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I can think of so many things that I am currently going through that are as a result of the decisions and things other people have done to me or said in the past. If I am being honest, sometimes I think about the things I may have done or said to myself or to others and how I might be the reason that I or they go through some tough seasons. Pastor Steven Furtick (PSF) calls this among other examples, pointing fingers. In his sermon from last Sunday titled “The Pointing Finger And The Healing Hand/ Protect Your Vessel” he explores the issue of blaming others for our current circumstances in life or blaming ourselves for things we did in the past instead of accepting them and moving on. He employs the story of the Apostle Paul and uses Acts 27: 21-22 and Acts 28: 1-11 which gives us a sneak peek into Paul’s journey (as a prisoner) sailing to stand trial before Caesar and the different situations that he encountered.

Paul along with the rest of the people on the ship were hit by a storm which destroyed the ship and caused them to lose their cargo. To make matters worse, Paul had warned them not to sail from Crete but he was ignored. And now, here they were at a point of giving up and guess who had to encourage them, Paul! For a second he did point a finger at them to tell them that this situation could have been avoided but he spent more time encouraging them not to give up. Paul knew that he was not going to die so he was confident that they would come out of this alive and he would make it to Rome. He just didn’t know the series of events that God would take them through before this happened. PSF notes various factors from this scripture that are significant, i.e., favor and protection from God amidst unfair situations, knowing your calling, choosing your battles, avoiding accusation, among others. He believes that Paul had a vessel that he was carrying that he needed to protect and that this was more important than what was carrying Paul (the ship). He goes ahead to advise us to be careful not to waste our time protecting things that we shouldn’t be protecting, things that are perishable (such as; our opinions, our phones and other material things, our status, our bodies, our public profiles, etc.) and ignoring those that we should be protecting such as our heart, our soul and our faith. The latter are the vessels that need our protection. He believes that just like Paul who had a message to carry to Europe, we all have something that God has placed inside of us that we need to protect from this world and from people. Therefore, PSF believes that protecting the vessels “means not believing everything that everyone says about me (you), including me (you).” This means that sometimes we have to protect our vessels from ourselves. This is something I realized during this sermon that many of us are guilt of and are doing somethings knowingly or unknowingly.

Furthermore, PSF contends that along the way to our final destination, we will meet people who misjudge us or form a perspective (interpret your identity) with only the knowledge of the events that are happening in our lives now. When Paul and the others got to the island Malta, he was bitten by a snake and the islanders without knowing the whole story assumed that Paul was being punished for all the bad things that he had done as a prisoner but when they later noticed that Paul wasn’t hurt by the snake bite, they changed their perspective and concluded that he was a god (Acts 28: 3-6). PSF says that this illustrates how easily people change. He reminds us of how during the life of our savior Jesus Christ on earth, his followers praised him and laid palms and their belongings on the ground and called him a Messiah and yet these same people later spat at him and ridiculed him when he was being tried for crimes he didn’t commit. Similarly, Jesus himself prepared his disciples for such times in ministry when he told them that they would be hated. Jesus told them to remember that he was hated first (John 15: 18-23).

People change like chameleons and if you do not protect yourself from their influence, you will destroy the most important thing about you. Paul had had a rough couple of weeks, the last thing he needed was people saying things they didn’t understand. But in this moment, he made a decision to ignore them and shake off the snake and their comments (verse 5). It is this same hand that PSF believes Paul used to heal the sick people in this community. He also believes that this same incident is the very reason why Paul caught the attention of the island chief official who later showed them so much favor. Therefore PSF warns us against saying things such as “if you were a good man, this wouldn’t have happened” to others or even to ourselves. Telling ourselves that there is something wrong with us because of what we are going through. We also need to stop categorizing people into “those people, that lifestyle” these turn us into accusers and condemners which PSF considers satan’s strategies. He believes that letting this poison into your vessel will kill you and destroy your vessel.

