Steven Furtick - Why Bother? (10/29/2018)
In week 3 of the "Sun Stand Still" series, Pastor Steven Furtick preaches from Mark 5 about Jairus' daughter being raised from the dead, showing how the enemy uses the "why bother" voice to discourage audacious faith when things seem hopeless, but Jesus ignores doubt, tells us to just believe, and demonstrates resurrection power.
Introduction to Audacious Faith and Opposition
Welcome today, all of our locations to week 3 of our "Sun Stand Still" series. We are so grateful for the impact of this message, "Sun Stand Still", about audacious faith and impossible prayers. The impact that it's having all over the world. And I'm so grateful as a pastor for your support of the book, which just released this week. Thank you for buying it and giving it away. And if you would just continue to spread the word, I believe God is doing something awesome in our generation. And I think it's pretty special for us to be able to be at the epicenter of it. And don't take it for granted, because if you do, God can just find somebody else. It's not about me, it's not about you, it's all about Him. And if we'll stay grateful and engaged, He'll continue to use us for His glory. One of the things that I've noticed in my short time of being a pastor, though, is that any time God starts a movement, the enemy starts his opposition. And any time a movement gains momentum, you can expect and anticipate opposition. Not just in a global sense, but in your own personal life.
When the Lord begins to do something, when God begins to speak to you and bless you and challenge you and really raise your sights to a new level of faith, you can expect that the enemy is going to try to sabotage that process. And so what I wanted to do today in the middle of this incredible series that we've been a part of together is look at a passage of Scripture that I think indicates the type of opposition that the enemy wants to throw into our lives as God wants to activate our audacious faith. And as the Lord starts to stir us up to believe Him for the impossible, which many of you are doing through reading the book and hearing the sermons and experiencing the movement, you're starting to ask God to do what only He can do. And as that happens, there are certain types of opposition that you can always expect to encounter. And so my hope today is to help you indicate a few of those as well as suggesting to you a counterattack so that all of the things that God is starting to do in your life and all the impossible things He wants to achieve will come to pass.
The Story of Jairus and the Interrupted Miracle
And I want you to turn in your Bible, if you brought your Bible, to Mark 5, verse 35. Mark 5, verse 35. And I want to ask at all of our locations, would you stand to your feet in honor of the reading of God's Word? I'd like to give you a little bit of background to this passage without taking up too much of my allotted time to fill in the details. There's a man named Jairus who needs a miracle from Jesus. Jesus is in the process of performing the miracle, and the miracle gets interrupted while already in progress because somebody else interrupts Jesus to request healing for her own situation. And I don't know if you've ever looked around at the people you go to church with or maybe the friends that you have in your life, and it feels like God is blessing everybody but you. Everybody has a job but you. Everybody has a husband or a boyfriend but you. And you look around and you go, Man, I feel like I'm missing out on the miracle, and what am I doing to make God not want to pick me?
Well, this man Jairus, who was an important synagogue ruler, had every right to feel that way. In Mark chapter 5, Jesus was one moment on his way to heal Jairus' little daughter because she was very sick. And the next thing you know, some woman cuts in line. I don't know if that bothers you as much as it bothers me. Whether it's on the interstate or at Burger King, you better not cut in line in front of me or I'll lose my anointing real quick. I'll go from a preacher to... Anyway, real quick, I'll let you know. But that's just my issues I'm dealing with. You know, pray for me. But some woman cuts in front of Jairus in line. And you know, he's used to being important. He's used to having special privileges. So he could have gotten all worked up. But in the process of this woman's healing, the little girl who needed to be healed, Jairus' daughter, goes from bad to worse. And that's where we're going to pick up the passage in verse 35.
While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. Your daughter is dead, they said. Why bother the teacher anymore? Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, Don't be afraid. Just believe. He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead, but asleep. But they laughed at him.
