Steven Furtick - You're Going to Make It
This is an excerpt from: The God of Pieces
Let me tell you a story real quick. In Acts, chapter 27, Paul tells about a trip he was making as he was awaiting his sentencing for preaching the gospel. While he was on the ship, he had a meeting with an angel, and the angel said, «Paul, don’t be afraid. I’m going to preserve your life. The boat you’re on is going to go through a storm, but you are going to make it».
I don’t know who that was for, but that was just a whole word right now…just that. The boat you are on is going to go through a storm, but you’re going to make it. It’s going to be rocky for a little while. You might have to take some Dramamine, but you’re going to make it. There might be some Jonahs that have to go overboard, relationships that aren’t good for you, but you’re going to make it. It might not look like exactly what it looked like when you set out. You might not be able to do it like you did it when you did it like you did it, but if you’ll do it like God is telling you to do it right now, you are going to make it. You might have to vomit over the side of the boat, and you might have to hold your stomach for a little while while it rocks and reels, and you might have to spend some time praying a little extra.
The boat is going to go through something, but you’re going to make it. Tell your neighbor, «You’re going to make it». Tell them, «I prophesy. I prophesy». Look them in their eyes right in the pupils and say, «You’re going to make it». Tell them, «You’ve got to make it». Yeah, you’ve got to make it, because God has something for you to do on the other side of this. And the God of peace is with you. So, if the God of peace is with you… Watch this. In Acts, chapter 27, verse 41, the Bible says that after they had gone through the storm for a period of three weeks, «The ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move…» That’s bad. «…and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf».
Now, if you’re out in the ocean and the ship is carrying you and the ship breaks to pieces, that means you’re not going to survive unless you have a God who is the God of pieces. (Put my verse back up there and let me get somebody happy.) I know your ship broke apart. I know it was pounded by something you didn’t see coming. I know your kid is not speaking to you right now. I know it’s been three days since you had an appetite. I know some things look really, really sketchy right now, but in the name of Jesus, the God of pieces can get you there. The God of peace is with me. The God of peace is with me. Verse 42: «The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces…»
I’m preaching to somebody who’s holding on to a piece to the shore today. I’m preaching to somebody who’s holding on to a board to the shore today. I’m preaching to somebody who’s wondering, «How am I going to make it with who I have left, what I have left? How am I going to make it now that they went away? How am I going to make it if they don’t support me»? You forgot about the God of pieces…that if he is with me, one piece can get me to the place. If he is with me… How many believe «God is with me»? Get an attitude about it. Get Christian cocky about it. If you know God is with you… «This peace that I have, this peace I’m holding onto, this peace that’s in my soul… The world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away».
High-five your neighbor and say, «I’ve got a peace». «I don’t got a boat, but I’ve got a peace. I don’t have a degree, but I’ve got a peace». «I don’t have a full answer, but I’ve got a peace. I don’t have a 10-year plan, but I’ve got a peace. I’ve got a peace». Preach, Furtick! «I’ve got a peace. I’ve got a peace. I lost some stuff, but I’ve got a peace. I feel the wind, but I’ve got a peace. I’m dealing with some insecurities right now, but I’ve got a peace. I’ve got a peace about this. I’ve got a peace about this». «What, you feel all right»? «No, I don’t feel all right; I faith all right. I float all right, because the God of peace is with me». Now, maybe to you this is just a wordplay, but I’m trying to work this word into your spirit. One person told me, «You do too much wordplay when you preach». I said, «No, I do word work».
Do you understand what I’m saying? The worlds were framed by the Word of God. So, I figure if the Word of God could frame the worlds, it can frame your life right now, this season of your life right now. Peace in the storm. It takes on a little different meaning when we think about pieces in the storm. I’ll give you one more picture and we’ll go home…one more piece. Do you want me to give you another piece of this message? Okay. Paul wasn’t the first one to go through a storm in the Scriptures. We know this. He was different than Jonah, who I mentioned a moment ago, in that God sent the storm because Jonah was disobedient, and Paul was sent into the storm because he was obedient. So, in either storm we need a picture of peace.
