David [00:00:00]:
Praise God. You know, I’ve shared this with you before, but once again, let me say every year I ask God what’s my theme for this year? And at the beginning of 2025, he said, this year is a time for pressing. And I don’t know if you remember this, but January 2nd, I shared a message on the power of pressing. And I wanted to bring. God laid this on my heart to bring it up again here as we’re. We’ve just entered the last quarter of this year, and we want to finish this year out.
David [00:00:46]:
Pressing, pressing in, pressing on, pressing through, pressing out. God has great things for us. God has great things for you. And so as we press, we’re going to see those things come to pass. God’s going to anoint us and bring him to pass through us. And so I just wanted to remind you of this. So today we’re going to talk about the power of pressing again. And so, as I said before, as I just said, the Lord identified four ways to press.
David [00:01:21]:
One is to press in, one is to press on, one is to press through, and one is to press out. And so what I want us to see before we get too deep into those four things is the three key words that define the word press in the Greek. And those keywords are diligence, pursuit, perseverance, diligence, pursuit, and perseverance. And so what we’re doing when we’re pressing is we’re diligently pursuing with perseverance. When’s the last time you did that? You know, sometimes we get up, we’re ready to go do that. And then some mornings we get up, we’re just like, oh, is it nap time yet? We want to go back to bed, it feels like. Or we just don’t have the energy, we feel like to do what that sounds like, but let’s look at what it means. The first word we said there was diligence.
David [00:02:25]:
Diligence is being determined. It’s a determined decision. I don’t care what comes, how I feel, what’s going on. I am determined. I’ve made a decision, and here’s where I am. The second definition here of diligence is a constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken. It’s what we call consistency. Taking action mentally or physically without unnecessary delay or sloth.
David [00:03:01]:
And what that’s speaking to there in the context of diligence is mentally, I’ve got my mindset, I’ve made a decision, I’m going to follow through. I’M going to take action. And then physically, it means no matter how I feel, what’s going on today, I’m going to get up and I’m going to take action. I’m going to move forward. And so it’s giving due attention to something or focused intention on something. And so that’s what diligence means, being determined, a constant effort to accomplish, taking action mentally and physically, giving due attention and focused intention to something. And so God is calling us to this when he says for us to press. Then we see here in Philippians 3:10 in the Amplified.
David [00:04:06]:
So we see here in Philippians 3:10 in THE AMPLIFIED, Paul said, for my determined purpose is that I may know him. So Paul was making a statement that he was being diligent about knowing the Lord. It was something he committed to every day. Proverbs 12:27. The writer here tells us the lazy man does not roast what he took in honey. But diligence is man’s precious possession. Wow. Think about that.
David [00:04:43]:
Diligence embodies the qualities of perseverance and consistent effort walking in all God has for us. It reflects a disciplined attitude that helps overcome challenges, helps us maintain focus, thereby leading to success and fulfillment in what we’re working toward. Diligence is a precious possession because it shapes a person’s heart, mind, and our approach to life, making it a cornerstone of growth and resilience. You know, we have the capacity within us, the potential within us to always know more, learn more, be more, and become more all the days of our life. It doesn’t matter what age we are, we still have the capacity within us to learn and grow. And diligence. When we possess diligence and maintain that, we’ll be learning and growing all the days of our life. What a precious gift that is.
David [00:05:51]:
Then the second definition of pressing is pursuit. And pursuit means to pursue something ardently or passionately with passion. It means to seek after eagerly. It means to earnestly endeavor to acquire something. That means to run or follow after someone or something. And so pursuit is that thing where we get up, let’s go, let’s go get it, let’s go take it. Let’s go make this happen. Let’s go do this.
David [00:06:27]:
We’re pursuing God and what he wants for us each and every day. Passionate pursuit. I love this definition. Passionate pursuit is, is hope in action. And when you truly study hope, what you learn is hope isn’t just sitting around wishing and waiting. Hope is being active. It’s active expectation which we’re going to see Here in a moment. So passionate pursuit is hope in action, bringing possibilities and opportunities into reality.
