Worship

“Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” by Bethel Music featuring Kari Jobe

Scripture

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” -1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (ESV)

Understanding Biblical Immovability

Last week, we laid the foundation for all that Paul was addressing in this theologically meaty chapter of 1 Corinthians 15. He wanted our eyes on our spiritual identity of being resurrected with Christ. He also wanted our eyes fixed forward in faith at our coming resurrection when Christ comes for His Bride. We stand in the “now and not yet” of this spiritual reality. Therefore, how do we live “in the Lord”? Immovable.

Immovable means not being moved from your place. It’s a firmly persistent position. It’s the conviction Paul wrote to Timothy: “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day (2 Timothy 1:12).” Our resolute conviction and confidence is in the One our hearts adore—in the One who gave us His victory!

Biblical Examples of Standing Firm

• In prison, Joseph was immovable because God gave him a dream to hold on to.
• In prison, Paul and Silas could worship until the prison doors flew open because their eyes were fully fixed on Jesus.
• In the fiery furnace, Shadrach, Mesach and Abendego could say, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up (Daniel 3:17-18).”

“Steadfast” and “immovable” are two common words that accompany my prayers for the Bride of Christ. As I was praying last week for our nation and for believers, the Lord began to expand my language to include “oaks of righteousness” as it pertained to these two words. Do you know what the root system of an oak tree looks like? According to Garden Guides, “Oak trees develop very deep rooting systems that branch off of its main taproot. Over time, the taproot’s prominence recedes and is replaced by numerous large lateral roots that form the lateral root system. These lateral roots penetrate the soil 4 feet deep and extend laterally to 90 feet.” The lateral roots can expand four to seven times the width of the tree’s crown. The roots anchor the oak into immovability.

“That they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord , that he may be glorified.” -Isaiah 61:3b

I believe the Lord desires for us to hear:

Oaks of righteousness are established in our nation (and the nations) and are about ready to release fruit in the Earth. They aren’t there to just look pretty! There’s a reason I call them “oaks of righteousness”—they are significant to the landscape (spiritual landscape) of a nation. And they are immovable even in a storm!

Sisters, God has called you an oak of righteousness. He has made you immovable in Him—no one can snatch you from His hand. It’s what is true of you if your life is anchored in Christ and His Word lives in you. When my daughter, AnnMarie, was in middle school, she asked me to do a discipleship group with her friends. She wanted them to have deep roots in Jesus. We would meet every week, and I remember one common theme the Lord continually prompted in my heart for them:

Get the Word of God inside of you!

Scripture’s Warning and Wisdom

There may come a time when it is no longer legal for us to have the Word of God. You see this in many nations around the world. We must get it in us NOW. We must hide it in us so that we live from this place of truth.

Many, many believers will fall away from the truth of God’s Word. They will become captivated with hollow philosophy (Colossians 2:8), antichrist theologies (1 John 4:3), and worldly beliefs (Titus 2:11-14). Just one degree off and then another and then another, and we have become captivated with what could sound like Jesus but is not. Beloved, we need to be immovable in the Word of God in this hour. We need the gift of discernment and wisdom like never before. Your roots in the Word have got to expand across the landscape of your life and grow to a depth that is deeper than it was yesterday. I say this with an urgency even as I pray this for my own daughters, my husband, myself, and for you.

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” -Luke 6:47-49 (ESV)

Get your tools in hand—it’s time to dig and it’s time to build! He has a crown to display in your life!

“This invitation upon us right now is to decide and take our stand upon the Word of God like never before. This era of unprecedented displays of His power and miracles is going to come through a people who live, breathe, feast, and walk upon the Word of God and live from that place. So by the power of the Word of God and by faith, we root and anchor our expectancy.” -Lana Vawser, “I Hear the Lord Say New Era”

Growing Deep Roots

The beautiful thing about Jesus is He counsels us in truth by the Spirit that lives in us. He leads us and shows us what is true and what is false. He uses the hard things we have walked through to expand and deepen our faith and belief in the Word of God and the truth of His character. He prunes us, and the places that have been tried and tested become our greatest deposit of faith and authority. We go deep not so we go underground and become less present in the world. We go deep so the crown of our tree gets wider for an even greater display of His glory. Our leaves are for the healing of nations (Revelation 22:2)! We are planted by streams of living water, bearing fruit in and out of season (Psalm 1:3)! We are rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (Colossians 2:7)!

For those of you who God is leading to lie beside quiet waters for restoration, take this time and just receive from the Lord. Rest and peace are yours! Let your roots go deep into His presence where your soul is restored. Your taproot system, just like the oak tree, is looking for living water so that your lateral root system can anchor your growth. Receive what God is doing in you; you are going to need it for future ministry and fruitfulness. The leaves of healing that will burst forth in your life for people and nations matter now as your roots are growing down deep. The faith that will come forth from this season of rest and restoration will be exponentially greater than you could have imagined. I prophecy that your faith will be expansive. You will believe for impossibility and even greater things at a much more rapid rate. You will not second guess what God speaks or what He calls you to do or to pray. Faith will become second nature.

A Prayer for Growth

I want to pray for those of you who are incredibly hungry for the Lord. He is preparing a table before you, and it will be a feast of His goodness and healing. You have not walked this road before, but the Lord is leading you to walk to His banqueting table, and His banner over you is love. He is attracted to hunger and is answering the ultimate desires of your heart.

I pray for perseverance and increased desire for You, Jesus. I pray for the spirit of wisdom and discernment to fall upon my sisters in even greater measure right now. I ask, Lord, for counsel by Your Spirit to know what is true and what is false. I pray for a sensitivity to Your Spirit that is a gift to them. I pray for deep roots and a crowned tree that bears fruit in every season. Lord, for those who need healing physically, spiritually, and emotionally, I pray that You would release this in them as they bring You their faith and their hearts’ greatest desires. And as they wait for You to move, teach them how to live in grace and how to receive Your mercy every day. Confound them with Your goodness, Jesus! Make their heads spin at Your wonders, Jesus! May we have eyes to see and lips to declare the magnificence and power of who You are and what You are doing! Make us overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony! May Your goodness and Your glory rest on each one today so that searching people can build a nest in the branches of their crown and encounter YOU! In the precious name of Jesus, amen!

A Few Key Notes

• It’s not too late to jump into one of the new, seven-week Arise studies. Visit eastwest.org/arise for details and to RSVP. All studies have a Zoom option, some will be held in-person.

Link: https://zoom.us/j/2410161101?pwd=ak9qaWFsTE4vaHNIRWJUZUNnTGYwZz09

Meeting ID: 241 016 1101

Passcode: 072485

• Help fund the movement of Arise to open in five more cities! Give now.
• Two new Arise mission trips are scheduled! Visit eastwest.org/arise to apply.
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• Join the closed Arise Facebook group where community and ministry happen.