Steven Furtick - New Number Same Name
Isaiah, chapter 43, verse 19. Nineteenth anniversary, the nineteenth verse of Isaiah 43. «See, I am doing a new thing»! Now, Pastor Holly already told you we’re entering our twentieth year of ministry today, but before we go to year 20, the Lord wants to give us something from verse 19. «See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland».
Today, I want to talk to you from a formal-sounding topic, but I’m going to make it really plain. I want to talk to you on our nineteenth church anniversary at Elevation, as we enter our twentieth year of ministry, about our future and our former. I don’t know if that title is going to hit like I want it to, so let me give you the second title: New Number Same Name.
Father, I thank you for your Word as it goes forth. May it go forth with penetrating insight, with Holy Spirit power. May it go forth with healing medicine to those who need it, who are standing on the brink and the precipice of a new season of their life, asking you what’s next and feeling nervous. Perhaps they’re concerned for one of their friends or one of their children. Perhaps they’re concerned for their mother or their father, someone who’s not in this room with them. Perhaps they’re concerned about their own health. Perhaps they’re thinking about this job they’ve just taken and whether it was the right one or whether they’re going to get the callback. Perhaps they’re praying their way through a season of loneliness. You know those needs. From this place, this pulpit you’ve entrusted to me for these moments, I decree and declare that the eternal wisdom of almighty God will go forward. It will not be checked by a demon. It will not be hindered by Satan. It will break through and penetrate the life it was intended to affect. I give you the glory in advance, because it is your Word and it is your work and it is your church, so it is your praise. In Jesus' name, amen.
Of all of the questions people ask me before a church anniversary, this has to be the dumbest. I say that lovingly. They say, «If you could go back and start all over again, would you do it»? No. Sometimes they say it even more extreme than that. «Don’t you just sometimes want to go back to the early days and start the church all over again»? No. I don’t want to do that again. Back to those days when you weren’t here. It was terrible before you got here. Tell the person next to you, «This church sucked before you showed up». Tell them that at every location…Riverwalk, University City. One of the things I always aim to do as I stand before you (and I hope you sense this) is give you a good grounding in the context of this Scripture before moving to the application, because I understand that you can pretty much make the Bible say something it never really meant to say or was intended to say.
Although I read you that verse about «I’m doing a new thing» for verse 19 (and I am going to preach that verse today), I thought it would be helpful if we establish a little bit of context and go back to the top of this to get a sense of who Isaiah is, why he’s saying this, and who he’s saying it to. So, I want to back up to verse 16. This first sentence… This is something I feel strongly about. He said, «This is what the Lord says…» I think you should circle that in your Bible or highlight it, or something, because that’s what we’re trying to get to every time we come together as a church. «This is what the Lord says».
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it has never been harder to hear from God, not because we don’t have access to his Word but because we have so many voices attacking his voice to the point where many of us are confused and can’t tell what’s God and what’s the algorithm. Sometimes we can’t tell what’s God and what’s just us worrying and calling it prayer. The biggest wrestling match of my life, standing before you each and every week, is to figure out what comes after this phrase, «This is what the Lord says».
Notice that the text doesn’t remark, «This is what the Lord said». It would be one thing for us to just gather together weekly and have a short history lesson on people who lived in the past that is designed to keep us from ever feeling challenged to bring the Word of God into our everyday life so that God just remains a mere superstition in our lives, someone Grandma used to talk about who we run to for comfort when our lives feel unstable. The cutting-edge ministry of gospel preaching is to come with the Word of God, timeless and eternal, written in the pages of Scripture, not to be altered, taken away from, or added to (not one jot nor one tittle from this thing is supposed to be altered), and to bring it into the contemporary experience of a diversity of personalities and ethnicities.
«This is what the Lord says». I never feel ready to preach just because I have three points. I never feel ready to preach just because I have a story. I never feel ready to preach just because my voice feels strong. I only feel ready to preach when I can feel you getting what you need from your God. When that happens, get out of my way, because once I sense that God has given me what he wants you to have, once I sense that God has put something in my spirit for your situation… «This is what the Lord says».
