Elevation with Steven Furtick - Hand Him The Plan

Episode Date: August 17, 2025

Sometimes the battle in your mind is proof that God’s trying to do something great in your heart. What you see isn’t the full picture of what God has for you. When you hand God your plans, you make room for His purpose.  If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: http://ele.vc/tIepfr To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world, click here: http://www.elevationchurch.org/giving/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. I am continuing in a series that I am thoroughly enjoying preaching to myself and then letting you listen. The Lord has been working. I have been hearing from you. I have gotten so many good reports from this series. And it's only part five today. It's only part five today, so you're not too late.

The Lord has a word for you today. And I want to share with you a word from his word. Stay standing for just a moment at all of our locations and watching online all over the world. And if you can find a Bible or if you have one on your app, turn to First Chronicles chapter 28, verse 19. Therein is the instruction that the Lord has for us today. You don't have a Bible with you, or you prefer not to pull out your phone because you don't want to be distracted, because you know somebody might be trying to reach you, but you want to ignore them while you're in church. We'll put it on the screen for you. First Chronicles, chapter 28, verse 19.

King David has come a long way. He is an old man, and he's sharing the plan that God gave him for the temple of the Lord to be built. And after sharing several of those specific instructions that the Lord gave him in First Chronicles 28, he says something really cool. And I really want you to hear it today. He says, all this, David said. Now remember, he's just listed all of the different materials that are going to be used to build the temple, all of the dimensions of each room.

He gets so specific that he tells the people down to the dishes what they need to make for the temple of the Lord. Down to the dishes. You know, they say the devil is in the details. So is God. And he says, all this. Somebody say, all this. If you're watching online, just put all with a bunch of L's after it in the comments. All this, David said, I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me. And he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan. Isn't that a good verse? Let's read it again. All this. Somebody.

He said, all this. God's not going to leave one single thing out. God's got it all accounted for. He said, all this, David said. I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me. And he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan. The word of the Lord today is this. God said to tell you, hand him the plan.

Hand him the plan. I was praying as I prepared about the thoughts that we think. We're talking about the thoughts that we think and how we get stressed out, overwhelmed, confused, bitter, insecure in our minds. And I thought about all of you who are making decisions in your life right now and trying to figure out which way. And I thought about all of you who are trying to recover from things that have happened to you and you hadn't got your balance back yet. And I thought about all of you who feel a little lost at this moment. And the Lord said to tell you, hand him the plan. Father, I lift up every person that will hear this message in the future or is hearing it right now before you.

And I thank you that you know the plans you have for them. Plans to prosper them, not to harm them, plans to give them a hope and a future. We trust you with the future because we know you're. here right now. Speak now, God. We're listening. In Jesus' name. Amen. Tell three people on your way to your seat. Hand him the plan. Put that in the comments if you're watching on YouTube. Hand him the plan. Come on, put it right there. I need you to see it in all caps. There you go. Put it in the chat. Wouldn't that be wonderful, though, if the Lord did that for you, what he did for David? All this, David said, I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me.

He enabled me to understand all the details of the stock market, all the details of cryptocurrency, all the details of child development, all the details of college selection, all the details of pre-Cal, all the details. It would be awesome. I'm going to do something, Graham, that I never did before in 20-plus years of preaching, 20 years of pastoring, 29 years of preaching since I was a little boy. I've been teaching Graham about preaching lately, sharing with him lessons that I've learned. And I never did this before. But the Lord led me to give you this message in a very peculiar way that I think you will enjoy.

I'm going to take a proverb from proverb number 19, verse 21, Proverbs 1921. I'm going to lay it over what I read you from David's life. in 1 Samuel 28 or 1 Chronicles 28 and the proverb that I'm going to use is going to be the points of my message so you'll have all the points when I read you this proverb and then I'm going to break it down for a few moments so that we can talk about your mind your heart your thoughts and what God is building in your life and here's what Proverbs 19 verse 21 says many are the plans in a person's heart But it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Now, see, that ought to give you some peace just when I read that.

Because everything you're fighting against, it's the Lord's purpose that prevails. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Isn't that great verse? The first point I'm going to talk to you about today, and Justin, if you want to circle these as we go, So my first point, I want to talk to you about many are the plans. So that's point number one. Many are the plans. Yeah.

Write it down. That's point number one. Write it down. Many are the plans. Put it in the comments. Many are the plans. And put a one by it, Justin. That's kind of a one, I think.

So I want to talk about many are the plans. And then my second point, I want to talk to you about in a person's heart. Put that in the comments as well. And put it in your notes. In a person's heart. And then for my third point, I want to talk about, but it is the Lord's. But it is the Lord's. And point number three, I want to talk to you about purpose that prevails.

