Steven Furtick - What's Your Next Step?
This is an excerpt from: OFF MENU
Just because you don’t see a way it would turn around at this stage doesn’t mean it’s not already halfway turned. Notice what the Bible says. Verse 9: «About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray». Y’all missed it. Drop down to verse 17. «While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was…» When the angel came to Cornelius, he said, «Go find a guy named Simon the tanner, and when you get there in Joppa, you’re going to ask for a man who used to be called Simon but goes by the name Peter». So, the men get there. When? Verse 17: «While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision…»
In my prayer this morning, I saw somebody who is wondering, «What does this mean»? «Here I am single again. What does this mean»? «Here I am going back through this cycle again. I thought I was through with it. What does this mean»? «My kids aren’t speaking to me. What does this mean»? «I cannot get through this door because of my employment record. What does this mean»? «Here I am in a situation where I feel rejected. Should I fall back now or is that a sign to try harder? Is the fact that it hasn’t happened yet a sign I’m doing the wrong thing and I should try something else? Is the fact that I’m struggling the way I’m getting stronger or is it a sign that God is redirecting me»?
While Peter is praying about all of this… Like, you’ve been thinking about this and wondering, «What does this mean that I’m going through this? What does this mean that I’m anxious? What does it mean that I’m so afraid? What does it mean that I feel like I’m out of options? What does this mean»? Verse 17: «While Peter was still wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and stopped at the gate». God said to tell you while you’re wondering about your next step, the answer is already at the gate, waiting for you. I’ll declare it again. While Peter was praying, the men were already there. I am so slow, church. Forgive me. I am so slow.
I read verse 9 about 15 times, and I didn’t get it. «About noon the following day as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray». I pictured it like this. While Peter and the other disciples he had met there in Joppa were going back to the city… They’d probably been out all morning doing some ministry, preaching some crusades. As they got to the city, they stopped at the house, and Peter was like, «I’m going to go up there and pray». That is not the they that is referenced in verse 9. «About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city…» They are not Peter and his boys; they are the three men Cornelius sent out of the prayer he prayed a day earlier. They are already on the way.
I don’t know whose word that is. I don’t know what they you need in your life. I don’t know if the they you need are people to partner with you or mentors to help you. I don’t know if the they you need in your life are emotional areas of healing where you need the balm of almighty God. But God said to tell you on this final week of my series on the Holy Spirit they are already on the way. Get ready, because when you get down there, it’s going to be somebody you haven’t even met yet. Get ready, because what God is going to bless you with isn’t even going to be on the menu. It’s off menu.4 What God has on his mind for you is off the menu. What God has on his heart to do through you is off the menu. It’s not in your mind. It’s not in your senses. It’s not in your past. It’s not in your tradition, but it’s coming. It’s already at the gate. While you’re praying, it’s waiting. It’s waiting at the gate.
So, you have a decision to make, honey pie. You have a decision to make, baby boo. You have a decision to make, saint. You have a decision to make, Simon. You have a decision to make, Peter. It goes like this. There are three men at the gate, and there are two men on the roof. «What do you mean, Pastor Steve? Who else is up there? Are you talking about the Lord, Peter and the Lord»? No, no, no. I read you the verse. I told you we were going to come back to it. I told you I was going to make a sandwich. I put it in a Ziploc bag. I prepared for this field trip. I packed this lunch, because I want you to get it. I want you to get it even if it’s not on the menu. I want you to get it even if your mom didn’t give it to you. I want you to get it even if your dad didn’t give it to you. I want you to get it even if your kids aren’t saying, «Thank you».
I want you to get it even if nobody recognizes the value of your life. The Bible says that they went to the house of Simon the tanner, looking for a man, and when they got there… Verse 18: «They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was there». There are two people on the roof and three people at the gate. There’s Simon on the roof (everything Peter had been before he met Jesus), and there’s Peter on the roof. Simon is looking at the blanket, saying, «I never did that before. I can’t do that». It’s the kind of stuff we say when God shows us what he wants us to do. This blanket is God showing him, «I want to cover the earth with the gospel. I’m not worried about a meal; I’m worried about a mission».
Stop getting tripped up on the wrong, stupid stuff. They hurt your feelings? Don’t let a hurt feeling keep you from your future. My God! You need to have a birthday every week so I can preach this good, Holly. I knew the Holy Ghost was going to show up on Pentecost Sunday, because I knew there were some things he needed to talk to you about, Simon. There are some things he needs to say to you, Simon. Did you notice that? I want you to notice this. When the Lord starts talking to Simon Peter… Both of them are up there, you know. Simon represents the part of us that is stuck in our tradition and stuck in our limited experience and stuck in the way we perceive things and stuck in the way we think certain people are and the way we think of certain genders and the way we think women can do this and men can do that and people can do this and people can do that.
I’ll never forget people asking me, «When did you decide to become a multicultural church»? It was never a decision. Kirk Franklin asked me one time, «Are you ever surprised how much Black people like you»? I said, «Absolutely not. It doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s mutual». We’re pre-paired. We’re not mismatched. The other day, my friend said, «What a lot of people don’t know is you know more gospel music than any white man alive». I said, «Because I’ve been singing in gospel choirs since I was 16». So, this wasn’t a surprise to me. Not to me.