David [00:07:05]:
We see them and so let’s go make it happen. There’s a way, if God shows me, if I see it, there’s a way to make this happen. So hope is defined as expectation. So passionate pursuit is expectation in action is another way to say that. And so there are three ways that expectation are defined. Number one is active. Expectation is active, expectation is confident, and expectation is unshakable. And so when we’re active in our expectation, we’re getting up and going after it.
David [00:07:43]:
When we’re confident in our expectation, we know it’s going to come. And when we’re unshakable in our expectation, we stand in a place of faith where we say, it doesn’t matter what happens around me, what anybody says, what’s going on in the world. I know that. I know that. I know that. I know God is going to bring this to pass. Let me ask you this. What are you hoping for? What are you actively expecting? What are you confidently expecting? What are you unshakably expecting? I want to challenge you, get up every day pursuing, running after and earnestly endeavoring and expecting to acquire the dream, the hope, the desire that God has put in your heart.
David [00:08:37]:
He’s ready to run with you and see it come to pass. Which brings us to the third definition of pressing, which is perseverance. Perseverance means persistency. So we’re being persistently consistent. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a choice. To persevere is a choice we make. It’s not based on emotions.
David [00:09:06]:
It’s based on knowing that we know that we know. This is the path God has for us and we’re going to see it through. Pressing is a diligent process, pursuit, perseveringly. A persistently consistent lifestyle of running after your dream, your hope, the plan, the purpose God has for you. So there are four ways we press, and the four ways we diligently pursue with perseverance are. We talked about them a moment ago, but let’s define them a little more. The first one was press in. So what do we press into? The Lord said to press into know.
David [00:09:59]:
Knowing isn’t simply acquiring information or knowledge. The word know in the Greek means this. It means intimacy, as in the intercourse between a husband and a wife coming together. When we come into this level of knowing with the Lord, it brings about fruitfulness. It is where we receive God’s creative understanding, his purpose, his plan. And things are birthed in us. And brought forth from us and through us. Wow.
David [00:10:34]:
Think about that. I want to know. I want to press in to know God in such a way that he can birth through me, bring through me, bring out from me his purpose and plan here in the earth. Psalm 32. Eight in the Amplified says this. I, the Lord will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. What he’s saying there, he’s going to be right there with us.
David [00:11:08]:
He’s not going to leave us or forsake us or go, okay, you know what to do. Go do it. No, he’s going to walk with us and show us the way. So pressing in through consistent diligent pursuit and persistent perseverance in worship, prayer and seeking, God’s wisdom will empower you to come to know the way he has for you to move forward. And God always has a way for you. I don’t know what you’re hoping for, working toward, what your goals are for the fourth quarter to complete this year, but here’s what I know. God has a way for you, and he wants you to press into him to know the way he has for you. This is a part of what we are doing here at Emerge International.
David [00:12:01]:
Kanye and I are taking time to pray and seek God and to press in to know God, what do you have for us this last quarter so that we can end this year where you want us to be so we can step into next year ready to run with the message and purpose you have for us? Hallelujah. The second way we press. So we press in to know. Second way is we press on to obtain. The word obtain there in the Hebrew means to cause, to come forth from, to receive or obtain from the Lord something to be given or furnished with. God wants us to press in to know, so we can press on to obtain, so we can receive from him what he has for us. As we press on to obtain, we are finding, we are getting, we are understanding God’s skillful wisdom, which is all God has for us. God’s wisdom unlocks the door to everything we need to move forward.
David [00:13:13]:
Hallelujah. He is furnishing us with all we need to be who he has created us to be, walk in the way he has planned for us. Wow. That’s why he said here in Matthew 6:33, and I’m reading this from the Amplified Classic also. But seek, aim at, and strive after. First of all, his kingdom and his righteousness, his way of doing and being right, and then all These things taken together will be given you. Besides, he’s going to meet all of your needs and everything you need to move forward and accomplish what he has for you. If we simply seek him first, see the way and then walk in it, obtain here in the Greek, means this.
