Today I am starting a new teaching that is really  just a continuation of what I've been teaching.   I'm going to talk about the three best questions  you can ask in your life only if you're confused,   uncomfortable, or uncertain. If  you are none of those three things,   check your pulse and watch something else. But if you've been asking some questions  lately and the answers are slow in coming,   God has a word for you. This  begins a new teaching today.   To introduce it to you, I wanted to show you  a video I made with Abbey when I showed her   what my next sermon was going to be and I caught  her reaction on my iPhone. Check this out. [Video] Steven Furtick: My new sermon series. Abbey Furtick: Run control? Run control?   Run control? Steven: Look at it again. Abbey:   Are you in control? Steven:   What do you think? Abbey: Oh, my gosh!  Steven: Do you love it? Abbey: Oh, my gosh! That's awesome! [End of video] It's awesome! Put it on the screen. Let's go. R U  N CTRL? Because haven't we kind of wondered that   lately? Are you honest? "Are you…?" You don't  want to say it like that. You don't want to ask   the Lord if he's in control or you're scared  he'll give you a lightning bolt or a flat tire   or a hemorrhoid or something like that, so you  don't really say, "Lord, are you in control?" You just kind of secretly wonder, "Lord, it's  still you on the throne up there? Right? They   didn't kick you off?" It can make you wonder. Even  though we don't really put those words around it,   the question we want to talk about today  is…Are you in control? I want to write it   down just like that. Put it up one more time.  R U N CTRL? That's how the Lord gave it to me. I made a list of questions on my phone.  I was like, "I wonder what are the best   questions in the Bible," because I got on this  trajectory of realizing making progress in your   relationship with God usually looks like  having less answers and better questions.   So how do I know if I'm growing  in my relationship with God? Usually, you will know you're growing in  your relationship with God and your maturity   in this world when you have less answers and  better questions, so the way I wanted to give   it to you one more time is that I did it like  that. R U N CTRL? It looks like the word run. The Lord showed me there are three  questions that are running in the   background of your mind all of the time that  are determining or driving your state of mind,   and to get there we have to go all of the way  back to the prison where Paul wrote Philippians. I don't know what my favorite book in the  Bible is. We're talking about questions. I   had been asked before, "What is your  favorite book of the Bible?" I don't   know what my favorite is. I don't know if you're  supposed to have a favorite book of the Bible,   but the most functional for me in the last  few years has been the book of Philippians. Of all four chapters in the book of Philippians,  the most functional chapter… What I mean is   it has been working for me. It has been  working for me. When I ran out of answers,   it helped me with my question. I'm going to show  you today the three questions. We won't get to   all of them today, but we're going to look at  three questions that are controlling your life. When I ask the question, "Are  you in control?" you're like,   "No. God is in control. Let's go home. Let's  go eat some pot roast and all of that." You do know that God is in control.   You're like, "Is he setting us up or something?"  Yes. I'm setting you up, because what I want to   know is, if God is in control, why would anybody  ever be overweight? If God is in control,   why would anybody ever be addicted? If God is  in control, why would anybody ever be abused? You wonder that, too, but you just won't ask it.  You don't ask it because you're scared to ask it   because you think God is insecure like you are  and if you question him he won't have the answer,   but God has the answers, so he's not intimidated  by your questions. What insults God is when you   think he is so small and he has some kind  of ego where he can't handle your questions. When you think about that question… I'm so excited  to share this with you, because I believe as we   get this it's going to be one of those series that  I want you to give me all three weeks. I think   it's going to take three weeks. Maybe two. Maybe  four. Maybe I'll just do it the rest of the year. When I started asking the question, "Are  you in control, God?" I realized it's a   complicated answer. Yes, he is sovereign. How  can he be so sovereign and I feel so stuck?   How can he be so sovereign and some  suffer so much? How can he be so sovereign   and some struggle so long? Of course, I'm  not confident enough in my professional   competence to answer that. That's why  we're going to Paul in just a moment,   but realize… Maybe I can give it to you this  way. Here's the first thing you can write down. God is always in control, but  he doesn't always take control.   God is always in control, but  he doesn't always take control.   It's like when I gained 50 pounds in  the first 18 months of being married.   God never took any macaroni off of my plate. He  let me eat as much macaroni as I wanted to eat. I was thinking about eating, and I've said it a  few times now, because I'm a little hungry as I   preach, to be honest with you, but the real  reason I thought of it was portion control.   God's not going to control the portion of food  you eat or the portion of news that you consume.   Are you ready? He's not going to control  the portion of the Bible you read. God will let you watch as many episodes  of Outer Banks. Is that the right show?   He'll let you watch every episode  and not read your Bible one time.   God will let you scroll Instagram until you  throw up pictures of somebody else's vacation.   He won't stop you. He's in control.  