Steven Furtick - God, I'm Scared
This is an excerpt from: The Facts Aren't Final
Some of the stuff you're fighting with in your faith right now… It's not a lie, and that's what makes it so scary. It's a fact. It is a fact. I talked to three people in this church last night…one diagnosed with Parkinson's this week, one whose son went to jail this week, one of them who lost their job this week. Not all the same skin color. Not all the same age. Some are new to the church. Some have been in the church almost since it started. All three of them are facing facts. There wasn't one of them I could say to, "The Devil is a liar. Rebuke him in Jesus' name". Not in good conscience. I guess I could say some hocus-pocus stuff about it, and maybe it would feel good for about three seconds, but when my dad was diagnosed with ALS, I knew he would die. It was a fact.
"Didn't you pray for healing"? Of course I did. Who wouldn't? But when the healing didn't happen and all I was left with was the facts, now how can I be on the phone with somebody who just got a diagnosis like Parkinson's and say, "It's going to be all right. Don't be afraid. Just believe". I don't say that when I call people. I don't feel like I have the right to tell you not to be afraid. I don't really feel like I have the right to tell you to just believe, because I struggle with belief myself. The Lord gently rebuked me this week and said… I'll tell you what it was. It was so dumb. This is what I would leave out of my sermons if I had good sense.
A lady was coming to take my blood draw. This is not a big deal. She didn't show up, and I had a garden of Gethsemane moment, because when they draw your blood, you can't have any caffeine or food, and for me to be awake for two hours without caffeine… Listen. We all have our cross to bear. Must Jesus bear the cross alone? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Just as quickly as I could start complaining… "This lady… What's wrong with her? She messed up my whole day. She interrupted my whole day. Now my whole day is thrown off. Now everything is wrong. I didn't even get to do my gratitude practice this morning because this lady messed up my blood draw". The Lord said, "Would you rather be going to a chemo appointment"? That shut me up. It was so dumb.
The Lord said to me, "You get up and tell people to believe me for the impossible, and you can't even put up with the uncomfortable". When Mike was working on me one time… He was working on my shoulder. He asked, "How is that pain level you feel when you do that"? I said, "Unbearable". He goes, "Unbearable"? It was the first time he ever worked on me. (Mike Danenberg. Look him up. He does a great job.) He said, "Unbearable. Unbearable"? I said, "Okay. Uncomfortable".
This story gives us a great gift of perspective to know that even when it was that bad, look at what Jesus said to Jairus. Verse 36. This is a powerful principle and a dynamic of faith that works in your life any time you choose to apply it. He said, "Don't be afraid; just believe". I can understand you saying this if it's a spider. This is not a spider, y'all. By the way, this spider crawled between the mats when I was working out this week, and I was down there doing V-ups on the BOSU ball.
I went a whole 15 steps ahead, and I said, "This is how I'm going to die. It's going to be a spider bite on the floor doing V-ups on the BOSU ball while I'm trying to be healthy, and a spider is going to sneak up and bite me". I could see my skin rotting. I could already see a hole in my… I'll tell you, it's crazy how far your mind can go. But look. I'm making it funny because I don't want us to think that what Jesus said is only for the most desperate situation. What he said has implications in your daily situation.
So, if he can say that to a man who just received a report, "Your daughter is dead," and if Jesus… This is what we claim to believe about Jesus. He's the Savior of the world. He's the Great I Am. He's the living water. He's the Good Shepherd. He's all of these things we claim him to be. He is the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Alpha and Omega, the final Word from heaven, the Great High Priest, the Lamb of God, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. If we believe all that was said to a man who lost what he loved the most by the one who sees and knows everything… "Don't be afraid; just believe". I want Jesus to speak to me about my deepest fear. I want Jesus to speak to me about what I can't speak to you about. I want Jesus to speak to me about what plays over and over in my head. It's in my head, and it's in my heart.
The Devil doesn't speak to me out loud. It's louder than that. When it comes from the inside, I can't find the switch for that. They came from Jairus' house and said, "Why bother"? Do you know what doesn't happen in the Scripture? When Jesus says, "Don't be afraid; just believe," Jesus does not argue with the facts. He calls Jairus into faith. So, this is for everybody who thinks, "Blah, blah, blah. Candy canes, Jesus Christ, and Maury Povich. The Bible is just nothing other than all this dynamics and dramatics". No, no, no. He doesn't deny a single thing they said. In fact, in verse 36 (it's very powerful), it says, "Overhearing what they said…" Do you see it? It's interesting. (Let's do that thing, Abbey.) "Overhearing what they said…" I wrote it down.
The Greek word for overhear that Mark uses… It's a brilliant word. It has three different meanings. Not one meaning. It has three different, distinct meanings where he says that Jesus overheard them saying, "She's dead. Why bother"? Three definitions: to overhear something not intended for one's ears; to refuse to listen or discount the truth of something or to pay no attention to… Listen to this. He uses the word parakousas. It means to ignore. It means to know that a message is trying to come through. See, this was not an interruption. This is an illustration. That button says "Decline". It means that just because she wants to talk doesn't mean I have to answer.
Now, sometimes in my mind I have to decline the Devil, like, five times a second. You thought I was going to say, "Five a day". No, no, no. I'm way worse than that. My mind is way crazier than that. It means that she's saying, "I want some Face Time with you," and I'm having to make a decision in this moment. Decline, decline, decline, decline or accept. You are making this decision every time you hear the Devil calling you. I found the "Decline" button that says parakousas. That means "I heard what you said. I heard you tell me it's over. I just choose to believe that I don't have to accept this message just because it's coming through". As a matter of fact, some of y'all need to tell the Devil before you even leave this service, "I heard what you said, but I decline. I heard you tell me, 'Lay down and die in the valley of the shadow of death,' but I decline. I decline"! This is the divine decline. Oh yeah. It is knowing that greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world.
Now get this. It isn't Jesus didn't hear it. He just didn't respond to it. It isn't that you don't know that you're broke. It's just that you are not defined by that because you are too busy moving forward in faith toward what God called you to be. Even about myself… I accept myself because God accepts me. I know I'm jacked up. I know I have a long way to go. I know I'm selfish sometimes, but I'm still preaching these sermons to you, because I decline to be defined by what I'm not when the Great I Am lives inside of my spirit.