I’m Going Under (Chet Pete)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Elevation with Steven Furtick

Episode: I’m Going Under (Chet Pete)
Date: April 12, 2026
Host: Pastor Steven Furtick
Length: ~50 min (excluding ads, intro/outro)

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Episode Overview

In this “bonus week” message from the See King Jesus series, Pastor Steven Furtick explores the theme of spiritual authority—specifically, what it means to live “under” the authority, cover, and construction of Jesus. Drawing from the story of the Roman centurion in Luke 7:1-10, Pastor Steven challenges listeners to move beyond mere belief to active obedience, emphasizing that true surrender means letting Jesus both save and lead you. Inspirational stories, vivid illustrations, and engaging moments drive home the practical and spiritual power of living under God’s direction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction & Setting the Theme

[03:01 – 05:00]

• Scripture Focus: Luke 7:1-10 (The Faith of the Centurion)
  • The centurion, a Roman outsider, seeks Jesus’ help for his servant.
  • Despite his Gentile background, Jesus responds immediately—no hesitation.
  • Furtick frames the story as an example for anyone who doubts if God cares for them because of their background or lack of religious upbringing.
• Quote:
  • “If you felt like you grew up on the wrong side of tracks and didn’t know whether or not God would come for you…I want you to know that’s why He came.” (Steven Furtick, 05:19)

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2. Illustrating Authority with Personal Stories

[08:38 – 12:00]

• Vacation/Boating Analogy:
  • Furtick describes a snorkeling trip where his non-swimming wife bravely attempts to snorkel and nearly goes under the water—only to be “snatched” to safety by the boat captain.
  • Spiritual parallel: There are moments in life when we’re “going under pressure, under attack, overwhelmed,” and it’s Jesus’ authority and love that rescues us.
  • “There’s nothing that I could ever go under that He isn’t over.” (Furtick, 11:00)

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3. The Authority of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel

[12:00 – 14:16]

• Authority Demonstrated Through Jesus:
  • He commands demons, heals the sick, calms storms, and raises the dead—showcasing “all authority in heaven and on earth”.
  • “Jesus speaks and death obeys. Because he rose with all power and authority…” (Furtick, 14:11)

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4. The Tension: Demons Obey, but We Struggle

[14:16 – 17:23]

• The “Sucker Punch”:
  • “Why is it that demons obey God, and you and I, we struggle with disobedience?” (Furtick, 14:42)
• Examples of Human Hesitation:
  • Adam, Eve, Moses, Jonah—all heard God but struggled or refused to obey.
  • We long for God’s love “but reject his wisdom.”
• Call to Action:
  • “Go under the authority of God…He didn’t just want to save you. He wants to lead you.” (Furtick, 16:43)

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5. Hearing God’s Voice

[17:37 – 19:55]

• How God Speaks:
  1. Scripture/Bible—“When I open up my Bible, I am interacting with God the Father.”
  2. Through Others—“God will use Jesus in the flesh with someone around you to speak to you.”
  3. Holy Spirit—“There’s sometimes that the Holy Spirit gives me just a supernatural peace that I know I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
• Practical Application:
  • Cultivate sensitivity through time in God’s presence, Scripture, community, and silence.

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6. Going “Under” – The Three Parts

[20:17 – 32:50]

a) Under Control

• Definition: Allowing Jesus to direct your life’s course, not just believing but yielding to His commands.
• Quote:
  • “When you made a decision to give your life to Jesus, your life became His jurisdiction.” (Furtick, 21:08)
• Illustration: Teaching his sons to drive, “I’m God. What I say do, do it…He was driving the vehicle, but what you heard was my voice.”
• Insight: Many need to “renew your relationship with authority,” learning to see correction as love, not anger or abuse.

b) Under Cover

• Definition: Trusting in God’s protection as you walk in obedience.
• Illustration:
  • Imagining church leader Che driving her Jeep in a hailstorm with the top down—“that’s what some of our lives look like…when we had opportunity to be covered.” (Furtick, 31:31)
• Quote:
  • “I’m covered by the blood of God…Thank you, Jesus, for covering me.” (Furtick, 32:50)
• Insight: The protection we want (“covering”) is tied to the obedience we often resist (“commands”).

c) Under Construction

• Definition: Submitting to God’s ongoing work of building, repairing, and transforming your life.
• Scripture Tie-in:
  • Luke 6:46-49 – Building house on the rock (obedience) or sand (disregarding God’s word).
• Quote:
  • “I want a life that’s well built…I want a marriage that’s well built…I want a ministry that’s well built.” (Furtick, 35:28)
• Insight: Even if your “house” (life) has suffered damage, the master carpenter (Jesus) can rebuild it when you put yourself under His authority.

