Wind vs. Word (Trusting God's Timing) | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church

I'm gonna share one verse and then I'm gonna let you be seated and the verse is actually in Ecclesiastes 11 I have unintentionally been working my way backwards through this passage of Scripture and I haven't started a series lately but i've unintentionally just been using these thoughts from Solomon who has us enrolled in the school of wisdom and he has the right to do it because some people called him the wisest man who ever lived he was like Elon Musk of the Old Testament but the only difference between Solomon and Elon Musk is he wrote his treatise to help us see that if you succeed but you're not fulfilled or if you succeed but you don't have peace or if you succeed but you're succeeding it thinks that don't have real meaning you will come up empty in the end and so he helps us with that with a few principles from the Word of God and this one today I want to share is very very simple from the school of Solomon Ecclesiastes chapter 11 verse 4 says this whoever watches the wind will not plant whoever looks at the clouds will not reap so I know I told you I was gonna preach today but really this is more like an announcement of a fight okay so really we came to watch a fight today and the title of this message is called wind vs. word in this corner is the wind and his opponent is the word and I believe this message is for someone today who is conflicted between the wind and the Word of God and I believe today God is gonna speak to your heart do it Lord in Jesus name Amen touch somebody say ding ding amen you may be seated one thing that is interesting to me and the verse really suggests the same reality is how when your spirit makes a decision to do something your mind will find reasons not to do it now now if you decide to do something like go on a diet your mind will immediately start calculating why it's not a good idea to go on a diet now some of y'all are already doing the math well you know Christmas is right around the corner it's like months till Christmas but you already got the countdown timer because it's easy to find a reason and really the way that our human minds work sometimes is in opposition to our spirit which is divine and that's why you could find yourself even with the Apostle Paul who lamented one time what I want to do I don't do what I don't want to do I do because often your mind will contradict your spirit and it's actually deeper than that because the way this works in daily life is that your heart reaches a verdict and then gives evidence to support the verdict whether or not the verdict was true in a court of law this would be a mistrial but in our lives this is often just standard operating procedure is that we come to a conclusion and then once we've come to that conclusion our mind is brilliant like some kind of you know $400 an hour attorney to find evidence to support the conclusion and in so many areas of our lives we find a reason I mean you can find a reason and this is what Solomon is saying if you look for a reason not to sow or if you look for a reason not to reap you will find one every time it's very true because right now I promise you you can find a reason your mind can find a reason to complain even though your spirit knows that God has been good to me how many of you in your spirit you know that God has been good to you and better than you deserve and yet you could find your reason couldn't you I'll give you one you want one if you just need a reason to complain I'll give you a reason right now to complain for some of y'all is too cold in the auditorium if you just need a reason to complain if the if the if the praise songs of the Most High God didn't didn't give you enough reason to praise let's find something for you to complain about some of y'all this sermons gonna be too long for you some of you is gonna be too short for you some of you don't like a preacher in tight britches and some of you you know you can find one if you need one and it's really not that hard to find a reason to complain in fact if we want to go even deeper than that and I don't mean to take a dark turn early in the sermon because it's really good atmosphere in here and I don't want to mess it up but if you wanted to you could find a reason to go into a whole depression if you wanted to think about a certain problem in your life right now you could you could distract yourself with a problem that is not in this room to the point that you don't hear another word I say this whole sermon because your mind will collect evidence for a verdict that you've already decided on and that's why when you wake up some mornings like I do and say is just gonna be one of those days you will find every reason why it's one of those days because your heart reached a verdict and now you sent your mind an investigative search of the support y'all know I'm preaching in my introduction I'm rested for this message and see even if you want to try to be tired you can try to be tired if you want a reason to be tired you can have a reason to be tired right now I mean if you want to find a reason if you just need a reason you can find a reason when you need a reason and that's why it's a bad idea watch this sharp turn to sit around watching the weather my least favorite thing about being a pastor is when inclement weather and by inclement weather here's what I mean for church people I'm about to have some group therapy inclement weather means it could mean that is so