David [00:14:12]:
It means to lay hold of, to lay hold of so as to make one’s own. That’s mine, it’s mine. I have it. It means to attain, to take into oneself, to appropriate, to lay hold of with the mind, the will, our understanding, to perceive and learn and comprehend what it is God has for us. Philippians 3:12 in the Amplified says, not that I have now attained this ideal or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of, to grasp and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus the Messiah, has laid hold of me and made me his own. Paul was saying, I know he did this for a reason, for a purpose. So I’m going after it, I’m going to obtain it, I’m going to grasp it. I’m going to lay hold of all that he has for me, that I may be all that he created me for.
David [00:15:27]:
Guys, he has a purpose for us. He has a purpose for you, one for me, for everyone. And so he is furnishing us with his power to fulfill his plan for us. God wants you walking in his power every day, but you’ve got to press on to obtain it. Press in to know him. Press on to obtain. And here’s what you need to know. It happens within us before it happens outside of us.
David [00:16:02]:
So that’s why it’s important every day to do what he just talked about here in Matthew 6:33. Seek him first. Seek the Lord first. Seek him in worship. Seek him in prayer. Seek him in the word. Hallelujah. In your devotion time.
David [00:16:23]:
Seek Him. Look for Him. Hallelujah. The third way we press is, is to press through. So we press in to know, we press on to obtain, and then we press through. And I know you’ve heard me mention this before, our friend and brother, one of our board members, Brother Jackie Liston, he’s written a book called A Place called Through. And guys, we’re all going through something, somewhere, sometime, somehow. One of the characteristics of pressing is that we haven’t talked about yet is pressing also is about pressure.
David [00:17:16]:
Pressing in, pressing on, pressing through is applied pressure. So what we’re doing is we’re applying pressure in the realm of the Spirit and out in the world as we take action. I’m not referring to feeling pressured or Being under pressure. The pressure I’m talking about here is like when I’m ironing a shirt. I apply pressure to eradicate wrinkles. The result, a smooth, wrinkle free shirt. Using applied pressure to come against wrinkles is like using a pride applied pressure to come against the enemy trying to restrain us or hold us back. That’s pressing through.
David [00:18:04]:
Pressing through. A strategic applied pressure that pushes through the resistance of the enemy trying to stop us or push us back, trying to discourage us. No, we are not going to give up. We’re going to press through. Enemy. No, you have no right, no authority, no power here. We’re going to press through. It is focused pressure that eradicates wrinkles that the enemy is trying to bring in our life.
David [00:18:34]:
And so let me give you a definition of truth. So we’re pressing through. Through means this from one end to the other. I’m going from where I am to where God wants me to be. I’m pressing through, through the resistance and any challenge that comes to me because I’m going to be where God wants me to be. It’s kind of like this. I don’t know if you’ve heard this story before, but I love sharing it. Let me share it again with you.
David [00:19:05]:
What they found is out on the plains when there’s a big thunderstorm, cows will turn and and run away from the thunderstorm trying to outrun it and get away from it. They end up spending a long time in the rain because they keep trying to outrun it. However, buffalo will not turn and try to outrun it. They will turn into it and run straight into the storm. What we find is they spend less time in the storm because they’re running through it instead of away from it. Question is, how many buffaloes do we have in the room? I don’t want to be a cow trying to run away from it. I want to be a buffalo. And I’m turning, I’m going through, I’m pressing through this.
David [00:20:03]:
Hallelujah. We all have been called in some way to fulfill God’s plan for us. And we all have been given a mission. It may be in the marketplace, in business, in music and coaching and speaking and training. It may be in ministry. Whatever it may be, our purpose in all of this is missional. What does that mean? What does it mean to be missional? A mission is a sending forth. It means to send out.