That doesn't stop you from scrolling. I remember the first time… I felt so pathetic  when Instagram told me, "You're all caught up."   I was like, "Facebook is trying to save  me! They legally have to tell me I've   seen this crap already." God doesn't  stop you from scrolling. God is always   in control, and I'm grateful, but  he doesn't always take control. Isn't that what we really  want? A remote-control God   who we can tell what to do with other people and  from his holy heaven he will make everybody do   everything we want them to do? He is  not a remote-control God. He is the Word   who became flesh and dwelt among us so  that his Spirit could live within us. Maybe I could illustrate it this way. For  everybody who is confused and uncertain,   like Paul was in prison… I came out  earlier, and I said, "Let's show them   with the cameras to set up this idea of,  'Are you in control?'" In the room right now,   there are eight cameras, I think. Maybe  more. I don't know how many hidden   cameras or security cameras there are, but I  think there are eight so that this message can   be brought to you in high definition and high  fidelity the Word of God in all of its clarity. Let's say the way it works is there are different  cameras I look at. Here's camera one. I think   that's Bowser on camera one. Hey, Bowser. He's  taking a break from throwing hamburgers at Mario   for a minute and running the camera. Jay Bowser  everybody. That's called camera one. I don't   know if they call it camera one because he's  the most important one, but it is right there.  If they put a Scripture up, I can see  it. It's great! That's camera one. Then, over here on this camera, it's camera four  or five or something like that. It doesn't matter.   The point is who is running this one today?  Abraham. Okay. Abraham. Abraham is over here. If I   go to this camera, you can see me now. I'm looking  at the camera. This is the way God gave it to me,   like a picture just to make it simple for what  we're going to talk about over the next few weeks. If Abraham's camera goes out of focus… Go  ahead and make it blurry really quickly.   Sometimes this happens as I'm moving around.  They have to focus the camera. You can't see me   really well, and that's distracting. You're like,  "That looks horrible! I was tithing to Elevation,   but now I'm going to give it somewhere else. They  don't have any money in the equipment." Then,   I'm like, "Bowser!" I'm looking at  the camera, but nothing changed. What you have to understand is he's behind the  camera, but he's not controlling the camera.   Furthermore… Let me come back  over here where it's blurry.   See how you can't really see it (like how your  life feels right now and how your plans feel   right now and how your future feels right now  and how the outcome of certain things in the   United States of America feels right now and how  what God is doing in the world feels right now). This is how it has felt for a little while.  Bowser is on camera one. "Bowser! Come on,   man! Do your job! I'm looking at  that camera. Give me that camera,"   but he can't control that camera. That  camera is controlled in another room.   The name of the room is the control room. In  the control room is somebody named Chelsea. Chelsea has a headset, and Bowser  does not have the capability   to switch to that camera without Chelsea saying  the following words: "Take it." When Chelsea says,   "Take it," there it is in focus. Now, he's on  the camera, but he doesn't control the camera.   If I'm over here… Make it blurry again. Make it  really blurry, Abraham. Make it really blurry. I look over here and say, "Come on, Bowser! Do  your job! Come on, Bowser! What's wrong with   you? Come on, Bowser! Are you distracted? Come  on, Bowser! Did you sleep in today or forget   to show up for the run-through? Come on,  Bowser! Let's go! Let's go!" I can yell at   him all I want, but he's not controlling  the camera until Chelsea says, "Take it." Now, God says, "You can stay in a state  of confusion…" Make it blurry, Abraham.   "…all you want, and you can complain about me  all you want," but God says… God can give you   a promise, but until you take it… God can give  you peace, but you will feel unclear until you   take it. I hear the Spirit of God saying today,  "I have given you redemption, restoration,   and purpose, but you have to take it." Are you in control? There are three questions  in Philippians 1 that I think will help us   with our focus. For me, in the last six  months, focus has been a matter of survival.   For the first week of the global pandemic,  I had news stations on all around.   I had to turn them off, because I  realized if I kept watching their news,   I wouldn't be able to preach  the good news (the gospel).  I found out why they call it breaking  news. Because it will break your brain. Paul is going to talk to us today in  a situation where it seems like God is   maybe not in control. "Are you in  control, God? Because here I am in prison,   and here you are sovereign, and here I am stuck."   This really helped me. Y'all pray for me that I  can read the whole thing with no interruptions. How many believe God will give me the  willpower to read all 14 verses and not stop or   interrupt? I'm going to prove you wrong. How many  of y'all want to chant, "Believe in me"? Say,   "I believe in you, pastor. I don't care  about these other people. Fire them all!   Fire your staff! We believe in you. Believe  in Steve." There we go! Philippians 1:12: "Now I want you to know, brothers and  sisters, that what has happened to   me has actually served to advance the  gospel. As a result…" He's not. Okay.   Just one. He's not focused on the  resistance; he's focused on the results.   "…it has become clear…" Abraham.  "…it has become…" Take it.   "…clear…" "…it has become clear…" The situation  is uncertain, but my purpose has become clear. "…throughout the whole palace guard and to  everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.   And because of my chains, most  of the brothers and sisters   have become confident in the Lord and  dare all the more to proclaim the gospel   [the good news] without fear. It  is true…" Somebody say, "Facts." "…that some preach Christ out of envy  and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.   The latter do so out of love, knowing that I  am put here for the defense of the gospel. The   former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not  sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble   for me while I am in chains. But what does it  matter? The important thing is that in every way…" I've already given you the first question.  There are three. I've already given you the   first one. See if you can find all three.  Two of them are right there in the text,   and one is implied. He said, "But what does it  matter? The important thing is that in every way,   whether from false motives or true,  Christ is preached. And because of   this I rejoice. Yes, and I  will continue to rejoice…" I'll rejoice in my bathrobe watching church   in my living room. I will continue to rejoice. I  will rejoice without a job or cut back on hours.   I will rejoice even as I wake up in the  middle of the night in the middle of a   full-blown panic attack. I will praise my way  back to sleep. I will breathe my way into peace. "…I will continue to rejoice, for  I know that through your prayers   and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ  what has happened to me will turn out for my   deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will  in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient   courage so that now as always Christ will be  exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.   If I am to go on living in the body, this will  mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I   choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two…"  I kind of want to get out of here. It's crazy.   "…but it is more necessary for you that I remain  in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I   will remain, and I will continue with all of  you for your progress and joy in the faith…" Isn't it funny that he calls it  progress while he's in prison?   He must be measuring something.  He must be asking a different   question, and he does not give them any  of the answers they would have asked for,   because I'm going to tell you what they  wanted to know. When are you getting out? The church at Philippi is like your kids  in the car. All they want to know is,   "Are we there yet?" How many think that's the second   most annoying question your kids ask? You're like,  "Well, what's the first?" For me, "Do we have to?   Do I have to?" I feel the spirit of  slap-your-tongue-out-of-your-mouth   coming. "Do I have to unload the  dishwasher?" Okay. No. You don't have to.   I will rip the dishwasher out and throw it in  the yard. You can wash it all by hand. Then,   after that, your Mom will cook for me,  and you will watch. You don't have to. I used to hate it when staff members  would say, "Do we have to come?   Do we have to come to Saturday night service?"  Sometimes the Lord just has to take stuff away   for a minute for you to appreciate it to get it  back. "Do I have to be there?" Now, it's like,   "God, can I please come! Can I please?"  That happens. That happens in our lives. The Lord was telling me there are some really bad   questions that I ask, questions that  either he doesn't want me to know…   My mom used to always say, "If I had  wanted you to know I would have told you."   The way Paul started the text… Go back to verse 12  really quickly. He said, "Now I want you to know…" Then, he doesn't tell them what they want to  know. "When are you getting out?" He tells them   what he wants them to know. That's like God. He  tells you what he wants you to know. God controls   the flow of information to our lives, and he  doesn't owe us an explanation for everything. My amens are fading fast. My amens are fading  fast. My amens are shutting down right now. I feel   like I'm going to have to come over  here and preach this to Jenna. Now,   Jenna, I specifically asked if you  could be out on the stage today,   because I was watching you worship the  other day, and I realized you are an   example of someone who never really asks for  the spotlight. That blessed me. It blessed me   because a lot of singers want to know, "When  am I going to get to…?" It's a dumb question. I realized the better question isn't,  "When am I going to get credit?"   It is, "What is God calling me to do?" Now,  when God does not give you an answer… How   many of you are waiting for an answer from  God about something in your life right now?   Okay. If he won't give you the  answer, ask him for a better question. Do you want an example of this? When Moses asked  God in Exodus, chapter 4, verse 1… You remember.   He is called by God. We discussed Moses a couple  of weeks ago. I kind of finished my sermon talking   about Moses and how the proof you have it in  you is that he asked you to do it, because he   won't ask anything of you that he didn't first  put in you. I'm just reminding you of that. Remember, the first thing Moses said was, "What  if they do not believe me?" talking about the   Israelites. Now, let's isolate those three words.  "What if they…" That's a bad question. Any time   your question revolves around other people it is  outside of the realm of your sovereign control.   "What if they…" I don't care what you say next.  