You have a purpose, even in a time of separation. Loneliness is hard and can leave us feeling unstable. We all need stability and we all want comfort. We’ve lost so many things that we were accustomed to and there’s a lot of separation between what was and what’s to come.
Steven Furtick is asking, what if God isn’t calling you to be comfortable right now? What if He is using this time to prepare you for your purpose; what if this separation is preparation? What if this time of separation is an opportunity to recognize the distinctive features you have as a child of God?
Our hope is this message meets you in your separation to bring comfort, courage and hope for the days to come.
destiny is always driven by your
distinctives the things about you that
make you different are the things that
will drive you into your destiny often
the things that embarrass you about
yourself are the very things that God
has empowered you with to make a
difference in your world come on
Blakeley I know I’m not normally on the
screen but you can clap because a lot of
times we spend our time running from the
things that God wants to use to lead us
into our new season and into our
greatest effectiveness touch somebody
next to you and say be distinctive
Israel was always meant to be different
than the other nations God never
intended for them to fit in in fact the
reason that he called Israel was so that
he could have a special possession
something different than all the
surrounding nations a nation on which
his name could rest he wanted them to be
distinctive and it broke God’s heart
more than anything when his people tried
to pretend like they were what God had
called them out of it broke his heart
when they wanted a king for themselves a
human king when God wanted to be their
king and I think it still must really
break the heart of God when we try to
get out of other people something that
God Himself desires to give to us
something that only he can give if
you’re if you’re a business owner raise
your hand or if you’re an aspiring
business owner and entrepreneur of any
kind one of the things you’ve got to do
if your business is going to succeed or
be great remember we said that greatness
is a product of separation preceded by
separation preparation and separation
both work I mean I screwed it up but the
other one were too
even my mistake was anointed just now
that’s how great University City is now
watch this there’s something to that
separation preparation there’s something
to that
in there that’s because Moses had to
spend 40 years in Midian in the desert
separated from his people in order to go
back to his people and lead them to a
place that they no longer believed they
were fit to go into sometimes God has to
pull you away from people and sometimes
God has to pull you away from from
comfortable circumstances to propel you
into your calling separation is
preparation Jesus often had to go away
it when it was early and he had to go
away and pray away from Peter and away
from John and away from James I love
y’all but I can’t be with y’all all the
time cuz I got a calling and in order to
fulfill my calling I gotta be separate I
got to be consecrated that’s the church
were consecrated what does that mean
separate set apart another popular
spiritual term is sanctified it means
set apart for a purpose sometimes God
has to pull you away from people to set
you apart for purpose and you see it in
Moses life God was preparing him to be a
deliverer but in order to prepare him to
be a deliverer he had to give him a
distinctive feature so Moses is born in
at 3 months old he goes through his
first separation where his mother had to
actually send him down the Nile and and
the reason she had to do that is because
Pharaoh was so afraid of the Israelites
because they were becoming so numerous
that he started killing all the
firstborn boys and so so Moses’s mom had
to send him out and then when he was
taken up he was taken up by one of
Pharaoh’s daughters so now he’s an
Israelite by birth but he’s living in an
Egyptian culture he’s no stranger to
separation he knows what it means to to
be living in one place but to have come
from another place and some of you know
that feeling as well it’s to be
separated from your background is to be
separated from the things that that that
are in your blood is to be separated is
just to say you know everybody on my
family didn’t go to college but but I
think I might get a degree you know all
the males are in my family ran off and
left but I think I must stay and raise
my kids you know my father was an
alcoholic but I don’t think I need that
I think i’ma find that different
addiction I think I’m looking at Ignat
to fulfilling my purpose
loosing the calling there’s a separation
[Music]
separation so he’s born in Israel I pour
Hebrew he’s raised in Egypt but then one
day he murders an Egyptian because the
Egyptian is beating the Hebrew and he’s
torn between the people that he came
from and the people that he’s had to
live with and he doesn’t know what to do
so he responds in the wrong way because
