Elevation with Steven Furtick - Taking Control Of Your Mind

Episode Date: October 12, 2020

Even when life feels chaotic, God is still in control. In “Taking Control Of Your Mind” Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church reveals three important questions that can control your state of mind, for better or worse. Learn how to regain control over your thought life, one question at a time.See 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. And today, I am starting a new teaching that is really just a continuation of what I've been teaching. I'm going to talk about the three best questions. that you can ask in your life. Only if you're confused, uncomfortable, or uncertain. If you are none of those three things, check your pulse and watch something else. But if you've been asking some questions lately and the answers are slow in coming,

God has a word for you. This begins a new teaching today, and to introduce it to you, I wanted to show you a video that I made with Abby when I showed her what my next sermon was going to be and I caught her reaction on my iPhone. Check this out. Yeah. My new sermon series. Run control. Run control. Run control. Look at it again. Are you in control? What do you think? Oh my gosh. You love it? Oh my gosh. That's awesome. Let's go, are you in control? Because haven't we kind of wondered that lately?

Are you honest? Are you, are you, are you, are you, are you, are you, are you, are you, Man, you don't really say it like that. You don't, you don't ask the Lord if he's in control. You're scared to give you a lightning bolt or a flat tire or hemorrhoid or something like that. So you don't really say, Lord, are you in control? You just kind of secretly wonder like,

Lord, it's still you on the throne up there, right? They didn't kick you off because it could make you wonder. And even though we don't really put those words around it, the question that we want to talk about today is, are you in control? And I want to write it down just like that, how it said, put it up one more time, are you and that's how the Lord gave it to me. I put my phone, I made a list of questions on my phone. I was like, I wonder what are the best questions in the Bible.

Because I got on this trajectory of realizing that, watch this, making progress in your relationship with God usually looks like having less answers and better questions. So how do I know if I'm growing in my relationship with God? Usually you will know you're growing in your relationship with God and your maturity in this world when you have less answers and better questions. So the way that I wanted to give it to you one more time, I did it like that. Are you in control? Because it looks like run. The Lord showed me that there are three questions that are running in the background of your mind all the time that are determining or driving your state of mind.

To get there, we've got to go all the way back to the prison. where Paul wrote Philippians. I don't know what my favorite book in the Bible. You know, we're talking about questions. I have been asked before, what's your favorite book of the Bible? I don't know what's my favorite. I don't know if you're supposed to have a favorite book of the Bible. But the most functional for me in the last few years has been the book of Philippians.

Of all four chapters in the book of Philippians, the most functional chapter, what I mean is, it's been working for me. It's been working for me. When I ran out of answers, it helped me with my question. I'm going to show you today the three questions. We won't get to all of them today, but we're going to look at three questions that are controlling your life. So when I asked the question, are you in control?

You're like, no, God's in control. Let's go home. Let's go eat some pot roast and all that. But you do know that God is in control. You're like, you're setting me up or something? Yes. I'm setting you up. Because what I want to know is, if God is in control, then why would anybody ever be overweight?

If God is in control, why would anybody be addicted? If God is in control, why would anybody ever be abused? And you wonder that too, but you just don't ask it. You don't ask it because you're scared to ask it. Because you think that God is insecure like you are, and if you question him, he won't have the answer. But God has the answer, so he's not intimidated by your questions. What insults God is when you think that he is so small and he has some kind of ego where he can't handle your questions. When you think about that question, and I'm so excited to share this with you because I believe as we get this, it's going to be one of those series.

I want you to give me all three weeks. I think it's going to take three weeks. Maybe two, maybe four. Maybe I just do it the rest of the year. But when I started asking the question, are you in control, God? I realized that it's a complicated answer. Yes, he's sovereign. How can he be so sovereign?

And I feel so stuck. How can he be so sovereign and some suffer so much? How can he be so sovereign and some struggle so long? Of course, I'm not confident enough in my professional competence to answer that. That's why we're going to Paul in just a moment, but realize that God, maybe I could give it to you this way. Here's the first thing you could write down. God is always in control, but he doesn't always take.

control. God is always in control, but he doesn't always take control. It's like when I gain 50 pounds in the first 18 months of being married, God never took any macaroni off my plate. He let me eat as much macaroni as I wanted to eat. And I was thinking about eating, and I've said it a few times now because I'm a little hungry as I preach, to be honest with you. But the real reason I thought of it was portion control. God's not going to control the portion of food that you eat or the portion of news that you consume. Are you ready? He's not going to control the portion of the Bible that you read.