Key Lesson: Laughing at Jesus Is a Bad Idea
When we sit down in a moment, and you have an opportunity to write some notes you might want to write in your notebook, laughing at Jesus is a bad idea. And put a star by that. After, verse 40, part B, he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, Talitha kumi, which means, Little girl, I say to you, get up. Immediately the girl stood up and walked around. She was 12 years old. At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
I guess this reminded me a lot of Joshua chapter 10, when Joshua called for the sun to stand still, and God did something so supernatural that everybody around knew it had to be him. It's a wonderful miracle, and I think it even hints to the resurrection of Jesus Christ himself. I think it's a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do when he got up on the third day after they buried him, and there was no hope that his kingdom would continue to advance. But the point I wanted to call your attention to today is in the very first verse I read, where the Bible says that the men from the house of Jairus came and said this, Your daughter is dead, why bother the teacher anymore?
The "Why Bother" Voice in Everyday Life
I want to speak to you for a few moments today on the subject, Why bother? Why bother? Because I feel like what God has been inspiring in some of your lives, and what he's inspiring through this Sun Stand Still movement, the book and the message going out all over the world, is a spirit of faith that says it's possible. All things are possible to him who believes. But yet, at the same time that God is inspiring some of you to believe it's possible, it's possible in your marriage, it's possible in your finances, it's possible in your business, it's possible on your campus, at the same time the voice of God is saying to you, it's possible, there's another voice telling you, why bother? Why bother? This situation is so hopeless. Why bother? And I want to help you tune in to the right voice today so that what God wants to do in your life will not be hindered and so that what God wants to do in your life will not be stopped.
Father, I pray that you would give me pinpoint accuracy to preach your word. I call on you now for supernatural energy. I pray that you would anoint my lips and help me to speak with precision to the specific needs of the men and women who have gathered today at all of our locations to hear your word. And now, Lord, as I speak from the scriptures, we pray that our faith would rise. And we thank you that faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. As the word of God is preached today, increase our faith, help our unbelief. In Jesus' name I pray. And everybody who loves God, say amen. And everybody who ain't sure if you love him, say amen too. You can be seated. No comment.
Are you enjoying this Sun Stand Still series? If you didn't get your book yet, there's still time for you to avoid spending seven years in purgatory. You can pick it up on the way out. Please do so. We're very excited to get this message in your hands. The enemy's first line of defense when you start believing God's promises in a bold way is to hit play on this sentiment in your spirit and to put it on repeat so it plays over and over again. Why bother? Why bother?
Examples of "Why Bother" in Small and Big Things
I see this in the small ways in my life. I find myself sometimes looking at a task that needs to be done and I get overwhelmed. I don't know if you ever get overwhelmed, but I get overwhelmed when I think about all the things I need to do, when I'm real busy, when my life is pushed to the limit. And it's like I get so caught up in how much there is to do just the sheer quantity of the responsibilities that have amassed and have stacked themselves against me and my life. And it feels a little bit like I'm never going to get this all done. Why bother? Have you ever been there before?
Am I preaching to any moms who have ever looked at a basket full of overflowing laundry and had the thought, why bother? You look at the house and you think about cleaning it up, but chances are it's going to look worse in five minutes than it does right now. So why bother? It's like washing your car in the rain, right? Why bother? I don't know if you've ever felt that way about a situation in your life. I've felt that way before. When Holly and I first got married, I started putting on a lot of weight, man. I was really, really out of shape. And I just kept on putting on 10 pounds here and 10 pounds there. And, you know, I kept on thinking I need to do something about this. I need to get back in shape. But it was like every time I would think about doing something about it, it was like, why bother? I'm already so far gone.
I don't know if you've ever felt that way about your diet or your exercise program. Just like, why bother, man? I mean, I don't even care anymore. It doesn't even matter. Somebody pass me an oatmeal cream pie, and I'm good. Why bother? Somebody bake me a cookie. Why bother? Why bother? I don't know if you've ever felt this way about even getting back into the rhythm of certain spiritual disciplines, you know? Why bother? I mean, why bother reading my Bible today? I know I'm not going to read it tomorrow, because I always tend to fall off the wagon. I get started, and then I fall behind. So why bother? I think this is a common sentiment. Am I all alone? Talk to me, all of our locations. Have you ever felt overwhelmed in the small things in life?
