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- [00:00]
Steven Furtick
You're listening to an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
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- [01:06]
Steven Furtick
Hey, this is Steven Furtick. 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. Well, take a seat. We're so glad you're here. Today we're continuing in the series Savage Jesus from the Gospel of Mark. Believe me when I say that I never thought I'd say This is the 10th installment of this series. I usually preach short and sweet, but I got in the Gospel of Mark and then I couldn't get out. Today we'll be in Mark Chapter six. I want to introduce my scripture by way of of a story. When I wrote my first book, I had the privilege to record the audiobook myself. They sent a very professional recording engineer from the publishing company to record the book, and he would stop me and correct me if I made any mistakes. If I got a little too Southern, he was a Northern Pharisee and he judged my accent. He'd say, it's a little twangy, let's get it again. Or if I smacked my lips or mispronounced a word, he'd back it up and make me catch it again. It was annoying. But I appreciated his professionalism and because the publisher was the largest publisher in the world, not the publisher I Wrote for. The publisher I wrote for was owned by a publisher who was owned by a publisher that was the biggest publishing company in the world. This guy worked for the big publisher because of it. He had worked with a lot of big names. This was my first book and my first time I kept having to take breaks. My mouth would get dry during one of those breaks. I realized this guy had worked with a lot of famous people. I asked him to tell me a story to entertain me during my break. I said, tell me about somebody you worked with. That was difficult. He told me a story about a very well known political figure. I don't know if the story is true, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story? That's my motto. I'm going to tell the story. I'm not going to say the name. But it was a famous political figure who was recording his memoir about his life. That was after he had served his term, four, eight years, something like that, in office. Not going to tell you who it was. But he said when they were recording the memoir, it was very long. It was about a 700 or 800 page book and it had to be an abridged version. So when they were recording the audiobook, they had to decide which sections to leave and which sections to skip. At one particular point in the memoir, there was a section about a scandal that happened in this particular notable figure's life related to offices of oval nature and things of this sort that happened during his tenure in what some call the highest office in the United States of America. When he was telling me about it, he said when they got to the part about the scandal, he said the person who wrote the memoir, the former president, this is falling apart, said he was going to skip it. He stopped the recording and he said, I think people are sick of hearing about this by now. I think we can skip this part. Do you think this is really significant? The audio engineer said it was a real challenge to look back at somebody who had been the most powerful man in the world. At one point he said, I had to look at him and say, yes, Mr. President, this is significant. That's my title for my message today. Look at your neighbor and say in your best Bill Clinton voice, tell him this is significant. Our scripture lesson for today comes from Mark, chapter six, something Mark the Evangelist included in his gospel record that he thought was significant for us to know about the ministry of Jesus Christ. Mark 6:45 records. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida he did not tell them to pack ponchos. He did not give them a warning about the storm they would encounter. Just a simple instruction. I wonder if God doesn't tell us everything because he knows we could not handle the details. So he dismissed the crowd and sent the disciples to get a head start. I'll meet you on the other side. You're almost going to die on the way. He didn't tell them that after leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake. He was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. Because God often looks like fear from a distance.
- [06:51]
Unknown Speaker
They cried out because they all saw.
- [06:52]
Steven Furtick
Him and were terrified immediately. Mark's favorite word. He spoke to them and said, take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid. Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely amazed. Touch the neighbor you've been ignoring and say, this is significant.
- [07:18]
Unknown Speaker
So if you've ever been around church.