God will let you watch as many episodes. What's that show? Outer Banks. He'll let you watch. Is that the right show? He'll let you watch every episode and not read your Bible one time. God will let you watch. God will let you scroll Instagram until you throw up pictures of somebody else's vacation.

He won't stop you. He's in control. That doesn't stop you from scrolling. Even Instagram, I remember the first time, God, I felt so pathetic when Instagram told me you're all caught up. I was like, their Facebook is trying to save me. They legally have to tell me. You've seen this crap already. So God doesn't stop you from scrolling.

God will not. So God is always in control, and I'm grateful, but he doesn't always take control. Isn't that what we really want is like a remote control God? Who we can tell him what to do with other people and from his holy heaven he will make everybody do everything we want to do? He is not a remote control God. He is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us so that his spirit could live within us. Maybe I could illustrate it this way.

For everybody who is confused, uncertain, like Paul was, in prison, I came out earlier and I said, let's show them with the cameras to set up this idea of RU in control. In the room right now, there are, I think, eight cameras, maybe more. I don't know how many hidden cameras there are. Security cameras, but I think there's eight. So that this message can be brought to you in high definition, high fidelity, the Word of God, and all of its clarity. But let's say, like, the way it works, like there's different cameras that I look at,

and the way it works is like, here's camera one, and I think that's Bowser on camera. Yeah, hey, Bowser. He's taking a break from throwing hammers at Mario for a minute and running the camera. Jay Bowser, everybody. That's called Camera One. I don't know if they call it Camera One because he's the most important one, but it's right there. And if they put a scripture up, I can see it, and it's great.

So that's Camera One, all right? And then over here on this camera, it's camera four or five or something like that. Doesn't matter. The point is, who's running this one today? Abraham. Okay. Abraham. And Abraham is over here.

And if I go to this camera, right, you can see me now. looking at the camera. And this is the way God gave it to me like a picture just to make it simple for what we're going to talk about over the next few weeks. If Abraham's camera goes out of focus, go ahead and make it blurry real quick. Because sometimes this happens as I'm moving around and everything like that, and they have to focus the camera, right? Okay.

And so you can't see me real good and that's distracting and you're like, oh, God, that looks horrible. It's tied into elevation, but now I'm going to give it somewhere else. They don't even money in the equipment. So then I'm like, Bowser, and I'm looking at the camera, but nothing changed. What you have to understand is he's behind the camera, but he's not controlling the camera. Furthermore, let me come back over here where it's blurry. See how you can't really see it, like how your life feels right now, how your plans feel right now, how your future feels right now,

how the outcome of certain things in the United States of America feels right now, how what God is. is doing in the world feels right now. This house felt for a little while. And so Bowser is on camera one and it's like, Bowser, come on, man. Do your job. I'm looking at that camera. Give me that camera. But he can't control that camera. That camera is controlled in another room. The name of the room is the control room. In the control room is somebody named Chelsea. Chelsea has a headset, and Bowser does not have the capability to swing. to that camera without Chelsea saying the following words, take it. When Chelsea says, take it, there it is in focus. Now, he's on the camera, but he doesn't control the camera.

So if I'm over here, make it blurry again. Make it real blurry, Abraham. Make it real blurry. And it's blurry. And I look over here, come on, Bowser, do your job. Come on, Bowser, what's wrong with you? Come on, Bowser, are you distracted? Come on, Bowser, just sleep in today, forget to show up for run.

Come on, Bowser, let's go, let's go. I can yell at him all I want, but he's not controlling the camera. Until Chelsea says, watch this, take it. Now, God says you can stay in a state of confusion, make it blurry Abraham all you want, and you can complain about me all you want, but God says, until, see, God can give you a promise, but until you take it. God can give you peace, but you will feel unclear until you take it. And I hear the Spirit of God saying today, I have given you redemption, restoration,

and purpose. But you've got to take it. Are you in control? So there are three questions in Philippians one that I think will help us with our focus. For me, in the last six months, focus has been a matter of survival. For the first week of the global pandemic, I had news stations on all around. I had to turn them off. I realized that if I kept watching their news, I wouldn't be able to preach good news,

the gospel. I found out why they call it breaking news, because it will break your brain. So Paul is going to talk to us today. in a situation where it seems like God is maybe not in control. Are you in control, God? Because here I am in prison, and here you are sovereign, and here I am stuck. So this really helped me. All right, y'all pray for me.