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7. A Call to Obedience and Surrender

[37:37 – 42:46]

• Immediate Steps:
  • Baptism, apologies, reconciliation, joining community, or any next step the Lord has put on your heart.
  • “There’s a step of obedience that God has spoken. You know you need to take this step.” (Furtick, 39:23)
• Salvation Invitation:
  • Leads the congregation in a prayer to surrender and receive Christ.

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8. Worship Response & Visual Illustration

[44:27 – 46:27]

• Elevation Worship – “So Be It”
  • Explains the meaning behind the signet ring on the new worship album cover—a symbol of royal authority.
  • “When the king’s ring was stamped on that proclamation, it meant, so be it…You have the name of Jesus with all power and authority.” (Furtick, 45:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s nothing that I could ever go under that He isn’t over.”
  (Steven Furtick, 11:00)
• “Why is it that demons obey God, and you and I, we struggle with disobedience?”
  (Furtick, 14:42)
• “We want His love, but we reject His wisdom.”
  (Furtick, 30:00)
• “You can’t have His covering without His commands. The protection that you needed was in you being obedient to what God told you to do.”
  (Furtick, 30:00-30:40)
• “I want a life that’s well built…Built on a foundation that would last.”
  (Furtick, 35:28; 37:37)
• “You have the name of Jesus with all power and authority saying, ‘So be it.’ Signed, sealed, delivered.”
  (Furtick, 45:36)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:01] – Message Intro: Bonus “See King Jesus” week
• [05:19] – God comes for outsiders/centurion
• [08:38] – Snorkeling story: “going under” as illustration
• [11:00] – “There’s nothing I could ever go under that He isn’t over.”
• [12:00] – Luke’s focus on Jesus’ authority
• [14:42] – Demons obey, we struggle: the heart of the message
• [17:37] – How to hear God’s voice
• [21:08] – “Your life became His jurisdiction”
• [25:31] – Driving lesson illustration: “I was in control”
• [31:31] – Che's Jeep in a hailstorm: covering illustration
• [35:28] – House on the rock: life “well built”
• [39:23] – Prayer for obedience and response
• [44:27] – Album cover/signet ring: “So be it”
• [46:27] – Worship: “So Be It” performed

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Structure for Going “Under” the Authority of God

1. Under Control - Decide to let Jesus direct your steps and decisions, not just your beliefs.
2. Under Cover - Live within God’s protection through obedience and trust.
3. Under Construction - Embrace the ongoing, sometimes messy process of being (re)built by God.

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Closing Reflection

Pastor Steven masterfully weaves biblical insight with personal stories and practical instruction, calling believers not only to trust in Jesus but to place their whole lives under Him. The episode crescendos in a communal worship moment, reminding us that when King Jesus speaks, “so be it”—His word and authority are final.

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For Listeners:
This episode is a charge to move from passive faith to active, obedient surrender—going “under” Jesus in every area so that you can be “covered,” constructed, and sustained for whatever life brings.

Transcript

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

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[Steven Furtick (Intro/Outro)]

Hey, this is Steven Furtick. 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. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

We're going to be in Luke chapter seven. Everybody just remain standing just for the

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

reading of the Word and then I'll

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

have you seated here in just a moment.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

We're going to be in Luke chapter 7, verses 1 through 10. As I was preparing to preach today, we had been in this series, See King Jesus. And pastor said that the series was done last week on Easter Sunday. And, and I just was like, hey, can I just do a bonus week?

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Can I just.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Just, just, you know, sneak in?

