Elevation with Steven Furtick - Now What? (Holly Furtick)

Episode Date: May 13, 2024

In “Now What?,” Pastor Holly Furtick explains that the outcome of your story is determined by how you respond to the problem — so stay present and see what God does next.  Ghost Writer is a brand-new series about making sense of your story through the lens of the Holy Spirit. To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: www.elevationchurch.org/giving/ If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: ele.vc/tIepfrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. I'm going to be preaching from Acts chapter 9, starting in verse 32. If you don't have a Bible, we'll have it right here on the screens for you. It says this, as Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord's people who lived in Lidda. There he found a man named Anius, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. Anius, Peter said to him, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up, roll up your mat.

And immediately, Anius got up. And all those who lived in Lidda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, in her name, in Greek, her name is Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time, she became sick and died. And her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lita was near Joppa. So when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lita,

they sent two men to him and urged him, please come at once. Peter went with them, and when he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room.

And then he got down on his knees and prayed. And turning toward the dead woman, he said, Tabitha, get up. And she opened her eyes and seeing Peter, she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa and many people believed in the Lord. Let me pray for us. Lord, thank you for this beautiful day. that is before us. We thank you for all of the women in our lives who have touched us in some way, every woman who is nurtured and comfort and encouraged and believed in us. And I pray for every person on Mother's Day who's hurting. Lord, I know under the sound of my voice that there

are some who are longing to be a mother today, that there's someone who is missing their mom today, or maybe a mom who is praying for their child. Lord, may they know you today as the God of all comfort. God, we've gathered here today to hear from you. That's why we came. We're ready to receive what you have to say. In Jesus' name, amen. All right. Well, it's Mother's Day, in case you forgot. And I would like to take the opportunity to pick on my own children for a minute. You see, all three of my kids now each has. have their own phone. I know that's kind of a debate about how old the kids should be when they get a phone, blah, blah, blah. Elijah's 18, grandma's 16, Abby is 13. And as a mom, it is really

comforting to be able to communicate with and track my children at any moment of the day. Amen? Moms? Okay. But I am realizing that this also works both ways. Because if I can communicate with them and track them at any moment of the day, then that means that they also can communicate with me. Only there's three of them. So you see, the problem with this is that they do not understand that every time I see their name pop up on my phone, I feel a lot of things. I feel happy. I feel scared. I feel excited and I feel annoyed all at once. And my mind starts to race. Are they okay? Are they in trouble? Did they forget something? Do they need me? And some days, it feels like that is my full-time job. It's just fielding questions that are an

emergency to them, but not necessarily to me. Here are a few things that I went back and saw that my kids have texted me. Can you sign me out of school early? Can you give me more Snapchat time? What's for dinner? Can we go to Starbucks? Where are you? Where are my car keys? I go to? Can my friend come over? Now, here is one code that I have cracked. If they say, how's your day going? It is almost always followed up by, can I have some money? But the worst one, the one that I just cannot decipher, no matter how hard I try, the one that makes my heart drop, is when they text me one word in all caps. M-O-M.

Hexted my husband, his name, in all caps. S-E-E-V-E-N. That is code for B-A-D. But to teenagers, everything is an emergency. So when I see my name in all cups, my mind, you know, are they okay? Are they in trouble?

Someone hurt. But in reality, Mom can be followed up by Sephora is having a big sale. Can we go? Mom. I just backed into a, our neighbor's mailbox. Or, where's the hot sauce? Or, mom, the TV fell off the console and it's

cracked. Real-life examples. So after a full day of this, God bless the child who texts me next, because if I see Elijah, Graham, or Abby's name come up on my phone, I am going to automatically reply with, now what? All right, if you're taking notes, the title of my message today, is, now what? Life can often seem like a series of now what. We've been in the most incredible series called Ghost Writer. Have you been loving this? Stephen has been taking us through some of the stories in the book of Acts to show us that we have a divine director called the Holy Spirit, and he is writing our story, and we can trust the one who has final cut over our lives. you have been on fire.

You've got me from the very first sermon, which was called Paige Turner. I've been so into this series because I live for stories. I love to hear stories. I love to read stories. I love to watch stories. I love to talk about stories. So I even started my own book club. If you like to read, go to hollyfordick.com.