beautiful outside that we can't possibly go to church we need to take this time to go be outside I'm not talking to y'all I'm talking to the people who skip church let me look at the camera because y'all are safe y'all are here right now inclement weather it's not too cold we don't have to go out in the rain it's not too perfect we're not missing anything outside it is perfect Church weather we actually have a little joke on our staff when it's just it's just a little too cold for you to be outside but it's not too cold where you have to you know suffer for five seconds before your seat warmers kick in is perfect Church weather and it's really hard to be a pastor especially when they are forecasting you know torrential weather that may or may not even hit our state and in what's really difficult about it and I promise you this is in the text is that sometimes all the milk and all the bread will be off of the grocery store shelves and there will be no snow on the ground but it was the it was the threat or I could say it like this it was the forecast that created fear of something that was never even in our future now you went to Sam's and Costco bought out all the batteries and the Sun was out and it was 77 degrees now one thing that I love about our church is when a real tragedy happens we've already got supplies on the ground in the Bahamas because of your giving we've already got supplies moving toward people when there's an emergency and that's not the part that I struggle with as a pastor the the hard part is knowing that so many people see my dad used to wake up every morning and watch the news and he would always I thought this was so weird growing up he would always cuss out the weatherman and I need to give you full disclosure because this is very complicated part of my personal psychology I did not want to be a preacher when I was a little boy I wanted to be a weatherman I think it was a form of rebellion because I would stand with my Sesame Street globe and an antenna that I broke off my TV so at the point at the globe and I would forecast the weather this is like six years old seven years old and I would forecast the weather in places in the world that I couldn't pronounce I liked it I like the ability to predict the future but then my dad he would cuss out the weatherman and I was conflicted and what made him so mad about the weatherman was that he understood that even though I respect meteorologists remember I could have been one if it just gone a little bit different just a little different path I could have been one but the thing that my dad couldn't stand about it was to watch how people would go into a frenzy over something that was in a forecast and now my dad is no longer living but I just want to say to him if he's watching this on a heavenly celestial livestream broadcast channel that I get it now because it's frustrating when you're trying to plan church and people don't come not because it's snowing not because it's raining but because it might you know how many things that the devil has kept you from doing in your life that God called you to do because of what might happen if you did and a lot of us the enemy doesn't even have to fight us with real events or circumstances just even the suggestion of a disaster is enough to send some of us into a retreat and so just even the thought that what if they don't like you is enough to keep you in the house or just even a thought if what if they break my heart is enough to keep you from extending yourself in relationship or just even a thought you know many of you are reluctant to get involved in this church because you had a previous bad church experience and I understand that because once you have been through a storm I lived through Hurricane Hugo I was 8 years old when Hurricane Hugo hit trust in Charleston South Carolina it terrified me I didn't want to spend the night away from home for two years after that as a little boy because one thing after you have survived a storm after you have survived bad weather after you have survived abuse what people don't tell you about is that even after the storm is over it still rages on on the inside of you and the saddest thing in the world is to see a Christian who has been set free by the love of Christ to know that neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation neither death nor life neither Angels nor demons neither the present nor the future nor any other powers shall be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord what I'm trying to say some of us need to fire the devil as our weatherman we have been consulting the wrong source to find out what our future looks like and so now we stay indoors and we stay in fear and we stay in paranoia and we never plant and we never reap Solomon said because we watched the wind what a weird image you really can't see the wind you can only see the effects of it and he says when you watch the wind you know like is this a good time I'll give you one this one looks like to watch the wind cause I was thinking about that phrase watch the wind and I was like this is not a literal message I'm not using it to talk about physical storms I'm using it to talk about when the sower goes to sow he wants the wind to work with him and when the wind is blowing the opposite direction all your seeds smacks you in your face but you feel like everything you sow just you ever feel like stuff just backfires on you and you're trying to be nice to somebody that's the last one of those I'm doing I gotta preach