A Biblical Critique of Steven Furtick's Preaching RE: Greater

Okay, we're back. I remember to a fighting for the faith sermon review time Talk about timely

Johnny on the spot. You know yesterday was greater day and today's greater day plus one so there's

BG before greater and and then a G after greater All right, let's cue up our music and let's do this

The good the bad and the ugly we review it all here at fighting for the faith We're an equal opportunity sermon reviewing service today's sermon is not a church sermon.

It's a chapel sermon from Liberty University Yeah, and it's

Steven Furtick. Yeah, that's right. Yes this morning he flew from Charlotte, North Carolina up to Liberty University and he

Gave the chapel convocation today, and it's the first Public sermon that I've seen him give regarding any of the content of his new book greater

Now what we're one of the things we're gonna do today and yesterday I you know pointed out that the whole premise of the book is wrong

Okay, that somehow you know the mundane is it is the evil thing and you know you know cleaning poopy diapers

And snotty noses and being stuck in the routine. That's somehow bad God has greater things for you

God may not have greater things for you. That's a fine way to love and serve your neighbors in your vocation if you didn't hear yesterday's segment where I Took him to task on his the false premise of the book you need to go back and listen to that before you listen to this, but what we're gonna do today as part of our

Exposing and showing that the whole book itself is false teaching. We're gonna take a look at what he does with the gospel of John Chapter 14 verse 12 yeah, which is like a major piece of the book itself, so let me kill the music without any further ado here's

Stephen Furtick from this morning's chapel convocation at Liberty University and the name of the thing is greater here we go

Good morning, and it's good to be here. Let's pray together

Lord. I believe you brought me here for a reason For a based on the false teaching that you're gonna hear

I don't think God brought him there. I just saying person For a specific thing that you want to say to somebody

And I offer myself to you today for that purpose It's an honor to preach your word

It's an honor to be in your presence. I love you I'm your servant

Speak to us now in Jesus name Amen Well Thank you

Chancellor Falwell, and I want to thank everybody for having me everybody Everybody that I should name you know if you start naming everybody dr.

Godwin John you know you just thank you everybody how many of our Elevation Church students Are here today do we have any?

Elevation Church students, it's a big day for me to be here because this is my first time preaching

Somewhere since the release of our new book And so it's an honor to share this moment with you for all of the

Elevation students who are here today I actually wanted to give you a free copy of the book

So I brought some for you if you stop by and get it on the way out I love you guys and believe in you

It's an honor to be your pastor And it's an honor to speak into all of your lives here for a minute turn to somebody next to you and tell them you

Are so blessed To be sitting next to me That's what

I'm talking about No He didn't sound like that was a joke you are so blessed to be sitting next to me

What kind of narcissistic nonsense is that? I want to preach to you

I Want to preach to you a short sermon today on a subject that goes along with the new book the book is called greater and It's about dreaming bigger and starting smaller and igniting

God's vision for your life and I want to preach to you from One verse of Scripture and then a short

Old Testament story and one verse of Scripture and then an Old Testament story a verse out of context and Then an

Old Testament story that he's going to Narcissus if you don't know what Narcissus is it's a term that We've coined here at fighting for the faith and basically it takes two words narcissism or narcissism you know narcissism and is a

Jesus and sticks them together for Narcissus, okay I said Jesus by the way is reading things into the text that ain't there okay, and that are not the right way of reading the

Bible is to exegete to read out what God has revealed there in his Word I said Jesus is when you read yourself or it's other things into it

That the text that it should not be there by the way Kind of you know for free thing here

I was reading in Erin Aeus the other night in his book against heresies

Yeah, in fact, there's more than one book in front from Erin Aeus This is a a man who was a disciple of Polycarp now

If you don't know who Polycarp was Polycarp with Christian Martyr Polycarp learned

Christianity directly from the Apostle John Himself when the

Apostle John was teaching and he was pastoring bishoping. He was a bishop there in the city of Ephesus and so Really a tight little circle here.

You got the Apostle John who was commissioned by Christ. He's an apostle. He goes to Ephesus and He you know after Paul establishes the church is there and he's teaching

He's the bishop of Ephesus and one of his disciples one of the early Christians was Polycarp Polycarp is the guy who taught

Erin Aeus Erin Aeus writes his book in the early second century, okay, and he wrote against the the

Valentinian Gnostics and wrote three books in the book one two and three against against heresies and In book number three if you were to you find this online if you type in Erin Aeus against heresies the way you spell his name by the way

There's a Kind of a combo of letters that don't work because it's Latin but Erin Aeus I r e n a e

Us Erin Aeus against heresies. You can find it online Go to book three chapter one

I want to read a little bit to you here because what he says against the heretics is

Absolutely fascinating and applicable today, but let me read to you Here's what

Erin Aeus says he says we have learned from none other from none others the plan of our salvation

Then from those through whom the gospel has come down to us Which they did at one time proclaim in public and at later at a later period by the will of God Handed down to us in the scriptures to be the ground and pillar of our faith

It is unlawful to assert that they preached before before they possess perfect knowledge as some even do venture to say boasting themselves as improvers of the

Apostles what so Erin Aeus points out that heretics often consider themselves to be people who are improving upon the message of the

Apostles. Okay For after our Lord rose from the dead The Apostles were invested with power from on high when the

Holy Spirit came down upon them were filled From from all his gifts and had perfect knowledge they departed to the ends of the earth preaching the glad tidings of the good things sent from God to us and Proclaiming the peace of heaven to men who indeed do all equally and individually possess the gospel of God Matthew also issued a written gospel among the