sometimes it feels like life is pulling
you apart between your past and your
present between who you were and who you
can’t be and you don’t know what to do
and so he does the wrong thing but but
he ends up on the run and that’s why he
went to Midian and that’s why he ended
up in Midian tending sheep for 40 years
and and that’s why he ended up separated
not only from what he was born into but
what he was raised in and then God
speaks to him about what he was called
to do in a scene called the burning bush
and that’s where God said take off your
shoes Moses take off your shoes take off
here
I’m not taking these off cuz I know
there’s some sneaker heads come up and
grab him he said I want you to separate
yourself from who you are
so you can see Who I am the place you
are standing is holy ground
and notice I are chosen you and I’ve
made you distinctive I’ve set you apart
I’ve given you a destiny and Moses has
all these excuses you know it’s like
well I can’t talk very good and God said
you know your distinctive feature isn’t
your ability to talk to distinctive
feature is the words I’m gonna put in
your mouth
[Applause]
so I need you to separate your view of
yourself from my view of you I need you
to separate yourself from your excuses
for a minute so you can embrace my
purpose what was God doing he was
creating a separation between what Moses
was not and what God certainly was he
was creating a separation so that Moses
when he went back to Egypt wouldn’t
think like the people who were still
there that’s what the loneliness was
about the separation was preparation for
purpose
I didn’t preach this to be a dating
seminar but I just felt God say that
there are some people who are holding
out for a person that will complement
your calling and you’re not giving
yourself up and you feel kind of weird
about it and you feel kind of strange
about it but I needed to tell you to
hold on because if you compromise what’s
distinctive about you you will disrupt
your destiny by joining with something
that doesn’t look like you they won’t
walk with you that won’t work for you
I wanted to tell you you’re separate on
purpose you’re here for reason in this
season
and many scholars have have postulated
that that the exodus account where where
Moses is leading the people out of Egypt
is meant to parallel or mimic the
Genesis account when God created the
earth and that gives us a further
insight because the scripture says that
when when God was getting things started
how many feel like God is starting
something in your life how many want God
to start something in your life in your
family in your business in your career
so it said in the beginning God created
everybody say created he created the
heavens and the earth hey separate in
the beginning God created what’s the
title of my sermon
creating separation you get it in a
minute because it said he created the
heavens and the earth now watch this now
the earth was formless and empty
darkness was over the surface of the
deep I need to show you something cuz if
I don’t show it to you I’m afraid to and
pick up on it it says the darkness was
over the face of the deep
it doesn’t say God created the darkness
first John 1:5 says that God is light
and in him is no darkness at all God
didn’t make the darkness God didn’t
create sin God didn’t create shame God
is not the author of confusion so the
darkness was there but then something
happened the Spirit of God was hovering
over the waters and God said
how did God create what you see by what
he spoke so he said let there be light
and there was life how many know God
wants to speak some things over your
life today some distinctive features it
was to speak some things about what he
put you here to do about what he gave
you your gifts for him about what you
were created for so he spoke that watch
watch watch that’s not the good part
that’s not the good part tell somebody
that’s not even it and he saw that the
light was good that’s what he spoke and
he
[Applause]
[Music]
he saw what was there that he didn’t
create then he spoke what he wanted to
see and then he said I need to separate
what was there before I spoke from what
I spoke here’s what I think about that I
think God wants to create a separation
in your life today a separation between
what was there before God spoke what
people said about you what your masters
saying about you what’s your weakness
informs about you and the better word
that he’s slinging all the way our live
let’s get all that other stuff out of
here all that darkness all that down all
that dysfunction I got up
if anyone is in Christ he is a new
creation
[Music]
what God did in Genesis with the earth
he did through Jesus born
and now he said they all is gone
has gone
[Applause]
come on get the phrase on every campus
[Music]
[Applause]
that’s what God’s doing in this place
today he’s separating the one from the
darkness he’s separating your carpets
from your past he’s separating his words
over your life from you’re worried about
your future
he said I gotta create a separation so
that the only thing that shines is what