- [07:20]
Steven Furtick
At all, you've heard this Bible story. If you've ever been anywhere near a church, you've heard about this Bible story. If you ever happened to drive by a church by accident, you heard this. If you ever played on a church softball team, you heard curse words. And this Bible story, it's a significant story because it teaches us that Jesus Christ is lord of all creation. Theologically, he is sovereign. He is sovereign. It's an epiphany story in that it gives us a revelation of Jesus Christ that is consistent with the revelation of Jesus Christ that was given in the Old Testament in a concealed form when a bush burned and a man named Moses was meeting with God. The disclosure at that point was, I am. Moses said, who are you? God said, I am. Now, it's interesting how God would spend the next several centuries filling in that blank that they would need to know him to be water in a dry place. They would need to know him to be a warrior in their battles. They would find all of this out, that he is sustainer in their weariness. Really, the rest of your life will be spent filling in that blank. Just about the time you think you have it figured out who God is, life will so shift beneath your feet that you will realize you didn't know him at all. The disciples have been with Jesus now for quite an extensive class. They've seen him touch lepers, they've seen him heal paralytics. They've even seen him raise dead people in certain situations. And yet there was something that amazed them in this moment, something they had not seen about him before. It's significant that Jesus told them to go forward and the wind was against them. That's significant because a lot of times I assumed in my life that if God sent me to do something, the wind would work with me. That's pretty much the premise of early Christianity. Turn your life over to God and He'll take your burdens away. Turn your life over to the Lord. What used to keep you up at night won't keep you up at night anymore because it'll be replaced by other stuff that will keep you up at night. Fill in the blank. You realize that a lot of times our claims to faith are actually our efforts to manipulate God until we discover in the course of time that just because the wind is against you doesn't mean God is not for you. Many times the confirmation God has spoken to you is the fact that the wind is against you. We're discovering this in our study of the Gospel of Mark. We are learning that resistance is often the greatest place for revelation. Would you please take that elevation pin that cost about 11 or 12 cents before you steal it from the church and use it to sign a check this week, write it down. Resistance leads to revelation. Resistance leads to revelation. The wind was against the disciples not because they disobeyed the words of Jesus, but because they went in the direction of his command. He sent them to Bethsaida. They went to Bethsaida. I got it when it was Jonah because the wind was against Jonah, because he wasn't going to Nineveh, he was going to Tarshish. And God said, go to Nineveh when you go to Tarshish, when you should go to Nineveh, expect the wind to be against you. Because God didn't send you to Tarshish, he sent you to Nineveh.
- [11:01]
Unknown Speaker
So I expect the wind to go against me. When God told me to go to Nineveh and I went to Tarshish. But when he told me to go to Bethsaida and I went to Bethsaida, I expect the wind to work with me. I expect God to bless me when I come to church. I expect good parking places because I came to church. I expect those shoes to go on sale because I came to church. I expect a promotion because I came to church. It makes me mad when somebody who didn't come to church slept in and they get a raise and I get fired. And I can't understand how God could be with me and the wind could be against me.
- [11:38]
Steven Furtick
Me.
- [11:38]
Unknown Speaker
But often the confirmation of the word of God is the resistance of the enemy to show you you're on the right track. Here's why. Here's why. I'm going to help somebody. You want to turn around and go back home? Because the wind is against you. The wind is against you so you will know it is the Lord's presence with you that makes you successful. If the wind was working with you, you would thank the wind when you.
- [12:05]
Steven Furtick
Got to your destination.
- [12:07]
Unknown Speaker
If it were easy, you would think the wrong things. If the wind wasn't against you, you wouldn't need the Lord to come and step into the wind and speak peace to the wind. So the wind has to be against you to prove the Lord is with you. Calm down, Furtick. This is just the introduction.