Okay? Purpose that prevails. So now if you need to leave early, you got all four points. And you can pretend like you sat through the whole sermon. Many are the plans. Somebody say many are the plans. In my experience as a leader and as a child of God, God has not given me all of the details on the front end of whatever he has asked me to do by faith.

And I called this series, That's What I Thought, because it helped me to reflect on how dumb I was at times in the past. Not anymore. Now I'm at a place of knowledge and God and wisdom and instruction and revelation. Well, I mean, of course, five years from now, I'll be looking back saying how dumb I was. And I know this because at every point along the way in my journey as a leader, God did not give me details until I gave him obedience. And as much as we think that we would like for God to come down and give us all the details for what we need to do about this relationship in our life, this business decision in our life, this custody situation in our life, this this legal issue in our life, this financial trouble in our life, this loan offer, this this this

crossroads in our life. As much as we think we would love God to give us the details, what good would the details of what God wants you to do next be if you were not obedient to the last thing he told you to do? And I found so many times in my life as a principle that details follow obedience. And we want it just the other way. Exactly the other way. Obedience follows details. So show me the entire path, God, and then I'll take the first step. But watch this. Graham, come up on the stage.

That was pretty quick, right? Even ran. Did all that with no details. Obedience with no details. He didn't sit out there and ask, For what? Come up there for what? Nice for what to this preacher.

For what? He didn't ask any of that. He didn't say, how long you need me up there? He didn't say, what do you intend to do with the footage? Archivably speaking, after this live illustration has ended. And now that he did it, he knows. Now, go sit back down. I needed you to illustrate that details follow obedience.

Now you know how long. I wanted you up here because you came. I wanted you up here that long for that reason to prove this point. That details follow obedience. Say it. Details follow obedience. That's right. Details follow obedience. I know you want God to show you seven weeks from now, but details follow forgiveness. I'm getting a little too specific now. The lesson of my life that I wish I didn't have to learn through doing it the wrong way is that usually what I thought and what God saw are two totally different things. Somebody say, many are the plans.

Many are the plans. There have been so many plans that I have had in my heart, in my mind, and in my life, that looking back on them, I thought too small. I didn't think big enough because I didn't pray big enough. I thought too small. You ever thought too small? Many are the thoughts. Everybody say, many are the thoughts.

And y'all know I love word plays, so I mean many are the thoughts, and I mean many are the thoughts. My thoughts have been so many through the years. Do you remember, L.B., when we were meeting at the senior center, and this was when the church was very young. Y'all don't know nothing about the senior center days. When we pulled up for the grand opening, and I looked around at that room that would seat 200 And we were just getting started and I said the chunks at the grand opening

This will be an amazing place for us to meet. It will last us five years and then we'll probably have to go to two services Five years. Everybody say many are the thoughts. That's what I thought five years and we would go to two services in five months We had outgrown the building because my thoughts were many thoughts. You follow me? I thought too small because I started with me. I thought too small because I started with where I was from. I thought too small because I started with what I had seen. And the problem is a lot of times in your life, you make plans based on the pictures that you've seen.

But the pictures that you've seen is not all that there is to the purpose of the God who has saved you and made a plan for your life. So what if you are making plans off of the wrong picture? Many are the thoughts. Many are the thoughts. Now you're organizing your life to look just like your parents' life looked. But what if God has something different for you than he did for the generation before you? What if their ceiling is going to be your floor?

Many are the plans. Some of us are spending too much money because we are basing our spending habits on the pictures that we see on Instagram of people who left the tags on the stuff that they posted, took it back to the store. But you made a payment and another payment and another payment, because you made a plan off of a picture that had nothing to do with your purpose. And how many times have I thought too small? How many times have I thought too slow? Trying to catch up with God.

I knew I was going to start a church from a young age, or I thought I was going to start a church, and I did. But I always thought I would start it. I remember telling Holly when we got married, we're going to start a church one day when we're about 45 years old. So if God did what I thought, this would be my first sermon of the first Sunday. Aren't you glad God didn't do what you thought he was going to do? And she turned to me one day and she was like, your thoughts are too many.

God wants to do it now. Let's step out now. Well, what about the children's ministry? And what about the business side? And what about the people we need? And where are we going to do it? And the details didn't come before the obedience. Come here, Graham.