You can't control it. "What if they…" is a bad   question. Watch what God does. He answers Moses'  question with a question, but it's an upgrade. When I saw this, I shouted. Are you ready? Moses  said, "What if they…" Look at verse 2. "Then   the Lord said to him, 'What is  that…?'" Let's go. Moses said,   "What if they…" God said, "What is that…?" Moses  is asking about what he can't control. He's   asking about a hypothetical scenario that involves  others, and God says, "What is that in your hand?" God will always point you to what is at  hand, and the more your questions revolve   around hypothetical situations that haven't  happened and may not happen the longer you   are going to stand in the absence of an answer  which you will mistake for the absence of God,   but God asked a better question. It's  not, "What if they…" It's, "What is that?" When you focus on what God has given you… I love  this. I spent so much time asking the question,   "What if they?" or "What if that?"  or "What if this?" but God says,   "I have already given you a  that no matter what they do."   That's an example of what I'm talking  about with the power of a better question. The proof of my progress in my relationship with  God is I have less answers and better questions.   The three questions that are  always running in your mind   are…What does it matter, what does  it mean, and what shall I choose?   All three are in the text. I'll be honest  with you. The first one caught me off guard   when I was just minding my own  business preaching Philippians 1. I was standing on this stage. I will never forget  it. I was standing on stage. I didn't study for   it or anything. I was just reading through it.  There is some really good stuff in the book of   Philippians, some really famous verses. "…being  confident of this, that he who began a good   work in you will carry it on to completion until  the day of Christ Jesus." That's a great verse. One of them we read… "For to me, to live is  Christ and to die is gain." How about this one?   "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place  and gave him the name that is above every name,   that at the name of Jesus every knee should  bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,   and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ  is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." These are the famous verses in Philippians,  and they're good. I always thought those   were the most important verses of the whole  thing, and there are some other ones, too,   that you know. You know these verses. "…I do not  consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But   one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and  straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward   the goal to win the prize…" How many times have  you heard that on New Year's Eve or something   like that? "Forgetting what is behind…"  Forget the past. Press toward what is ahead. "I can do all this through him who gives  me strength." Great verses in Philippians.   "And my God will meet all your needs  according to the riches of his glory…"   All of those verses I love. The one that jumped  up and bit me was in verse 18 of chapter 1   where Paul says, "…what does it matter?" The  Lord arrested me in the middle of my sermon.   I was trying to get to another verse,  and the Lord said, "Stop right there." If you get that question wrong, nothing  else matters. "…what does it matter?" Then,   if you drop down a little bit to verse 22, Paul  says, "If I am to go on living in the body,   this will mean fruitful labor for me." What  does it mean? Then, he asks a question you   wouldn't think he's in any position  to consider. "…what shall I choose?" I love it, because Paul is such  a control freak, and so am I.   I almost called this message, and maybe I'll  put it on the thumbnail to get some clickbait   and get some people saved on the YouTube  channel, Confessions of a Control Freak.   I'm reading Philippians, and I'm just going  along, and I'm like, "Paul is so used to   calling the shots he doesn't realize he's  not going to get to be in charge this time." He's like, "I've been thinking about it.  I might want to stay." Caesar is going to   make that decision, buddy. He's like,  "No, no, no! It's the wrong question.   I'm not talking about whether or not I'm going to  get out of the situation. I'm talking about what   God is doing in the midst of it." The moment  you take control of the answer to these three   questions, and here they are again… What does it  matter? What does it mean? What shall I choose?   You have to say shall because it puts a little  King James authority on it. What shall I choose? I'm telling you. God doesn't control  everything. He gives you choice. Holly   said last week that the word rejoice comes  in the book of Philippians how many times?   Do you remember? It's 16 times (joy and  rejoice). I thought the theme of the   book of Philippians was joy, but I found out  it's really freedom. He is still in control   of his soul's state even though he can  change nothing about his circumstance. The Lord told me to preach it because these three  questions are running your life in a back room.   What's showing up on the screen right  now is because somebody is on a camera,   but the one who is on the camera is not  controlling it. It doesn't start where you see it.   You see it on the screen. It  doesn't start on the screen.   That camera has to capture this message  and send it out, but he doesn't control it. The way the Lord showed me this was like,  "This is like your feelings or your state   of mind or your thoughts." Bowser, you're not  God in the analogy. You're just my thoughts.   Chelsea is my questions. Every thought I have  started with a question. If I ask a bad question…   This is the worst question: What's wrong with me? That is probably the most frequently asked  question. If you were to do a lobotomy   of Steven Furtick's FAQ that I ask myself  over and over again… "What's wrong with you?   