When we make time for God throughout our day, it helps eliminate distractions that could be keeping us from reaching our full potential. This is an excerpt from “Torn But Trustin.” To watch the full message from @elevationchurch, click here: 
• Torn But Trusting | Pastor Steven Fur… #faith #peace #hope #stevenfurtick #elevationchurch Chapters: 0:00 – I’m Feeling Torn 2:27 – Distracted By The Enemy 4:42 – Stop Trying To Just “Get Through” 7:57 – You Are Missing Blessings In-Between 11:24 – For Everybody Who’s Torn 14:40 – God Will Meet You In-Between
the truth is
I’m torn
that’s one of the things about being
between things
and say you can feel kind of torn
I mean just imagine I’m not going to
demonstrate it
two big strong guys standing on either
side of me today
and one is pulling me here
and one is pulling me there
and here I am in between
two things
in between my heavenly calling call
Justified glorified write with God
and then my sinful tendencies
lazy
self-pity
I can be very I can be very I can be a
very convincing victim
it’s their fault they didn’t they should
have
I can I can be a lot of things
I’m I’m torn
I know that starting the sermon this way
would be kind of interesting
because I think what people are looking
for when they come to church
is for me to talk about certain things
and then to leave other things for
Monday through Saturday
problem with that approach to Ministry
is
it’s what happens in between our Sunday
meetings
in between
it it will not be sufficient if you
write down everything I say today and
live none of it out until the next time
I see him
it will not be sufficient for us to get
a Bible lesson today that for a few
moments maybe tickles our intellect or
enlightens our senses or helps us to
know something grammatical or historical
about the word of God it is what we do
in between
I’ll prove it from the Bible faith comes
by hearing hearing by the word of God
but faith without works is dead
so Jesus said A sower went out to sow he
started sowing some of the seed before
it even hit the soil got snatched up by
the bird can that really happen of
course it can in between the release of
the seed of the word of God and the
Fertilization in the soil even before it
could hit the soil let alone germinate
beneath the soil before it even had the
opportunity to be what it could have
been what it should have been and what
it really was on the inside something
snatched it in between so you have to be
very careful about how you spend the
first first 30 minutes after you hear a
sermon
you have to beat back Birds the first
because the the enemy knows the enemy of
your soul the devil Satan no Slew Foot
Lucifer that old devil that Old Devil
the animal Pitchfork Devil he’s a little
bird he’s a cute little bird comes up in
you as a distraction snatches it in
between you can’t even get to the car
and hold on to what has been said
because we don’t know how to be bored
anymore we don’t know how to sit with
anything anymore we can’t think about a
word we can’t get out of search and
reflect on it for a minute so it can’t
germinate because you don’t meditate
because it got snatched in between
how many feel convicted
that we just run from one thing to the
other and and nothing in between so so
now I have so many games and so many
apps and so many distractions on my
phone that I have no time for any
creativity how could God Remind Me of
anything I gave him no space to set up
in between my appointments
and our lives are very crowded because
even the Bible itself is full of amazing
things that happened
in between
think about that
if we took out everything in the Bible
that happened
as the characters were going somewhere
else
we would have removed some of our best
Bible stories and we would have neutered
some of our best Bible characters
like Moses
the burning bush
if Moses
had had data
on his phone
he wouldn’t have seen the bush burning
because all he was doing was trying to
go to Horeb with the sheep for his
father-in-law jethra
and then he was going to go back to
Midian and in between
this bush catches on fire and God Says
by the way you’re about to lead a nation
out of slavery
that happened as he was going to do
something else
now that have been me
I’m I’m very sure that I wouldn’t have
looked at the bush
because I’d have been right here looking
at
something else the enemy is good at
filling the in between spaces
so you don’t even see God
I see this in in the life of Moses I was
thinking about
I guess my favorite Bible story because
it’s the first one I ever preached how
Peter walked on water to Jesus
you know that happened