I can read the whole thing with no interruptions. How many believe that God will give me the willpower to read all 14 verses and not stop and written around. Y'all don't believe. I'm going to prove you wrong. Okay. How many of y'all on the chat believe in me? Say, I believe in you, pastor. I don't care about these other people. Fire them all. Fire your staff. We believe in you. Believe in Steve. There we go. Philippians 112. Now I want you to know brothers and sisters that what has happened to me

has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, he's not, okay, okay, just one. He's not focused on the resistance. He's focused on the results. It has become clear. It has become clear. Abraham, it has become, take it, clear. It has become clear. Situation is uncertain, but my purpose has become clear.

Throughout the whole palace, guard, and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ, And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord. And dare all the more to proclaim the gospel, the good news, without fear. It is true, somebody say facts, that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preached Christ out of selfish ambition. Not sincerely, supposing they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains, but what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, and I've already given you the first

question, there are three. I've already given you the first one. See if you can find all three. Two of them are right there in the text, and one is implied. He said, what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice. I'll rejoice in my bathrobe, watching church in my living room. I will continue to rejoice. I will rejoice without a job, cut back on hours. I will rejoice even as I wake up in the middle of the night, in the middle of a full-blown panic attack.

I will praise my way back to sleep. I will breathe my way into peace. I will continue to rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me, will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death, for to me to live as Christ and to die his gain.

If I'm to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know. Torn between the two. Kind of want to get out of here. It's crazy. But it's more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you for your

progress and joy in the faith. Isn't it funny that he calls it progress while he's in prison? He must be measuring something. He must be asking a different question. He does not give them any of the answers that they would have asked for. I'm going to tell you what they wanted to know. When are you getting? The church at Philippi is like, your kid's in the car.

All they want to know is, are we there yet? How many think that's the second most annoying question that your kids ask? You're like, well, what's the first? For me, do we have to? Do I have to? I feel the spirit of slap your tongue out of your mouth coming. Do I have to unload the dishwasher? Okay, no.

You don't have to. I will rip the dishwasher out, throw it in the yard. You can wash it all by hand, and then after that, your mom will cook for me and you will watch. You don't have to. I used to hate it when staff members would say, do you? Do we have to come? Do we have to come to Saturday night service?

Sometimes the Lord just has to take stuff away for a minute for you to appreciate it to get it back. And it's like, do I have to be there? It's like, oh, God, can I please come? Can I please? And so that happens. That happens in our life. So the Lord was telling me that there are some really bad questions that I ask.

that either he doesn't want me to know. My mom used to always say, if I would have wanted you to know, I would have told you. And so the way Paul started the text, go back to verse 12 real quick. He said, now I want you to know. And then he doesn't tell them what they want to know. When are you getting out? He tells them what he wants them to know. That's like God. He tells you what he wants you to know. God controls the flow of information to our lives. And he doesn't owe us an explanation for everything. My amends are fading fast. Oh, my amends are fading fast.

My amends are shutting down right now. I feel like I'm going to have to come over here and preach this to Jenna. Now, Jenna, I specifically asked if you could be out on the stage today because I was watching you worship the other day, and I realized that you are an example of someone who never really asks for the spotlight. That bless me. It blessed me because a lot of singers want to know like, when am I going to get the, it's a dumb question. And I realize that the better question isn't, when am I going to get credit?

It's what is God calling me to do. Now, when God does not give you an answer, how many of you are waiting for an answer from God about something in your life right now? Okay. If he won't give you the answer, ask him for a better question. You want an example of this? When Moses asked God in Exodus chapter 4, verse 1, you remember he's called by God. We discussed Moses a couple weeks ago. I kind of finished my sermon talking about Moses and how if God asked you to do it, the proof

that you have it in you is that he asked you to do it because he won't ask anything from you that he didn't first put in you. And I'm just reminding you of that. But remember when Moses asked the first thing he asked, he said, what if they, what if they Do not believe me, talking about the Israelites. Now, let's isolate those three words. What if they? That's a bad question.

Anytime your question revolves around other people, it is outside of the realm of your sovereign control. What if they? I don't care what you say next. You can't control it. What if they is a bad question? So watch what God does. He answers Moses' question with a question. But it's an upgrade.

When I saw this, I shouted. You ready? Moses, what if they? Look at verse 2. The Lord said to him, what is that? So, let's go. Moses said, what if they? God said, what is that?

Moses is asking about what he can't control. He's asking about a hypothetical scenario that involves others. and God says, what is that? What is that in your hand? God will always point you to what is at hand. And the more your questions revolve around hypothetical situations that haven't happened and may not happen, the longer you are going to spend in the absence of an answer which you will mistake for the absence of God, but God ask a better question.

