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Hand Him The Plan | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church | Elevation Church | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Hand Him The Plan | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church
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Summary
Core Theme
This message emphasizes the importance of surrendering personal plans and trusting in God's overarching purpose, which ultimately prevails over human intentions, even amidst failures and disappointments.
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Well, it's time. It's time for a word from God, and it's time for Elevation Nights. October 21-30,
we are headed your way. If you're in the following areas…Saint Paul, Minnesota; Omaha; St. Louis;
Louisville; Atlanta; or somewhere in Florida, maybe around Tampa, Miami, or Orlando…you can
go to elevationnights.com now. These nights are amazing. I want to see you there. I believe God
is going to meet us in a powerful way…me, Holly, Elevation Worship, Elevation Rhythm,
and you. Go to elevationnights.com. But right now, get ready for the Word of God. God bless you.
I am continuing in a series that I am thoroughly enjoying preaching to myself
and then letting you listen. The Lord has been working. I have been hearing from you.
I have gotten so many good reports from this series, and it's only part 5 today.
It's only part 5 today, so you're not too late. The Lord has a word for you today,
and I want to share with you a word from his Word. Stay standing for just a moment at all
of our locations and watching online all over the world. If you can find a Bible or if you have one
on your app, turn to 1 Chronicles 28:19. Therein is the instruction the Lord has for us today.
If you don't have a Bible with you or you prefer not to pull out your phone because
you don't want to be distracted because you know somebody might be trying to reach you,
but you want to ignore them while you're in church, we'll put it on the screen for
you. First Chronicles 28:19. King David has come a long way. He is an old man,
and he's sharing the plan God gave him for the temple of the Lord to be built.
After sharing several of those specific instructions the Lord gave him in 1 Chronicles 28,
he says something really cool, and I really want you to hear it today.
"'All this,' David said…" Now, remember, he has just listed all of the different
materials that are going to be used to build the temple, all of the dimensions of each room.
He gets so specific that he tells the people down to the dishes what
they need to make for the temple of the Lord. Down to the dishes. You know how
they say the Devil is in the details? So is God. He says, "All this…" Somebody say,
"All this." If you're watching online, just put "All" with a bunch of Ls after it in the comments.
"'All this,' David said, 'I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me,
and he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan.'"
Isn't that a good verse? Let's read it again. "All this…" Somebody say,
"All this." God is not going to leave one single thing out. God has got it all accounted for.
"'All this,' David said, 'I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me,
and he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan.'" The word of the
Lord today is this. God said to tell you, "Hand him the plan." Hand Him the
Plan. I was praying as I prepared about the thoughts that we think.
We're talking about the thoughts we think and how we get stressed out, overwhelmed, confused,
bitter, and insecure in our minds. I thought about all of you who are making decisions in your life
right now and trying to figure out which way. I thought about all of you who are trying to recover
from things that have happened to you and you haven't got your balance back yet. I thought about
all of you who feel a little lost at this moment. The Lord said to tell you, "Hand him the plan."
Father, I lift up every person who will hear this message in the future or is hearing it right now
before you, and I thank you that you know the plans you have for them, plans to prosper them,
not to harm them, plans to give them a hope and a future. We trust you with the future because
we know you're here right now. Speak now, God. We're listening. In Jesus' name, amen.
Tell three people on your way to your seat, "Hand him the plan." Put that in the comments
if you're watching on YouTube. "Hand him the plan." Come on, put it right there. I need
you to see it in all caps. There you go. Put it in the chat. Wouldn't that be wonderful,
though, if the Lord did for you what he did for David? "'All this,' David said,
'I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me…'"
"He enabled me to understand all the details of the stock market,
all the details of cryptocurrency, all the details of child development, all the
details of college selection, all the details of pre-calc…all the details." It would be awesome.
I'm going to do something, Graham, that I never did before in 20-plus years of
preaching…20 years of pastoring, 29 years of preaching since I was a little boy. I've been
teaching Graham about preaching lately, sharing with him lessons I've learned.
I never did this before, but the Lord led me to give you this message in a very peculiar
way that I think you will enjoy. I'm going to take a proverb from Proverbs 19:21. I'm going to
lay it over what I read you from David's life in 1 Chronicles 28,
and the proverb I'm going to use is going to be the points of my message.
So, you'll have all of the points when I read you this proverb, and then I'm going
to break it down for a few moments so we can talk about your mind, your heart,
your thoughts, and what God is building in your life. Here's what Proverbs 19:21 says:
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Now, see, that ought to give you some peace just when I read that, because everything you're
fighting against… It's the Lord's purpose that prevails. "Many are the plans in a person's heart,
but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Isn't that a great verse? The first point
I'm going to talk to you about today (and, Justin, if you want to circle these as we go)…
My first point, I want to talk to you about,
"Many are the plans…" That's point number one: "Many are the plans." Yeah,
write it down. That's point number one. Write it down. "Many are the plans." Put it in the
comments. "Many are the plans." (Put a "one" by it, Justin. That's kind of a one, I think.)