Hebrews in their own dialect while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome and Laying the foundations of the church after their departure mark the disciple and interpreter

Peter did also hand down to us in Writing what had been preached by Peter Luke also the companion of Paul recorded in a book the gospel preached by him afterwards

John the disciple of the Lord who also had leaned upon his breast did himself publish a gospel

During his residence at Ephesus in Asia These have all declared to us that there is one

God creator of heaven and earth announced by the law and the prophets and one Christ the Messiah the Son of God if Anyone does not agree with to these truths

He despises the companions of the Lord nay more He despises

Christ himself the Lord. Yay, and he despises the father also and stands self -condemned resisting and opposing his own salvation as is the case with all heretics

Okay, we continue chapter 2 when however They are confuted this be heretics when the heretics are confuted from the scriptures they turn round and accuse these same scriptures as if they were not correct nor of authority and assert that they are and that they the scriptures are ambiguous and that the truth cannot be extracted from them by Those who are ignorant of tradition for they allege that the truth was not delivered by means of written documents

But by a living voice of Viva Voke Wherefore also Paul declared but we speak wisdom among those that are perfect But not the wisdom of this world and the wisdom each

One of them all alleges to be the fiction of his own inventing forsooth so that according to their idea the truth properly resides at one time in Valentinus and then in another in Marcion and then in another in Sorinthus and then afterwards in Basilides or Has even been

Indifferently or in any other opponent who could speak nothing pertaining to salvation for every one of these men being altogether of a perverse disposition

Depraving the system of truth is not ashamed to preach himself

That's right. Aaron a is writing in the early second century Okay in the early second century fighting the the heretics of his days notes the fact that heretics that they're always

Depraving the truth and twisting God's Word and they're not ashamed to preach themselves

That was written literally 1800 years ago 1800 years ago and has anything changed

Not at all who does Stephen Furtick preach he Preaches himself now that by the way, and no that was that no extra charge, but now we continue with Stephen Furtick's Chapel convocation from this morning regarding his new book greater the verse.

I want to read To kind of incite your imagination today is in John chapter 14 verse 12

By the way, when I announced I was given a free book to all the Elevation students Nobody cheered so I'm thinking I'm gonna take that offer back because they don't even care

What? How manipulative is that? That was a really disappointing moment for me.

I bring like free books up in here and they're like whatever shut up I got class and I'm like, oh my god,

I flew out here Yeah, you better do your proper obeisance and bow and kiss the ring of Furtick Otherwise, you don't get your free book here and left my kids this morning to be with you

So are you excited to to hear God's Word? Are you open? Can we have some church for 27 minutes?

Are we just gonna get through this or are we gonna get something out of it? That's what I want to know

I got I got a beautiful family at home I got a seven -year -old and a four -year -old and then an 18 month old and When I leave them,

I like to know that I was useful to God and if God can if God can stir you up today through a word that you hear if God can of course correct something in your life through just any small thing.

I might say It would be all worth it to me and I love this school and I love what

God is doing here and I have this vision for what might happen in your life if you get a hold of this truth because um one time

Jesus said in John 14 verse 12 Something that is so shocking that when when you read it

You you kind of wonder if you read it wrong and I want to read it to you and see if you feel the same

Way, he said John 14 12. I tell you the truth. Anyone who has faith in me will do what

I have been doing He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the

Father. Everybody shout greater Shout it like you mean it say greater Okay.

Now while they're shouting greater, let's take a pause here and let's put this verse back in context by the way

The three primary rules for sound biblical exegesis understanding what

God's Word says for real That's context Context context anybody can rip sentences out of context and string them together as if somehow they all hang together

The issue is is that you by the way, you it doesn't necessarily mean you're twisting God's Word when you do that The question is are they talking about the same topic and how are they to be understood?

Well, here's the issue is that he's not preaching the gospel of John chapter 14 to us

He's simply taken Jesus's words from John chapter 14 verse 12

Truly truly I say to you whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these

Will he do because I am going to the Father now, the question is what does that mean? Well to figure out what that means you need to put it back in its immediate context what's going on in this passage

What's Jesus saying before this? What's he saying after this? What's going on here?

See, that's the reason why you put things in context because when you put them in context You can see what's going on and see whether or not

The statement that the pastor is making is what Jesus intended to say or what God the

Holy Spirit intended to say in that text so Let's add some context So if you have your

Bible the gospel of John chapter 14, I'm gonna start at verse 1. I'm gonna start at verse 1

The witnesses Jesus speaking to the disciples basically telling him he's getting ready to leave.

He's Getting ready, you know crucifixion and then ascension. He's out of here and and they're they're troubled, you know

Because they've spent three years with Jesus like oh What does all this mean? Right? Here's what

Jesus said verse 1 let not your hearts be troubled believe in God believe also in me in my father's house are many rooms if it were not so I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you and If I go to prepare a place for you

I will come again and will take you to myself that where I am you may be also and you know

And you know the way to where I am going Thomas said to him Lord We don't know where you're going.

How can we know the way? Jesus said to him. I am the way the truth and the life

No one comes to the father except for through me if you had known me You would have known my father also from now on you do know him and you have seen him

Philip said to him Lord show us the father and it's enough for us and Jesus said to him Have I been with you so long and you still don't know me

Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the father. How can you say show us the father? Do you not believe that I am in the father and that the father is in me the words that I say to you?