- [12:35]
Steven Furtick
So Jesus, Savage Jesus. The Jesus that's in the Bible, not the Jesus that's on Pinterest. Savage Jesus. Real life Jesus Monday morning, Jesus Friday, Jesus Saturday Jesus. Not the Jesus that is playing a harp and stroking the wool of the lamb, but the Jesus who sends his disciples into a storm and watches them strain. I have to go. You won't believe this. You're about to be really jealous. I got to go and sit on the mountain where Jesus prayed. The man who took us there last year knew everything about everything. I think he was Jesus. He took us up there. He said, here's where Jesus was praying in Mark, chapter six. Then he pointed to the lake. The Bible mentions where the storm was. From that mountain, you can see the whole lake. He dropped this on us right before he left us. He said, so the whole time they were straining, Jesus could see them. He walked off. I cried. I have a picture of me sitting on that mountain and there's Kleenex all around me. Because Holly just kept handing them to me, one after another. He saw them in the storm. Then after I got done crying. Because I realized he sees me in my storm. He knows what I'm going through. He knows what I deal with. He knows what people have done to me. He sees tears that I've cried on my pillow that nobody else knows about and that he sees what's going on in my soul that I can cover up in front of people, but I can't hide from him. After I got done crying about that, I got kind of angry. Because I thought if he could see them, why didn't he stop it all of a sudden? It felt kind of cruel to me that he would send them into a storm and see them in the storm and not stop the storm. I think it is significant that the Bible says he saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them. This is 48B. Walking on the lake. He was about to pass them by. I thought he would never leave me. I thought he would never forsake me. I thought he promised his presence to me. So he's about to pass them by and they were afraid. One interesting thing about this particular record in Mark's Gospel is that it was recounted by a man named Peter. Have you heard of him? He was a very outspoken disciple of Jesus Christ.
- [15:48]
Unknown Speaker
He was the one.
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Steven Furtick
I don't know if you're like this. He would say what everybody else thought. He was filter free.
- [15:58]
Unknown Speaker
When he was right, he was really right.
- [16:02]
Steven Furtick
When he was wrong, he was really wrong. I'll prove it to you.
- [16:07]
Unknown Speaker
He said, you are the Christ, the.
- [16:09]
Steven Furtick
Son of the living God. Jesus said, you are Petros, this rock. You are Peter, not Simon, not Shifty. Upon this rock I will build my church. The rock of his revelation of who Jesus was.
- [16:17]
Unknown Speaker
A few verses later, Jesus said, get behind me, Satan.
- [16:22]
Steven Furtick
And he was pointing at Peter because Peter said, you can't go to the cross. Peter opposed the very thing Jesus came to do, all in the same Bible chapter. This is Peter. Peter is the one telling Mark about this story so Mark can write it down.
- [16:37]
Unknown Speaker
Peter is the one recording the audiobook. Peter is the one giving Mark the gospel account. Mark wasn't a disciple. Mark was an evangelist. He compiled the story.
- [16:51]
Steven Furtick
Look, I'm going to show you something. We have four of these. We have four gospel accounts. The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ.
- [16:57]
Unknown Speaker
When we say the Gospel of of.
- [16:59]
Steven Furtick
Mark, it's the gospel according to Mark.
- [17:02]
Unknown Speaker
When we say the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Matthew, that's the gospel account they wrote down. John said Jesus did so much. If you wrote a whole book, if you tried to write down everything he did, the whole world could not contain it. If you wrote down all the works Jesus did, Wikipedia would break. So they had to decide what was significant enough to put in the gospel account that would prove what they wanted to prove about who Jesus was. When Mark got ready to write, he said, Jesus walked to the disciples in a storm and when he got in the boat, the Winds died down. When Matthew got ready to write it, he included something Mark left out. I'm going to read you now from Matthew 14. It's the same story, but there's one detail in this story that is omitted in Mark's Gospel, which is based on the recollection of Peter. And it's in Matthew's gospel, but not Mark's. So here's what we'll do. This will be an interactive class. When I get to the part that wasn't in Mark's Gospel, stop me. When I get to the part where you're saying, wait, that wasn't in the other one you read before. I want you to wave your hands and stop me. This is the only time that you are allowed to tell me to stop preaching. You can tell me to preach anytime you want. Preach faster. But when I get to this part today, I want you to stop me at every location. Let's start in verse 22. Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd.
- [18:37]
Steven Furtick
After he had dismissed them, he went.
- [18:39]
Unknown Speaker
Up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. So far, so good.
- [18:48]
Steven Furtick
We're good. Keep going. A few words. Different. Same stuff.
- [18:53]
Unknown Speaker
Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. And when the disciples saw him walking.
- [18:57]
Steven Furtick
On the lake, they were terrified.