Now, the disciples of Jesus… If anybody had a good example to follow, if anybody had a good coach to show them how to wrestle against demons and devils and fear and anxiety, it was the disciples. In Mark, chapter 6, there’s a story about a storm, and I’m going to read it to you because you could tell a story about your storm today. Wave at me if you could tell a story about your storm today. In this storm they were in, which was physical, we get some principles that will help us, not only psychologically but spiritually and theologically. That’s the most important part, because I’m not teaching you peace today only from a pragmatic perspective. That’s wonderful. Do all your breathing exercises. Do a red light therapy. Do a red light sauna. Do a red light sauna and an ice… Do an ice bath in the sauna. Do everything that helps you, and breathe and sip and water… Do it all, but I’m just saying the theological is my department today. So, I want to show you something about the God of peace, the God of pieces.
Now, in this particular Scripture it’s different, because the boat they were on did not break, but Jesus was not on it with them. It didn’t break, but Jesus was not on the boat with them. Look at Mark, chapter 6, verse 45. «Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them…» This shows me that Jesus even physically revealed himself in pieces to the disciples. He did not identify himself immediately; he revealed himself in pieces. I point that out because you don’t always know that it’s God at first.
In fact, sometimes the presence of God in our lives is met with the feeling of fear, like the disciples in this passage, because the Bible says, «He was about to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out…» Not for him to save them. «…because they all saw him and were terrified». Because they had never seen him in this exact situation before. Now, I need to stop and tell you something. They had seen him calm a storm before in Mark, chapter 4, but that time he was on the boat the whole time with them. So now they’re in a different situation. They’re dealing with a different predicament. Every time God allows you to face a new problem, he’s trying to show you a new piece, a part of him that always existed that you never saw.
So, if Lazarus died, he wants to show you that there’s a resurrection piece. If a blind eye needs to be opened, he wants to show you that he is the light. There is a piece that God is trying to show you of himself through every problem he allows in your life. I believe that. He is the God of pieces. As they are screaming because they think he’s a ghost (they’re terrified of the one who has the power to save), «Immediately he spoke to them and said, 'Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.' Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for…» This part is going to seem out of nowhere. «…they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened». So, I want to ask you a question. What in the world does bread have to do with a boat? What does «They had not understood about the loaves» have to do with the fact that they were afraid in the storm? In order to put this in context, I want to show you one more picture and give you one more piece.
When the Bible says, «Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,» it does not say in that verse what has just occurred before Jesus sent them on this trip, but if you back up just a few verses, Jesus has just finished feeding 5,000 men and women and children who were starving. Instead of allowing them to starve or sending them away, he told the disciples, «Bring me the bread you have. Bring me the fish you have». «But, Jesus, we only have pieces». But when they brought him five loaves and two fish, which is nothing but a piece when there are 5,000 people who need to eat… And they brought him the piece. The piece they brought him became provision that fed not only 5,000 men, not only 15,000 women and children with them, but it resulted in leftovers.
So, the Bible says (verse 41)… And now I’m ready to preach. «Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand». Five thousand men fed and broken pieces to carry away. So, now we go to the storm and we see it with different eyes, because we realize that even though Jesus is not physically in the boat with them in this storm, they carried a basket into the boat that was full of the pieces of leftovers that came from the touch of the Master just a few minutes ago.
In other words, Jesus sent them into the sea knowing that there would be a storm, but he did not send you into this storm empty-handed. If you check your boat… I want to let you know you’ve got some baskets. You’ve got some bread. You’ve got some baskets, and you’ve got some bread. I came to remind somebody there’s bread in your boat. There’s bread in your boat. «There’s bread in my boat? What do you mean by that? I don’t need food when I’m in a storm». Yeah, you do…to sustain you until God shows up and stops it. There have been moments in your life that God could have stopped the storm, but he didn’t. There’s a storm some of you are in right now, and God is not stopping it, and you’re wondering, «What do I do about this? I didn’t see this storm coming. Jesus isn’t even in this boat with me». Yeah, but bread is. These were big baskets, y’all, 12 big baskets, so that every time the wind would blow, they would see the bread and remember that they ended up with more than they started with when Jesus touched it. Check the bread.
Next time the Devil starts telling you, «It’s not going to happen; you’re not going to make it,» check the bread. By the way, God sends you into a storm so the bread doesn’t get stale. He doesn’t just let you depend on him in one circumstance; he allows you to experience another storm so that that storm can become your school to teach you to be a student to put into practice what he showed you through his last act of provision.