Elevation with Steven Furtick – “Invisible Prisons”

Date: October 17, 2025
Host: Pastor Steven Furtick

Overview

In this engaging and challenging sermon, Pastor Steven Furtick explores the concept of “Invisible Prisons”—the internal, often unseen, struggles that confine us, such as disappointment, unmet expectations, and doubt in our spiritual journey. Rooted in Matthew 11:2-3, the message revolves around John the Baptist’s questioning of Jesus from prison and draws deep parallels to the ways our own expectations can imprison us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. Pastor Furtick calls listeners to recognize these invisible prisons and receive freedom by placing trust in God’s greater purpose, even when circumstances don’t meet our desires.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Power of Expectation

(01:52–07:51)

• Pastor Steven begins by reading Matthew 11:2-3, highlighting John the Baptist’s time in prison and the pivotal question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
• He makes a personal connection, discussing expectations in marriage:

  “It’s about expectations. Marriage is about expectations. I could preach a seminar on that. Let’s do another time.” (05:00)

• Faith as Expectation:

  “Faith, when you get to the essence of it, is an expectation—a confident assurance that a negative circumstance still holds the potential to produce great purpose in my life.” (05:24)

2. Expectation is Contagious – Who You Surround Yourself With Matters

(07:51–15:18)

• Furtick discusses the impact of surrounding yourself with expectation, drawing on the story of Mary and Elizabeth and their shared experience of miraculous pregnancies:

  “The best thing you can do when you are expecting is to get around somebody else who’s expecting.” (11:27)

• Personal anecdotes about his son, Graham, noticing the enthusiasm of a church parking lot attendant and equating it to childlike, contagious faith:

  "What he felt, though, he didn't know it, was the Holy Spirit in that man... he was expecting that when you pull in my parking lot, you're pulling up on holy ground." (13:15)

3. Invisible Prisons: External vs. Internal Bondage

(16:03–27:08)

• The narrative shifts back to John the Baptist, whose “prison” is both literal and metaphorical.
• Danger of Misaligned Expectation:

  “It's very dangerous to have a low expectation of God. Then you just live the life at the level of your disappointments…” (17:39)

• Pastor Steven explores how John’s family and personal history built a high expectation of what the Messiah would be—expectations that appear unmet in his circumstances.
• Invisible Prisons:

  "There is a spiritual depression on so many thousands I will preach to this weekend. And nobody can see it because we paint the walls with a smile, but we live behind bars on the inside. It's an invisible prison." (26:00)

4. God’s Plans Versus Our Expectations: The Disappointment That Grows Faith

(27:08–36:27)

• Furtick examines Jesus’ response to John’s disciples: Jesus lists miracles but omits proclaiming "freedom for the prisoners," a detail John would have expected (Luke 4).
• Everyone faces “WTF moments” (Where’s The Fork? Where’s The Fire?)—moments of confusion and unmet expectations with God:

  “John is having a WTF moment with the Lord... if you’ll be really honest, there are some things in your life you’re trying to figure out right now.” (29:09)

• Profound Point:

  “What if God didn’t want to meet your expectations because He wanted to exceed them? ... The way He grows my faith is usually to disappoint my expectation.” (30:26)

• Important distinction: Jesus was fulfilling prophecy, not the audience’s preferences.

5. The Jail of Our Own Plans—Moving Beyond Our Design

(36:27–43:04)

• Furtick underscores that John the Baptist never physically escaped his prison; his story didn’t end with earthly rescue or reward.
• Bigger Purpose:

  “There’s something even more beautiful in the text than John getting what he wants... There is a purpose that is greater. There is a plan that is bigger.” (36:55)

• The greater issue is not God’s apparent silence, but our mental confinement—the invisible prison created by limiting God to our own agendas and timelines.

  “As long as I’m in the prison of what I thought, I can’t be a part of what God is doing.” (41:44)

6. Freedom Found in Surrender and Trust

(43:04–48:31)

• The sermon culminates in an invitation to trust God’s sovereignty and to step out of the prison of disappointment and unmet expectations.

  “The Lord wants to set you free today from the way you thought it was going to be. ... Once you get set free from the way you thought it was going to be, you can embrace what it is.” (43:04)

• Furtick prays for those trapped in invisible prisons:

  “I want to pray for them right now, Lord, that you would look into the places of their life where they’ve been disappointed... where they’re in an invisible prison of disappointment, resentment, bitterness. But you said you came to set us free.” (44:07)

• Assurance that God is at work, even through the uncertainties:

  “God said, that’s me... The thing in you that can’t always make sense—you should read the Bible sometimes—God said, that’s me. I want you to wrestle with it.” (46:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Faith and Expectation

• “Faith is an expectation to know that even if the sequence of things doesn’t make sense in my life, that God, who lives outside of time... knows the end from the beginning.” — Steven Furtick [06:00]

On Disappointment and Spiritual Growth

• “Do you know what God uses to develop your faith? Disappointment. Do you know what the devil uses to destroy your faith? Disappointment. I think it’s what you do with it.” — Steven Furtick [36:11]

The Danger of Limiting God

• “God never wants your faith to rest on you. He knows how fragile and fickle you are.” — Steven Furtick [37:01]
• “As long as I’m in the prison of what I thought, I can’t be a part of what God is doing.” — Steven Furtick [41:44]

On Real Freedom

• “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. The kind of freedom I mean is the freedom from the need to control your life, to call the shots and to always know the plan.” — Steven Furtick [44:29]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:52] – Introduction of theme: Matthew 11 and invisible prisons
• [05:00] – Discussion on expectation in relationships and faith
• [11:27] – Mary, Elizabeth, and the importance of shared expectation
• [13:15] – Contagious faith: Story about Furtick's son and the church parking attendant
• [17:39] – The danger of low expectations of God
• [26:00] – Defining invisible prisons and spiritual depression
• [30:26] – God exceeding expectations by disappointing them
• [36:55] – God’s greater purpose versus our expectations
• [41:44] – “As long as I’m in the prison of what I thought...”
• [43:04] – Call to freedom and embracing God’s bigger picture
• [44:29] – Description of spiritual freedom through surrender

Final Takeaway

Steven Furtick urges listeners to identify and move past their “invisible prisons”—the mental and spiritual barriers created by assumptions about God, themselves, and how life “should” be. Real freedom is found not in God conforming to our plans, but in surrendering to His infinitely better purpose, even in seasons of disappointment or confusion. His call: “Be set free today by the fact that God may not be conforming to your agenda … but there is a greater purpose and there is a bigger picture.”