So, I want to talk about "Many are the plans…" and then for my second point, I want to talk to
you about "…in a person's heart…" Put that in the comments as well, and put it in your notes. "…in
a person's heart…" Then for my third point, I want to talk about "…but it is the Lord's…"
And for point number four, I want to talk to you about "…purpose that prevails." So now,
if you need to leave early, you got all four points, and you can pretend like you
sat through the whole sermon. "Many are the plans." Somebody say, "Many are the plans."
In my experience as a leader and as a child of God, God has not given me all of the details
on the front end of whatever he has asked me to do by faith. I called this series That's What I
Thought because it helped me to reflect on how dumb I was at times in the past. Not anymore.
Now I'm at a place of knowledge in God and wisdom and instruction and revelation.
Well, I mean, of course, five years from now, I'll be looking back saying how dumb
I was. I know this, because at every point along the way in my journey as a leader,
God did not give me details until I gave him obedience.
As much as we think we would like for God to come down and give us all of the details for
what we need to do about this relationship in our life, this business decision in our life,
this custody situation in our life, this legal issue in our life,
this financial trouble in our life, this loan offer, this crossroads in our life…
As much as we think we would love God to give us the details, what good would the details of
what God wants you to do next be if you were not obedient to the last thing he told you to
do? I've found so many times in my life, as a principle, that details follow obedience.
We want it just the other way, exactly the other way:
obedience follows details. "Show me the entire path, God, and then I'll take the
first step." But watch this. Graham, come up on the stage. That was pretty quick.
Right? He even ran. Did all that with no details. Obedience with no details.
He didn't sit out there and ask, "For what? Come up there for what? Nice for what to
this preacher? For what?" He didn't ask any of that. He didn't say, "How long do you need me
up there?" He didn't say, "What do you intend to do with the footage, archivally speaking,
after this live illustration has ended?" And now that he did it, he knows. Now go sit back down.
I needed you to illustrate that details follow obedience.
Now you know how long I wanted you up here, because you came. I wanted you up here that
long for that reason to prove this point: details follow obedience. Say it. "Details
follow obedience." That's right. Details follow obedience. I know you want God to show you seven
weeks from now, but details follow forgiveness. Mm, I'm getting a little too specific now.
The lesson of my life that I wish I didn't have to learn through doing it the wrong way is that
usually what I thought and what God saw are two totally different things. Somebody say,
"Many are the plans." Many are the plans. There have been so many plans that I have had in my
heart, in my mind, and in my life that, looking back on them, I thought too small.
I didn't think big enough because I didn't pray big enough. I thought too
small. Have you ever thought too small? "Many are the thoughts." Everybody say,
"Many are the thoughts." Y'all know I love wordplay, so I mean "Many are the
thoughts" and I mean "Mini are the thoughts." My thoughts have been so mini through the years.
Do you remember, LB, when we were meeting at the senior center? This was when the church
was very young. Y'all don't know nothing about the senior center days. We pulled
up for the grand opening, and I looked around at that room that would seat 200
people. We were just getting started. I said to Chunks at the grand opening,
"This will be an amazing place for us to meet. It will last us five years, and then
we'll probably have to go to two services." Five years. Everybody say, "Many are the thoughts."
That's what I thought: five years, and we would go to two services. In five months,
we had outgrown the building, because my thoughts were mini thoughts. You follow
me? I thought too small because I started with me. I thought too small because I started with
where I was from. I thought too small because I started with what I had seen.
The problem is a lot of times in your life you make plans based on the pictures you've seen,
but the pictures you've seen are not all there is to the purpose of the God who has saved you
and made a plan for your life. So, what if you are making plans off of the wrong picture? "Many are
the thoughts." Now you're organizing your life to look just like your parents' lives looked,
but what if God has something different for you than he did for the generation
before you? What if their ceiling is going to be your floor? "Many are the plans."
Some of us are spending too much money because we are basing our spending habits on the pictures
we see on Instagram of people who left the tags on the stuff they posted and took it
back to the store, but you made a payment and another payment and another payment
because you made a plan off of a picture that had nothing to do with your purpose.
How many times have I thought too small? How many times have I thought too slow,
trying to catch up with God? I knew I was going to start a church from a young age,
or I thought I was going to start a church, and I did, but I always thought I would start it… I
remember telling Holly when we got married, "We're going to start a church one day when
we're about 45 years old." If God did what I thought, this would be my first sermon of the
first Sunday. Aren't you glad God didn't do what you thought he was going to do?
She turned to me one day, and she was like,
"Your thoughts are too mini. God wants to do it now. Let's step out now." "Well,
what about the children's ministry? And what about the business side? And what about the
people we need? And where are we going to do it?" The details didn't come before the obedience.
Come here, Graham. Details follow obedience. Now sit back down. That's all I needed. But you
won't know what I needed you for unless you come when I call. You won't know how long I
need you for unless you come when I call. I hear God saying to somebody, "Take the first step."