Isaiah goes on. We’re going to follow his thought pattern for a moment before we come to my main point today. «This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick». Now, we’ve gone two verses, and we still haven’t gotten to what God says. Think of Isaiah as someone who is introducing a guest speaker. If on our anniversary today I was coming to bring up a guest speaker, I would come before you, and I would begin to give background information on that speaker.
The reason for giving background information on the speaker… You might lean in to hear what they have to say, especially if you don’t know who they are. Because I want you to know, «Hey, Pastor Steven is definitely my favorite preacher. Pastor Holly is my second». I’m saying this facetiously, by the way. I don’t care who your favorite preacher is. It matters what God says. Anybody God wants to use in your life, that’s fine with me. But I would want to build credibility for a speaker you were not familiar with.
So I might say, «They’ve written three best-selling books» or «They’ve done amazing work with the homeless community in their city». Or «They have been recognized and regarded as one of the premier experts on…» Or «They’ve pastored their church 37 years, and they’ve been married 34 years, happily married for 32 of those 34 years». I would begin to build your interest and your confidence in the speaker by giving you a bit of their background. Isaiah says, «This is what the Lord says,» and he proceeds not to give the direct word of God, but indirectly, he begins to describe the works of God at a time that was at least 700 years in the past.
Now, every Bible student will know this is a flashback to an event in the Scripture called the exodus. This is when God brought his people out of Egypt. They did not get all the way to the Promised Land. Their unbelief blocked them from that. But God brought them through raging waters (the Red Sea). He drowned the chariots of the Egyptian Pharaoh, and all of those chariots laid there, never to rise again. It’s as if Isaiah is bringing God into the frame for the people to hear from. He says to them, «The Lord has a message for you, and before I tell you what he says, let me remind you what he does. This is not one of the gods of Babylonia who was crafted by human hands. This is not one of the gods of Assyria that was dreamt up by a human imagination. This is the God who’s about to speak to you, who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again».
Before you hear what God is about to say to his people, remember what he did to their enemies so that you have confidence that the God who is fighting your battles today has been here before. God has been here before even if you haven’t been here before. God goes ahead of you into everything you call «today». In fact, when you talk about the future, God doesn’t have a word in his vocabulary for that. That’s in your dictionary, not his. God doesn’t talk about future; God talks about eternity, and God who sits out of time gives you a box called time so you don’t go crazy. He allows you to think about the future because you cannot compartmentalize well. He allows you to think of something called tomorrow, even though to him (God) tomorrow is already history.
Let me remind you that God, who has already been into your future, has proven himself faithful in your past. That’s what you’d expect me to preach about on an anniversary Sunday. Right? «Look at what the Lord has done». That’s what I want to preach on an anniversary Sunday, because what he has done is comfortable and comforting. What he has done I have a frame of reference for. I never understood why people shouted over Isaiah 43:19. In verse 19, he says, «See, I am doing a new thing!» and everybody shouts. I think that’s strange. In a couple of weeks, we’re going on Elevation Nights, and we’ll be sharing in different cities the love of Jesus and the gospel of Jesus, and we’ll be sharing songs.
Do you know how to really lose a crowd in an arena like that? Just tell them, «We want to share a new song with you, one you’ve never heard before». If they cheer for that, they’re being polite. They don’t want a new song. I even see y’all do it on Sundays. Poor Chris. Can we give it up for Chris, the real Chris Brown, our Chris Brown? I’m getting to the point in my life where I thank God for consistent people, and Chris is so consistent. Every week I watch him out here, and he has the hardest line to say. You know, we just finished singing «Graves Into Gardens» or «Jireh,» or something like that, and now he has to look you right in your eyes and say, «Are y’all ready to sing a new song, church»? Y’all are faking it, too, because you’re polite and nice. «Yeah, we want to sing a new song».
New doesn’t always feel improved at first, does it? One of the things about God’s Word that is so wonderful to me is that although it’s foundational and does not change, it is always fresh; therefore, it’s always relevant. When God gets ready to speak to you about a situation in your life, he will remind you of some of the roads he has already led you through, but he doesn’t stop there. After Isaiah reads the résumé of this God we’ve come to worship and serve, mentioning the central event in Israel’s history, the one they couldn’t stop celebrating about seven centuries later… The first time he speaks on behalf of God, because that’s what prophets did, he says a word we would not expect to hear in this context.