just as they were trying to get from
Jesus didn’t Jesus didn’t set up a water
walking seminar that day
all they were trying to do is get from
the Eastern Shore to the western shore
and they were going to the western shore
to do miracles
but they had to leave the Eastern Shore
to go to Western store along the way
here comes the storm
and in the middle of the Storm Here
Comes Jesus
and as Jesus comes toward Peter Peter’s
like I want to come toward you and Peter
comes to our Jesus he falls down Jesus
picks him up takes him back to the boat
and they say truly you are the son of
God and we love that story
but it happened in between
it happened in between
you think Mary wanted to give birth to
Jesus in Bethlehem
you want to give birth to Jesus away
from your doctors away from your
hometown they were there for a census
and the savior of the world was born I’m
just trying to say
it’s some of the best stuff
happens in between
I want to remind you of that some of the
best things in your life while you’re so
focused on oh when I get through this
when I get through that oh when I just
get I just want to get to the end of
2022. you’ve been saying that for the
last 47 years about this time every year
you start thinking if I could just get
through this year I’m just waiting for a
new year and here it is follow okay just
a few more months if I could just get
through 2022. if you could just get
through 2022 you are going to take 2020
you into 2023 and 2022 ain’t gonna kill
20 20 you
I got stuck in a trap at one point in my
life of just surviving between Sundays
as a preacher
and at that time we were doing Saturday
night services
I haven’t forgot about Jacob I’m setting
this up okay
I haven’t forgot about it but I’m gonna
tell you something in between I read my
scripture now I’m gonna illustrate then
I’m gonna go back to Jacob I used to
just think
if I could just get to Sunday
and get another sermon
study pray beg plead offer my children
on the altar what do you want
and scary thing it’s a scary thing
y’all’s expectations are really high
it is y’all y’all really do have high
expectations be serious be funny be
wise you you
[Applause]
want one
[Applause]
I’m so torn if you can see me right now
I mean I might be holding it together on
the outside but on the inside
so I’ll just try to get to Sunday
and then I think if I could just get
through Sunday so wait a minute
your whole life is getting too
and getting through
and you are missing
so many things
in between
oh if I can get this degree
what you think that degree is going to
do
what do you think that degree is really
going to do it’s going to open doors
what’s on the other side of a door
what do you think’s on the other side of
the door a massage table
you think it’s a beach on the other side
of the door that the grill open the door
then you got to do the stuff that they
taught you to do that isn’t really what
you got to do because they don’t really
teach you in school what you got to do
what do you think that degree is going
to do for you
somebody shout I’m in between
you didn’t shout it convincingly because
it’s not sexy oh watch this watch this
somebody shout I made it
you see how much better you did that
shot this I’m gonna do it
come on shout it from your chest
[Applause]
but that in between thing you didn’t say
that too good on practice that
we don’t practice that in between we
don’t really know how to be in between
we really don’t know how to be in
between
oh we definitely know how to think about
the future
just we know how to in our minds
picture Jacob he’s he’s going to meet
with Esau he’s like okay now when you
get there you give him a first gift and
then you give him a second gift so it
won’t kill me you give him a third he’s
out there in the future he’s really good
at sending stuff ahead he’s sending
everything ahead so he thinks it’ll be
all right when he gets there he’s
sending everything ahead by the way he’s
come a long way he just got back from
mahanim where the angels of God met him
where the angels of God attended to him
where the angels of God show up so he’s
seen a lot of wonderful things behind
him but now we see Jacob in a very
interesting place he’s not in shechem
yet where he’s going but he can’t go
back to laban’s house either that’s his
uncle who he’s been living with for 20
years an angel of God tells him you got
to get up you got to go you got to move
right now you don’t have time to think
about it you don’t have time to
strategize it the only problem is if he
leaves Laban he has to deal with Esau
and the last time he saw Esau Esau had
blood in his eyes now we meet Jacob in