It's not what if they, what is that? When you focus on what God has given you, I love this. I spend so much time asking the question, what if they, or what if that, or what if this, or what if that? But God says, I've already given you a that no matter what they do. All right. So that's an example of what I'm talking about. The power of a better question. And so the proof of my progress and my relationship with God is, I have less answers.

Better questions. The three questions that are always running in your mind are, what does it matter, what does it mean, and what shall I choose? All three are in the text. I'll be honest with you, the first one caught me off guard when I was just minding my own business, preaching Philippians 1, and I was standing on this stage. I would never forget. I was standing on stage.

I didn't study for it or anything. I was just reading through it. You know, there's some really good stuff in the book of Philippians. Some really famous verses. Being confident of this, that he would gain a good work and you would be faithful to complete it to the day of Christ. That's a great verse. One of them we read, For me to live as Christ, to die his gain.

How about this one? God has exalted Jesus to the highest place, giving them the name is above every name, the Latin name of Jesus. Every name is bow, and every tongue confesses, Jesus Christ, the Lord, the glory of God, the Father. These are like the famous verses in Philippians, and they're good. So I always thought those were the most important verses of the whole thing. There's some other ones, too, that you know these verses.

I count on myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and pressing towards what is the head, I pressed toward the mark for the prize. How many times have you heard that on New Year's Eve or something like that? I'm forgetting what is behind, forget the past, pressed toward what's ahead. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, great verses in Philippians, and my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. All those verses I love. The one that jumped up and bit me was in verse 18 of chapter 1, where Paul says, what does

it matter? And the Lord arrested me in the middle of my sermon. I was trying to get to another verse. And the Lord said, stop right there. If you get that question wrong, nothing else matters. So what does it matter? And then if you drop down a little bit to verse 22, Paul says, if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.

So what does it mean? And then he asked a question that you wouldn't think he's in any position to consider. What shall I choose? And I love it because Paul is such a control freak, and so am I. I almost called this message, and maybe I'll put it on the thumbnail to get some clickbait and get people saved on the YouTube channel. I almost called it Confessions of a Control Freak. I'm reading Philippians, and I'm just going along.

And I'm like, Paul is so used to calling the shots, he doesn't realize that he's not going to get to be in charge this time. He's like, I've been thinking about it. I might want to stay. It's like, Caesar's going to make that decision, buddy. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no. It's the wrong question. I'm not talking about whether or not I'm going to get out of this situation.

I'm talking about what God is doing in the midst of it. So the moment that you take control of the answer to these three questions, and here they are again, what does it? What does it mean? What shall I? And you got to say shall, because it puts a little King James authority on it. What shall I choose? I'm telling you, God doesn't control everything.

He gives you choice. And Holly said last week that the word rejoice comes. in the book of Philippians, like how many times? Do you remember it? 16 times, joy, rejoice? So I thought the theme of the book of Philippians was joy, but I found out it's really freedom, that he is still in control of his soul's state, even though he can change nothing about his circumstance. And the Lord told me to preach it because these three questions are running your life in a back room. in a back room. So what's showing up on the screen right now

is because somebody's on a camera. But the one who's on the camera is not controlling it. It doesn't start where you see it. You see it on the screen. It doesn't start on a screen. That camera has to capture this message and then send it out. But he doesn't control it. And the way the Lord showed me this, he was like,

this is like your feelings or your feelings. your state of mind, your thoughts. So, Bowser, you're not God in this analogy. You're just my thoughts. And then Chelsea is my questions. Every thought that I have started with a question. And if I ask a bad question, this is the worst question. What's wrong with me?

That is probably the most frequently asked question. That is, if you were to do a lobotomy of Stephen Ferdick's F.A.Qs, that I ask myself just over and over again, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you? Let me tell you what happens when you ask that question, all right? That question will attract a million answers. Because the devil has a list ready. Oh, my God. That is the most magnetic question in the universe.

The moment you say, what's wrong with me, here comes every demon from the time that you were conscious. And they will line up with the list. Oh, what's wrong with you? Okay. Where you want me to start? That's your physical appearance. Okay. Or something between all the bits, you know, you need some, okay?