When David says, "All this…" Everybody say,
"All this." It is a comprehensive knowledge that he has at the plan of God unfolding in
his life at a developmental stage where he has walked with God in relationship long
enough that when God calls him, he trusts God's intention. "Many are the thoughts."
Now, in the case of David, we might understand that it has taken him his entire life to get to
this point. Last week, we talked about how he wrestled with his thoughts. Do y'all remember
that? Wrestled with a lion, wrestled with a bear, wrestled with his mind, wrestled with
anxiety. By the way, that's how we got the book of Psalms: through what David wrestled with.
I wonder what you're going to leave behind out of what you wrestle with.
David was a man of many thoughts. He was a man of many songs. Don't go through the
book of Psalms in your Bible and think the psalms that were recorded were the
only ones he wrote. We just got the best of the best of the best. That's just David's
greatest hits. There are 150 psalms, and he wrote most of them. A man of many songs.
He was also a man of many sons. He had at least 19 that we know their names,
so he was dealing with a lot, and now we know why he was depressed in those psalms. At least 19
children belong to David. "Many are the thoughts." Isn't it interesting that David, who God called
and chose to be the king of Israel, the second king they ever knew, right behind the one they
called that they thought was the one God wanted; how the prophet Samuel showed up at Jesse's house…
I want to layer this for you. It was so beautiful to me when I saw it. I don't want to rush through
it today, because I only get to preach it once, and I studied it so long. Y'all are
not going to rush me to finish it today. It is too good to rush through this Thanksgiving meal.
When Samuel went to anoint the king that would replace Saul after Saul had become disobedient,
the Lord did not give him all of the details of which of Jesse's sons he was to anoint. He said,
"I want you to go with your horn full of oil, and I'll show you who to pour
it on when you get there." Jesse, who was David's father, lined up seven of his sons.
I want to show you something that's pertinent to our series. All of you who are tracking with our
series will really get a lot out of this verse. In 1 Samuel 16:6, the Bible says, "When they arrived,
Samuel…" The prophet, which means seer. Samuel the seer. "…saw Eliab…" Which was David's oldest,
tallest brother. "…and thought…" (Justin, you might as well circle that too.) "…and thought,
'Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord.' But the Lord said to Samuel…"
Keep that phrase right there in front of you for a moment. "But the Lord said to Samuel,
'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the
things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'"
Now I'm ready to move to my second point. "Many are the thoughts in a person's heart…"
My second point is "…in a person's heart…" If you put Proverbs 19:21 back up again,
he says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart…" Now, the problem with David and the
problem with you and the problem with me, if I'm going to be honest about it,
is the same place where God speaks to us is the place where the Enemy does: our heart.
The same place where God speaks to us is the same place that we have to store the
opinions of others: our heart. Now, in the Hebrew language, the words heart and mind
are often used interchangeably. So, if you read some translations of Proverbs 19:21, it says,
"Many are the plans in a man's mind." There was no distinction in the Bible. They didn't say,
"Don't think this one through with your head; think it through with your heart."
They understood that it is at the level of thought that you produce feeling. If you think about
something long enough, you will start to feel what you think about, even if it's not happening.
If you start to think about betrayal long enough, you will start to hate the person,
and they're still right there holding your hand. If you start to think about the bad
outcome long enough, you will experience it in your central nervous system as if it were
happening in your everyday life, because there is no distinction.
So, it says, "Many are the plans in a man's heart…" When God found David, Samuel thought it
was the tallest one, but God picked the smallest one. By the time they went through all of Jesse's
sons… All of Jesse's sons. Remember? "All these things," David said, "the Lord showed me." All of
Jesse's sons…one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Samuel said, "Is that all you've got?"
Jesse said, "You wouldn't want to see David. David is out there with the sheep. David is out there
smelling like a barnyard. David is no kind of king. He's just a kid." Samuel said, "We will not
sit down till he arrives," and God said, "He's the one," not because of his height but because of his
heart. Ooh, dating seminar. Ladies, don't look at his height; look at his heart. He might be tall,
and he might be broke, he might be abusive, he might be lazy, and he might be addicted to weed.
So don't look at his height. "Oh, he's cute. He's tall." Look at his heart. How does he talk
to his mom? How does he keep his car? Does he come to church? Does he sit in the back
and leave early when Pastor Steven is giving the invitation, because he didn't come to church for
a hookup with God; he came for something else? I can only tell if I'm looking at the heart.
"Many are the thoughts." I mean, you've got a lot of thoughts. I've got a lot of motives. I've got a
lot of conflicting things happening in my heart. In my heart is the place where I can dream up a
big church for God; in my heart is the place where I can imagine terrible scenarios. In my heart is
the place where I can holler for you that God has a plan; in my heart is the place where I can get
road rage and holler at somebody else that "I have a plan for you, and it is to get out of this car
and fight you on the side of the street, because I've been saving up for this for a long time."