- [18:58]
Unknown Speaker
It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid, Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come.
- [19:10]
Steven Furtick
Okay, okay, okay. What's wrong with you, Lord, if it's.
- [19:17]
Unknown Speaker
You, Peter replied, tell me to come.
- [19:20]
Steven Furtick
To you on the water. Come, he said, this is amazing. If I was writing my memoir, I'll put this in. Watch what happens next. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on water, and came toward Jesus. Oh, I'm totally putting that in. I'm totally including the part where everybody else was in the boat crying out in fear and I was walking on.
- [19:47]
Unknown Speaker
Water, transcending the laws of buoyancy, babe. If I ever walk on water and then I die and they're writing a story about my life, you make sure.
- [19:55]
Steven Furtick
They don't take that part out.
- [19:56]
Unknown Speaker
If I ever walk on water.
- [19:59]
Steven Furtick
I know I do. Metaphorically, in your heart.
- [20:01]
Unknown Speaker
But if I ever. Physically. If they ever write about me, I'm not saying they will, but if they do leave this in touch. Somebody say this is significant? This is a good question. How can Peter walk on water? When it comes time to tell Mark what to write about this night on the sea, tell Mark.
- [20:29]
Steven Furtick
You know, I think people.
- [20:32]
Unknown Speaker
Probably just about sick of hearing about this. Do you really think this is significant? Turn to your neighbor and say, yes.
- [20:43]
Steven Furtick
Mr. President, this is significant. I wonder if he left it out because of verse 30 so far. This is amazing. Peter is like, if it's you, tell me to come. Jesus is like, it's me, come. You know, the wind is blowing, so you can't hear that good. So Peter is like, did you hear him? He said, it's me, come. John is like, no. He said, peter, you're dumb.
- [21:23]
Unknown Speaker
Two people can hear the same thing.
- [21:30]
Steven Furtick
It's Yanny, not Laurel, by the way.
- [21:36]
Unknown Speaker
It's Yanny. It's Yanny, It's Yanny. Come to the altar. It's Yanny. You need your ears open.
- [21:49]
Steven Furtick
I lost half the church. You hear the same word a different way. The other disciples were operating on what Jesus told them before they left, which is, go. Go to Bethsaida. I'll meet you on the other side. Peter is operating out of what he feels in the moment. And he says to Jesus, if it's you, tell me to come. I've often preached about people Peter getting out of the boat. But sometimes the more significant faith is the willingness to stay in the storm, not the impulse to escape it. I'm not saying Peter was wrong. I'm just saying it takes faith to keep rowing when you can't see the shore.
- [22:38]
Unknown Speaker
Sometimes it takes even more faith to stay in the boat than it does.
- [22:43]
Steven Furtick
To step out of it.
- [22:45]
Unknown Speaker
When Peter gets to this part of the story, in his recollection, he does not see fit to include the part of the story where he said to Jesus, if it's you, tell me to come. I wonder if it's because of what happened in verse 30 that he left this out of his Gospel account. The Bible says he took several steps toward Jesus. For a moment he was walking on the water, and for a moment he was experiencing a miracle. But verse 30 says when he saw the wind, he heard the word, but then he saw the wind. I relate to this because sometimes I pay more attention to what I see than what God said. Anytime I give more focus to what I see than what God spoke, I start to sink. Peter is doing pretty good as long as he's going off of what he heard, because faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. All you need is one word from God. Peter wasn't walking on water. He was walking on a word. When you have a word from God, your kids can be acting crazy, your money can be acting funny. You can be in the darkest night of your life, but declare he is Lord.
