You Can Skip This! | Steven Furtick | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

You Can Skip This!

Elevation Church • Sep 13, 2026 • 60 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this encouraging message, Pastor Steven Furtick teaches that believers often prolong their seasons of hardship by comparing their messy journeys to others' summarized victories or by giving in to doubt and complaining. While certain trials are essential for spiritual growth, unnecessary wilderness seasons caused by disobedience can be skipped. Through faith, praise, and relying on Jesus' victory over temptation, believers can experience God's swift favor and step into freedom.

Themes

Faith vs. DoubtPerseverance in TrialsObedience and FaithSupernatural FavorVictory over the WildernessGuarding Your Words

Key Points

1.
A summary testimony or social media highlight reel often omits the intense panic, fear, and struggle experienced during a trial.
2.
Believers must refrain from comparing their messy, real-life journey to someone else's simplified summary story.
3.
While essential developmental trials like crossing the Red Sea must be endured, seasons of unnecessary wandering in disobedience can be skipped.
4.
God can accomplish through a single moment of supernatural favor what would normally take years of human effort to achieve.
5.
The first generation of Israelites transformed an eleven-day journey into forty years of desert wandering due to doubt and complaining.
6.
Guarding your tongue and sounding the 'trumpet' of praise shortens seasons of hardship and dismantles spiritual walls.
7.
Jesus endured forty days of temptation in the wilderness and emerged victorious so that believers would not have to remain trapped in theirs.

Sermon Moments

“A photo dump is a carefully curated representation of all the things that you want to appear aesthetically open about your summer, but it's not your summer—it's a summary.”

“Stop judging your story by other people's summary.”

“When you get through this test, all that's going to be left is a testimony.”

“There are some parts of your process that you cannot skip... but you can skip disobedience.”

“With God, what should take years takes days. And without God, what should take days takes years.”

“You can go ahead and start this drama by saying whatever you want to say, or you can skip it.”

“More trumpet, less tongue. I'm going to praise God more this week and complain less this week.”

“The reason I don't have to stay in my wilderness is because Jesus went to his.”

This Week

Stop comparing your messy middle or current trials to other people's summarized testimonies or social media highlight reels.

Identify where doubt, fear, or disobedience may be needlessly prolonging a trial in your life, and choose immediate obedience.

Guard your speech when friction arises, choosing to be silent rather than creating an unnecessary wilderness with complaints.

Replace complaining with the 'trumpet' of praise, actively thanking God whenever you face daunting obstacles.

Memorize scripture to speak directly against temptation, following the model of Jesus during His forty days in the wilderness.

Refuse to feed your anxiety by over-analyzing worst-case scenarios; choose instead to meditate on God's promises.

Set aside intentional time this week for focused worship, inviting God's supernatural favor to accomplish what human effort cannot.

Remember This

While you cannot skip necessary trials required for spiritual growth, you can skip the prolonged wilderness caused by doubt, complaining, and disobedience.

A Challenge for You

Refuse to let the enemy trap you in an unnecessary wilderness; lift your hands, blow the trumpet of praise, and trust that Jesus has already won the victory for you.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.