Genesis chapter 32 and the Bible says
that the angel of God begins to wrestle
with him at night and wrestles with him
all night
all night long Jacob is struggling with
something that he doesn’t know what it
is but this is nothing new to Jacob you
see he’s been practicing this since the
womb he’s been manipulating situations
since he was old enough to calculate
he’s been moving here and moving there
and doing this and doing that and
scheming things and plotting things not
only did he steal his brother’s
Birthright he stole his Blessing too by
pretending to be his brother and now
he’s got to face the one that he
pretended to be who wanted to kill him
the last time he saw him but I can’t
stay with Laban but I can’t deal with
Esau I’m standing here needing the help
of God and so God comes not to help him
but the wrestle with him
and it’s interesting to me
that it didn’t happen when he got to
Esau
the fight
Esau gave him a hug
and God gave him a broken hip
I’m confused
I thought you asked God to bless you
Jacob
and he said bless me
bless me I’m not letting go until he
bless me let’s read the text again this
is
wow wow this is just unbelievable for
for everybody who’s in between right now
for everybody who’s torn
between what you believe that God has
spoken that you really are and what you
feel like from time to time
everybody who’s torn right now how many
of you are in a seasonal shift in your
life was very difficult for you to
comprehend where you’re at because I’m
42. how many of y’all think that’s Young
how many I think that’s old
I’m torn
I’m torn
I’m torn Graham’s hand went up so high
when I said oh
and half this section I don’t know
what’s going on over here in this
section y’all said it was really young
I’m torn
I’ll know which one to believe
life is tricky because
life will intersect in betweens
so you raise teenagers
but you’re also a teenager
because he’s about to turn 15.
I’m close to turning 50. both of us are
in the middle of something
and I don’t know what I’m in the middle
of and he doesn’t know what he’s in the
middle of
and so now I’m trying to raise somebody
as I walk through something
that I haven’t seen the end of yet
myself and look back at what he’s in the
middle of well I’m in the middle of mine
and tell him about the middle of his and
bring him safely through it and don’t
get him killed
and he’s stubborn so when he wants to
learn how to drive watch this he doesn’t
have enough money to afford a car
but he doesn’t have enough humility to
listen to me when I’m teaching him how
to drive it
[Applause]
I’m just kidding Graham You’re So
Perfect
he’s going to be a great driver I
prophesied I declare it I decree it I
plead the blood
[Applause]
but that’s what I mean by in between is
Jacob knowing I can’t stay with Laban
where he met his his wife Leah and his
other wife Rachel
and he married one and thought he was
marrying the other
this dude has a lot of problems at night
Jacob needs to put a 9 pm curfew on
himself because he gets in trouble at
night he went and slept with the wrong
sister at night woke up and the Bible’s
so funny the Bible says he thought he
laid down with Rachel that’s who he
wanted to marry he he commits to her
father I’m a work seven years so I can
marry Rachel okay at the end of seven
years the father Laban slips in Leah the
other sister who has what we say the
good personality
Leah has a good personality Jacob goes
to bed thinking it’s Rachel wakes up and
there the Bible says there was Leah so
funny
this is kind of like that because
everything in the text watch this is
what Drew Drew me to the text when I was
thinking about being in between things
nobody’s calling me the young Pastor
anymore but nobody thinks I’m an old
sage either oh God what am I I am not a
spiritual Bible quote and tongue talking
Christian all the time but I’m not
trying to cuss people out either and
start fights because I’ve learned too
much to be ugly all the time and no I’m
gonna have to clean up messes after I
make them so I’m too saved to be angry
and too fleshly to be perfect and I’m
stuck in the middle feeling like ah
[Applause]
[Music]
because I could handle it if I had the
self-control to just pray for people
that would be one thing if I was just
worldly and I knew Jujitsu I could
handle it that way
[Applause]
but it’s in between so
it’s night time
Jacob is heading to what he thinks is
his appointment
he’s leaving what has been his Refuge
and God
meets him in
between
the Lord said to tell you today he’s
trying
to meet you in between
and he’s got you
in between
for a reason
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[Music]