- [24:20]
Steven Furtick
Then he saw the wind. The Bible says when he saw the wind, he began to sink. And he cried out, lord, save me. I thought, well, that's why Peter left it out. I think people don't really need to hear about this. We can leave that out, can't we? You know, you want to leave certain things out of your story, skip over certain parts and certain failures. There's some stuff, honestly, that you don't need to share with everybody. There's some stuff they don't even need to know about. Sometimes your greatest testimony is that you went through the fire, but you don't smell like smoke. When Peter was telling Mark what to write, I imagine Mark saying, shouldn't I put that part in where you climbed out of the boat? Mark said, I don't think you want to leave that out. Peter said, no, it's been a while now. Because this gospel is written decades after it happened. By this point, Peter has discovered something. Mark, chapter 6, verse 51. Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind died down. Peter said, it's not significant what happened when I climbed out of the boat. Let's read it again. Then Jesus climbed into the boat. Peter said, don't tell him what happened when I climbed out. Tell him what happened when he climbed in. That's so good. I want to sit down and then stand up and run a lap around this Ballantine building all by myself.
- [26:39]
Unknown Speaker
It's not important what happened when Peter climbed out.
- [26:43]
Steven Furtick
It's not important what happened when Peter stepped out.
- [26:46]
Unknown Speaker
It's not important what happened when they.
- [26:48]
Steven Furtick
Were straining all night.
- [26:50]
Unknown Speaker
All night long. They strained to get to Jesus, but the wind didn't stop while they were straining. The wind did not die down because Peter came to Jesus. The wind died down because Jesus came to Peter, and that's the gospel. Not that I came to God. Not because I was so good. Not because I was so glorious. Not because I got my act together. No, I'm not praising him because I got out of the boat. I'm praising him because he got in and the wind died down. Now go ahead and worship him for 18 seconds. Not because I got out, because he got in. I thought somebody say, this is significant. Not that I love God, but that he loved me. I'm in a storm right now. But the storm is not significant because help is on the way. It's the contrast of straining versus submission.
- [28:23]
Steven Furtick
He was showing them to do what he commanded the wind to submit. They were amazed at this. They were amazed that the wind did what he said.
- [28:41]
Unknown Speaker
In fact, the wind did what he didn't even have to tell it to do.
- [28:48]
Steven Furtick
Let me preach to LJ for a minute. He gets bored back here because he has to play three times on the weekend. I just want to tell him this real quick because I didn't mention it in any other of the worship experiences. Last time Jesus calmed a storm, he said, peace, be still. So he calmed the storm with his words. This time, if you check the record, he didn't even say anything to the storm. The storm stopped. Just because he sat down in the boat with the disciples, that lets me know that all I need is his presence.
- [29:18]
Unknown Speaker
I don't need proof that he is with me. When he got in the boat, the storm sat down. When he sat down, why? He is the puppet. He is the Lord. He is the great. I am. He is the bread of life. He sent them against the wind because he needed a situation to reveal his sufficiency. That's what he needed. The storm served that purpose.
- [29:55]
Steven Furtick
Just like the hungry crowd. Verse 52 tells us why they were amazed. Look at somebody say, this is significant. Only about 45% of you did what I told you to do. Tell them this is significant. They were amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves. Their hearts were hardened. What does bread have to do with a boat? This is where we need to mention a significant miracle. This miracle is so significant that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all put it in their memoir, their audiobook. They put it in even though it wasn't a resurrection or a healing. One day, Jesus fed 5,000 men, the women and the children, and he did it with a little boy's lunch. I personally think Peter beat up the little boy and took his lunch. Only reason why I have kids. I have never seen my kids voluntarily do anything sacrificial. So in my mind, the little boy did not willingly offer his lunch. But you read the Bible how you want to read the Bible on your own time. Right now I have the microphone. Peter beat up the boy, took his lunch, brought it to Jesus. This is significant. This miracle is so significant because Jesus, when he was feeding the crowd, he was revealing himself as the Christ. Everybody ate and they all got their fill that day pointed out real quick. While we Have a moment, because I don't know when I'll get to see you again. Some of you don't come to church enough. Just while we're here. The miracle came from somebody who was not even included in the official count. It was 5,000 men, women and children. God's greatest miracles often come from what people consider insignificant sources. That's why you can't let the world ever define your significance. Because the world celebrates all the wrong stuff. We find significance in status.