When Discouragement Hits Big Dreams and Prayers
And it's not just in the small things. Like, it really starts to kick in when you start to dream big dreams and trust God for big things. Sometimes we think about physical healing for someone that we love, and maybe they've been sick for a long time. And so you pray for them, and you pray for them, and you pray for them. But when you prayed for a certain period of time, I mean, I don't know exactly how long the period of time has to be. I mean, it varies. Some people can hang in there for years, and some people don't even make it a month. And eventually, discouragement becomes the order of the day. And it's like, well, why bother? I'm praying for them, and they're not getting any better.
People get this way in their marriage. It's like, man, I'd love to have a loving marriage. I believe God wants to do great things in my marriage. But why bother? I mean, why bother? Maybe I should just leave her and start all over again. Why bother? Why bother trying to raise my kids to change the world? It's like, I've already done so many things wrong in my parenting efforts. Why bother? Some of you won a major battle just getting to church today, because you thought about staying home, because as you were getting ready, there's a big fight in your family, and all hell breaks loose while you're trying to get to church to hear the word. And so the enemy starts telling you, even while you're loading up the car to get to church, why bother? Why bother? You're such a hypocrite anyway. Why bother going to church? You think you can fake everybody out? Why bother?
This isn't just a statement that Jairus' household made to him. I think it's the statement that the enemy makes to us, all of us who are trying to believe God for big things in our lives on a daily basis. Why bother? Why bother? See teenagers all the time who lose their virginity because why bother being pure when nobody around me seems to hold to that same standard. I see kids get on drugs because why bother trying to hold out and have integrity.
Personal Stories of Facing the "Why Bother" Voice
I had a friend who I went to high school with who didn't drink until our senior year, and then she got so tired of being a goody-goody, she said, why should I bother continuing to withhold or to miss out on all of the things that everybody else is enjoying? And so she went completely buck wild and then ended up marrying the wrong guy and got a divorce before she'd been married a year. All because she got tired of doing what is good, so she kind of gave out. Why bother? Why bother? Everybody else is doing it. Why should I bother being different? Why should I bother having people make fun of me?
Some of you are in that situation right now with your career. Like, why bother going to work and doing my job wholeheartedly? Doesn't make a difference. Doesn't increase my bottom line. Nobody says thank you. Some of you are like, why bother even applying for another job? I'm tired of being rejected. Every time I go, I get turned down. Why bother? Some of you, when you look at your financial situation and you think about what it would be like to be financially free and to get your house in order and to start giving and to get out of debt, every time you get going down that road and you start to get a little bit of faith to believe God, that voice starts getting louder in your heart. Why bother? I mean, we're already $22,000 in debt. We're never going to climb out of this hole. We're not making enough money to get ahead in any meaningful way. It'll take us 12 years to catch up. Why bother?
And I believe many of the times that God comes into our life and speaks, it's possible. The enemy is right there alongside him trying to say it a little louder. Why bother? And so many people get their dreams chopped off at the neck because of the why bother mentality. Some of you are far from God and the enemy has told you, why bother giving your life to Christ? Why bother asking God to forgive you? He has no use for you. You've made such a miserable mess of things. Even God couldn't put your situation back together again. Why bother? Why bother?
The Internal Source of Doubt
And so, when the voice of why bother starts speaking into the situation that God wants to resurrect in our lives, and remember, this situation is as hopeless as it gets. It doesn't get any worse than your little girl is found dead and your messenger has come to tell you about it. And you missed out on the miracle because it got interrupted. And it's not that the miracle never started. It's just that the miracle didn't quite get to the finish line. And I think that's the way it happens for a lot of people. God inspires something in them. They really do want to believe. But then the situation gets worse. Have you ever had a situation start getting worse before it got better? Have you ever had a situation that you prayed about, started going in the wrong direction? You thought this thing would go up and to the right, but it actually gets worse?
I can think of many times in my life where I felt like, why bother, when they laughed at me for being a virgin my junior year of high school. And one of the guys I respected the most, who was a senior and who was a baseball player and who got as many girls as he wanted, looked at me and said, Furtick, you're not much of a man if you ain't getting any. Hey, because real men get some. I remember for a moment feeling like, why should I bother? When people are going to make fun of me, why should I bother? My friend's calling me a punk. Why should I bother standing for God? Why should I bother?
