This Is A Season of Preparation | Steven Furtick

Destiny is always driven by your distinctive characteristics. The things that make you different are what will lead you to your destiny. Often the things that make you ashamed of yourself are the very things that God has empowered you to make a difference in your world. Come on Blakeley, I know I'm not normally on screen, but you can applaud because many times we spend our time running from the things that God wants to use to guide us into our new

season

and our greatest effectiveness. Tap someone below. to you and tell you to be distinctive Israel was always meant to be different from the other nations God never intended for them to fit in, in fact the reason he called Israel was so that he could have a special possession, something different from all the surrounding nations. nation in which he could rest his name, he wanted them to be distinctive and it broke God's heart more than anything when his people tried to pretend that they were what God had called them.

He broke her heart when they wanted a king for themselves, a human being. king when God wanted to be his king and I think it must still break God's heart when we try to get from other people something that God himself wants to give us something that only he can give us if we are. If you are a business owner, raise your hand or if you are an aspiring business owner and entrepreneur of any kind, one of the things you must do if your business is going to be successful or great, remember we said that greatness is a product. of separation preceded by separation

preparation

and separation both jobs I mean, I screwed up, but the other one was too much, even my mistake was anointed just now, that's how great University City is now look at

this

, there's something about that separation

preparation

, there's something in that there that's because Moses had to spend 40 years in Midian in the desert separated from his people in order to return to his people and take them to a place that they no longer believed they were fit to go to.

Sometimes God has to push you away. people and sometimes God has to take you away from comfortable circumstances to push you to your calling separation is preparation Jesus often had to leave when it was early and he had to go and pray away from Peter and John and away from James I love you all but no I can be with you all the time because I have a calling and in order to fulfill my calling I have to be separated I have to be consecrated that is the church they were consecrated what does that mean? separate set apart another popular spiritual term is sanctified means set apart for a purpose sometimes God has to separate you from people to set you apart for a purpose and you see it in the life of Moses God was preparing him to be a deliverer but in order to prepare him to be a liberator had to give him a distinctive characteristic so that Moses was born at 3 months old, he went through his first separation where his mother had to send him down the Nile and the reason he had to do it is because Pharaoh was so afraid of the Israelites because they were getting so numerous that he started killing all the firstborn and then Moses' mother had to send him away and then when they took him away, one of Pharaoh's daughters took him like

this

now. he is an Israelite by birth but lives in an Egyptian culture he is no stranger to separation he knows what it means to live in one place but have come from another place and some of you also know that feeling of being separated from your background you must be separated from The things that are in your blood should be separated It's just to say you know everyone in my family didn't go to college but I think I could get a degree You know all the men are in my family He ran away and left but I think I should stay and raise my children you know my father was an alcoholic but I don't think he needs it I think I'll find that different addiction I think I'm watching Ignat to fulfill my purpose losing the calling there's a separation separation so he was born in Israel I pour Hebrew he grew up in Egypt but then one day he murders an Egyptian because the Egyptian is beating the Hebrew and he is torn between the town he came from and the people he has had to live with and he doesn't know what to do, so he responds incorrect because sometimes it feels like life is separating you 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 then he does the wrong thing but he ends up running away and that's why he went to Midian and that's why he ended up in Midian tending sheep for 40 years and that's why he ended up separated not only from what he was born into but from what he was born into. that he was raised and then God talks 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.

Shoes come off here. I'm not going to take these off because I know there are some sneaker heads that will reach out and grab it. He said: I want you to separate yourself from who you are so you can see who I am. The place where you are standing is holy ground. and notice I'm chosen for 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 speak very well and God said you know your The distinctive feature doesn't It's your ability to speak.

The distinguishing feature is the words I'm going to put in your mouth, so I need you to separate your view of yourself from my view of you. I need you to step away from your excuses for a minute. so that you can accept 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 returned to Egypt, would not think like the people who were still there. That was what loneliness was about, the separation was a preparation for a purpose.

I didn't preach that this was a dating seminar, but I just felt like God said there are some people who are waiting for a person to complement their calling and you don't give up and you feel a little weird about it and you feel a little weird about it. , but I needed to tell you to wait because if you compromise what sets you apart, you will alter your destiny by joining something that doesn't. you look like you, they won't walk with you, that won't work for you. I wanted to tell you that you are separated on purpose, you are here for a reason in this

season

and many scholars have postulated that the exodus account where Moses is leading the people out of Egypt is intended to parallel or imitate the Genesis account when God created the earth and that gives us a deeper idea because the Scriptures say that when God was starting things, how many feel that 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 race then he said in the beginning God created everyone says created created the heavens and the earth hey separate in the beginning God created what is the title of my sermon creating separation you understand it in a minute because he said he created the heavens and the earth now look This now the earth was formless and empty darkness lay upon the surface of the deep.

