Will I Stay? Or Will I Run? [Live] 08/30/2026

So good to see you all! We have Pastor Brandon Estelle with us today. Come on, let's worship King Jesus! Even though I couldn't earn it, You gave it. Everybody sing it! Who am I that You keep beyond Your mind? God, I'm just grateful for You. God, I'm just grateful for You. All my life, You've been right here by my side. God, I'm just grateful for You. God, I'm just grateful for You. Holy, holy, there's only one. I give You glory for all that You've done. Even though I don't deserve it, You did it. Even though I couldn't earn it, You gave it. Come on, everybody sing it! Who am I that You keep beyond Your mind? God, I'm just grateful for You. God, I'm just grateful for You. All my life, You've been right here by my side. God, I'm just grateful for You. God, I'm just grateful for You. Who am I that You keep beyond Your mind? God, I'm just grateful for You. God, I'm just grateful for You. All my life, You've been right here by my side. God, I'm just grateful for You. God, I'm just grateful for You. You guys excited to be in the house of the Lord today? That's what I'm talking about. Come on, lift your hands all over the room to a holy God and sing this out. Sing, I am. Sing it louder! I am. I am. I'm giving all that I am, yeah. Cause you gave me chance after chance. Come on, tell them. After chance. Sing I am. I'm lifting both of my hands. Cause you gave me chance after chance. After chance. Jesus said I am. I am. I'm giving all that I am, yeah. Cause you gave me chance after chance.

After chance. Who am I? Who am I? That you keep me on your mind. God, I'm just grateful. Come on, sir. God, I'm just grateful for you. All my life. All my life. You've been right here by my side, God. I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. Sing, who am I? Who am I? That you keep me on your mind. God, I'm just grateful for you. Yeah. God, I'm just grateful for you. All my life. All my life. You've been right here by my side, God. I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. Sing, I survived. Sing, I survived. And I'm here to testify. God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. I'm all right. I'm all right.

If they say I'm out of my mind. God, I'm just grateful for you. Hey. God, I'm just grateful for you. Somebody lift up a shout of praise to King Jesus. Are you guys ready to worship Jesus today? We're going to sing to our King. We're going to tell the story of Jesus today. Hallelujah. Yeah. Come on, sing it with me. Buried is one who stands between God and man Crucified but raised back to life again Come on, you sing it, church. He's given himself for ransom, all our sins atone And now our lives forever to Him it all belongs Come on, everybody sing. For Christ alone we lay down our lives for this gospel Until the end of time all this is for Christ alone Behold the Lamb whose scars intercede for me Son of man exalted as the High King He's given himself for ransom, all our sins atone And now our lives forever to Him it all belongs Come on, lift your hands all over the room and sing it out. For Christ alone we lay down our lives for this gospel Until the end of time all this is for Christ alone Come on, sing. For Christ alone For Christ alone we lay down our lives for this gospel Until the end of time all this is for Christ alone

For Christ alone Yeah, for Christ alone Holy Jesus For Christ alone For Christ alone Come on, sing it loud, church. The firstborn from the dead is coming Sing it loud. Those other gods are lies Idols who aren't alive But there's one who wears the crown Eyes will see and knees will Come on and sing. The firstborn from the dead is coming back again Riding in upon the cloud Eyes will see and knees will howl Those other gods are lies Idols who aren't alive But there's one who wears the crown Eyes will see and knees will Come on. The lamb eyes overcome Tense in fire of his heart When we hear that trumpet sound Eyes will see and knees will howl Glory to God, yeah. The victory's in water We await your coming now Eyes will see and knees will Come on.

Behold, the King is coming Sing behold Behold, the King is coming Come on, declare to the world Behold Behold, the King is coming Behold, behold Behold, the King is coming For Christ alone For Christ alone We lay down our lives For this gospel Until the end of time All this is for Christ alone Come on, you sing it church For Christ alone We lay down our lives For this gospel Until the end of time All this is for Christ alone Go back to the bridge, come on The firstborn from the dead The firstborn from the dead Is coming back Is coming back He's riding Riding in a boat Eyes will see