this twice tomorrow I need my brain cells but you ever just been smacked by your own seed because that's what he's saying when the wind is blowing against you some some of you have had the wind against you your whole life you didn't have the right shoes your parents didn't make a lot of money you had to learn to fit in you had to learn how to be tough you had to learn how to be hard and you learned how to survive a storm but the problem with that the only problem with that is sometimes the wind isn't even against you but you still feel like it is because your mind is collecting evidence in support of a verdict that is no longer accurate so you watch the wind try to find out what's popular it's it's not popular I'm a preach this to our students they've got rhythm night coming up next next Sunday night and I want you to talk about this in some form Tim is that watching the wind is like trying to determine what's gonna gain you clout and then you let clout overrule character and watching the wind is trying to be like oh do they like me do they like me is this what I need to be to be like that's that's watching the wind can I give you another one that's watching the wind it's needing to be in a good mood to keep your commitments that's watching the wind because some of my weather systems are internal and I found out a long time ago that usually the mood that you're in when you make a commitment will not match the mood that you're in when it's time to keep the commitment and so to watch the wind is for those of us who sometimes need to feel it in order to fulfill it and Solomon says the wisest man the richest man the the man who said that to do things for Vanity's sake is like chasing after the wind he uses this metaphor a lot in his in his book Ecclesiastes the collected teachings which are like proverbs but it's written in such a way as to convince the knowledge of the universe and the futility of vanity he uses this image of the wind why because it is an invisible force and he says if you are always checking with and consulting how you feel you will always find a reason to contradict your responsibility so there will always be a reason watch this that you don't feel like forgiving people but if you want to be free you might have to go against your feelings in order to live in freedom I'm saying you might have to walk against the wind you might have to forgive against the wind especially in marriage I love Holly so much because she decided a long time ago that I was the man for her she reached the verdict on Furtick before she ever took my name as her own and because she reached the verdict that she loves me and I'm a good man in our marriage she works to collect evidence to support that I'm the man for her she could just as easily do the opposite she could she could find 15 reasons well he's only 5 foot 9 he's bigger on screen you know she could find 15 reasons I'm usually moody three and a half days out of seven she could find 15 reasons not to feel that way about me but sometimes commitment means facing resistance with resolve in your heart you can find a reason to leave this church in the next three days if you want one matter of fact the law of averages says that there's somebody on your row right now who if you get to know them they will give you a reason to leave this church in the next three days because they will disappoint you with their lack of Christian character but if you move one person over on the same row I bet you there's somebody on that row that loves Jesus there's somebody on that row who is honest there is somebody on that row that is sincere but you'll never sow well see i'm gonna get my what i'm a do I'm get my I'm a do the tithing thing but I'm a do it after I get my thing because the thing after the thing is gonna do the thing and then this thing happened there was the thing and but the economy but the presidential election you see how we do it consulting the forecast instead of consulting our faith he who regards the wind or observes the wind will never sow and he who looks at the clouds will never reap because it always looks like it could rain any time and you can't get the harvest in when it's wet and Solomon didn't have a Weather Channel app and Solomon didn't have a Weather Channel he's dealing with people who would consult the conditions before keeping their commitments watching the wind how many people have not started what God told him to start because they've been watching the wind been waiting for more spare time I'm a write a book one day you even keep a journal right now I'm writing a book one day when you gonna write it I'm a build a cottage in Maine it's the thing I'm gonna do one day you got some family land nope it's an imaginary scenario that keeps you from an actual opportunity do you see it watching the wind is wishing that you had a different wife instead of loving the one that you've got like Christ loves the church this is getting good this message is gonna be better than your beard by the time I finished with it my brother and that's saying a lot but you know Peter knew something about watching the wind though didn't he Peter the Apostle who was always wanting to do something impulsive sometimes it worked for him sometimes it worked against him but one thing that you gotta love about him he did not wait for perfect circumstances to say he didn't wait until he had knowledge to give his opinion you ever lived with somebody like that it's terrible and I noticed something about God and I wanted to give this to you