Steven Furtick's Blog, page 66

The True Source of Your Problems

What is your response when circumstances out of your control blindside your life? When we have to struggle and fight and pick ourselves up, all the while trying to maintain our faith in a God who is good. Our first reaction tends to be directed towards the cause of our issues – whether it’s people, the economy, or just the world we live in. But that’s not the true source of our problems. The truth is, as Pastor Steven explains in this clip from our series Grapes & Giants, that we have a very real enemy who desperately wants something we have.

I Don’t Know What I Believe: Scripture Memorization

During our series I Don’t Know What I Believe, our church is memorizing 2 Timothy 1:9-14:

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 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. 13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

To help with our memorization, Pastor Steven recorded an audio version of our series’ foundational scripture. Preview the recording below, and download the mp3 (part 1, part 2) and practice your scripture memory on your daily commute, at the gym, and even while you’re working on that TPS report for accounting.

2 Timothy 1:9-14

2 Timothy 1:9-14 (with pauses for repeats)

What Does It Really Mean to Be Born Again?

Saved. Filled with the Holy Spirit. Following Jesus. Born again. There are many ways to say it, but what does becoming a Christian look like in our hearts? What physically and spiritually happens to us when we accept Christ as our Savior? In this clip from our series Christ Alone, Pastor Steven explains the transformation that happens in our heart that breaks us free from our sinful nature.

How Can God Still Be Good When Life Gets So Bad?

God loves us. He has rescued us and He has a plan for us. These are some of the foundational statements our faith found in scripture. And when we read these words, it fuels our faith. We want to believe God is good. But we don’t live in a perfect vacuum. So what happens when the circumstances of our lives don’t align with what God says? How do we keep our faith in the midst of struggles and pain and trials? In part one of our series I Don’t Know What I Believe, Pastor Steven helps us establish a deep-rooted confidence in Christ, able to withstand lives that can shake us at our foundation.

I Don’t Know What I Believe

Most of us know the basics. Big God. Baby Jesus. Our sin. The cross. The resurrection. But beyond that, many of us don’t really know much more about Christianity. We don’t actually have answers when we get asked about our beliefs. But in our new series I Don’t Know What I Believe, we’ll look at the foundation of our beliefs and build a Christ-centered confidence as we learn why we believe what we believe.

Our series will be rooted in 2 Timothy 1:9-14. Join with our church as we study and memorize this foundational scripture over the next few weeks.

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 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. 13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

You will be able to access these sermons each week in our Sermon Archive, or click here to download our free sermon audio and video podcasts.

Finding God in Our Broken Relationships

We still know them by name. The people we thought would be by our side and stand with us through thick and thin. But something happened. Maybe it was our fault. Maybe it was beyond our control. Either way, the people we thought we could go through anything with are no longer there. Best friends. Close family. Valued co-workers. But why did it have to happen this way? And where is God in the midst of these broken relationships? In this clip from our series Hebrews 12, Pastor Steven explains the greater purpose we find when someone we love leaves our life.

Grace AND Truth

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

I thank God for grace. And I thank Him for truth. If it weren’t for His grace, the truth would condemn me. But if it weren’t for the truth, His grace would have no power to change me.

But that’s not just true with me on a personal level. I think it should also dictate our approach to preaching and engaging people on a corporate level.

If you look at how Jesus talked and interacted with people, it’s clear that he held the two in tension. What made Jesus so special was that he didn’t minimize God’s truth. But at the same time he was a friend of sinners who maximized the opportunity for anyone to find grace.

The Church, on the other hand, often minimizes and maximizes one or the other.

Many churches only emphasize grace. They never call people on their sin. They shy away from confrontation. They don’t take stands on tough issues.

The result is that they miss the truth about grace. They forget that grace is power. It is power to save and to transform. To cover all of our sins and remove them from our lives. As I’ve said before, grace isn’t just a cheap perfume you splash on to cover the stench of your sins. It’s the power to change your life from the inside out.