Details follow obedience. Now sit back down. That's all I needed. But you won't know what I needed you for unless you come when I call. And you won't know how long I need you for unless you come when I call. And I hear God saying to somebody, take the first step. Take the first step. When David says, all this, everybody say all this. It is a comprehensive knowledge that he has at the plan of God unfolding in his life at a developmental stage where he

has walked with God in relationship long enough that when God calls him, he trusts God's intention. Many are the thoughts. Now, in the case of David, we might understand. it has taken him his entire life to get to this point. Last week we talked about how he wrestled with his thoughts. Y'all remember that? Ressled with a lion, wrestled with a bear, wrestled with his mind, wrestled with anxiety. By the way, that's how we got the book of Psalms through what David wrestled with. I wonder what you're going to leave behind out of what you wrestle with. David was a man of many thoughts. He was a man of many songs. Don't go through the book of Psalms in your Bible and think

that the Psalms that were recorded were the only ones he wrote. We just got the best of the best of the best. That's just David's greatest hits. And there's 150 Psalms and he wrote most of them. A man of many songs. He was also a man of many sons. He had at least 19 that we know their names. So he was dealing with a lot. And now we know why he was depressed in those Psalms. At least 19 children belong to David. Many are the thoughts. Many are the thoughts.

And interesting that David, who God called and chose to be the king of Israel, the second king that they ever knew right behind the one that they called, that they thought was the one that God wanted. How the prophet Samuel showed up at Jesse's house. And I want to layer this for you. It was so beautiful to me when I saw it. I don't want to rush through it today because I only get to preach it once and I studied it so long.

And y'all are not going to rush me to finish it today. It is too good to rush through this Thanksgiving meal. When Samuel went to anoint the king that would replace Saul after Saul had become disobedient, The Lord did not give him all of the details of which of Jesse's sons he was to annoy. He said, I want you to go with your horn full of oil and I'll show you who to pour it on when you get there. Jesse, who was David's father, lined up seven of his sons. I want to show you something that's pertinent to our series.

All of you who are tracking with our series will really get a lot out of this verse. In 1 Samuel 16, verse 6, the Bible says, when they arrived, Samuel, the prophet, which means seer. Samuel, the seer, saw Eliob, which was David's oldest, tallest, brother, and thought, Justin, you might as well circle that too, and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel, keep that phrase right there in front of you for a moment, but the Lord said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Now I'm ready to move

to my second point. Many are the thoughts in a person's heart. My second point is in a person's heart. And if you'd put Proverbs 19, verse 21 back up again, he says, many are the plans in a person's heart. Now, the problem with David and the problem with you and the problem with me, if I'm going to be honest about it, is that the same place where God speaks to us is the place where the enemy does, our heart. The same place where God speaks to us is the same place that we have to store the opinions of others, our heart.

Now, in the Hebrew language, the word heart and mind are often used interchangeably, so that if you read some translations of Proverbs 1921, it says, many of the plans in a man's mind, there was no distinction in the Bible. They didn't say, don't think this one through with your head, think it through with your heart. They understood that it is at the level of thought that you produce feeling. If you think about something long enough, you will start to feel what you think about, even if it's not happening. If you start to think about betrayal long enough, you will start to hate the person, and they're still right there holding your hand.

If you start to think about the bad outcome long enough, you will experience it in your central nervous system as if it were happening in your everyday life. there is no distinction. So it says, many are the plans in a man's heart. When God found David, Samuel thought it was the tallest one, but God picked the smallest one. By the time they went through all of Jesse's sons, all of Jesse's sons, remember all these things David said, the Lord showed me. All of Jesse's sons, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, Samuel said, is that all you've got? And Jesse said, you wouldn't want to see David. David's out there with the sheep. David's out there smelling like a barnyard. David is no kind of king. He's just a kid.

Samuel said, we will not sit down until he arrives, and God said he's the one, not because of his height, but because of his heart. Ooh, dating seminar. Ladies, don't look at his height. Look at his heart. He might be tall and he might be broke, and he might be abusive, and he might be lazy, and he might be addicted to weed. So don't look at his height. Oh, he's cute, he's tall. Look at his heart. How does he talk to his mom? How does he keep his car? Does he come to church? Does he sit in the back and leave early when Pastor Stephen is giving the invitation because he didn't come to church for a hookup with God. He came for something else, and I can only tell if I'm looking at the heart, me or the thoughts. I mean, you've got a lot of thoughts. I got a lot of motives. I got a lot

of conflicting things happening in my heart. In my heart is the place where I can dream up a big church for God. In my heart is the place where I can imagine terrible scenarios. In my heart is the place where I can holler for you that God has a plan. In my heart is the place where I can get road rage and holler at somebody else that I have a plan for you. And it is to get out of this car and fight you on the side of the street, because I've been saving up for this for a long time in a person's heart. And that's the problem, isn't it? When we say, God has a plan, and I want God's plan. And I just want God's plan for my life. Notice the Bible didn't talk about one plan. It talked about many plans. Plans, plural, purpose.