Eyes will see And knees will bow Those undercut your eyes Hide those who are deprived But there's one who wears a crown Eyes will see Eyes will see And knees will bow The vampire's home The vampire's home The vampire's home Chests in fire of his blood When we hear that trumpet sound Eyes will see Eyes will see And knees will bow Glory to God the Son The victory's been won We await your coming now Eyes will see and knees will bow Eyes will see and knees will bow Somebody give Jesus a big shout of praise Amen, amen, amen Come on Welcome to Graceway My name is John Stephens And I'm so glad you're joining us today Whether this is your first time with us Or you've been watching for a while We're really glad you're here

You are a valued part of the Graceway family And it's a privilege to worship with you each week No matter where you've been Or what your story looks like God isn't finished with you Throughout the Bible We see Him using ordinary people with imperfect pasts Doing incredible things Your past doesn't define your future In Christ there's always hope There's always purpose And there's always a next step If you have a family or friends Who use the Pando app Encourage them to watch Graceway too This is a great way to experience The same message together Even when you're in different places One of the best things we can do Is grow in our faith together Encourage one another And keep the conversation going Long after the service ends If you're currently in a correctional facility In Kansas or Missouri And would like to see Graceway offered where you are Let your chaplain know They can learn more about bringing Graceway To your facility by visiting Visit graceway.org backslash prison

As we get started Don't just watch the service Jump in Worship, pray, and listen And ask God to speak to you I believe He has something He wants to say to you today Come on, sing it with me, church All of the great things you did, and when did I throw away faith for the impossible? And how did I start to believe that you weren't sufficient for me? And why do I talk myself out of seeing miracles? You are more than able You are more than able You are more than able You are more than able Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Do you believe that today church? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah And now I see all that I have Oh, I've got my confidence back And I put my trust in the one who still does miracles You do miracles You are more than able I've seen Him do it over and over You are more than able You are, you are You are more than able He made the blind man see He made the lame man walk You are more than able

Who am I, who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Can you imagine with all of the faith in the room What the Lord can do, what the Lord can do? And it's gonna happen just like the way He made it through He's gonna move, that's a promise, He's gonna move Come on, you sing Can you imagine with all of the faith in the room What the Lord can do, what the Lord can do? And it's gonna happen just like the way He made it through He's gonna move, He's gonna move Can you imagine with all of the faith in the room What the Lord can do, what the Lord can do? And it's gonna happen just like the way He made it through He's gonna move, He's gonna move Anything is possible Anything is possible Anything is possible Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Sing anything Anything is possible Anything Anything is possible Anything Anything is possible Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Sing anything Anything is possible Anything is possible Anything is possible Who am I to deny what the Lord can do?

Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Somebody lift up a shout of praise! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Come on, sing church You are more than able Come on, tell them today You are more than able Come on, lift your hands and tell Him. Don't give up hope. Don't give up faith in Him. He still works miracles. Let's sing this. Thank you, Sharazah. Come on. Do the better chords, Rick. The better chords. You are powerful. God above it all. I believe in you. Come on, can we lift our hands in this place and tell Him. You do miracles. The impossible. I believe in you. You are. I believe in you. You are powerful. God above it all. I believe in you. I've seen you do miracles.

Do miracles. I believe in you. You are powerful. God above it all. I believe in you. I've seen you do miracles. Do miracles. Somebody lift up your hands and worship a real king who does miracles, who does the impossible. Can somebody lift up a sign of praise to King Jesus. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Come on, one more time, we sing. For you are more than able. Come on, tell Him. You are more than able. You are more than able. You are more than able. Come on, tell Him. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Come on, somebody lift up praise to King Jesus. Hey. Hey.

Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey.

Hey. Come on, let's pray. Father, we come to you right now and Lord, I bring you. Hmm. Father, I bring you every struggle, every despair, every concern, every cynicism and skepticism and doubt. We bring you things that are broken and have been broken for a long time. Areas that we feel stuck and distant and disconnected. And Lord, I thank you that when we bring these things to you that you don't condemn us or tell us to take it somewhere else. But the truth is, Lord, some of us, we're telling you what you can't do. We're telling you how it has to be and we're living in a reality that is far beneath your goodness and power. And Lord, I never want to condescend to how people are feeling about things. So I just pray Lord that you would be bigger in our hearts and our minds right now. I Pray Lord that you would give our eyes off of the problems which are real Get our eyes on to you Lord and Lord if we're fighting you would you turn our face? Thank you Lord That you still speak and that you still do miracles. I thank you Lord that you put things back together I thank you Lord that you rekindle it that you bring them home. I thank you Lord That you're not just able You're exceeding abundantly Able and so I pray Lord for our hearts and our minds. I pray Lord for our marriages I pray Lord for our families and our finances. I pray Lord for our mental health. Come on. I pray Lord for our country And Lord we're trying to take you at your word Sometimes Lord we feel like that father said I believe you but you got to help my own belief So we pile into rooms And we bring where we are And we just trust Lord that you're gonna Give us the next step