I need to show you something because if I don't show it to you, I'm afraid and understand it it says that darkness was on the face of the deep it doesn't say that God created darkness first John 1:5 says that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all God He did not make darkness God did not create sin God did not create shame God is not the author of confusion so the darkness was there but then something happened the Spirit of God was floating over the waters and God said how did God create what you see so who spoke then said let there be light and there was life how many know that God wants to speak some things about your life today some distinguishing characteristics was to speak some things about what put you here? do about what he gave you your gifts for him about what you were created for then he spoke that look look look that's not the good part that's not the good part tell someone that's not even that and he saw that the light was well that's what he talked about and 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 talk about what I talked about this is what I think about it I think God wants for create a separation in your life today a separation between what was before God spoke what people said about you what your teachers say about you what your weakness is informs about you and the best word he is throwing in all our life, 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 what God did in Genesis with the earth he did it through Jesus born and now he said that everything is gone gone come on, get the phrase on every campus, that's what God is doing in this place today, he's separating the one from the darkness, he's separating your rugs from your past, he's separating his words over your life from the ones that worry you about your future, he said, I have to create. a separation so that the only thing that shines is what I spa play my own bridge organ so good Thank you future let's think that the characteristic stands out child of God stop trying to be so similar stop trying to look like what you came from why so afraid to stand out why are you so afraid to stand out I didn't start a church to be like all the other churches in the area how many that's not why you're here not because it was very similar but God wants to do something special don't change something special for similar and this is the process by which God creates separation.

You haven't heard that term before, but I've never heard it in a sermon. I heard it in sports, they talk about basketball players having the ability to create separation so they can shoot a higher percentage shot and they talk about it even in the fight, they talk about a range advantage, they talk about you know, if this guy can create separation he will make his opponent miss one of my friends play football I told him I would preach about creating separation and I told him what would you say about this because he is a receiver he said well tell people that creating separation doesn't It's always about being fast, but about knowing your route.

I'm running out of time, but let me take a moment and get back to the return round. It's interesting how God takes us out of situations and toward a purpose. It's not usually a straight line, that was one of the things that What was so confusing for Moses is that God gave him some instructions that seemed crazy. He said he could take you directly to the Promised Land. This is where the people of Israel were headed, they were headed and I know many of you may not have a ton. from a biblical background you don't need to know all this to get what God wants you to have, you just need to embrace it to the level that you can and I'm using the promised land that they were going to talk about all the promises. that God has established and spoken over your life, but the way God took them was unusual, the way he led them was not in a straight line, he told them to follow an interesting route and I want to read this to you in Exodus 14 demands a backup before that point where the water parted and they passed over dry land.

It says in verse 1 that when God was telling them where to go, he told Moses to tell the Israelites to go back and they camped near pi hyah Roth between Migdal on the sea and I could stop right at telling the Israelites to go back , that's what I find unusual about the instruction to leave Egypt after ten plagues after Pharaoh has resisted because God gets the greatest glory of his 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 don't leave and they are there, they leave Egypt, they start to go and God tells them to come back, make a mini arm, fanatics of football into big football fans, can you help me, help me, can you, okay, just come help me real quick, just with this point coming up, you two, who is something of you.

I know these guys, I love these guys, I look real quick, we don't have much time, I'm really getting close to my sermon time here and they'll start leaving on the other campuses if I'm gone too much and I don't want to. Okay, so come here, we're making a little mockup of a football stage. You know, you know a route back in football. Yeah, so do a real quick demonstration because there's a lot of people here among football fans and you know they don't know. what I'm talking about, but that's what my friend was talking to me about, so just run a little route back, you guys will be the defenders, go, so look, that's a return of what it means before that he wants to preach this so much because where he is trying to see, the goal is here, but he has a defender on him and if the defenders are too close, look, get out, get out, get out, get out, if the defender is too close, He can't get what he's supposed to carry, so he goes in to do it.

Progress to reach the goal, eventually he has to go back in the wrong direction momentarily, let's do it again because I think they're starting to understand it, so what I say is what I say sometimes, but sometimes you. We're going to go out and God will say come back so I can hit you, let's do it again, let's recreate that instead of repeating it. God says sometimes I will send you up, but I will bring you back to create separation.Thanks negative on the level. that we talked but I said what we just sat on that stage what the receiver does on a football fieldsometimes I need to do in your life that's sometimes when it seems like you're going backwards all I'm doing is making space someone left your life recently it's okay God has you on a comeback route you lost your job recently it's okay it's a return route there's someone breaking your heart baby it's okay someone better catch it this way.

I will place it in his womb. Look, hey, thanks for watching. Make sure you subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video. Go live and share this video with a friend and don't forget you can join me live every Sunday, thanks again for watching.