This Isn't What I Pictured | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church

how many are ready for the Word of God I just have a Christmas devotional thought today from Hebrews 11 verse 3 it is not customarily seen as a Christmas scripture but let's look at the picture of Jesus Christ through this frame today Hebrews 11:3 King James Version you thought I was playing this holiday season but I am NOT King James Version Hebrews 11:3 ready through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear through faith we understand how many know there are some things you can only understand through faith through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear lord I thank you that your word is already blessed open our hearts to receive it now in Jesus name Amen you may be seated couple years ago I took all three of the kids on a carriage ride downtown Charleston and I took them on the carriage ride because I'm a good good father and Holly wanted to shop and also another reason I took them on a carriage ride is because I'm an idiot and because Abbey begged me to she was about five her big brothers told her this is a bad idea you're not gonna like it it's gonna be boring but she insisted we walked by this picture of a carriage ride she said can we go I bought the tickets I told the woman of God I'm gonna give you a about an hour of shopping childless shopping and she said oh thank you thank you man of God she said I receive it in Jesus name got on the carriage ride within three minutes Abbey had a full-scale meltdown on the carriage ride she was bored she was restless she was disappointed and her brother's whoa her brothers took the opportunity to remind her we told you that this would suck of course we don't say suck in my family it's a preacher's family but we were all kind of embarrassed because of course we weren't the only ones on the carriage ride and within 10 minutes she was crying so loudly that I had to go into my you know if you're a parent you have a yelling voice that's quiet it's louder than a scream and you have to use it in public when you want to convey urgency without raising decibels and I said baby girl with a smile I said it to a baby girl you're the one who wanted to come on this carriage ride I'm gonna need you to dry it up and enjoy this carriage ride so we got 30 more minutes and you're the only one who wanted to come on the carriage ride so whatever's going on right now I need you to deal with it and listen to this man tell us the history of all these houses on this carriage ride she goes she's trying to stop crying and she goes but this isn't what I pictured the title of my sermon is this isn't what I pictured sometimes life takes you on a ride come on who's gonna be real with me today looks like we got all angels in this section let me turn over here have you ever had life hand you a whopper but it didn't look like the commercial this isn't what I pictured and it is a very difficult thing to adjust your perspective when you pictured it one way and the product turns out to be another some of you came to church crying today because when we started 20 19 or whatever you you happen to be watching this in the time capsule in the future on the Internet I just want this sermon to have a long shelf life and you started the year with a picture of transformation new beginnings restoration and this isn't what I pictured you know so it's a real thing even to this day we'll tell Abbey it's gonna be like the carriage ride it's a way when she wants to do something we don't want to do we remind her carriage ride carriage ride which is fine when you're only out of $85 but what what about when it's your relationship and it isn't what I pictured or even your relationship with God maybe you're saying you know I started one way believing that God would do certain things for me because he is my provider and yet I came into deeper relationship with God and this isn't is there anybody in the whole church and if not I can come to Gaston next week is there anybody in the whole church that is living in a scene that you did not picture in this season and and that's why Hebrews 11:3 gives a contrast between what God sees and what you see to let you know that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear but I'm getting ahead of myself because the fact of the matter is everyone has a picture of how life is supposed to go when you are supposed to get married when you are supposed to get a promotion what kind of career your children were supposed to be interested in some of you you had your child's whole career they were gonna go to an Ivy League school be a starting quarterback and a Magna sumukha Malati and all of that and they don't even like sports and they don't even want to go to Community College and study and this isn't what I pictured didn't you get the memo so let me just ask you a question where did you get your picture where did you get your picture did you get it from the Instagram because if you did I'm praying for you real hard Catholic Pentecostal I'll do it all because if you got your picture for what life is supposed to be like from the little glimpses that other people give you when they are posing perfectly you will always be frustrated and while I'm on it let me say something about the show this is us which I love Jack Pearson isn't real he's not real I told Holly the other day I said and please don't be offended I hope you didn't bring a relative for this to help you're not bringing the relatives until