions, rightfully

so. I get it.

We have questions, but it's to release what's inside.

The juice inside the grape can't be released until the grape has

been crushed. In the same way, the gifts and

potential that God has placed in your life often remain hidden,

sometimes until you have gone through a season of pressing.

It is there to transform us. Grapes can't turn into wine on

their own. Like I said, they must go

through that pressing and fermenting and refining process.

And it it shows us that God presses us not to destroy us,

but to do that transforming. To do that transforming into

something more valuable. It makes us useful.

Unpressed grapes may look good on the vine, but they can't

nourish anyone long term. What God presses and breaks in

you may be the very thing that God uses to minister to others

around you. The pressing is about

overflowing. When you have a a whole cluster

of grapes and it's pressing, it starts to overflow.

It's not just for you, it's for the person sitting next to you.

It's for the person that you meet at the grocery store.

It is for others. I know it may not feel like that

right now. I know it may feel like you're

all alone, but understand the pressing brings forth ministry

after the fact. People that that endured

pressing in the Bible, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, he

was sold into slavery, he was thrown into prison for years,

and it looked like Joseph's life was being crushed.

He was under all the pressure, but God was using each and

everything that he was going through that was pressing him

and it felt like an elephant was on his chest to prepare him.

When Joseph finally stood before Pharaoh, he was no longer the

naive teenager who was bragging about his dreams.

He was a wise He was a humble man ready to save nations.

Paul endured shipwrecks. He endured beatings.

He endured imprisonment. Yet he declared.

In Second Corinthians 48 and 9, he said, we are troubled on

every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in

despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not

destroyed. Paul understood that the press

was temporary, but the fruit what produced was eternal.

The fruit the pressing produces is eternal.

Ruth, her life was marked by loss.

Her husband died. A childless widow in a foreign

land could have returned home and started over, but stayed

with her mother-in-law. She she stayed in the press.

She she was there in the field. She was getting scraps to

survive while while trusting in God's provision and by staying

in the press she was positioned to meet Boaz and redeem her

families legacy and become a part of the lineage of Jesus

Christ. Jeremiah was called to be a

prophet during one of the darkest times in Israel's

history, being rejected, being ridiculed, imprisoned and thrown

into cistern to die. He struggled with

discouragement. He even he the even to wishing

he had not been born and but he couldn't walk away from the

press. And it produced a prophetic

ministry that pointed to the coming of Christ and to the

restoration of God's people. And a popular one that we go,

when we go through difficult things that we like to turn to

is the story of Job. And we turn to Job and we go and

he, he has gone through a lot and we're going through things.

We go to Job because we know how the story ends.

Well, that's great. Maybe we can learn what Job did.

He stayed in the press. His wealth was gone, his

children was gone, his health was gone.

He stayed in the press until the end and there was restoration

that God ended up blessing doubly because of his

faithfulness of staying in the press.

There there. There are many other examples we

could go through and I thought about, but the point is, when

you choose to stay in the press, transformation can happen.

The key that we have to understand is grapes aren't

pressed to destroy, they're pressed to create.

Wine in Scripture is a symbol of joy.

It's a symbol of covenant, it's a symbol of celebration, but it

can't exist without pressing. Think about your life.

What if the very challenges you are facing right now, today, the

struggles, the tears, the unanswered prayers are the means

by which God is transforming you into something greater?

What if? What if this pressing that you

are experiencing or just is just a prerequisite, if you will, to

something beyond where you are right now?

The question we have to ask ourselves, will you stay in the

press? This is where the decision comes

in because the many people could say that from experience.

I feel like I have gone through those different seasons in life

and I can say with experience that it is not easy.

It's tempting to walk away. It's tempting to walk away from

the things that you know, the church family that loves you.

When the weight feels too heavy, it's easy to walk away.

And the question we have to ask ourselves is why do we struggle

to stay in the press? It's easy to ask why me, right?

It's all unfair. Out of everyone on earth, why me

in this certain situation? But the truth is, the vine

dresser only presses because he sees value.

He's not going and pressing the wild grapes.

He is pressing the grapes that have stayed.

He is pressing the grapes that have grown and into beauty and

sweetness. And he's pressing because he

sees the value in and he's like, there's more in there that I

need out. He doesn't waste time pressing

something that won't produce anything.

If if there's pressing, that means our Vine dresser might

just see something in you. Waiting on God can feel

unbearable at times. But God's timing is perfect.

And I know we say it and it feels so difficult sometimes to

to accept it. I've said it sometimes and I

have to convince myself gone through seasons I do not

understand until afterwards, and in those seasons I'm just like,

God knows his timing's perfect man.

