A Harvest Of Rest & Success | Pastor Emma Mullings

Well, we are in week three of our series, Harvest Time. And if you are visiting with us today, that is our word for the year, the prophetic word that God has placed over this house, and you are part of this house. So that is his word for you. It's Harvest Time. So get ready, it is gonna be an amazing year, 2026. And this is week three of this series. And we've talked about a harvest of relationships, harvest of riches. And today we are gonna dive in and talk about a harvest of rest. What does a harvest of rest look like in your life in 2026? And we believe that God does have a harvest of rest for you this year. And I actually, God spoke to me about this in the beginning of January. He said, I need you to work to enter the rest, which is a scripture. We labor to enter the rest. He said, during this 21 days of prayer and fasting, by the way, well done church, you're doing good. You're doing good, we're almost there, one more week to go. He said, I need you to work to enter the rest. I'm gonna download systems and structures that are going to enable you to be able to sustain the harvest that I have for you in 2026. So you do need to work to enter the rest. And that's what I have been doing over these 21 days,

just downloading from God, following his leading and direction. But there are systems and structures that he's gonna give you so that you can sustain the harvest that he has for you. And some of those I'm gonna share with you today. And I do believe that for 2026 to be your harvest of rest year, you do need a brand new system to be able to sustain the harvest of rest. I've titled this message, A Harvest of Rest and Success, amen. For those taking notes, we like to say here, note takers and history makers, I encourage you to take notes, A Harvest of Rest and Success. Because here's what I know, church, to enter into your harvest year, you can't bring the same mentality that you had in 2025. You can't expect to reap a harvest of rest in 2026 with the same habits, with the same mindset, with the same idols that you had in 2025. You can't walk into your harvest year with the same prayer life that you had in 2025. Harvest year is actually gonna put a demand on you to level up. It's gonna put a demand on you to level up in some areas because God can't put new wine in old wineskins that will break. I am a mother of four and two of those are teenagers.

And I only recently learned what this next generation of young people consider rest. And it's called bed rotting. Do you know what this is? Have you heard of this? Bed rot, I know it sounds disgusting, right? Bed rotting. So they will like say, I need a bed rotting day. Like I know I'm having a day bed rotting. And so they're in bed. They do sleep a lot, but they also scroll a lot. So there's dopamine hits and then they come down. Dopamine hits and then they come down. Their body and their mental capacity is actually exhausted. And my 16-year-old daughter, Hosanna, who yes, she's gonna get $20 because every time we mention one of our kids, they get $20, but it's worth it to tell you this story. Okay, my 16-year-old Hosanna, she does this. And honestly, it's disturbing to me some Saturdays how long she sleeps. I go to check on her. I'm like, is she alive? Like what's happening? But it's also disturbing to me how little she sleeps Monday through to Friday, because she stays up late studying till midnight every night and then she's up at 6 a.m. in the morning. And if there's gonna be tension between us, it's because I'm telling her you need to go to bed.

You need to go to bed. You're half a human because you're so tired. You need to change your systems and your structures. And I have gone into her bedroom and she has the covers over her and she's studying. She has a GPA of 4.88. I didn't know you could get a GPA higher than 4.0, but she does all these extra honors college classes. I don't know, she's in grade 10. I feel like it's a little unnecessary and I'm sorry to the Jamaican parents in the room, please try not to manifest. But I did say to her, would you just relax a little bit? You need to study a little less. See, you get degrees too, you know? And she's like, blasphemy, how could you say that? She's like, it's not normal for mothers to say that. And I'm like, well, they do. They also don't get scholarships, okay? So they're in debt for 20 years. But I just need you to relax a little. You can't go into 2026 doing it the same that you did in 2025. We need some boundaries in your life. We need some device limits. They're your friend. Bedtimes are your friend. To reap your harvest of rest in 2026. And as we dive into this word,

to see what a harvest of rest looks like from the word of God, I think it's important first to start with, you understanding what takes your rest. We need to know firstly, what takes people's rest. Because here's the thing. Often it's actually not, I need to work less. I need to have a day to get a babysitter. Sometimes it is a little bit of that. But most of the people I hear say, I need to work less. I'm like, girl, you work part-time. You don't even have a full-time job. But you scroll a lot. What I see take people's rest is you're holding unforgiveness. You're carrying bitterness. And that is exhausting. You're carrying offense. You have no discipline in your life. You have no structure in your life. Boundaries create rest. God has worked like this from the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. He put boundaries in place and we were meant to live a beautiful life of complete rest. It's when we broke the boundaries that He'd placed there, that we entered into the toil, to the stress, to a different way of living that was not restful. It's when we broke the boundaries that we messed it all up.

