Filled By Faith!
Pastor Steven Furtick
Sermon Summary
You don't have to feel ready to move forward in faith. Sometimes growth looks like grieving what was, trusting God with what's missing, and still choosing to take the next best step. If you're carrying both blessings and burdens right now, just look at the prophet Samuel’s difficult step of obedience in 1 Samuel 16 to discover how God can lead you forward even when life feels mixed.
Sermon Highlights
You can fill it even when you don’t feel it.
When God fulfills His promise to you, it may not feel like you think it will.
You are not forsaken. You are filled with the Spirit of God.
What do you call it when you’re grieving and you’re going? Growing.
The fact that you are asking God what He wants you to do means you’re growing.
Nobody can fill your horn for you.
I’ve got some blessings, I’ve got some burdens. It’s mixed.
Any time you don’t feel it but you fill it anyway, your faith grows.
Even when God removes something in your life that you don't like — let alone something that you love — it leaves a hole. But God can fill it.
You keep waiting for a feeling, but God is waiting for a filling.
When you fill your horn, God fills the empty seat.
God will find you in the field. Keep showing up.
Scriptures
Read this week’s Scriptures. Ask your group what stands out to them.
Sermon Discussion
Conversation Starter
Choose the one that works best for your group!
Elevation College launches this week! If you could teach a college class on any topic in the world, what would you pick and why?
Pastor Steven talked about boiled peanuts being a Southern staple. What’s a food that immediately reminds you of where you grew up?
Highlights Questions
“You can fill it even when you don’t feel it.” How do you fill yourself even when you’re not feeling it?
“What do you call it when you’re grieving and you’re going? Growing.” What’s something you’ve grieved in your life that God used for your growth?
“God will find you in the field.” What field is God calling you to be faithful in right now?
Additional Questions
“When God fulfills His promise to you, it may not feel like you think it will.” Where might your expectations be making it harder to recognize what God’s doing in your life right now?
“I’ve got some blessings, I’ve got some burdens. It’s mixed.” What’s one blessing and one burden you’re holding in this season? How can you keep moving forward while making room for both?
Prayer Prompt
Ask your eGroup if they have any prayer requests or praise reports they’d like to share, and include them in your closing prayer.
Pray this prayer over your eGroup to close, and/or send it to them throughout the week to let them know you’re praying for them!
Lord, You see all the feelings we’re carrying. The disappointment, the hope, the grief, the gratitude, the excitement, the anxiety, and everything in between. Thank You for remaining faithful to us and blessing us with purpose when life feels mixed. Please fill the empty seats in our lives with the provision and people that You know we need. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Content
Here’s some additional content you can use to encourage your group this week.
Looking for ways to “fill your horn?” Elevation Worship just released a new instrumental album! Put these songs on in the background when you’re spending quiet time with God or even during your eGroup.
Listen to this song from Elevation Worship & Chandler Moore when you need a reminder to thank God for His faithfulness in the midst of mixed feelings.