What's wrong with you?" Let me tell  you what happens when you ask that   question. That question will attract a million  answers because the Devil has a list ready. Oh, my God! That is the most magnetic  question in the universe. The moment you say,   "What is wrong with me?" here comes every  demon from the time that you were conscious,   and they will line up with a list.  "What's wrong with you? Okay. Where   do you want me to start? Let's start  with your physical appearance. Okay." It's the wrong question. How many of y'all are  like me? "What's wrong with me? What's my problem?   How could I be so stupid, so stupid, so  stupid?" The Devil is like, "I can tell you   how you can be so stupid. Your dad was stupid."  The Devil has a list. He'll show you everything   from your genetics to your jawline, but your  questions direct the integrity of your thoughts. When Paul asks in Philippians 1:18, "…what  does it matter?" he is setting the direction   of his thoughts by controlling the focus  of his priorities. What does it matter?   In his case, he's talking about some people  who are using his uniquely vulnerable situation   as an apostle who is in chains to capitalize on  the situation. He's like, "It doesn't matter." I want to go, "Yes, it does," because  there's something in me that always wants to…   I'm really quick to get offended. I'm just  getting it out there and telling you like it is.   It's easier to preach when I'm not up here hiding  stuff from you. I am quick to get offended, and   I found out offense blocks my flow.  I don't like it. I don't like it. I kind of wished I would have talked to Paul  sooner, because he could have saved me so   much time if he would have taught me that human  opinion doesn't matter as much as I think it does.   It really changes through the years. When you're in middle school, this is  your biggest question about everything   from how you dress to what you say to  what you don't say. "How can I fit in?"   Then, you go to apply for college. They're  going to teach you how to put something on   your application so you can stand out. "I don't  know what to do! The questions are changing." When I started the church, it was like, "How  can I get people here?" Then, people started   coming, and I was like, "How can I keep doing this  over and over again so I don't let anybody down?" The questions are shifting, but I want you to  notice that before he can get into what it means   about what you're going through and where is God  in my situation… "God, what do you want me to do?" The first question is…What does  it matter? What does it matter?   I get so distracted. I get so distracted.  My focus gets so broken. It's actually even   hard for me to sometimes look around the room  when I'm preaching, because if somebody looks   like… I remember one time a guy looked really mad  when I was preaching. It put me in an anger vibe. I started pulling out Bible verses about wrath  and judgment and the second death. I didn't   even know I knew those verses. I was just going  for it. They got word to me later. They said,   "That man was going through a divorce." I said,  "Oh, okay! So I misinterpreted the situation,"   because I was asking the wrong question. I was  looking at him going, "Why does he hate me?"   Really, he hated his situation. I asked the wrong question. I was starting with  them. "Why do they always…?" You know it's a bad   question when it includes the word always. "Why do  they always…?" They don't always. Nobody always.   My theology is better than my grammar. Nobody  always does anything, so the question starts with,   "…what does it matter?" This is where you  have to…write this phrase down…decide your   distractions. Decide your distractions. To realize  in this moment the only thing that matters to me   is that you connect to God and  get the word that he has for you. I will do anything to get it across. I'll  do camera tricks and camera angles. I'll run   around the stage. I would do anything  to get it across because I have come   past the point in my ministry now of  thinking the goal is to be impressive.   The goal is not for me to impress  you. It is to connect you to heaven. If I connect you to heaven, the ministry will  flow through me, and all of our needs will be met,   but it takes you a little while to find out what  matters, and usually you don't even realize how   much it matters until after it happened. Isn't  that sad? You think the wrong thing matters until   after it's over. Then you realize it wasn't really  that important. It really wasn't that important. I'm asking God to help me decide in advance what  my distractions are. Here's what Paul taught me.   Not every disruption is a distraction. Remember,  this is the apostle that is taking the gospel to   the world, planting churches, and all that  progress has stopped…apparently. Paul said,   "Actually, the gospel is moving  forward." He decided what mattered. Did you or did you outsource your priorities to a   broken world who doesn't know its right  from its left or its up from its down?   What does it matter? What does it matter?  I wish I would have talked to Paul sooner.   It would have been so good. I wouldn't  have tried to chase people to get them to   like me because I would have realized it's not  really what they think about me that matters. If I would have talked to Paul sooner, I could  have realized a human opinion is nothing compared   to a divine seal. When God puts his seal of  ownership on you, people can think what they   want and say what they want. I'm just telling  you if I would have talked to Paul sooner… I didn't know, and because I didn't know I got  petty. I got petty. I got jealous. I got worked   up. I got freaked out. I thought, "Oh, God!" If  we could have talked to Paul when we were starting   the church, how much time could we have saved  worrying about stuff that didn't matter? Y'all,   I got so possessed by this verse a couple of  years ago I made bracelets for the whole church. Instead of WWJD, I made a WDIM (what  does it matter) bracelet, but do you   know what? It's not if it's on a bracelet.  