And we need to start here because today we're gonna break down Psalm 37 and see what God says about rest. But the foundation is you need to understand that you just cannot have rest and keep your idols at the same time. And some of us have made holding offense and idol in our life. Some of us have made needing validation and idol in our life. Some of us have made our social media an idol in our life. Some of us have made something that we're fighting for an idol in our life. And God never told you that that was your fight. Your pride told you that was your fight. So you're exhausted from this fight that God never called you to fight. You've made it an idol in your life and now you have no rest in your spirit. You spend your days thinking about it. You spend your nights thinking about it. And to enter into rest, some of us need some heart surgery because we're carrying stuff that we were not designed to carry. We're carrying rejection. We're carrying pain. We're carrying disappointment. We're carrying grief and it's exhausting. And there's no rest.

And some of us don't even know that that is why you've not entered into the harvest of rest. But as you put into practice what we're gonna break down today from the Word of God, everything is gonna change, amen. Everything is gonna change. Others of us in the room, and I think we need to mention this. We think we're good, but we've actually confused comfort and rest. Because comfort actually produces apathy. And to truly enter into a season of rest, we need to get discontent with apathy. If you wanna be interrupted by visitations of God's glory in your day to day, you need to get discontent with apathy. The enemy will place you in comfort. Don't confuse comfort and rest. Don't confuse apathy and rest from God. So I want us to dive into Psalm 37 today. And I want you to understand as we break down this scripture, this is written by David as an older man. And I think that's important because this is David who has lived some life. He's been through some stuff. He's seen some stuff. He's built a history with God over many, many years. So let's read it together. Psalm 37, one to seven.

It says, Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land. Feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him. Trust is there twice. We're gonna explain that. And he shall bring it to pass. Who's gonna bring it to pass? He will. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day. Rest in the Lord. There it is. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Verse seven, rest. But how do we get to that place of rest? We have to follow the pattern that he's laid out for us. Do not fret. Trust in the Lord. do good, dwell in the land, delight yourself in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, keep trusting again. And that's when you enter to that place of rest in Him.

We can't get rest until we've done all of the other things. And we're gonna touch on every single one of them briefly, because I need you to know what this looks like as you walk it out tomorrow, Monday through to next Sunday when you come back, amen. So he doesn't start this Psalm by saying to do something, he starts this Psalm by saying, don't do something. He's getting to the end of his life and he's saying, listen, do not fret. And I think God wants to say that to some of you here today, you're waiting on that promise of a child, he says, do not fret. You're waiting on that job, do not fret. You're waiting on your husband or your wife to maybe grow up a little bit, do not fret. You know, Hebrew is the language that this passage was originally written in. And it's important to see what the original Hebrew language, the meaning of these words, because we can unintentionally take things out of context. We need to put it in the day that it was written. What did it mean to them? Hebrew is the language this passage was originally written in and fretting is a very interesting Hebrew word. The word literally means to cause a fire to burn and it's related to anger. In fact, the Hebrew verb is always used in relation to anger and it literally means to kindle a fire and keep a fire burning, to stoke a fire and have it rise up.

So what this is saying in the original language is don't feed your anger. So you're waiting on that promise of a child, don't fret. Don't get angry about it. You worship in the wait for your miracle. You're waiting for that job, don't fret. Don't get angry about it. Don't stoke the fire with your anger. You're waiting on your husband or your wife to do something that you feel that you need them to do. Don't get angry about it. Don't stoke that fire of anger and frustration. Do not fret because of evildoers. Do not fret. You know, in the Bible, the answers are always hidden in plain sight. And if you're sitting here today and you've got a situation that you're facing and you're saying to yourself, do not fret, do not fret. Okay, do not fret. I'm not gonna fret, I'm not gonna fret. All you're gonna think about is fretting. Do not fret about the layoffs coming at work. Do not fret about the wayward child. We can actually unintentionally exalt the problem. Sometimes we can be so focused on not doing something that we unintentionally exalt the problem because we've put all our focus on that thing. It's like, if you have a challenge with fear and you're like, I'm not gonna be fearful,

I'm not gonna fear. Okay, I'm not gonna fear. All you're thinking about is fear. Okay, I'm gonna break that addiction. Okay, I'm not gonna smoke weed today. I'm not gonna smoke weed today. I'm not gonna smoke weed. I cannot smell weed. No, they didn't have weed. That weed would have been terrible. I would not smoke weed today. You've been thinking about weed all day. You can unintentionally exalt the issue, the antidote is always the key. The key is, and write this down if you're taking notes, the key is to focus on the antidote always. Focus on the antidote of the issue you're facing. So let me give you an example. Fear. His word says, perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4 16, and so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. Verse 18, there is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear. So if you're struggling with fear, you need to focus on the antidote, which is love. God is love. Perfect love drives out fear.

So if you would focus on the perfect love of the Father, His love for you, His all-encompassing, overwhelming love for you, that is gonna be the antidote to your situation. In 2 Timothy 1 7, it says, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a power, love, and a sound mind, which also tells us that fear is a spirit, which then lines up with 1 John 4 18, perfect love casts out fear, because you got to get rid of that demon, hidden in plain sight. And I want you to understand how these biblical principles work, because I see people unintentionally exalt the issue by giving it all of their focus, instead of focusing on the antidote that God has provided for that issue in His word. Psalm 37 starts with do not fret and ends in rest in the Lord. So let's look at what happens in between those scriptures. Verse two, for they shall be saved. Soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, verse three, and do good. Trust in the Lord. You know, some of us find it easier to trust God in different boxes of our life than in others. When I came into relationship with Jesus, I was 22. I'm a pastor's kid, born and raised in church.