cause they have these sayings in church they say well God is an on time God yes he is he's an on time God he's he's seldom early but he's never late ask Lazarus if he was ever late Lazarus he's about four days late decomposing body worms working their way into the eye socket by the time Jesus got there and Mary and Martha had set their watch by it asked Peter if Jesus was ever late ask him ask him if if one time they did not get sent out into a storm by the instruction that Jesus gave to go to the other side now this has been really exciting to me as I've studied it this week because the the real thing of faith is do you trust God's timing you know that right and that was the test for Mary and Martha Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life and she said well you know I am the resurrection and she said well I know my brother's gonna rise again at the last day he said no I am the resurrection it wasn't that she didn't trust what he was able to do it was are you able to trust when God is going to do it you can trust somebody's intention but not trust their timing and since I already talked good about Holly in this sermon let me just say I trust her with my life I trust her to be faithful to our marriage vows I trust her if she cooks for me or orders from me off of a menu I trust she knows what I want to eat more than I want to eat she knows me like that I trust this woman with everything but time when she says it's gonna be thirty minutes I a lot three hours because she taught me that her concept of time is different than mine one is correct one is delusional and I trust her I really do I trust her I put her in a room full of supermodels men calendar men and trust her in there but if she said we're gonna leave in an hour I would set three alarms because I trust her with everything but time some of us trust that God is gonna get us to heaven one day some of us trust that he died on the cross for our sin we trust him with everything but let him not do something at the moment that we want him to do it let him leave us in the fiery furnace for seconds too long and we'll be screaming God get me out of this but God said the real test for a mature Christian is do you trust me with my timing trusting him in the meantime is where maturity is developed and Jesus was always doing stuff at a bad time he was always going to Jerusalem at the time when they all wanted to kill him that's a bad time to show up when they're looking for you to execute you it's a bad time 5,000 men women and children show up on the other side now this is right after John the Baptist I just want you to know how often God does things in our life at a bad time because some of y'all are like right now in your life like well this is a bad time for me God and and I used to have this friend every time he called me on the phone he was so respectful he'd say good time or a bad time always wanted to know that before he said anything else and I believe the Holy Spirit is saying to somebody today good time or a bad time and you're like this a bad time I'm too old to be doing this now I'm too young to be doing this now I'm too busy to be doing this now I used to have a better job I used to have more money it's a bad time but God likes to bless people at a bad time he likes to raise people on the 4th day and when Jesus had heard that John the Baptist had his head cut off by Herod it was a bad time and he wanted to get away from the crowds so he went over to the other side with the disciples and when they got there there was a crowd waiting to get autographs and healing and fish and chips and all this stuff as a matter of fact when he did the miracle and he feed the feeds the 5,000 the first thing the disciples said was what it's late it's a bad time it's a bad time and and Jesus when he took the bread blessed it broke it and gave it to them he did the miracle at a bad time now I'm now I'm divorced now I'm a single mom now it's a bad time for me to be believing God it's a bad time I I really wasted a lot of years it's a bad time for me to be doing this I I think I made the wrong decision I don't even think I'm supposed to live in Roanoke I don't even think I'm supposed to live in Charlotte I mean it's a bad time it's a bad place that's what the disciples said they said it's a remote place it's already late so send the crowds away and Jesus said no I I want to bless them when it's too little and when it's too late because I want to bless you when you think it's a bad time so I can teach you how to consult your faith instead of consulting your forecast you got the wrong weather man you keep watching the weather and so now you live in fear of everything that could happen and everything that has happened and as long as you watch the weather as long as you you you keep that wrong weather man this is what God showed me the weather is meant to be checked not watched when you see when you sit when you sit around and watch it all day it scares you Oh everything is good to plan it's good to make provision but don't watch the weather if you watch the weather you'll get in your feelings and you'll get out of your faith and now the wind watch this will work against you to contradict the word that God spoke to you so this is the point where Jesus after feeding the 5,000 sends the disciples into a storm and I want to read this to you for everybody who's been watching the wind in your life worrying about uncertain situations that you cannot control I'm not talking about those of you that are trying to make a