"…in a person's heart…" That's the problem, isn't it? When we say,
"God has a plan. I want God's plan. I just want God's plan for my life."
Notice the Bible didn't talk about one plan; it talked about many plans. Plans (plural);
purpose (singular). Plans (plural); purpose (singular). One purpose, many plans.
It has taken David all of his life to get to this point. It has taken your entire life,
all of the experiences…the good ones, the bad ones, the blah ones, the epic ones,
the painful ones, the exhilarating ones… It has taken all that to bring you to this point
in your life. So, when he stands before the people and talks about the temple,
he says, "All this I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me."
You've been in your head, but the answer is not in your head;
it's in the Lord's hand. I feel like I could go home on that,
and I'm only on point two. That's the problem with you. I figured it out. I figured out your
problem. You've been praying about it. I figured it out. You're a person. "…in a person's heart…"
I mean, David was amazing. Don't get me wrong. He was the kind of guy that God knew, "When I want
to get something done, I can hand him the plan." Somebody say my title. Hand Him the Plan. Like,
if God had a committee meeting with angels, and he was like, "We need somebody to fight Goliath.
Who's going to do it? We've got a whole army out there, standing there not doing anything."
But God would say to the angels, "Hey, there's David. If I hand him the plan,
he'll do it without needing to know the details. He'll encourage. He'll bless.
He'll go. He'll obey. He'll embrace. He'll do it without the details." As a matter of fact,
when David was sent to fight Goliath, he was not sent as a fighter;
he was sent as a servant carrying food. "Many are the plans in a person's heart…"
David's heart was so after God that he had a kind of courage that we rarely see today,
a kind of courage I rarely see in my own life, a kind of courage that would stand
before a giant with a shepherd's tool in his hand and say, "I've got something for you,"
the kind of courage that will stand before the Devil of spiritual oppression in your
life with nothing but a prayer and a faith and a belief and say, "I've got something for you."
That kind of faith is rare. It's in a person's heart. I taught you last week
that the place where God gives you the blueprint will always be the place where the Enemy brings
the battle. So (give me my camera), if you are fighting hell right now in your mind,
there is something heaven is trying to download that hell is trying to
interfere with. I'll say it again. If you are fighting panic attacks, anxiety, temptations…
If you are fighting hell in your mind, there is something God is trying to download into
your mind that hell is trying to interfere with. It is in a person's heart that you
can receive a word from God. It is in your heart that God can speak to you the details
of his plan. It is in your heart that God can speak to you the assurance of
his love. It is in your heart that God can speak to you how to have that conversation.
It is in your heart that God can speak to you about who you need to reach out to who
has been through what you're going through who can show you a few things so you don't have to
be dealing with this this time next year. It is in your heart that the Enemy will also tell you,
"If you reach out to them, you can't trust them." It is also in your heart that the Enemy
will remind you so much of your past that you can't even hear what God is speaking in
your present. It is in your heart that God gives plans. It is in your heart that you harbor pain.
Your pain and God's plans are in the same heart, just like there are multiple apps on your phone
right now and you choose which one to open. There is a plan God has for you. It is in your heart.
There is a plan the Enemy is speaking over you. It is hatching in your heart. The plan the Enemy
wants to hatch in your heart has to bow its knee to the purpose God speaks into your life.
"Many are the plans."
You know, when David got up to tell the people about the temple and how God gave him all the
details, it was a magnificent announcement. "Man, this temple is not going to be a
storefront temple. This temple is not going to be a garage band temple. We've had the ark of
God in a tent for too long," David said, "and we are going to build a temple for the Lord."
But I want to take you back to something very powerful in verses 2 and 3, because I
think there's something God is trying to download into your mind and your heart,
but you can't receive it because of your disappointments. David had a disappointment,
a disappointment that, had he chosen to allow it, would have interrupted the download.
Remember, the battle always happens in the place of a blueprint. "Pastor Steven,
this is a lot of alliteration. Can you break it down for me?" Yeah. When God is trying
to do something, the Devil starts saying something, and you hear from both of them,
not out loud but in your mind, in your heart. That's why it's a battle.
Maybe you're not going crazy; maybe you're called. That's all y'all want to say about what I just
said? I said, "Maybe you're not crazy; maybe you're called." Tell your neighbor, "I might be
called." Look at them with real big eyes and say, "I thought I was crazy, but I might be called."
I might be called, and I might be crazy, but I've got to deal with my crazy so I
can hear God calling me, because I do not intend to let him just continue to disrupt
my destiny with doubt, dysfunction, and despair. High-five your neighbor and say,
"I might be called." (I'm just teaching, boys. Calm down.)
David gets up. Imagine the occasion. Right? He's getting ready to tell them, "And this is how big
the Holy of Holies is going to be, and this is the kind of wood you need to put in the doorway,
and this is the kind of gold." He's not just talking about it; he stored it up. I mean,
this man spent his whole life building up for this moment. He's giving the plans for the
temple where God is going to live, where God is going to dwell, and God gave him the plan.
