He Answered

Summary

Elevation with Steven Furtick – "He Answered" (September 21, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this powerful episode titled "He Answered," Pastor Steven Furtick leads Elevation Church in a message about breaking negative mental loops and clinging to God’s response, presence, and love during hardships. Drawing from Psalm 114 and Matthew 4, he explores the recurring lies that keep us trapped and provides tools for replacing them with truths from God’s Word. The message is filled with encouragement, practical examples, honest reflections, and memorable moments of worship—centered on the reality that when we call out, "He answered."

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Testimony and Worship (02:18–05:18)

• Impact of Worship Songs: Pastor Steven shares stories about how Elevation Church’s songs have helped people through difficult times—including cancer, prison, anxiety, and more.
• Purpose: Worship and scripture-based songs are presented as vehicles for remembering God’s faithfulness and embedding His word in our hearts.

2. Introducing the "New Loop" Theme (05:18–07:47)

• Psalm 114 as Foundation: Uses vivid scriptural imagery: "Why was it, sea, that you fled?" to show God’s power over the impossible.
• Meditation & Memory: Emphasizes the challenge of meditating on God’s word amidst life’s noise and proposes new spiritual loops to counter destructive mental patterns.
• Quote:
  • “A noisy mind needs a new loop, something else to latch onto so you don’t go absolutely crazy with temptation and with anger or with shame.” – Steven Furtick (03:40)

3. Rhetorical and Historical Questions—Personalizing Israel’s Story (08:55–12:47)

• Rhetorical Questions: Invites listeners to see themselves in stories of God’s deliverance.
• Insight: Retelling Israel’s history isn’t just about the past; it’s a prompt to recognize God’s presence in our present difficulties.
• Quote:
  • “By framing this question as rhetorical… God is not only asking a rhetorical question, but he’s asking a historical question. What did God do for you in your past that… reveals to you how powerful he is in your now?” – Steven Furtick (11:05)

4. Same Lies, New Loops (13:25–15:22)

• Mental “Loops”: Pastor Steven draws (literally, on a board) a loop to illustrate how we often replay lies from the enemy or negative experiences.
• Victory vs. Defeat: Both are found “in the repeat.” The focus is on actively choosing which loops to repeat—ones leading to defeat, or those based on God’s truth.
• Quote:
  • “Victory and defeat are both found in the repeat.” – Steven Furtick (14:11)

5. Dealing with Temptation: Jesus in the Wilderness (15:37–21:21)

• Comparison with Israel: Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is linked to Israel’s experience—highlighting how both were confronted with the same basic lies: "You are not enough. You are not loved."
• God’s Presence in Hard Times: Honest reflection on God being present even in the wilderness, and that the Spirit leads but doesn’t leave.
• Quote:
  • “He’s with you as you fight through this addiction. He’s with you as you resist temptation… The Spirit led him to a hard place, but the Spirit did not leave him in the hard place.” – (19:01–20:00)

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Three Core Truths for New Spiritual Loops (21:19–41:53)

1. He's Here (21:25–29:00)

• God’s Presence: Explores Hebrews 4, emphasizing that Jesus empathizes with our weaknesses and is with us in every struggle.
• Key Moment:
  • “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence… so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – (27:27)

2. It’s Handled (29:00–41:46)

• God’s Provision: Just as God handled Israel’s battles, He has already handled what we cannot handle—especially our need for righteousness and rescue.
• Practical Application: Be careful with venting—don’t turn sharing your struggles into inventing new problems ("If you keep venting, you might start inventing." – 33:13).
• Call to Faith: Reminds listeners not to define themselves by circumstances but by God’s greatness.
• Quote:
  • “Do not define yourself by the difficulty of the season. Define yourself by the size of your God.” – Pastor Holly (26:41)

3. I’m His (41:46–50:50)

• Identity in Christ: Echoes the affirmation God spoke over Jesus at His baptism. We, too, must internalize God’s declaration: beloved, chosen, sustained.
• Refuting the Enemy: When tempted to doubt our identity, return to God’s prior affirmation, not the enemy’s lies.
• Quote:
  • “I belong to God. I’m his, and he’s got me. I’m his, and he knows me. I’m his, and he chose me. I’m his, and no man can pluck me from his hand.” – (41:10–41:39)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Victory and defeat are both found in the repeat.” – Steven Furtick (14:11)
• “The Spirit led him to a hard place, but the Spirit did not leave him in the hard place.” – Pastor Holly (20:00)
• “Do not define yourself by the difficulty of the season. Define yourself by the size of your God.” – Pastor Holly (26:41)
• “If you keep venting, you might start inventing.” – Steven Furtick (33:13)
• “He answered. I’m grateful because he answered. I’m standing here today because he answered.” – Steven Furtick (08:19)
• “Wait for the angel.” – Pastor Holly (49:18)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Impact of Worship Songs & Meditative Practice – 02:18–05:18
• Psalm 114 & the Power of God’s Commands – 05:18–07:47
• Rhetorical/ Historical Questions About God’s Deliverance – 08:55–12:47
• The Loop Illustration & Importance of Repeating the Right Things – 13:25–15:22
• Jesus’ Temptation & Breaking Mental Loops – 15:37–21:21
• Core Truth 1: He’s Here – 21:19–29:00
• Core Truth 2: It’s Handled – 29:00–41:46
• Core Truth 3: I’m His – 41:46–50:50
• “Angels Are on the Way” Testimony & Illustration – 50:50–57:09
• Affirmations, Worship, and Closing Moments – 58:29–End

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Worship & Response (58:29–End)

The episode closes with a meditative worship segment, encouraging listeners to call on God in every season and to affirm over themselves the truths that “He’s here, it’s handled, I’m His.” The community is invited to lift their hands and receive angelic help and God’s loving assurance.