Moreover, Jesus literally told us that he didn’t come to condemn us or judge us but rather to show us the right path to take in life and to save us (see John 12: 47). We have no right to judge others or ourselves because we do not know the whole story. When the islanders judged Paul, they had no idea he was going to heal all their sick people. If I were Paul, I would have wasted my energy and time on responding to these islanders and explaining that I wasn’t who they thought I was or I would have pointed my finger at myself and believed what the people said and thought about me, i.e. that something was wrong with me. But this unnecessary battle wouldn’t have helped in any way, it would have just been a waste of my time. Being a smart man, Paul had a mission, to stand before Caesar and spread the gospel in Europe and he wasn’t about to let these people delay his mission. PSF says, he has “never seen any power released through the pointing of fingers.” He further explains that we need to stop trying to prove people wrong because what people say to us doesn’t have the power to affect us but rather it is what we do that has the power. We need to be like Paul and shake it off and when we do, we will have hands ready to accept what God has put us through with palms turned up to him. We need to trust God’s hand on us and not question it because of the circumstances around us. He also says that “when you point fingers, you give power” this means that you expect these people that you are pointing the fingers at to fix whatever is wrong in your life. But they can’t because God allowed it to happen to you for a reason. It is also said that when you point a finger at someone, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.

Like I said in the beginning, I have blamed so many people for the things that aren’t going right in my life, I still find myself doing this constantly but PSF says that this blame game when held onto for a while will destroy a lot of things in your life such as communication between you and loved ones and it will destroy your empathy towards others. God who is your final destination should be all you are focused on. We need to trust his process that he is taking us through, no matter how terrible it is. PSF also tells us to believe that “God is going to use this too” whatever we are going through. We have to (just like Paul) be certain that God is going to reward us. PSF says, “some of you are going through a posture of pain to a posture of power, but it is going to be a different kind of power, its going to be a 2 Corinthians 4: 7 kind of power” i.e. Paul in this scripture says, “we have this treasure in earth and vessels,” PSF rephrases this and says, “we have this certainty in a crappy world.” He encourages us that instead of worrying, we need to just simply pray about the situations that God leads us into so that we can protect the vessel. In addition, he believes that many of us “process stuff at the level of your (our) thought and never at the level of your (our) spirit” and explains that “pointing at where you should be will not result in progress or peace”

Finally, he explains that God wants to do something through those places in your life were you hurt. For Paul, God used his hand (that the snake bit) to heal people. God used his hurt hand as an instrument of revival in Malta. PSF adds, “you don’t always know what to call it until after it is over.” He encourages us to avoid walking around with the snake and telling snake stories, but rather to shake it off. This means, don’t carry with you the things that attack you, the things or people that have hurt you. You don’t want to raise your children telling them stories of the past hurt, shake it off and acknowledge that God saw you through them and used them to glorify His name. Let the people who hurt you go, forgive them and set yourself free, protect your vessel. When we carry our past hurt into new relationships, into a new generation, we are only making things worse. We need to start afresh! Accept that God was with you through it all and that He will use it for your good. Anger, pride, jealous, regret, will only take you so far, release it! You have to stand trial before God, He isn’t going to ask you about the people who hurt you because he already knows about your hurt. All he is going to care about is if you protected your vessels (your heart, your soul, your faith). It may feel good for a moment to throw a pity party and blame everyone else for everything bad that has happened to you but this deters you from growth. Pray to God to help you let it go and set yourself free from their bondage. Don’t allow their words or actions to control your future and prevent you from having a clean vessel.

I pray that in whatever situation you are going through, you see God’s hand in it. May you learn how to let go of unnecessary things that are trying to deter your spiritual growth. I cover you with the hedge of protection that will guard your heart against anger, revenge strategies, bitterness, regret and pain. May you have the strength and boldness to drop all these negativity (the crap that Pastor Madu told us about) and protect your vessel from harm. And finally, I pray that God may use your hurt for his glory. Amen!

Things to remember, “you must stand trial before Caesar!” and “what you need is already in your hand,” (PSF)

With love and prayers,

Resty Kansiime

Here is Pastor Steven Furtick’s sermon. Protect The Vessel | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church – YouTube