- [32:30]
Unknown Speaker
We find significance.
- [32:32]
Steven Furtick
Sometimes we even call it our significant other.
- [32:37]
Unknown Speaker
But this is an announcement. You don't need any other to be significant. I'm not against the term. I'm not against the term. But you don't have to be a Duchess of Sussex to be significant. No, not to be significant in the eyes of God. If significance was predicated on marital status, Jesus was insignificant. He was never married. Neither was Paul. But the world celebrates all the wrong stuff. And so we wait for its significance to be assigned by something outside of God. But I am not significant because somebody recognized me as significant. I am significant because of someone who died for me, who created me, and who lives in me. This is significant.
- [33:32]
Steven Furtick
Real quick, Real quick.
- [33:33]
Unknown Speaker
I'm really proud of Elevation Worship. They got nominated for a Billboard Award Christian album, Christian song. Oh, Come to the Altar. I think that's really cool, and I think it's wonderful. I don't know if we'll win it or not.
- [33:50]
Steven Furtick
Somebody said we probably won't win it this year.
- [33:53]
Unknown Speaker
It's not a competition. But I'd love to beat Hill's song. Don't put this online. Edit this out.
- [33:58]
Steven Furtick
One day.
- [33:59]
Unknown Speaker
Maybe we will. But I'm not waiting to see if we win the award. Here's why. I saw oh, come to the Altar when it was born.
- [34:11]
Steven Furtick
I remember when we wrote it and.
- [34:13]
Unknown Speaker
Imagined our church singing it. Then I saw the church start to sing it. I saw people baptized while we were.
- [34:21]
Steven Furtick
Singing oh, come to the altar I.
- [34:23]
Unknown Speaker
Saw people baptized while we were singing. The father's arms are open wide Forgiveness was bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. So I don't need Billboard to tell me what baptism already did. So if Chris Brown gets an award, that's wonderful. But if Billboard didn't recognize oh, come to the altar, touch somebody, say it's still significant. If people appreciate me, that's why wonderful. But if they never recognize me, I'm still significant. There's a word for somebody. If I have a date, great. If I don't, I'm still significant. If I Get the job, wonderful. If I don't, I'm still significant. If you like me, good, let's hug it out. But if not.
- [35:22]
Steven Furtick
I'm almost done. This is significant. I saw Chris Brown in a prison during Love Week. He wasn't a member. He was there voluntarily. For the record. He was singing. He finished singing and we were leaving. I preached, he sang. A prisoner came up to me and said, before you go, can you sing? I'll come to the altar. That's the song that got me through. I hope he can get a billboard. I watched him single come to the altar to one prisoner. That was significant. It's hard to see the significance of the season you're in. You see it better when you're out of it. That's why it's hard to raise kids. I love being a parent. I joke about it a lot. It's actually my favorite thing I do. I just play around like it's hard for me. It's just super easy. I always know the wisdom, and I'm always. I like watching my kids play all these sports. It's kind of hard sometimes because now they have so much pressure on us as parents. Maybe this is a suburban thing. I don't know. You have to be at every recital or your kid is going to end up in therapy as a serial killer. It's pressure. I try to get out there sometimes it's running around and is this significant? Is this significant? Then I get. I get caught up in insignificant things, and I miss significant things. The disciples almost missed the miracle that day of the feeding of the 5,000, the one that's in all four Gospels. Maybe that's why they all included it, because they all almost missed it, because they wanted to send the crowds away. Can I show you something real quick? This is Graham. Y' all got it in the back. I didn't use it the other times, but yeah, this is grandpinning a joker. It was good. It was a little tournament. That was the championship match of the tournament. It was on a Saturday. Normally, I'd be preaching. That particular Saturday, I had somebody else preaching for me. Look who he's looking at now. Guess who he's looking at when he's been pinning. He just pinned him. The ref just slapped the mat. And he looks up like, what? I like it. Because what he said to me when he came back up, I said, isn't it cool how I wasn't preaching today so I could watch you win this tournament? What if I had missed it? He said, well, if you had Missed it. I probably wouldn't have won it. I was like, if you never say anything, just never talk again until you go to college. Let's end on that note. The same thing. You could take it down. Although I'd be happy to put it on Instagram for you anyway. It's hard to know sometimes. You don't always get to see the gold medal. They don't hand out a gold medal. In fact, when it says that the disciples did not understand about the loaves, they were amazed. Show the verse again. Verse 52. This verse got my attention, really. This is my whole message. Because it says they were amazed when he got in the boat and the winds died because they had not understood about the loaves. It just happened. It was the thing that happened right before the storm. It had just happened. It wasn't years later and they forgot it had just happened. You know how God provides for you and then you go into a different test and you forget the lesson because it's a different test. God provided for you in a bigger way back there. But now you're struggling with a little thing here, and you trip over an.