It's the wrong. How many of y'all are like me? What's wrong with me? What's my problem? I've got to be so stupid, so stupid, so stupid, so stupid, so stupid. And the devil's like, I can tell you I can be so stupid. stupid. Your dad was stupid. The devil has a list. Everything. He'll show you everything from your genetics to your jawline to everything. I mean, he just take everything. But your questions

direct the integrity of your thoughts. So when Paul asked in Philippians 118, what does it matter? He is setting the direction of his thoughts by controlling the focus. of his priorities. What does it matter? What does it matter? In his case, he's talking about some people who are using his uniquely vulnerable situation as an apostle who is in chains to capitalize on the situation, you know, and he's like, ah, it doesn't matter. And I'm like, yes, it does. Yes, it does. Because there's something in me that always wants to like, you know, I'm real quick to get offended. I'm just getting it out there and telling you like this.

It's easier to preach when I'm not up here hiding stuff from you. So I am quick to get offended. And I found offense blocks my flow. I don't like it. I don't like it. I kind of wish I would have talked to Paul sooner, because he could have saved me so much time if he would have taught me that human opinion doesn't matter as much as I think it does. And it really changes through the years, you know?

When you're in middle school, you're like, this is your biggest question. It's like everything from how you dress to what you say, to what you don't say, it's like, how can I fit in? And then, watch this, you go to apply for college, they're going to teach you how to put something on your application so you can stand out. It's like, what to do? It's like, all the questions are changing. When I started the church, it was like, how can I get people here?

And then people started coming. I was like, how can I keep doing this over and over again so I don't let anybody down? The questions are shifting. But I want you to notice that before he can get into what does it mean, what you're going through, and where's God in my situation and God, what do you want me to do? The first question is, what does it matter? What does it matter? I get so distracted.

I get so distracted. My focus gets so broken. actually even hard for me to sometimes look around the room when I'm preaching. Because if somebody looks like, I remember one time a guy looked really mad when I was preaching, and it put me in an anger vibe of a gear. I started pulling up Bible verses about wrath and judgment and the second death. I didn't even know I knew those verses. I was going for it. And they got word to me later. They said that man was going through a divorce. They said he was going through a divorce. I was like, oh, okay, so I misinterpreted the situation because I was asking the wrong

question because I was looking at him going like, why does he hate me? And really he hated his situation. But I asked the wrong question. I was starting with they. Why do they? Why did they always do that? Oh, you know it's a bad question when it includes the word always. Why do they always? They don't always. Nobody always is. But theology is better than my grammar. Nobody always is anything. So the question, starts with what does it matter? This is where you have to write this phrase down. Decide your distractions.

Decide your distractions. To realize that in this moment, the only thing that matters in this moment to me is that you connect to God and get the word that he has for you. I would do anything to get it across. I'll do camera tricks, camera angles, I'll run around the screen. I would do anything to get it across. Because I have come past the point in my ministry now of thinking that the goal is to be impressive. The goal is not for me to impress you.

It is to connect you to heaven. If I connect you to heaven, the ministry will flow through me and all of our needs will be met. But it takes you a little while to find out what matters. And usually you don't even realize how much it matters until after it happened. Is that sad? You think the wrong thing matters until after it's over, and then you realize, oh, it really wasn't that important. It really wasn't that important. So I'm asking God to help me decide in advance what are my distractions.

And here's what Paul taught me. Not every disruption is a distraction. Remember, this is the apostle that's taking the gospel to the world, planting churches, and all of that progress has stopped. Apparently, Paul said, actually, the gospel's moving forward. He decided what mattered. Did you? Or did you outsource your priorities to a broken world who doesn't know it's right from its left, it's up from its down?

What does it matter? What does it matter? I wish I would have talked to Paul sooner. It would have been so good. I wouldn't have tried to chase people to get them to like me because I would realize that it's not really what they think about me that matters. If I would have talked to Paul sooner, I could have realized that a human opinion is nothing compared to a divine seal.

When God puts this seal of ownership on you, people can think what they want, say what they want. I'm just telling you if I would have talked to Paul sooner. Because I didn't know. So because I didn't know, I got petty. I got petty. I got jealous. I got worked up. I got freaked out.

I thought, oh, God. I mean, how many things if we could have talked to Paul when we were starting the church? How much time could we have saved worrying about stuff that didn't matter? Y'all, I got so possessed by this verse a couple years ago. I made bracelets for the whole church instead of WWJD. I made it. W-D-I-M, what does it matter? But you know what? It's not if it's on a bracelet.

It's in your brain. It is your thoughts. And I'm still asking it. Does it really matter? Does it really matter? Somebody told me you should do the day and decade test. I was like, what is that? They were like, well, if it won't matter in a day or in a decade, don't worry about it.

That didn't help me too much. But here's what did help me. I didn't really get what they were trying to say. But here's what did help me. I did some flashbacks to stuff that frustrated me so badly and some stuff that had me so afraid that never happened. And as I was doing those flashbacks and realizing God's faithfulness, it was an exercise for me.