But I left when I was 14, and I was so far away from God that when I came into genuine relationship with Him at 22, it was really felt like starting all over again. I felt like I had so much to learn. And I trusted God with certain areas of my life, but not with others. I trusted Him with the power that He has to heal us physically. Because I had debilitating asthma and God supernaturally healed me. As I came back and I had so many questions to God, for God, about healing, because my mom and my sister had died when I was younger. And I had so many questions about that. It's one of the things that kept me out of church for so long. And so I dove deep into His Word to see what His Word says. By His stripes, we are healed. We can stand on His Word. And I'm like, all right, I'm gonna try this, God. I'm gonna give you one last chance. And He supernaturally healed me of asthma. Absolutely gone, never had it since. So I had this box of my life that I trusted Him wholeheartedly, that He was gonna keep me healthy and strong. And yet I had this other box of my life that I found it very hard to trust Him with. And that was in the area of finances.

Because I'd grown up very poor and it really did impact our life and our childhood and our family life. My other sister's severely brain damaged, very high needs. And it was a hard life. And my dad was a pastor, built God's church faithfully for 43 years. So I'm like, I saw him do everything right, but he still had a hard life in this box. And I didn't really have trust for God in this area. And I remember I'd been in church just a few months and I'd made some radical, radical steps of faith. And I'm in this situation where I'm pretty broke because I turned down a record contract to go to Bible college full-time. And so I lived in another state, I'm doing all these classes, you only have so many hours in the week. I was living week to week and finances were extremely tight. And our pastor was talking about tithing and he's talking about Malachi 3.10. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, test me in this. And see, I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not be able to contain it. And you know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you because, well, I know because my heart is beating

really fast and my whole body feels hot. And I'm like, I know what you're saying. But I remember that day because I had $20 to my name. I had $20 and that was it. And I needed it that afternoon because I was going to do some work at a fair. And I knew I was driving there in the afternoon and I knew the parking was $20. And I knew that I could drive in and I could work, but I couldn't get my car out because you pay on the exit, right? So I needed that $20. And so I'm there and my pastor is talking about this and my heart's beating and I'm like having this argument with the good Lord. Like, I've only got $20. Like, do you know this, your God? What's gonna happen? But he was convicting me. He was speaking to me and that word says, test me in this. I'm like, all right. I put it in, the $20. And so after service, I'm going from church. I wasn't even gonna eat lunch. I'm going from church and I'm like, just kind of waiting around for someone to hand me some money. Cause you said, test me in this. I like, I put it in like. Anytime now guys, I hung around after that service

longer than I've ever hung around before, but no one handed me anything. So I'm driving out there to the fair to work and I am having a serious conversation with the good Lord. I wouldn't even call it a conversation cause it was just me speaking. And you know, it took a while for me to let him renew my language. So there were a lot of four letter words in there and I was very mad at God. I'm like, see what you did now. What am I gonna do? I'm like, this is so embarrassing. What am I gonna do? I'm gonna drive in. I'm gonna get stuck there. I can't call my old friends. You told me to separate from them. Now you're gonna see what you did now, God. I'm gonna have to call some of them. I don't wanna call my new friends. I don't know if I'm getting to know these people. I can't just be calling them, asking for money. I'm having this whole argument with the good Lord. I drive in there, I do the work. And while I was there, I left my bag open because I just wanted to make sure that I was not going to get stuck there. Because I just wanted to make it really easy for someone to bless me that day.

In my immaturity, I was 22 years old. I made sure that everybody knew that times were tough and that I really needed. $20 today. So I get to the end of the shift and I'm going through my bag which had been left wide open for anyone to drop anything in there. And there's no money in there. And I am stressed. So I go back to the parking lot, I get in my car and I'm like in the line and it's very busy because the fair was closing, there's people everywhere and I'm kind of thinking of how I'm going to get this, how I'm going to get out of the parking lot. I'm like I can just push the button 100 times and then everyone will beep and then they'll get annoyed and maybe they'll just open it for me. Or like I'm going through these scenarios in my head and as I'm in the line someone comes up, a parking attendant. Now Australia is much safer than America and I thought he was handing out tickets to everyone, I just took a ticket. I didn't think anything of it, I was too focused on what my plan was to somehow get myself out of this parking lot. I drive up because I was the next car, I put the ticket that he gave me in, I thought maybe he gave me a discount or something, it goes to zero and it lifts. And I was so shocked. And I'm looking around for this, like I wanted to say thank you, I'm looking around and he was nowhere, he was nowhere. To this day I am sure that that was an angel. Just to teach me a lesson. And so I drive out and I'm driving home crying again. Having a conversation with God again but this time I'm repenting, like I'm sorry, I'm sorry you said, I'm so sorry, so sorry for those four letter words, so sorry for swearing at you but I'm sorry you did say test me in this and I did and I'm sorry I'll do better. But it was the beginning of a journey of me learning to trust God in this box of my life. Because the truth is God knew that 18 years later he was going to call us to come here and plant this church and the only way to do that with four small children was to sow every single thing that we had. We'd been saving for a house for almost 10 years. We had $80,000 and we had to put it all in and the only reason I could do that is because I'd built my faith muscle of trusting God in my finances way back, way back. Some of us are fine, we trust God with our finances but we don't necessarily trust God in the area of relationships. That he's going to bring the right man or the right woman for you at the right time. Or you're like it's now's the time. Anytime God, like

