God Knows You Don't

The Sermon

Speaker: Steven Furtick, Elevation Church

Key Text: Hebrews 11:8, 11, 17 — "By faith, Abraham... even though..."

God Knows What You Don't Need

Many of the things that left your life — it wasn't that it was less about you. It was that where God is leading you now, He knows what you don't need that would keep you from being.

Three times in Hebrews 11, it says "by faith (Greek: πίστις, pistis, “persuasion, faith”), Abraham" (verses 8, 11, 17). And three times in those same verses, it says "even though." We are saved by faith, changed by faith, sustained by faith. Our life is explained by faith.

"If you need more of anything, you need more faith. It is the access point."

If you need more provision, more faith will give you more focus to see what God has already provided. If you need more peace, more faith — because if you can truly believe that nobody exits your life without God dismissing them, you'll have more peace when people leave.

The "Even Though" Moments

Are you living in an "even though" moment? Because that's where faith really grows.

Verse 8: He went even though he didn't know where
Verse 11: He became a father even though he was too old
Verse 17: He offered Isaac even though God had promised through him

You don't have to have coordinates. You don't have to have a specific address. You can go even though you don't know.

Our faith is not in the destination. Our faith is in the guide who will see us safely to the destination.

I Will Go As If I'm Guided, Even Though I Feel I'm Guessing

"We're all guessing. None of us have seen God. It takes faith to preach. It takes faith to parent. It takes faith to lead. It takes faith to go back to school. It takes faith to stay in therapy."

God knows why you're in it. You don't. God knows what he's going to do through it. You don't. God knows who he wants to help through your life. You don't. God knows what he's building. He is the architect. He is the builder. He has the blueprint of every blessing in your life.

Stay In The Promise

Abraham lived in a tent even though he was in the place of the promise. Different than what you picture. Slower than what you want. But in that tent was Isaac — not yet born, but the seed was already there.

"When God puts a seed of something in you, the seed is in you before you see it."

You can stay right in the promise even though you have no proof.

You're Not Too Old, Too Young, Too Anything

Abraham was "as good as dead" — that's how people saw him. But from this one man came descendants as numerous as the stars. Don't let anybody put their "too" on you. Too old. Too young. Too divorced. Too country. Too weird. They don't know. God knows you don't — and that's exactly where He works.

"We have microwave mindsets and we serve a crock-pot God."

It took 25 years between God spoke it and Abraham saw it. We quit too quick.

The Ram In The Bush

At the moment Abraham thought he was going to have to give up what God promised him, there was a ram in the bush that he didn't know about. But God knew. And God knew the exact moment the ram would need to be there.

Whatever has been withheld from your life, whatever seems like it is behind, whatever seems like the enemy has taken — can you trust the timing of God enough to know that He knows? He knows what I need, when I need it. And if it didn't come yet, it wasn't time yet.

You don't have the experience — God knows you don't. You don't have the resources — God knows you don't. You don't have the background — God knows you don't. You don't feel like it right now — God knows you don't. You don't have the strength — God knows you don't. You don't know how to manage money — God knows you don't. You don't see a way through this — God knows you don't.

But just because you can't see it does not mean He didn't speak it.

Admitting that you don't know is where faith has the chance to grow.

What I Learned From This

Clients can leave anytime. God keeps providing.

Say someone gets a job, or a client — it's not certain. They can leave anytime. So they have faith that God will keep providing.

The sermon: Abraham "obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8). He didn't have a contract. He didn't have coordinates. He had a guide. Every client you take on, every project you start — you don't know if it will last. But your faith is not in the client. Your faith is in the Guide who will see you safely to the destination. You go as if you're guided, even though you feel you're guessing.

The car breaks down. God already covered it.

Say someone buys a new car. It breaks down and is costly. But God has blessed them with money to be able to pay the repairs.

The sermon: Abraham lived in a tent even though he was in the place of the promise. "Different than what you picture. Slower than what you want." The promise doesn't mean no problems. It means the provision is already there before the problem arrives. The ram was in the bush before Abraham reached the altar. God put the money in your account before the mechanic handed you the bill. He knows what I need, when I need it.

People steal from you. It doesn't touch your daily life.

Say someone is blessed with money. People steal a lot of money from them. But God has blessed them with enough that it doesn't affect their daily life.

The sermon: "Whatever has been withheld from your life, whatever seems like the enemy has taken it out of your life — can you trust the timing of God?" And this: "God knows what you don't need." Maybe R20,000 in the wrong person's hands would have kept you from something. Maybe the loss itself is the provision — a reminder that the money was never the security. God is the security. The fraudsters took output. They couldn't touch the source.

No stable salary. Ever. God has always taken care of you.

Take a person who has never had a secure job with a stable salary. They have always been an entrepreneur. God has always taken care of them.

The sermon: This is the whole sermon in one line. Furtick said: "We're all guessing. None of us have seen God." Every entrepreneur lives in an "even though" moment, permanently. No guaranteed paycheque. No safety net except faith. You have never known what next month looks like. And every single month, God has provided. That's not luck over a career. That's Hebrews 11:8 lived out — going without knowing, year after year, and finding that the Guide never once got lost. Abraham was "as good as dead" and from him came nations. You have no stable income and from that God has built a life where you save, invest, give, and call R20,000 stolen "just an inconvenience." That is the evidence of things not seen.

Key Verses

Hebrews 11:8 — By faith Abraham, when called to go, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going
Hebrews 11:11-12 — By faith Abraham, even though he was too old, became a father — and from this one man came descendants as numerous as the stars
Hebrews 11:17-19 — By faith Abraham, when tested, offered Isaac — even though God had promised through him
Psalm 23:4 — Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
John 11:25 — I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die
1 Timothy 4:12 — Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young
James 1:4 — Let patience have its perfect work in you, that you may be complete, lacking nothing
Romans 8:28 — All things work together for good

Sources

Steven Furtick — "God Knows What You Don't Need" (Elevation Church)
Hebrews 11:8-19