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Because it's been so powerful what God is doing. And, and so let's. This is just a bonus week. This is just a bonus week of.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Of See King Jesus.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

We're gonna be in Luke chapter seven,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

starting at verse one.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Here's what it says. It says, when Jesus had finished saying all of this to the people who were listening. Now, any nosy people is like, what was Jesus talking about when Jesus said all of this? What was he saying? Okay, keep that in mind just for the nosy people. We'll pick that up a little bit later. And then it says he entered Capernaum. There a centurion servant whom his master valued highly, was sick and was about to die. Tell your neighbor, say he was down bad. Verse 3 says the Centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to ask him, asking him to come and heal the servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, hey, listen, this man deserves to have you do this because he loves our nation and has built our synagogues. You know, he's not like them other Roman soldiers. He's not like them. He's been. He's been good to. He's been good to us. Without any back and forth. It just says in verse 6. So Jesus went with him.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

If you didn't catch it, this, this

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

general, this, this centurion general that. He oversees about a hundred soldiers or

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

at least 100 soldiers. And he didn't grow up learning about God, didn't learn up learning about Yahweh. He's from Rome.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And Jesus didn't bat an eye to

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

go with him to see what he needed. I'm just slowing down for a moment.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

If you felt like you grew up on the wrong side of tracks and didn't know whether or not God would come for you.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I want you to know that's why he came.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

That's why he came. If you're like, hey, I don't know all of these scriptures.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I didn't grow up and going to Sunday school.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And I'm still trying to figure this out. Just like the centurion General, he came to him without batting an eye. So verse six, it says, so he went with him. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him, lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

consider myself worthy to come to you.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

But say the word, say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one God, and he goes, and that one come and he comes. I say to my servant, do this,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

and he does it.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Turn around.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

To the crowd following, he said, I

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

tell you, I ain't seen faith like this ever. I ain't never seen faith like this. I tell you, I've not found such great faith even in Israel.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Well, I just have to tell you this. Does anybody got faith that you see

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

when they return to the house? Anybody have a return to the house? Tribe of faith. Like when I go back home, the thing that kept me up all night, God has authority to turn it around. Tell your neighbor, when I go back to the house, when I go back to the house. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. They found the servant.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Well, title of my message today is I'm going under. I'm going under by your head. Close your eyes. Jesus, we love you. We thank you. You're a good God. You're a faithful God. I ask right now that you would do what you want to do. God, as words come out of my mouth, God, I pray you would snatch them at your power, at your authority. And when it hits the ears and the hearts of your sons and daughters, their lives would be changed. We love you. We thank you. And it's in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. Amen. You can be seated. You can be seated. You can be seated. Just to set a direction for this message, I'm going to tell you a story, a quick story about a vacation my wife and I went on. We went on vacation together. Just to be clear, me and my wife went on vacation. If the Kids were going, that would be a trip. Me and my wife were on vacation, and we were having a good time.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And one of the couples that traveled

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

with us, they had this bright idea that we would go on an excursion. And this is, we're going to go out into a boat and go out and find a place that we can snorkel, and we're gonna go try to find Nemo. And we're excited about it. And so we get on the boat. The captain of our boat, when he gets to the spot we went out, the waves were a little choppy, and

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

he takes some time to be able to give us all of the safety protocols. He just took control. He's like, let me tell you what you guys are going to do. And he walks through all of the checklists, and then he says, it's time for you guys to go ahead and

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

fasten your life vest. Get your life vest. Go ahead and get those fastened up. And so I look around and I notice that my wife started to put her life vest on.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Now, this was surprising to me.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Let me tell you why. My wife's amazing. She's beautiful. She's smart. She's amazing. Me and our boys, we are the background singers, too, to the band that we're in. She is the lead 100%.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

But Whitney can't swim. So I thought she was going to be the designated social media manager for this duration of our vacation. You know, she was gonna be taking pictures and videos by looking at her. What are you doing? And she said, well, I wanna go see Nemo, too. So I step back to proceed to watch my wife get into this ocean,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

knowing that she can't swim. I'm in position, ready to go save her if I need to. Okay, I'm ready to go.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I'm watching immediately. I see the life vest start to come over her neck. I see her eyes look like she's about to die. Within seconds. Within seconds, the captain of our boat jumps over, swims over, snatches her up out of the water, sits her down, says, are you okay? She finally gets her breath to say she's okay. And he looks at her and says,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

you stay right here.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I love that we had a captain on this boat that knew what to do when my wife was going under. What I know in my life is there's times that I've been under pressure. There's times that I've been under attack. There's times I was so overwhelmed and I felt the hand of God snatch me out of harm's way. Is There I don't know if you've ever been drowning, drowning before under the pressure of this world and you experience the hand of God saving you. I thank God that there was a man on that boat that had authority. But in my life, I thank God that Jesus has all power and all authority. And there's nothing, there's nothing that I could ever go under that he isn't over. Jesus has authority. You see, I love Luke's gospel because Luke, he didn't write his gospel to a Jewish audience.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