• "I call God and He answers. I'm so glad. I call God and He answers." (59:39)

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Takeaways & Application

• Replace Negative Loops: Identify and exchange recurring mental lies for God’s truth.
• Affirm His Presence: When facing temptation or hardship, anchor yourself in the fact that God is with you.
• Trust It’s Handled: Don’t try to fix everything alone; God already accomplished what you couldn’t.
• Rest in Your Identity: Remember you are God’s beloved in every circumstance.
• Wait for the Angel: Stay steady in faith—the help you need is on the way.

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Summary Table: Three New Loops to Break Old Lies

| Old Loop (Lie) | New Loop (Truth) | Time | |------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------| | I am alone | He’s here | 21:26; 27:29; 41:53 | | It’s too hard for me | It’s handled | 29:00; 31:47; 41:53 | | I have to earn love | I’m His | 41:10; 41:46; 42:13 |

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For anyone struggling with cycles of doubt, shame, or fear, “He Answered” is a call to embrace God’s steadfast love and finished work—and to let Him write a new loop in your heart.

Transcript

[Steven Furtick]

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[Steven Furtick]

Hey, this is Steven Furtick.

[Elevation Church Podcast Host]

I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you.

[Steven Furtick]

Hope it builds your faith.

[Elevation Church Podcast Host]

Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

[Steven Furtick]

Enjoy the message. There have been so many times where God gave our church a song. Two years later, five years later, 10 years later, somebody will come up to me and say, that song got me through my cancer treatments. That song got me through my prison sentence. When they send us videos of those prisoners singing Trust in God.

[Pastor Holly]

Even people.

[Steven Furtick]

Who aren't in a physical prison people will say that thing got me through some sleepless nights. I listened to the blessing when I was dealing with incredible anxiety and fear and all of these songs this Thursday, you have an opportunity to be a part of that. I'm not telling you that because we need people to attend. It's always pretty full. I just didn't want you to miss it and not know what's happening. I take my job seriously. My job is to put God's words in people's hearts. That's my job. Whenever I'm not preaching to you or studying to preach to you, I'm usually humming a melody into a song, changing a lyric for the 15th time so the team has to learn it at 9:13 before we try it the first time. It's all the same thing I want you to have watch this. A new loop in your life. That's what I'm preaching about today. That's what I preached about last week. Our series shown the graphic is called Same Lies, New Loops. Meditating on the word of God is hard when we have so much noise in our world, isn't it? Y' all have to sit there and act like it's not noisy in your mind. So a noisy mind needs a new loop, something else to latch onto so you don't go absolutely crazy with temptation and with anger or with shame. One thing I love to do is when we can get a meditation from God's word and then God gives us a melody to go with, helps us to remember it in the hard times. Today I want to share with you from a Psalm, Psalm 114. We read it in our family Bible club. We we don't stand the whole time in our church. In case you're wondering, did you wear the wrong shoes? I'll let you use that seat to its fullest in just a moment. But please stand for the reading of God's Word. If you're watching this somewhere else, you may want to stand too. There's something about respecting and reverencing God's words because his words are eternal. Everything else everybody says it comes and it goes. God's word lasts forever. Psalm 114 I pick up in verse five. You're going to like this one.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Wow.

[Steven Furtick]

Why was it C that you fled? Why Jordan did you turn back? Why mountains did you leap like rams, you hills like lambs to us? That's kind of strange imagery. First of all, he's talking about the things God did in Israel's past. This is a Passover psalm that they would use to remember how God brought them out of Egypt. How many of you remember when God brought you out of something in your own life? So now he's taunting Their trauma. Why is it c. Fled? Why Jordan? Did you turn back? I have to say something about that verse. Did you know you have a God.

[Pastor Holly]

Who, when he speaks to the sea.

[Steven Furtick]

Sprints to obey him?

[Pastor Holly]

If God says to the Red Sea.

[Steven Furtick]

Right, left, the sea doesn't dawdle, the.

[Pastor Holly]

Sea doesn't walk, the sea doesn't crawl, the sea doesn't think about it. When God says sea split, the sea.

[Steven Furtick]

Sprints to obey his word. That's how powerful he is. I have to go faster. That's only one verse.

[Pastor Holly]

Verse 6. Why mountains did you leap like rams? Did you know you have a God who, when he speaks, mountains leap? I know we're used to talking about mountains moving, but this is a different picture. He said, not only do they move, the mountains leap. When he speaks, the obstacle moves. When. When he speaks, it can happen quickly and suddenly and irreversibly and dramatically. When he speaks, mountains leap. When he speaks, seas split. I'm trying to read my scripture, but.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

I'm excited because he has been doing it for a long time.

[Pastor Holly]

Verse 7. Tremble earth at the presence of the Lord.

[Steven Furtick]

At the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

[Pastor Holly]

One verse from Matthew 4.

[Steven Furtick]

4, 4. The Bible says. Jesus answered. It is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of of God.

[Pastor Holly]

Say Amen to that.

[Steven Furtick]

Somebody. I want to take those two words from verse four. Put it up again, please. Jesus answered. The title I'd like to preach to you from today is two. He answered. Turn around and hug five people on your way to your seat. Say, I'm so glad he answered. I'm glad he picked up my call, my collect call. I'm glad he paid the price for me.

[Pastor Holly]

He answered.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm grateful because he answered. I'm standing here today because he answered. He answered.

[Pastor Holly]

I asked him for another day and he gave it.

[Steven Furtick]

He answered. I asked him to help me keep my mind together.