We'd love for you to join us. But I think that my favorite kind of story is the one where the main character is face with a seemingly insurmountable situation, yet somehow they overcome it. Do you like those kind of stories? In my book club, we read a book called The Choice by a Holocaust survivor named Dr. Edith Eager, and I got to interview her thanks to Ashley Tucker, who went absolute private eye into the depths of social media. Turns out Dr. Eager's granddaughter-in-law happened to be Ashley's sorority sister. I still cannot believe I got to interview this woman. She is a real-life hero. Here's a picture of us chatting on Instagram live. So Dr. Edith survived the Nazi concentration

camp Auschwitz. And she eventually immigrated to the United States. And in her book, she chronicles not just her journey to survive Auschwitz, but to find life afterwards. And the book brilliantly talks about dealing with PTSD and trauma. And one of my favorite quotes from her book is this. She says, Survivors don't have time to ask, why me? For survivors, she says, the only relevant question is, what now?

What now? Now what? And I feel like many of us are sitting in a now what moment today, just like Peter was, when he was asked to raise a woman from the dead. When we read the Bible, I feel like we really need to slow down, because we read this verse, Peter sent them all out of the room. This is verse 40. Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed, turning toward the dead woman. He said, Tabitha, get up. She opened her eyes and seeing Peter, she sat up. Can we stop and

acknowledge that that's not normal. I mean, sure, it happened in the Bible, but really not that much. There's several times that it happened. Elijah did it once. Elijah did it twice. Jesus did it three times. But this is new to Peter. He's never raised a dead person to life. Now, if you missed the sermon last week, you missed a really important message, because it's centered around this idea that the Holy Spirit is the director of our story. And he has the final cut in the story of our lives. And therefore, we can believe and cling to that nothing can happen to us that does not first pass through the hands of our sovereign God. And that is what you brilliantly taught us last week. This week, I want to show you that the story is pretty much always the same. The

character faces a problem. The outcome of the story is determined by how you, the character, respond to your problem. Is it okay if I go seventh grade language arts teacher on you for a second? You might not know this about me. I taught middle school for two very long years. And just in case you were not paying attention in seventh grade English, I want to remind you today that every good story, every book, every movie, TV show, they always follow pretty much the same sequence. Now, babe, as you can see, I borrowed your screen. We flipped it, but I promise I'm going to put it back the way that I found it for whenever you want to use it next. So every story starts out with an introduction. This is where you meet the main characters and maybe establish the setting.

Then we have what's called, watch this is going to do something cool, the inciting incident. This is where the main character is faced with a problem. This is the now what moment. Then we have the rising action. That's all the things that the character has to learn or the relationships that he has to form or the training that he has to do in order to overcome the situation. Then we get to the climax, the moment that everything has been building toward the good guy beats the bad guy, they discover the solution, then we have the falling action, and then the resolution. The story is the constant part. That's the part that doesn't change.

That's also the part that is mostly outside of your control. Sure, you have some choice in the cast of characters in the setting, but not always. I mean, you don't get to pick the family that you're born into or the town that you're raised, and you certainly don't get to pick the problems that you face. This right here is called life. And if you think that following Jesus means that you get to be exempt from this, you're going to be really disappointed. This is Life. This is human. Following Jesus means that you never have to walk through this alone. But this guy, this is the variable. This is the part that can take the story in any direction. How will she or he respond to the problem? Now what will they do?

And in this series, we're in the first book of Acts, and we're watching the story of the church unfold through perhaps one of the most epic characters in the Bible named Peter. And Peter has had his fair share of now what moments. Last week, Peter, not Peter, last week, Pastor Stephen, said that we grow through what we go through with God. And Peter has come a long way. We've seen him go through from moments of sitting by the fire and denying Jesus to standing up and preaching on Pentecost on the day of Pentecost. And we've seen him go from cutting off the man's ear in the garden to healing the lame man at the temple. And he's been arrested and he's been thrown into jail and he's been flogged.

