HOLLY FURTICK SERMON WHY I LIFT MY HANDS : Pastor Holly Furtick said, I remember the first time I ever lifted my hands in worship, I was about 15 and I was in a revival meeting in Buchanan Michigan, I remember being very moved and compelled to just have the desire to lift my hands but I also felt very self-conscious about how I looked or what others would think about me, which is really funny because most of the people had their eyes closed, I wish I could remember what we were singing, I don’t but I remember slowly very discreetly opening up my palms and just barely lifting my hands, I was so nervous that my hands started to go numb, but it was a moment I never forgot.
Can you worship God without lifting your hands, of course you can, God is all about the intentions of your heart, I remember several years ago at our valentine location, there was this man who seemed to be sat near me or in front of me almost every week and i would watch him during worship because he would keep his hands in his pockets the whole time and i thought maybe he was angry or maybe he didn’t like worship and then one Sunday, I noticed him take his hand out of his pocket and wipe the tears that were streaming down his face.
You never know the work that God is doing in someone’s heart and of course, you don’t have to lift your hands to worship God but when we lift our hands it’s a way of reaffirming the words that we’re singing it’s a full body expression of worship to our savior and sometimes what comes out of my mouth and what happens with my hands is what jump starts or restarts my heart and my mind and then suddenly, my fear and worry and anxieties are all released at least momentarily because now I’m aware of the presence and the nearness of God.
Pastor Holly Furtick tells us that God did not just show up, he’s always with us, I showed up and I centered all of my attention on him sometimes I simply turn my palms up to me, this is a symbol of acceptance, it’s an outward expression of my inward desire to accept everything that God has for my life, even the things I don’t understand, even the things that I wish were different, it’s a symbol of my openness, to receive the love of God and the peace of God and the purpose of God for my life.
Pastor Holly Furtick said sometimes I lift my hands in excitement, have you ever been so excited that you just threw up your hands and clapped and cheered maybe you were at a sports game or a graduation or maybe it was your baby’s first steps, sometimes you get so excited that your entire body is moved to express itself, church can be this way too and sometimes, when I am down I can count when I lift my hands it takes the weight off of me and it places the glory on God and right there, in that moment I realize what David tells us in psalm 100 that the lord our God is a good God.