[Pastor Holly]

Somebody put it in the chat. Say, he answered. Say it out loud at every location. He answered.

[Steven Furtick]

Aren't you glad you have a God who answers prayers? Come on, it's not a rhetorical question.

[Pastor Holly]

Aren't you glad you have a God? Put it in the chat, Say, I'm glad He answered.

[Steven Furtick]

Sometimes other people don't. He answered. Sometimes other people turned away. He answered. Now, speaking of rhetorical questions, I love the way Psalm 114 puts the truth across. It was fresh to me again. We have a family Bible club and we landed in this just at the time my message was coming together. Thank you Lord for speaking to me in my personal life so I could share it with others. I want to give it to you like he gave it to me. It's a rhetorical question. Why was it sea that you fled? Why Jordan did you turn back? Why mountains did you leap like rams, you hills like lambs? We know the answer because God told it to. But in framing it rhetorically, it invites us into the story and it invites this truth into our story as well. The story of your whys and what ifs, the loops and lies the enemy has you in imagining worst case scenarios and replaying past hurts to the point that you cannot see God who is your present help. Into this the psalmist speaks. I wonder what melody was attached to this meditation. Why was it c that you fled? It's a rhetorical question. Now you know the phrase rhetorical question, right? A rhetorical question is a question you ask, but you really don't expect an answer. Like somebody says, what were you thinking? All they're saying is, you're stupid. But they're framing it with a question. But don't answer. It's rhetorical. It means you weren't. Or there are other ones too. I don't know. I was thinking of a few before I came out. Oh, here's one. One time Elijah did something Holly kept telling him not to do, and she kept telling him and she finally goes.

[Pastor Holly]

How many times do I have to tell?

[Steven Furtick]

Three times. It was a rhetorical question. It wasn't a literal question. It was a rhetorical question. By framing this question as rhetorical about the Red Sea or the mountains God moved for his people? God is not only asking a rhetorical question, but he's asking a historical question question. What did God do for you in your past that when you remember it, it reveals to you how powerful he is in your now go ahead and get ready to write down some notes. I'm going to give you three points today. He answered, put the title of my sermon right there in the comments. Please just put he answered in all caps. And of course, when he answers in Psalm 114, he says, tremble earth at the presence of the Lord. Now that's how it happened, the presence of the Lord. Let me put all this together really quickly. Why did the sea sprint when God's people were passing through? That's a historical event. A rhetorical question. Why did the mountain move when God told it to? What about those impossible things he did in your life it's rhetorical. It's also historical. If you look back over your life, you'll see that his presence was everywhere. You didn't always recognize it because you were hurting too bad, but his presence was there with you. You couldn't quite see it because there were enemies surrounding your table, but he prepared a table for you in the presence of your enemies. Who was it that told the sea to split, the mountain to move? It was God. It's a rhetorical question. It's a historical question. I'd like them to bring my teaching screen out, please.

[Pastor Holly]

Everybody clap to give me the courage to draw a little bit today. See how supportive the ladies are. I think I'm going to preach, reflect myself next year. It looks so fun.

[Steven Furtick]

Okay, I heard you.

[Pastor Holly]

I am not going to answer that. Do you hear what they said? No. We want Holly. We want Holly. I know. Me, too.

[Steven Furtick]

Just to get you back in the mindset of this message, I drew a loop and I talked about how the enemy is always speaking and so is God. Same lies, new loops. This is the process of transformation. Does that kind of look like a brain? A little bit. The renewal of your mind to stop repeating the same stuff over and over again. That leads you to defeat and start repeating what leads you to victory. Victory and defeat are both found in the repeat.

[Pastor Holly]

That doesn't only rhyme.

[Steven Furtick]

That's really good. The victories you experience in your life or even in your physical body. The victories of losing weight, the victories of building strength. It's found in the repeat.

[Pastor Holly]

So are the defeats.

[Steven Furtick]

You lift weight one time every four months, and you only lift one weight one time every four months. We will see that result. If you lift it every day 40 times, we will see that if you.

[Pastor Holly]

Get the right thing on repeat.

[Steven Furtick]

Oh, God, I feel like somebody is about to get set free.

[Pastor Holly]

If you get the right thing on repeat in your life, you're going to get stronger.

[Steven Furtick]

You're going to say, like the prophet.

[Pastor Holly]

Isaiah said, they that wait on the Lord will renew their strength. I'm renewing my strength by what I do every day. I am renewing my strength every time.

[Steven Furtick]

I come to church.

[Pastor Holly]

Give yourself a hand for coming to your class today, for tuning into this message today. Because this, for me, is not just a church service. This is a new loop. This, for me, is retraining my brain to move away from the lies and.

[Steven Furtick]

Believe what God says about me. Not only is your victory found in your repeats, though, but your defeat is often found in your repeats. What you say to yourself over and over.

[Pastor Holly]

Again, that disagrees with what God already.

[Steven Furtick]

Spoke about you before you were ever born will leave you feeling weak. You're not really weak. You just are. Repeating the wrong thing. Repeat the right thing, you'll be stronger. This is not to say that our praise and pursuit of God will preclude all of our proclivities toward sin. In other words, I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Think about it this way. I read to you what seemed to be a random verse From Matthew chapter 4, where Jesus answered and said, it is written, man will not live on bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. Do you know where Jesus was when he said that? The wilderness. The wilderness. I want to show this to you. You're not going to believe this is in the Bible, in Matthew, chapter 4, verse 1. Turn there if you'd like, or we'll put it up on the screen for you. Matthew 4. 1. The Bible says this. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. That's the part I thought would shock you, because I thought the Spirit would lead Jesus to an easy place. But it gets worse. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. I have all kinds of questions about.