But watch what he says before this, just 17 verses earlier in 1 Chronicles 28:2. He started this way:
"King David rose to his feet and said: 'Listen to me, my fellow Israelites,
my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark
of the covenant of the Lord…'" Now, that represents God's presence. So, he said,
"I had it in my heart to do something. I had it in my heart to build a place for God's presence."
Let me just stop and take a quiz. Is that a good desire or a bad desire? Yeah. I mean,
you could argue about "Well, Jesus is ultimately the temple," but Jesus isn't here yet. We've got
a couple hundred years, so let's build a temple. Right? Now, that temple was eventually destroyed,
as all human things are, but at this point, David wants to do a good thing. I came to speak
to somebody. Your dream is a good thing. It's a good thing. What you want is a good thing.
"I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
for the footstool of our God…" (Circle this next part, Justin.) "…and I made plans to build it."
Now pause for a moment. You're going to hate verse 3. "I made
plans to build it." Watch this. "And here they are." No, no, no. Not that quick.
See, David was sitting around years earlier, and he turned to the prophet,
who was Nathan at the time, and said, "I want to build the Lord a house." Nathan said,
"All right. Go ahead and do it. The Lord is with you. Do whatever you have in your mind." But then
the Lord stopped Nathan, and Nathan turned around, and the Lord said, "Not David. Somebody else is
going to do it. What he wants to do is good, but it's not in my purpose for him to do it."
When you start making your plans off of a picture that is not specific to your purpose…
Is that why you're so worn out? Is that why you're so tired? Are you building something
for a blueprint that does not pertain to your purpose? All right. I'll give you an example.
Why is my Instagram or my YouTube Shorts feed so full of so many people who are so
much fitter than me? I'll tell you why. I searched a bunch of videos on YouTube
talking about how to do the perfect pull-up, how to do the perfect tricep workout, how to
do the perfect chest workout. So my YouTube said, "Oh, you want perfect? We'll give you perfect."
Now everybody in my YouTube Shorts feed looks perfect,
and I look the same as I did. Now I get a picture of perfect, but I'm living with me,
and now all I'm seeing is people who look so much different. Why? Because they're on steroids,
and they're 19. I'm not supposed to be either of those things. I'm not supposed to be 19,
and I'm not supposed to be juicing, so I'm not going to look like you if I don't have your juice.
But I'm looking at a picture of your temple, and I fail to realize that I
am a temple that God is building. I am a masterpiece that God has in his mind.
I am a poem that God is speaking in the earth today. I am the one who is supposed
to be preaching this Word to you today. I can't preach it like Billy Graham. I
can't preach it like Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I can preach it like Larry Stevens Furtick Jr.
I can preach it like I'm meant to preach it, and you can do it like you're built to do it,
you can build it like you're built to build it, you can say it like you're graced to say it,
you can move it like you know to move it, you can lead it like you know to lead it,
and you can win it if you'll use the weapon God gave you. Point number three. Say it out
loud. "…but it is the Lord's…" Say it again. "…but it is the Lord's…"
"Many are the plans in a person's heart…" David is just a person. He's a good person,
but he's a person. He's an anointed person, but he's a person. He's a strong person,
but he's a person. He's a faithful person, but he's a person, and he gets it wrong, just like
Samuel got it wrong. He thought God wanted him to do something, and now he has the disappointment.
Watch this in 1 Chronicles 28:3. He said, "I had it in my heart, and I made plans,
but God said…" Now let's put those two verses together. "I made plans…" (Verse
2) "…but God said." That's where some of y'all are today. "I made plans…" (Verse
3) "…and God butted in." Oh, we love to shout about "But God" in church.
"We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God…" You don't even have to try. If you just say,
"But God" in church, it is an instant reaction. I mean, this one… "I had plans." "But God said
to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and
have shed blood.'" In this moment of disappointment, David has a decision.
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's." Can we just minister to our
hearts for a moment? "But it is the Lord's." Just that will get you set free from anxiety. "But it
is the Lord's." Come on. Say it to the thing you're stressed about. "But it is the Lord's."
Say it over the battle you're fighting in your life right now. Say, "But it is the Lord's."
Say it over the plans you're making right now, the plan you're making for your life that you're
asking God to bless, the plan you're making for your life that you're asking God to bless.
You just want him to kick in a little funding, as if God is a venture capitalist and not the
sovereign God of heaven and earth, as if God just wants a percentage back over your life.
Any parents in the room? Wave at me. Say this over your family: "But it is the Lord's." "I'm worried
about my family. I'm trying to take care of my family. I'm doing the best I can for my family,
but you know one thing about this family? I'm giving it back, because it is the Lord's. He
gave it to me. He knew I would need the wisdom I need right now, so I might as well ask him for it.