next weekend for the Christmas program but but some shows that we watch I call it emotional porn because it is perfectly airbrushed and then when you compare the real thing to a picture that was surgically altered and cropped and filtered how in the world are we supposed to feel fulfilled about our real lives when we spend so much time getting our picture from other people's pretension come on and help me preach 5 seconds if you know He's a real God He's the real thing so it means that there are all these things that I see and all these things that I don't see and God operates from an invisible picture while I am trying to make sense out of my life from what is visible God sees something different enter Jesus Matthew chapter 1 verse 18 this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about Matthew is done with the genealogy now the part of the Christmas story that would put you right to sleep if I read all of those names not only would you be praying for my pronunciation but you would lose your focus yet all of it is important because it is all the backstory to help us understand how Jesus came into the world now if you don't understand how Jesus came you will misunderstand why Jesus came if we think He came like our superheroes that we pay ticket prices to go and see we will expect Him to come in a certain way and we will picture Him in a way that will cause us to miss Him when he really shows up where did you get your picture where did you get your picture of God what do you picture when you worship God where did you get that picture is He white is He black is He is He perfectly dialed to be an exact representation of every ethnicity is He a man is He not a man it is is your God King Triton of the Little Mermaid just zap and stuff where did you get your picture and what if He isn't what you picture I'm really gonna I'm really gonna create some some empty seats for next week because gonna be crowded for Christmas heaven is not going to be like you picture it right now let me tell you why some of the people that you can't stand are going to be there some of the people who don't believe the right stuff some of the people who didn't share the same denominational dogma as you when we get to heaven a lot of us are gonna be surprised because it won't look like the picture and so this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about Matthew says John starts it differently he says in the beginning was the word in the Word was with God in the Word was God and he was there with God in the beginning and all things were made through him Colossians says by him and for him but Matthew is starting with the human perspective of how Jesus Christ came about of course in verse 17 he says thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David from David to the Babylonian exile and then fourteen from the Exile to Christ fourteen fourteen fourteen public-school there's 42 generations of faith that brought Jesus into the earth and yet the logos are the Word was with God pre-existent pre-incarnate God was the word of God now I promise you this is important so please stay with me because before Jesus was seen He existed before He appeared He existed just like everything in your life before it is seen it exists by the time it becomes a behavior it was a belief for a long time by the time it becomes a feeling it was a thought so just like there is a genealogy of Jesus there is a genealogy of our emotions there's a genealogy of our habits there is a pattern where we're knowing how something started can help you to trust when you don't see it in the process I'm preaching real good today this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph but before they came together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to Public Disgrace he had in mind and I love this phrase he had in mind to divorce her quietly or to put her away quietly he had in mind so much of the decisions that we make in our lives that cause us confusion or because we do what we had in mind before we consult God to see what He has in store now can I keep going but after he considered this now why does the angel appears to him but why did the angel appear at this point after Mary was already found to be pregnant in other words why did God let Joseph go several months without knowing what he wanted to do and and what it was all about and then appear after he had already made it his plan and had in mind what he wanted to do after he had considered this an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit why couldn't you tell me that six months ago why couldn't you have told me that before I got the papers drawn up why does God wait until after you have made a plan to interrupt it and this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about the greatest hope that the world was ever given came through the greatest disappointment that Joseph would ever know and I wonder is that happening in somebody's life today this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about when Joseph had made up his mind how he needed to handle the situation and yet God interrupts Joseph's plan to fulfill a greater purpose now if you go by your picture you will make your plan the only problem is God might have a different picture than you I know y'all don't like it but it's the facts this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about you know we have our nativity scene it's got a baby Jesus and the wise men well first of all no record that there was three of them the