Igniting the Ordinary

Listen to yesterday's sermon: Igniting the Ordinary.

Listen to the first sermon in the series, Sun Stand Still. 

Read the text of Moses and the Burning Bush from Exodus 3.

Buy Steven Furtick's book: Sun Stand Still.

Below are some notes from the sermon: Igniting the Ordinary.

Pray Big Prayers

A primary purpose of prayer is to align your life with God’s will

Jesus prayed:

May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth. (Matthew 6:10)

Examples of Sun Stand Still prayers

• Healthier relationships 
• Financial provision 
• Career aspirations 
• Spiritual breakthroughs
• Emotional healing 
• Loved ones who are far from God 
• Standing strong against temptation 
• Achieving life goals 
• Finding and embracing God’s purpose for your life 
• Ministry resources 

Develop a Big Vision 

When we ask God to do something big, we set our sights on something specific.

A biblical vision is God’s preferred picture of your future. 

God wants to accomplish something through you. 

Don’t limit your dreams because you are limiting your life.
Don’t limit God’s power because you are limiting your life. 

The opposite of a big vision is survival mode. 

God can do the Improbable / Impossible 

Impossible / improbable is what ever seems impossible / improbable to you. 

Impossible / improbably means success for you is dependent on God.

Impossibilities / improbabilities don’t exist with God.

The opposite of improbable / impossible is ordinary. 

Living with Audacity

Not cockiness or arrogance 

Biblical audacity approaches God with confidence and believes in God for the impossible / improbable 

Jesus said in Mark 9:23 - Anything is possible if a person believes.

Audacity is rooted in the Gospel and powered by the Holy Spirit 

Audacity is not an activity. 

Audacity is an approach.

Not what you do. 

It’s how you do it. 

Audacity is you daring to relate to God on a new level. 

The opposite of audacity: complacency 

Have and Audacious Faith

Faith 

Hebrews 11:6 says we can’t please God without it 

Ephesians 2:8 says we can’t be saved without it 

Audacious faith is an attitude or a set of actions that are deeply rooted in the conviction that all things are possible with God. 

The opposite of audacious faith: passive belief 

Expect a Move of God 

A move from God isn’t necessarily a scientific phenomenon from a scientific perspective. 

A move of God is the way God’s power infuses the lives of ordinary followers to produce results that serve humanity and glorify God. 

The results can be brilliant or subtle. 

God desires to move in our lives. 

Sun Stand Still Prayer 

Based on your big vision 

Activated by audacious faith, 

Will mark you life by the miraculous, 

Empower you to achieve the impossible, 

And put you in the middle of a move of God. 

Ignite the Ordinary

Objection #1 

Audacious faith comes naturally to a pastor and I get to devote all my time to things like faith and prayer and reading the Bible.

• I’m a 16 year old and audacious faith really isn’t all that cool. 
• I’m a 26 year old and my career is very demanding right now. I don’t have time.
• I’m a 36 year old and my kids are my priority. 
• I’m a 56 year old and I’m enjoying a slower pace of life. 

• To the 16 year old – There is nothing cooler than audacious faith. 
• To the 26 year old – God wants to help you focus and prioritize so you have time to live abundantly. 
• To the 36 year old – The most important lesson you can teach your kids and the most important blessing you can give them is the gift of being an example of audacious faith. 
• To the 56 year old – Your greatest blessing in life doesn’t come from recreation or relaxation, but from fulfillment and function 

Objection #2 

Nothing remarkable ever happens to me. My prayers are rarely and randomly answered. No agenda in my life is important enough for God’s attention. 

They ache of the ordinary is so common that we take sedatives: technology, substances, activity – to numb the pain instead of seeking treatment for the condition. 

Here is what I know: God wants to stir up your spirit, pour out his presence, reveal his glory in your life, family, school, business, and community. 

God is willing to burn brightly in the life of anybody who is willing to be set on fire.

Extraordinary moves of God start with simple acts of obedience 

If God lives in you then you have the potential for audacious faith

Joshua knew this. 

His mentor Moses experienced some extraordinary stuff 

Yet it all began with a simple act of obedience 

It started in Exodus 3 

If you are thinking you are ordinary and average and God’s work is best done through somebody else…then this one is for you. 

The setting is a desert – I wonder how many of us are there? 

Moses is tending sheep – He is not a spiritual leader 

He is an employee of his father-in-law 

A bush catches on fire 

Moses walks over to check things out 

We might think that when God is about to do something great in us or through us—that this move will start with a bang or at least a thump. But more often it won’t so stop waiting around for the obvious and pay more attention to the subtle clues and a quiet voice. 

God is challenging you to make a difference 

It will usually begin in a small way 

A flaming bush that only you will notice 

Take off your shoes – draw close – receive your assignment