[Pastor Holly]

That verse, and none of them are rhetorical.

[Steven Furtick]

I really need to know. Why would the Spirit lead him into the wilderness? I thought about that over and over again. I realized the more I read it that it was a repeat. Because I remembered how Israel in the Old Testament went through the wilderness too. Not for 40 days and 40 nights, but for 40 years. Here's what the enemy did to them when they were coming out of Egypt. God was bringing them out of Egypt to the promised land. On their way out of Egypt into the promised land, the devil told them a lie. That they could not do what God had called them to do. The devil has been telling you that same lie, hasn't he? That you are not enough and you are not loved. You are not enough. You are not loved. I said this last week, but victory is found in the repeat.

[Pastor Holly]

When you begin to understand. That's all the devil ever says to you.

[Steven Furtick]

You're not enough. It's not enough.

[Pastor Holly]

They're not enough.

[Steven Furtick]

You're not loved. It's not enough. You're not loved unless you do this. You can't be that they won't love.

[Pastor Holly]

You if they only love you because you're not enough.

[Steven Furtick]

You're not loved.

[Pastor Holly]

You're not even enough for God to.

[Steven Furtick]

Love you unless you act a Certain.

[Pastor Holly]

Way, you're not enough for God to.

[Steven Furtick]

Hear you unless you reach a certain level of spirituality and scale yourself up.

[Pastor Holly]

To the highest height of the best Christian. It's not enough. You tried, but it's not enough. And you're not loved.

[Steven Furtick]

Those two lies play on the loop in our mind. But in the case of Israel going through the wilderness, I want to tell you something. It was actually true. They were not enough for their enemies without God. But they were not without God.

[Pastor Holly]

That's what you forget.

[Steven Furtick]

You forget that he's with you in the wilderness. He's with you in the wilderness. He's with you in your weakness. He's with you as you fight through this addiction. He's with you as you resist temptation. He's with you for that hard conversation you need to have.

[Pastor Holly]

He's with you as you care for.

[Steven Furtick]

Somebody who doesn't appreciate you.

[Pastor Holly]

He is with you as you work.

[Steven Furtick]

Through those bills and try to get.

[Pastor Holly]

Yourself back on some financial stable ground. He's with you as you try to consider, how am I going to mention this so I can begin to deal.

[Steven Furtick]

With it because I'm tired of carrying it?

[Pastor Holly]

He is with you in the dry place where you haven't felt him for a really long time and you're starting to feel like, well, maybe something is wrong with me. Maybe God has left me. But the Bible says Jesus was led.

[Steven Furtick]

Into the wilderness by the Spirit.

[Pastor Holly]

It says that the Spirit led him.

[Steven Furtick]

But it doesn't say the Spirit left him.

[Pastor Holly]

The Spirit led him to a hard place, but the Spirit did not leave him in the hard place. The same spirit that led him in the wilderness was there all 40 days and 40 nights. I know you need some things in your life to get better. I know you need some chains and shackles to fall off your feet. I know you need God to turn some stones into rivers of water. I know you need God to do some things, and he can and he will. But even until he does, he's with you in this wilderness. He's with you in this in between. He didn't drop you off in the middle of your adversity. He didn't leave you to figure this out by yourself. He did not abandon you when you got attacked. He's not waiting for you to get it together to come down and rescue you. He picks up the phone and if you call him, he'll come. If you call him, he'll come.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

If you say Jesus, he'll say, yes. I've done it a thousand times.

[Pastor Holly]

I didn't Feel like calling on him.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

But I lifted my hands. By faith, not sight. By faith not feeling. I called on the Lord and I sought the Lord. And he heard and he answered.

[Pastor Holly]

So I want to give you three.

[Steven Furtick]

Truths today to remember for new loops in your life. The first one is this.

[Pastor Holly]

I want you to shout it out. He's here. Say that again. He's here.

[Steven Furtick]

Now in the verse I read you. He's not the only one here is the devil talking. I'm not even going to write out his whole name. I'm going to just put that D right there and you'll know who I'm talking about. Then there's Jesus.

[Pastor Holly]

Hold up. I'm going to do that in all caps.

[Steven Furtick]

I can't draw, but I can do that. Listen to me and listen to me close about this. It's a conversation going back and forth in the wilderness. The Spirit is with Jesus to defeat the enemy. The Spirit is with you to defeat the enemy. I love how we make it seem like Jesus as our perfect risen Savior. And he is never experienced difficulty. Or at least we may not say that about Jesus because we know he went to the cross. But sometimes we act like that was the only time Jesus life was hard. Jesus life was hard the whole time. This is the brink of his ministry. He's 30 years old and the Spirit leads him in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. That's his ministry apprenticeship. That's what the Lord gave him. That's what his Father gave him to prepare him. I have recognized every time in my life God was about to do something huge. I had to go through hell before I got there. Every time I pass that along to you in case you're going through hell, you might be on the brink of something huge. The devil might know that and he might be deploying extra resources to try to get you to choke before you arrive at your destiny. Everything I ever released for God faced tremendous resistance. I just say that in case it's been difficult for you. Now with that note made. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil after fasting 40 days and 40 nights. This has to be the most obvious verse in the Bible. He was hungry. Yet it's not because Jesus was saying stuff to his disciples like I have food to eat that you know not of. But he still had a stomach and it was still empty. I fasted 40 days one time when we started the church. It was one of the hardest things I ever did. People told me before I did it don't worry about it. Once you get through the first three days, you don't even think about food anymore. They said it's not hard after day three. Let me tell you something. Every one of them, I rebuke your lying spirit.

[Pastor Holly]

Talk about same lies, new loops. It was hard the whole time.