He actually wrote it to gentiles.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

He wrote it to gentiles, to people

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

that didn't grow up learning about God.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And one of the things that he does is he wants you to know,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

like Jesus has all power and authority,

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

that the rumors you've heard about him, they're true. The murmurs that were going around, they're true. And one of the ways he does this is he takes time to be able to show when Jesus speaks and things happen like in Luke. You see this in Luke chapter four. He comes into the synagogue. There's a man that's possessed with an impure spirit. And Jesus speaks to that demon, tells him to come out of this man, and immediately he comes out of him. And when you go to Luke chapter 4, verse 36, look what the people say. They said. All the people were amazed and said to each other, what words are these? With authority and power, he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out of. Jesus heals Peter's mother in law, she had this fever that wouldn't break. And Jesus takes a moment and he speaks to her and she's healed in an instant. You see, Jesus has authority. Then when you get to this storm In Luke chapter 8, Jesus asleep in the bottom of a boat. Wind and waves are blowing from left to right and they're overwhelmed, they're scared, scared. Jesus steps to the bot to the tip of the boat with all power and authority and says to the wind, peace, be still, because he has all authority. You get to Jairus daughter. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. This little girl that had lost her life. But Jesus closes the door behind him. He says, child, my child, arise. And she gets up. Because Jesus has authority. Jesus speaks to demons and they obey. Because Jesus has authority over every demonic force that could ever come against you. Jesus speaks in sickness, has to obey. Because Jesus has authority over every virus or illness that could ever attack your body. Jesus speaks in the wind and waves, have to obey. Because Jesus has authority over every element that could create a storm in Your life.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Jesus speaks in death, obeys. Because he rose with all power and

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

authority, and he has authority over death, hell and the grave. My God has authority. My God has authority, but I set you up. Here comes the sucker punch. Why is it that demons obey God

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

and you and I, we struggle with disobedience? I said, we demons obey God.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Wind and waves obey God, but you

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

and I struggle with obeying the voice of God.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

It's been like this since the beginning. Adam and Eve, y' all had one job, one tree. Moses, I've called you to deliver the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I don't speak well.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I'm not the one. Jonah, I need you to go to Nineveh. Nineveh? I'm going to Tarshish. There's this. There's this one passage where Jesus heals this man with leprosy. And he tells him. He tells him he heals him.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

And he says, hey, listen, don't tell anybody about this.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Don't tell anybody about this, okay? Because Jesus knew that the moment word started to spread that they were going to try to kill him, he knew that this was coming. And so look at this. In Mark, chapter one, verse 43, this

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

had me cracking up.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Jesus went to him and said once with a strong warning, see that you don't tell this to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them. 45 Instead, he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely places. The more that I wrestled with this text, I realized that many of us, we've surrendered our lives to Jesus, but we're struggling with submitting to his authority. Today, my plea to you is to go under the authority of God. You want his love, but you reject his wisdom. He didn't just want to save you. He wants to lead you. He wants to guide you. And so today, I wanted to slow

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

down for a moment, to just charge you in this season of your life to make a decision and say, I'm going to obey the voice of God. I'm gonna do what he said to do. Now, just for a moment, there may

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

be someone in the room that's like, hey, I've never heard God speak to me. I don't even know what you mean when you say that. I heard a pastor say this once. I'm gonna try to give this to you really quick about hearing the voice