Give us what we need to hear Be present with us We thank you for Jesus We pray that his Holy Spirit would be here right now And that he would rest upon us and that he would speak and move that he would build and break And that you'd be pleased with what happens we love you we thank you and in the name of Jesus Come on, all God's people said Amen, and amen Hey, welcome to church. It's a good day to be in church So happy to see you show some love to each other pass some peace and then grab your seat All right, all right, here we are are you happy to be here I'm happy to be here man. Today's a special day special day for me personally We got some got some dear dear dear friends. I'm talking I'm talking talking thicker than blood in in the in the house today You ever had somebody that you ain't related but God makes you related Yeah, yeah, the church doesn't make you related So I want to show some love uh, ricardo rodriguez our global network director is in the house from mexico today I don't know where he is. I don't I don't know He left he left. Never mind. Forget ricardo. All right now. He's out in the lobby We got a lot going on in different parts of the world because god is at work in all the parts of the world And he's got a lot going on in the world. He's got a lot going on in the world We got a lot going on in different parts of the world because god is at work in all the parts of the world And uh love for you to be able to see with your own eyes So we got a table in the lobby for mission trips and all those things going on stop by Say hello to ricardo get connected to what god is doing Secondly, you know, we got this thing in the church that whenever somebody Whenever somebody leaves we assume that something went wrong Now i'll be honest we earned it right in the church we did Uh, but sometimes god just moves somebody And and we can't stand on the stage and say you should do whatever god wants you to do unless you're on staff here And so sometimes somebody that we thought was going to be with us forever god moves them

And and we don't know why he hates brandon and took him to oklahoma I mean i'm trying to believe that god has good plans, but oklahoma Pastor brandon estelle leading us today is a blessing, isn't it? Yeah, so show him some love Excited about that and also do just let me say this I just want you to I want you to notice this because whenever Pastor brandon left a lot of you like what are we gonna do and god's like hey, I got a leader name's lishaiah Yeah So we're thankful. We're thankful thankful for both of you My pastor dr. Dwight perry is in the house today. Come on Amazing my spiritual father And I was with uh, dr Charlie dates, uh friday and saturday and we were both talking about the gift Of somebody seeing in you what you don't see in yourself And being more certain than makes sense to you. Have you ever? or had this happen, and somebody speaks something over you prophetically and you're like, I don't know who you're looking at, but so that person for me is Dr. Perry. And he has put a lot of wind in my sails and held up my arms and blessed Ash and I and man, I honor you today. I love you, thank you for being here. We appreciate you very much. And then lastly, it's a big day. It's a big day y'all. Is my brother from another mother. All right, I'm from Ohio where we win football games, amen. Disrespectful. He's the smart one, I'm the handsome one. He's handsome, but you know.

He comes by way of Oklahoma and Kentucky. You're gonna hear it in a minute, but he's from Texas. He's a cowboy, amen, amen. And you know, I've been able to travel with Dr. Chris Harper. He's been here before. He loves y'all, he loves y'all. And I do wanna say this. He's been a very, very, very dear friend to your pastor. And I love him dearly. And so I need you to please give a good grace weight welcome to Dr. Chris Harper. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Come on. Come on. Come on. So good, so good. David had his mighty men. Bible said he had his mighty men. Within those mighty men, he had a few that the Bible says was set apart. Jesus had the same thing. Jesus had his squad, he had 12, but he had three that he invested in,

that he spent time with, Peter, James, and John. They all had that West Coast prophet, Nipsey Hussle philosophy. What'd he say? He said, the circle got smaller, not everybody can come. All right. Some of y'all got that? I feel like I'm in my circle today with men like Brandon Estelle, Dr. Perry, Dan, Tim Dunn. Tim Dunn, I'm so honored to be here. David had those few that rose above. One was named Benaiah. If a Navy SEAL in a green beret had a baby, you'd have Benaiah. The Bible says that he killed a seven foot Egyptian, took his own spear and killed him. The Bible says he fought with a lion in a pit on a snowy day. One of those men is Shammah, and Shammah is who we're going to learn about today. Our text is 2 Samuel chapter 23. Just two verses this morning. 2 Samuel chapter 23, verses 11 through 12. We're gonna learn about David's mighty men, but we're gonna learn about one that stood above the others. 2 Samuel 23, verse 11 and 12. Next to him was Shammah, son of Agi the Harite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel's troops fled from them.