I do not speak on my own authority, but the father who dwells in me does his works

Believe me that I am in the father and that the father is in me or else believe on account of the works themselves

Truly truly I say to you whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works

Then these will he do because I am going to the father Whatever you ask in my name this

I will do that the father may be glorified in the Son if you ask me anything in my Name basically according to his will

I will do it. Okay, so that's what Jesus is saying Now he's saying basically saying see here.

Jesus is saying we're gonna do greater works Now, what is he referring to that? We're gonna perform miracles.

Is that what he's saying? What's going on there? Well, let me offer to you a good

Commentator Lenski Lenski is a great commentator. If you're not familiar with Lenski's commentary, it's fantastic It's written on a very high scholarly level

You got to know Greek in order to work with this particular commentary, but right commenting on this

Lenski gives us pretty much what the church has been teaching all along listen to this Lenski says as though this were not enough

Jesus adds and greater than these shall he shall do Can there be greater

Indeed far greater. Here's the far greater works Convert sinners by God's grace carry the gospel to the ends of the earth save souls for eternal life and And you know, look at the story of Acts These are greater because in miracles only omnipotence and goodness are revealed

But in saving souls all the grace of God in Christ Jesus The the great works deal with the material the greater with the spiritual for these greater works

Jesus leaves the disciples behind the greater works of the disciples did is

Carrying the gospel the good news to the ends of the earth right and Basically converting dead, you know dead sinners from God did it through their work?

Bringing people from death to life Regenerating them causing to be born again sins are forgiven people are being are being brought to repentance and faith and trust in the one true

God and in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins people are abandoning Abandoning idolatry and idols and I worshipping of idols and are turning to the one true

God You look at what happened in Ephesus. Paul preaches the gospel there for a few years, right?

It and things got so bad for the idolaters there that the temple of Artemis was hit out with hard times

It was big business before Paul blew into town and nobody believed in Artemis anymore Right.

You see Jesus here is talking about the work the work of Bringing the gospel the good news to the ends of the earth

And by the way, the Apostles are still working to this day and you say well how so they've been dead for 2 ,000 years ah but see

Look at the gospel of Matthew the gospel of Mark Luke John Their work continues to this day because they still preach from the biblical text themselves

And the good news is being proclaimed all over the world Jesus when he left he only had a handful of believers when the disciples were done with their work

With their with their course and they're still not done The whole world's gonna be brought to you know, there's a whole world's gonna hear the good news, right?

That's what this is referring to. This isn't saying Jesus here isn't promising that he greater works means that you're going to receive your freedom from a mundane life and yet when you read

Stephen Furtick's book, which by the way, I'm now about 90 % finished That's pretty much what he's trying to save you from from the mediocre from the mundane, you know from the pile of laundry

From from the routine at work and a dead -end job and I like it. That's not what Jesus is referring to here

That's not what this is about the greater works that the Apostles did and that we continue the work of to is

Proclaiming Christ and him crucified to the world bringing people to repentance and faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins

Right That's the greater work not performing miracles. The miracles were there

In fact, Jesus's miracles were performed in a supporting role to the message

He proclaims same with the Apostles the miracles that they performed were performed to support and buttress the message

The message is the primary mission, right? The the miracles weren't the big thing.

They were the supporting thing. The big thing was the proclamation of the gospel That's what

Jesus is referring to here in John chapter 14 Not that he's gonna rescue from a mundane life so that you can do something great.

The great thing is preaching the gospel Go do it That's the greater thing that's what's good what

Jesus is referring to here and yet Stephen Furtick in classic Furtick ease

Narcissistically can't understand what's going on So he starts off by ripping this passage out of context not paying attention to what it means in context

What Jesus was really saying in order that he can make it say what he wants it to say.

Here we go And so what Jesus is saying here if I understand it even remotely

Correctly has implications that seem to run contrary to the experience of most of our lives

Doing greater things than Jesus and I want you to understand that if you want to be greater than Jesus you need to You need to put down your your crack pipe because that's not happening

He's not talking about being greater than him. He's talking about being greater Through him and his power inside of you.

He said that there is a kind of greatness That you that you have available to you as his follower as a believer in Jesus that no, he's not

He's not saying you have a type of greatness that's available to you as a follower. That's not what he's saying at all He's saying that the greater works are gonna do has to do with the proclamation of the gospel to the ends of the earth

That is completely out of human reach and even human comprehension and so you and I live so often in this place called good enough and I know some of you came here got on campus a few weeks ago with like great visions for what this year was gonna be like and what your grades were gonna be like and what your social life

Was gonna be like and what your relationship with God and your impact for him was gonna be like and and greatness is kind of a slippery

Aspiration what I mean by that is when you're reaching for it You never seem to quite get it and if you get it somebody's got that more than you've got it

And if you get a hold of it, it's hard to hang on to it Greatness can be a slippery thing to reach for and if you ever get on top of it

It can be a wild beast to ride because you can have it one day and lose it the next now

I'm not interested in in really preaching a sermon to you about How to have a good school year or or how to be great like the world talks about greatness

I want to talk to you about something called greater what Jesus said greater

Things will you do in my name if you believe in me and for a Bible character

I want to connect what Jesus said in the New Testament to passage of Scripture in 1st Kings chapter 19 verse now do you think 1st

Kings chapter 19 has anything to do with what Jesus is talking about here? Answer not on your life verses 19 through 21

And they're gonna put this on the screen I want to read the passage to you Wonder if it'd be alright if I had you stand on your feet in honor of the reading of God's Word for one more moment today

I Love this passage of Scripture Concerning a

Bible character named Elisha he's the main character in the book that I wrote that I told you about and and the reason

I love him is because God's calling God's greater calling came to his life in an unexpected way and It produced a miraculous result and I just want to share a few verses about how

God called Elisha I believe God's gonna speak something to you today. That'll be life -changing as well the

Bible says this in 1st Kings 19 verse 19, so Elijah went from there and found

Elisha son of Shaphat He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and he himself was driving the twelfth pair

Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.