I remember when we were about to start the church, this guy actually called me from another church and he said, Hey, I hear you're starting a church. I said, I sure am. And he said, Well, I just called to tell you a few things and I thought he was going to encourage me. But you know what he said to me? He said, I wanted to give you a warning. Nine out of ten of the churches that are started die within the first three years. Just wanted to tell you that. Thanks, Judas. Freaking son of encouragement. Why would you tell me something like that? I'll tell you why. Because the enemy is always going to plant a why bother in the face of your it's possible. If there's going to be faith, there's going to be equal and active fear.
Jesus' Response: Ignore and Believe
This thing I just recently did where I preached for 24 hours straight. I mean, on the Eve of coming to do it, I wanted to call the whole thing off. I had some people telling me it was nothing more than a gimmick or a publicity stunt that I was going to look stupid. What was the point anyway? And you know what? Actually, in a lot of ways, I agreed with them. The only thing was, I didn't feel like it was my decision to make because I felt like God had led me to do it. So, in a sense, I felt like, why bother? But on the other hand, I had to hold on to this is what I feel like God told me to do. Many times when I was writing my book, I'd be up there slaving away for a full weekend, okay? And it wasn't like my other responsibilities stopped. I'm still a dad. I'm still a pastor. I'm still a husband. I still got budgets to manage. I still got sermons to preach. And on the side, I'm trying to write a book.
And I just remember so many times I was writing that book and I'd send it off to the editor and he would tell me that chapter just doesn't make any sense. I don't even know what it's about. And I'd be like, well, why bother? Why don't you write the stupid book? You write it. I'll just give you the money back. You pay me to write it. Why bother? And I'm telling you, I've been there. I'm just trying to be real with you. Sometimes I feel that way when I come to preach to you. Because you don't do about 80% of the stuff I tell you to do anyway. I don't know why you're clapping. What you clapping for? I don't know. I don't know why you're clapping. It's like, yeah, that's right. I'm not doing crap. You can preach all you want. I am not tithing. I feel that way sometimes, man. I'm coming out here to preach and I'm like, oh God, I've already told them this. They hear me say the same thing every week. Why bother? Why bother? So I'm just being honest with you.
But here's something important to note and I just picked this up in the passage. The voices that told Jairus not to bother were not voices from the outside. They were the men from his own household. The voices that will discourage you the most in your effort to believe God will usually be the voices inside your own head. These weren't the enemies of Jairus who told him not to bother. These were his servants. And you know, I have noticed that sometimes people discourage you and I have noticed sometimes people put you down. But the loudest voice of doubt usually comes from in here. It's usually the thoughts of my own heart that sabotage my faith. It's usually the doubts of my own mind that throw me off course and keep me from believing God. Why bother? Why bother?
Strategies to Overcome Doubt: Ignore, Put Out, Believe
And so you'll hear somebody talking sometimes about how they were going to do something great for God and then they got off track and sometimes they'll blame it on what they said. They told me I couldn't do it. They told me I couldn't make it and they said it wasn't worth it and they turned me off. And then you get digging a little deeper and you say, well, who is they? And you know what? I found out and this is just me so your situation may be different because people do hurt you and people have hurt me and people can distract you and people have distracted me. People can discourage you. People have discouraged me. But if you permit me to put it in a little cheesy preacher platitude, I've discovered that the strongest enemy is in me. The voices of doubt that I need to drown out the most are the voices that originate in my own heart.
And so, as I studied this passage, I was like, okay, I'm preaching to so many people who are like Jairus. They have a need in their life. They need God to perform a miracle. The miracle is in motion. They've got that relationship that they want to see restored. But inside of them, there's this internal voice saying, why bother? Why even expend the energy? Why would you even care? Why should you even try? Nobody notices you. Why would you serve? Why are you going to keep going when nobody appreciates your contribution? And I've got all these people who are hearing the voice of why bother in the process of trying to activate their audacious faith.