But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down and the Lord brought about a great victory, thus says the word of God, amen. Some of you need to hear this morning that more times than not, the most courageous thing we can do is just stay. Yeah. There are moments in your life that will come down to one decision. Will you stay or will you run? Every one of us will face this question. Some of you woke up this morning looking this question straight in the face. And if you didn't, you will have to look this question in the face. You will have to answer, will I stay or will I run? For the sake of your marriage, will you stay or will you run? For the hearts of your children, will you stay or will you run? For the reform of your community, will you stay or will you run? For the name of King Jesus and His church, will you stay or will you run? Praise be to God that He gives us Shema. Shema's story is only two verses long, but it carries the weight of a lifetime. If you're ready, say, I'm ready. You ain't ready. You're about to be. Israel is in a field. They're gathered in a field and the scriptures tell us that the Philistines show up and they show up in full force. The pressure rises, the fear begins to spread, and the men of Israel do what men often do

when the costs get too high, they run. But not Shema. Shema steps into the middle of that field. He turns towards the enemy and he plants his feet. And you need to notice, church, that this is not a field of gold. It's not a field full of treasure. It's a field of lentils. I'm talking beans, not even magic beans. These are ordinary, common, unimpressive lentils, the kind of thing that you could easily look at and say, that's not worth fighting for. And listen, some of you by your action and your inaction have said that's not worth fighting for. Your actions or your inactions has said my marriage ain't worth fighting for. Your prayer life or lack thereof has said your children are not worth fighting for. Your attitude or disposition towards God's church has said this is not worth fighting for. Your casual dealing with your sin says your character, your integrity, your soul isn't worth fighting for. Not Shema. Shema knew better. This wasn't just dirt and lentils. This was ground God had promised, ground he had entrusted to his people. Shema understood something we need to understand. What looks small to the world can be sacred to God. Your marriage may look and feel small. It matters to God. Your kids may look and feel like a burden. They're not. They matter to God. Your job, your church, your integrity, your morning routine, your little corner of influence,

it's all lentil fields, y'all. Nothing flashy, nothing gonna get you applause, no awards. Your life is not going to go viral. They are not going to make a movie about you. But lean in. If God entrusted it to you, it's worth defending. Shema didn't get to choose a more impressive field. He simply refused to abandon the one God put him in. Everybody else ran. Shema stood and he fought. Loved ones, I need you to fight. We need more godly men and godly women who are willing to stay. A few things we learned this morning from Shema. First, courage is revealed when others retreat. Israel's troops fled, the scriptures say, but Shema took his stand. Notice the contrast. Some run, some stay. Courage is not revealed when everybody is moving in the same direction. Courage becomes visible when the crowd starts running the other way. Anyone can be faithful when faithfulness is celebrated. Anyone can lead when leadership is applauded. Anyone can stay when it costs you nothing. But courage, courage shows up when it, when obedience gets expensive. Ma watched other men leave the field and he had every excuse to leave with them, but Shamar refused to let another man's retreat determine his responsibility. And listen, that's a word for you. We're living in a culture that constantly gives us permission to quit, that gives us permission to leave. Quit when it becomes inconvenient. Leave your spouse when the fire grows cold. Check out when your children become exhausting. Stop listening when the one speaking is on the other side of the aisle. Hide from leadership when it attracts criticism. Retreat from conviction when conviction costs you