And the Bible says that he considered himself worthy of suffering for Jesus. And we've watched Peter make some mistakes and we've watched Peter do some things right. and he's continued to preach the gospel. Real quick, today, I want to give you four things to consider when you find yourself in a now-what moment. And the first thing, if you're taking notes, you can write this down, is accept the push. Why was Peter in Lita? Let me show you. This is Acts 1-8, and it says,

a great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem. And all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. At this point in the Bible, just one chapter ahead, Stephen has been stoned for his faith, and Saul is going around dragging people out of their homes and throwing them in jail. and the heading in my Bible for chapter 8 says persecution scatters the believers. If the gospel was going to spread throughout the world, the disciples had to get out of Jerusalem. Remember, Jesus had told them to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And sometimes I believe that God allows something to happen in my life so that he can get me to move.

It's the push of God. And oftentimes it feels like abandonment and it looks like disappointment and it seems like failure and it feels like God is against me. But really, he knows that my feet are dug in and the only way that he can get me to move is to allow something that I don't understand. Now, you don't have to take this literally. The push of God does not necessarily mean that God wants you to move towns or neighborhoods or jobs, sometimes, but sometimes he allows a relationship to end because that person is holding

you back from your purpose, so he's got to push you away from that person. Sometimes he allows you to face a struggle so that you will turn to him for help. I'm not saying that God causes bad things to happen to us. Remember, bad things are a part of breathing. But if you decide that you are going to accept it and let this hard thing draw you closer to God and to his purpose for your life, then you're going to experience the fullness of God. If not, you're just going to stay stuck. Stuck in the way that you are, stuck in the habits that you'll never break, stuck in the unforgiveness that you feel that's now starting to rot into bitterness and nobody wants

to be around you, but I want to tell you today, you don't have to stay. stuck. My favorite preacher put it this way. You might know this line. He said, I'm not stuck unless I stop. You got to move. You got to let God push you into an unknown territory so that you can grow. Sometimes God is trying to push you to a resource. He's trying to push you to something better, but you can't receive it. What he has for you if you don't move. I don't know why this happened, but I'm going to accept that God is using it for the next thing in my life, the next thing that I am supposed to do. So the moment that you realize that you're being pushed into an uncomfortable, unknown territory, the next thing you've got to do is find a person. That's the second point.

Find a person who has been here before or find a person who's here right now. It's called support for a reason because there are special people, I believe, handpicked by God, that are out there that want to help you walk through this uncharted territory. Now, up into this point in the Book of Acts, we have seen the church, come to life from a really big scale, right? Several times Luke, who's the writer of the Book of Acts, he tells us thousands were added to their number daily. He says it like three different times. But then we get to chapter nine, and he zooms down in to show us this one little baby church. It's a small group of believers who are gathering in the town of Joppa.

and one of their members, Tabitha, has died. Now, the Bible doesn't tell us much about Tabitha. The scripture says that she was always doing good and helping the poor, and then it says she became sick and died. But there's so much more to this woman, because her death caused such a hole in her community that the people in her life had to go and get Peter and bring him in to their situation.

Last week, my husband said something so profound, but I feel like he said it a week too early, because I feel like it was a word for all the moms. He said, the devil will make you think you have nothing to give. He wants to keep you stuck in selfishness. He wants you to think that the mundane things that you do for people, for the people that you love, that go unseen and that go unthinked, and that because they go unseen and unthink, that they don't matter, so why bother? Nothing could be farther from the truth.

And we have this woman who would never preach to thousands, but she was a pillar for her church. She was a rock for the women in her e-group. She saw a need, and she filled it. And although Tabitha would never stand before thousands of people like Peter and preach the gospel, she's preaching to us today thousands of years later. And among other things, I feel like she's saying, God loves fashion. I don't know if you caught it. I'm kind of kidding.

But what I'm trying to say is God loves anything that you use to help his people. You see, God has given you an important gift. And if you're not careful, you'll miss your next step. Because instead of asking, now what? You got stuck on why. The Bible doesn't say this exactly, but I think that Tabitha was a widow herself. Because one of the most effective places to minister is from the place of your own pain. And sometimes in your now what moment, you have to realize that you are not the only person who has ever been through this before.