It was an exercise in asking a better question. The question, what does it matter, will eliminate 95 percent of my prayer request. Just by asking God, give me your priorities. It will direct my resources, but it will start with the question. It is a clarifying question. Make it blurry Abraham. Come on, Abraham. You remember Abraham and Sarah in the Bible?

This is kind of crazy. In Genesis 18, Sarah was laughing because God said that she was going to have a baby. This is Genesis 18, 12. And it says that Sarah laughed to herself. So she didn't LOL. Well, how would I go? L-T-H. She L-T-H. Do you see it on the scripture?

She laughed to herself. And look at this. She said, after I'm worn out and my Lord is old, will I have this pleasure? I don't see how this could happen now. Then the Lord said to Abraham, take it. Why does Sarah laugh and say, will I really have a child now that I am old? And here's a better question. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

See how that clarified it? You don't need an answer. You need to quit. about stupid stuff. Because I can worry about some stupid stuff. I can worry about some stupid stuff, like how and when and what are they going to say, and what are they? That's what Paul was saying. It really doesn't matter what their motive is. It matters what God's purpose is. If it is God's purpose in my life being accomplished, it doesn't matter. I feel something on this. Say, I got too much purpose to be petty. I got too much purpose to be petty. I got too much purpose to be petty. Here was the key phrase to me. Are you ready?

He said, I am put here for the defense of the gospel. Let's talk about that phrase. Who put this table here? You don't even know. What was it put here for? That's the important thing. Yeah. It was put here so I could preach. So, write this. down. Who put it here isn't as important as why it was put here? When Paul says, I am put here for the defense of the gospel, he could have just as easily said I was put here by Caesar because Rome is so wicked, but he didn't say any of that. He said, Rome might be the reason I got here from a human standpoint. Now, this is for anybody who's trying to figure out why this happened and why that happened. That is a bad question. The

better question is, God, what are you doing right now in my life? And not how long are you going to leave me here? You notice Paul didn't ask that one time? How long is God going to leave me here? Instead, he asked the question, what am I put here for? I wonder what would happen if you asked that about your life? What was I put here? Not who was I put here by? That's going to make you're going to start blaming people. You're going to start blaming people who didn't support you? You're going to start blaming people who didn't encourage you. You're going to start blaming people who should have been there for you. But what you were put here for matters more than who you were put here by. I don't know, man. I just feel like God is anointing this message.

God said, put a shrug emoji in the chat. He said, that is the official emoji of heaven over most of the stuff you're stressed about. The Lord said, I need you to make a list, not a bucket list. Like I don't care list. Like a list of like, I'm going to quit caring about this so I can focus on that. Because I cannot care about everything. You know that, right? You know you were not designed to care about everything.

Well, if you don't watch the news all the time, how are you going to be informed? My sanity matters more than my informedness. Talk to me back row. Talk to me back row. And I'm going to tell you another thing that Holly said last week. She said, are you trying to prove your point or are you trying to keep the relationship? See, Paul said, it doesn't matter what their motive is. It matters what God's mission is.

So you've got to decide in your life. You've got to decide what's going to matter to you. What's going to matter to you in this season? What's going to matter to you in this season? moment. And you might have to come back to that a thousand times. Like I'm telling you, sometimes I just have to do this over and over and over again. And I've got a flip phone.

I don't have a side chick. It's not some sketchy thing like that. It's just like I got a flip phone because sometimes I just can't care about and process everything all the time because it matters more to me to be available to God than accessible to everyone else. I just can't care about everything. What does it matter? People ask me sometimes, you know, like, did you see what they said? I'm like, no.

And they're like, do you want to know? No. That's all this thing about you. You want to hear? No, I don't want to hear it. Control. Alt delete. Control.

Alt delete. It's a spiritual command function, right? Control, alt, delete. So I have got to change some priorities if I am going to expect God's resources. And they are connected. When Paul says, I expect that through your prayers and the provision of God's spirit, that what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance, that doesn't happen unless he correctly answers the question.

What does it matter? What does it matter? stupid stuff. It set me free because I used to think I embarrassed myself. I'd be like, oh man, I said this or I said that, I'm embarrassed. They don't care. People are paying way too much attention to themselves to care about anything you mispronounced or said wrong. It's true. The greatest way for you to stop being so self-centered is to realize how self-centered everybody else is. Everybody's walking around going, God, I can't believe I said that. Like they're going home and studying the scripture of what you said. What does it matter? I preached one week

and my button was undone, and I didn't realize my button was undone. And I bet I stressed about that for three days. Like the button police were watching my YouTube. You know, how stupid is that? Here I am preaching the Bible, telling people that Jesus Christ is Lord and sovereign, and I'm stuck on a button. Now, y'all are looking awfully judgmental. I bet you've gotten stuck on some stuff. So God said he will not control everything. He will not control your priorities.