After he says, «God drew your enemies out into the water, killed the horses and chariots of those who were chasing you, gave you a great and mighty deliverance, made your way through clean so you could praise him today…» Right after he says that in verse 18, he gives the first instruction from God, and it is counterintuitive (and you are forgiven if it’s surprising to you): «Forget…» «Well, then, why are you mentioning it? Why are you mentioning what I’m meant to forget»? Isn’t that strange? I love studying the Bible with y’all, because we would just read right over this. Right? «God is doing a new thing. I’m going to have a new wife. I’m going to have a new kid when I get home».
I read a book one time. It was called something like, «How to Have a New Husband in 21 Days». They were talking about taking the same husband… «If you do this, you can change him. You can manipulate him. Just compliment him when he carries the groceries in, and he’ll think he’s strong, and he’ll carry the groceries more». «How to have a new husband in 21 days». That is not Isaiah’s message. In fact, Isaiah is saying, «Now that I have reminded you of all of these former things God has done, forget the former things». Forget the former. Forget the dress you used to fit into, the people you used to want to see at the party. Forget the drugs you used to get high on. Right? That’s what he’s talking about. No. He’s talking about things God did.
Now, I get it if he’s saying, «Forget the things you used to sin with,» but he’s actually saying, «Forget the things you used to celebrate». I studied it and studied it, and I said, «Well, Lord, should we not celebrate the anniversary? Should we not put up all of the old pictures of when you made a way and we had no money and no connections and you built this church? Is it a sin to celebrate what you did»? As I read it, it became clear to me why so many of us stay stuck in the past and cannot grow. By the way, there is one thing you can do that God can’t do: grow. He doesn’t grow; you do.
Graham said to me one time recently, «Corn dogs fell off». I said, «What does that even mean? Can you say that in English»? He said, «Corn dogs used to be so big. Remember when corn dogs were big? They fell off». I told him, «Corn dogs didn’t fall off. You grew up». See the difference? He thinks corn dogs changed. Corn dogs don’t change. Corn dogs (this is how the Bible says it) are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You changed. As we are being changed by the glory of the Lord, we see more of his glory as we are changed by him. We begin to realize that a lot of what we call growth is forgetting what we thought we knew.
So, a lot of what we call going forward… We will forget what we thought God had promised as we learn what he really promised. A lot of our problem is when we overlay our preferences on God’s promises. I’m going to take that further, so you’d better let that one sink in. When you overlay your preference over God’s promise. But here’s the even worse part: you lay your preference over God’s promise, and then you attach God’s promise to your plan. That’s not how this works.
Isaiah is speaking to people about the exodus, which happened 700 years ago, and he’s speaking to them about their exile, which they’re currently in, because they’re in a place called Babylonia. They were taken there by Nebuchadnezzar, but they’re going to be led out by Cyrus. He says, «I’m doing a new thing, but I want to remind you of the old thing». But no sooner does he remind them of who is speaking, then he says, «This is what the Lord says: Forget». «Forget the former». I don’t think this means we can’t go shopping for Iron Maiden tee shirts, as some of us are wont to do. I don’t think God is against nostalgia. I don’t think God is against memory. But I’m very conflicted about those of us who are staying stuck in a stage of our spiritual growth and calling it our whole story.
Remember, the Red Sea was not the finish line for the people of God; it was the foundation. Is it possible that you’ve been taking something in your life that was meant to be a foundation and treating it as a finish line? I’ll tell you some of the things we say when we’re trying to take foundations. Nobody sees the foundation of a house and then pays the bill for the full amount…unless you’re a fool. If you’re building a house, and they put up the foundation, keep a little of that money back, because they have still more to do. When God lays a foundation in your life and you call it finished, you end up crossing the Red Sea, getting through the waters, and spending 40 years in a wilderness.
I hear Christians often say things like, «I’m just a sinner saved by grace». I saw a bumper sticker one time that said, «Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven». Now, I understand the heart of that. We’re saying we’re not better than you. It’s not like we don’t cuss our kids out; we just don’t do it in church. But when you say, «Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven…» If that helps you receive God’s grace for where you’re at, that is a wonderful truth, but if it causes you to remain… Or the way the prophet Isaiah put it… He said, «Don’t dwell on it». Don’t dwell on the past. Let me show you this in verse 18. It’s right there in the text. He says, «Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past».
