Steven Furtick's Blog, page 65

How to Know When It’s Time to Move On

There are often times in our lives where God will call us to stay firmly planted and faithfully rooted right where we are. Your marriage. Your family. A difficult season of growth. But there are other times where God has called us out and told us to move on. In this clip from our series IN•FIN•8, Pastor Steven shows how to recognize when it’s time to go – and what we could be missing out on if we don’t.

Why People Will Always Let You Down

We all have people in our lives that we treat like life rafts. People who we think are supposed to hold us up, keep us from drowning, or rescue us from a life we dread. We long to feel value in acceptance from them and will do anything we can to receive it. But God never intended for us to find our security in another imperfect person. And it’s only a matter of time before we both sink under the weight of our combined dysfunction. In this clip from our series Mr. & Mrs. Betterhalf, Pastor Steven explains the true source of security – a source that can sustain in midst of our storms and allow us to hold fast to a value only God can provide.

A Chat With Matt

My friend Matt Redman is one of our generation’s most profound songwriters. And his new album, “Your Grace Finds Me,” releases today.

I was privileged to get an advance copy a few weeks ago, and I can’t stop listening to it. It is a great collection of the kind of larger than life, yet intimately personal anthems we’ve come to love and look forward to from Matt. I hope you’ll download it today. If you do, though, be prepared to keep listening to it for the next few weeks. But that’s probably good preparation, since our churches will be singing these songs for many years!

In celebration of the new release, I caught up with Matt on the phone recently. I asked him some in-depth questions about where these songs came from, how they came together, and why his taste in movies leaves so much to be desired, from my American perspective :)

As usual, Matt’s answers were full of wisdom, wit, and warmth. W.W.W.

Hope you enjoy the interview, and I know you’ll be blessed by the songs.

(PS- Beautiful Artwork by Anne Neilson.)

Click here to listen on your mobile device.

Buy Matt’s new album:

iTunes – Amazon

Where Is God When Life Gets Out of Control?

“God is in control.” It sounds nice and it makes a great bumper sticker – but do we really believe it? How can God, and all His infinite power, love, and grace, coexist in a world with cancer, divorce, human trafficking, and genocide? How can God possibly be in control when life often feels very much the contrary? In part 3 of our series I Don’t Know What I Believe, Pastor Steven explains how God and His sovereignty give us a hope to cling to during the most tumultuous seasons of our lives.

God Doesn’t Do Details

A common phrase you often hear from people is, “I don’t do details.” Usually they mean they’re more big picture people. They don’t like to get bogged down in minutiae.

In His own way, God doesn’t do details either. At least when it comes to His commands to people in the Bible. In fact, He can often be painfully vague.

He told Abraham simply, “Go to the land I will show you.”

When He beckoned Peter to walk on the water, He simply said, “Come.”

On His command Moses to free the Israelites from the most powerful nation in the world, He merely commanded him, “Go, I am sending you to Pharaoh.”

God didn’t use any detail. He didn’t lay out a step-by-step plan. He just issued the command and expected obedience.

Sometimes people wanted more detail. Moses wanted to know how it was going to happen. What should he tell the people? But God didn’t fill in much detail here either.

I will be with you.

Tell them, I AM has sent me to you.

That helps.

On the one hand, you would think God was kind of winging it. On the surface, it would seem that His plan was just to deal with the details as they came about. And that’s not very reassuring. Not when you’re being asked to step out on faith.

On the other hand, when you read on in the stories, God had every detail covered. Abraham’s journey. The plagues. The Red Sea. Even Peter’s ability to walk on water. And that’s very reassuring.

God is extremely meticulous. He is all about the details. Far more than you’ll ever be. He has everything already figured out. Every pitfall and possibility accounted for. Every detour arranged to get you to your final destination.

So God definitely does the details in terms of His plan and working it out.

But God doesn’t do the details in terms of what He communicates to you.

That’s because He knows there are some details you’re simply not ready for.

And ultimately it’s because He’s more interested in your full obedience than your full understanding.

Don’t worry. God has every detail in your life covered.

He just doesn’t need you to know them first to follow Him faithfully.

This entry was originally published on July 7, 2011.

The Problem With Being Comfortable

We all like our comforts. We like it when life goes according to plan. When we get what we want in the easiest way possible. When there’s no stress, no surprises, and no unmet expectations. That all sounds real nice – for a moment. But is that all we want out of life? Is the goal just to get to Heaven as easily and painlessly as possible? Or has God called us to something more? In this clip from our series The Prodigy in Me, Pastor Steven explains what we forfeit when our greatest goal becomes a life lived comfortably.

Why We Want You for Our Prodigy Program

Do you love Jesus? Do you love leadership? Great. What are you doing in January?

The Prodigy Program at Elevation Church is a six-month ministry apprenticeship for men and women passionate about seeing people far from God raised to life in Christ. It’s not a college course. It’s not an internship. It’s an opportunity to have hands-on training in a fast-paced, Christ-centered movement of God. At Elevation, we are actively seeking out high-capacity leaders to raise up and help fuel what God has called us to do. And in this video, Pastor Steven explains the heart behind our Prodigy Program and why it could be the opportunity you’ve been looking for.

The Prodigy Program is currently enrolling for January 2014. Click here to apply and for more information.

When Your Faith Isn’t Working

We pray. We step out in faith. We seek God and trust Him. We follow His instruction and obey all the rules. But nothing happens. We don’t get the job. The illness isn’t cured. The marriage isn’t restored. Our kids are still running from God. So what did we do wrong? Why did our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears? In the clip from our series New Thru 30, Pastor Steven encourages us when our faith doesn’t seem to be working.

What Keeps Us From Living a Holy Life

If we truly believe what the Bible says about God’s love, what Jesus did for us, and who we are in Him – why then so often do our lives not reflect that? We believe our salvation is secure, but what is keeping us from experiencing the life-changing sanctification that God has called us to? In part two of our series I Don’t Know What I Believe, Pastor Steven points us to three areas of our lives that can easily derail us from living a Holy life.

Be a Childlike Grown-up

I was recently listening to a pastor I love and respect talk about childlike faith and how the Bible teaches us that we need to be like children. You get this from verses like Matthew 18:3:

I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I was flowing with him. But then I also started thinking about all those verses where we’re told to be mature. Verses like Hebrews 5:13-14:

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature.

That seems a little bit contradictory. We’re supposed to be like children. But we’re also supposed to grow up and be mature. How do we handle this tension?

Here’s where I’ve landed:

Be a childlike grownup.

When it comes to your faith and your prayers, be naïve. Never lose your sense of wonder. Never get to the point where you know better. Always come before God with the belief that He’s your Father and is ready, willing, and able to do anything you need Him to. That the only limit to His power is your ability to believe Him for it.

But when it comes to things like your decisions, your ambitions, and what offends you, be a grownup. Continually increase your responsibility. Continually grow in wisdom. Make sure the development of your character keeps pace with the advancement of your years.

Far too many Christians have equated maturity with what is really cynical unbelief.

Far too many Christians have equated childlike faith with what is really juvenile immaturity.

While increasing in your maturity, never decrease in your faith. Or vice versa.

Do what the Bible tells you. Increase in both.

Be a childlike grownup.

This entry was originally published on April 28, 2011.