So I wanted to study what is the strategy that Jesus employs in the face of all these swaggerjackers who want to tell him not to bother. And so I want you to notice what he does. It's very, very helpful. And it's been a blessing in my life as I've applied it over the last several days. Verse 36. Ignoring what they said. I think that's my new life verse. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So send me an email about how you don't like my sermon. I'll send you back a quotation of Mark 5, 36. And when you see that, you'll know what it means. Ignoring what they said.
Now, let's don't just talk about other people because some of you are going to take this out of context and you're going to go home and tell your mom, Mom, I'm going to date him. Mark 5, 36. Don't care what you think about it. Don't be using this to disobey your parents. Don't be using this not to listen to your wife. I'm talking about the voice of doubt that is opposed to God. Jesus ignored it. And then he told the synagogue ruler, don't be afraid. Just believe.
Truth vs. Fact: Facing Reality with Faith
Let me help you with a strategy for the voice of doubt in your life. Because I know it's there and I know it's real. And here's the deal. A lot of the times, what the voice of doubt communicates about your situation is actually true. In this case, the girl was truly dead. It wasn't like this was some made up, conjured up circumstance to drive Jesus away from performing the miracle. It was a statement of fact. And so sometimes the voice of doubt in our life will actually take something that is true and try to spin it to take us away from, watch this, believing God even in the face of facts that seem to be contrary to his word. There is a difference between truth and fact.
The fact might be right now that your child's on drugs. The truth is that God is able to reach to the farthest ends of the earth and bring them back. The fact might be right now that your money's low. But the truth is that our God is a provider and he can meet all of your needs. The fact might be right now that you're lonely. The truth is he's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. So Jesus ignores the facts of the situation like Abraham and faces them, but then turns to the truth of what he knows to be a deeper reality.
So he tells the synagogue ruler something that seems kind of cold and callous on the surface. He says this, don't be afraid, verse 36, just believe. Now, to me, that seems very insensitive when your daughter has just died. There is no more traumatic situation than the death of your own child. Now, I've not experienced that. Some of you have. And I cannot imagine as a pastor that I would hear the news that your child died and tell you, don't be afraid, just believe. That would be the last thing I would want to say to you.
And I frankly can't stand people who super spiritualize painful situations. And you're trying to tell them how bad you're hurting. And they want to actually make you feel bad by saying stuff like, well, you just need to trust God. Well, I am trusting God, but I'm telling you, I'm struggling right now. Can I be honest with you? Or do I have to pretend like I've always got my act together? And I can't stand people who take our situations and minimize the reality of human pain by pointing to divine realities in an effort to try to make people feel bad about where they are in their struggle.
Jesus Knows Something You Don't: Resurrection Power
Now, so on the surface, this really bothers me what Jesus says back to this man. Don't be afraid, just believe. And what Jesus indeed says to Jairus is cold and callous unless, unless Jesus knows something that Jairus doesn't know. Unless he's planning to do something for Jairus that Jairus can't do for himself. And I actually prayed about this, and I'm going to step out on faith, and I want to ask a question today. Okay, this is for our broadcast campus, so all you other campuses, you can just relax for a moment.
Is there somebody in this room who you have been praying, you don't know either where your groceries are going to come from this week, or how you're going to pay a certain bill this week? And you came in here to this broadcast experience not knowing where it's going to come from, and you would be bold enough to say in front of everybody, look, I'm not trying to front, I've got a need right now, and I came in here with a prayer. If that's you, maybe a single mom, or maybe a student who doesn't know how you're going to buy your books for your class, I don't know what the need is, and I don't even know if there's anybody out there who's bold enough to do this, but I just decided to go for it.
Is there anybody out there who would say, man, I've got a need right now, I don't know where it's going to come from? Okay, come up here, real quick, to the stage. Quickly, quickly. Stand by me. Stand by me at the pulpit. You've got a need right now. So let's say, and I'm not going to ask the particulars of your situation. Let's say your situation is, you need $100 for groceries. And so you share that need with me, and I say, it's all good, don't worry about it. That's cold. Come back. Now, let's pretend like you share the situation with me, and I say, it's all good, don't worry about it, and I slip you a $100 bill. Did that change the meaning of my words? Because one statement is a statement to comfort you. Another statement is a statement to get involved in your situation and change it.