Let me kiss my father and mother. Goodbye. He said and then I'll come with you

Go back Elijah replied. What have I done to you? So Elisha left him and went back.

He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them he burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people and they ate

Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant

It was an ordinary day for Elisha Just like this day started for every one of us

Just like this year started for every one of us just like this semester started for every one of you

Okay, stop stop stop stop stop I'm gonna read a little bit from the greater book chapter 3 the name of it is dragging behind I'm gonna point something out along the way

This is from the books as Stephen Furtick writes says there's nothing glamorous about Elisha's first appearance in the pages of Scripture He's no miracle worker.

No prophet. No sage. We see no evidence that he's even a holy or a devout person He's just a guy plowing a field

He was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen and he himself was driving the twelfth pair as first Kings 1919 plowing is

Backbreaking work. Not only can Elisha taste his own sweat. He can taste the very smell of the oxen

He has dust and dung caked in his hair and coating his nostrils and lungs and when you spend every day

Plowing the smells and scenery are always the same Monday you have a ringside seat for oxen rears

Tuesday If you look out at the window on your to your right more oxen rears

Wednesday's in -flight entertainment oxen rears Thursday you click on www .oxenrears

.com Friday's special more crust and filth from your master chef oxen rear the next

Monday You get up and start the cycle all over again It might sound bad but plowing with oxen pays the bills on the day

Elisha receives the calling that ignites God's greater vision for his life he's shuffling to the slow pace of the ordinary as He always has wake up get dressed get to the plow drive the oxen cough up dust eat lunch drive the oxen

Cough up dust eat clean eat dinner. Go to bed. Wake up the next morning start all over again

There's nothing wrong with good hard work Some scholars think that 12 teams of oxen belong to a wealthy landowner and Elisha was the man in charge of them

Also what his job lacked in sex appeal it made up for instability. It was

Constant consistent work consistent scenery consistent smells and there were days when

Elisha was swept up in the intoxicating tyranny of the familiar But every morning as he steps into the slow crawl behind the plow, he is not just chasing the oxen's tails

He's chasing his own That's what he does with his text by the way nowhere in the biblical text

In first Kings or anywhere else does it say that Elisha was swept up in the intoxicating tyranny of the familiar?

First Kings chapter 19 is not written to tell us you bait you basically listen.

This is God's plan for you That you see just like Elisha was swept up in the ordinary looking at oxen, but That God's gonna save you, too

Elisha Was a farmer and by the way plowing doesn't happen every day of the year when you're a farmer plowing occurs during the

Sowing phase of the farming cycle, okay? it generally can get done pretty quick and You know from there.

You've got it Tend to the crop as it's growing and then you've got the whole harvesting thing going on, too

So I don't know where Stephen Furtick learned his details about the you know ancient farming techniques, but it didn't involve looking at oxen rears

You know every day of the year That's ridiculous And this text is not written to basically say look at see

Just like Elisha was caught up in the mundane and then he ignited God's vision for his life nothing of the sort

Nothing of the sort how many farmers do you think were living in Israel at the time?

hmm Did God rescue them from the mundane work of being a farmer not at all?

Okay, God called him for a specific purpose and a specific reason few were chosen by God to be prophets

Okay, and God didn't rescue him from a you know a mundane existence

That was not the purpose of this and nowhere in Scripture Does it say that?

Elisha is the model that God then is going to apply to your life So you can ignite

God's vision for your life the way Elisha ignited his that's not what this text is about Okay, he's engaging in narcissistic

Eisegesis and Not only that he's adding details to this text that are not there nowhere in the text.

Do we find Elisha? going oh I'm just trapped in the two in the tyranny of the familiar and then

God shows up and rescues him from that It's not what's going on at all When God's greater calling found him not in a spotlight but in a farm field

Not doing something that most people would consider great but doing something that most people would consider menial and mundane and God doesn't bring convocation into your life and bring some of the the best speakers, and I'm not talking about me

I'm talking about all of the other people that are coming through here this year. He doesn't bring them into your life without an intention to interrupt the mediocrity

That you settle into a place called good enough and call you to something greater If you turn to the person next to you one more time before I share my sermon with you today

I want so notice God's he's doing this to you know get you out of the mundane and the mediocre

Uh -huh, right This is a despising of the vocations that God has established in which we do good works mom dad son daughter

Employee employer All of these things there's a certain you know Mundane aspect to it nothing sexy or glamorous about it and yet God's Word says all of these things are a good work.