It's in your brain. It is your thoughts,   and I'm still asking it. Does it  really matter? Does it really matter? Somebody told me you should the day and decade  test. I was like, "What is that?" They were like,   "Well, if it won't matter in a day or in a  decade, don't worry about it." That didn't   help me too much, but here's what did help me. I  didn't really get what they were trying to say,   but here's what did help me. I did some flashbacks to stuff that frustrated  me so badly and to some stuff that had me so   afraid that never happened. As I was doing those  flashbacks and realizing God's faithfulness,   it was an exercise for me. It was an  exercise in asking a better question.   The question, "What does it matter?" will  eliminate 95 percent of my prayer requests.   Just by asking God, "Give me your priorities," it  will direct my resources, but it will start with   the question. It is a clarifying question.  Make it blurry, Abraham. Come on, Abraham. You remember Abraham and Sarah in the Bible.   This is kind of crazy. In Genesis 18,  Sarah was laughing because God said   that she was going to have a baby. This is Genesis  18:12. It says, "So Sarah laughed to herself…"   She didn't LOL. She LTH. Do you see it  in the Scripture? She laughed to herself. Look at this. She said, "After I am worn out and  my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?"  "I don't see how this could happen now!" Then,  the Lord said to Abraham, "Take it." Why did   Sarah laugh and say, "Will I really have a child  now that I am old?" Here's a better question.   "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Do you see  how that clarified it? You don't need an answer.   You need to quit caring about stupid stuff!  Because I can worry about some stupid stuff.   I can worry about some stupid stuff like  how and when and what are they going to say? That's what Paul was saying. It really doesn't  matter what their motive is; it matters what   God's purpose is. If it is God's purpose in  my life being accomplished, it doesn't matter.   I feel something on this. Say, "I have  too much purpose to be petty. I have too   much purpose to be petty. I have  too much purpose to be petty." Who wants to keep pace with me? Are you ready?  He said, "I am put here for the defense of the   gospel." Let's talk about that phrase. Who  put this table here? You don't even know.   What was it put it here for?  That's the important thing.   Yeah! It was put here so I  could preach. Write this down. Who put it here isn't as  important as why it was put here.   When Paul says, "I am put here for the defense of  the gospel," he could have just as easily said,   "I was put here by Caesar because Rome is  so wicked," but he didn't say any of that.   He said, "Rome might be the reason I got here  from a human standpoint…" This is for anybody   who is trying to figure out why this happened  and why that happened. That is a bad question. The better question is, "God, what are  you doing right now in my life?" Not,   "How long are you going to leave me  here?" You notice Paul didn't ask that   one time. "How long is God going to leave  me here?" Instead, he asked the question,   "What am I put here for?" I wonder what would  happen if you asked that about your life. "What was I put here for?"  Not, "Who was I put here by?"   That's going to make you bitter, because  you're going to start blaming people.   You're going to start blaming people who didn't  support you. You're going to start blaming people   who didn't encourage you. You're going to start  blaming people who should have been there for you.   What you were put here for matters  more than who you were put here by. I don't know. I just feel like  God is anointing this message.   God said, "Put a shrug emoji in the chat."   He said, "That is the official emoji of heaven  over most of the stuff you're stressed about."   The Lord said, "I need you to make an  I-don't-care list," a list of, "I'm   going to quit caring about this so I can focus  on that," because I cannot care about everything. You know that. Right? You know you were not  designed to care about everything. "Well,   if you don't watch the news all of the  time how are you going to be informed?"   My sanity matters more than my being informed.  Talk to me, back row. Talk to me, back row.   I'm going to tell you another  thing Holly said last week. She said, "Are you trying to prove your point  or are you trying to keep the relationship?"   Paul said, "It doesn't matter what their  motive is. It matters what God's mission is."   You have to decide in your life. You have  to decide what is going to matter to you. What is going to matter to you in this season?  What is going to matter to you in this moment?  You might have to come back to that  a thousand times. I'm telling you.   Sometimes I just have to do this  over and over and over again.   I have a flip phone. I don't have a Sidekick.  It's not some sketchy thing like that. I have a flip phone, because sometimes I just  can't care about and process everything all of the   time, because it matters more to me to be  available to God than accessible to everyone else,   so I just can't care about everything. What  does it matter? People sometimes ask me,   "Did you see what they said?" I'm like,  "Nope." They're like, "Do you want to know?" "Nope." "I saw this thing about you. Do you want to hear?" "No. I don't want to hear." Ctrl+Alt+Del. Ctrl+Alt+Del. It's a  spiritual command function. Right?   Ctrl+Alt+Del. I have to change some priorities if  I am going to expect God's resources, and they are   connected. When Paul says, "I expect that through  your prayers and the provision of God's Spirit   that what has happened to me will turn out  for my deliverance," that doesn't happen   unless he correctly answers the  question, "What does it matter?" What does it matter the stupid stuff?   