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

of God just for a moment. Because I think it'll help you in this journey. We know that God is in three God the Father, God the Son, and the Spirit, Right? All right. And we know this. We know this. In John chapter one, it says, in the beginning was the. And the Word was with God and the Word. So when I open up my Bible, I am interacting with God the Father. He wants to speak to you. So you can't just come to church on Sunday and that's the only time you talk to Him. Open up your Bible on Monday, open up your Bible on Tuesday. Figure out a Bible reading plan. Find something. Just open up them, spend time with them. The second thing is it says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God will use Jesus in the flesh with someone around you to speak to you. You ever been thinking about something and five people came and start talking about it and you're like, what are you doing? How did you know? How did you know that you ever showed up on, on a Sunday morning? Pastor's preaching like he's been following, following me. What is going on? I can't get it.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

God will use Jesus to speak through someone in the flesh to confirm what

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

he wants to speak to you.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

And last, we have the Holy Spirit that dwells inside of you. This is still small voice. There's sometimes that the Holy Spirit gives me just a supernatural peace that I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. And then sometimes there's just an unsettledness

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

that'll make me feel like I gotta move, something's changing, something shifting. So the only way that you get

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

more and more sensitive to this is to spend more time with Him.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And so I just wanted to take a moment to help someone that maybe is struggling.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

But like, how do I hear God's voice? Read his Word. Get into a community where God could speak to some people and have some time where you're silent, where the Holy Spirit could give you peace, could make you restless, could make you move, could comfort you.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

There's a lot of things you know

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

to do you just haven't done.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

You love your neighbor. You don't have to pray about that. You don't have to. It's in, it's in the book. It's in the book. That's the, that's the God the Father talking. That's it. He has all authority. And so let's go for a moment

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

and talk about what it means to go under the authority of God.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

The first thing you have to do,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

write this down is you have to go under control. Under control. I need a cup of water. If somebody can get me a water. Under control. As I was thinking about this, I realized once I wrote down the word control, many of you would have got mad. She's like, I'm a grown man. I'm a grown woman. Ain't nobody controlling me. I do what I want to do. I go where I want to go. You see, I love the series. It was, see King Jesus.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And when we talk about kings, kings rule territory. And when you made a decision to give your life to Jesus, your life became his jurisdiction. And this is you making a decision to say, I am now under the control of King Jesus. But here's the thing that I know

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

to be true is that some of you need to renew your relationship with authority.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

That when I say control, when I say authority, your mind goes back. If you're from some generation to when you went out and had to go

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

get a switch,

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

that's where your mind goes. That's where your mind goes. Or, you know this. A hard head means a. You see? You see what I mean? You need to renew your relationship with authority. Because here's what I know to be true.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

If you see authority through the lens

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

of anger, your relationship with God will

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

be driven by fear.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

If you see authority through the lens of anger, your relationship with God will be driven by fear. Let's go back to the text, because I don't see anger in the text. This Centurion general is giving a picture of what the authority of God really looks like. Go to verse one. It says, when Jesus had finished saying all of this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There, a centurion servant. Watch this. Whom his master valued highly, was sick. Whom his master valued highly. The master values you highly. I went and looked up that phrase, and it's a phrase. Intimos, intimos, intimos. Held in high honor, prized in precious.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

You see, I don't see anger in this authority. I see love. When you see authority through the lens of anger, your relationship will be driven by fear. But if you see authority through the lens of love, your relationship will be driven by appreciation. You'll say, thank you, God, for your word over my life. Thank you for correcting me.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Thank you for challenging me. Can I talk to the students for a moment?

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Your parents, grandparents, whoever, they love you. Your youth leaders, they love you.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

When they correct, you don't see.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

They're just mad at me.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

They're just hating.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Negative aura.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

No.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

What if you saw it through the lens of love.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

They're challenging me because they want the best for me. They're raising their voice because they're like, no, stop that, because it's hurting you. Turn. This is where you need to go.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I talked to the youth, but y'

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

all needed it, too. So you make a decision to go

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

under the control of God. And just to give you a little illustration, my boys are 14 years old now, and we are in this season of starting to think about what it means to get a learner's permit and start to drive. I need you to pray for us. I need you to. I need. I need you to speak in tongues. I need you to go to the holy place for us. Can you do that for one of your pastors here at the church?