I know your situation is unique, but remember, there are really no new stories, only new characters in the stories. And how you respond is your choice. And if you believe the lie that you're all alone in your situation, then you are going to be trudging up this hill, making it take ten times longer than it should. Find a person. I was talking to a friend of mine who was going through a really bad divorce, and she told me that God brought two women into her life who were walking the same road. And she said that those two women for about two years were just a lifeline to her. I love these women so much, because they have been so greatly impacted by Tabitha that they decide that they're going to go

find someone to help them. And they're showing us something really, really important here. They're showing us that while bad things do happen to good people, God's people know where to take their bad things. Peter just happens to be nearby in Lidda. And they don't know if he can do anything. They're not sure, but if anyone can, he can. So they sent two men for him. I think they sent two men because they figured the men would leave out the details.

Remember, Peter has never raised someone from the dead before. So the less details they give him the better chances it is that he's going to come. They just need to get him to Joppa. They don't need to say, hey, we need you, Peter. Look at what verse 38 says. It says, Lita was near Joppa. So the disciples heard that Peter was in Lita, and they sent two men and urged him, please come at once.

Four words. And Peter responds to the poll. That's the third point. respond to the pull. All right. Now, if the push of God feels jolting, the pull of God is gentle. And if you're not careful, you'll miss it. If you're too busy, you'll miss it. If you're too absorbed in your own situation, you might miss it.

And in my experience, the pull of God often looks like an interruption to my day. Maybe a conversation that I didn't have time for. But Peter had walked with Jesus long enough to know that miracles are often disguised as interruptions. Miracles are often disguised in seemingly normal, mundane moments and conversations. Have you ever been talking with someone about your situation? What started off is just an ordinary conversation led you to some kind of answer. Earlier this week, one of my close friends was at a dead end with one of her kids. Her daughter was really struggling, and my friend's mom gut was telling her that they needed to make a change.

But every solution that she chased down just was a dead end. So we were texting, and I felt so bad for her. because it was one of those moments where I knew that she didn't need advice. She just needed me to listen and hear all the different things that she had tried. And she really just needed me to say, like, that sucks. I'm so sorry. And I felt really bad for her. And I actually typed out, with God, there's always a way. And by faith, I know you will find it. But it felt too preachy, you know? Like sometimes you don't need to preach to your friends. You just need to listen. So I erased it. I didn't send it. And I just prayed for her. And I just wanted to sit there with her and listen to her. And sometimes you just have to be that friend. And our conversation ended. And 45 minutes later, she texted me randomly. She said, can you send me Caroline's number? I just, I don't know. I feel like I'm supposed to talk to her. So I sent it to her. The next day, she called me on the phone and she told me that she had a really long conversation

with the woman, and she felt like she finally had some next steps, and she felt like she had clear direction for her daughter. And the thing that she had been worrying about and praying about for months, she had clarity on in a flash. Because the pull of the Holy Spirit is gentle. It happens as you're going about your day, as you're having conversations. It's so gentle that we don't even realize that it was him sometimes until we love. look back at the full story. And I don't want you to miss it because you were moving so fast through your day that you dismissed it. Peter felt the tug when these men came to him. I don't know why he went with them. He just felt like he should. So he goes with them and he arrives in Joppa.

And Peter walks into this room full of one version calls them wailing widows. And they begin to show Peter the impact that Tabitha had on them and the love and the detail and the care that she put into the garments that she had made for them with her own time and her own money. And I can just imagine one woman holding up a wedding dress. And she said, this is the dress that Tabitha made for me when my daughter was getting married and we couldn't afford one. Or somebody else said, this is the coat that she made, the winter that was so cold. This is the quilt that lays on my bed. And Peter is so moved that he sends them all out. Because sometimes you do have to find a person,

but other times, you've got to get in his presence. And Peter is faced with a now-what moment. He's never done this before. So he gets on his knees. I don't know how long he prayed or what he was praying. Luke doesn't tell us.

I wonder if he said three simple words. Now what, Lord? All of a sudden, though, he has a flashback to a time when he was in the presence of Jesus. And they were pushing through a crowd to get to the house of a very important synagogue leader named Jairus, whose 12-year-old daughter had died. Do you remember this story? And for some reason, the Bible tells us that only Peter, James, and John got to go with Jesus. And when they arrived at the house, there's a crowd of people there, and they're crying, and they're mourning this little girl, and I've got to show you what happens next. This is Mark 5, verse 40. The crowd laughed at him, Jesus.