[Steven Furtick]

I started dreaming about food.

[Pastor Holly]

Foods I don't even eat in my normal life.

[Steven Furtick]

I would see Brussels sprouts and salivate.

[Pastor Holly]

I don't even need bacon in them. I just need the Brussels sprout. I'll eat it without oil, without Salt. The whole 40 days. It was hard the whole time.

[Steven Furtick]

We think the only time it was.

[Pastor Holly]

Hard for Jesus was when he went.

[Steven Furtick]

To the cross because we read about.

[Pastor Holly]

Him healing blind eyes. The highlight reel.

[Steven Furtick]

And people who couldn't speak spoke when he spoke for them to speak. Because whatever he speaks to does whatever he says. If he speaks to a sea, it sprints. If he speaks to a mountain, it leaps.

[Pastor Holly]

Whatever he speaks to does what it says.

[Steven Furtick]

Except for us sometimes.

[Pastor Holly]

I'll come back to that in a future series.

[Steven Furtick]

But it was hard the whole time. It was hard for him when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. His life was hard ever since he was a baby. Not only was he born in a barn, but Harry tried to kill him from the day he was little. He was on the run. Not from the devil, toward the purpose of God for his life. So if it's been hard for you, that's okay. The devil will just get you stuck in that. I'm going to go ahead and put it there. It's hard. You're like, that's not a lie. I don't know if you're about to say that's not true. No, it's true. It's just that if the enemy can.

[Elevation Church Podcast Host]

Get you to go from a line.

[Steven Furtick]

To a loop, that instead of going through the hard thing, you get stuck.

[Pastor Holly]

In the hard thing.

[Steven Furtick]

That instead of God delivering you through this season, you get in this season and you dig down deeper and you actually define yourself by the difficulty of the season.

[Pastor Holly]

Let me speak to that for a moment.

[Steven Furtick]

Do not define yourself by the difficulty of the season.

[Pastor Holly]

Define yourself by the size of your God. Because greater is he that is in you than he that that's in the world. So I'm not saying it's not hard. I'm just saying he's bigger than it is. I am also saying you don't only have a God who stands high above the hard things in your life. You have a God who Became a human and did the hard thing. The book of Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 13. About verse 13 says something very interesting. He says, that's not the right verse.

[Steven Furtick]

I don't know what the verse is.

[Pastor Holly]

There it is.

[Steven Furtick]

Verse 14 I gave you earlier.

[Pastor Holly]

Since we have a great high priest, Jesus is high who has ascended into heaven.

[Steven Furtick]

This is after his resurrection.

[Pastor Holly]

Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. But we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. Yet he did not sin. Here's your shouting verse. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence. Somebody shout, he's here. So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of success, our time of blessing, our time of wholeness, our time of completeness. All of that is true too. But if you are in the hour of need right now, I know a name that is greater than your need.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

I don't care what need you. Name cancer. Name bankruptcy. Name divorce. Name hatred. Name evil. I know a name that is greater. And when I call it, he answers high five. At least five people say he answered. I turned to the throne and he answered.

[Pastor Holly]

God saw humanity striving in our sin, trying to keep the law and couldn't do it. Trying to be perfect and couldn't do it. Trying to keep the commandments and couldn't do it. So he handled it himself. He's not only a high priest, he became a human. Why? He came down to handle what you couldn't. Point number one says, he's here. Somebody shout, he's here. Point number two says, it's handled. Somebody shout, it's handled. I'm trying. If I could get three people to agree with me, we could get you out of this loop. The people of God were in all the way from numbers 13. We can't attack them. It's too hard for us. It's too hard for us. It's too hard for us.

[Steven Furtick]

You know how sometimes we vent about our problems to people?

[Pastor Holly]

Be careful who you vent to. Sometimes when you start venting.

[Steven Furtick]

You start inventing.

[Pastor Holly]

I studied. I studied. I thought about what I wanted to say. I wanted to tell you how the Israelites looked at the land God wanted to give them.

[Steven Furtick]

Remember, they turned something that should have been a straight through into a 40 year loop. It all started because they were venting. Numbers. Chapter 13.

[Pastor Holly]

About verse number 30.

[Steven Furtick]

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses.

[Pastor Holly]

Said We should go up and take possession of the land. For we can do it.

[Steven Furtick]

I know we've been slaves for a.

[Pastor Holly]

Long time, but we can do it. We're sons and daughters of God.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

We can do this. God is with us.

[Pastor Holly]

Somebody shout, he's here. He's here. Anything is possible if he's here. Did you see what he just did to the sea? We came through. When the devil gets rhetorical, you get historical. Start pointing to stuff God already did.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

And remind him how big your God is. I have a word for somebody. He already handled it.

[Pastor Holly]

So it's hard. But.

[Steven Furtick]

That'S how you break that spiral. That's how you break out of that loop.

[Pastor Holly]

That's how you break out of this stupid crazy stuff.

[Steven Furtick]

The devil has been feeding you just.

[Pastor Holly]

Like he tried to feed Jesus.

[Steven Furtick]

You break it with a butt.

[Pastor Holly]

Where is Yalls mind is hard, but.

[Steven Furtick]

He'S here. I want everybody who puts that on a post it note somewhere around your house this week to tag me. But I don't have social media, so I won't see it, but somebody will.

[Pastor Holly]

Print it out and give it to me.

[Steven Furtick]

One of the reasons I don't have social media is because if I had.

[Pastor Holly]

Social media on my phone right about.

[Steven Furtick]

Now, I. I wouldn't be able to preach this sermon to you.

