Destiny and Direction: Your Future Is Decided Every Day

Introduction

Larry Brey, one of the pastors of Elevation Church, takes the text of Mark 1:16-17 to ask a question he considers the most important of a lifetime: who is Jesus to you? Through the story of Peter, he shows that your eternal destiny is decided in a single decision — recognizing Jesus as your Savior — but that the direction of your life is decided in the small, daily acts of self-denial. The Savior fixes the destiny, the Lord directs the steps.

Sermon Outline

1. The Savior sets your destiny, the Lord sets your direction

Larry Brey builds on Peter's last written words: "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Peter deliberately distinguishes two offices: Jesus is Savior, and he is Lord.
The Savior determines your destiny — where you will spend eternity. The Lord determines your direction — how you walk each day.
Without grace, knowledge makes you religious and prideful. Without knowledge, grace is a leaky bucket that holds none of what God reveals.
Many Christians are stuck with a childhood image of Jesus. They have never let him grow in their lives. Larry Brey calls this an "expired" revelation.

2. Your destiny depends on one decision: who is Jesus to you?

At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus turns the question back on his disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answers: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:15-16).
It was not flesh and blood that revealed this to Peter — it was the Father. Grace precedes faith: it puts you in a position to consider Jesus, and faith is your response to that grace (Ephesians 2:8).
It is possible to attend church for years without ever having that moment when Jesus becomes personally your Messiah. Peter walked with Jesus for two years before daring to make that confession.
"You may be the only Jesus some people will ever see." The question is not only for you; it runs through the way you live, your work, and your relationships.

3. Your direction derails when your definition no longer matches God's

In Mark 6, Jesus takes his disciples to a deserted place to rest. But when the crowd catches up with them, the disciples are irritated: this is not the rest they had imagined.
Jesus had not lied. Nor was he caught off guard. He uses the same word for "desert" as in Mark 1:12, when the Spirit drives him into the wilderness. What we call a desert, God calls rest, because that is where we experience his grace.
You refuse to trust God with your direction when reality doesn't match your definition. Your marriage, your work, your family, your ministry: "This isn't what I imagined." So you withdraw your trust.
Larry Brey asks the Holy Spirit to do one specific thing: update your definition. To see your situation through God's eyes, not your own.

4. Your direction is decided in daily acts of self-denial

At the Last Supper, Jesus tells Peter: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32). The word "strengthen" literally means "to feed."
After the denial, Jesus comes looking for Peter by the lakeshore and asks him three times: "Do you love me?" — one for each denial. Peter answers "Lord" three times. This is the moment Jesus moves from Savior to Lord in his life (John 21:15-17).
"Maturity is not a product of age. It is the fruit of direction." You can be old and still immature in faith if, day after day, you have chosen your own direction.
Larry Brey compares the Christian life to surfing: the waves come in at an angle. With each wave, his children were pushed a tiny bit down the beach. Ten minutes later, they were far from where they started, without ever having made one big decision — only micro acts of self-denial they had failed to make.

Key Takeaways

Your eternal destiny is settled in one decision: recognizing Jesus as your Savior, the one who redeems you not from your bad choices but from your sins.
Grace is what allows you to consider Jesus; faith is your response to grace. You do not save yourself — you receive what God holds out to you.
You entrust your destiny to Jesus more easily than your direction, because direction touches your concrete, everyday life. Yet that is precisely where Christ wants to reign.
If you want something to die in you, stop feeding it. "An enemy with no name cannot be defeated." Name it, expose it, and starve it.
The direction of your life is not dictated by big decisions, but by the small acts of self-denial you choose each day — or refuse to choose.

Personal Application

If Jesus asked you today, as he asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am?", what would you truly answer — not as catechism, but in your everyday life?
In what area of your life is your personal definition in conflict with God's? A marriage, a ministry, a career, a family — where have you stopped trusting because reality doesn't match your projection?
What are you feeding that God is asking you to starve? An opinion you hold onto more than Christ? A jealous thought? A resentment? Write it down in black and white.
Where do you stand with your daily acts of self-denial? Are you aware that the direction of your life is decided less by one big decision a year than by ten small daily "yeses" to the Spirit?
What does "feed my sheep" rather than "feed yourself" concretely mean for you this week? Who around you needs to be strengthened?

Scriptures Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between destiny and direction according to this sermon?

Larry Brey distinguishes two realities: your destiny is fixed by a single decision — recognizing Jesus as your Savior, the one who redeems you from sin. Your direction, on the other hand, is decided every day through self-denial, letting Jesus be your Lord. Destiny is the Savior's work; direction is the fruit of daily submission to the Lord.

Why is it harder to entrust your direction to Jesus than your destiny?

Because direction touches everyday life — projects, relationships, work, children. Each of us carries a personal definition of what a good life, a good marriage, or a good career looks like. When reality doesn't match our definition, we refuse to trust God. Larry Brey invites us to let the Holy Spirit correct our definitions rather than argue with the direction God gives.

Where does this message come from and who preached it?

This message is translated from an English-language sermon by Larry Brey, one of the pastors of Elevation Church in the United States. His family is one of the eight founding families of the church, established more than 18 years ago under the leadership of pastor Steven Furtick. The sermon was released on June 30, 2024 on Elevation Church's YouTube channel, under the original title "Destiny & Direction."

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