You will. You will decide what matters to you. What does it matter? What does it matter? Everything else is a distraction, you know? What does it matter? I'm so overflowing with things to tell you about this, yet it would be irresponsible for me to not tell you that that can work both ways.

Just like you care too much about some stuff, there's some other stuff that you don't care enough about. Like for Paul, he had it clear. Remember, he said it's clear to me. The important thing is Christ is preach. Good news, gospel, purpose, all that stuff. I think if the devil can't distract you, he'll discourage you. I don't think he really cares how he takes you out.

He just doesn't want you to know why you're here. In my study of the scripture, Paul's attitude reminded me a little of another prophet from the Old Testament called Elijah. He was really powerful dude, but he had a lot of insecurities, I think. And I think that because it manifested in him tending to. to perform well in public, but to have problematic conversations and ask the wrong questions in private. I don't know if you can relate to this, but he looked really good on the outside, right?

It looked really amazing on the outside, and he looked really powerful on the outside. There is a scripture that was playing in my head, and I couldn't figure out why I kept thinking about it, until I realized that just like you need to ask, what does it matter about some certain things and push them to the side in this season of your life? I would ask that. What do you need to push to the side? That doesn't matter.

That doesn't matter. That doesn't matter. To make room for the things that do. There are also some times where the devil will try to convince you that something doesn't matter that actually really does. When Elijah called down fire on Mount Carmel and the false prophets were all put to death with the sword, you may know the story or you may not. It really doesn't matter if you know all the details. There was one specific moment that was really on my heart to talk to you about because

he went all alone after this great victory in his life. And he went to a cave, and he spent the night in a cave, and the voice of the Lord came to him in the cave. And you got to remember, the Lord didn't really shout. He whispered. And a lot of times the Lord will be like a whisper. He'll be like a whisper. He's not a remote control God. He's an up-close God, so he'll be like a whisper. And the question that he asked Elijah, not with a lot of decibels, but with a lot of clarity, he said, What are you doing here?

And what Elijah said next reflects where his heart was at. He said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. I hear in his response the words of a man who has done all that he can do and come to the conclusion that none of it matters. I hear a man that is at the end of his energy, who has given everything that he can for the people that he served. And I hear him almost like the opposite of Paul saying, what does it matter? It's never going to get better.

It doesn't matter. Why even try? Do you remember when you preached? I'm tired of trying to change? I heard Elijah saying that. I'm sick of this. It's outside of my control. I'm done.

I'm drained. And I'm the only one left. The irony of it is that he had enough faith for his words to control the weather system. He had enough faith to command the drought, but the question that would bring him out of depression is the question you must ask, what am I doing here? Paul asked that question, and he decided, I'm here for a purpose. And, you know, that's a decision. That's an interpretation. That is not a fact on the surface. That is a product of his faith. He's a decision. He's a decision. He's a He decided that.

He could have said, I'm here because it's unfair. I'm here because the system is broken. But focusing on what is broken will never set you free. I'm going to say it again. Focusing on what is broken will never set you free. So as long as your question is, why did they, and when will they, and how will they? God said, what is that? What have I called you to do?

What has God called me to do? What has God given me? this season that can't be taken away. What can I control? What can I speak? What can I activate? How can I move it forward? What are the advantages? Who is this uncircised Philistine? Who dares to defy the armies of the living God? They saw Goliath and said, how can we kill him? He's big. David said, how can we miss him? He's big. All you got to do. Listen to me, child All you've got to do is change the question, even if you don't know all of the answers, and I feel like preaching, because God said, no, I'm not going to give you an answer.

I'm going to give you a better question. What are you doing here? You mighty man of valor, what are you doing here? You unique daughter of God, what are you doing in this place? After you've seen me time and time again, roll back the heavens and rend the sky and come down and crush your enemies? What are you doing here? See, he really wasn't running from Jezebel who threatened his life. He was running from himself because he had gotten the question wrong. So, if the devil can't distract you, he'll discourage you. And I want to minister to the distracted people today and tell you that some stuff doesn't matter. As much as you think it does?

