Steven Furtick — Are You Headed in the Right Direction?
Rather than a title today for the message, I want to use a question to get you thinking today, and the question is: "Are You Headed in the Right Direction?"
And I'm grateful that Paul gives us a picture, a picture of how he sees progress because progress is more than effort. Progress is effort in the right direction. One of the things I love about the Holy Spirit in my life is that he is my interpreter. He helps me take a situation and instead of starting with what, I start with why. You can survive any what if you have a good enough why. What really got me is this shift that Paul makes after talking about his why.
He said, "I'm in chains for Christ," and he said that, "Around here, man," he said, "I got a captive audience and I'm preaching to all of 'em. The guards, the other prisoners," he said, "Don't even worry about it. I know y'all think this is a bad event, but faith is an interpretation of an event that sees progress even in pain."
My God, this preaching is rich. I feel like I need to go on the Elevation app and watch it back on Monday myself to get the fullness of this message You know, somebody wrote me online one time and said, "You shouldn't say that you're preaching good when you're preaching," 'cause you know, I stop preaching every once in awhile and say God, I'm preaching good.
And what I wanted to say is if I don't like it, why in the world should you? I mean, I want to preach something that I need and that I like, but anyway. By the way, most people who criticize you are really just showing you that they don't like themselves very much. Interpretation.
And then you see it that way, you can have compassion and say, "Okay, well they must really be going through something. How can I help?" He makes a shift, everybody say, "Shift happens." When he does it, I want to walk you through it. He picks up in Philippians 1:18 and the Bible has put in these verses for us, but originally there weren't like verses breaking up the different letters.
It was just there so we can find it, but sometimes it jumps in at a weird place and I think that happens in Philippians 1:18 because Paul says, Philippians 1:18: "But what does it matter?" And that's a phrase that you should use as well. What does it matter? Like, what does it matter? Y'all pray for me that I would get better at that, because I take little things really seriously.
So, Holly laughed when I made that point. That's a good sign, and he says, "You know what matters? The important thing, the priority is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ has preached. That's what matters to me. And so, everything that serves that purpose is fine with me, whether I like it or not in the moment. That's what matters to me."
What matters to you? What matters to you? Because what matters to you will determine the direction that you point your life in. What matters to you, that's your destination. So Paul says, "What matters to me is that Christ has preached and that's happening, so, you know, whatever they're saying about me, that's fine."
"For the important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or truth Christ has preached, and because of this, I rejoice."
Now, this next phrase to me should be a different verse. They put it right in the same verse, but when Paul makes his next statement, he goes into a completely different mode. He goes in a different zone, and what I want to show you is the next skill that Paul teaches us. And this is not the skill of interpretation, Come on, say it when you got it. Anticipation.
That was like Wheel of Fortune up in here today, trying to buy a vowel, figure out what I'm writing on this board. He shifts and he says: "Now that I've given you my interpretation of what has happened, let me give you my anticipation of what... will... happen" and one level, Paul says, "I don't know. They might kill me, I might live. I'm not sure about that part."
But I want you to notice the frame of mind and the state of consciousness that Paul engages over these ten verses starting with Philippians 1:18 B where I read to you, where he read: "Yes, and I will continue to rejoice." He uses the word will. He's shifting now. I've spent enough time talking to you about what happened, that's over. Can't control it, can't do anything about it, okay?
I've acknowledged it, I've interpreted it, that's that. Now, I'm moving forward. Now, I want to tell you what will happen, and I want us to do an exercise, okay? On every campus, so this is for those of you at Butler High School or Matthews Campus, temporarily homeless, this is for our Uptown location, this is for Weddington, this is for University City, this is for Lake Norman.
This is even for those in Raleigh, North Carolina and Toronto, Canada who had record attendance last weekend. I want all of you, whether you're good at math or not, I want you to count with me the number of times that the word will is used in these ten verses that start in Philippians 1:18. There's the first one, you already got it. So put your hand up, it's one.
He said: "I will continue to rejoice." Count out loud, that's. Next verse: "For I know," he's confident about this. "That through your prayers and God's provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I... will... in no way be ashamed, but... will... have sufficient courage so that now as always, Christ... will... be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death."
I don't know what, but I know why. "And so, for me to live as Christ and to die is gain if I'm to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me, yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I'm torn between the two, I desire to part and be with Christ, wouldn't have to put up with anything anymore. Be a lot better if I was in heaven, but it's more necessary that I remain in the body for you. In the midst of us, I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you for your progress."
Maybe sometimes, our life is meant to be more about somebody else's Come on, let's keep counting. I just wanted to point that out 'cause I was talking about progress, and I wanted you to know sometimes, it's not all about you.