Then why did you spend two verses telling me about the past if you don’t want me to dwell on it? God says, «I gave you those experiences to draw from, not to dwell on». The difference. «I gave you those experiences to draw from, not to dwell on». To dwell in it is to live in something that God intended to be temporary. When there is a truth spoken over your life concerning what God has given you, concerning who God has called you, concerning who he has made you to be… Let’s get that phrase embedded. «Who he has made you to be».
When God has planted that truth inside of you, that is a foundational truth, but the foundation is not meant to be the finish line of your faith. Imagine this. You’re building a house. They pour the foundation. You set up tents and pay them full price. You have no indoor plumbing. You certainly have no marble countertops, and you paid for them. You have no running water, and you paid for it. It’s paid for, but you’re not living in it. It’s paid for, but you said, «No, I’m going to live in this tent».
See, a lot of Christians don’t realize what has already been paid for. So now I’m living down in something that Jesus' blood already purchased more than, but I can’t see past what I’ve been through, so I figure this Red Sea was meant to be the result. The Red Sea was just the road to get where I was going. It wasn’t the place I was meant to stay. So, I’m going to fight every single one of you who says, «Man, the good ol' days of Elevation Church, back when we used to be at Providence High School». If you think those were the good ol' days of Elevation Church, you were not setting up or tearing down at Providence High School. All that shows me is you weren’t a volunteer.
That’s why you thought it was the good ol' days. It is a perspective of praise that you get when you see, «Oh! God brought me through that, but he did not lead me to that as my destination». I declare over your life today that everything you have seen God do was a foundation. He is not done building in your life. He is not done building in your bloodline. He is not done building on your experience. He is not done building through your pain. Forget how far you’ve come. «What? I thought I was supposed to remember how far I’ve come».
Last week, I did a good little message, because I preached on Look Forward Not Far. I was illustrating that when we tend to get too far out ahead of ourselves… Man, I prayed before our twentieth year of ministry started today. I said, «Lord, let me give them the plan for the next 20 years of the church». I started praying that in January. I was praying it up until 9:29. Church started at 9:30. The Lord said, «Nope, not 20 years. How about 20 minutes? Get up and preach the Word. This is what the Lord says for your current situation». Do you know why we want God’s plans to be so far in the future? Because we’re not committed to his presence in our daily lives. This is what the Lord says.
Now, the Lord is going to speak to you in many ways through your life. Hebrews 1:1: «In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways…» That’s what I wanted you to get: «At many times and in various ways in the past». Verse 2: «…but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe». Now, what that makes me think is God has been doing this a long time. He’s consistent. The worlds were framed by the Word of God.
So, when Isaiah says, «This is what the Lord says,» God didn’t just start speaking; you just started listening. He’s just waiting for us to tune in. When we start our worship service at church, we’re just joining with what heaven is doing around the clock, because he’s consistent. He’s consistently holy. That’s why the angels call him, «Holy, holy, holy». When you say it three times, it underscores not only the significance of it but the consistency of it. God doesn’t take an off day from doing the right thing. Jesus was without sin, yet he was made to become sin so that we who had sin could become the righteousness of God through him.
That’s what he means by his Son who created the universe. Jesus did not become God when he was born. He was always God. He will always be God. He is Alpha and Omega. He’s consistent. He was there from the foundation of the world. The world was framed by the very Word of God that is coming into your heart today. He’s consistent. He didn’t just start feeding his people when he gave them manna in the wilderness. He’s consistent. He had been feeding them all of their lives. He’s consistent. God can find so many ways to feed his children. If it’s not manna in the wilderness, it will be the fruit of Canaan. But I’ll tell you one thing: he’s consistent, and he’ll feed you.
Whether it’s ravens bringing you food, which were considered unclean… Bringing to a Hebrew prophet a bird that was considered unclean by the Jewish religion. God can feed you anywhere you are, he can find you anywhere you are, and he can fill you anywhere you are, because he formed you. Whoever forms you knows what to fill you with. The one who knows your future formed you before your future began. The prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 1:5, «Before you were born, I formed you». «In my mother’s womb I was knit together,» because he was formed.