So maybe when Jesus says, don't be afraid, only believe, he's not saying that just to comfort Jairus in the moment. He actually knows something Jairus doesn't know because you didn't know I had $100 in my back pocket. And he's planning on doing something for Jairus that Jairus couldn't anticipate. So when God says to you in the middle of your struggle and your situation, don't be afraid, only believe, it's not a statement about how you shouldn't face the facts. It's actually an indication that he's about to get involved in your situation because he knows something you don't know and he's about to do something that only he can do. That's your money. Take it. That's what I'm talking about.
See, you got to understand that the reason God can speak to your situation with certainty when it seems uncertain, the reason he can look in the face of a dead situation and say, only believe, is because he knows he's got resurrection power in his back pocket. The reason he can look at your need and say, do not concern yourself about what you're going to eat tomorrow isn't because he's a cold, callous savior. It's because he's an all-sufficient God and he's able to provide and he's got something coming on the way that only he knows about.
Practical Ways to Counter Doubt
Ignoring what they said. You know, doubt is like a telemarketer. The best strategy is to never even pick up the phone. Ignore it. We used to say, talk to the hand. Bring it up to a little more modern vernacular. Sometimes when I'm in a conversation with a staff member and they start bringing me excuses instead of solutions, I'll tell them, I am not trying to hear that. Turn to somebody next to you and tell them, I am not trying to hear that. That's how you need to look at your doubts. When Satan starts planting those thoughts in your mind, I am not trying to hear that.
And so here's what I try to do in my life and I don't do it perfectly. I try to remember that Jesus sees my situation from a different point of view than I do. What we see as a permanent condition, Jesus sees as a temporary circumstance. What we see as the end of the story, God sees as the beginning of our most miraculous chapter. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Only believe. God is planning to act on your behalf.
And when Jesus gets to the place where the little girl is lying dead with no hope of recovery, the Bible says that everyone around began to laugh at him. Can I ask you something about the vision God's put in your heart to dream that God has planted in your life? If they laughed at Jesus, what made you think everybody was going to cheer you on when you started trying to do something for God? And God is used to being laughed at. Even Abraham, who was called the friend of God, when God told him he would give birth to a child, fell on his face and started laughing. Genesis 17, 17, look it up. Because he couldn't believe that a man of 100 years of age could give birth to a child through a wife who was barren. He laughed at God.
And maybe you're in a situation right now where God wants to do something in your life. And even when you think about it, it makes you laugh a little bit. If nobody has laughed at the size of your vision lately, you might not have a vision. You may just have a daydream. I want to have a vision so big from God that people laugh when they hear about it. I know I'm on the right track as to what I'm believing God for when people start laughing when I talk about it. Or when they look at me like I'm crazy and I know they're going to laugh behind my back.
Jesus, in the face of criticism, in the face of doubt, in the face of death, in the face of hopelessness, makes his statement. The child is not dead. The child is asleep. And when they laugh, I want you to notice what he does in verse 40. The Bible says, after he put them all out, Jesus turned them out.
Putting Out Doubt Like Keeping Penguins Out
What do you do with the insecurities in your life that are keeping you from believing God? Put them out. What do you do with the doubts and the conditions in your mind that keep you from believing the promises of Jesus Christ? You put them out. What do you do with the excuses that keep you from obeying the voice of the Lord when he calls you to greater higher places? Put them out. What do you do with the fears that rage in your mind that try to confront your faith and back you down from believing God for the best days of your life which are ahead of you? You put them out.
What do you do with the regrets of your past that try to paralyze the potential of your future by keeping the spotlight on who you used to be and keeping the potential of who you might become in the dark. You put them out. What do you do with the voices of negative people who always have a thousand and one reasons why it won't work but won't lift a finger to help you get to the place where God wants you to be? You put them out. You got to learn to put them out. Put them out, shut the door, and believe God.