something and this is how sinful we are. We take leaving and then we rename it, we call passivity peace, we call being a coward being careful, we call disengagement self-care, we call avoiding responsibility as setting boundaries. That's a joke. Biblical courage is not built around avoiding what's difficult, it's built around faithfulness to what God has assigned you. The fact that other people abandon their post does not release you from yours. You don't need everybody standing with you in order to stand. If you need to be the first in your family to break the pattern, by God's grace break it. If you're the only person in your office refusing to compromise, by God's grace refuse it. You may be the only father who says that's for me in my house. Well, if that's you, say it, say it loud. You may be the wife who keeps fighting for their marriage for your sake and his sake, keep fighting. You may be the only person in your church who keeps showing up, serving, giving, praying, discipling, and telling the truth. Church, I tell you, keep showing up. Sometimes courage looks dramatic, most of the time it simply looks like staying when it would be easier to leave. I believe God is still raising up men and women with the spirit of Shema, men who will stand when others sit, men who will stay when others scatter, and men who will fight when others fold. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is deciding that obedience to God matters more than your fear, that's courage. I've got a friend named Darren Kinder. Darren is a U.S. secret service agent. On September 11, 2001, he had just finished his workout in the basement of the World Trade Center. He was putting on, he tells me the story, he was putting on his suit and he said, Chris, most days we don't wear a suit, it's not the black suit that you usually see. Most days we're in plain clothes because we don't want you to know we're there. He said, but today we had a dignitary meeting at the U.N. so we were all in black suits. He said, I remember sitting in the locker room, I was lacing up my shoes and I was about to tie my tie when I felt the ground beneath me begin to shake. He said, at first I thought it was an earthquake. So I gathered my things and I began to to run up the stairs only to discover that we were under attack. Someone had flown a plane into a building. He said, and you have to think about it, it's a it's a jet liner full of jet fuel and it's flying into offices, the World Trade Towers, their offices, it's nothing but paper. He said, the whole thing went up in flames. So there I am, my tie's not even tied, I'm halfway put together, I'm trying to to to get people

down the stairs and and out of the building where we're fighting fires and we're fighting smoke and then all of a sudden we look up and a second plane hits. At this time, the building starts to to crumble in on itself and we're trying to get as many people to safety as possible. I'm down on the ground floor, I see a I see a big tanker truck and I think if I can just get people up underneath the truck they'll be safe and as I was running to the truck the Holy Spirit told me to keep running only to look back to watch part of the building. fall and flatten that truck. He said for the next seven hours we fought back fires, we rescued people. He said I was beaten, I was bloodied, it was so hot that the soles of my shoes had melted to the ground. He said at 2.30 we found a radio and we were able to tune it in and we discovered that all the Secret Service agents were rallying at 34th Street. He said so me and two other agents we found a car, we drive to the rally point at 34th Street. He said we walk in and you can cut the tension with a knife. He said on this side of the room were agents that were beaten and bloodied, no tie, no belt, missing shoes, and he said on this side of the room were agents that looked pristine and he said immediately we knew who stayed and who didn't. And he looked at me and he said Chris when you bury me bury me in a dirty suit. Ain't none of us getting to heaven clean y'all. You ain't walking into heaven well-rested. No, we in a fight and we will be in a fight till King Jesus comes back or brings us to him one way or another. Question is will you stay? Will you stay and fight? Courage is revealed when everybody else is running. Second thing we learned is fight for what matters even if it looks small. Fight for what matters even if it looks small. It's a field of lentils y'all. It ain't impressive. It's not flashy. It's not valuable by the world's standards but it mattered so I want to ask you this morning what's your field? What's your field? Your marriage? Your wayward child? Your integrity at work? Leading your home spiritually? Opening the Bible with your children? Showing up at church when you're tired? What's your field? Don't underestimate the lentil fields that are in your life. The enemy rarely comes at you with some massive temptation. His strategy is much quieter. He just wants you to stop attending the field. He doesn't want you to hate your wife. Just