what's happening? And this is the area that we have trouble trusting God. You know, Pastor Terrence, we've been married almost 18 years and yes, I've done well, haven't I? I've been very patient. I can't wait for the relationship series, it's so fun. And so 20 years ago when we were dating, and you'll hear more about this in the relationship series, I'll make sure of it. But he broke up with me three times, that's right. Not once, not twice but three times. And the third time, you're getting the tea today. But the third time he said to me, we will never get back together, you need to move on. Black and white. It was black and white. Do it again, do it again, this is helpful. So here's the thing, I was honestly very confused because I knew the voice of God. I'd been very obedient and made some big life changes and I knew the voice of God. And I thought that God had told me that he was my husband. Now listen, if you think that, do not tell them, it's weird. Okay? I never told him that, that was between me and God. But that is what I thought that God had said. So I was confused, like it really shook me. So he cut me off, like cut me off. Very awkward because we were in the same church, but anyway. And we went to different services, that's a whole other story. Okay, I'll save it for the relationship series. So I bought every book on overcoming relationship heartache, I went to see a great Christian counsellor because I'd been through so much healing and counselling, I'm like I can't let this trip me up, I gotta stay healed and whole. And so it was a journey of probably five, six months and I remember getting to that place of complete rest. It's like God, I thought it was Terrence, but I must have heard wrong. And I trust you to bring me the right person at the right time. And there was a sense of rest in my spirit. It's like it just dropped one day. I had rest because I'd chosen to trust God completely with this box of my life. And I truly trusted God that he was gonna bring me the right person at the right time. Some of you are very confused, because you're like, didn't you just say you've been married almost 18 years? So fast forward, Terrence, six months later, had an epiphany from the Lord. Oh my gosh, I made a mistake. Obviously.

But here's the thing, in my flesh, in my flesh, I said, he came back, I'm like, I'm really sorry, I made a mistake. I'm like, oh, we all know that. And I said, no, I said no, because in my flesh, but I did take the time to ask God about it. And the Holy Spirit told me, yes, give him another chance. So it was purely by being obedient and trusting God again, that this is what it is. But I knew that God was saying yes, because there was a kingdom assignment attached, there was a higher purpose attached to the union. So I chose to trust him again in this area. And here's the thing, fun fact, I said to God, if he does not have a ring in three months, I'm out. I'll give him three months. He knows me, I know him, he knows everything he needs to know. He proposed three months later. He didn't know this, by the way. And then we got married three months after that. So six months, six months after even considering giving him another chance, we were married. And then our beautiful Hosanna came immediately, praise the Lord, life changes very fast. Hold on, it's amazing. But some of us in our relationships is where we need to choose to trust God, to truly enter into that harvest of rest in 2026. Because I can assure you, he knows exactly what you need,

and he will bring the right person at the right time. You can rest in that. To truly enter into your harvest of rest, it's gonna put a demand on your ability to trust God. And this year, I want you to allow yourself to step into something that is gonna put a demand on some things in your life, put a demand on your spiritual maturity, on your emotional maturity, on your self-discipline, put a demand on you needing to die to your flesh. When you feel that pull this year, as God pulls you into the year of harvest, and you feel that pull, lean into it. Don't get an attitude and throw a tantrum, toddlers do that. But you are grown, and this is your year to be grown, lean into the growth. Just because you've always done it that way does not mean that you need to keep doing it that way. You'll never have rest in your spirit if you're outside of obedience to God. So lean in to what he has for you. Trusting God requires faith, and the only thing that will build that muscle is opposition. And this is where people get it wrong, they wanna grow in God, they wanna grow that faith muscle, but they don't want any risk involved. God, they ask God, I wanna grow in this area,

so he sends things into their world that would force them to lean into faith at a deeper level, to lean into trust at a deeper level, and they misinterpret it as an attack. But it's preparation. We wanna grow with no risk attached, but that's not faith. We gotta trust in God. So let's go back to Psalm 37. He says, Now here's the thing, do good, it's two words. We could skip over this, but I don't think we should. Because you need to know, church, that you reap what you sow. God forgives, he is a God of grace, not works. Please don't misunderstand this, but sometimes the pendulum can swing a little too far. You need to know that your harvest is a harvest from what you have planted. So you will not have a harvest of rest if you keep sowing negativity, sowing disunity, sowing sin, sowing negative words against people, sowing disobedience. If you sow disunity in your church, you will not reap favor from God or man. If you sow disunity in your workplace, you will not reap a harvest of a promotion. Do good. And often do good is associated with you having to die to your flesh. And that's why we can't skip over this. You have to be obedient to God.

