Steven Furtick's Blog, page 82

Keeping Out the Doubt

We all have dreams. Callings. Passions. The things that burn in our heart and keep us up at night. The people and places God has laid a burden on our heart for. But our calling doesn’t come easy. There will be doubts, fears, and naysayers. Voices telling us to give up faith and throw in the towel. But in the clip from our series Sun Stand Still, Pastor Steven teaches us the importance of selective hearing in the fight for our faith.

Killing the Cycle of Comparison

Who has the better job. Who has the better kids. Who’s recipe is better on Pinterest and who’s sunset looks better on Instagram. It’s all around us. We are slaves to a constant and endless cycle of comparison. But why? What are we trying to prove? And to who? And ultimately, for what? In the fourth part of our series The New Rules of Resolution, Pastor Steven addresses the harmful effects our culture of competition, and the only way to truly break free from it.

You already have it

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17

If Jesus.

Who had infinite power and potential.

Who carried the most important calling and mission in history.

Who did so much in His lifetime that John would later say that the world could not contain the books describing it.

Had his Father’s acceptance before he did a single thing in His earthly life to obtain it.

What makes you think you have to knock His socks off before you can obtain it as well?

What makes you think you have to turn your life around before you can come back to God?

What makes you think you have to impress God with your obedience before He will impart His grace to you?

What makes you think you have to do things to get God to like you, much less love you?

What makes you think you have to build a church of thousands before God will be pleased with you?

What makes you think you have to be the perfect spouse or parent before God will perfectly love you?

Many Christians spend a lifetime trying to achieve something that Jesus already achieved for them in His. God’s acceptance isn’t based on your performance. It wasn’t for Jesus. And because of what He did for you, it isn’t for you either.

The acceptance He had, you have.

The love He unconditionally received, you unconditionally receive.

Yes, Jesus was the Son of God. But through Him, you are a child of God with the same privileges (Galatians 4:5-7).

That includes the privilege of having God look at you and being well pleased.

Don’t waste any more time striving after what’s already yours.

This blog post was originally published February 17, 2011.

How To End Our Desire for Revenge

Revenge. It’s our first reaction when there has been injustice done against us or the people we love. How could they do that? What are we going to do to get even? Even as Christians, we still want so badly for the wrongs to be righted and the whole story told. But God has another way. In this clip from our series Storytellers, Pastor Steven explains why so many of us struggle with setting our offenders free, and what only God can do to help.

Elevation Creative: Momentum

Momentum. It’s hard to explain and define, but it’s much easier to recognize. And it’s something that many of us want to have. We’re no longer comfortable with being comfortable. We went to be moving in the direction God has planned for our lives. In this motion graphics piece, Our Creative Team explains the source of momentum and how to keep it once you’ve got it.

Download this video and other helpful resources for your church or ministry for free at Resources.ElevationChurch.org.

When You Need to Refocus Your Heart

There are many places our hearts will drift to if we allow it. Places we don’t want our heart to go. Worry. Fear. Pride. Selfishness. Because our natural tendency is to dwell on the things of this earth. But in this clip from our series Killswitch, Pastor Steven reminds us that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we can program our hearts and minds in a new way found only in Him.

Vitor Belfort, MMA, and Your Relationship with God

We all experience moments of doubt and defeat in our relationship with God. Why am I not growing? How does the Enemy keep backing me into a corner? Where is the victory over my flesh? As it turns out, it has a lot to do with our approach. To introduce part three of the New Rules of Resolution, Pastor Steven sat down with his friend, and former UFC champion, Vitor Belfort, as they discussed the parallels between MMA training and the Christian life Christ called us to live.

Click here to see the rest of this sermon, preached by our Worship Pastor Wade Joye and our Creative Pastor Larry Hubatka.

Remember the Height

Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

-Revelation 2:5a

This verse helps me think about repentance in a brand new light.

Many people associate the word repent with groveling and feeling really, really, really bad about what you’ve done.

No doubt, the heart of repentance is humility. We can’t truly repent if we aren’t grieved by our sin in the light of God’s grace.

But when John commands the church at Ephesus to repent, he doesn’t call them into a place of shame and guilt. Instead, he tells them to remember the height from which they have fallen. And to get back to that place through genuine, Biblical repentance.

To me, that’s the essence of repentance.

Re=back

Pent=top

To repent means to get back to the top. Back to God’s perspective. His ways. His truth.

There’s a time to kneel and bow down in repentance.

But there’s also a time to rise up, move forward, and get back to your rightful place in God.

This blog post was originally posted on February 4, 2010.

Why You’ll Always Have Trouble Defining God

A crucial part of our growing relationship with God is our knowledge of His character. But as we continue to learn who God is, we have to be careful that we don’t minimize God by putting our own finite limitations on Him. Our God is too great to fit into a box that always satisfies our understanding. God’s ways are higher than our limited reasoning. In this clip from our series Grey Matter, Pastor Steven helps us remove some of the dichotomies that keep us from developing a deeper trust in God.

Elevation Creative: New Testament in 60 Seconds

Back in 2010, we started the year by challenging our church to read through the New Testament together in 30 days. To close out the series, Our Creative team built this fun video that hit on a few of highlights of the New Testament to help catch up anyone who may have gotten behind.

If you’re looking to start the new year by reading your Bible more, we encourage you to check out our New Thru 30 reading plan. You can find it, and many other Bible reading plans, at YouVersion – online or in your mobile device’s app store.