three gifts I don't know how many how many Magi were there but I'll tell you this they didn't get there when Jesus was born Jesus could have been two years old by the time they got there but two-year-old Jesus's and his cute on a nativity scene and Precious Moments can't sell it you know toddlers aren't so adorable so they had to put little baby umbilical cord Jesus on the manger scene but he was he was older than that now now the shepherds are there in your nativity scene too aren't they the Wiseman and the shepherds weren't there at the same time let's see now they want to sell you extra figures so they have to put them all together at the same time it's the profit margin issue right it's not an accuracy thing and how you how you pictured Christmas is probably wrong He wasn't even born in a manger that's how we translated in English it was it was more of a guest room that would have looked more like a cave but how you gonna sell a manger scene with a a cave you know what if it isn't how you pictured it what if how God wants to use you isn't how you pictured it what if the way he's going to work in your marriage isn't how you pictured it and Joseph has this this word from God to go from to understand by he understands by his eyes his sight he's gonna miss it we always will if he understands by his senses his feelings his emotions he'll miss him emotionally and mentally he has already decided I'm done with this and some of you came to church today and you've already decided to quit I'm giving up on this I'm giving up on joy I'm giving up on peace I'm giving up on hope that's why some of you aren't in the building you're watching on a screen because you gave up on even being a part of a church because when you picked your church you picture-perfect people who would never hurt you but guess what we are imperfect just like you so if you want to hook up you got to understand we're screwed up too but if you picture it as perfect then with this is Lord I hear you lord I love it when this happens God show me exactly what He said He said He said the problem isn't your situation it's your picture the problem is not the situation the problem is the picture mary had her dress picked out but now she's not gonna get to wear it she's gonna be way too big for this dress by the time she walks the aisle Joseph had his plan picked out but now he's not gonna get to do it which is hard for a carpenter because carpenters plan they make a living off of measuring and planning but after he had measured it in his mind God spoke to his spirit and said what is in her is from Me I know it's not what you pictured but it's Me I know it's not what you expected but it's Me I know it's not your preference but it's Me I know it doesn't fit your tradition but it's Me I know that you feel lonely and there are some missing pieces but it's Me and are you trying to build your life by the wrong picture of what you thought it would be or what you think you're supposed to be wouldn't it be dumb to try to buy a puzzle to build it according to a picture that was on the cover of somebody else's puzzle try it if you go over to a friend's house and they have a puzzle of this analogy is a little weak but bear with me if you see a picture go buy a puzzle that doesn't match the picture and try to open that box with those pieces and build a picture and see how much fun you have with it so God says I gave you the pieces for the picture that I have in mind for your life according to My purpose before you were ever born so I got the right pieces I've got the right gifts I've got the right temperament if I submit it to the Holy Spirit and don't let it get out of control but this isn't what I pictured switch the picture switch the picture when you have a picture of yourself as worthless you will build your life according to that picture you will sabotage yourself because you build by what you feel but now if God says I'm righteous if I switch the picture to what he sees and if I assume that he's always working if I switch the picture Joseph it's me I started this this is you this going to take Mary home but it's me and it's hard to believe this God when it doesn't feel good Joseph is like um are you sure because he had to think about it he had to ponder the beautiful verse in the Bible it says Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit what's in her is from Me what's in her is from Me it's in her but it's from Me God says what's in you is from Me what's in you is from Me and I'm just comforted by that because sometimes I feel pressure about what I perceived to be missing pieces even as a preacher I always wished that I could that I could preach like other preachers that I see and I'll tell you exactly who I want to preach like you know the guys that stand still and they are just so profound and they have one of the mics that never moves and they just it's just so they're so calm and I like that and I go on Amazon looking for robes and I think man that would be cool because it expends a lot of energy all this moving around and even sometimes I come up and I try to preach like one of them you know but then something just I can't I mean I really I really don't plan to freak out and spaz out and I watch myself back and I'm like why do you have to be like that why can't you be dignified but something inside of me when I start doing it I just gotta do it how I do it I gotta do it like the pieces in my box are meant for the picture that won't y'all won't help me preach what's in you is from