Dying to your flesh may feel painful in the moment, but it will produce rest in God's sovereignty over your life. Because remember, he does not bless your intentions. He blesses your activity and your obedience. Number four, because we're gonna get through all of these. What's the next one? Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Dwell is an. Old Testament word that we sometimes see written in the Old Testament as tabernacle, it's interchangeable. And most times in the Old Testament, it was used as a reference to God setting up a tent in our midst of his presence. But one interesting fact about this is that it often infers to a longer time, not for now. In fact, it always infers to a longer time, not just for now, but for a long time. So where is the land that he has called you to? If this is your church, dwell in it, dwell in it. Prepare to stay for a long time, put your roots down, join a team, join a group. You church, not me, you are about to launch a third service. And maybe you've had one foot in and one foot out, but it's time to dwell in the land. It's time to dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. You can't feed on his faithfulness if you're not dwelling in the land. Dwell in the land, put your roots down. If you're coming every second week,

you're missing half the story. Dwell in the land, feed on his faithfulness. What's next? Delight yourself in the Lord. Delight yourself in the Lord. Number five, delight yourself in the Lord. And this word, delight, in the original Hebrew means delicate and soft, luxurious. And listen, when David wrote this, it was a harsh life. It was a hard life. It was unusual for people who lived the rough life they lived back then to experience delight and softness. It's a contrast to their daily lives that were very harsh. And he's saying, make the Lord something special. Make him a contrast to how you would normally live. Delight in the Lord, spend time in worship, time in the Word, time in his presence in prayer. And as I was preparing this message, I truly felt that God was saying to me that there is a call on us as the body of Christ to rise in prayer. We all need to rise in our prayer life. You know, back in November last year, I had a dream. Sometimes God speaks to me in dreams and I saw angels and demons fighting. The angels had armor on. They were big angels. They were overpowering the demons, but nevertheless, there was a battle. They were working hard

and they were all around our bedroom. They were all around our family home and they were all around this church, this building. And the Word of the Lord pierced through the dream and he said, engage the intercessors. Engage the intercessors. See, church, he knows what's happening across the earth. It's powers and principalities, not flesh and blood. We are taking ground for the kingdom. Starting this third service is not just a fun, pretty thing to do. It is a spiritual thing that we are doing. It is something that we are doing that is significant. We are taking ground for the kingdom of God. We are extending the tent pegs of this house. We are extending the reach of the kingdom of God for more people to come into relationship with Jesus, for more people to discover the love and hope and grace that is found in Jesus Christ, for more people to come and experience God and have their marriages revived, to have their families reunited. The enemy does not like that. There is a battle. So consider yourselves engaged intercessors. You are the intercessors. This is your house. It is time to pray. Your current prayer life is not conducive to the new level that God has for you.

You won't find yourself in a harvest of rest in 2026 or God has for you in 2026 if you're carrying your prayer life that you had in 2025. Delight yourself in the Lord. Wait for a response from Him because He wants to speak to you. Give Him time on your calendar like you would a meeting. Allow time for an exchange in His presence. Delight in His presence. And what do I mean by allow time for an exchange? Well, Isaiah said in Isaiah 40, 31, those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. Waiting on the Lord means I spend time waiting in His presence. And as I wait in His presence, there is a transfer that takes place. I wanna encourage you, church, take half an hour, turn all the distractions off, focus on God, turn your attention and your affection towards God, become conscious and aware of His presence. His word says in James, as you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. Make it your daily mission to spend time in the presence of God. And what you are carrying on your shoulders that feels so heavy, there will be an exchange that takes place and it will go to His shoulders and He is fully able to carry it. and you will be lighter, you will be free. And if you feel it coming back during the day,

well, you say to your boss, I need to get something from my car, and you go and get something, integrity, get something from your car, and you pray, and you do it again, and you give the exchange. You continually go back to that place of prayer. And for those who pray in the spirit, for those who pray in tongues, you pray in tongues. Isaiah said, this is the rest, and this is the refreshing, and he's talking about praying in tongues. It's a gift from the Holy Spirit. It's not given for spiritual entertainment. It's given for spiritual power, where you and I can discover the rest of God as we stir up that inner man, that inner woman. And the beauty of speaking in tongues is that your brain is not aware of what you're saying. Scripture says, he who speaks in an unknown language speaks not unto men, but unto God, in 1 Corinthians 14.12. And there are different kinds of tongues, but this kind, speaking to the Lord in a manner that activates your spirit and calms down your mind will enable you to reach that place of rest in God. Let deep call out to deep. You don't need to be articulate and know exactly what to say. You just let deep call out to deep. It's a river. And if you have invited Jesus into your heart, you have access to it. So ask for it.