If you were to go upstairs in my house, which I'm just going to be real honest with you, it isn't really likely to happen. I don't like to take people upstairs because that's where you can let things get a little messy. If you're going to entertain people, you get a couple rooms for that, and then you do what you need to do in the rest of the rooms and keep the door closed. In the upstairs portion of my house, there's actually signs on most of the doors that have been constructed by my five-year-old son, Elijah. And the signs say things like this. No penguins allowed, with a big X and a picture of a penguin. Now, they don't actually say no penguins allowed because he can't actually write the letters yet, but if you were to ask him to interpret the tongues that are written on the signs, he'll tell you that they say no penguins allowed. And all over the doors of our house are signs telling the penguins to keep out.
And there's actually a funny little story I like to tell about one day Elijah asked me to help him make a sign, and I was helping him draw the sign, and we drew a picture and then put an X through it. And then I wrote something on the sign. I said, keep out, this means you. And I put it on the door, and I said, who does that sign refer to? And he said, it refers to you. My son actually requested my help to construct a sign to keep me out of the room in my house I paid for.
Now, as I was thinking about your faith in your life and the things God has called you to do in your vision, you know there ought to be rooms in your spirit and rooms in your heart with a sign posted to let the devil know, to let the doubts know, let the fears know, let the haters know. Keep out. This means you. No doubt allowed in this room. No fear allowed in this room. No negativity allowed in this room. Put them out.
Selective Hearing: Tune Out Doubt, Tune In to Jesus
Selective hearing means that sometimes to hear what Jesus is saying, you've got to tune out what others have said. Selective hearing is the ultimate ally in the fight of faith. You have got to learn to listen to the voice of Jesus, who says you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. You've got to learn to listen to the voice of God, who says that you are competent as a minister of the new covenant. That you are fearfully and wonderfully made. And audacious faith will live in your heart, and big dreams will come to pass in your life. When you put out the doubts, starve them to death, and feed your faith with the sure word of God. Put them out. Put them out. Ignore what they say. Ignore the doubts that rise up and threaten to take away your peace. Focus your heart on what God has promised you you could do.
And I'm not saying this is easy. I'm telling you, every time I try to do something for God, I hear that voice, why bother? But just as soon as I hear the voice, why bother? I hear the voice of Jesus calling out to me. Just believe. Just believe. You don't have to figure this thing out by the time the sun goes down. Just believe. You don't have to be perfect in order to be a candidate for my glory to be revealed in your life. Just believe. You don't have to understand why I'm letting you go through this trial in your life right now. Just believe. You don't have to make up for all the mistakes of your past. Just believe that I'm carrying you into your future.
And to believe isn't simply to have a positive state of mind. I want to quote to you real quick from the book of Journey. Don't stop believing. But I want to modify that verse a little bit. Don't hold on to the feeling. Don't hold on to the feeling because the feelings will lie to you. Feelings will tell you you're crazy and you're stupid and you're an idiot and who do you think you are and you're not worthy and you're not worth it and God isn't with you and He's forsaken you and look all around you and it's never going to come together. Don't hold on to your feeling. Hold on to your faith. Hold on to your faith, man.
Closing Prayer and Call to Faith
I want to pray for you today, wherever you are in your life. Would you bow your head and close your eyes? I want to pray for you that your faith would not fail you. Jesus said this to Peter. He said, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail you. The message of audacious faith is not that our feelings will never fail or that our circumstances and situations will never take a turn for the worse. Listen, every time you launch out to do something great for God, that concurrent voice is going to be screaming in your ear and clamoring for your attention. And the goal of that voice is to lull you into low expectations and to con you into comfortable mediocrity. But the voice of Jesus says louder, just believe. Just believe.
Believe what? Believe that I am who I said I am and believe I can do what I said I can do. Reprogram your paradigm with God's promises. Put the voices of doubt out of your life and focus your faith on what Jesus says. And now, God, I pray for every man and woman, boy and girl under the sound of my voice. May the voice of faith be louder than the voice of fear when we're sucked into the cycle of why bother logic. Help us to rise up above it and only believe. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Let's clap our hands, all of our locations, to God's name.