All my days he has been faithful. All my life he has been so, so good. That’s the consistency of God. He is a consistent friend. He doesn’t duck out when it’s a liability to know your name or your number. He’s a consistent friend. He’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He knows how to celebrate your wins with you, because he’s consistent. He’s not intimidated when you’re doing good, like some of your friends who only want to come around when you’re doing bad because misery loves company. He’s consistent. He’ll step into your good moment, and he can be proud of you past the point where other people can, because he has no insecurities. He’s consistent. He has no insufficiencies. He’s consistent. He doesn’t run out of energy. He doesn’t get tired of carrying you.
He doesn’t say, «Could you pray to me tomorrow? It’s kind of late right now, and I’m not really a night person». He’s consistent. He’s not waiting for you to get the eye boogers out of your eyes. He’s a morning person too. He’s consistent. He doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t slumber. He’s consistent. He doesn’t come off his throne when one party wins an election or another one wins the next one. He’s consistent. He’s Israel’s king and your creator. He’s consistent. He is so consistent that he’ll walk with you not only through the joys and the mountaintops of your life, but in the sorrows of your life, he’s not ashamed to be associated with you. He’s consistent.
If you haven’t caught any fish, he’ll tell you where to throw the net out again, because he’s consistent. He’s so consistent. He’s worthy of praise when your feelings are telling you you’re not worthy of his love. He’s consistent. He relates to you on the basis of what he did for you, not what you do for him, so even if you haven’t done it right lately, he’s consistent. When people walk out of your life, they walk out of your life for different reasons. He stays in your life for one reason: because you’re his. He’s consistent. He’s a good Father. He’s consistent. If your father wasn’t a good father, he’ll pick up… When your father and your mother forsake you, the Lord will take you up, because he’s consistent.
I’m celebrating today that he’s consistent. I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He’s consistent. There has never been a time that I called to him and he was busy with another one of his kids who he liked more. He’s consistent. Even when I was trying to run away to Tarshish, he got me to Nineveh in the belly of a whale, because he has many vehicles to get his voice to where he wants it to go. He’s consistent. If there is one thing I love about God, it’s that he’s consistent.
How many have found him to be consistent and you can testify and come into agreement that he’s consistent? But he’s also creative. I don’t know if you know any creative people, but sometimes creativity and consistency don’t get along so well. If you’ve ever lived with an artist, sometimes they don’t know how to make their bed up. If you’ve ever lived with somebody who was creatively gifted, sometimes they’re a little sporadically wired. God is consistent, but he’s also creative. I was praying, «Lord, give me something special to show them today. This is our anniversary. It’s the beginning of our twentieth year of ministry. I want us to have a 20/20 vision. Come on, Lord».
What he spoke to me was something beautiful. He began to speak to me as I was falling asleep and waking up, and he took me to a text, because I think at my heart I’m a storyteller. If you ever do the math on my sermons, a lot of them are based around stories. The prophetic declaration of Isaiah, the story of the people coming through the Red Sea, and the mention of the author of Hebrews about the supremacy, the superiority, and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ, our Savior… It all kind of finds a unity point, in my mind, in two of the miracles Jesus did. I won’t belabor them, but I do want to show them to you in their entirety. In Mark, chapter 8, Jesus heals a blind man.
Now, what drew me to this passage initially was the Lord told Isaiah, «See, I am doing a new thing». I started realizing a lot of us don’t have a supply problem; we have a sight problem. It’s not that God hasn’t spoken; we just can’t see. Realizing that one of the most frequent miracles Jesus performed in the Scripture was the healing of blind eyes, I went and studied different people he healed of blindness, because I believe we all have spiritual blindness, blind spots, things that we say, «Well, if I could go back, I’d do it differently, but I didn’t know that five years ago». «I didn’t know I was hurting my child. I was trying to discipline them, but now I see that I was too harsh. I was trying to provide for my family, but I ended up kind of abandoning them emotionally. In an attempt to give them what I didn’t have growing up, which was money, I didn’t give them what I did have, which is love. I’m looking back, and I was blinded by that».
