I’ve Got To Get Up

Summary

Podcast Summary: Elevation with Steven Furtick

Episode: I’ve Got To Get Up
Release Date: December 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this stirring episode of "Elevation with Steven Furtick," Pastor Steven delivers an empowering message titled "I've Got To Get Up," inspired by the Biblical story of the man healed at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15). Preaching to a live audience in Miami, Pastor Steven explores themes of personal breakthrough, divine timing, overcoming excuses, and the transformative power of Jesus. He urges listeners not to be defined by their struggles, but to rise—physically, spiritually, and emotionally—because of Christ’s compassion and authority.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power and Personal Nature of Jesus' Miracles

• Scripture Focus: John 5 – The healing at Bethesda.
• Main Point: God’s work is deeply personal—He sees and addresses the needs of the “one.”
  • "That’s how personal God is. One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years." (02:18)
• Application: Steven draws parallels between visible physical ailments and the hidden pain or anxieties many carry, emphasizing that Jesus desires to heal both.

2. The Challenge: “Do You Want to Get Well?”

• Meaningful Question: Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?”—a choice that challenges listeners to desire genuine change and freedom.
  • "The way you answer this question is going to mark your life from this moment forward." (02:59)
• Moment of Engagement: Congregation is encouraged to respond:
  • "I dare somebody to shout, I want it, Lord. … I want these chains to break." (03:18)

3. Excuses and Divine Command

• Turning Point: The man at the pool responds with excuses, but Jesus overrides them with a command: “Get up. Pick up your mat and walk.”
• Memorable Quote:
  • "He has excuses, but verse eight is really the power of the passage. Then Jesus said to him, get up." (03:52)
• Insight: God’s instruction supersedes our perceived limitations when it’s time to move forward (04:13–04:52).

4. Unstoppable Moves of God

• Personal Anecdote: Steven recounts starting Elevation Church against the advice of “experts” who doubted the possibility of a multicultural congregation in Charlotte, underscoring:
  • "When God gets ready to do something, nothing can stop him." (05:15)
• Reflection on His Father's Conversion:
  • Steven recalls preaching to his father, who he thought was “too far gone,” only to later witness his father’s emotional surrender to Christ after a sermon Steven deemed a failure.
  • "He gave his life to Christ that day after the worst sermon I ever preached." (10:37)

5. Three Things Jesus Does

Steven distills his message into three baptist-style points:

1. Jesus Stops – He pays attention to the individual regardless of circumstance.
   • "Jesus stops for one man who can't do anything in return." (19:39)
2. Jesus Sees – He looks past our struggles; sees our true selves.
   • "They are all mentioned by their condition... sometimes you can go through something so long you forget who you are." (16:58, 17:12)
   • "He saw the man. He sees me." (27:39)
3. Jesus Says – He speaks life and commands us to rise.
   • "You have two voices going on. You have one voice saying, stay down... It is not emotionalism… It’s called faith… one word from Jesus…"(33:01–33:27)
   • "Then Jesus said to him, you have to get up. I've got to get up." (33:27)

6. Breaking the Power of Shame and Bad Labels

• Identity Issue: Cautions listeners against defining themselves by their struggles instead of their status in Christ.
  • "You no longer say, 'I'm dealing with depression.' You say, 'I am depressed.' … But wouldn't it be terrible if I let the fear of letting you down stop me from preaching to you?" (17:12–17:32)
• Grace Over Shame:
  • Story of Jesus stopping the stoning in John 8, illustrating his power to halt condemnation.
  • "Not only is he a savior who stops, he is a savior who stoops." (24:53)

7. When Others Don’t Understand

• Religious Objections: Cites those who tried to limit the healed man—“It is the Sabbath, the law forbids you from carrying your mat”—but the man replies,
  • "The man who made me well said to me, 'Get up.'” (35:12)
• Application for Listeners: Urges them to listen to Jesus’ voice above critics.

