Steven Furtick's Blog, page 50

Elevation Creative: To God Be the Glory

Through Christ, God has brought us near. Because of what Jesus has done for each of us on the cross, we don’t have to reach out to find God, because He has reached out to us. And as believers, He has placed His glory within us. To open our 2014 Easter worship experiences, our Production, Worship, and Creative teams presented a multi-sensory performance element built upon the classic hymn “To God Be The Glory”, helping us celebrate and remember the power of Christ in us – the Hope of Glory.

The Potential We Forget We Have

The Bible says Christ is in us, but what does that mean? If we compare ourselves to the heroes and scholars of the Christian faith, most of us would say we don’t really measure up. We see our shortcomings and our challenges and where we fall short. But in this clip from our series The Prodigy in Me, Pastor Steven reminds us that as believers, we all have the potential to do incredible things for God’s glory when we draw from the One who lives in us.

What Jesus Offers Us Instead

Inside all of us there is a longing for something. A deep passion to fill our lives with purpose and meaning. We chase the world and all it offers, but our own pursuits always fall short, reminding us of a thirst for something more. And in the meantime, our mistakes and missteps have left us broken and ashamed. But no matter where we are or what we’ve done, Jesus has a way of working in our lives to point us to Himself – and what He can offer us instead. This Easter, in part one of our series The Hope of Glory, Pastor Steven uses the story of the woman at the well to show us the power and eternal impact one encounter with Jesus can have on each and every one of our lives.

You Can’t Follow Jesus

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me?

John 13:36-38

The propelling force behind Peter’s denial wasn’t his lack of faith. Otherwise he wouldn’t have made the claims he did. It was his overestimation of his faith. He believed he was ready to die for Jesus. But he wasn’t, and Jesus knew it.

So Jesus said the unthinkable: you can’t follow me.

That doesn’t sound like Jesus. After all, this is the Jesus who had told Peter to leave his family, profession, and home to follow Him. Now Jesus is telling Peter he can’t follow Him. Sounds schizophrenic.

But it wasn’t. Jesus knew exactly what He was doing because He knew the exact measure of Peter’s faith.

Peter had initially followed Jesus.

Peter had followed Him on the water.

But he wasn’t ready to follow Jesus to the cross.

Peter wasn’t ready to follow Jesus everywhere. Not at that moment.

You’re not ready to follow Jesus everywhere either. Not at this moment.

And here’s the truth: Jesus isn’t expecting you to. While we definitely often overestimate our own faith, I think we underestimate the grace and patience of Jesus for our lack of faith even more. Jesus expects you to exercise the faith that you have, not the faith that you still have to develop.

There are places in your life where your faith is still lacking. There are moments where you still struggle. The question for you in those places and in those moments is the same as it was for Peter: will you really lay down your life for Jesus?

And the answer is no.

But that is why He laid down His life for you.

That’s what He was leaving to do when He told Peter he couldn’t follow Him.

And that’s what He’s done for you when you can’t follow Him.

Practice the measure of faith that you have. Follow Jesus where you can.

But know that His grace covers you when you can’t and He is patient with you while you are developing the faith to follow Him where you can’t go right now.

This entry was originally posted November 11, 2010

Easter At Elevation

Easter. It’s far more than just eggs and pastels and dressing up and going to church. It’s the promise of our salvation. It’s the church’s rescue mission to reach a lost world with the Gospel. And just like in years past, this Easter we’ve created an unforgettable worship experience that remembers the power of the cross and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. We would love for you to join us.

Click here to see all locations and times and invite your friends and family.

Elevation Creative: Healer

Within all of us, there lies an emptiness. A gaping hole deep within our hearts. We try to fill this void with everything the world can offer – success, power, relationships. But there is only one thing that can complete us. In this video from our series Healer, our Creative team uses a powerful spoken word piece to remind us that there is only one true cure for humanity – the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This video, along with many other helpful resources from our Creative team, are available for free at our Elevation Resources site. Click here for more.

The Solution To Our Greatest Struggles

We all have something in our lives that seems unbeatable, no matter how hard we try. A bad habit, a destructive pattern, a regret, a heartbreak. In this clip from the sermon “The Greatest Story Forever Told“, Pastor Steven shows us that when God’s people faced problems that seemed hopeless, they were always provided with an answer. And whether we we feel chained to the shame our the past or are feeling overwhelmed by our current circumstances, there is and always will be only one solution – Jesus.

How God Works When We Give

It’s not easy to be generous. It’s not in our nature. Because when we look at our resource – our money, our time, our talents – we will almost always feel under-sourced. But when we bring our limited resource to the unlimited Source, God can do more than we could ever imagine. In this illustration from part 2 of our series Consider The Source, Pastor Steven uses John 6 and a pomegranate to show us how God is able to multiply the effectiveness of our giving when we live generously.

Gratitude In Action

It’s pretty easy for us to give thanks to God. As Christians, we have so much to be grateful for. Each day we have the opportunity to give Him gratitude for His grace and mercy, His blessing and provision. These prayers of thanksgiving allow us to both honor God and grow in our relationship with Him. But our gratitude shouldn’t end there. In this clip from our series This Is Your Permission Slip, Pastor Steven teaches us that when we bring our tithes and give our offerings to God, we have the opportunity to document God’s work in our lives and put our gratitude into action.

Why Everything Is For Our Good

There’s a tension that exists in the Bible that we all feel and live in every day.

In Genesis 1, God made the heavens and the earth and He called them good. So there’s some things that are good simply because God has made them and called them that.

The earth. Life. Marriage.

All God-made and good things.

But not everything is good. We have Genesis 3 to thank for that.

There’s the earth, but there’s also earthquakes.

There’s life, but there’s also death.

There’s marriage, but there’s also divorce.

This is where we live. And we could say that that’s just something we have to accept. It’s a tension that we have to live with. We’re going to have some good and some bad in this world.

While in a sense that’s true, I think there’s something we frequently overlook – the reality of Romans 8:28:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This changes everything. It eases the tension. Because here’s the truth:

Some things God makes and calls them good.

Some things He makes work together for the good of those who are called.

Either way, there is absolutely nothing in your life that isn’t good or beyond God’s ability to work for your good.

Your body, which is good. Or the cancer in it, which is terrible.

Your wife, who is good. Or her death, which was tragic.

Your children, who are good. Or them walking away from God, which is heartbreaking.

This is why Paul can go on to say in Romans 8:39 that nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God. It’s because there is nothing in all creation that God did not make or that is beyond the scope of His redemptive power to remake.

You might think you’re the exception, but you’re not. Romans 8:28 isn’t a statement of probability or possibility. It’s a statement of reality. It’s not, God can make all things work for your good, but maybe that doesn’t apply to you. It’s that every second of your life He is making all things work for your good.

Whether you can see it now or not, your life is one of the greatest testimonies to the goodness and creative capabilities of God you’re ever going to behold. For what He has already given you that’s good. And for how He can redeem your life after it falls apart, or remake your heart after it’s been shattered.

No matter what position you’re in, there’s no place where God’s love cannot find you and recreate you. No matter what you have experienced, your life is stamped by the goodness of God.

Yes, there’s good and bad. But it’s all for your good.

Resource of the Day: The single greatest thing standing in-between you and God’s plan for your life is not just your preconceived notion of what that life itself should be. It’s also your preconceived notion of the road you should take to get there. Check out this blog post on the idea that just because God’s taken you on a detour, it doesn’t mean He’s changed His mind about your destination: Detours to the destination.