Oh, but I want to talk to some discouraged people today. You reckon Paul knew that we would make bumper stickers out of stuff he wrote in prison? He didn't even know how much it mattered. And neither do you. So stop waiting on your seven-year-old to tell you, you are a father who is leaving a legacy, and everything you are doing for me is good seed. And if you train me up in the way that I should go when I am old, I will not depart from me. You won't know how much it matters until you have to control your focus now.

And as we minister this word to you today, I wonder has the enemy got you in a place where you started to believe that rebuke the spirit of rejection off of your life right now in this moment? By the power vested in me, by the gospel of Jesus Christ, I minister to you that you matter. So much. You might not even know how much you matter until after, but you've got to have faith to believe it right now. With everyone's standing, your head bow, your eyes closed. I want you to realize that some of the stuff that you think matters so much, it doesn't actually matter. Because I want you to get your brain back so you can enjoy it. some things. I want you not to take it personal when people take out their pain on you. I want you to stop thinking that everything that you're missing is a mistake. Listen to me, child of God. Some things God leaves out on purpose. Paul said, I'll put here on purpose. I know what I'm doing here because I decided that. I decided that. Everything else is a distraction. Paul said,

I know what's important. My peace is more important. My joy is more important. I am not going to let anything distract me from what matters. Now, these questions are running in your mind all the time. And we're going to talk about them in the next few weeks as we continue to minister this message to you. You have assumed that maybe God is not working in your life or he doesn't see you in your situation or maybe you've made a mistake so bad that he can't use you anymore. That's all a lie. And the past doesn't matter.

You're in the presence of God now. I'm going to tell you something about him. He can take things that happen to you. He can take the time that you think you lost, and he is a multiplier. And he can give it back to you. But you've got to take it. Just like she tells the camera operator, take it. I hear the Lord saying, I want you to have peace, but you've got to take it.

If your mind is on the things that don't matter in this season, you're going to be so distracted. Oh, God, it's going to destroy you. But my peace is available to you. What are you doing here? Never thought you'd be here. You'd certainly never been here before. What are you doing here? Paul said, I decided I'm here for Christ.

What have you decided that? How amazing would the shift be? Can you imagine? If you just decided, I'm here for Christ. If you just started asking, God, what are you doing in my life right now? God, what are you? I can't control all of the input, but God, I can control my response. So, Lord, here's my life. Here's my little prison cell. Here's my little limitation, all right? What is that in your hand? It matters. It matters what you say. It matters what you believe. It matters what you take in. It matters what you meditate on.

It matters. Every second of your life, every season of your life, you're answering the question, what does it matter? And to every thought that has told you lately, it doesn't matter, and nobody would miss you, and the world wouldn't even. It's all a distraction. The devil doesn't want you to know that what is inside of you is so much greater than what is against you.

Who is this uncircumcised Philistine? Father, I come into agreement with each person today to realize the infinite significance of their life that Jesus Christ would die for them. How much they matter, your blood told me that once and for all. How much they mattered enough for you to make them unique, custom design, custom tailor. Thank you, Lord. I am put here for a purpose. And today we speak to each situation.

In fact, Holy Spirit, I want to give you just a moment to give them a better question. Instead of why did this happen to me, why does this always happen to me? What can you do through it? And as you shift these questions, we expect a release from heaven in our life. We thank you, Lord, that your invitation stands open for us. If we ask, we will receive in Jesus' name of a better question. God praise in the place if you receive his word. Come on, give him praise on every location, large or small. Why not just offer God the space? Why not just offer him a praise? Come on, he inhabits the praises

of his people. He will set up shop anywhere there is worship. Thank you, Lord. How many are ready for some better questions? What does it matter? What does it mean? What shall I choose. So let me ask you a question. Did you get something out of that? I want to thank all of you who give to this ministry so we can reach people on behalf of everybody who was set free or delivered or encouraged or inspired or led to Jesus through this ministry. Thank you. You're giving matters. When you share the link, it matters. Every little bit makes a difference. And so I want to thank you so much for being connected to this ministry. I'm excited about going deeper into the teaching. I hope you are too. God is always in control, but he doesn't make our decisions for us. And I think you made a

good decision today to get God's word in your heart. Now make sure that you obey what he spoke to you, have the courage to take that step. Whatever he's asking you to do, you know that he's a rewarder of those who seek him. So I pray for you, in Jesus name, that this week will be the week, that you will ask better questions. God, what are you doing in this moment? What are you doing in my life right now. And I pray that you'll see him all around you as he presents you with new opportunities to know him and make him know. We love you. Holly and I are praying for you. I'll see you next time. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.