I Want you to tell them God is talking about you behind your back You may be seated one more time

Do any of you? Do you watch that show called the voice I? Didn't intend to get hooked on it, but My kids started liking it and and I got into it, and I'm kind of a musician a

Frustrated songwriter. I was a worship leader before I became a pastor and and the thing about that show that I really like is

Kind of how unexpected it is you know if you haven't seen it raise your hand if you've never seen the voice I Didn't watch every episode

But but the first the first stages the blind auditions the reason it got my attention is because you don't

American Idol the person sings and the judges decide whether or not to put them through to the next round and they go stand in line and they try out but in the voice they have this thing called called called the blind auditions where they'll walk up to somebody and And hand them an invitation to come try out while they're doing their normal job there

They're just going about their business making sandwiches fixing cars Going to school doing whatever they do and they get an invitation to audition

For the voice and then they show up and here's the crazy part about it and again This is why

I got hooked on the show because it was just so different when you sing for the judges You know it's just a singing competition, and so they're deciding the judges are deciding who they want on their team

But when you sing for them, they don't look at you while you're singing they have their chairs turned around backwards

So when you start singing they don't judge you based on what they see they judge you based on what they hear

So I thought that was cool for a singing competition You know because sometimes they put the the the prettiest or the cutest

Person through to the next round and you're like she can't sing is a singing competition, but she looks good

But this show Changes that because they they turn around backwards the person starts singing and they hit the button now if the judge hits their button

And turns their chair around that means I want you on my team and in fact when they hit their button and their chair turns

Around this little thing lights up on their little judging booth that says I want you and so that's an indication

I've chosen you for my team And and I'm gonna coach you and each judge gets to pick a certain amount of people and some of you are like why is he?

Telling us this is the most random thing I've ever heard he's talking he's talking about the Old Testament now

He's talking about you know Christina Aguilera and CeeLo, but what I'm trying to tell you is God started speaking to me watching the voice

What? No really so God was speaking to you while you were listening watching the voice hmm

Yeah, based on how you're twisting God's Word In your book seriously seriously doubt it

There's no reason for me to believe that God has revealed any of this stuff to you because when I test what you say

Against God's Word like the Bereans I find that what you say doesn't line up to God's Word So there's no reason for me to believe that you're receiving direct

Special revelation from God Prophet style about how he doesn't call you to greater things through something that people see through appearances through an outward

External reason that you're great But based on something he put inside of you before the world ever began

Mm -hmm biblical texts that say that God has done any of this Yeah, cuz

I'm seriously doubting this direct revelation thing And I was watching the voice and I grabbed my notepad and I started writing down all these notes about it

How Elisha was plowing in the farm field and how and how they they they didn't they didn't know he was there

He's plowing behind twelve yoke of oxen. He's just he's just plowing I guess mindlessly to the slow shuffle looking at oxen

Yeah, you're you're putting details into the biblical texts that are not there Rears, he's 12th in line all he sees ahead of him is the next oxen and the next oxen and the next oxen and the next oxen and then all of a sudden

God hits his button and Sends Elijah who was the greatest prophet that Israel had ever known and and God says

I want you Elisha to follow me into greater things.

So I got happy while I was watching the voice I started writing down Jeremiah chapter 1 where God said before I I ever even formed you in your mother's womb

I knew you before you were born I set you apart and I appointed you as a prophet to the nations and I now Quick question.

Do you think God has appointed you as a prophet for the nations? Do you think the reason why this is revealed is so that you can be like the next

Elisha or Elijah or Jeremiah or any Nothing of the sort that's not why these texts are written

Started getting excited thinking about how you know God doesn't choose like other people choose nobody else might put you as a first -round draft pick

But God hit his button and turned around and said not because of what people can see or not because of something great that you've done

But because of who I am in you because you're made in my image according to my likeness. I want you

My team I thought that's pretty cool. I Think God showed me something that was even more powerful

More direct revelation and I know it's kind of weird to get something this deep out of a TV show But hang yeah considering the fact that that TV show

There's like nothing in it that would make me believe that God would speak through it and with me for a minute

It's not like the voices God breathed or anything, but the Bible is Most believers

Spend their lives Auditioning to get picked for a role that God already chose them for before time ever began

What are you? talking about Serious I like I've listened to this phrase like three times now.

I have no clue what you are talking about Okay What am I auditioning for again most

Christians are auditioning for a role that they've you know that they want to be picked for the gods already, huh what are you talking about and so our lives like Can become a series of?

auditions to try to get people to approve of us or accept us or validate us

Trying to get somebody to turn their chair around there are a lot of huh I Don't get this young ladies in this room who are suffering from an eating disorder

Right now because if you were eight pounds lighter Maybe somebody would choose you some of your other friends got a ring last semester

You did it so you're gonna spend this whole year kind of giving yourself away giving your heart away

Giving your time away Giving your gift away trying to get somebody to hit their button and say

I choose you and it's not just the girls It's the guys too. You know if you don't get this this thing

I'm trying to preach to you today And the thing that this this university stands for if you don't get this in your heart and in your spirit

You'll spend your whole life auditioning if I could oh, no could you imagine spending your whole life auditioning

I? I Mean serious. What is what exactly is the problem that he's addressing here.

I still don't get it It doesn't make any biblical sense why because he's not actually teaching a biblical text

This is this is the machinations of the mind of Stephen Furtick But earn that much if I could bench that much if I could accomplish that much

And here's what the Lord sent me to tell you and if I got on a plane just to say this and go back home I think it'll be worth it the audition was canceled when

Jesus died For you and the audition was canceled when

Jesus died for me so now somehow this is a direct consequence of the

Christ sacrificial penal substitutionary death on the cross yeah, I'm not seeing the connection that with that at all hung his head and breathed his last

I Got an announcement to make in convocation today The audition has been canceled.