But he made them all leave. And he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her. her, Talifa Kum, which means little girl get up. And the girl who was 12 years old immediately stood up and walked around. And they were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Peter was one of only five people who were present when Jesus performed this miracle. He was in the room. And when you get in the room with Jesus, it marks you. It's something you never forget.

The presence of Jesus is not magical, but it is powerful. When Peter asked, now what? The answer wasn't a complicated series of steps or things that he needed to do. The answer wasn't even something new. Sometimes we want God to do something new, something complicated, something big, something that we've never seen before. But I don't think that's how God loves to work most of the time in my life. It comes in a flash.

And he knew what to do in that moment. Now look at verse 40. Back to Peter. What did he do? Turning toward the dead woman, he said, Tabitha, get up. She opened her eyes and seeing Peter. She sat up. Now, I don't know if you caught this.

Peter changed one letter. Jesus said to Lisa Kum, which means little girl, get up. Peter said, Tabitha, get up. Tabitha, your situation might not, your situation might be new to you, and it might feel horrible and uncomfortable, but I promise you your situation is not new to God. And when you get in the presence of Jesus and you lay out your dead end to God, he will show you the next step. He will. He does.

I promise you. He might bring to mind a person that you need to reach out to or a place that you need to visit. But it also might not be exactly what you're expecting to hear. So you have to listen really good. It might seem small. It might be so small what God tells you to do that it's hard. Personally, when I have prayed, now what, Lord? God has said to me things that I didn't want to hear.

Like, stop talking about it. Or let it go. Or stand firm. Sometimes the hardest one that God says to me, wait. one time I was praying about one of my kids and God said to me so clearly, stop comparing yourself to other moms because I kept, you know, thinking like, well, their kids don't and her kids are and maybe it's me. And God clearly whispered to me.

Holly, I gave you this child because you have what they need. I'm still working on accepting this one. But I can tell you right now, if you don't get in the presence of God, if you don't take your now what to the feet of Jesus, you will feel like you will never get up this hill. And by the way, I got to draw one more thing. This part of the story, the rising action, it's more like this. There will be so many now what moments along the way.

But you just got to get in the presence. of Jesus because you know what? His word, his direction is a lamp into our feet and a light unto our path. He only gives you a little bit at a time because he's right there with you every step of the way. And when you get here, when you get to the climax, you will have had so many, many miracles, M-I-N-I, so many miracles along the way that you realize that you realize that This part is all about God. It's not even about me. Verse 41.

Then he called for the believers, especially the widows. And he presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. The goal is when you get here that people see God, not you.

You might say to you, I don't know how you made it through that. You are a strong person. You're so much stronger than me. And you'll know that some days it was moment by moment that you prayed. Now what, Lord? Now what, Lord? Now what, Lord. And every time he was right there with you.

I like to close by singing a song because the songs, that God continues to bring forth through our pastor and through this worship memory, this worship ministry right now, they're the words and they're the anthems that, I don't know if you feel this way, but I so often feel like I didn't even know this is what I needed to say to God, what my heart was wanting to say to God. And Peter, when he was put in front of Dorcas, this astronomical ask that the people were asking him. he had a flashback faith moment. And I want to tell you today, so can you.

And as we sing this song that says, Oh my God, you've sure been good to me. My prayer is that you will have a flashback faith moment, a moment when you were in the presence of Jesus, and that your faith would be stirred to know that you are not alone in what you are going for. through today. And one day, you will look back on this moment, too, and you'll be able to proclaim the goodness of God in your life. Amen. So, Lord, we worship you today. We thank you that you have

everything we need for this journey, and that you promise to never leave us alone as we walk this out. We cling to that now, Lord. Thank you for the push, even though it feels uncomfortable. Thank you for the people that you have brought in our path. Thank you for the pull, God. We're going to listen for the whispers this week. And right now, Lord, we just want to come into your presence and worship you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give genera. to this ministry is because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to give now or visit elevationchurch.org

slash podcast for more information. And if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe, you can share it with your friends. You can click the share button, take a screenshot, and share it on your social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.