He said if I ask him of wisdom, I can ask it from God, and he giveth to all
men liberally and upbraideth not. But he that asks must not doubt in his heart,
for he that doubteth is like a wave of the sea, tossed and driven with the wind. He is
an unstable man. He is a double-minded man, and he will be unstable in all he does."
But when you believe that wisdom belongs to God, power belongs to God, answers belong to God,
solutions and strategies belong to God, peace belongs to God… I just want to ask a question.
Are you trying to ask God to give you peace,
but you will not give him your plans? It is the Lord's. It is the Lord's.
Get in your car today, and when you sit down in it, just make a confession over your car. "It
is the Lord's." You're like, "Well, the Lord is not picking up the car note. Apparently,
he didn't get the memo that we have joint ownership over this vehicle." That is not
the point. The point is you wouldn't have it if it weren't for him, so get grateful. It's junky,
but it's not a bicycle. It is the Lord's. And if it's a bicycle, it is the Lord's.
If it's cheese and bread that God put in David's hand, it is the Lord's. And if it's
an assignment he gave you in a season, it is the Lord's. It is the Lord's. David is disappointed.
He wanted to build a temple, but God said, "Not you. This is not the job for you. It
does not align with your background. It does not align with your identity. It
does not align with your timing. I know it is your plan, David, but you are a person."
Not every plan that is in a person's heart comes from the Lord. "Many are the plans…"
Some come from him; some come from others. I'm tired of you being in needless pain
because you are holding so tightly to your plan. Your life is blessed. You don't feel
blessed because you're looking at a blueprint that has nothing to do with your life. Stop
comparing. Stop complaining about it. It is the Lord's. "The Lord giveth, and the Lord
taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." It is the Lord's. "…but it is the Lord's…"
David said, "I wanted to. I had it in my heart to. I bought the software to design the temple.
I was drawing up plans, but God said to me, 'No, not this, David. I've done a lot in your life,
and I'm not done with you, and there is going to be a temple, but you are not the one to build
it.'" David continues to explain to the people on that day how God spoke to him, how what he thought
was not what God had in mind, how what was in his heart was not what God had in his plan.
"For I know the plans I have for you…" And he rose to his feet and said, "I made plans,
but God said, 'You are not to build it.'" Verse 4: "Yet the Lord, the God of Israel,
chose me…" Now, here's what I think is happening. I think David is dealing with the disappointment
that "I'm not going to get to build what I want to build. I'm not going to get it exactly like
I want to get it. I'm not going to be able to do the thing I thought I was able to do."
He deals with that disappointment by getting a bigger picture of his entire life. "Yet the Lord,
the God of Israel, chose me from all my family to be the king over Israel. There were seven
brothers bigger than me, and God chose little ol' me. He chose Judah as leader…" That was the tribe
that was least expected for the king to come from. Benjamin was the kingly tribe, not Judah.
This is not the right tribe. This is not the right son. This is not the right anything,
but it's still God's plan. This is not the human anything, but it's still heaven's
strategy. "He chose me. I was small. He chose Judah. We were the wrong tribe. He
chose from the tribe of Judah my family. Out of 400,000, he picked Jesse's family,
and from my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel."
"He is my King over all my life. God has given me this opportunity. God has given me this breath.
God has given me this stewardship. God has given me this influence. I wanted to do it,
and I really still want to do it, and I don't like it, but it is the Lord's. It's not mine;
it's the Lord's." Say it. "It's not mine; it's the Lord's."
Tell your neighbor, "It's not yours." Come on, tell them convincingly. You've got to
say that with some oomph. Say, "It's not yours; it's the Lord's." It's not yours;
it's the Lord's. Where have we heard this before? In the Valley of Elah, when a shepherd boy showed
up with a lunch, and there was a giant named Goliath that he did not plan for, but God did.
He planned to bring lunch; God planned to bring freedom. He showed up on the battle lines.
Some of the best stuff that happens is not in your plan. Start looking around for God to do
purposes that don't fit in your plan. When he got to the battle lines… Can I preach about
when he got to the battle lines? Can I preach about the first significant moment that made
David recognized by Saul and that elevated him to the position God had for him? I'm
not saying that God wants to make you a king or the president. I don't even know if God wants to
make you the principal of a middle school. He may or he may not, but the principle applies.
David got to the Valley of Elah, and 1 Samuel 17:47 says, "Thus, all those gathered here…"
This is what David said as a young man. "All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword,
it is not by spear…" Everything you brought to this fight is not what God is going to
use. Everything you thought it was going to take is not what it's going to take.
"It is not by sword, it is not by spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is not mine,
but it is the Lord's." I need to find a Pentecostal church I can preach this in tonight.
I showed up at the "Episcopalian Baptist First Church of the Frozen Chosen." But I came to
tell somebody, "This battle is not yours." Stop stressing. Stop freaking out. Tell your neighbor,
"It's not yours, but it is the Lord's." But it is the Lord's. And if it is his battle, he's got
my back in this battle. I want to high-five my neighbor. It is the Lord's. It is the Lord's.
