The Power of A Little Further | Jentezen Franklin
Sunday, August 17
Ruth 1:16-17, Esther 4:14-16, Luke 16:19-31, Mark 14:32-36, Luke 22:40-42, Mark 6:48-51
On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:39-44 NIV
Today we’ll explore the message, ‘The Power of A Little Bit Further’ by Pastor Jentezen Franklin. The message encourages us to move beyond familiarity in worship and prayer, using the imagery of Jesus going a stone’s throw further in the Garden of Gethsemane. The thought of moving beyond our ‘comfort zone’ can be incredibly overwhelming and is often the greatest obstacle to our ability to follow through. Pastor Jentezen uses the illustration of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus only went a stone’s throw (underhanded toss) away from Peter, James, and John. Although Jesus had told them to stay, it was an opportunity to honor the vows they had made earlier that evening when, during the Passover celebration they all vowed to stand with Jesus through anything. It was a short distance that the three disciples missed out on, to be able to show their support for Jesus. In their flesh, the disciples missed an opportunity just as Jesus warned them would happen at the Passover dinner in the upper room just a few hours earlier. Nevertheless, a few months later, once filled with the Holy Spirit, they would all go as far as God would call them, and their ministry would be unstoppable!
Key Points:
1. The Lord will test you. Sometimes, God will ask you to go just a little further to see if you desire to reach past where you’ve already been. You never know what God might be doing just a stone’s throw away. Don’t ever think you have arrived. You could be one hallelujah away from a miracle.
2. Go further than you’ve ever gone before. Go further in your giving, worship, devotion, and praise. Don’t settle for being normal or average. Spiritual comfort can be your place of destruction. You can be in the place of prayer and worship, and never actually pray or worship. Don’t stop short of your breakthrough; go a little further!
3. If you go further than you’ve ever gone, you’ll get more than you’ve ever had. It may not happen all at once, but if you go a little further and obey what God said, you’ll get a miracle. When you go a little further and thank God for all He has done, you won’t just get healing, but wholeness.
4. God releases blessings when you’re married to Him. When you’re married to God, you cleave to Him, you’re in a covenant with Him, and you stay with Him no matter what He takes you through. When you cleave to Him, even in suffering, God releases His blessings into your life.
5. Material things can’t take care of what you need. You need the authority and power only God can give you. When you get the King, you don’t get half the kingdom, you get the whole thing!
Understand that God often gives us opportunity to go a little further and frequently it isn’t that far, but it is hard fought ground. It is said that the hardest choice to make and act on is not the choice between ‘bad’ and ‘good’ but rather between ‘good’ and ‘best’. Going a little bit farther is not simply about making the choice to follow Christ instead of the world, it is about following Christ beyond the basic obedience to His call.
One the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, Elijah (when preparing to be taken to heaven), told his successor, Elisha, to “go back” at least 3 times. Elijah was testing Elisha’s resolve and commitment. Had Elisha listened to the prompting of Elijah’s words, even once, instead of the prompting of God’s Spirit, Elisha would have missed out entirely on the incredible call that God had on his life. As a matter of fact, Elisha’s willingness to ‘go a little farther’ unleashed an anointing that was twice that of Elijah. The Bible records exactly twice as many miracles performed by Elisha than by Elijah, including one that occurred after his death.
In today’s study we will start the process of looking for those opportunities and learn to recognize the chances that God gives us to ‘go a little further’ to test our faithfulness.
This week we will dig into:
· Responding to God’s Call
· Pursuing Jesus with Boldness
· Cleaving to God’s Presence
· What stood out to you in this past Sunday’s message?
· What is an area of your life that you have become too comfortable or content in that God may be inviting you to ‘go a little bit further’ with Him?
Pastor Franklin showed us this morning that in the chapter of Mark, we can see something interesting that we find in other scriptures as well: it seems as if Jesus tarries—He pauses for a purpose.“He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn He went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them.” (Mark 6:48-50)
We see that Jesus was “about to pass by them.” Several things to notice: Jesus knows where the disciples are, He also knows there is a storm around them… and He waits for their response to His presence. It is the calling out to Him that initiates His answer to them. When we cry out to Him, He will answer. This was a crucial test to broaden their desire for His involvement in their lives.
Have you ever watched your child attempt to do something but held back until they asked for help? Or have you ever had a coach challenge you to reach your full potential by encouraging you to push a little harder?