You don't have to try out anymore All you have to do from this day forward is live out the calling that God already

Placed on your life am I preaching okay before time ever began You know

I learned that I don't have to I don't have to I don't have to audition for anybody to hit their button and Turn their chair around when a great

God in heaven already decreed from the throne where he rules over the circumference of the earth and said

That one is mine, and I've chosen him for a purpose, and I don't care what anybody thinks about it

And I don't care what situation he was born into and I don't care who his parents were and I don't care What my born into a purpose okay?

So apparently when Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the father up there in heaven It's one of those spinning chairs, and he turns around and hits the button for you

Weird mistakes. He's made. I've got a purpose for that one. I've redeemed that one the audition is canceled

I'm not I'm not trying out for you as I preach today I'm called if you like this good if you don't

I go home. I preach to my church. I've got a calling It's a good thing when you don't have to audition for people mm -hmm.

Yeah, that's great None of this is actually squaring with what the Bible says weird, huh? It's a good thing when you know

I'm confident in what Christ has called me to be I don't have to impress you and When you die to the when you die to the boy this sounds like somebody who's got some major Insecurity issues you know

I'm saying but need to be impressive you can live to be a blessing

Some of you are spending so much time So much energy Trying to get somebody to turn their chair around some of you who grew up with a

View of God that he was mad at you And he hated you and he knew what you did last summer in the summer before that and he was holding it all against you

And wait until the opportunity where he could take it out on you face to face You spend your whole life Trying to get

God to turn his chair around and forgive you and love you and accept you

And yet Jesus does forgive us the whole point of the gospel is that he bled and died for our sins were to proclaim repentance and The forgiveness of sins, and then we're saved from the forthcoming or soon -to -be -revealed wrath of God It what he's saying doesn't seem to make any biblical sense at all and it's so sad to me

That in a room like this And on the surface everybody looks so great Some of you couldn't even lift your hands in worship to God I'm not saying you didn't lift your hands

That's bad But some of you felt like you wanted to but you couldn't because they were next to you and what would they think about you?

How are you figuring this out? Can you read people's minds, too? I mean apparently you get direct revelation from God and you can look across a crowd and know exactly what's in somebody's heart and Really, huh?

Well, that's a that's a that's a neat trick I thought only Jesus could see into the heart of people. Apparently Stephen Furtick also has that same ability, huh?

But when you cancel the audition You don't care what they think about you

You don't mind lifting your hands and saying God if everybody thinks I'm crazy in this room. I belong to you

I believe in you. I'm here to worship you. I'm here to glorify you. I'm gonna stand for you.

I'm not I'm not auditioning Not trying out for some role that somebody else wants me to play if God can track

Elisha down in a farm field 12th in line behind the plow Is it possible that he might be walking up to you this morning?

You know, I don't think the next Elisha is sitting there at Liberty. I'm just saying in this moment on an ordinary day ordinary convocation

Watching up in the very top of section 121 Looking at the screen because you can't even see the preacher.

But yet God might send a word to you saying I've chosen you I've called you

I Got greater things for you, Elisha. Yeah, no no point in you auditioning for being the next

Elisha I mean God's just gonna show up in your allegorical plowing field and just pick you right out to do that That's not why this text is written

You weren't meant to spend your life mindlessly plowing Have a greater purpose mindlessly plowing

Farming is a grand vocation in in ancient Israel. I mean throughout the history of humanity being a farmer

That was a good vocation. It was a good living good way to serve and love your neighbor it a

Vital thing to be doing it, huh? This guy's cheesing me off.

It doesn't start one day when you it starts right now because I Already hit my button and before you were even born

I was talking about the things that I had planned for your life a good plan

Man, this is just delusions of grandeur filling their minds Narcissism pure and simple plan to give you a hope and a future clap your hands if you're glad the audition is canceled

What are they even clapping about I mean seriously if we were to interview You know students from Liberty University asking aren't you glad that the auditions canceled they died?

Can you explain to me what that means? Probably not I don't set you free man

I Know I want to go to something else real quick before I dismiss you and this one I want to tell you a little story about with my kids because that's what really means the most to me is

Getting to connect us in a personal way When God came to Elisha and he called him from the farm field into the prophetic ministry

It would be easy to deduce from that That Elisha started performing miracles and he saw

God's greater glory revealed in his life immediately But that would be an incorrect assessment In fact, the first thing

Elisha does is offer Elijah an excuse why he's not ready yet for a greater calling

And when he does he says let me kiss my father and mother. Goodbye and Elijah says to him go back.

What have I done to you? In other words, you can't blow this one off This is a decision. God has made

And if you if you want to go kiss your father and mother go ahead, but once you follow me, there's no turning back now

Here's the personal story. I wanted to tell you about that. My wife is beautiful and supportive and as loving as she is

We made a decision I guess about Five years ago to never ride to church together

Because it was so stressful Because I needed to get there to preach and to pray and to prepare and to plan and she was you know

Always a little bit behind me and she has no concept of time and I love her dearly but we decide to be best for our marriage and for our future and it'd be best for generations to come and if that's for The health of our church and it'd be best for our salvation to remain intact if we always went to church separately

But recently I decided to break that rule because it was Father's Day and I wanted to go to church with the family and I wasn't Preaching but she was running so late and she's gotten so much better since we've been married.