Singular. Plans, plural, purpose, singular. One purpose, many plans. It has taken David all of his life to get to this point. It has taken your entire life, all of the experiences, the good ones, the bad ones, the blah ones, the epic ones, the painful ones, the exhilarating ones. It has taken all that to bring you to this point in your life so that when he stands before the people and talks about the temple. He says, all this, I have been writing as a result of, watch this, the Lord's hand on me. You've been in your head, but the answer is not in your head. It's in the Lord's hand. I feel like I could go home on that, and I'm only on point two. That's the problem with you. I figured it out. I figured out your problem. You've been praying about it. I

figured it out. You're a person in a person's heart. I mean, David was amazing. Don't get me wrong. He was the kind of guy that God knew, when I want to get something done, I can hand him the plan. Somebody say my title, hand him the plan. Like if God had a committee meeting with angels, and he's like, we need somebody to fight Goliath, who's going to do it? We got a whole army out there standing there not doing anything.

God would say to the angels, hey, there's David. If I hand him the plan, he'll do it without needing to know the details. He'll encourage, he'll bless, he'll go, he'll obey, he'll embrace, he'll do it without the details. As a matter of fact, when David was sent to fight Goliath, he was not sent as a fighter, he was sent as a servant, carrying food. Many are the plans in a person's heart. David's heart was so after God that he had a kind of courage that we rarely see today. A kind of courage I rarely see in my own life. A kind of courage that would stand before a giant with a shepherd's tool in his hand

and say, I got something for you. The kind of courage that will stand before the devil of spiritual oppression in your life with nothing but a prayer and a faith and a faith and a body. believe and say, I got something for you. That kind of faith is rare. It's in a person's heart. And I taught you last week that the place where God gives you the blueprint will always be the place where the enemy brings the battle. So, give me my camera. If you are fighting hell right now in your mind, there is something heaven is trying to download that hell is trying to interfere with. I'll say it again. If you are fighting panic attacks, anxiety, temptations, if you are fighting hell

in your mind, there is something that God is trying to download into your mind that hell is trying to interfere with. It is in a person's heart that you can receive a word from God. It is in your heart that God can speak to you, the details of his plan. It is in your heart that God can speak to you, the assurance of his love. It is in your heart that God can speak to you how to have that conversation. It is in your heart that God can speak to you, who you need to reach out that has been through what you're going through, that can show you a few things so that you don't have to be dealing with this next time, this time next year. It is in your heart that the enemy will also tell you if you reach out to them, you can't trust them. It is also in your heart that

the enemy will remind you so much of your past that you can't even hear what God is speaking in your present. It is in your heart that God gives plans. It is also in your heart that the enemy It is in your heart that you harbor pain. Your pain and God's plans are in the same heart. Just like there are multiple apps on your phone right now and you choose which one to open. There is a plan that God has for you. It is in your heart. There is a plan that the enemy is speaking over you. It is hatching in your heart. The plan that the enemy wants to hatch in your heart has to bow its need to the purpose that God speaks into your life. Many are the plans.

You know, when David got up to tell the people about the temple and how God gave him all the details, it was a magnificent announcement. Man, this temple is not going to be a storefront temple. This temple is not going to be a garage bin temple. We've had the ark of God in a tent for too long, David said, and we are going to build a temple for the Lord. But I want to take you back to something very powerful in verse 2 and 3, because I think there is, There's something that God is trying to download into your mind and your heart, but you can't receive it because of your disappointments. And David had a disappointment.

A disappointment that had he chosen to allow it, would have interrupted the download. Remember, the battle always happens in the place of a blueprint. Pastor Stephen, this is a lot of alliteration. Can you break it down for me? Yeah. When God is trying to do something, the devil starts saying something. And you hear from both of them not out loud. in your mind, in your heart.

That's why it's a battle. Maybe you're not going crazy. Maybe you're called. That's all y'all want to say about what I just said is. I said, maybe you're not crazy. Maybe you're called. Tell your neighbor, I might be called. Look at them with real big eyes and say, I thought I was crazy.

But I might be called. I might be called and I might be crazy, but I got to deal with my crazy so I can hear thought calling me, because I do not intend to let him just continue to disrupt my destiny without dysfunction and despair. High five your neighbors, say I might be called. So I'm just teaching boys, calm down. David gets up, imagine the occasion, right? He's getting ready to tell them, and this is how big that the Holy of Holies is going to be, and this is the kind of wood that you need to put in the doorway, and this is the kind of gold, and he's not just talking about it. He stored it up. I mean, this man spent his whole life building up for this moment, and he's giving the plans for the temple where God is going to live, where God is going to dwell, and God gave him the plan. But watch what he says before this, just 17 verses earlier. First Chronicles, chapter 28, verse 2. He started this way. King David rose to his feet and said, Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Now that represents God's presence. So he said,

I had it in my heart to do something I had. I had it in my heart to build a place for God's presence. Let me just stop and take a quiz. Is that a good desire or a bad desire? I mean, you could argue about, well, Jesus is ultimately the temple, but Jesus isn't here yet. We've got a couple hundred years, so let's build a temple, right? Now, that temple was eventually destroyed, as all human things are. But at this point, David wants to do a good thing. I came to speak to somebody, your dream is a good thing.