God what's in me is from Him I got every piece I got wisdom I've got strength I've got anointing I've got authority in the name of Jesus to overcome every wicked thing that rises to oppose me now shove three people say it's in you it's in you it's in you right now and it's growing and it's kicking and it's meant to be and you're not missing anything you got it all you got every piece for the picture for in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and watch this the word was God so let me ask you a question let's take a vote this is the first church vote that I remember in the history of Elevation Church but let's be Baptists for the next 30 seconds who had the harder job Mary or Joseph before you answer this because in just a moment I'm gonna call on you to raise your hand at every location if you are married I want to strongly encourage you to consider carefully the cost of answering this question honestly but who says Mary had the harder job you know there they are all the women who have borne children into this world come on let's celebrate Mother's Day early thank God for you amen raise your hand if you say yes Mary it's very right because she had very little choice she was already pregnant by the time she found out about the purpose too late if you don't like it and then then you got Joseph y'all my kids came up to me the other day and they said do you know Joe now here's what's hilarious I said Joe mama and they say how did you know that cuz they think they started jomama I was doing jomama while you were still on your unframed form was not even in the picture yet I gave him a genealogy of jomama I remember jomama from the Golden Girls remember the Golden Girls you too but I promise you Joe mama is old this didn't start with you I came to say that to somebody about what God is doing in your life this didn't start with you and this doesn't end here and Joseph has in mind to walk away but God has something different in store because God is building with a different picture so who believes that Joseph had the harder job raise your hand I applaud your courage it's an unpopular stance I kind of see where you're coming from I kind of see where you're coming from because verse 21 tells us Mary's job and Joseph's job let's read it together Matthew chapter 1 verse 21 she will give birth and you are to give him the name which one you want to do give birth or give the name and so physically there's no argument but see what is striking to me about Joseph you never heard the Christmas carol Joseph did you know now Mary know Mary knew because it was her body Mary knew that this has to be God because she knows whether or not she has been with another man and I'm gonna leave it at that in case you didn't get your kids to eKidz this morning I'm not gonna I'm not gonna do kind of details on this but Mary knew this has to be God because I consulted my experience and I'm a virgin and I haven't been with a man so if if I'm carrying something it didn't come from human means I know it cuz it's my body Joseph didn't know and he would never really know so he had to believe maybe that's the hardest job of all to believe what you can't see to believe what you can't be sure off to believe what you can't prove Joseph said I I never knew you know the rest of his life he would live probably halfway wandering was it really God that got her pregnant and not you go into uh right you going to men's group and you're like guys is good I was praying the Lord told me I was I was actually sleeping I was in a dream and the Lord told me and don't worry Mary saw a vision too and we're gonna work this out and we're gonna go home do you not think Joseph spent the rest of his life looking cross-eyed at people trying to figure out now your nose looks kind of like that long nose with checking out those ears you know Ronnie has kind of long years right there I saw Ronnie and Mary cuz Joseph didn't know because faith does not operate by sensory knowledge because faith enables us to understand that God is with us even if we do not see Him in the picture I need you to receive this by faith you are to give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins now here's the culmination of the text that I want to share with you all this took place everything you didn't picture everything you don't understand all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the Prophet and then he quotes Isaiah 7:14 which says the Virgin will be with child and give birth to a son and they will call Him Immanuel which means God with us and I've been listening to a song all week that says even when I don't see it you're working and even when I don't feel it you're working and I need you to make a declaration by faith every mouth in this room open up and say God is with me right now God is with me right now come on say it again God is with me right now some of y'all did another campus you're not saying it but you're not saying it to me so say it out loud for yourself say God is with me right now and remember that the things which are seen are not made with things that do appear so God does not build with carpenter material that you can see and fabricate your faith with your physical senses when God builds something it will not look like what you pictured He has a different picture and He builds according to His picture now the message of Christmas is about his presence not my picture the message of Christmas says that the worlds were framed frame framed I know they use it in a construction