[Pastor Holly]

Because in this season of my life, I have to be very, very careful about the voices I allow to have weight in my life. I refuse to let the voice of a human keep me from hearing from heaven.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

I must speak what God says. It is written.

[Steven Furtick]

But tag me anyway. Somebody will print it out for me. New loops.

[Pastor Holly]

Less news.

[Steven Furtick]

New loops.

[Pastor Holly]

More word, less news.

[Steven Furtick]

I saying nothing. But what God says is more important.

[Pastor Holly]

Than what you think, what any human opinion says. Be careful because if you keep venting.

[Steven Furtick]

You might start inventing. You might make an enemy out of somebody who is actually your brother or sister in Christ.

[Pastor Holly]

Okay.

[Steven Furtick]

New loops. It's hard, but he's here. He's right in the middle of all of it. His name is Jesus and he's here also. His handel. Who told the sea to sprint? Rhetorical question. It's a historical question. God did. Who told the mountain to move? God did. I know it's hard, but can you believe it's handled? Here's what Caleb said. He said, we can certainly do this. God has us. There is a Caleb inside of you. There is a Caleb inside of you. To tell you that you got it. To tell you that you don't, but he does. To tell you that you don't. Have to respond to temporary pressure by making decisions that are going to set you back for your destiny. The Lord wants you to know it's handled. In verse 31, the people start responding. The men who have gone up said, we can't attack those people. They are stronger than we are. It's too hard. Verse 32. And they spread among the Israelites. Bad report about the land they explored. They said, the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. That's true. And they're venting. But watch. Verse 33. We saw the Nephilim, the descendants of Anak, come from the Nephim. We seem like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we look the same to them. Well, now you're inventing because you don't know how you look to them.

[Pastor Holly]

But if you look like that in.

[Steven Furtick]

Your eyes, you start inventing. There have been times in my marriage where I started treating Holly like my enemy because of my own insecurity. I started pushing her away because of something in me that I don't want her to see. Now I'm treating the person God gave me as my help, and I am treating them like they are the person that I'm assigned to fight. Is your insecurity leading you to believe your enemy? To create new enemies to join with the words of the enemy? Jesus would have none of it. When the devil spoke to Jesus, Jesus talked back. It was hard and he was hungry. But he understood that the Spirit led him to the wilderness. But the Spirit did not leave him in the wilderness. He understood that his Father already had a plan. Now the devil has a plan and God has a plan. Which one are you going to go with? One plan is to satisfy you temporarily and short term. And the other is for you to trust God with your tomorrow because he's the one who's already there. The tempter came to him. He was hungry because he was human. He's high and holy. But he was born as a human to pay the price price for our sin. And the tempter came to him and said, if you are the Son of God, tell these stones. This is going to be a stone.

[Pastor Holly]

If you are the Son of God.

[Steven Furtick]

Tell the stone to become bread. If you are the Son of God.

[Pastor Holly]

Take something that's not supposed to be.

[Steven Furtick]

Something and make it something. It can't be. We already know.

[Pastor Holly]

If Jesus tells the stone to be.

[Steven Furtick]

Bread, it will be pumpernickel in a minute. It will be rye bread in a minute.

[Pastor Holly]

Before he says the first syllable, it.

[Steven Furtick]

Will be the softest, warmest loaf of bread.

[Pastor Holly]

Jesus could not only speak to the stone and make it bread. He could speak to heaven and rain.

[Steven Furtick]

Down butter on the bread.

[Pastor Holly]

He could speak to the Son, and the Son would toast the slice of bread that wasn't there before that was a stone. He could do that. But watch what he said in verse four. I think this is powerful for our lives. Jesus answered, he's fully human and he's fully God. That means he's able to be tempted, but he's also able to overcome. So when the tempter spoke, he answered, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word.

[Steven Furtick]

That comes from the mouth of God. The God who spoke to the sea and it split. The God who spoke to the mountain and it leapt. The God who spoke you into existence. That's what I live off of. That's what I go by. That's my new loop. What God spoke. Anytime I get stuck, anytime I'm going around and around. This is so messy. I should probably just start all over. Anytime I feel like what is against me is greater than what is for me. Here we go. Same lies. Watch the lie. It's not enough. You have to turn the stone into bread because God won't provide for you. Not enough. But at the heart of this chunk is something very interesting. If you are the Son of God, not only is not enough, but you're not loved. There's something you have to do to get God to love you. But Jesus knew better. Jesus knew not only he's here, not only it's handled, but Jesus knew I'm his. Think about the absurdity of the devil's temptation. Turn a stone into bread. Jesus already is both of those things.

[Pastor Holly]

Peter said it this the stone, stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The rock Moses drank from in the wilderness, the one God pulled into a pool. Jesus is what the devil is trying to tempt him to turn something into. Don't even get me started about bread. Because Jesus is the vine.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Jesus is the branch. Jesus is the resurrection. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus is the gate, and Jesus is the bread. So devil, you king. Give me what's already mine. I belong to God. I'm his, and he's got me. I'm his, and he knows me. I'm his, and he chose me. I'm his, and no man can pluck me from his hand. I'm His. I'm called. I'M his. I'm sustained. I'm his. I've got grace for this season Because I am his.

[Pastor Holly]

And he's here and it's handled because I'm his.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Because he's here and it's handled because I'm his. Tell your neighbor, be nice to me.

[Pastor Holly]

My father is a great God.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Tell him, be good to me. Because my God is a great king. And he's here.

[Steven Furtick]

And it's handled and I'm his.

[Pastor Holly]

Receive the word of the Lord, my friend. Receive the word of the Lord, my brother.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Receive the word of the Lord.

[Pastor Holly]

Sis.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Receive the word of the Lord.