I spa play my own organ of bridges so
good
[Applause]
Thank You future let’s think the feature
stand out child of God stop trying to be
so similar stop trying to look like what
you came from why you so scared to stand
out why you so scared to stand out I
didn’t start a church to be like all the
other churches in the area how many no
that’s why you’re here not because it
was so similar but God wants to do a
special thing don’t trade in special for
similar and this is this is the the
process by which God creates separation
you not heard that term before but I
never heard it in a sermon I heard it in
sports they talk about basketball
players who have the ability to create
separation so they can take a shot with
a higher percentage and and and they
talk about it in even in fighting they
talk about a reach advantage they talk
about you know if this guy can create
separation he’s gonna make his opponent
miss one of my friends plays football I
told him I said would preach about
creating separation and I said what
would you say about this cuz he’s a
receiver he said well tell tell the
people that creating separation isn’t
always about being fast it’s about
knowing your route
[Applause]
I’m running out of time but let me take
a moment and hit on the comeback round
it’s interesting the way that God leads
us out of situations and into purpose
isn’t in its it’s not usually a straight
line that was one of the things that was
so confusing to Moses is that God gave
him some instructions that seemed insane
he said I could take you straight into
the Promised Land this is where the
people of Israel were headed they were
headed and I know a lot of you may not
have a ton of Bible background you don’t
need to know all this to get what God
wants you to have you just need to
embrace at the level that you can and
I’m using the promised land that they
were going to to talk about all the
promises that God has established and
has spoken over your life but the way
God took them was unusual the way he led
them wasn’t in a straight line he told
them to kind of go around an interesting
route and I want to read you this in in
Exodus 14 demand a backup before that
point where the water separated and they
went through on dry ground it says in
verse 1 that when God was telling them
where to go he said to Moses tell the
Israelites to turn back and encamped
near pi hyah Roth between Migdal in the
sea and and I could stop right at tell
the Israelites to turn back that’s
what’s unusual to me about the
instruction they leave Egypt after ten
plagues after Pharaoh has resisted
because God gets the greatest glory out
of your life in the face of the greatest
resistance so it’s not always easy it’s
not supposed to be a campaign people can
see how strong your God is if your
battles are never fierce
but when they finally leave and they
weren’t walking out and and they’re
there they’re leaving Egypt they start
going and god says tell them to turn
back do a mini arm football fans in big
football fans you can help me help me
you can okay just come help me real
quick just with this one point coming up
both you guys who’s some you know these
guys I love these guys I look just real
quick we don’t have long I’m really
evening into my my sermon time here and
they’ll start leaving at the other
campuses if I go long and and I don’t
want that all right so come here we’re
doing a little mock-up football scenario
you know you know a comeback route in
football yeah so just demonstrate real
quick cuz a lot of people out here on
football fans and you know they don’t
know what I’m talking about but that’s
what my friend was telling me about so
just just run a little comeback route
you be the defenders go
so watch that’s that’s a comeback from
it means before I want to preach this so
bad because where he’s trying to go the
goal is over here but he’s got a
defender on him and if the defenders too
close watch go out go out go out go out
if the defender is too close he can’t
get what he’s supposed to carry so in in
order to make progress in order to get
to the goal eventually he has to come
back
in the wrong direction momentarily let’s
do it again because I think they’re
starting to get it so what I’m saying is
what I’m saying
sometimes Hut sometimes you’re going out
and God will say come back so I can hit
you let’s do it again let’s reenact that
instead replay
God says sometimes I’m gonna send you up
right but I’m gonna bring you back to
create separation
thanks negative at the level that we
talk but I said what we just sit on that
stage what the receiver does on a
football field
sometimes I need to do in your life that
is sometimes when it looks like you’re
going backwards all I’m doing is making
a space
did someone leave your life recently
it’s alright
God’s got you on a comeback round
you lose your job recently it’s alright
it’s a comeback route
[Applause]
there’s somebody break your heart
sweetheart that’s okay there’s somebody
better catch this way I’ll set it on her
uterus see hey thank you for watching
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