plan to pay off your debt that's good that's not a lack of faith that's uh that's a presence of wisdom but watching the wind is trying to calculate something that you can't control you are worried your kid is gonna end up dropping out of school and they are three months old they don't like Baby Einstein enough yet and you are worried that they won't get into Harvard you're watching the wind trying to figure out stuff that's in the in the future now watch this this is so this is so weird because it says immediately after Jesus blessed all the multitudes and the crowds and a bad time he made them go into the boat 22 and go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd so at some point during his instructions he told them I will meet you on the other side he gave them his word he gave them his word I will see you on the other side he gave them his word touch somebody next to you and say he gave you his word no I need you to help me preach this not look at me with a little a little little Church face tell him he gave you his word but the challenge is not believing that you will see him on the other side is how long is it going to be before I get there he gave me his word that he would never leave me nor forsake me he gave me his word in this corner weighing in at unlimited pounds hailing from eternity made flesh by the will of the Father to redeem humanity is the living breathing logos Word of God Jesus Christ in the beginning what's the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and all things were made by him and for him for he was with God in the beginning he gave me his word after he had dismissed them he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray and when evening came he was there alone but the boat was already a considerable distance from land buffeted by the waves because why the wind was against him and his opponent raging on the storm-tossed sea the wind and we came to church really today to find out which one's gonna win the calling that God put on your life or the circumstances that contradicted your faith or your fear the wind versus the word the Challenger you ever watch MMA sometimes I like to preach the word and then watch people beat each other half to death on Saturday night sis saw a recovery method it's kind of my own spiritual cryotherapy but the Challenger and then and then you got the undefeated undisputed heavyweight champion anyway I'm gonna get back to the text because it said the wind was against the bow and the boat did not represent disobedience like it did for Jonah who was going away from God they were going into their assignment which led them into a storm which meant that they had to keep moving forward against the wind now if you watch the wind you'll never set out if they would have had a Weather Channel app they would have never gotten in the boat sometimes we know too much sometimes we overthink things who's this message for if you are a chronic over-thinker you are a wind watcher well I might get a flat tire they've been doing a lot of construction I don't know if I should take this job or not so dear he verse 25 the fourth watch the Romans divided it up into four quarters alright 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for watches three hours each 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. first watch 9:00 p.m. to midnight second watch midnight to 3:00 a.m. third watch and when does Jesus show up I mean this dude is that disrespectful to call him that he was fully God and fully man and he shows up not the first watch of the night second watch third watch what I like about the text is even the term watch has significance because if you remember what I just read you it said that he went up on a mountainside to pray now the sea was situated well below the mountain which means that as they went through the storm even though he didn't stop it he saw them in it I want you to be encouraged today my sister my brother my fellow child of God just because the storm is raging doesn't mean God has left the scene and just because he hasn't stopped it doesn't mean he doesn't see it and just because the devil started it doesn't mean he won't use it and just because I don't know how long until we get there doesn't make me doubt his presence in the middle of it he was watching the whole time he knew just when he wanted to step in so they could see him as he had never been seen and I believe God is speaking over somebody's situation today that his eye is on you I believe that he has numbered the hairs on your head I believe that even the bad things that have happened in your life he kept every tear in a jar and I don't believe that one of them is beyond redemption now the Bible says that when it got to the last watch of the night after they have rolled four to five miles in their own strength Jesus went out to them walking on the lake when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were at peace nope first when you see God you're first responses fear you don't know if this is really him that's the problem I don't know if this is God or I don't know if this is the devil or I don't know if I'm supposed to do this or I don't know if I'm supposed to do that and the challenge is trusting God in uncertainty and you got to believe that the disciples were wondering did we hear him right did he really say get in the boat surely he wouldn't have sent us into a storm like this and now enters the mythology that the Jewish people would have believed at this point that underneath the sea was