It's a good thing. What you want is a good thing. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God. Circle this next part, Justin. And I made plans to build it. Now pause for a moment. You're going to hate verse 3.

I made plans to build it. Watch this. And here they are. No, no, no, no, no. Not that quick. Not that quick. See, David was sitting around years earlier, and he turned to the prophet who was Nathan at the time and said, I want to build the Lord a house.

And Nathan said, all right, go ahead and do it. The Lord's with you. Do whatever you have in your mind. But then the Lord stopped Nathan, and Nathan turned around and the Lord said, not David. Somebody else is going to do it. What he wants to do is good, but it's not in my purpose for him to do it. You start making your plans off of a picture that is not specific to your purpose. Is that why you're so worn out?

Is that why you're so tired? Are you building something for a blueprint that does not pertain to your purpose? All right? I'll give you an example. Why is my Instagram or my YouTube shorts feed so full of so many people who are so much bitter than me. I'll tell you why. I searched a bunch of videos on YouTube talking about how to do the perfect pull-up, how to do the perfect tricep workout, how to do the perfect chest workout. And so my YouTube said, oh, you want perfect? We'll give you perfect. Now everybody

in my YouTube shorts feed looks perfect. And I look the same as I did. And now I get a picture of perfect, but I'm living with me. And now all I'm seeing is people who look so much different. Why? Because they're on steroids and they're 19. So I'm not supposed to be either of those things. I'm not supposed to be 19, and I'm not supposed to be juicing. So I'm not going to look like you if I don't have your juice, but I'm looking at a picture of your temple, and I fail to realize that

I am a temple that God is building. I am a masterpiece that God has in his mind. I am a poem that God is speaking in the earth today. I am the one who is supposed to be preaching this word to you today. I can't preach it like Billy Graham. I can't preach it like Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I can preach it like Larry Stevens-Ferdic Jr. I can preach it like I'm meant to preach it and you can do it like you're built to do it and you can build it like you're built to build it and you can say it like your grace to it and you can move it like you know to move it, and you can lead it like you know to lead it, and you can win it if you use the weapon God gave you. Point number three, say it out loud, but it is the Lord's.

Say it again, but it is the Lord's. Many are the plans in a person's heart. David's just a person. He's a good person, but he's a person. He's an anointed person, but he's a person. He's a strong person, but he's a person. He's a faithful person. but he's a person, and he gets it wrong, just like Samuel got it wrong, and he thought God

wanted him to do something, and now he has the disappointment. Watch this in First Chronicles 28, verse 3. He said, I had it in my heart, and I made plans, but God said. Now let's put those two verses together. I made plans, verse two, but God said. That's where some of y'all are today. I made plans, verse three, and God butted in. Oh, we love to shout about but God in church. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God. You don't even have to try. If you just say, but God in church, it is an instant reaction. I mean, This one? I had plans, but God said to me, you are not to build a house for my name because you're a warrior and it shed blood. And in this moment of disappointment, David has a decision.

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's. Can we just minister to our hearts for a moment? But it is the Lord's? Just that. Just that will get you set free from England. anxiety, but it is the Lord's. Come on, say it to the thing that you're stressed about, but it is the Lord's. Say it over the battle that you're fighting in your life right now, say, but it is the Lord's. Say it over the plans that you're making right now. The plan that you're making for your life that you're asking God to bless, the plan that

you're making for your life that you're asking God to bless, that you just want him to kick in a little funding. as if God is a venture capitalist and not the sovereign God of heaven and earth, as if God just wants a percentage back over your life? Any parents in the room? Wave at me. Say this over your family, but it is the Lord's. I'm worried about my family. I'm trying to take care of my family. I'm doing the best I can for my family, but you know one thing about this family? I'm giving it back because it is the Lord's. He gave it to me. He knew I would need the wisdom. He that I need right now, so I might as well ask him for it.

And he said, if I ask him of wisdom, I can ask it from God, and he give it to all men liberally and upbraideth not, but he that asks must not doubt in his heart, for he that doubteth is like a wave of the sea tossed and driven with the man, wind. He is an unstable man. He is a double-minded man, and he will be unstable in all he does. But when you believe that wisdom belongs to God, power belongs to God, answers belong to God, solutions and strategies belong to God, peace belongs to God. And I just want to ask a question, are you trying to ask God to give you peace, but you will not give him your plans?