The healing of the Savior and the new thing God is doing often brings restoration of spiritual sight, what Paul called the eyes of your heart being enlightened. In Mark, chapter 8, there is a mention of a man. I don’t believe we get his name in the Scripture, but Jesus did something amazing for him. Now, I don’t know when you’re watching this, but if you’re about to go to lunch, this might ruin your appetite. It’s kind of gross. «They [the disciples and Jesus] came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him». Pay attention to every detail that you can. It will reward your attention if you’ll pay attention to every detail in this little story.
Verse 23: «He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 'Do you see anything? '» I told you this is not a very appetizing miracle. I need to read that again, because you didn’t even react to it, and it’s so weird. «When he had spit on the man’s eyes…» We just glossed over that, like that’s just something people do, like he did a «Hail Mary» over him or something. He spit on the man’s eyes, and then put his hands on him, and Jesus asked, «Do you see anything»? He looked up and said, «Um, you did pretty good. I see people; they look like trees walking around».
Now, I’m going to point out to you really quickly, the fact that he knew what trees looked like means he had been able to see at some time in the past. So, he’s restoring his sight. Some things God wants to bring you back to. You really do know what it means. He said, «I see it, but it’s blurry». Do you have any blurry blessings in your life right now? «I see it, but it’s blurry. It’s working, but it seems a little off. I don’t want you to spit on me again, but can I get a second touch»?
The Bible says something very powerful. «Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, 'Don’t even go into the village.'» What a great story. If that were the passage we were preaching from, we would say, «Every miracle is messy». Spit in your eyes is messy. We would also say that many miracles in your life happen over the period of time, because there were two touches involved. But we’re not viewing this miracle in isolation, because Jesus is consistent, but he’s also creative. Here’s what I mean. Go to Mark, chapter 10. Another blind man, this one whose name we do know. «Then they came to Jericho».
So, this is a different town. Bethsaida (Mark 8); Jericho (Mark 10). «As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means 'son of Timaeus'), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth…» He could hear, but he couldn’t see. «…he began to shout…» He could shout though he couldn’t see. He’s using everything he has available. «…'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! ' Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me! '»
Don’t you let them shut you up. Don’t you let them shut you down. Don’t you let them call you crazy. They tried to do it to me for almost 20 years, and if I had listened to everything they said about me, I wouldn’t be here preaching to your beautiful self. So don’t you dare miss what God has for you down the road. «Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me! ' Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him.' So they [the disciples] called to the blind man, 'Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.' Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 'What do you want me to do for you? ' Jesus asked him. The blind man said, 'Rabbi, I want to see.'»
Now, I can’t prove it in the text, because the text says the blind man threw his cloak. I can’t prove it in the text, because the text says he shouted loudly. I can’t prove it in the text, but I think when he said, «I want to see,» Peter and the other disciples backed up a little bit, because the last time Jesus did what he’s asking him to do… Maybe they even said to the guy, «Hey, man, you might want to… Do you have a change of clothes? Just to prepare you, this can be kind of traumatic if you’re not expecting it, just to let you know».
But watch this. Jesus is a healer. He’s consistent. He doesn’t tell the man, «No, I don’t feel like healing. Check back Thursday. Thursday is my healing day,» because he’s consistent. But the same Savior who is consistent is also creative, which means he is not constrained, which means he doesn’t have to do the same thing this time that he did last time, which means he’s going to heal the man, but this time… Watch. It’s a little different. Jesus just said, «Go». Verse 52: «'…your faith has healed you.' Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road».
Bartholomew, Andrew, John, James, and Peter are like, «Wait, Jesus. You forgot to spit. You’ve got to spit. Remember chapter 8? You’ve got to spit on him. It’s not going to work if you don’t spit. I mean, you spit on that guy, and you still had to do it twice». If you’re taking notes as a disciple, here’s what you’re writing down, because you’ve never seen anything this amazing before. Right? Jesus is walking around healing blind eyes, and stuff, so you’re keeping notes. «Okay. We’re going to have to do this without him one day, so what does he do? Okay. He spits, and then the first touch doesn’t really work, so you’ve got to do it twice. Okay».
