As usual, the internet took one snippet of a sentence and twisted it. Pastor Furtick was not insinuating we are not a new creation. His ENTIRE sermon was about the Simon vs Peter in all of us aka a new creation and better version of ourselves that more closely aligns with God’s purpose for our lives.
The process of discipleship is not God changing you into something else — it’s Him revealing who you’ve been all along.” ~ Steven Furtick
When Pastor Furtick stated this in his sermon, he was specifically referencing how there is no sin of ours that is new to God. The statement that is causing outrage, encouraged us to come to God just as we are, to not be ashamed of our sins and who we have been in the past because if we repent, God remembers it no more. And his sermon preached how Jesus chose to get in the boat with Simon/Peter despite his sinful ways to reference that God is already in the boat with us. We don’t need to seek God, we just need to reach out to Him because we are already a Peter, we just have to embrace it.
He said this because, in his sermon, which he also preached at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, stated we have ALWAYS had a Peter in us – he said God already knew who we were before we knew who we were and had plans for us to become a Peter all along if we chose to walk with Him, so our path is already written, we just have to step into it – aka stepping into the boat with God aka stepping into the Peter version of ourselves. The Simon part, which is the flesh, will never go away but we need to keep remembering we are a Peter – God made us all a Peter and we must use our free will to accept what is already offered to us. He is saying we are a new creation in God but that creation already existed because God has already created that version of us and how different our lives would be if we did not doubt the Peter in us.
Yes, there are false prophets but God will give you discernment if you stay close to Him but He also gives you free will. We are to follow God, not man and we are to read the bible for ourselves, build our own relationship with Him OURSELVES, and consistently read the bible for OURSELVES to understand His words for OURSELVES. If people are easily swayed by a so-called false prophet, the problem is not the false prophet, the problem is with that person who needs to work on their relationship with God and figure out how and WHY they can be swayed by false teachings – could it be you are not reading the bible for yourself, could it be your half-listening to a sermon? Or how often are you praying?
If someone is lost, doesn’t the bible encourage us to help them find their way to salvation and Jesus and live their life accordingly to the gospel – even Pastors of megachurches? New covenant says we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior for salvation, none of us know for sure if Furtick truly has done so but we must pray for that because THAT is who God called us to be. Not judgmental, bandwagon Christians who show the God-less world exactly what they want to see – us attacking and misunderstanding and quick to accuse one another. Does the enemy not constantly try to divide us?
This man among many other pastors like TD Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and many others helped me turn my life around from the selfish, self-sabotaging version I used to be. Listening to their sermons made me crave the peace that can only come from God’s love and mercy. Their teachings encouraged me to read the entire bible in a year with my sister – of which, we are almost finished and we BOTH have learned a great deal; some things never even taught in the church.
God can take anything and make it for the greater good. So even if Steven Furtick is a false prophet, if he has brought some people to the Lord, then he is serving his purpose. Plant enough Godly people anywhere and watch what grows from it. In the bible, if you read it for YOURSELF, God tells you specifically that He uses ALL things for good for those who Love him (Romans 8:28). You don’t love God if you are swayed by a false prophet.
Say I misinterpret a quote and share it on my blog – then everyone is to automatically assume I am falsely teaching? Could it not be that I just poorly worded my interpretation? We don’t know what we don’t know and we all know it is not what you say, it is how it is perceived. Look for offense, you will surely find it.
I watch Pastor Furtick every week and yes, there have been times I questioned his teachings but you know what I do, I go read the bible for myself and do my own research on what that specific passage means. There is no pastor on this earth I put above my own relationship with God. If I don’t understand, I pray, if I need to be fed spiritually, I pray. If I have doubts, I pray. See the pattern? It is me bypassing man and going directly to God. Keep HIM first and you won’t have to worry about false prophets.
At the end of the day, Furtick is still a man, a wealthy man at that, which we all know where that world usually leads. So instead of bashing someone or trying to call people false prophets, how about we pray for him instead and if you do not like his messages, then you do not have to listen because again, you are supposed to be reading and interpreting the bible for YOURSELVES!
Until next time,
Mara Prose
Mara Prose Publishing 
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