It is the Lord's. It is the Lord's. Get in your car today. And when you sit down in it, just make a confession over your car. It is the Lord's. And you're like, well, the Lord is not picking up the car note. Apparently, he didn't get the memo that we have joint ownership over this vehicle. That is not the point.

The point is, you wouldn't have it if it weren't for him. So get grateful. And it's junkie, but it's not a bicycle. It is the Lord's. And if it's a bicycle, it is the Lord's. And if it's cheese and bread that God put in David's hand, it is the Lord's. And if it's an assignment that he gave you in a season, it is the Lord's. It is the Lord's.

David is disappointed. He wanted to build a temple, but God said, not you. This is not the job for you. It does not align with your background. It does not align with your identity. It does not align with your timing. I know it is your plan, David, but you are a person. And not every plan that is in a person's heart comes from the Lord.

Many are the plans. Some come from him. Some come from others. And I'm tired of you being in needless pain because you are holding so tightly to your plan. Your life is blessed. You don't feel blessed because you're looking at a blueprint that has nothing to do with it. your life. But stop comparing. Stop complaining about it. It is the Lord's. The Lord give it and the Lord take it the way. Blessed be the name of the Lord. It is the Lord's. But it is the Lord.

David said, I wanted to. I had it in my heart too. I bought the software to design the temple. I was drawing up plans, but God said to me, no, not this, David. I've done a lot in your life. And I'm not done with you, and there is going to be a temple, but you are not the one to build it. And David continues to explain to the people on that day how God spoke to him, how what he thought was not what God had in mind, how what was in his heart was not what God had in his plan. For I know the plans I have for you, and he rose to his feet and said, I made plans, but God said, you are not to build it. Verse 4, yet the Lord, the God of Israel chose me, chose me. shows me. Now here's what I think is happening. I think David is dealing with the disappointment

that I'm not going to get to build this what I want to build. I'm not going to get it exactly like I want to get it. I'm not going to be able to do the thing I thought I was able to do. And he deals with that disappointment by getting a bigger picture of his entire life. Yet the Lord, the God of Israel chose me from all my family to be the king over Israel. There were Seven brothers bigger than me. And God chose little old me. He chose Judah as leader. That was the tribe that was least expected for the king to come from.

Benjamin was the kingly tribe. Not Judah. This is not the right tribe. This is not the right son. This is not the right anything but is still God's plan. This is not the human anything, but it's still heaven's strategy. He chose me. I was small.

He told Judah. We were the wrong tribe. He chose from the tribe of Judah. My family, out of 400,000, he picked Jesse's family. And from my father's sons, he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. And he is my king over all my life. And God has given me this opportunity. And God has given me this breath.

And God has given me this stewardship. God has given me this influence. And I wanted to do it. And I really still want to do it. I don't like it, but it is the Lord's. It's not mine. It's the Lord's. Say it, it's not mine.

It's the Lord's. Tell your neighbor, it's not yours. Come on, tell them convincing. You've got to say that with some oph. Say it's not yours. It's the Lord's. It's not yours. It's the Lord's.

Where have we heard this before? In the Valley of Eli when a shepherd boy showed up with the lunch and there was a giant named Goliath that he did not plan for, but God did. He planned to bring lunch. God planned to bring freedom. He showed up on the battle lines. Some of the best stuff that happens is not in your plan. Start looking around for God to do purposes that don't fit in your plan. And when he got to the battle lines, can I preach about when he got to the battle lines? Can I preach about the first significant moment that made David recognized by Saul and that elevated him to the position that God had for him. And I'm not saying that God wants to make you a king or the president.

I don't even know if God wants to make you the principal of a middle school. He may, he may not. But the principal applies. David got to the Valley of Eliah and 1 Samuel 17, verse 47 says, thus, all those gathered here. This is what David said as a young man. All those gathered here will know that it is not. by sword. It is not by spear. Everything you brought to this fight is not what God is going to use. Everything you thought it was going to take is not what it's going to take. It is not by

sword. It is not by spear that the Lord saves. For the battle is not mine, but it is the Lord's. I need to find a Pentecostal church I can preach this in tonight. I showed up at the Episcopalian Baptist First Church of the Frozen Chosen, but I came to tell somebody, this battle, this battle is not yours. Pressing, pressing. Stop freaking out. Tell your neighbor, it's not yours, but it is the Lord's, but it is the Lord's. Lord. And if it is his battle, he's got my back in this battle, if it is. I want to high-five my neighbor. It is the Lord's. It is the Lord's. It is his breath in my lungs.