David [00:20:37]:
It’s being sent with delegated authority and power to perform a purpose or plan. You, whatever, wherever you are, however you function, whether it’s in business and ministry, whatever those things I named in the arts, in all of life. God has a mission for you there. It’s not just to meet a need or to serve someone, or to sell something or to train someone. We have a mission. We’ve all been given a mission. So what’s our mission? Well, our mission is the fourth way. We press.
David [00:21:23]:
We press out. We press out with the message of the good news of the Kingdom of God. Our general, the commander, the leader, sends his troops, his team, his special forces out with authority and power to accomplish the mission. Jesus has delegated all of his authority and power to us so that we can go forth and fulfill the mission. God has empowered you with his authority and power through the name of Jesus. Hear what I’m saying there? Take that to heart. It’s yours. Stand in it, Own it, Walk in it.
David [00:22:08]:
We all have a ministry. A ministry is not just what happens in church on Sunday or on stage. A ministry is what happens every day of life. How are we ministering to those around them, around us? Loving them, Caring for them, Sharing with them God’s goodness? We all have been given the honor and privilege of sharing the message of restoration to God’s favor and love with everyone around us. God wants everyone to come into his family. So we press out with this message of redemption, this message of love, this message reconciliation. Because we know for ourselves what it’s done for us and how it works in us and how God loves us. Acts 18, verse 5.
David [00:23:05]:
This is from the King James Version. And when Silas and Timotheus or Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. Jesus was the anointed one. Hallelujah. So pressed here means to urge or compel by necessity. Paul was urged and compelled by necessity to solicit with earnestness the Jew’s ears so they could hear this good news he was sharing. Pressing out suggests actively reaching beyond oneself to spread the message of Christ, to be sensitive to the direction of the Holy Spirit. You never know who God is going to lead you to.
David [00:24:06]:
I’ve got a friend he’s mentoring a young man, young 19 year old man he just met in a bookstore somewhere. The young man kept coming back and asking him questions about books and they ended up having coffee and talking and then he ended up mentoring him. And then the young man gave his life to the Lord. And then recently we just baptized him. Hallelujah. Praise God. That’s what it’s about, guys, what I’m talking about here is as you go forth in your everyday life doing what you do. Be ready.
David [00:24:45]:
Be ready. Follow the nudge. Be ready to share the love of God with those around you. Be ready to share the message of hope to those around you. What I’ve shared with you today defines a journey. God has invited each of us to take a journey with him. In fact, this is a journey. All of us, the whole body of Christ, we’re all on this journey together.
David [00:25:18]:
It’s a journey of pressing in to know. It’s a journey of gaining more and more of God’s perspective. It’s a journey of pressing on to obtain a persevering faith as we receive all God has for us and we grow in who God has created us to be. It’s a journey of pressing through, overcoming challenges, resisting the enemy, and standing firm in our victory in Christ. It’s a journey of pressing out to the ends of the earth, fulfilling our mission to share his love with everyone. As believers in Christ, we have the opportunity to come together in this last quarter of 2025. Linking arms. As we press in to know, as we press on to obtain, as we press through, to overcome, as we press out to the ends of the earth and see God’s kingdom come and expand here on earth as it is in heaven, God is asking you, you want to go on this journey with me? Come on.
David [00:26:42]:
Press in to know, press on to obtain from me. Press through to overcome the challenges that you can press out to the world and share my love with those around you. What a great invitation we have from the Lord. Hallelujah. Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for this invitation you’ve given us to know you, to receive from you all that you have for us to walk in your power and authority so we overcome all the resistance and challenges of the enemy that we might press out to the world and share with them the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Father God, I pray that you give all of us, every one of us, opportunities every day to go out and be your representatives, your ambassadors here in the earth. Father God, sharing your love and your good news with all those around us.
David [00:27:43]:
And may we end this year, Father God, just rejoicing at all that you’re doing and all that you’ve done as we go forth to see your kingdom come and your will be done here in the earth as it is in heaven. Amen. So be it. God bless you. Have a great week. Pastor Kanye is coming now with a closing word in prayer.