It set me free because I used to think  I'd embarrass myself. I'd be like, "Oh,   man! I said this or that. I'm embarrassed."  They don't care. People are paying way too much   attention to themselves to care about anything  you mispronounced or said wrong. It's true. The greatest way for you to stop being so  self-centered is to realize how self-centered   everybody else is. Everybody is walking around  going, "God, I can't believe I said that,"   like they're going home and studying the  Scripture of what you said. What does it matter? I preached one week, and my button was  undone. I didn't realize my button was undone.   I bet I stressed about that for three days,  like the button police were watching my YouTube.   How stupid is that? Here I am preaching the  Bible telling people that Jesus Christ is   Lord and sovereign, and I'm stuck on a  button. Now, y'all are looking awfully   judgmental. I bet you've gotten stuck on some  stuff. God said he will not control everything.   He will not control your priorities. You  will. You will decide what matters to you. What does it matter? What does it matter?  Everything else is a distraction. What   does it matter? I'm so overflowing  with things to tell you about this.   Yet, it would be irresponsible for me  to not tell you that can work both ways.   Just like you care too much about some stuff there  is some other stuff you don't care enough about. For Paul, he had it clear. Remember, he  said, "It's clear to me the important thing   is Christ is preached." The good news.  The gospel. Purpose. All of that stuff.   Well, I think if the Devil can't distract  you he'll discourage you. I don't think he   really cares how he takes you out. He just  doesn't want you to know why you're here. In my study of the Scripture, Paul's attitude  reminded me a little of another prophet from   the Old Testament called Elijah. He was a really  powerful dude, but he had a lot of insecurities,   I think, and I think that because it manifested  in him tending to perform well in public but to   have problematic conversations and  ask the wrong questions in private. I don't know if you can relate to this, but  he looked really good on the outside. He   looked really amazing on the outside, and he  looked really powerful on the outside, but   there is a Scripture that was playing in  my head, and I couldn't figure out why I   kept thinking about it until I realized, just  like you need to ask, "What does it matter?"   about some certain things and push them  to the side in this season of your life… And I would ask that. What do you need to push  to the side ("That doesn't matter, and that   doesn't matter, and that doesn't matter")  to make room for the things that do?   There are also some times when the Devil will  try to convince you that something doesn't matter   that actually really does, like  when Elijah called down fire on   Mount Carmel and the false prophets  were all put to death with the sword. You may know this story or you may not. It really  doesn't matter if you know all of the details.   There was one specific moment that was really on  my heart to talk to you about because he went all   alone after this great victory in his life. He  went to a cave, and he spent the night in a cave,   and the voice of the Lord came to him in the cave. You have to remember the Lord didn't really shout.  He whispered. A lot of times the Lord will be like   a whisper. He'll be like a whisper. He's not  a remote-control God. He's an up-close God,   so he'll be like a whisper. The question he  asked Elijah not with a lot of decibels but   with a lot of clarity was,  "What are you doing here?" What Elijah said next reflects where his heart  was. He said, "I have been very zealous for the   Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected  your covenant and torn down your altars and put   your prophets to death at the sword. I am the only  one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." I hear in his response the words of a man   who has done all that he can do and has come  to the conclusion that none of it matters.   I hear a man who is at the end of his energy  and who has given everything he can for the   people he served. I hear him, almost like the  opposite of Paul, saying, "What does it matter?   It's never going to get better.  It doesn't matter. Why even try?" Do you remember when I preached I'm Tired  of Trying? I heard Elijah saying that. "I'm   sick of this. It's outside of my control. I'm  done. I'm drained. I'm the only one left."   The irony of it is that he had enough faith  for his words to control the weather system. He had enough faith to command the drought,   but the question that would bring him out of  depression is the question you must ask. "What   am I doing here?" Paul asked that question, and  he decided, "I'm here for a purpose." That's a   decision. That's an interpretation. That is not  a fact on the surface. That is a product of his   faith. He decided that. He decided that. He could  have said, "I'm here because it's unfair. I'm here   because the system is broken," but focusing  on what is broken will never set you free. I'm going to say it again. Focusing on  what is broken will never set you free,   so as long as your question is, "Why did they?"  and "When will they?" and "How will they?"   God said, "What is that? What have I called you  to do?" What has God called me to do? What has   God given me in this season that can't  be taken away? What can I control? What   can I speak? What can I activate? How can  I move it forward? What are the advantages? "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who  dares to defy the armies of the living God?"   They saw Goliath and said, "How  can we kill him? He's big!"   David said, "How can we miss him? He's big."  