- [40:04]
Unknown Speaker
Insignificant thing when God has already done.
- [40:07]
Steven Furtick
The most significant thing, which is to save your soul.
- [40:14]
Unknown Speaker
They understood about the loaves on one.
- [40:16]
Steven Furtick
Level, physically, they ate.
- [40:19]
Unknown Speaker
They understood about the loaves on one.
- [40:21]
Steven Furtick
Level, the crowds were fed.
- [40:23]
Unknown Speaker
But what they didn't understand is that Jesus did not feed the multitudes so they could know what he did. He fed the multitudes so they could know who he was. The lesson of the loaves is not, I am your Burger King your way right away. The lesson of the loaves is not that you will never be hungry or you will never hurt, or you will never wonder, or you will never doubt. The lesson of the loaves is, I am the bread of life.
- [40:53]
Steven Furtick
I am.
- [40:54]
Unknown Speaker
It is me. It was me when you were hungry, it was me when you were lonely. It was me when you were depressed, it was me when you were anxious. It was me on the mountaintop. It was me in the valley. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I will fear no evil. He is with me in this moment. It's me. It was me then and it's me now. It was me who got you through that. It's me who will see you through this. If I am in the boat, the wind must submit to my word.
- [41:32]
Steven Furtick
I am with you. And they didn't get it.
- [41:37]
Unknown Speaker
They saw the miracle.
- [41:40]
Steven Furtick
They experienced a miracle. They're the ones who handed out the.
- [41:44]
Unknown Speaker
Bread to the people.
- [41:47]
Steven Furtick
But you can experience a miracle and miss the significance. So God saved you, but what did he save you for? So you could spend the rest of your life carrying the shame he died to take away and nailed to his cross. Is that what he saved you for?
- [42:09]
Unknown Speaker
God saved you, but what did he save you for? So you could live the rest of your life just as selfish as you.
- [42:13]
Steven Furtick
Lived the first part of your life, but with a cross around your neck.
- [42:15]
Unknown Speaker
This time, what did he save you for? You can experience the miracle of salvation but miss the significance of it. God didn't just save you from. He saved you for a purpose, a mission, a calling.
- [42:43]
Steven Furtick
The miracle was not just that the people were fed. The miracle was not just that they ate bread. The miracle is not just what God does for you. The miracle is that you see who he is. This is beautiful. It is so beautiful that it bears repeating. In Mark, chapter eight, this miracle is so significant, it happens again. One way you can tell when something is important is when it is repeated. The disciples find themselves in a situation that is very similar. There are a big crowd, there's no food. Like last time when you were worried and upset and you didn't think you were going to make it, and you made it. Now here you are again, and the wind is blowing again, and you don't think you're going to make it. But spoiler alert, you will.
- [43:42]
Unknown Speaker
That's the lesson of the lows. I didn't mean to ruin the movie for you, but at the end of this thing, you're going to be in Betsy. Because if he told you, I'll meet you on the other side. You don't die in the lake in the middle of the night. Come on, Church. Has he not shown you? Don't you see it? Don't you hear it? It's the same voice.