It is his breath in my lungs, so I ought to praise him. "But it is the Lord's." Stop trying
to do it alone. It is the Lord's. Tag your partner. It is the Lord's. Call on heaven.
It is the Lord's. Pray in the Spirit. It is the Lord's. It's his house. It's his plan.
It's his hand. "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's…"
David said, "I got to thinking about my life,
and I realized I didn't get this far by planning. I didn't get this far on my
plans. They didn't even plan to have me in the house when they came through for
the king auditions. I didn't get this far on my plans, so I'm going to hand him the plan."
The word of the Lord. Hand him the plan. Oh, you're going to sleep so good,
like you had three glasses of warm cookies and cold milk with the ice all around the rim of the
glass. Just drink that down like a big swig. "Many are the plans…" I know you've got some plans that
aren't working out. I know you feel behind. I know you feel frustrated. I know there are
some things God is allowing others to do, feel, and experience that you're not getting to feel,
do, and experience. "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's…"
Point four (and I close). I want to tell you about a purpose that prevails. Prevails is
just a fancy way to say wins, so maybe we could say, "God's will wins." Maybe we could say,
"God will win." "If God is for me…" You think I'm trying to be Ric Flair. I'm quoting the Bible.
"Who can be against me? But it is the Lord's." "It's too big for me, but it is the Lord's."
He said that about Goliath, and he said that about the temple. "It is the Lord's purpose
that prevails." I got up on my feet today to tell you something David wanted you to know.
Even if you feel like you're in your plan B of your life…let me keep preaching…plan C,
plan D-E-F-G, plan L-M-N-O-P, his purpose prevails. Even if you thought,
"We'll be in here five years…" Do you know what God likes to do for entertainment?
God likes stand-up comedy, so he listens to you make your plans.
He likes that. That's a good night for the Lord. The Lord pops popcorn and sits back and laughs.
"Haha! I like a good comedy. Listen to where they think they're going to be in three years. I've got
stuff for them along the way that they don't even know about." I want to talk to you about purpose
that prevails, and I need to give you one more detail. Can I give you one more detail? I know,
technically, you have reached a satiation point where you probably have had enough of this word,
but I will not sleep good if I don't tell you this last point.
The Lord told David, "I'm going to use one of your sons to build the temple. Not you. I'm going to
use you, but I'm not going to do it through you. I'm going to do it through Solomon." Verse 5:
"Of all my sons…" He had many sons.
"Of all my sons—and the Lord has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of
the kingdom of the Lord over Israel." Verse 6: "He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will
build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.'"
You say, "Well, of course he chose Solomon. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Right?"
By the way, in our family Bible club right now we're reading Song of Solomon. Let me tell you,
you don't know awkward unless you've been in a Bible club with your 14-year-old daughter trying
to text about the Song of Solomon in a group chat with your wife. It's a whole situation. But the
Song of Solomon is not the only book Solomon wrote. He also wrote a book called Proverbs.
One of those proverbs, of all the many he wrote, was Proverbs 19:21.
Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart,
but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." I wonder, when he wrote that,
did he think back to the moment where his father David said, "I had it in my heart to do it"?
I wonder if it was even more powerful for Solomon, considering the circumstances of
his birth. Solomon was born in a very strange circumstance in a very sorrowful time. You see,
David's brilliant mind that conceived the temple was a mind that was also very
tempted. He built the temple, but he was tempted. A person's heart.
Let me stop. That's what's going on in you right now. You are a temple that God is building,
but you are tempted, not because there's something wrong with you but because
there's something God is going to release through you. David, in all his creativity,
could cause himself real problems, because "Many are the plans…" He had plans to do
good. He had plans to do bad. "Many are the plans…" Don't look at me like the only
words you said this week were "Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus." "Many are the plans…"
David, one springtime, decided not to go fight the battle, and he walked around his rooftop,
and he saw a beautiful woman bathing. Her name is Bathsheba. He said, "Go and get her. I want her."
The same mind that was able to conceive something as beautiful as a temple
conceived a sin that he committed that was very grievous in the sight of the Lord.
In fact, the Lord never even calls Bathsheba David's wife. He calls her the wife of Uriah
the Hittite. That was the man David stole her from, and the Lord didn't like it. The Lord
didn't like it one bit. "Many are the plans in a person's heart." The same mind that built the
temple was tempted. It's a struggle of flesh and Spirit in your life right now. Do you
understand that in this student section? It is a struggle in the Spirit for your life right now.
In one season David was very courageous, and in one season he was the kind of coward that slept
with another man's wife and had that man killed on the front lines of battle. The Lord didn't
like it, and he sent Nathan, the same prophet who turned around and said, "Hey, you don't
get to build the temple" years earlier. He turned around and said, "You shouldn't have done that."
And there's going to be a consequence. In fact, the child that was conceived from that act died.
David fasted and wept and prayed and wouldn't eat, and it still didn't change the consequence.