Then Jesus walks right up on this man named Bartimaeus. The man is screaming, and they’re like, «You’re not supposed to scream». Jesus is like, «I don’t mind him screaming. It doesn’t bother me». The man throws his cloak, and Jesus is like, «Let him throw off anything he wants to». Jesus looks straight at that man and heals him how he wants to, how he chooses to. He’s healing you, but maybe not how you want him to, maybe not how you’re used to. God said in Isaiah, «Remember when the sea split? It’s not going to split this time. Instead, I’m doing a new thing. Even now it springs up. The song you’re singing from 700 years ago… The sea split. This time, the water isn’t going to split; it’s going to spring, but it’s still water».
I wonder, is this not the wisdom of God because he knows we’ll get addicted to miracles and not be dependent on him? So he says, «You wanted me to do it like that? Nah, I’m not splitting the sea this time. This time it’s coming from a different place». Now, you assume God isn’t speaking. I wonder, are you just not seeing and he’s speaking? The same Savior who spit in the man’s eyes didn’t spit this time. This time he just spoke, because he’s creative. He doesn’t have to spit. He can speak. He can spit. He can spit while he speaks, like me. A lady told me one time, «I sit on at least the fourth row, because watching you preach is like being at SeaWorld. I’ve got to get out of the splash zone». She said, «You spit when you speak».
See, God doesn’t always have to spit when he speaks. He’s consistent, but he’s creative. Sometimes the fact that he is so creative causes you to forget how consistent he is, because while you’re waiting for him to spit, he’s just speaking. One word: «Go». One word from God. «This is what the Lord says: Go». I came into the first weekend of our twentieth year of ministry to declare to you that not only is this the praise church but this is the proclamation church. This is the proclamation church where the Word of the Lord reaches beyond the barriers of a physical campus or location, beyond the demographic of a certain socioeconomic status or class, beyond the backgrounds we’ve all experienced up to this point.
God said, «Forget all of that. I am not defining your life by the former». This is the most beautiful thing he gave me in so long, because after he said, «Forget the former thing,» in verse 20 he said, «Even the wild jackals and the owls know how to honor me, because I provide water in the wilderness». The sea is not splitting this time. It doesn’t need to. The same people aren’t going to call you this time. They don’t need to. It’s not going to feel the same way this time. It doesn’t have to. He said, «I provide water in the wilderness, so the animals honor me». «…and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen…» That’s who you are.
Verse 21: «…the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise». Let’s splash around in this water for a minute. He said, «I want you to forget the former, because you are the people I formed for myself». Since he is God and is not limited by time, he formed you for a future that only he knows. So, everything you feel insecure about, let it go. It’s not going to matter, because he is your former. «What do you mean, 'former'»? The same Hebrew word Isaiah uses for former is translated as potter and planner. So what’s he saying? «Let go of your plan so I can show you my purpose».
Let go of every plan you made without God. Let go of every plan you made by consulting your past. Let go of every plan that was limited to the people you have around you right now. There are new rivers, new streams, new blessings, new wells, new beginnings. What has stayed the same for 20 years now in this church is the name, the name of Jesus, the Great I Am in flesh, incarnate, in action. The numbers have changed. The numbers have changed greatly. I used to preach to a room full of 19 people. My passion wasn’t lower. I didn’t talk softer. I screamed louder, because I was desperate and youthful. Nothing changed about that when the numbers changed. But it’s an amazing thing how sometimes God is speaking to you, but you don’t recognize him because it doesn’t come from where you expected.
I have one friend in my life who changes his phone number about every 10 months, and every time he changes his number… And he knows exactly who he is. I don’t even bother anymore to replace his old name with his new name. I just put a year out beside it. Let’s say his name is John. I have «John 2019,» «John 2020,» «John 2021, first quarter,» «John 2021, second quarter». In my phone, I have his name, like, 14 times, but he hasn’t changed, just where he’s calling me from. Same name, new number. I commit to you afresh and anew on this, the beginning of our twentieth year. I don’t care how many or how few God sends us.
There is one name that is able to save in this ministry. There is one name that is able to heal in this ministry. There is one name that is able to get your kids off drugs in this ministry. There is one name that is able to put your heart back together in this ministry. As long as the name of Jesus is being proclaimed…this is what the Lord says…there will always be a current word over this house. There will always be a fresh word over your life.