- [44:12]
Steven Furtick
The same guy. He feeds the crowd. In Mark, chapter eight, the Bible says. Mark 8:14, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. Stand up. It'll make me close quicker. Don't leave, It'll make me angry. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. I don't mean to correct the scripture, but there were actually two loaves in the boat. One of them was the bread they could see.
- [44:50]
Unknown Speaker
Be careful.
- [44:51]
Steven Furtick
Jesus warned them. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod. He is warning them against the seemingly insignificant compromises that corrode your faith. Watch out, he said. Your words are significant. Your habits are significant, your friendships are significant. Watch out for that Yeast. When he said yeast, they thought about bread. They discussed this with one another and said, it is because we have no bread. They still didn't get it. They saw him do it and they still didn't get that he was it. They're still worried about provision. You're still worried about bills. We're still thinking on the level of what we can see. Jesus, aware of their discussion, asked them a why are you talking about having no bread? Why are you worrying about something I've already worked out?
- [46:06]
Unknown Speaker
Why are you doubting something you've already seen me do so many times before?
- [46:16]
Steven Furtick
Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? Do you still hear Laurel when it's really Yanny?
- [46:29]
Unknown Speaker
And don't you remember.
- [46:33]
Steven Furtick
When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up? 12, they replied. When I read that, I thought the significance of the miracle was in the numbers. 5 is the number of grace in the Bible. It represents grace. It's symbolic. 12 disciples, 12 tribes, a number of government. I thought it was about the numbers. But then verse 20 says, When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up? Then I said, well, seven is the number of completion. 4,000. Really? I can't really do anything with that. They answered, seven. He said, do you still not understand? Then I read it again when I broke. Then I read verse 20 when I broke. And I realized the significance of the miracle is that the bread had to be broken. They wouldn't understand this really. Until he went to the cross, they ate the bread, but they did not understand the significance until he was crushed for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities because the bread couldn't be given until it was broken. When you are in a breaking season of your life and you are being broken, of your pride and your stubbornness and your opinions, and you're straining against the wind, it is easy to begin to believe that it is going to break you. But God will not allow life to break you. That's his job. When you're in his hands, like the song said, prepare that chorus of do it again. We're going to sing it. I'm still in your hands. We're going to sing that. We're going to understand that the lesson of the loaves is not that everybody went home with a full belly. The lesson of the loaves is the end of your story is not that you are broken. The end of the story is the basketfuls. This story does not end in brokenness. This story ends with leftovers.
- [48:59]
Unknown Speaker
I want to let you know today this is significant. God is not done with you. I said God is not done with you. You I'm preaching this word for somebody.
- [49:10]
Steven Furtick
Who has been straining against the wind.
- [49:12]
Unknown Speaker
Grace is coming to your boat. The bread is in the Master's hands.
- [49:18]
Steven Furtick
And the bread was only broken to be given. Lift your hands in the presence of God. No one moving. This is my confidence that he is faithful.
- [49:33]
Unknown Speaker
Yes, I'm still in your hands. This is my confidence. You never fail. Your promise still stands. Great is your faithfulness. Faithfulness. I'm still in your hands. This is my confidence. You never fail. Your promise still stands great is your faithfulness. Faithfulness. I see your this is my confidence.
- [50:28]
Steven Furtick
Listen, here's what you do. You take what you learned from the loaves and you remember it. In the storm you take the basket full from the last time God provided for you. And the next time the wind begins to rage in your life, you remember.
- [50:48]
Unknown Speaker
That if Jesus is in this place, boat with me. If I draw near to God, he will draw near to me as we worship him as the Son of God. Today the wind has to die down. Anxiety has to shut its mouth in the presence of God because we know who he is and we've seen what he's done. We have faith for what he's going to do. Does anybody believe he's with you in this season?
- [51:20]
Steven Furtick
And I believe I see you do it again. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to Give now or visit elevationchurch.orgpodcast 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 LevationChurch. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
- [51:58]
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- [52:58]
Steven Furtick
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