stop pursuing your wife. He doesn't want you to hate your kids. Just stop praying for your kids. Stop gathering your family around God's Word. After all it is travel baseball season. Stop serving. Stop confessing sin. Stop doing the small unseen things that faithfulness requires. Satan understands something that we often forget. Small compromises eventually become surrendered ground. One of the great lies we believe is that if we're going to do something for God it has to be big. Big platform, big ministry, big influence, big moment and when the big moment never comes we end up doing nothing. Satan has deceived us. He told us to do great things for God because when we don't we stop doing anything for God. But the kingdom never advanced through great men. The kingdom advances through ordinary men and women. Ordinary men and women faithful in ordinary places. It's why Zechariah says do not despise the day of small beginnings. Don't despise the small prayers. Don't despise the bedtime Bible story. Don't despise the conversation with your son in the car. Don't despise showing up to work early and doing your job with excellence. Don't despise another date night with your spouse, another Sunday in church, another morning on your knees. You call it small, God calls it faithfulness. He calls it stewardship. We love intensity. We love big, intense things. God is just looking for consistent people. Consistency is greater than intensity. Don't despise... despise the small things. Three, watch this, watch this. Stand your ground and trust God with the victory. Look at what the word says. It says Shammah struck the Philistines down and the Lord brought about a great victory. Not Shammah. Shammah struck the Philistines down and the Lord brought about a great victory. Don't miss the order. Shammah stood, Shammah fought, but God gave the victory. That's the tension of our faith. We are responsible for obedience. God is responsible for the outcome. Too many people want victory without a fight. We want God to fix the marriage, to reach the child, to change the culture. We want God to grow the ministry, to restore the family, but we don't want to stay in the field. And there are others of you in this room today, you fight like everything depends on you. So you grind and you push and you carry everything on your shoulders until you burn out and then you blame somebody else. Shammah shows us a better way. He says, plant your feet, swing

the sword and trust the Lord. And listen, this has been, this has been big for me personally. I ain't, I ain't preaching at you. I'm preaching with you. Church, I love to run and I mean that I've got a problem. Everybody else's field looks greener than mine. There are days when I look over the fence and think, man, I bet it's easier over there. I mean that marriage over there looks a little younger, looks a little more blonde, looks a little more satisfying than mine. I mean, those kids over there look a little more behaved. They seem to be more polite than mine. I mean, that work over there looks a little more rewarding. I mean, look at that ministry. Don't that look more effective? And then I find myself asking, is any of my stuff, is any of this working? And that's when the other field becomes attractive. But listen, church, I am convinced God sent me here today to tell you that's not your field. This, this is your field. God didn't ask you whether you thought your field was easier. God didn't ask you whether you thought your field looks productive. He asked you to be faithful with the ground He assigned you. Some of y'all need to stop looking over the fence. Your neighbor's marriage may look easier. Someone else's house looks better. Someone else's career looks more fruitful. That might be true, but it ain't your field. God's not called you to be faithful over there. He's called you to be faithful right here. So plant your feet, love your wife, honor your spouse, disciple your children, do your work with excellence, serve your church, tell the truth, keep your promises, stay in the fight, and then trust God with what happens next. Shammah defended the field. God gave the victory. That takes the pressure off you without removing this responsibility. Listen, you don't have to produce the victory. You just have to be standing in the field when God delivers it. Somebody's got to be there to receive it. I know you might have walked in here this morning tempted to quit, but listen to me. If God has called you to the field, don't leave it. Don't abandon your post. Don't surrender your ground. Don't hand your future harvest to a present enemy. Plant your feet, call on the name of the Lord, and fight. Heaven does not not rally to the person who runs, heaven rallies to the one who stands. And listen, when God, I said church, when God shows up in a field, what looked ordinary becomes a place of victory. It's incredible.

Everywhere I go, I keep a little bag with me as I travel, I travel a lot. I'll be walking around churches, I'll be throwing up the bag. Don't think I'm warming up for the next game. This is my bag of lentils. I keep a bag of lentils with me everywhere I go. It reminds me that I got a field I need to defend. It reminds me I got a marriage I need to stand for, that I got children I need to train, that I got a church I want to protect, that I've got a community that needs me. This right here is a reminder to stay and to fight. And listen, church, I can stay and fight, why? Because it is the Lord who fights for me. It is the Lord who fights with me. Y'all know he's the treasure in the field, right? The man found the field, found the treasure in the field. The Bible said he went and sold everything he owned to buy the field, why? Because King Jesus was in the field. He's the treasure in the field. So I can stand and fight no matter what comes my way. I can stay and fight no matter how dark it gets. What did the prophet Ben E. King say when the night has come? And the land is dark and the moon is the only light I'll see. No I won't be afraid, oh I won't be afraid. Jesus, as long as you stand, stand by me. I'm not standing next to my problems looking at my King. I'm standing next to my King looking at my problems. You going to handle that? He says, oh, we going to handle that. So I can stay. And I stay and I fight from a place of victory. More times than not, when Scripture uses the word victory, it's the word overcome.