Father, I just thank you today for your word in our wilderness. You showed me before I stood up to preach, God, that this is what you have to say to this people on this day. You gave me a word for this occasion, but I don’t believe it was just for our church anniversary. I believe in my heart, because I know you to be good, that you are too consistent to ever change, and you are too creative to do the same thing the same way twice. So, we thank you that although our world feels unstable, unsteady, and changing all around us, there has never been a more important time for us to look toward your faithfulness.
With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, there’s somebody here whom God is calling to for salvation. I would like to give you the invitation today, whether online or in the room, to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. There is no more important decision than this. There is no more important decision, not where you’re going to live, not who you’re going to marry, but who your heart belongs to, who you trust in for the salvation of your soul. This is the most important decision you will ever make. This has always been a church where people are welcome to come as they are, but it’s also a church where God is not going to let you stay that way. He wants to change you. He called you chosen.
So right now, if this is your moment and you’re ready to commit your life to Christ or recommit your life to Christ, I’m going to lead you in a prayer. This prayer is not magical, but the power of God, when you pray this prayer, is miraculous. Right now, in this moment, if you’re ready to come to God and be forgiven of your sins, I want you to repeat after me, and the whole church is going to pray with you. Pray this.
Heavenly Father, today is my day of salvation. I am a sinner in need of a Savior, and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Today, I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he died that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life. This is my new beginning. I am a child of God.
If you prayed that, shoot your hand up on the count of three. One, two, three. We’re praising God with you. On every location, we celebrate you. Come on, this is the praise church! You know what we have to do, right? We have to give God the biggest praise we’ve given him in our twentieth year. Five, four, three, two, one! Twenty seconds of great praise! Yeah, take that Bible, man. Get in it. Find out «This is what the Lord says». Never wait until you get to church to hear what the Lord says. The Devil follows you around all week, so don’t wait until Sunday to suit up. What a privilege. What an honor. I love being your pastor. Holly loves it too. Come on up with me, babe.
Can I tell you one more story I left out of my sermon? When we were in Los Angeles a couple of years ago doing one of our Elevation Nights, I found myself on the brink of something like what I’ve heard a panic attack is before I went out to preach. Now I understand that because of the adrenal fatigue of doing that so many nights in a row, I really have to manage my energy, but there was a moment before I went out to preach to the people of God, and I thought, «I’m not going to be able to do it tonight». Combined with fatigue was the fact that I was a little bit awestruck by how many people were coming to be a part of the ministry. It blew my mind. It didn’t make me think, «I’m the man. Look at me now». It made me think, «God, what in the world am I doing here»?
I began to remember my past almost so vividly that, although I’m thankful for it, it kind of became a limitation on what I thought the Lord could do through me, because what is a boy from a town of 6,000 people doing preaching to 14,000 in L.A.? It kept getting worse, because they kept telling me about different people who were coming that night, and some of them were very well known. As I was freaking out with God for a moment, Holly walked in. When she did, I had a sort of flashback of all the ministry we’ve done together since we were 18 years old. All of a sudden, I was no longer in Los Angeles, California, preaching to 14,000; I was back in a little town called Loris, South Carolina, preaching to 14.
I was no longer in California at all. I was in Cowpens, South Carolina, preaching to six. I realized something in that moment that gave me confidence that I’ve held on to through many situations in my life, and maybe it’ll bless you too. I realized that although the numbers are much bigger, the faithfulness of God has always been the same. As I looked at Holly and began to remember all of those times we stood and sang, «Lord, I lift your name on high» and «Every move I make, I make in you; you make me move, Jesus» and «Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary» and «As the deer panteth for the water,» I realized, «I’ve got the same girl and the same God».
I don’t know what this new season of your life is intimidating you with, threatening you with. I don’t know what’s in your past that haunts you or what you wish you could go back to, but I declare Isaiah 43:19 over every man, woman, boy, girl, and family in Elevation Church today. «See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it»? Watch what God is doing. «I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland». So, everybody who believes that the God who was with you then is with you now, give him an eternal praise. I love you. God bless you. Let’s do this twentieth year right. God is with you. God is for you. Have a great day. Happy anniversary, church!