So now, in this moment, David is very depressed, disappointed,
and guilty. He probably wrote Psalm 51. He was a man of many songs. He was also a man
of many sins and many sons. "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the
Lord's purpose that prevails." That child was given no name because that child never lived.
After David wept, he got up and washed his face. They said, "Have you lost your mind?
The child died, and you're getting up and eating. When the child was still alive,
you were fasting and praying." David said, "Well, I thought the Lord was going to heal him,
but now that he didn't, I have to move on." David goes in to Bathsheba. He takes his wife
and comforts her. He makes love to her, and they conceive a child, and they name him Solomon.
Now, decades later, David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Lord.
He has a plan God gave him for the temple, and he has a son named Solomon that God gave him after
the worst failure of his life. First Chronicles 28:11 says he made a decision. "Then David gave
his son Solomon the plans…" Isn't it just like God and just like grace that the son who was
born after his worst sin was the one God chose to build the temple he would live in? I want
you to begin to clap your hands today, because it doesn't matter what mistakes you've made.
It doesn't matter how much time you've lost. It doesn't matter how bleak it
has looked. It doesn't matter what weapon has been formed against you. It doesn't
matter what the Enemy is sowing in your heart to try to discourage you. Hand him
the plans. The same son who was born of the wife that David never should have even had…
God said, "I will redeem that too, and I will use the mistake you made." I'm preaching to somebody,
and I don't know who it is yet. "I will use the thing you thought I couldn't use.
I will take the plans I gave you. I will take the purpose I put in you," if you will hand
him the plans. I picture Solomon, years later, sitting down with his pen and writing Proverbs
19:21. "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Solomon knew, "I wasn't even supposed to be here." Solomon knew, "I wasn't even supposed
to be born." Solomon knew, "I wasn't born in the best circumstance." But Romans 8:28 says,
"All things…" All things, mistakes and major successes. All things, failures and… "All things
work together for the good of them that love God and are called according to his purpose."
So, I am preaching to somebody today that is not living in your plan,
but you're still in his purpose. I'm preaching to somebody today who didn't even follow his plan,
but the Lord is so good that if you hand him the plan… God said,
"Hand me the plan. If you've got 10 years left, hand me 10 years.
If you don't have many brain cells left, hand me the ones you've got left. If you've got nothing
left to offer me but a broken heart, lift your hands with a broken heart and bless the name of
the Lord." Hand him the plan. Stand to your feet and do just like this, and hand him the plan.
Hand him the plan…where you thought you'd be by now (you're thinking too small),
what you thought you were supposed to be (you're looking at the wrong blueprint). Hand him the
plan. You are his temple. Hand him the plan. Let him build it how he knows to build it. Let him
bring who he wants to bring. Let him remove who he wants to remove. Let him do what he wants to do.
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Now, if you take your hands and just put them like this, just like that… I think what the Lord wants
us to take away from this message that Holly can cover in Highlights (hand me my tight shot,
please) is you need to be open-handed with the plan but keep a firm grip on
the purpose. Open-handed with the plan, but I'm certain about the purpose. "I know God wants to
get glory out of my life. I know he wants to get glory out of my life. I know God wants
to fill this temple with glory. I know God wants to work all things together for good."
I'm going to ask you one more thing. Was Bathsheba part of the blueprint too?
If he works all things together, do you really think there's anything about you that would stop
him from building? Stop letting the Enemy cut you off at the place of your last mistake. Fast, pray,
repent, do better, and move on, because it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
This is a strong word. It is a strong word. It is hard to hand him the plan. It's hard to say,
"Okay, God. You know, my kids aren't turning out like I think they should." Wait. Stop and think
about that for a minute. "My kids aren't turning out how I think they should. I can't get them to
do what I want them to do." You can't even get you to do what you want you to do. Hand him the plan.
Clap those hands real quick or I'm going to keep prophesying.
So, when you go to lunch today, realize that you not only heard four points but
you learned a proverb. You learned that "Many are the plans…" And watch
this. Plans. If the first one didn't work, God has already got another one cooking.
"Many are the plans in a person's heart…" That's where the battleground is. That's where the fight
is. God is looking for a person after his own heart. "…but it is the Lord's…" Open your hands
one more time. It is the Lord's. Whatever you need to give him today… You know what it is. I
don't know what it is. I don't live with you. You know what it is. Say, "It is the Lord's
purpose that prevails."
God, I thank you that in spite of everything I've gone through, all things are working together for
the good of those who love you and are called according to your purpose. Now, Lord, we hand
you the plan. We hand you the plan for what it looks like to be us in this season of our lives.
We hand you the plan for the space we think we're supposed to occupy. We offer ourselves to you.
Hey, thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube. I want you to subscribe. That way you
can know when we go live and post new content. Make sure to leave me a comment. Let me know what
spoke to you today, where you're watching from, and what we can pray for you about. And if you'd
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reaching people around the world for Jesus Christ. Thanks again. I'll see you next time.
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