Steven Furtick - How To Stay Calm In Any Storm
This is an excerpt from: Knock Knock
One of the weird things about living with other human beings in the same house is the idiosyncrasies that you notice about them whether you want to or not. Oh, that sounded tender. External processor over here, watch out. Yeah, because like my kids I can tell which one of them is knocking on the door just by the way they knock. Just by how they use their knuckles. I know my kids by their knock. Isn't that weird as a parent? You learn to identify which kid because Abby has a very polite knock. It's a very gentle knock. It's a very delicate knock. It's a beautiful knock. It's a knock that says, "if you have the time to open the door, and this is the opportune time, would it be possible that you do so"? It's just a very gentle knock. It's a tender knock.
And then, Elijah was totally different. Now he's very chill, but when he was smaller, his knock was undeniable. Meaning, he's not stopping until you open the door. And even back then he's actually really good at making beats. And he's making a lot of beats these days. Do the Dash on YouTube, by the way, you owe me for that. That's a big plug, man. This is international. But when you used to knock on the door, you used to make beats on the door. That's when you started making your beats just on the door. And they were relentless. I mean, he's not stopping it's like a trap beats on the door just to get him to let you in.
But then Graham, Graham is the one who doesn't knock and you don't even know he was at the door until three weeks later when he says something that he overheard in the conversation that he wasn't supposed to hear. And you know, because you get to know somebody when you living with them, you can tell who's at the door just by how the knocks sounds. Living in relationship with God you learn to discern when it's him knocking and if you don't, you'll open the door to people who don't have the best intentions in mind. And you'll open the door to the enemy who may bring you what you want in your feelings that is destructive to your faith. And, if God lives in your heart over time, you'll learn to discern his knock.
At first you think God knocks with a sledgehammer because that's what church teaches you about God pretty early on, at least in the southeastern United States if it's a fired up church they teach you about God coming through the door. You know, have you ever seen this kind of God? He is a battering ram and people say things like, oh, I loved that sermon today, pastor. God was just kicking my butt all over the place. And, yet, you learned that when you really live with God his knock doesn't take much because you know his knock. Knock knock. Knock knock.
And, you also learned that a lot of times what you will initially think is the devil knocking on your door to attack you is actually God knocking on your door to develop you. And what knocks on the door looking like trouble sometimes is training to teach you to trust in God. And this takes time walking with God to learn that sometimes even if you don't like what's standing at the door, when you hear the knock, that by the time God gets done working in your situation that even what the enemy meant for evil God will turn it for good. And it enables you to live with the kind of faith that is very peculiar to people who think that everything that God brings into your life looks nice because sometimes when you pray for an opportunity you'll be surprised to open the door and find opposition instead.
Have you ever prayed for patience? That's a dumb idea. I never pray for patients because I know exactly what God is going to send to the door if I do, trouble. God is going to send something to get on my nerves so bad. God is going to send a bad driver in front of me on Providence Road with an elevation sticker.
The other day I was coming to church and I was singing in the car, and I was singing this "I'm gonna see your victory" or something like that, one of these good songs that we sing around here. And the person in front of it was such a bad driver. I lost all of the Holy Spirit. I lost 12 percent of my anointing per minute that I was behind this person. And I was so mad I came right up on them. And then I passed him and I slow down just to teach him a lesson. And then they turned into the parking lot with me and they were coming to church and they were a volunteer.
So, I'm haven to learn that you might not like the package that your prayer requests shows up in when it comes to your door. Knock knock. But no matter the delivery system you can trust that God is the one who is super intending. Now, the early church had to believe this in a way that very few of us were allowed to, lay hold of it because they were experiencing such a time of persecution and a time where they had to trust God for their very provision, especially in Jerusalem. There's a famine in chapter 11, they are taking up offerings just so the church can make it. And around about that time they getting the famine sorted out.
The writer here Luke of Acts says about that same time he connects the events. He said, while there dealing with the famine on one hand, they have to deal with the fight on the other hand and now Herod starts throwing their leaders in jail. Some of the disciples, if they were thrown in jail you probably wouldn't miss them because Bartholomew really, you know, I'm sure he's a good guy, but James is one of the three. When Jesus got ready to go up on the mountain and transfigure in front of them to reveal his glory, James, John, and Peter got to go up and see him. What one of the sons of Zebedee, the sons of thunder, James was one of the guys and he's dead. And now they've got Peter too.
And, remember, Peter is their preacher. And, so, it's one thing to lose James, it's painful, but to lose Peter threatens the very purpose of God. And there's so much opportunity because the kingdom of God is spreading and advancing and there's so much opposition. And there's so much opportunity and there's so much opposition. Don't you know that when opportunity comes to the door, opposition comes with it? Don't you know that sometimes they are one in the same? This is what I'm learning. I'm learning that a lot of times when I open the door and see something that I would love to send away in my life, a challenge that I wish didn't come, it is actually the opportunity for God to teach me to trust him.