controlled by an evil spirit so when Jesus comes walking to them and they can't fully trace his silhouette because it's still dark and because it's foggy and the wind is against them their first instinct is it must be a ghost see you keep thinking when God shows up in the situation it's gonna feel better all of a sudden but this will blow your mind the Bible doesn't say they were scared at all until Jesus shows up now you see why you can't go by your feelings sometimes the moment when he's closest it's the same moment when the wind is blowing the strongest so they were they were terrified it's a ghost they said and they cried out in fear now Jesus instead of rebuking them for their fear responds to their initiative and he said remember this is a significant term Yahweh I am the name of God it's a it's a name that Jesus embodied in flesh God is that in spirit but Jesus shows us that in flesh and when he says take courage it is I it's more than him just saying it's me boys he's identifying his presence and connecting it to the eternal God and the eternal word when he speaks it is I don't be afraid Peter in equal parts doubt and equal parts curiosity cause he just got to participate in a miracle of feeding 5,000 is like I want to get in on this one too and I'm tired of being in this boat with John he gets on my nerves he doesn't row you know John was laid-back and Peter's like if it's you get me out of this boat tell me to come I preached this for a long time the wrong way and I've corrected it since I used to say that that Peter walked on water but if you look at verse 29 Jesus said come and then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water but he was really walking on the word i'ma just ask you something this is not a preachery question have you ever had to just walk through something just on sheer faith that if God brought me out here he will not leave me now that's what it means to walk on the word have you ever had to move towards something in your life that scared you to death and you don't have any experience for it and your nautical knowledge did not prepare you for this incident but all of a sudden the sea became a hardwood floor underneath your feet with each step that's what I mean by walking on the word have you ever had to take a promise from God's Word and just hold on to it for dear life a promise for someone that you love who's sick a promise for provision when you don't see where it's coming from a promise that that God is going to fulfill his purpose for your kids and even if you don't know how it's gonna have you ever had to hold on so tight to something in the fourth watch of the night that's that's what I mean by walking on the word and Peter is walking on the word but he's walking against the wind and so are we see Jesus didn't stop the wind he gave the word come he said that's no more instruction than you give your golden retriever come and maybe a Golden Retriever is smarter than some of us cause a golden retriever doesn't question the master but yet some of us the first trace of wind the first trace of disappointment and I always thought Peter fell down walking to Jesus because you know he gets out their a little ways and most of us do we get out their little ways and we ingrained a habit for a little while and we go in a new direction by faith and trust God for a time but at somewhere during the process the Bible says that after Peter had walked on the water and came toward Jesus verse 30 he made a critical mistake he saw the wind which one is stronger the word or the wind I want to say it depends which one you watch I want to say that the wind did not have the strength to knock Peter off of his feet the only reason he went down is because he took his eyes off of the word and started watching the wind see faith is not an imaginary state where I get myself worked up into a delusion like nothing's ever gonna go bad again and then I'm surprised when bad stuff happens faith is a focus faith is the ability to say I'm putting my eyes on the goodness of God in this moment and I'm not looking back and I'm not looking forward and I'm not looking around my mind has already reached the conclusion God is for me God is with me if the wind be against me if the world be against me if all hell's power nails him to a cross in three days he will rise because my faith is focused on the Word of God that I'm walking toward and I want to prophesy over somebody today and declare over your life the wind doesn't have to stop for you to keep walking toward Jesus and the situation doesn't have to get better for you to see the glory of God I'm telling you what I know if everything goes worse if everything gets crazy if everything rises up against you God is an army God is a second circle God is an ever-present help in the time of trouble and if your life is built on the foundation of his word there is no wind that can rage against you that can shake it off because I'm I'm not walking on water and I'm not watching the wind I love how the Old Testament prophet Elijah he went up on this mountain and there had been a drought in the land for like three and a half years and he heard something he heard the sound of the abundance of rain he heard a prophetic indication that God was about to send blessing on the land again so he did something that looked weird is that he he put his head in a prayer posture by his knees and he sent his servant to go look to check and see if there was anything at the sky now when I read that passage I thought how at that point