Steven Furtick's Blog, page 68

How to Break Free from the Chains of Your Past

One of Satan’s greatest weapons against Christians is our past. He drags us through the mud of our mistakes, trying to remind us of our unworthiness. And for many of us, we think this is the same way God sees us – broken and beat down, covered in our shame. But for believers in Christ, for those who have accepted the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In this clip from our series Ghost Stories, Pastor Steven shows us how God sees us – and it has nothing to do with the shame of our past mistakes.

Elevation Creative: Reverse Poem

As we look the next generation, it can be easy to become wary. Will they be a generation of believers who lift high the name of Jesus? Will they live a life of purpose and embrace the greater calling God has for them? Or will they succumb to the patterns of the world and float through their life chasing empty pleasure? For Student Takeover 2013, our creative team put together this video, flipping the script on the world’s plan for the next generation, showing what a generation can look like when they decide to turn their world upside down for the glory of God.

The Freedom We Find When We Obey

Obedience. At first glance, it’s not a word that’s often associated with a life of freedom. But it is the essence of our relationship with Christ. God invites. We respond. God commands. We obey. But far too often we find ourselves praying for God to show us what to do, asking Him for guidance for our lives and then, when He gives us an answer, we’re not satisfied with His response. We ignore. We fight. We struggle. We battle. And we get exhausted in the process. In this clip from our series Banner Years, Pastor Steven shows the freedom and relief we experience when we quit fighting God, and surrender our lives fully to Him.

Freedom In Christ For The Next Generation

Being a student who is passionately following Christ is harder today than it has ever been. The tangles of social media. The access and anonymity of smart phones. The fleeting pleasures found in peer pressure. Couple that with the perception that Christianity is just another set of rules to follow, and it is no wonder that 75% of students leave the church after high school. But what if we shifted that perspective? What if we taught the next generation the truth that Christianity is less about “Do’s” and “Dont’s” and more about freedom found in Christ? In part four of our series ‘This Is Your Permission Slip,’ Pastor Steven sat down with our students to answer their questions about what it looks like to be a Christian in today’s culture, and show us what the freedom found in Christ can look like in our everyday lives.

Make the rules

I read a post by Seth Godin in 2005 about how smart companies make new rules. It was all about redefining markets and challenging the status quo.

I never forgot it.

It got me thinking about different approaches to the Christian life:

you can either keep the rules, break the rules, or make the rules.

Most people associate Christianity with keeping the rules. Don’t murder or commit adultery; do serve & give to the poor-etc.

Of course, God’s laws are perfect, and His principles should be honored.

But Christianity is so much more than a set of rules to keep.

Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law. We live by grace, through faith.

When you try to be a rule keeping kind of Christian, you always come up short, and will probably eventually burn out. You’ll also miss the essence of the Gospel.

Some people opt to reject God’s Word altogether and break the rules.

We’ve all seen people who profess to be Christians drift off into rebellious, sinful, destructive behavior. Sometimes they even justify their loose living by claiming that they’re expressing their freedom in Christ. Of course, this is nonsense. How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? Carnality is the worst form of bondage-and the furthest thing from freedom.

I believe Jesus came to make the rules. New rules. To upgrade our paradigms and renovate our hearts in His image. Jesus redefined religion. And those who follow Him should be a part of creating and exemplifying this new standard to the world.

Some people keep the rules.

Others end up breaking themselves against the rules.

True followers of Jesus make the rules-set the standard, and change the world.

This entry was originally published on March 9th, 2010.

What We Can Control When Things Are Out of Control

One of the things we’re most possessive of as humans is our comfort. When we’re in control of the situation. When we know the outcome. But what about the times when life is anything but that? When we step out in faith into a new situation or when our circumstances take a turn we didn’t expect. Where do we find our support? What do we cling to? In this clip from Student Takeover 2012, Pastor Steven shows us that there is only one thing we can control in the midst of the chaos of change.

Elevation Creative: Looping Element

The Christian life is often seen as a black and white list of Do’s and Dont’s. Boundaries we can’t cross. Rules we must follow. As long as we play the notes on the page, we’ll be fine. But God didn’t design us to be robots. He didn’t send Jesus to be our Savior so we’d live mediocre, meaningless lives. For our series (This Is Your) Permission Slip we used a guitar looping station and a supporting motion graphics piece to help shift our perspective on the life God designed for us.

What We Miss Out On When We Wait For God

We have all heard it before. In fact, we’ve probably even said it before. “I’m just waiting on God to show me what to do next with my life.” But there is a problem with this mindset. Because it believes that somehow, we’re waiting on God to catch up to us. Or that we’re waiting on Him to make up His mind. But these are not the characteristics of who we know God to be. And in this clip from our series Waiting Room, Pastor Steven explains to us that when we start waiting on God to move, we begin missing out on what He’s already doing right now.

The Danger In Letting Your Past Dictate Your Future

When we think about our future, what keeps us from moving forward? And what is limiting us in our lives today? The irony is that often the answer to these questions is rooted in our past. Failure. Disappointment. Shame. We feel chained to these failed past performances and broken dreams. In part three of our series “This Is Your Permission Slip,” Pastor Steven teaches us that when we accept Christ, God has given us permission to let go of our past as He takes us into the future He has planned for us.

How to Glorify God

By this is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit.

John 15:8

The glory of God is the single most important thing in the world to God. And therefore you glorifying God is the single most important thing you can do with your life.

But if we were honest, most of us have little to no idea what that actually means. We talk about God’s glory in abstract ways. We talk about glorifying God in convoluted ways. And so at the end of the day, we know what everything is for – the glory of God – and what we should do – glorify Him – but we don’t know how to actually do it.

Do we sing?

Do we simply go around saying “for your glory” after every little thing we do and at the end of every prayer?

Is it just that we know that everything is for the glory of God?

If I’m a professional athlete, is it mentioning God’s name after I win a game?

If I’m a designer, do I have to stitch a verse somewhere on my clothing?

It can get pretty complicated and nebulous. Luckily, Jesus says it’s actually pretty simple, straightforward, and concrete. It’s the practical fruit of your life that produces the glory of God.

In other words, I don’t know that it matters to God that you can articulate the Westminster Catechism’s definition of the glory of God and our duty to glorify Him. I don’t know that it matters if you top off your prayers with a little “glory of God” throw in at the end.

I think what matters to God and what actually glorifies Him is that you do life His way. That you live in such a way that God’s activity is actually visible in your life. And not just your words.

Let me put it simply:

When husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church, it glorifies God.

When you manage your finances God’s way, it glorifies God.

When you honor the people around you, it glorifies God.

When you love the waiter that’s serving you on Sunday and leave them a good tip, it glorifies God just as much as when you sang about His glory an hour earlier.

Let’s all stop the abstract “glory” talk and lets get down to the business of actually doing it. Press into Jesus. Live life the way He intends it. And let the fruit you’re producing do the talking for you.

This entry was originally published on June 14, 2011.