Other churches only emphasize truth. They will take stands, but take them on top of people rather than on God’s word and the cross. They will teach a 37-week series on grace, but forget to give any out to the people who need it the most.

The result is that they strip grace from the truth. They forget that graceless truth might be the worst watered-down truth of all, because it has been neutered of its life-giving power. Truth isn’t meant to only be proclaimed; it’s also meant to be invited into. And that only happens when it is seasoned and saturated in grace.

I want Elevation to be a church that’s all about grace and truth. I want that for every church. Let’s commit to get all up in our people’s business with truth. But let’s also commit to do it in a way that’s full of grace.

Let’s be like Jesus.

This entry was originally posted September 7th, 2011.

What Are We Supposed to Do With New Believers?

When we see people accept Jesus as their Savior, it’s hard not to be ecstatic. We join with heaven, celebrating as people far from God become raised to life in Christ. But what is our response after that? When we discover most new believers are not overnight success stories. When we realize there are still issues and baggage and sin. It can be easy for our cynicism to set in and we begin questioning their motives and if they fully understood the decision they made. But in the clip from our series Follow, Pastor Steven explains the difference between our responsibility and God’s responsibility when it comes to new believers in Christ.

How Do I Know If I Am With Christ?

What does it mean to truly follow Jesus? Once we’ve accepted Him as our Savior, how does that look in our everyday life? For far too many of us, our relationship with Jesus is built upon convenience, comforts, and fair-weather fandom. When we have time or when there’s added benefit. But if that is what our relationship is built on, do we even have a relationship with Him at all? In this clip from the first part of our series Raised To Life, Pastor Steven explains the big difference between being for Christ and being with Christ, and the drastic impact that those words, and their corresponding actions, have on our relationship with Him.

So it was thought

Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph.

Luke 3:23

Brilliant. Luke is simply brilliant. What else can you say for a person who is able to say in four words what many couldn’t say in 10,000? And in a genealogy no less. You know, that part of the gospels that you skip when you come to it.

Luke is just getting started with Jesus’ lineage and of course, he begins with Joseph. But apparently there had been a misunderstanding. People in his day had come to the conclusion that Jesus was Joseph’s son. So Luke slips in a phrase to indicate that people have this low mentality of Jesus: so it was thought.

He was just the son of Joseph. Just another carpenter from Nazareth. Just another link in the long chain of human history.

So it was thought.

But Jesus wasn’t what they thought He was. He was more than that.

He wasn’t just the son of Joseph. He was the Son of God.

That’s a huge miscalculation. But Luke just continues on with his gospel as if nothing has changed.

And it’s because nothing has changed.

History is full of people who have misinterpreted and underestimated Jesus. We do it to this day. And we will be doing it to the end of time.

He was just a good man. Just a myth. Just a magic worker. Just a revolutionary. Just a man who died in his early 30s. He was just the son of Joseph.

So it was thought.

The reality is that who Jesus really is can’t be changed or altered by human opinion. While the opinions of men have come and gone, Jesus still sits on His throne. Unscathed. Unchanged. Undiminished.

He’s still the Alpha and Omega.

He’s still the Author of life.

He’s still the Lord over all Creation.

He’s still the risen Savior of the world.

He’s still the image of the invisible God.

He’s still the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.

He’s still the hope of glory.

He’s still the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

He’s still Jesus, the Son of God.

And not one low opinion of Jesus will ever change these truths. The most ferocious opponents of Jesus can’t change a single thing about Him. Those who casually dismiss Him haven’t tarnished His character or nature in the slightest degree.

Every person who has ever underestimated Jesus has gone into the grave. Meanwhile Jesus is still risen from the grave. Not one false opinion has moved Him one inch down from His throne. Not one accurate one has moved Him any higher because He is already the Highest.

People today think Jesus is weak.

People today think Jesus is just one way of many.

People today think Jesus is irrelevant.

People today think Jesus is…

In 2000 years the truth will be the exact same as it is today.

So it was thought.

This entry was originally published November 18, 2010.