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Okay, so we took the boys out to drive for the first time in

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

the church parking lot. If you've had that experience, wave your hand at me. Okay, okay, okay, okay.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Now we get in the car. We get in the car, close the

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

door, and you can ask my boys. I close the door and I looked at them. I said, be quiet.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I said, I'm God.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

What I say do, do it. Ask no questions. Don't say a word, just nod.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I immediately was setting the tone to let them know that they were. I was in control, that they were under my authority. And so I got a little quick

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

video, little quick video I wanted to show you. They're going to throw it up right now.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Little quick video of this moment while

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

we're on the road. Check this out. Break, break. Start turning. Turn. Turn. Turn hard. Break, break. Keep turning, keep turning, keep turning, keep turning. There you go. Now start letting it straight up. There you go. Now you can start gassing and go forward a little bit. My son Carter was driving, but he was under my direction.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

He was driving the vehicle, but what

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

you heard was my voice.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Turn, turn, turn. Some of you aren't shifting when he says shift. You aren't moving when he says move. Turn, turn, turn. Some of you, when he says turn left, you say, I'm going to turn right. And I'm saying, no. Turn, turn, turn. When he said turn, he was turning you away from trouble. When he said turn, he was saying turn. Away from tribulation. When he said turn, he was leading you to a land flowing with milk and honey. I'm just trying to slow down enough. He was in control so you won't crash. Break, break, break. You're about to go over a cliff. You're about to destroy your life. Break. Stop it right now it's ruining your life. Break, break. So your life won't be broken.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

You're driving, but he's directing.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Did you notice how quiet it was? The only voice you could hear was,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

it was mine because I was in control.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

You have to make a decision.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Say, I'm going under his control. After you get that right, you're like, hey, I made a decision. He's king. He's king.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

He's king.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

What he says, I do. Then you go undercover. You go under cover. You go under his control. Now you go under cover. Many of you watch too much Netflix and all you're thinking about being an FBI agent going under cover. I'm talking about the protection of God. And in order to receive his protection, there has to be a level of trust. Like, I trust that he will cover me. I trust that he's over.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

All of my life. He's over what I'm dealing with. He has a different altitude.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I'm covered.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And so when you go to verse eight, listen to this. He says, for I myself am a man under authority with soldiers under me. I tell this one, go. And he goes. I tell that one come. And he comes. I say to my servant, do this. And he does it.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Did you see the cadence?

[Steven Furtick (Intro/Outro)]

No.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Back and forth. I say this one go. I say this one come. I say this one do this. He does it. God tell us, go where? Who gon be there? What time do I come home? Because you know, I don't drive at night.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Just for the sake of some levity, I wanted you to see how we reject his commands. What? We love his covering.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

The more that I walk with God,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I realize they go together.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I can't have his covering without his commands. This is again.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

We want his love, but we reject his wisdom.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

We made a decision to surrender. God, I'll give my life to you, but I won't submit. But protect me, God. Cover me, God. The covering was in the command. The covering was in his word. The covering, the protection that you needed was in you being obedient to what God told you to do.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Another illustration for you. I just want this to stick. I want you to remember it. This week I was thinking about Che. Che. She's on our leadership team and helps lead so much with the worship team. And she drives a jeep. And I had this picture in my mind of like, Che's amazing. She keeps us together on a lot of different things with communication. She's brilliant. She's so brilliant.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I would have thought she lost her

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

mind if this was her Imagine there is a hailstorm.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

There's a hailstorm, and Shay's driving her

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Jeep with a top down, windows down, and I'm talking a hailstorm.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And I just had in my mind Shay driving down the street with her

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Jeep, just getting hit in the head with hailstones.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

I had in my mind, you know, the rearview mirror just getting crashed with hell. I had in my mind the interior of the car beginning a disaster. And I had it in my mind. I'm like, that's what some of our lives look like. We're riding around elements, is tearing up our lives when we had an opportunity to be covered. What would it look like for you to say, I'm not living my life exposed to the elements. I'm not living my life out here. I'm not saying wind won't come. I'm not saying rain won't come. I'm just saying, I'm covered. I'm covered. Tell your neighbor, say, I'm covered. I'm covered. I feel God on that. I'm covered by the blood of God. I'm covered. My family's covered. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Because I made a decision to follow him. My kids won't experience the same pain that I experience because I'm covered. Is there anybody that would take a minute to say, I thank God for covering me. I didn't do everything right, but he covered me. I messed up time and time again, but he covered me. Thank you, Jesus, for covering me. I'm under cover. Hallelujah.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Thank you, Jesus.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