So I ought to praise him. But it is the Lord's. Stop trying to do it alone. It is the Lord's. Tag your partner. It is the Lord's. Call on heaven. It is the Lord. Pray in the Spirit. It is the Lord. It's his house. It's his plan. It's his hand. Many are the plans in a person's heart. But it is the Lord's. David said, I got to thinking about my life, and I realized that I didn't get this far by planning. I didn't get this far on my plans. They didn't even plan to have me in the house when they came through for the King auditions. this far on my plans. So I'm going to hand him the plan. The word of the Lord. Hand him the plan. Ooh, you're going to sleep so good like you had three glasses of warm cookies

and cold milk with the ice all around the rim of the glass. Just drink that down like a big swing. Many are the plans. I know you got some plans that aren't working out and I know you feel behind and I know you feel frustrated and I know there's some thinks that God is allowing others to do feel and experience, that you're not getting to feel, do an experience. Many of the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's point four, and I close. I want to tell you about a purpose that prevails. Prevails is just fancy way to say wins. So maybe we could say God's will wins. Maybe we could say God will win if God is for me. You think I'm trying to be Rick Flair? I'm quoting the Bible. Who can be?

against me, but it is the Lord's. It's too big for me, but it is the Lord's. He said that about Goliath and he said that about the temple. It is the Lord's purpose. That prevails. So I got up on my feet today to tell you something that David wanted you to know. That even if you feel like you're in your plan B of your life, let me keep preaching. Plan C, Plan D, E, F, G.

element O.P., his purpose prevails. Even if you thought, we'll be in here five years, you know what God likes to do for entertainment? God likes stand-up comedy, so he listens to you, make your plans. He likes that. That's a good night for the Lord. The Lord pops popcorn and sits back and laughs. Ah, I like a good comedy. Listen to where they think they're going to be in three years. I got stuff for them along the way that they don't even know about. I want to talk to you about purpose that prevails. I need to give you one more detail. Can I give you one more detail?

I know technically you have reached a satiation point where you probably have had enough of this word, but I will not sleep good if I don't tell you this last point. The Lord told David, I'm going to use one of your sons to build the temple. Not you. I'm going to use you, but I'm not going to do it through you. I'm going to do it through Solomon. Solomon. Verse 5.

Of all my sons, he had many sons. Of all my sons, and the Lord has given me many. He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel, verse 6. He said to me, Solomon, your son is the one who will build my house and my courts. For I've chosen him to be my son. I'll be his father. And you say, well, of course he chose Solomon.

Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, right? By the way, in our family Bible club right now, we're reading the Song of Solomon. Let me tell you, you don't know awkward unless you've been in a Bible club with your 14-year-old daughter trying to text about the Song of Solomon in a group chat with your wife. It's a whole situation. But the Song of Solomon is not the only book that Solomon. wrote. He also wrote a book called Proverbs. And one of those Proverbs of all the many that he wrote was Proverbs 1921. And Proverbs 1921 says, many are the plants in a person's heart.

But it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. I wonder when he wrote that, did he think back to the moment where his father David said, I had it in my heart to do it. And I wonder was it even more powerful for Solomon, considering the circumstances of his birth. Solomon was born in a very strange circumstance in a very sorrowful time. You see, David's brilliant mind that conceived the temple was a mind that was also very tempted. He built the temple, but he was tempted. a person's heart. Let me stop. That's what's going on in you right now. You are a temple

that God is building, but you are tempted. Not because there's something wrong with you, but because there's something God is going to release through you. And David, in all of his creativity, could cause himself real problems because many are the plans. He had plans to do good, he had plans to do bad. Many are the plans. Don't look at me like the only word you said this week was hallelujah, thank you, Jesus. Many are the plans. David, one springtime, decided not to go fight the battle, and he walked around his rooftop, and he saw a beautiful woman bathing, and her name is Bathsheba.

And he said, go and get her, I want her. And the same mind that was able to conceive something as beautiful as a temple conceived a sin that he committed that was very grievous in the sight of the Lord. In fact, the Lord never even calls Bathsheba David's wife. It calls him the wife of Uriah the Hittite. That was the man that David stole her from. And the Lord didn't like it. The Lord didn't like it one bit.

Many are the plans in a person's heart. The same mind that built the temple was tempted. It's a struggle of flesh and spirit in your life right now. You understand that in this student section? It is a struggle in the spirit for your life right now. And in one season, David was very courageous. And in one season, he was the kind of coward that slept with another man's wife and had that man killed on the front lines of battle.

And the Lord didn't like it. And he sent Nathan, the same prophet who turned around and said, hey, you don't get to build the temple years earlier. He turned around and said, you shouldn't have done that. And there's going to be a consequence. In fact, the child that was conceived from that act died. And David fasted and wept and prayed. wouldn't eat, and it still didn't change the consequence.