[Pastor Holly]

Man of God.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Receive the word of the Lord.

[Pastor Holly]

You, Pastor.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Receive the word of the Lord.

[Pastor Holly]

Single mom.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Receive the word of the Lord.

[Pastor Holly]

High school student.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Receive the word of the Lord. Recovery Program Day 33 receive the word of the Lord. The bread is already here. The song that the builders rejected shall become the chief cornerstone. Because you belong to God.

[Pastor Holly]

Come on, let's sit in that for a moment. For every devil that has been lying.

[Steven Furtick]

To you, the devil came at Jesus three different ways.

[Pastor Holly]

He told him, if you're the Son of God.

[Steven Furtick]

What do you mean, if I'm the son of God?

[Pastor Holly]

Y' all never read Matthew, chapter 3.

[Steven Furtick]

Verse 16 when you.

[Pastor Holly]

Well, you're about to. The Bible says before Jesus was led.

[Steven Furtick]

Into the wilderness, he went through the water.

[Pastor Holly]

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was open and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. He's here. And a voice from heaven. Isn't it crazy? One verse before he had to deal with the voice from hell, God gave him the voice from heaven. You need a fresh encounter with Jesus. You need a fresh revelation of Jesus. You need a fresh word from God, a meditation in your heart. If you don't meditate on his word, you're going to medicate on other stuff. And you are going to choke on stones because you don't have any bread. And a voice from heaven said, this is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. So when the devil. Matthew, chapter 4, verse 1, started tempting Jesus in the wilderness, in verse 2, the Bible says, After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, not 40 years, because Jesus was doing for them what they could not do for themselves.

[Steven Furtick]

Don't you get it?

[Pastor Holly]

He was in the wilderness for you. He was handling it for you. He was achieving a righteousness you and I could never achieve. He was paying the price for you. That's why The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness so you would never be there alone again. When the devil said, if you are the Son of God, turn something into something, Jesus said, I'm not turning anything into anything. I already know who I am because I'm still dripping with the water of the affirmation of my Father in this dry place. I don't think so, Devil. I don't think I'm just going to be depressed, devil. I don't think I'm just going to live the rest of my life reliving and rerunning this and repeating this and dredging this back up. I don't think so, devil. I don't think I'm going to let the world make me mad and angry and cynical, devil.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

I don't think so, Devil. I know I'm his.

[Pastor Holly]

I'm a royal people. I'm a chosen priesthood.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

I'm a holy nation. I belong to God.

[Steven Furtick]

He came at him three ways. I'm almost done.

[Pastor Holly]

I know y' all want me to preach for four more hours.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Four more hours.

[Pastor Holly]

Come on.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Four more hours.

[Pastor Holly]

If Jesus could fast 40 days, y' all can say five more minutes in this message. He's here. Say it. It's hard, but.

[Steven Furtick]

He'S. You get the point.

[Pastor Holly]

It's hard, but.

[Steven Furtick]

It'S handled. Uh oh. D definitely comes before l in the word handle. I do know that I was confused when it said I'm his because that's what the Lord gave me. That he said was more important than anything else. Because if you don't believe that you're loved by him, you will be trying to turn everything else in your life into loaves. When he is my favorite verse. After the devil tempts Jesus three times, remember, defeat and victory are in the repeat. So he's not just going to do it once, not just twice, not just three times, but after he told them, hey, throw yourself off the building and the angels will catch you. Jesus is like, I know the angels on a first name basis and I do not need to do something to get the angels to come. If I ask my Father to send angels, they're already on the way. Ooh, touch Three people say they're already on the way.

[Pastor Holly]

The help you need is already on the way. The support you need is already on the way. The book you need is already. It's already in your mailbox. Check your mailbox. The book you ordered last week, it has the answer. It's already on the way. After being tempted. Oh, I feel this in my spirit. After he had Tempted him as hard as he could, tempt him as hungry as Jesus was, tried to get him to step outside of who he was, to do something he already did. Something he didn't even need from the enemy. Watch this. The Bible says in Matthew, chapter 4, verse, verse number 11. Then the devil left him. Oh, come on, get happy. I don't need no music, just get happy. Come on, get happy. Then keep clapping so I can erase. Then come on, come on.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

You want the devil to get up.

[Worship Leader/Singer]

Out of your mind?

[Congregation Member/Participant]

You want the devil to get up.

[Pastor Holly]

Out of your psychology?

[Congregation Member/Participant]

You want the devil to get out of your kids? You want the devil to get out of your feed? You want the devil to get out of your.

[Pastor Holly]

All right, get happy. Then the devil left. I'm going to just start all over. The Bible says verse 11. Is it on the screen? Is verse 11 on the screen?

[Congregation Member/Participant]

I saw a picture.

[Pastor Holly]

Then the devil left and.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Oh, thank you, Jesus. That's supposed to be an angel. The angels came. The angels came. The angels came. Went through hell, don't smell like smoke because the angels came. Touch seven people say, wait for the angel. Wait for the angel. Wait for the angel. Wait for the angel. Don't be too anxious. It's already on the way. Don't talk yourself out of standing strong for Christ. Wait for the angels. The angels are on the way. The angels are in roof. You don't have to throw yourself off a building. The angels are coming. The angels are coming.

[Pastor Holly]

The angels are coming. Somewhere in those 40 days, I know Jesus prayed because I don't believe the devil was the only one Jesus was talking to. In Matthew chapter four. I believe Jesus, as human and as hungry as he was, prayed to his father and said, father, I need you. When he called his father, he answered, just because these the answer hasn't arrived.