Tell five people, I'm undercover. I'm undercover. I'm undercover. Thank you, God.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

The last one, you make a decision to go under the authority of God, you go under construction. You see in the text, I notice what this centurion general, what he says, go to verse six. It says.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

It says, so Jesus went with him. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to him, saying, listen to this, Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I don't deserve you to have to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not consider myself worthy to come out to you.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

But say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority. He said this. He says, you don't have to come under my roof because everything under my roof is under your authority. So he's saying, that's what he's saying.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

You don't have to come under my roof. Just say the word because everything under

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

my roof is under your authority. Remember, earlier, I Said Jesus had said all of this.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

He said all of this and it was like the nosy people. What was he. What was he saying?

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Well, we're going to go back now to see the context of this. I really believe it's going to bless

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

you because watch what Jesus just got finished saying. Watch what Jesus just got finished saying. This is Luke, chapter 6, verse 46. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Right? Like right before he's teaching, gets done, teaching walks up. Then he meets the centurion. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid the rock on a foundation, the foundation on a rock. When a flood came and the torrent struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I want a life that's well built. I want a life that's well built. I want a marriage that's well built. I want a ministry that's well be. Can we thank God for the church that God is building in his place?

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

He is building his house. I love it. Pastor told us. He said the blessing of our church isn't because of how talented we are. Isn't because. No, no, no. It was because we were obedient. We were crazy enough to do the things that God said do. Scared, trembling. I want a life that's well built.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

But then he says in verse 49, but the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. Another way of saying its destruction was complete is saying it went under. The destruction of the business was complete. They went bankrupt, lost it all. It went under. Here's the thing that I want to encourage you with is I thank God that we see a picture of King Jesus not only speaking, but we see him being a carpenter. So even though there's some damage that may has occurred, I thank God that my life, because I'm under his authority, I'm under construction. He knows how to put some pieces back together.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

He knows how to fix what was broken. He knows how to mend those places that only he knows that's hurting you.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I want to thank God that because I'm under his authority, his skilled hand has the ability to put some walls up that need to go up, to

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

tear some walls down that need to come down, to be able to make sure that my life will be built

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

on a foundation that would last. I want you to make a decision today. Say, I'm going to go under the authority of God. I'm going to make a decision today to put my faith in Jesus that no longer will I hear words that come from God. And I just do it my own way, do it in my own strength, do it in my own ability. I love if everybody could stand on your feet. Many of us in the room have made a decision to give our lives to Jesus. We've surrendered to him. We believe in our heart that Jesus is the son of God. And we've confessed with our mouth that God raised him from the dead. We've surrendered many of us right now in this moment, there's a step of obedience that we need to take. For some, it might be getting baptized at one of our locations today. Next week, we'll be in Houston. If you want to get baptized in Houston, go to elevationchurch.org to sign up. Maybe that's your step of obedience, you know, to let everybody know I belong to Jesus. I don't know what it is for you. Maybe for some, maybe it's a husband in the room. You need to go apologize to your wife. He's already told you to do it.

[Steven Furtick (Intro/Outro)]

He's like,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

Nineveh. I want to take a moment just to pray for you. Pray for you by your head. Close your eyes. There's a step of obedience that God has spoken. You know, you need to take this step. You know, you need to take this step. So some. It might be something so simple phone call. You need to make a shift. You need to make, you know, like, you've been stressed about your finances and you've been hearing about all of these community groups, and there's some people that can help you put your budget together, but you've been pushing it off. There's a step you need to take. I want God to speak to you just in this soft, still moment. Maybe the Holy Spirit brings something up. I just want to pray for you that you would have the ability to be obedient. So, God, I come to you, sin. Thank you for your sons and daughters here in the room. At all of our campuses online today, there's something you've spoken. A shift, a move, or maybe a stay still. God, I pray right now that you give them confidence and boldness to do what you said to do so that they could experience what it's like being under your authority, under your control, under your cover, under your construction, so their lives would be well built. And I pray that even if there's shame in the room, that they pushed off decisions for years, we rebuke that in the name of Jesus. Today is a new day. Today's a day that we can turn, move now. We love you. We thank you. It's in Jesus name I pray. Amen. Now there's one more prayer that I have to do because there may be someone in the room that. You've never surrendered your life to Christ. You've. You've never taken that step. You've never said, God, my life is yours. Bible says whoever believes in their heart that Jesus is the son of God and confesses with their mouth that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So, all heads bowed, all eyes closed. We're going to say a prayer together. This is a prayer of salvation. This is a prayer of surrender for the benefit of those that are coming to God. Some, this is the first time. And then some of you, you're coming back home. We're gonna say this prayer together so they don't have to say it alone. Repeat it after me. Say, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died on a cross and rose from the grave to forgive me of my sins. So I give you my sins. I give you my shame. And from this day forward, I'll follow you. This is my new beginning. I am a child of God with