It's been 10 years It was 10 years as June, but she's gotten so much better yet She kind of relapsed on the day. We were going back to church and it came to that point where I realized

We're not just gonna be late. We're not just gonna miss worship We're gonna miss preaching if we don't get in the car soon, and I'm not gonna be able to be there

And so here's what I said to her and this is what I think God wants to say to some of you today. I said, babe

You're just gonna have to get ready on the way So that's what he said to her and that's what

God wants to say to you Uh -huh All right, okay

Bible doesn't say any of this and you know what I Think that's what

God would say to some of you today who are waiting until you feel ready

To step out and do greater things for God It's like when a preacher comes in here. You're like, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, I've heard all that but I got this sin issue And yeah, yeah, I've heard all that but I got this one thing that nobody knows about. Yeah Yeah, I've heard all that before but I'm not you know,

I'm not smart as everybody. Yeah, I've heard all that before But God God would say this to you. This is why I said to my wife if I wait on you to to get ready

Before we go we're never gonna get anywhere So here's how we're gonna have to do this thing

You supposedly this is a word from the Lord, I mean, I don't have any confidence that this is from God at all we're just I'm just gonna have to drive and you're just gonna have to bring your makeup with you and You can paint yourself and fix yourself and prepare yourself while I drive

You're just gonna have to get in. I think that's I think that's what Elijah is saying to Elisha like really that At this point there is very little detail about where Elisha is going

Have you ever noticed that God doesn't really do the details when he speaks about his plan in our lives like he'll give you a vision

He'll tell you he's gonna do something. He'll tell you. Yeah, I've not had one of those. Um, yeah, sorry the whole vision thing

Yeah, no as a plan for you, but he won't say how he'll just stop talking.

He did that to Abraham watch this go Where to the land I will show you

That's awesome So where is that? You go Then I'll show

We won't got the show and then we'll go So so God, you know once you show me what my major is gonna be then

I really start focusing or God once you show Me how you're gonna use my life, then I really commit to living for you wholeheartedly.

God says no. No, no You're gonna have to get ready on the way Somebody asked me the other day.

Are you ready for your book to come out? And I was like no and they were shocked And I said

I've never been ready for anything that God called me to do including starting a church I was 16 years old when God spoke to me and said one day

I want you to start a church in a major city somewhere in the United States of America I wasn't ready for that The town

I grew up in had 6 ,000 people in it Was it ready? Are you sure was

God who told you that because you really don't really do a good job of rightly handling

God's Word like at all in Fact every single text that you preach about ends up being about you including the passages about Jesus You're like the king of the narcissistic isages.

Are you sure it was God the Holy Spirit who told you he wanted you to start a church

To start a church. I didn't know anything about big cities. I didn't know anything about church planting I've met and you don't know anything about hermeneutics and exegesis either weird ever felt ready

For anything God initiated in my life, but it hasn't stopped him As he's driving and As long as I'll follow behind him

He'll get me ready on the way to where I'm going he'll transform me while I'm in process

I'm preaching better than you're responding because you're not ready. Yeah. No, you're not preaching well at all

You're twisting God's Word and basically browbeating these people either but that doesn't disqualify you

It's not about feeling ready. It's about following Christ in faith

God never called you to feel ready. He called you to follow him He never called you to feel ready,

I know we got to prepare I know that the Bible says that we need to study to show ourselves approved I know that we don't need to go doing stuff that God hasn't called us to do

But if I waited until I felt ready to do anything for God We'd never get anywhere

Some of you are waiting on God to do greater things in your life till a day when you've got it together But you'll never get it together

Some of you are waiting for a day to do greater things In the name of Jesus until you understand it all but here's what

I've learned about following Christ He doesn't call me to understand fully He calls me to obey completely

Which you don't do You're called to rightly handle God's Word and teach what's in accord with sound doctrine and you disobey

God pretty much every single Sunday when you preach Yeah, so you're obedient saying it ain't

I'm just not buying it, um, hmm weird and There's a big difference.

I Don't have to understand fully in order to obey completely

All I got to do is Stay behind my guide one step at a time. I Used to pray

God give me guidance Leading a church Opening campuses

Making decisions as a 32 year old man is intimidating And so I would ask

God give me guidance. Give me direction Yet of all the verses that the

Bible records about Elisha's ministry He goes on to do twice as many miracles as Elijah ever did he goes on to raise people from the dead

He goes on to save people from starvation He goes on to part the Jordan River at the death or the the homegoing of his mentor

But yet event yet when you read the text Elijah parted it first Everything the

Bible says about Elisha It only says a few words about what he did next after God's greater calling

Spilled across his shoulders when the mantle that piece of clothing Came into his life to signify his calling all it says is that he went from there and followed

Elijah and For the next several years we get no word of what he did except to follow

See one day I was praying God did give me guidance about something I was like God guide me. Give me guidance. Give me guidance.

I need guidance. I need guidance and It's as if the Lord said to me in my heart Even here we go again

God apparently speaking directly to Stephen Furtick then if I gave it to you You're so directionally impaired

You couldn't follow me. Even if I drew you a map to where I'm leading you

Are any of you like me you have? directional challenges like all my life

I've been directionally impaired so I Can't find my way around I get lost everywhere

I go and The same thing that is true of me naturally I think is true of all of us spiritually the

Bible says that we all like sheep have gone astray Each one is turned to his own way

Yet God doesn't offer to give us guidance in our lives Because he knows Even if he gives you turn -by -turn instructions

You'll get lost if all he does is give you guidance Some of you are praying

God give me guidance show me what to do show me what I'm married Show me where to go. Show me what class to take 9 a .m.

Or 10 a .m. I don't know And God's like you don't need guidance what you need is a guide

There's a difference between guidance and a guide See guidance from God is like a commodity seriously.