It is with full intention of the Lord to help His disciples, yet He walks toward them and seemingly is going to pass by. The Pulpit Commentary says: “It was a trial of their faith, so as to urge them to seek more earnestly the help of God.”
We are to step out in faith, we are to cry out to Him with passionate hearts to experience His divine intervention.
· How and why does He call you out of your routines and comfort zones?
· What things are formed from the risks we take when the Holy Spirit leads us?
Pastor Jentezen said, “throw your life on His promises!” What would happen if we were willing to give our ‘everything’ with such passion…in our giving, our serving, our seeking Him, and our walking out His purposes and plans for our lives.
In Sunday’s message, Pastor Jentezen highlights the bold faith of Blind Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus, who went further than others to encounter Jesus. In Mark 10:46-52, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” despite the crowd’s rebuke. His persistent cries drew Jesus’ attention, and his faith restored his sight. In Luke 19:1-10, Zacchaeus, a short tax collector, climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, overcoming physical and social barriers. Jesus noticed his effort, called him by name, and brought salvation to his house.
Mark 10:46-52 NIV
He began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ... Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus.
Luke 19:1-10 NIV
He climbed a sycamore tree to see Him... Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.”
Their bold actions—crying out, climbing a tree—set them apart. While others in Jericho stayed silent or comfortable, Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus pressed further, and Jesus responded. Today, we face distractions or fears that keep us from pursuing Jesus fully. Their stories challenge us to go a little further in faith, trusting God’s presence will meet us there.
· Reflect on a time you hesitated to pursue Jesus boldly due to fear or distraction. How can Bartimaeus’ and Zacchaeus’ examples inspire you to push past those barriers?
· Their bold faith led to personal encounters with Jesus. Discuss how stepping out in faith, beyond your comfort zone, could deepen your relationship with God.
Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus show us, as Pastor Franklin preaches, that going a little further in faith unlocks God’s transformative power in our lives.
“But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17 NIV
“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.””
Esther 4:14-16 NIV
Pastor Jentezen encourages us to go just a little further in being bold in our faith and prayers. In order to do this, though, we must become good at cleaving to the Lord and His good plans for us. We see an image of what cleaving with your whole heart and mind looks like when Ruth declares that even death cannot separate her from her mother-in-law. This is the kind of relationship and heart posture we are encouraged to have with the Lord’s presence.
When our situation seems like it cannot get worse, that is when we should cling to Him with all we have. Ruth cleaved, and through that the Lord provided her a husband and prosperity in every way. By holding on just a little longer and going just a little further, we can find His presence in our rock-bottom situations—bringing fulfillment and power.
Take this as your reminder: if life, prayer, or believing feels hard—live, pray, and believe just a little longer!
· When is a time you truly had faith for something you couldn’t see?
· What area of your life have you stopped believing for because it felt hard?
· What does it mean to “go just a little further” in your faith or prayers when you feel like giving up?
· What practical steps can you take this week to “go just a little further” in prayer, faith, or obedience?
“As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So, he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:28-32
Just like these two men on the road to Emmaus, we must have a passion for more than the minimum in our spirituality. Attending church and/or praying at meals are good, but they are not the best. We have the opportunity to embrace the spiritual hunger that comes from substantial faith. That is faith that believes that God is real, that He is everything He says He is, that He chose me, and that I want to be as close to Him as possible.
It is time to take practical steps to “go a little bit further” in your faith, worship, and/or service. Frequently, these are opportunities that we are not told to do by God, but rather we choose to do out of an intense desire to worship God, to draw close to God, and service God. God is watching for those who are willing to do more than the minimum. He is looking for those that will go ‘a little be farther’ in faith and He is prepared to bestow is best gifts on those that will do it.
Call To Action:
· Identify areas of your life where you have comfortable ‘where you are’ and need to push beyond,
· Commit to seeking the Lord’s guidance to know how to go a little farther,
· Apply the power of God’s Holy Spirit to be wise and bold when seeking opportunities to ‘go a little farther’,
· Look for opportunities to actively and intentionally push beyond your comfort zone into new opportunities to grow with Jesus and serve Him,
· Pray boldly and with confidence that God would reveal Himself to you more fully and for breakthrough in your areas of trouble.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to go further. Remove the obstacles that would stand in the way of me serving You with all of my heart. Convict me of any sin that would block Your voice or hinder my growth. I confess my need for You in every area of my life. Help me to be sensitive to the direction and guidance of Your Holy Spirit…
In Your Holy Name Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Resources
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