way but this is a visual term frame they frame it the frame the world did you get your picture from the world or from the word did you get your picture of what a man is supposed to be of what a woman is supposed to be of what success is of what fulfillment is of what purpose did you get it from the word or the world because the Bible says that my faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God frame and are you framing this season of your life with your faith or with your fear honestly now answer and honestly as you look at what you cannot understand in your life right now because every hand in the room that I saw went up when I said is it different than what you pictured is it different than what you pictured someone this was an insult someone said to me one time when I walked in they said oh I never saw you before I listened to your podcast you're not what I picture I said what did you picture they said I pictured you bigger I pictured you bigger I pictured it I pictured a bigger a picture at this age I would be passed some certain things I pictured I pictured it different I pictured I picture parenting way different I thought we'd be doing Drivetime devotionals from the original Greek of Philippians I thought we'd be doing Bible sword drills I didn't know they'd be pulling out real swords stabbing each other with forks in the kitchen before y'all are looking at me so holy it's different than what you picture it's better but it is different it's different ministry is different than what I pictured let me go all the way adulthood is different than what I pictured can we be real with one another for a moment it's different they they sold us something that is real we're supposed to have this figured out I'm supposed to have good sense I'm supposed to be a fully cooked turkey by now and I'm coming out the oven and I'm still wrong and I've got mouths to feed it's different than the picture so when they put the sermon online for the video they have to switch between different shots and they have instructions to use of what shots they put on the screen even now while I'm preaching and because I move around so much like the spastic preacher that I am these are highly trained competent individuals somehow they always keep me in the center love the center of the picture but what if the switcher fell asleep you know just real quick I'm I'm gonna do it example because I want you to see this imagine if the person on the switcher that goes from the tight shot to the wide shot and boosts the thing on the thing that's the technical terms what if they first show them what you're supposed to do okay let's say I do a lateral movement over here to the side look you have a shot for that but suppose they didn't put it on that other shot now for the maximum benefit of this illustration if you are at Ballentyne watch the screen if you're at another campus you got the competitive advantage right now because sometimes God does this watch the screen watch the screen sometimes God does this now the only conclusion you can come to if you are using your eyes is that the the person who was in the picture is no longer in the building the only way for you to know I'm still here is to go not by what you see but by what you hear so right now those of you who cannot see me on the screen watch the screen y'all are disobedient watch the screen you can't see me on the screen but if you know my voice if you know my voice you will know that I did not leave you nor forsake you in the beginning was the word and the word was here before you were and the word was spoken before you saw your frame so when I don't feel Him He's with me cuz His name is Emmanuel I can't see Him but I trust Him cuz He spoke it and I will see it with the eyes of my faith He's with me on my good day He's with me on my bad day He's with me when I've got it He's with me when I don't even know where to look He's with me when they like me He's with me when nobody will return my texts He's with me when I'm married He's with me when I'm divorced He's with me when I've got a job He's with me when I don't see a way to pay him He's with me when I'm well He's with me when I'm sick He's with me in the with a clear sky He's with me in the storm I've just gotta change my frame if He spoke it you will see it come up raise Him like you know He's with you He's with me He's with me He's with me He's with me what's in me it's from me and my God it's for me He's with me so don't be afraid to go home and do what God told you don't be afraid to face your fears with the frame of faith because the things which are seen were made by the things which don't appear I know it in what's your picture I know it in what you plan you remember when we were in the nursing home for Thanksgiving my dad was 62 something like that 62 years old in a nursing home not because we didn't want to kid here it was so tense in our family that he decided he wouldn't want to live with any of us we couldn't take care of he had Lou Gehrig's disease and we tried to take care of but couldn't take care of him we were eating microwaved Thanksgiving in the nursing home with my dad knowing good and well we wanted him in our house and nobody was on speaking terms you talk about awkward ham doesn't taste right when you try to microwave it none of us pictured this I know you didn't picture this God isn't building your picture He's building His purpose so Joseph Joe Joe did you know Joseph would say no uh-uh I just believe I had one thing in mind God had another