Now, the reason I bring these traditions up is because those are all pretty cute, but what if it’s not so mentionable what you’re attached to? What if yours is something that’s sexual that makes you feel filthy? What if you are paired to and connected to a cycle of condemnation or compulsion that causes you to keep giving away everything valuable for the next meal? What if within you is a severe and chronic emotional condition that people tell you to just rejoice over top of, but it keeps getting down on the inside?
What I want you to understand about this precious Holy Spirit you have been given, baptized with, empowered by, filled with, called by, chosen by, a witness to, and guided by in your life; the Holy Spirit who one writer said is the wind and the fire, who is the ship and the sea, who is the horse and the road…this Holy Spirit… Look at what he did for Peter. Verse 17: «While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there». This is what must happen in your life daily. Verse 19: «While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Simon…'» Catch it. While Peter was thinking, «What do I do about this? I can’t do this. What does this mean? I don’t know,» the Spirit said, «Simon…»
See, all his life he has been playing «Simon Says,» thinking like Simon, eating like Simon, moving like Simon. But how many know new minds make new moves? While Peter was thinking about it, the Spirit said, «Simon…» I want to spend less time playing «Simon Says» with myself, because my Simon will tell me some stuff that I know is not going to move me forward. Just me. My Simon will tell me (you know, I mentioned road rage), «Hey, drive up around this median, go cut them off, and turn this car sideways. Be there waiting for them. Get out and stand up on top of the Jeep with your shirt off, with your polo shirt tied around your head like a bandanna on top of the Jeep on the way home from church today. Let them know that’s not right how they cut you off». So, I need the Spirit to speak to my Simon so when I go downstairs I can be Peter.
I need the Spirit to speak to my Simon and tell me, «That’s crazy. That’s your ego talking. That’s just you trying to be somebody important, and you’re not even thinking about what really matters». I need the Spirit to talk to my Simon, because the Spirit can show me the «me» that is new. Me…new. Menu. It kind of works if you put it together. God says, «You’ve been dealing with situations a certain way. You always hide when it gets scary. You’ve been dealing with situations a certain way. You always numb when it gets uncomfortable. You’ve been dealing with situations a certain way. You always withdraw. The moment it gets too intimate, you get squeamish and move out». But God says, «You have a new menu, and on this menu is a new set of fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control».
This is the fruit of the Spirit. It’s amazing, because the Spirit started speaking to Simon, and when the Spirit spoke to Simon, he said, «Don’t hesitate. Don’t try to figure it out in your head». I don’t know who this is for, but stop judging God’s capacity by your calculator. Holy Spirit spoke to me four days ago and said, «You keep imagining scenarios like I’m not going to be there with you when you go through them. Stop it». Simon says, «You might not make it». The Spirit says, «I am in you and with you, and I will show you the deep things of God». «Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of a man the things that God has prepared for those who love him. But God…»
Ooh, that’s 1 Corinthians 2:10. Do y’all want to see it? «Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of a [Simon] what God has prepared, but God has revealed them through his Spirit». This is the point I wanted to preach you to today. The Bible says you have to let his Spirit speak to your Simon so this can happen. Verse 20: «Get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate, for I have sent them». Verse 21: «Peter went down…» And it’s a good thing, because if Simon went down, the Gentiles never would have gotten the gospel. Okay. Let me resay that. God would have had to pick somebody else. You know God is going to do what he’s going to do how he’s going to do it, but Peter would have missed it. Stop sending Simon down into Peter situations. Stop showing up like a baby Christian when you’ve been knowing God for 49 years.
God said, «I’ve got something I’m preparing for you, but I have to prepare you for what I have pre-paired». If Simon goes down, he tells these men, «I can’t eat with you. You’re Gentiles. Go away». But when Peter went down, he said, «I’m the one. I don’t feel like the one. I don’t get it. I don’t understand it, but I’m the one. Now let’s go to Caesarea, and let’s take the gospel and the Holy Spirit with us». It says when they got there, Cornelius was expecting them. He had a whole crowd there. Peter started preaching, and the Lord did something that he did a lot with Peter. He interrupted him. He was like, «Shut up already». The Holy Spirit came, and they all began to speak with other tongues. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The gospel started rippling through generations to the point that, today, we are in church, as Gentiles, because Peter came down those stairs.
I’m so grateful that even though we weren’t on the menu, we were on God’s mind. When the Lord sends something into your life this week in your rooftop moments… When the Lord sends something into your life this week in your confused moments, and you’re wondering what it means, check the gate and send Peter down and say, «I’m the one». Now, people wouldn’t have picked you. You weren’t on their menu, but we have an off-menu God. He takes people who say, «I’ll never marry a pastor,» and he goes, «Ha, ha! Ha, ha, Holly. Ha, ha, Pastor Holly».
Get ready for God to do something in your life this week that wasn’t even on your menu. Get ready for God to change a situation that you gave up on. Get ready for God to do it in a way that your eyes have not seen and your ears have not heard. High-five 15 people and say, «I’m ready». «I’m on the rooftop, and I’m ready. I have a relationship with God, and I’m ready. I’m the righteousness of God, and I’m ready».