[Steven Furtick]

Yet does not mean God didn't send it. But in this season, if you start trying to turn stones into bread and substitute other human relationships for your relationship with God, you will miss your angel because you ate something that was never meant to be eaten. Stand on your feet. The angels are waiting. I believe there are angels coming to your house this week. I believe angels are coming to somebody's central nervous system right now to calm you down. Freaking out, swinging at stuff that isn't even swinging at you. Stop it. Wait for the angel. He's here, it's handled. You're his, speak those things quietly. Say, he's here, it's handled. I'm his. Come here, Abby, come here. I called, she answered because she's mine. Come on up. All the way up. We love you, Abby. Answer them. Say, I love you, too. I love you, too, person. I don't know. Before we came out, I was showing her my angel. I said, does it look like an angel? I said, give me your hand. Put it up. Can y' all get this on the screen? I drew those two loops on her hand. This is my daughter. So I'm saying to her, I know a 14 year old can't get a tattoo, but if she could, I would probably have her get something like this. But I have somebody draw it more professionally just to remind her that he's here. That is handled. You don't have to keep it all in your hands and handle all the way yourself. I'm his.

[Pastor Holly]

Angels are on the way. Angels are on the way. Angels are on the way, you say? What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that, Pastor Stephen?

[Steven Furtick]

I mean that God is going to send you the help you need as you call onto him yesterday. Why are we on our knees like this? Let's stand up. It's very uncomfortable. She had a soccer game yesterday afternoon. Yesterday morning, 10:00am soccer. I want to tell you, for somebody who's about to preach in 24 hours, I'm always stressed out trying to find the soccer field. That's my hardest part. I have no sense of direction. Holly got there. She sent me a pen. I left with plenty of time to park. I arrived exactly on time. Five minutes to spare to an empty church parking lot with no soccer field. I'm just driving, talking to my friend on the phone, talking about my sermon. I think I'm going to talk about the angels and the bread and the stones. Does this make any sense? He's like, yeah, I'm sure it'll get there. But the angels are on the way. The angels are on the way. As I'm on my way to the thing, I'm not even paying attention. All of a sudden I realize, oh, I'm here, but I'm not there. I didn't disobey the gps. Every turn it told me to take, I took. I didn't rebel against the gps. Turn right? I don't think so. Listen to me. I want to give you this one because I need to use it. Because if something bad happens to me, I want to redeem it. There's no really bad part of this story because all I did, I called Holly. I said, hey, this is weird. I went where you sent me to go before you left, but I need you to resend it to me now that you're there. Because the address we had, I got to the destination it was taking me to, but the destination it was taking me to was not the destination where you are. I said, so what do I do? She said, I'm going to drop you a new pen because she's here now. I said, all right. I put it in and it was 15 minutes away. I was 15 minutes off. Then I drove somewhere and then the GPS took me down this very strange dirt road. Yeah, it was the weirdest thing. The sign said keep out. And I went through anyway because the GPS told me to. I'm just obeying the gps. Of course.

[Pastor Holly]

It's a dead end.

[Steven Furtick]

It's some weird looking government building. I don't even know where I was, was, or what was about to happen to me. I don't know what got in my gps. So I called her again. I said, okay, let's try it different. This time you're already there. Tell me how to get there from where I am. She said, okay, well, you go. This is the road. And she's pretty good with directions. So she started describing it to me because she was there. She said, just stay on the phone with me for a minute. She said, all right, turn here. There's a long road. There's a classic car show. Don't turn into that. Keep driving. Boom, boom, boom. She'd already seen all that because she was there. We have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize or empathize with our weaknesses because he was tempted in the wilderness. Then she really, really put the cherry on top. She said, I'm wearing my bright yellow hat and you can see me. I'll wave you in. And I will block this pickup truck that trying to take this parking space until you get here.

[Pastor Holly]

I saw that yellow hat and I saw my woman standing there waiting for me. I realized what was wrong in that moment.

[Steven Furtick]

I didn't need a pin. I needed a person. I needed somebody who was already there to guide me in. You keep trying to fight temptation in your own strength. You're going to stay lost. You're going to think you're taking the right turns. You're going to think you're doing the right things. But Jesus said, hey, I'll be standing in your next five minutes. I'll be standing in your Tuesday. I will be waving you in. You look for me, you stay with me and I'll answer. He answered. He answered. Jesus answered the devil because the Father already answered him. And the angels are on the way. I call God on the mountain. I call God in the valley. I call God on the good, the days and I call God when the enemy surrounds me. One thing you could do, you could.

[Pastor Holly]

Just lift your hands to your Father right now.

[Steven Furtick]

I call God on the mountain.

[Worship Leader/Singer]

I call God.

[Pastor Holly]

He answered. He answered Jesus. He'll answer you. And the Lord is in this place with you. Angels in your wilderness, man. Angels in your dry place. He turns stones into pools of water.

[Worship Leader/Singer]

I call God. I call God. The mountain.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

Let's have a little praise party. Let's get it warmed up. Baby.

[Pastor Holly]

Where you at? You sexing.

[Worship Leader/Singer]

Sing My new friend, my new bridge. I call God. He's a healer. I call God My provider.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

New bridge.

[Worship Leader/Singer]

I call God My defender.

[Congregation Member/Participant]

New breath.

[Worship Leader/Singer]

I call God and there's angels all around me. I call God and He answers. I call God and He answers. Say it again. I call God and He answers. I'm so glad. I call God and He answers. I call God and He answers. I call God and He answers. I call God and He answers. I call God and He answers. I call God and He answers.

[Elevation Church Podcast Host]

Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. Because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to Give now or visit elevationchurch.orgpodcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us LevationChurch. Thanks again for listening.

[Steven Furtick]

God bless you.

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