thing in store I went with God God went with me and I have what I need in the box to be the picture that He created in His heart so no I'm not trying to build somebody else's life or somebody else's idea of what I'm supposed to be not anymore I tried that it is so stressful I can't afford the doctor bill or the stomach medicine for that kind of living I gotta build what God put inside of me for the picture that He sees and the worlds the frame switch the picture switch the picture be who God called you to be celebrate what He gave you pull everything close that you still have left wrap your arms around it and make the most of it switch the picture yeah it's gonna be a different Christmas for some of us I understand that but God God pictured it all along you know when Isaiah said a virgin will conceive he saw that hundreds of years before it happened God was already building the picture 42 generations and God knew the picture and if you get too tightly zoomed into this one scene or this one moment or this one struggle or this one issue you're gonna miss the bigger picture God knows where to put you He knows what He put in you and He knows what He wants to do through you so take Mary home by faith and do what the angel of the lord commanded you to do know what you feel or what you thought or switch the picture everyone's standing I want to pray for people this Christmas season who need to switch the picture switch the picture and put God back in the center of the frame put His presence and His joy and His peace see when you understand how He came you can understand why He came please answer me who was this message it was just for you it was just for you was just for you was just for you okay I'm gonna tell you three things about how He came I'll give them to you so quick number one He came through someone that everyone else thought was insignificant so the first word you need to know about how He came is insignificant he did not come through a matriarch of royal lineage He came through a little girl who was so scared that when the angel came she said how can this be He came through someone who saw no way that what God wanted to do for the world could happen through her and so it has always been I know we get excited when an actor or an actress or a celebrity or a politician or rock star or a rapper gets excited about Jesus but Christ is born in every heart that will receive him by faith and God is using you if you are a coach if you are a student if you are up if you are a businessman if you are if you are a police officer if you are nothing more you like don't just stop saying that God always chooses to use what people deem insignificant so there is nothing insignificant about your pieces for your picture that's number one number two it was impossible it was a virgin womb because God wanted to let you know that impossible situations are the places where faith is born so if that is impossible for you it is fertile for God if you understand how he came through a virgin womb he didn't have to do that but he wanted you to know if you were facing something where you don't see away if you don't see it but he spoke it and you will believe it by faith it will come to pass that's how he came he came for impossible situations broken hearts broken homes broken lives but what I love the most what I love the very most is that it was intimate he came in the most intimate way He was born of a virgin and he comes into your heart when you receive him by faith he longs to be personal with you this season but if you get somebody else's picture and try to put something together that's not in you you will miss his presence he wants to speak to you use you bless you help you this is personal this is intimate God of all grace kolobok comfort I have delivered your word to the best of my ability with your help and I thank you for what you spoke in this place today your word is good see I pray that it falls up on good soil today I pray for those today who were living in a picture that they never planned for I think we all are or I'll moving through this life we saw it one way and now we are experiencing yet another and yet you are here always here still Emmanuel still with us still for us a good father a faithful friend wonderful counselor mighty God everlasting father the Prince of Peace lift your hands I receive your peace sky I receive your assurance I receive your presence in this season of my life you are my king thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube channel don't stop here join the EFM our online extended family and join us live every Sunday subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video or livestream and share this with a friend you can also support the ministry by clicking the give Now button to help us continue to reach people around the world for Jesus Christ thank you again for watching god bless you

Channel: Elevation Church

Views: 496,956

Rating: 4.9077201 out of 5

Keywords: elevation church, steven furtick, pastor steven furtick, furtick steven, this isn't what I pictured pastor steven furtick elevaiton church, elevation church this isn't what I pictured, steven furtick this isn't what I pictured, this isn't what I pictured, stephen furtick, elevation church christmas sermons, pastor steven furtick christmas sermons, Christmas sermons, steven furtick 2019 sermons, elevation church 2019 sermons, christian sermons

Id: dU0pVacQ_aE

Length: 46min 58sec (2818 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 16 2019