So now in this moment, David is very depressed, disappointed, and guilty. He probably wrote Psalm 51. He was a man of many songs. He was also a man of many sins and many sons. Many are the plans in a person's heart. But it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. And that child was given no name because that child never lived. And after David wept, he got up and washed his face.

And they said, have you lost your mind? The child died and you're getting up and eating. When the child was still alive, you were fasting and praying. And David said, well, I thought the Lord was going to heal him, but now that he didn't, I have to move on. David goes into Bathsheba. And he takes his wife and he comforts her. And he makes love to her.

And they conceive a child, and they named him Solomon. Now, decades later, David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Lord. And he has a plan that God gave him for the temple. And he has a son that God gave him named Solomon after the worst failure of his life. In 1 Chronicles 28, verse 11, says that he made a decision. Then David gave his son Solomon the plans. And isn't it just like God and just like grace that the son that was born after his worst sin was the one that God chose to build the temple that he would live in?

And I want you to begin to clap your hands today. Because it doesn't matter what mistakes you've made. Because it doesn't matter how much time you've lost. Because it doesn't matter how bleak it has looked. It doesn't matter what weapon has been formed against you. It doesn't matter what the enemy is sowing in your heart to try to discourage you. Hand him the plans. The same son that was born of the wife that David never should have even had.

I will redeem that too. And I will use the mistake that you made. I'm preaching to somebody and I don't know who it is yet. I will use the thing that you thought I couldn't use. I will take the plans that I gave you. I will take the purpose that I put in you. If you will hand him the plans, I'll picture Solomon years later sitting down with this pen and writing Proverbs 1921. Many are the plans in a person's heart. But it is the Lord's purpose that prevailed. Solomon knew. I wasn't even supposed to be here. Solomon knew. I wasn't even supposed to be born. Solomon knew. I wasn't born in the best circumstance.

But Romans 828 says, all things. All things. Mistakes and major successes. All things. Failures and faith. All things. work together for the good of them that love God and are called according to his purpose. So I am preaching to somebody today that is not living in your plan, but you're still in his purpose.

I'm preaching to somebody today who didn't even follow his plan, but the Lord is so good that if you hand him the plan, God said, hand me the plan. If you got 10 years left, hand me 10 years. If you don't have many brain cells left, hand me the ones you got left. If you got nothing left to offer me but a broken heart, lift your hands with a broken heart. And bless the name of the Lord and hand him the plan. Stand to your feet and do just like this and hand him the plan. Hand him where you thought.

you'd be by now, you're thinking too small. What you thought you were supposed to be, you're looking at the wrong blueprint. Hand him the plan. You are his temple. Hand him the plan. Let him build it how he knows to build it. Let him bring who he wants to bring. Let him remove who he wants to remove.

Let him do what he wants to do. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's perfect. purpose that prevails. Now, if you take your hands and just put them like this, just like that, I think what the Lord wants us to take away from this message that Holly can cover in highlights. Hand me my tight shot, please, is you need to be open-handed with the plan, open-handed with the plan to keep a firm grip on the purpose. Open-handed with the plan, but I'm certain about the purpose. I know God wants to get glory out of my life.

I know He wants to get glory out of my life. I know God wants to fill this temple with glory. I know God wants to work all things together for good. So I'm going to ask you one more thing. Was Bathsheba part of the blueprint too? If he works all things together, do you really think there's anything about you that would stop him from building? Stop letting the enemy cut you off.

the place of your last mistake. Fast, pray, repent, do better, and move on because it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. And this is a strong word. It is a strong word. It is hard to hand him to plan. It's hard to say, okay, God, you know, my kids aren't turning out like I think they should. Wait, stop and think about that for a minute. My kids aren't turning out how I think they should. I can't get them to do what I want them to do. You can't even get you to do what you want you to do. Hand him the plan. Clap those hands real quick, or I'm going to keep prophesying. Open-handed. So when you go to lunch today, realize that you not only heard four points, but you learned a proverb. You learned that many are the plans. And watch this.

plans. If the first one didn't work, God's already got another one cooking. Many are the plans in a person's heart. That's where the battleground is. That's where the fight is. God's looking for a person after his own heart. But it is the Lord's. Open your hands one more time. It is the Lord's. Whatever you need to give him today. You know what it is. I don't know what it is. I don't live with you. You know what it is. Say it is the Lord's. purpose that prevails. God, I thank you that in spite of everything that I've gone through, all things are working together for the good of those who love you and are called according to your purpose. And now, Lord, we hand you the plan. We hand you the plan for what it looks like

to be us in this season of our life. We hand you the plan for the space we think we're supposed to occupy. We offer ourselves to you. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry is because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now or visit elevationchurch.org slash podcast for more information. And if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe, you can share it with your friends.

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