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

all heads bowed and all eyes closed. If you said that prayer, you meant it. Making a decision to put your faith in Jesus. I'm gonna count to three. And when I get to three, I just want you to shoot your hand up boldly so we can celebrate this moment with you. Here we go. 1, 2, 3. Shoot your hand up if you're making that decision. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Can we give God the biggest shout of praise? Give him glory in this place. Thank you, Jesus. And listen, if someone next to you raised their hand, can you give them a hug for me? Put your arms around them and listen. We're going to dismiss together. Somebody just made a decision to give their life to. If someone near you raised their hand,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

give them a hug for me. Tell them, welcome to the family. Tell them God bless you. Tell them God bless you. Tell them we love you. Now, I was thinking about how to end our time together today. And I was listening to our newest Elevation worship album. So be it. Have you Been blessed by it. And I asked the team, tiff and the team to help me with this, because I'm worshiping. And you remember we were in this series, Pastor was preaching and seeking Jesus. We got to see him seeking. We got to see him sitting. We got to see him standing. We got to see him staying. And today, I wanted you to see him speaking.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

This song says, when the king speaks a word, it cannot be overturned. It's as good as done. And so I asked him to show you guys the picture of the album cover.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

So this is the album cover right here. I want you to see this.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

And I thought it was dope.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

I thought it was cool. I hadn't really, like, paid attention to

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

it, but I called Corey Pruitt, who

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

helps lead the creative team that put

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

this together, and I said, hey, I was looking at this ring, and it was really ministering to me. And I looked at it, and I saw name. I saw name. I saw name. And then I started to research what the Senate ring meant. And what kings would do is they would take a piece of paper, a proclamation, a decree, and they would put their ring inside wax, and they would put it on the piece of paper. And the moment that they sealed the piece of paper, it was law. It meant, so be it. So when the king's ring was stamped on that decree, stamped on that proclamation,

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

it meant, so be it.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

It's done. It's done. It's done. It's done. But I was talking to Corey, and Corey said, well, I want to let you know that it doesn't only say name.

[Pastor Steven Furtick]

It says Amen.

[Pastor Steven Furtick (Preaching)]

So if you want to walk this out, you have the name of Jesus with all power and authority saying, be it. So be it. Our response is, amen. So be it, God so be it in your life, so be it in your family, so be it in your schools, so be it in your home, so be it, Jesus Signed, sealed, delivered. Sing it, sing it, sing it, sing it, sing it.

[Elevation Worship Lead Singer]

Deserves it can never be reversed it's the kingdom come so get the lions out the way they don't have the final say There is only one Something supreme Every word he speaks is holy. The Lamb of God is overcome My testimony is his blood and if you said that it is done, it is done show me God. To the one on the throne who cannot be overflow Sing Alleluia to the last the first ruler of the universe Sing alleluia To the Alpha, Omega, the Master, the Maker, the name above every other name Give him all the praise

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[Elevation Worship Lead Singer]

the Lamb of God is overcome. My testimony only is his blood. And if he said that it is done, it is done. So be it God. The weapons of the enemy, they have no power over me. The one with all authority covers me. So be a God, so be. It is final, it is written, it is finish. See that old grave, he was in it, now he is. He is risen. It is final, it is risen, it is shadow, it is spirit. He got old grave, he was in it, now he isn't, he's risen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[Steven Furtick (Intro/Outro)]

Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to Give now or visit Elevation Church 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. God bless you.

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[Pastor Steven Furtick]

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[Elevation Worship Lead Singer]

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[Pastor Steven Furtick]

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