It's the Greek word Nikeo, which is where we get Nike. It means to conquer and to carry off into victory. It's a verb that implies a battle because make no mistake, the Philistines are here. They're surrounding your marriage. They're surrounding your church. They're surrounding your children. They're surrounding your community. The question is, will you stay and fight? And the Scripture promises victory to those who stay and fight, promises victory. Those who are yoked to Christ, I know how the story ends, he wins. And those that are in him, we too win. So I get to stand with him. But this is what I want you to hear this morning. Before you can stand with Jesus, make no mistake, you got to kneel. He may be your friend, but he's also the one that spoke you into existence. You don't come to him with your head high and your chest out. No, no. We come to him with our head bows and our hands open like beggars looking for a sandwich. No, before we come and stand next to him, we have to kneel. The Bible says that every, come on, I didn't write it, he did. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue will confess that he's Lord. And listen, it said every knee and every tongue. He doesn't, he doesn't become Lord because you make him Lord. He's Lord because God said he was. So we will either kneel, we will bow because of the mercy. He's given us or we will bow because psalm 2 says his iron scepter will shatter your kneecaps Either way you bowing Every one of us oh My prayer is my prayer is you have you have kneeled before the king

Because of his grace and his mercy I'm a nerd y'all. I love the Lord of the Rings. I ain't ashamed. I Love after they've They've secured victory against Saramon King Aragon has been crowned king and He brings Frodo and Sam. He brings the Fellowship of the Ring and they're there And the king walks out King Aragon walks out and everybody takes a knee and I love what Aragon does he walks? He walks over to his friends and he says my friends don't have to bow before the king And he says stand But make no mistake they didn't stand until he said stand When you bow before the king he looks at you and says hey my friends don't have to stay down stand Hey if you've bowed before the king and he's told you to stand would you stand right now for me Those who have surrendered their lives to King Jesus that have trusted in him as Lord and Savior would you stand Can I tell you what the scriptures say Victory Nicao Anyone who stays and fight the scripture Promises victory to me and to you if we stay and fight. Do you know that? The scripture says that those who stay and fight will eat from the tree of life revelation 2 7 It says those who stay and fight will not be harmed by the second death revelation 2 11 It says those who stay and fight will be given hidden Manna revelation 2 17. I don't know what hidden manna tastes like but it probably tastes like KC burnt in It Says those who stay and fight will be given a white stone with a new name

Those who stay and fight will be given authority over the nation's revelation 2 26 Those who stay in fight will be dressed in white and their name will be secure in the book of life Oh Those who stay in fight will be made a pillar in the presence of God revelation 3 12 Those who stay in fight will be given the right to sit with Jesus on his throne Revelation 3 21 and those who stay in fight Will inherit all things All things and belong to God as his children Revelation 21 7 Church refused to give up ground When everybody's running stay Your spouse is running stay Your children are running stay Everybody in your community is going the wrong way stay Stay in fight Find your lentils and trust the Lord with the victory Here in a moment, I'm gonna pray And after I'm done we will be dismissed for the day but listen Maybe you can't stand this morning because you've yet to kneel before the King The best day of my life Was when I came to Jesus I got on my knees I I turned over self and sin and shame and guilt and He washed me clean and He told me to stand. Oh I pray that you would do that today. I pray that you would kneel before the King so that He could look at you and tell you to stand. We have people that will pray for you, people that want to pray with you, people that want to hear Jesus is your King. Maybe, maybe though you've been standing so long you

feel a little weak this morning. What did Jesus say? Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and find rest for your souls for my burden is light my my yoke He says my yoke. I love how Eugene Peterson translated that in the message. He said anybody that's tired come to Jesus and He'll make you light and free. Maybe some of you you need to be renewed, you need to be recharged, you need to be strengthened, you need to be light and free this morning. We want to pray with you. We want to pray for you. There will be people down front that are willing to hold up your arms. Father God thank you for this day. Oh God that we may be men and women who stay. That Lord when you show up with the victory in hand we would be there to receive it God. Help us stay. In our marriages help us stay. With our children help us stay. In our communities, in our church God help us stay. When we get weary God, when we get weak God, when the grass starts looking greener on the other side God remind us of the field you've given us to defend. My field ain't got to be your field. Remind us of the place you've put us God and help us stay. And Jesus we will do it in your strength, in your name, for your glory and the people of God said amen.