Steven Furtick's Blog, page 79

The Purpose Found In Repentance

Repentance. From an outsider’s perspective, it sounds about as desirable as a root canal. Repentance feels like we’re getting ready to embarrassingly air our dirty laundry in front of God and everybody. But for believers in Christ who understand it’s purpose, repentance has the ability to restore our souls and fill our lives with a satisfying joy only found in the presence of the Father. In this clip from our series Storytellers, Pastor Steven reframes our perspective on the purpose found in repentance.

The Power of A Pre-Decision

How do we respond in dire circumstances? When we’re backed into a corner and our situation is bleak? We can’t wait until the worst happens to choose a response. We have to make a pre-decision.

In this clip from our series Grey Matter, Pastor Steven shows through the life of Daniel how to pre-decide our reaction in our darkest situations based on the character of God.

Specific Instruction, Immediate Obedience

There’s power in specific instructions from God followed by immediate obedience by us. In fact, I think this is one of the most overlooked and underappreciated parts of our faith. And it’s also one of the most powerful dynamics that can either thwart your potential and intimacy with God, or take it to whole new heights.

Examples of specific instructions that require immediate obedience are littered throughout the Bible.

God gave specific instructions to Noah to build an ark. Noah obeyed and God used it to save the family that would repopulate the world after the flood.
God told Abraham to leave his country and go to the land God would show him. He did and it was through his descendants that the Savior of the world would come.
An angel of the Lord told Joseph to take Mary as his wife. Joseph obeyed and became the adopted father to Jesus.

And those are just three instances. I didn’t even mention Moses and the Tabernacle, Joshua at Jericho, Gideon’s instructions to reduce his army, Peter walking on water, or any of the crazy things the prophets were told to do.

I’ve found that it’s often the simplest commands and the simplest acts of obedience that have the deepest and longest lasting results. And become the foundation for larger assignments of faith later (Luke 16:10). Great opportunities later necessitate immediate obedience now.

So what specific instruction has God given you recently? Maybe even today?

Regarding your family? Your job? Your church? Your circle of influence? Your possessions? Your future? Your relationship with Him?

Don’t calculate. Don’t second-guess. And don’t delay. Just do it now.

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that your life is too big for you to obey a simple instruction from God. You will never outgrow the need to immediately obey anything God tells you to do.

And you might as well obey God now. Delaying won’t make it any easier…only more complicated.

This entry was originally posted on September 27, 2011

Why You Don’t Have to Be Scared of God

When reading the Old Testament, it’s hard for us to not be scared to death of God. Flood. Plagues. Fire. Wrath. We start seeing God as a big bully with a bad temper. And we tiptoe around trying to do everything right so He doesn’t strike us dead with a lightning bolt. But does God really want us to be scared of Him? And how do we reconcile that with His love, hope, and grace we read about in the New Testament? In this clip from our series Room 101, Pastor Steven helps us understand by teaching the difference between being scared of God and having the fear of the Lord.

Elevation Creative: Jonah & The Whale

During our series InFin8, we’re looking back at eight of the greatest stories forever told. Stories like Adam & Eve, Moses and the Red Sea, and Jonah and the whale. To introduce each week’s sermon, we’re retelling these classic stories through the lens of childlike imagination, recapturing the power and impact they had on us when we heard them for the first time. For part four, our creative team developed a futuristic comic book to tell the story of Jonah & the whale in a fun new way.

The Freedom Found In Forgiveness

It happens every time. When we get hurt by someone, our immediate and automatic defense is always resentment, revenge, and holding on to our pain. But what are we trying to prove? And how much more damage are we doing to ourselves through the offenses of others? There has got to be a better technique. In this clip from our series F-Bomb, Pastor Steven teaches us a new way, found in freedom of forgiveness.

A Clarification of Your Calling

We all want to know what God wants us to do with our lives. We want Him to clarify our calling. Where do we go? How do we do it? But our calling is much more than just a set of directions. And it rarely caters to our convenience and comfort. In part 4 of our series INFIN8, Pastor Steven uses the story of Jonah to help us understand our calling, how to respond to it, and the ultimate purpose of what God has called us all to do.

To us, Through us

Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

1 Samuel 4:1

That’s what we all want.

Sometimes for the right reasons. To build the Church.

Sometimes for the wrong ones. To build a crowd.

But I believe that ultimately, like Samuel, we should all want to see the Word of God flow through us to every possible person within our sphere of influence. Our entire city. Our entire country. Even the entire world.

If you’re a pastor and that’s not the desire of your soul, it’s time to find another line of work. If you’re not a pastor and it’s not the desire of your soul, it’s time to realign your perspective. Or your heart. Your profession is your pulpit. And it’s one that God wants to use to reach the people in your workplace that your pastor may never have an opportunity to preach to.

But there’s necessary groundwork that needs to be done first before God’s Word can flow through us. In the immediately preceding verse in chapter 3, it says:

The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

1 Samuel 3:21

Samuel’s preparation was getting God’s Word to flow to him. God’s Word has to flow to us before it can flow through us. Before we reveal God to others, it’s essential to get a revelation of God for ourselves. And it has to happen through His Word. There are no shortcuts to 1 Samuel 4:1. You have to go through 1 Samuel 3:21 first.

Some people try. They skip to and try to go to through immediately. Their impact is minimal. Even if sometimes their numbers are great. Because then it’s just their word. And no one needs that.

In 4:1, it says that it was Samuel’s word that went out to all Israel. It sounds appealing. But it’s actually horrifying. Israel did not need Samuel’s word. They needed God’s.

And that’s just what they got. Samuel’s word was God’s Word. But only because 3:21 had happened. That’s why Samuel reached and changed the entire nation.

No ministry of any eternal significance throughout history has ever thrived without the Word flowing to it. None. Whether you’re a pastor, a business executive, or a temp, yours isn’t going to be the first.

So before you try to get the Word to flow through you, get it to flow to you. Do whatever you have to do.

Read your Bible for fifteen minutes a day.

Memorize the passage you’re preaching.

Go crazy and read through the Bible in 90 days.

Let the Word flow to you. You’ll be amazed at what happens when it then flows through you.

How To Get The Desires Of Your Heart

Following Christ is so much more than God giving us what we want when we want it; treating Him like some sort of absentee father with spoiled children. But as Paul writes in Philippians 2, God wants to work in our hearts, to purify our desires and to drive our actions. And in this clip from our series, The Joy Genome, Pastor Steven shows us what Psalm 37 really means when it says the Lord will give us the desires of our heart.

Elevation Creative: Elijah on Mount Carmel

During our series IN•FIN•8, we’re looking back at eight of the greatest stories forever told. To introduce each week’s sermon, our Creative Team retells one of these stories from a different perspective, in an attempt to recapture the power and impact of hearing for the first time. For part three, we combined spoken word with step-dancing to tell the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel in a dramatic new way.