All you have to do… Listen to me, child of God.   All you have to do is change the question  even if you don't know all of the answers. I feel like preaching, because God said, "No. I'm  not going to give you an answer. I'm going to give   you a better question." What are you doing here,  you mighty man of valor? What are you doing here,   you unique daughter of God?  What are you doing in this place   after you have seen me time and  time again roll back the heavens   and __________ the sky and come down  and crush your enemies? What are you doing here? He really wasn't running from Jezebel, who  threatened his life. He was running from himself   because he had gotten the question wrong. If the  Devil can't distract you, he'll discourage you.   I want to minister to the distracted people  today and tell you that some stuff doesn't   matter as much as you think it does, but I  want to talk to some discouraged people today. Do you reckon Paul knew we would make bumper  stickers out of stuff he wrote in prison?   He didn't even know how much it mattered,  and neither do you, so stop waiting on your   7-year-old to tell you, "You are a father who is  leaving a legacy, and everything you are doing   for me is good seed, and if you train me up in the  way I should go, when I am old I will not depart   from it." You won't know how much it matters until  after, so you have to control your focus now. As we minister this Word to you today, I  wonder, has the Enemy got you in a place   where you've started to believe, "I don't  matter"? I rebuke the spirit of rejection   off of your life right now in this moment by the  power vested in me by the gospel of Jesus Christ.   I minister to you that you matter so much. You  might not even know how much you matter until   after, but you have to have  faith to believe it right now. With everyone standing and your  heads bowed and your eyes closed,   I want you to realize that some of the stuff  you think matters so much doesn't actually   matter. I want you to get your brain  back so you can enjoy some things.   I want you not to take it personally  when people take out their pain on you.   I want you to stop thinking everything  you're missing is a mistake. Listen to me, child of God. Some  things God leaves out on purpose.   Paul said, "I was put here on purpose. I know  what I'm doing here because I decided that.   I decided that. Everything else is a  distraction." Paul said, "I know what's important.   My peace is more important.  My joy is more important.   I am not going to let anything  distract me from what matters." Now, these questions are running in your  mind all of the time, and we're going to   talk about them in the next few weeks as we  continue to minister this message to you.   You have assumed that maybe God is not working in  your life or he doesn't see you in your situation   or maybe you have made a mistake so bad that he  can't use you anymore. That's all a lie, and the   past doesn't matter. You're in the presence of God  now. I'm going to tell you something about him. He can take things that happened to you.  He can take the time you think you lost,   and he is a multiplier, and he can give  it back to you, but you have to take it.   Just like she tells the camera operator, "Take  it," I hear the Lord saying, "I want you to have   peace, but you have to take it. If your mind is  on the things that don't matter in this season,   you're going to be so distracted.  Oh, God! It's going to destroy you,   but my peace is available to you." What are you doing here? You   never thought you'd be here. You  certainly have never been here before.   What are you doing here? Paul said, "I decided  I'm here for Christ." What if you decided that?   How amazing would the shift be? Can you imagine  if you just decided, "I'm here for Christ"? If you just started asking, "God, what  are you doing in my life right now?   God, I can't control all of the input, but  God, I can control my response, so, Lord,   here's my life. Here's my little prison  cell. Here's my little limitation.   What is that in your hand? It matters. It matters  what you say. It matters what you believe. It   matters what you take in. It matters  what you meditate on. It matters. Every second of your life in every season of your  life you're answering the question, "What does   it matter?" To every thought that has told you  lately that it doesn't matter and nobody would   miss you in the world, it's all a distraction. The  Devil doesn't want you to know that what is inside   of you is so much greater than what is against  you. "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?"   Father, I come into agreement with each person  today to realize the infinite significance of   their life, that Jesus Christ would  die for them. How much they matter?   Your blood told me that once and for all. How  much they matter? Enough for you to make them   unique and custom designed and custom tailored.  Thank you, Lord! I am put here for a purpose. Today, we speak to each situation. In fact,  Holy Spirit, I want to give you just a moment   to give them a better question. Instead of,  "Why did this happen to me?" and, "Why does   this always happen to me" make it, "What can you  do through it?" As you shift these questions,   we expect a release from heaven  in our lives. We thank you, Lord,   that your invitation stands open for us. If  we ask, we will receive. In Jesus' name, amen. The power of a better question. Give God  praise in the place if you received his Word.   Come on! Give him praise on  every location large or small.   Why not just offer God this space?  Why not just offer him a praise?   Come on! He inhabits the praises of his people.  He will set up shop anywhere there is worship.   Thank you, Lord! How many are ready for  some better questions? What does it matter?   What does it mean? What shall I choose?