Ask for it. You have access to all the gifts. When Moses was leading his people to the promised land, the Lord said, I will go with you and I will give you rest. Delight yourself in the Lord. You know, when we pray, we're drawing near to God and we exchange our weakness for his strength. Guidance comes into our thinking. All of a sudden we know what to do. You know, when you're suffering, the Bible doesn't say to call up your pastor. It says, if anyone among you is suffering, let them pray. James 5.13, let them pray. And I think there's people, and I've done this before myself, so there's no judgment here. But there is people looking for like, if I can just get to that conference, or maybe if that person could pray for me, something will shift and break. But no, no, no. His word says, if my people will pray, the miracle is in your mouth. This one thing will shift everything for you in 2026. If my people will pray, Chronicles 7.14. God is looking for men and women of prayer that have that fire of prayer burning in their life. Delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find your harvest of rest in 2026. Jesus describes it to his disciples like this.

In John 14.27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. Peace equals rest. I do not give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Paul goes on to talk about this again in Colossians 3.15. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, since as members of one body, you were called to peace. So when you give your heart to Christ, you not only get heaven and Jesus, you get peace, and peace equals rest. You have this access, but you won't even know it if you don't delight yourself in the Lord and spend time with him in prayer. Rest is not the absence of problems. Rest is awareness of the presence of God in the middle of the problem. When you fully understand this, you will reap a harvest of rest no matter what is going on on the outside. You'll reap a harvest of rest because you've built a lifestyle of everything that is shown in Psalm 37, trusting, dwelling, delighting. Listen, you actually don't need a break from serving a couple of hours each week to get your harvest of rest. We need to learn how to withdraw like Jesus did every day of the week. Please don't let an undisciplined, messy calendar mute a holy calling that he has placed on your life

to serve the house of God, to build his bride, to build his kingdom. He's placed a call on your life. Your key is not serving. Your key is withdrawing every single day, just like Jesus did. And young people, Christian content is not the same as spending time with Jesus. How long are you spending on TikTok, Instagram, all the things, Snapchat, YouTube? Make sure you withdraw directly here from your father. Delight yourself in the Lord. Number six, the next in this scripture, commit your way to the Lord. Commit your way to the Lord. Many of us are being driven instead of being led. You're living in your tomorrow, and because of that, you can't find any peace, any rest in your today. Waiting may be the greatest teacher and training, and I think of godliness, waiting. But his word says, wait on the Lord, and you will renew your strength. Galatians 5.25 says, since we live by the spirit. Let us keep in step with this Spirit. When you commit your way to the Lord, which is what it says is the next step, you can have self-control to keep in step with the Spirit.

So when he says go faster, you'll go faster. When he says slow down, you'll slow down. And during this 21 days of prayer and fasting, I hope that you are committing your year to the Lord. And that isn't telling Him what you're gonna do this year, it's asking Him what you should do this year. Dwelling in His presence, being led by Him, can I ask you, who is guiding your life? How do you make decisions? And I wanna offer some relief to you because there's a way of living that Jesus did that put the guidance of His life not in His hands, but He was led by the Spirit of God. And if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have the Holy Spirit. Maybe you've just never spoken to Him. And if you've never accepted Jesus, I'm gonna give you an opportunity to do that in about 10 minutes time. But John 14, 23 says, but the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace, I leave with you. My peace, I give to you. I do not give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. We have a guide and an advocate on this earth is what this says, the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 13, 14 says, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship means relationship. It means spending time together. He wants to spend time with you. So let's go back to the scripture. It says to commit your way to Him, to find your harvest of rest, you have to make His voice the loudest, to truly commit your way to Him. Galatians 5, 17, for the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. And we're calling them to go back to their true deal and their true life in love. Go, touch, spread, not depend on one another but fie on one another, and what is contrary to the Spirit is telling us to love one another. The French like to say each other, they fuck that the fuck up shit, they are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want. You need to know this, you'll be able to discern good opportunities and God opportunities because you know you can climb that ladder and realize when you get to the top, it's leaning on the wrong building,

that's not what God called you to. It all comes down to whether you are being led by the Spirit, whatever fills you, leads you. What are you filled with? You need to be aware and you need to be filled with the Spirit of God to be able to truly commit your way to Him and find rest in that. And committing your ways to God might not always look like what you think it will look like. I wanna show you this Luke 4, 1, Jesus full of the Holy Spirit left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil. Well, I'm sure that wasn't fun. But the results of being led by the Spirit, verse 14, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and news about him spread through the whole countryside. The passage goes on to say a few verses later, he enters the temple, he opens the scroll and he declares the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. If you're asking God, God, please lead me, I'm committing my ways to you,

don't fight it, whatever it looks like, you need to understand this, the Holy Spirit will lead you into battle, but it's a battle between you and your destiny. David was led onto the battlefield and that was his doorway to promotion. He took down Goliath, he got the crown and the girl, okay? The Holy Spirit will lead you into battle, the Holy Spirit will lead you into unfamiliar circumstances. It may not make sense, but it'll make a difference and the Holy Spirit will lead you to your breakthrough. For some of you, the Holy Spirit is gonna prompt you to go and apologize to that person and that is your breakthrough and theirs. Be obedient to what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. As some of you, this is where your breakthrough lies, to enter into your harvest of rest in 2026, we have to commit our ways to the Lord. Some of us have forfeited our authority in Christ by choosing not to be led. He leads us to grow us, to mature us. So let's go back to the Scripture again. Do not fret, trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land, feed on His faithfulness, delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you. the desires of your heart. Someone needed to hear that. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness.