This is just like wind just blowing wind completely Void of any substance at all oddity

God. Give me guidance. Tell me what to do so I can do it God says I don't want to give you guidance. I want to be your guide Yeah, Psalm 48 14 this

God is our God forever and ever he will be our guide even to the end

So which one would you rather have God's guidance with your dumb self because you're a sheep and sheep don't know where to go

Can't follow anyway, even if he draws it out for you. You want his guidance or do you want his spirit inside of you?

That's what Jesus was talking about in John 14 12 He said greater things. Will you do than I did because I'm not just gonna show you where to go

I'm gonna take you there. I will be your God. Yeah now we're Isa cheating narcissistically

John 14 12 again. I thought we already got this cleared up regarding what you did wrong with that passage originally now

You're gonna go back and abuse it some more My spirit is in you just just stay behind me step by step.

I I'm taking you to When I was in college, I'll tell you a college story

In hopes of relating to you at a very personal level I played in a band and we weren't very good but we would go play at all these little all these little functions at little colleges and universities and The problem was we all lived in three different towns

And so when we would meet for a gig I would always get lost and I would show up like an hour late two hours

Late and I didn't mean to I would even leave early and I would study the directions ahead of time But it didn't matter. I always got lost and one day the bass player in our band.

His name is Fox He called me and I thought he was calling to give me directions to the gig that night that Friday night it was about three hours away and We would all meet up everywhere we went and I had gotten used to these

Friday phone calls where he would walk me through the directions that he emailed me that I was sure to misunderstood and Not have a chance to get there on time and he was gonna try to make it as plain for me as he could

But it always failed and so here's here's what he said though. This changed this changed my life. He said Tonight I'm not gonna give you directions for how to get there.

That doesn't work with you. We've established that I Said no, man, it's good.

Just send me the directions. I'll do better this time I promise he said no you promised to better every time you never do better All we ever do is sit around and wait on you.

He said I'm coming to get you He said I can't drive you myself because you know, we got to have my equipment in my car and your equipment in your car

But I'm coming to get you. I said man, that's so far out of your way is inconvenient He said not as inconvenient is waiting on you to get there

After the thing is supposed to have started because you got lost because you can't follow directions so I'd rather come two hours out of my way and Pick you up and lead you there

Rather than give you some directions that you're incapable of following anyway And he did

You know, it's a true Stephen Furtick fashion He does a fine job of exegeting his life stories, but then when he gets to the

Bible, he twisted no problem preaching about himself Which is what Aaron a has noted about the heretics of his time that they have no problem preaching about themselves

He came and got me and you know, I showed up early to the gig that night

Because instead of trying to follow some guidance All I had to do was stay behind the guide

There's somebody next to you. Tell him stay behind the guy God is calling you to greater things.

What are they? How do I do it? God? Can I get some details? God, could you spell it out and God is it gonna be him?

Is it gonna be her? Is it gonna be this is it gonna be that God says? I'm not gonna tell you

Because even if I told you not only would it scare you But it would mess you up because you'd spend all of your time what passage says that's right

Sorry, not single one. This is direct revelation forgot. Sorry. I'm trying to follow the directions

But God isn't as interested in you learning what to do as he is in you learning who he is

See God doesn't just want you to follow his guidance into greater things He wants to be your guide

Because when I started following Fox he came to pick me up every time after that I never went anywhere without him again for the next two years

He led me personally to every gig and we got these little CB radios Y 'all don't know nothing about this in our car where we would talk to each other going down the road and we gave each other

Handles and he was called the deer slayer and I was called the one -armed bandit I don't remember the stories behind both of those names

But I know we gave each other nicknames and instead of me kind of scrunching over the directions Should I turn right should

I turn left? It seems like it's out in the middle of nowhere I don't know if I'll ever get there because I'm following the guidance when

I just stayed behind the guide See it changed everything because I didn't have to focus anymore on knowing where to go

All I had to do was stay behind the one I was with now I came to encourage somebody today.

You've been kind of confused. You've settled into complacency already this year You're kind of overwhelmed by everything that's coming your way

But if you'll stay behind the guide, not only will God get you where you're going

But he's got some names that he wants to teach you about who he is in the process if you stay behind the guide

You'll get to know him not only as the God who's getting you where you're going But the

God who is with you every step of the way and my prayer for you Liberty University Is that whatever

God calls you to do whatever greater thing he lays on your heart greater sacrifice greater forgiveness

Greater faith greater intensity greater passion I hope God lays on your heart like greater accuracy and handling

God's Word like a lot greater because like Square one at this point is like backwards like a negative one or four or five

You're in the negatives not even the positive when you feel lost and confused and all alone

You'll know what Elisha knew you'll know what Jesus promised that he is with you

And as long as you stay behind your guide every step of the way Nothing is impossible and greater things are certain to anyone who will believe on his name

God bless you Thank you for the opportunity to preach God's Word to you today, but you didn't see that's the thing.

Okay, so Mmm, that was as far as I can find the the very first time

Stephen Furtick has preached on greater and Boy, that was a great swing and a miss.

That was great Bible twisting. That was great Narcissistic eyes to Jesus it was great

Apostasy it was great error. It wasn't there. No that no Wow Yeah, so there you have it.

I'd love to get your feedback If you'd like to email me regarding anything

You've heard on this edition or any previous editions of fighting for the faith my email address talk back at fighting for the faith Calm or you can ask me my friend on Facebook.

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