In the back of my mind, wine is not something that is made in an

instant. We have to realize that it is

something that takes time. Even after the pressing, it

takes fermentation, it takes, it takes, it takes all of this time

to, to make it just right because the vine dresser takes

care after, after the pressing. It takes time and understanding

that God's timing is perfect after we're pressed and and

maybe some weight is lifted and it's like, oh, that doesn't mean

it's always the IT. It may mean something new's

coming on the horizon. The pressing reveals our

weaknesses, which we don't like. No one likes their weaknesses

being revealed. I get it.

No one wants to be vulnerable to confront our areas, the areas of

our lives that we would rather ignore because we're already

dealing with too much deepest work.

If we would allow him in the in the press, when we're we're

going through it and there are weaknesses.

There are things that are revealed in our lives that we

could work on. Now is good as time is any if

you're going to come out better on this side, why not work on

yourself? So what happens if you stay in

the press, You stay under the pressure.

If you don't give up, don't walk away, right?

Because there are those that have walked away because the

pressure happened and God was trying to do something beautiful

and they walked away. And it just so happens that they

may never see the finish line of that.

They, they, they left the press because the, the press was too

much and, and, and it was something that was going to be

beautiful and it was going to be a glory to God.

But they left too soon. They walked away too soon.

They didn't stay in the press. What happens if you stay in the

press? Well, your experience, joy, I

know, may not feel like it right now, but you'll experience joy.

Psalm 35, it says wiping may endure for a night, but joy

cometh in the morning. You'll discover your purpose or

rediscover your purpose. In Romans 828 it says we all and

we know that all things work together for good to them that

love God to them who are the called according to his purpose,

and you'll produce abundance. Pressed grapes don't just

produce enough for just one day. They produce an overflow that

blesses beyond just the single day of the press.

If you walk away now, you may never see the fullness of what

God is doing and understand this.

The vine dresser never produces partially pressed grapes.

You decide whether or not you're going to walk around as a

partially pressed grape. You decide whether or not you're

going to fall off the press and not see the finish line because

our vine dresser doesn't do that.

He's not pressing just to press and then just see you be crushed

a little bit. He, he wants to see it through

the end. He does not produce these

partially pressed grapes. And you have to decide whether

you're going to stay through the pressing or walk away partially.

And when you walk away partially, you have no room to

blame God for being partially pressed.

It is all your decision because our God as Vine dresser, a Vine

dresser, has chosen the best location for you.

It wasn't happenstance or an accident.

The Vine dresser carefully chose the best place for you in the

vineyard and his vineyard to thrive.

The same way God has planted you where you are with the purpose,

your family, your church, your community.

He wants you where you have the best opportunity to grow.

The question is, are we embracing where God has planted

us? Think about the gardener who

plants the roses in the sunniest spot in their yard.

If the Rose Bush could think, it might not understand why it's

placed in this intense heat, but the gardener knows the sunlight

is what is needed for it to bloom.

Sometimes where God places us feels uncomfortable, but it's

exactly what we need. I know it may be difficult thing

to come to terms with, but it is the truth.

Our vine dresser clears the way. How many times has God removed

situations and obstacles from your path?

Maybe He closed doors that weren't good for you or took you

out of harmful situations and relationships.

God works tirelessly to clear the way for us to grow.

He plants the best vines. What does that mean?

Well, it means you were meant for more.

You were meant for more. God has placed something in you,

something that you were called to to fulfill and be pressed to

minister out. Our vine dresser watches over us

like a parent watching a child at the playground.

The child might not see the parent, but the parent is always

ready to step in if danger arises.

And that's how he is. He doesn't just plant and walk

away. He builds a watchtower, if you

will, to keep watch over us during the times of the press.

And he is prepared, a wine press.

He doesn't just prepare us just for growth.

He prepares us for pressing because he knows that your

transformation goes through going through the press.

Music can come. We can stand tonight.

I hope. I hope this is a courage and I

want you to walk away knowing that God does not produce

partially compressed grapes. I encourage you to stay in the

press. Don't walk away from it.

It's difficult. God will open doors for you.

God will do things that you can't do on your own, that you

can't understand. Pressing isn't just the end.

What you're going through isn't just the it's not over, it's not

finished, it's only the beginning.

If anything ranged more true, then comparing that to grapes,

grapes are just the beginning of that process. 2nd Corinthians

417 says for our light affliction, which is but for a

moment worketh for us far more exceedingly, an eternal weight

of glory staying in the press. It's just a moment.

It's just a blimp on the radar, understanding that it's not the

end and it it works far exceedingly and eternal.

That's what we have to focus on when we are in moments of

pressure in our lives. These altars are open tonight.

And if you, if you're in the press, I encouraged you, I

encourage everyone to come to these altars tonight.

Stay in the press, Trust the process.

Let God turn your life into something extraordinary.

He isn't crushing you just to destroy you.

He's pressing to transform you. Stay in the press and watch what

He will do. He is not finished with you yet.

He's not finished with you yet.