By the way, next week, we're talking about a harvest of righteousness. Be here for that as the light and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. I want you to look at this as a whole passage. Who is gonna do it? Who is gonna do it? Feed on His faithfulness. He shall give you the desires of your heart. He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness. He's gonna do it. We just need to do what He tells us to do. So what I wanted to do is I wanted to end this service just a little bit different. And service is not over yet. Do not go anywhere. We just need five more minutes. I want the leadership team to come and in front of you is a white card. I want you to pull out that card. If you're in the front row, there should be some on the seats next to you in a pen. And I want you to take a minute to write down just one thing from this message that you are gonna actively implement tomorrow. Not this year, don't make it vague, tomorrow. It's very important to me that you don't just hear a message and feel like that was inspiring,

but you actually have handlebars of how to walk this out in your life. That's discipleship. What does this look like growing and walking this out in my Monday to Saturday? And I've asked our worship team not to lead us in worship, but to sing over you. So you're gonna stay seated. They are gonna sing over you. But as they get ready, I just wanna give you an opportunity if you've never invited Jesus into your heart to do that today, because you can't do any of this without Him. And let me tell you, it's so much better with Him. It's the best decision you'll ever make. So let's just take 30 seconds. If you just close your eye, bow your head, just to respect the privacy of those around you. If you've never accepted Jesus into your heart, His word says, if you believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, then you will be saved. We're gonna pray a prayer. We're gonna pray it with you. I'm not gonna embarrass you. I'm not gonna pull you out of your seat. In fact, we're gonna pray it with you. This is between you and God. So while everyone's eyes are closed, their head is bowed, if that's you and you wanna invite Jesus into your heart,

or maybe you wanna recommit your life to Him. Maybe like me, you grew up in church, but you know that you've been far away from God. I want you just to raise your hand boldly in your seat. Raise your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Keep your hand raised. Amen, amen. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand here. Thank you, I see your hand. I see your hand, but heaven sees your heart response. Heaven sees your heart posture, and heaven is celebrating. So let's pray this with them. Say, dear Jesus, I invite you into my heart today. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I commit to follow you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen, amen, amen. Hey, I want you to stay seated. I want you to write on that card, and our worship team, they're gonna sing over you, and towards the end, they're gonna invite you to join with them, but I want you to take time, write on that card, and just be refreshed with a spirit of rest in this place

as they sing. ♪ Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus you're worthy ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name above it all ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus you're worthy ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name above it all ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name above it all ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Only your name Jesus ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Jesus, there is no other name, there is no other name that can save, that can heal the heart. Oh, it's only your name. Jesus be the name. Oh, for every family. Oh, for every marriage. Oh, Jesus be the name. There is no other name, there is no other name like yours.

Jesus, yeah. Jesus, you're worthy. Paula, your harvest is worth fighting for. I need to understore it again because God needs you to know that your harvest is worth fighting for. When Abraham went to do a sacrifice, the Bible says he got the lamb, he got the goat, cut them in half. But then the birds and the vultures of the air came and tried to steal the harvest of sacrifice. He had to fight them off. The promise land is not a sign that you're outside of God's will. Because the giants didn't turn up until they're about to enter the promise land. Leaving the wilderness, there was no giants until it was time to enter in. The giants you see now are a sign that you're closer than you think. There is no other name, the harvest is worth fighting for. What a word. Can we thank Pastor Emma? Come on now. You have spent time with Jesus and, you know, there was seven points that will move us from fretting to resting. Your daughter just got married yesterday. A very special moment. And I see a veil that was causing separation that has been ripped. And it's not from the bottom to the top, it's from the top to the bottom.

It's the same veil that was torn at Jesus' sacrifice. It has already been torn. But you've just turned to see it. And God doesn't just look at intention as Pastor Emma said, he looks at actions. And God has seen your action and God has seen your heart where you have dwelt in his presence. And in his presence doesn't mean the absence of problems. His presence means there's provision in the middle of the problem. So the presence of Jesus with the disciples didn't mean they averted the storm. It just means his presence in the storm was able to calm the storm and say, peace, be still. And I see that there was a wrestle that was happening that God says, it's over. It's over. It's a new day. It's in a new season. And the demons that came to attack the angels of the Lord, the angels of the host of heaven have fought on your behalf and there has been victory in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Thank you, Jesus. So some of you are sitting right now and you're thinking, is he going to come to me with a word next? You've got your word. So from do not fret, how many things are bolded? Count them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