Kind of hard to say Amen to that because usually you want God to knock and come in with the flower bucket. It's kind of hard to know that is God knocking unless you walk with him for a while. And then you hear the knock the next time and you know whatever is at the door, even if God didn't send it, he's going to use it. And the church is praying for Peter but they're still broken hearted about James.
Did you notice that part in the passage where it said that he had just killed James with the sword? That means he cut his head off. That means he was coming after the head; he was trying to stop the movement of Christianity because he knew it would appease the Jews. And he knew that in this great time of opportunity for the church it was a time of opportunity for him to advance his human agenda.
And, so, the church is praying, the church is knocking on the door of heaven asking God to do something in the situation. And Peter is in prison while the church is praying. Now, one interesting thing about this text, is it all right if I teach the Bible for a minute? Okay. Because it's interesting to note that Peter has no idea at this moment what the people are doing, and the people have no idea how Peter is doing. Sometimes you got to pray by faith not even knowing if it's doing any good in your life. And, sometimes the proof that your prayers and faith are working is that the opposition increases. Good God help me get this message to the back row. Because somebody has been wondering is God even still with me? Is God using me? Is this even worth it?
But there's something about that that should let you know that if the devil showed up in the first place, there must be something important, and he must be defending his territory or else he wouldn't bother with you. So, Peter was in prison but the church was praying. And now will be a good time for us to check on Peter, right? We know what the church was doing, they gather together for prayer meeting and they got in their they started joining their faith together.
And Peter is in prison and he's just hours away from his trial. And if it turns out the same way that James has turned out, this will be his last night on the planet. So, it's that kind of pressure. Let's see what he's doing. Let's check in on a nanny cam on Peter, the rock. Let's check on Peter on the eve of his potential, probable execution, verse 6. "The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was"...
I need somebody to fix that in the back. That can't be what the verse says. How are you going to sleep? When your life is on the line? Ya'll need to fix that verse because it's not possible, is it? The night before Herod was to bring him to trial Peter was what? Pacing? Praising? Praying? How can you sleep at a time like this? That really got me, 'cause I did not expect Peter to be sleeping at this moment. Let me tell you this right now and this is just a confession. There is not enough Lunesta in the pharmacy. There is not enough Ambien on earth that I could sleep, especially after what happened to James. Especially knowing this might not turn out well. We pray for James and look what happened to him and now they got me too.
"And Peter", put it back up there, "is sleeping between two soldiers". How about that? Have you ever had to sleep in between? Come on, ya'll, I came back to preach. I didn't come back to have coffee. Have you ever had to sleep between, I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I have to sleep in between? I have to sleep, I don't really know if this situation is going to get better or what the doctors going to say next time I go back, but I have to sleep in between. I'm in a tight space and I don't know if I'm going to make it out, but I've got to sleep in between.
Peter was sleeping in between. No, he's come a long way, hasn't he? Remember when Jesus was telling Peter you've got to go to the cross and Peter's arguing with Jesus. And he's trying to tell Jesus, you'll never go to the cross. He's trying to get Jesus his plan for Jesus. He's trying to create the itinerary for the son of God who created time and space and he's sleeping? What did Peter know that enabled him to sleep between two soldiers? He was sleeping. Put it back up, I'm not done with that verse. He was sleeping. In the greatest trial of his life he was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains.
Some scholars think that little Wayne could have been in the next cell. A lot of people were there. And centuries stood guard at the entrance. And, so, he was sleeping. What did he know that enabled him to sleep in between? Maybe, suggestion, he wasn't sleeping because of something he knew with his senses, maybe he was sleeping because of something that he saw in his spirit. And maybe what he saw in his spirit was a direct reflection of an experience that he had with Jesus. Because, remember, in the boat one night when they were going to the other side, but then in between where they were and where they were going they hit a storm. Sometimes you set out for the destination, but it's in between that your faith has to kick in to believe God.
And when all the disciples were straining, the Bible says they were straining at the oar, they were straining against the wind, they were straining against the waves. And while they were straining they went down to check out Jesus. And they were surprised to find out that while they were straining, Jesus were sleeping. So, maybe when Peter found out they might kill me he decided there's only so much I can do about this. And when I get to the other side I'm going to need all my strength so I'm going to sleep in between.
This is God's word for somebody. God said, I can do more while you're sleeping thing you can do while you're straining. And if you will get out of the way and out of your flesh, and out of your anxiety... The disciples said, "Jesus, don't you care, we are in the storm?" Jesus said, "this is how I fight my battles."