if Elijah had had looked at the weather if he would have looked at the surface of his situation or if he would have consulted what he felt or what he saw he would have lost his faith and that's why he knew you can't watch the weather you can't spend all this time in your life look man the reason that you're stressed out might be over stuff that is a hypothetical scenario that the enemy suggested to try to get you off track because he knows if you walk on this word no wind is strong enough to knock you off your balance you're in a situation right now and it's wind versus word and the one that is going to win is going to be the one that you focus on and you can't afford to be doing like this to see if this okay to serve God look I can give you I can give you 10 reasons right now why you could question if God even exists we could all do it we see horrible things happen all the time I could give you 10 reasons but see I know that he is with me and so I I'm not I'm not collecting evidence to see if he's with me I already know he's with me because how would I have made it this far if he wasn't how would I have life or breath or grace I know he is and I just want us in this moment to be very sure that if he has spoken it that nothing you can see in your situation or nothing that you can see look your eyes are tricky your ears are tricky your senses are tricky when he saw the wind when he trusted his senses he slipped your faith will always slip when you start consulting your feelings it always slip we just want to take a moment and do what the disciples did when they got back in the boat really interesting little phrase that Matthew puts in the gospel that he says that after Peter sank and Jesus helped him back up you know Jesus says it's so gracious he he doesn't hold him under water for 15 seconds so he'll learn the lesson real good you know that view of God that you grew up with that said that he was just looking for an opportunity to punish you and nah he was right there to catch him go go gadget arms or something like that he could do anything and when he asked him the question why did you doubt verse 31 the answer was the wind he doubted because he lost focus and focus is about what you choose to look at it doesn't make anything go away it just redirects your attention to what you need to be thinking about what you need to be looking at what you need to be considering so when they climbed into the boat the wind died down the wind didn't die down so that the miracle could happen in fact the wind was against them to prove that God's work was greater than the wind so let's just take a moment right now and clap our hands that the wind may be against me come on I'm gonna need you to stand up and worship for a moment to get back in the boat and worship Him that he is God in this storm by your stripes I am healed with one touch I am made whole you have spoken thats the word you've been in a storm lift your hands by your stripes you have spoke and I know that It is so and in the storm you are peace and you're love won't let me go you have spoken and I know that it is so I want to pray in this moment with your head bowed and your eyes closed for those of you who have been working against the wind I understand that the nature of life is that all of us will face challenges in any 24-hour period and so it kind of depends on when we catch you but what I mean is that you've been in a season where like Solomon says you've been watching the wind instead of remembering the Word of God and focusing on the things that he's placed in your life to help you you've been thinking about things that that didn't happen or might happen and it's just got you watching the wind I want to pray for you right now father in the name of Jesus I lift up every wind watcher to you because we're meant to be word Walker's not wind Watchers and we are meant to believe something deeper than what our eyes can see and so I pray today that as this word that you gave me in my own personal time with you has gone forth to them that they received it on the level that they needed it that they received the word that they needed to walk on in the coming week and they might just have to walk on it one moment at a time one step at a time one moment at a time because I can't see and because I can't feel but I'm walking on the Word of God and so I will survive because he gave me his word and I will make it because he gave me his word and I will do it because God is not a liar and I will see it on the other side because the god I serve has never failed come on let's lift our voices in praise and worship and thanksgiving that he is God that he is lord over every storm come on let's give him worship give him worship above the wind give him worship above the warfare give him worship thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube channel don't stop here join the Efam 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: 992,381

Keywords: Elevation Church, Steven Furtick, Sermons 2019, Steve Furtick, pastor steve, Pastor Steven Furtick, Furtick Steven, Stephen Furtick, Wind Vs. Word Trusting God's TIming, Trusting God's Timing, Wind Vs. Word, Wind Vs Word Trusting God's Timing Pastor Steven Furtick Elevation Church, Elevation Church Sermons 2019, pastor steven furtick sermons 2019, steven furtick fear sermons, elevation church fear sermons, steven furtick faith sermons, elevation church faith sermons

Id: oLgheXUYIzw

Length: 50min 56sec (3056 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 16 2019