How many? I left one out. Let's try it again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Eight things are bolded. One of the questions we ask people and we encourage you to ask at the end of every service is what did God say to you? So in your friendships, in your relationships, as you walk out the door, ask the person next to you, what did God say to you? Because God speaks through his word and there is so much hidden in plain sight that God has for you to get out of the fretting. It means fretting and fret doesn't mean to worry or be afraid. Fret means you've been stoking up a fire of anger, a fire that frustrates you. And God says, no, no, I've got something better for you. And there needs to be a repentance. And here's what I think. We got content that's coming out over the next seven days as we finish the fast. But I think right there, Emma said from do not fret to rest are these one, two, three, four, five, six, seven things that we can do, all of eight. I encourage you to take one day and focused on each one of those and see what God's saying to you. Let me tell you what God said to me. There are eight things up there, but God showed me two more. It says, do good, dwell in the land and do what?

Feed. If you highlight feed on the land, because some of you are in the land, but you refuse to eat. God has brought you into green pastures, but you won't eat. You know, like you put the food in front of the kids. It's like, I don't want that broccoli. No, no. And sometimes God says, I will make you lie down. And I think this moment of rest is where you're gonna find a rest and you're gonna start to, your diet and your appetite will change and you will eat in the goodness of the land. That's what God's telling me to do. Terrence, I brought you in a promised land. And if you keep working, you're gonna wear yourself out. You got to sit down and you need to rest and receive the good food like was given here today. When it says rest in the Lord at the end, there's one more thing he says to do. Rest in the Lord and, and what? Wait on the Lord. There's a lot of striving that happens in our generation. We talk about the grind, the grind, the grind. No, no, no, no. I don't want my knees to grind. And they're getting older. They're starting to grind. No, no, no.

I wanna glide. I want the grace of God upon my life. And you'll only enter that. So if you highlight those two, how many are highlighted now? Eight plus two equals 10. 10 is the number of testing. There is a, God can trust me with the tithe. He can trust me with money. I will never be, that won't be my area where I fall. Where I might fall is where I got to watch the pride where I think it's all on me. You know how you can smell pride? It's a man or woman who will never rest. You know that saying, no days off, evil, demonic. God showed us at the beginning of creation, you need to take seven days and then rest. But there is a greater rest that Pastor Emma spoke about. That was for me today, every day. Withdraw in his presence. Oh my Lord, what a revelation to step into the new season that God has for us of harvest. So that's what God said to me. You see how rich that was? Because 10 is the number of testing. He's testing, can we learn to rest or are we gonna try to build this thing in our own? Because unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers build in vain. Unless God stands watch over the city, those who stand watch stand in vain.

And God is watching over you and he's here. So I don't know what you wrote on those cards, but please don't leave until you've written something. But please don't leave without asking someone as you walk out today. Wives, ask husbands, husbands, ask wives, friendships, children, youth, ask each other, because that was a word in season. One more time, let's thank God for that word and thank Pastor Emma for bringing it in Jesus' name. Well, just where you are, lift your palms to heaven as though you're receiving. Give me that little thing, that was really nice. Lord, I'll name your name. So Father, we just thank you that your presence is here. I thank you that you're pouring out fresh bread, you're pouring out healing rain, whatever is needed. I'm looking at a couple right now who came and told me last week that at daughter's conference his wife was getting prayed for, I won't tell you who, but there's miracles literally in this room who are products of trusting God. They received a word. You received a word here today, and I want you to agree with that word, speaking it over your life. And so God, I just speak life over every word that was spoken in this message. God, I thank you for divine turnarounds that are happening in people's life.

You've been striving, you've been stressed, you've been anxious, but I break the spirit of fear. I break the spirit of anxiety on your life. You will no longer be tormented in your sleep. I declare over you in Jesus name that angels are watching over your house. angels are watching over your room but greater than that the Spirit of the Living God is living inside of you and He fights your battles. He has already won the war. Do not worry about tomorrow. Do not worry about yesterday. I, the Lord, am fighting on your behalf. You will walk into the promised land. You will walk into a new day. You will walk into a new season. It's a season of blessing. It's a season of harvest. It's a season of good news. Do not fret. Do not worry. Do not be afraid. For I am with you, says the Lord. I will never leave you. I will never abandon you. You are my son. You are my daughter. You are a child of God. Can you believe that? Stand in this place and worship Him one more time. Yes, Jesus, Jesus. Amen, amen. Hey, heaven is celebrating and we are celebrating with you and we want to walk this journey together. So, if you prayed that prayer or you just want to know more about Jesus, follow the prompts that are on the screen right now. We are so proud of you and honestly God's vision for you is to see you live that better story, epic and eternal, we say like this, to see you holy, healthy, happy and bring in heaven to earth. And if you're watching and you want to help others find Jesus like that, you can partner with us and together we can make that epic difference. Hey, giving details are coming up on the screen and we just say if God's blessed you, you can be a blessing to other people as well. And hey, if you're here in the South Florida area, we'd love to see you in person. Check out the description below for times and the location where you can come to a service. We would love to see you soon. This is History Makers Chat where friends truly become family. See you soon.