Fear hinders us from hearing the voice of God (like how Adam was afraid and hid). Jesus knew who He was, the Son of God, before His temptation, and we too, should be firmly rooted in our identity based on the word of God.Ĭhapters 5-7: God says He will (Dealing with Fears) The author therefore calls us to live a life “pre-loaded” with the word of God, to combat the devil’s arrows of doubt. He then draws us to what God replied in response to Adam’s confession that they were naked and so they hid: “Who told you that?”, and drawing a conclusion that what matters is what God tells us. The final point of the chapter brings us to understanding the devil’s strategy: “Did God really say?”- which is to make us doubt God’s truth. It shows us how a deep understanding of our identity in Christ will lead to actions that are faith driven. Using the example of Mary, he shows us how Mary’s acknowledgement of who she was before God led to her submission before Him, based on this verse: ‘”I am the Lord’s servant”, Mary answered. Instead, the point used to substiantate on this point was the lyrics “The One who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine”. Building on this point, he goes on to explain that God doesn’t love us reluctantly or out of compulsion, but He loves us personally and intimately (lack of biblical substantiation). Furtick then calls us to affirm ourselves of who we are in Christ, and living in light of that approval (i.e. If the Father approved Jesus before Jesus’ ministry and His accomplishments, who are we to think that we can gain God’s acceptance through our accomplishments? A further point is then emphasised through Matt 3:16-17 (Jesus’ baptism). He uses Jere 1:4-5 to illustrate how God knew us (His children) before we were born and set us apart. Furtick then goes on to give examples of what we base our self worth on (achievements, involvement, possessions, impressions) and goes on to briefly elaborate that that is insulting to God. He then goes on to give us the motivation for reading the book, quoting that when the chatter gets the best of us, “great deeds remain undone and the possibility of growth into greatness of the soul is aborted.”Ĭhapters 2-4: God says I am (Dealing with Identity) So, would I recommend this book? Well, I definitely wouldn’t classify this as a “must read”, but if you’re a Christian who is struggling a lot with the issues that this book deals with, this is a book that I would still recommend you to give it a try.įurtick starts off by defining the chatterbox as “the lies that we believe that keeps us from accurately and actively hearing the voice of God”. Some of his biblical references are interesting and insightful, while others seem a little iffy. Not to say that there are no biblical references, but there is definitely a lack of them. While I appreciate hearing from Furtick on these issues, I ultimately want to know what God says on these issues. On the flip side, I do believe that this book could use a lot more biblical references. I found some of the practical strategies on dealing with fear especially helpful, and whilst his style of writing is to me, more charismatic, everything is doctrinally sound (election, unconditional love, justification, spiritual blessings are some themes that play out in the book). Many of them are actually personal stories, and his openness is indeed a plus point. Having mixed opinions on this book, I thought I’d might run through the merits and improvements (in my opinion) of this book!(:įurtick writes understandably- half of the book is probably filled with examples and stories which makes it very easy to read. These are areas which every Christian will have to struggle with in our lives, so I’d say that the book is highly relevant. It’s a book about a Christian perspective on having to deal with identity/self worth, fears, condemnation and discouragement. I read this book cos one of my youths passed it to me, wanting me to read it.
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