8. Living Out the Testimony

• Transformation: From lying on the mat to carrying it—inverting testimony as a symbol of overcoming.
  • "I'm carrying the mat that I once laid on." (37:33)
• Call to Action: Propels the congregation to rise with faith, leave behind shame, and celebrate new life in Christ.
  • "If that's you, when I say three, you've got to... get up." (37:52–38:12)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Personalization of God’s Grace:
  • “That’s how personal God is. One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years.” (02:18, Steven Furtick)
• Desiring Change:
  • “I dare somebody to shout, 'I want it, Lord!'” (03:18, Steven Furtick)
• On God’s Power:
  • “When God gets ready to do something, nothing can stop him. Not even a bad sermon, not even a bad necktie.” (10:56, Steven Furtick)
• Confession on Excuses:
  • “The hero of this story is not the man… He’s full of excuses...” (14:35, Steven Furtick)
• Hope for the Struggling:
  • “God will package some of his best gifts in some of the ugliest boxes.” (30:22, Steven Furtick)
• Identity Restored:
  • “Jesus didn’t see the mat first. He saw the man.” (27:39, Steven Furtick)
• Obedience and Authority:
  • “Y’all have walked by me every day for 38 years, and not one of you had the power to get me up. But that man over there… the man who made me well said to me, 'Get up.'” (35:56, Steven Furtick)
• Celebratory Commission:
  • “If that's you, when I say three… get up.” (38:11, Steven Furtick)

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 01:41 | Introduction to John 5: Pool of Bethesda | | 02:18 | The personal nature of God’s intervention | | 03:18 | Desiring freedom; “I want it, Lord” | | 03:52 | Jesus' command: “Get up” | | 05:15 | Miracles in personal life and church founding | | 10:37 | Testimony of Steven’s father’s conversion | | 14:35 | God uses our struggles | | 15:32 | Three key actions: Jesus stops/sees/says | | 17:12 | Identity vs. condition | | 19:39 | Jesus stops for the “one” | | 24:53 | Jesus “stoops” for the condemned | | 27:39 | Jesus sees beyond the mat | | 30:22 | Ugly boxes, beautiful blessings | | 33:01 | Competing voices: faith vs. despair | | 35:56 | The voice of Jesus vs. voice of critics | | 37:33 | Testimony transformed: carrying the mat | | 38:11 | Call to action: “Get up” | | 40:01 | Salvation invitation |

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Tone and Style

Pastor Steven’s delivery is passionate, energetic, and deeply personal. He blends humor (stories about his family, especially his wife’s gift-wrapping habits), vulnerability (his “failed” sermon story), and powerful spiritual challenges. There is a direct invitation to engage—“shout I want it, Lord,” “touch somebody,” “give God a praise”—showing a lively, responsive atmosphere.

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Episode Takeaways

• God’s movement in your life is personal, timely, and unstoppable.
• He sees beyond your struggles to who you really are—and invites you to get up from whatever has kept you down.
• Obedience to God’s voice is essential—even when it runs counter to your experience or others’ opinions.
• Your journey and battles can become testimonies of God’s grace to others.
• No matter your past, Jesus stops, sees, speaks—and ultimately saves.

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If you need a message of hope and a call to rise above your current battles, this episode reminds you: “I’ve Got To Get Up”—because the final word belongs to Jesus, not your circumstances.

Transcript

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[Steven Furtick]

Hey, this is Steven Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

This is our podcast.

[Steven Furtick]

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. The Bible says sometime later Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem, near the sheep gate, a pool which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Five is the number of grace, symbolically in the Bible. A lot of times when you see it, the word Bethesda means house of mercy. So they're going to a place to get mercy, to get a miracle. The Bible says in verse three here a great number of disabled people used to lie. The blind, the lame, the paralyzed. When we read that list, it's easy for us sometimes to think that the physical conditions are the ones that need the greatest healing. But you might be in here tonight and what you're dealing with is crippling anxiety. Maybe in here tonight, maybe you're dealing with a condition we can't see outwardly, but the Lord still wants to touch that area of your life. Notice in verse five. This is the important word to me. It says, one. One who was there. That's how personal God is. One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, do you want to get well? Uh oh. The way you answer this question is going to mark your life from this moment forward. I dare somebody to shout, I want it, Lord. Yeah. I want it, Lord. I want to get better. I want to grow out of this. I want these chains to break.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

I want to be set free. I want to move forward. I want this bitterness gone. Somebody shout, I want it.

[Steven Furtick]

But the Invalid replied, Verse 7, sir.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

I have no one to help me.

[Steven Furtick]

Into the pool when the water is stirred, while I'm trapped trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me. In other words, he has excuses, but verse eight is really the power of the passage. Then Jesus said to him, get up.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Pick up your mat and walk at once. The man was cured. He picked up his mat and walked. Let's clap our hands one more time for the word of God. Now, before you take your seat, I need you to look at your neighbor. Look at either one of them you want to, whichever one you like the best, look at your neighbor and give them my sermon title. Say neighbor. I've got to get up. High five, three people. Tell them, I've got to get up. I've got to get up.

[Steven Furtick]

I've got to get up. Got to do it. I have to get up. You may be seated. I have to get up. I haven't preached it like this any of the other nights. I just felt like somebody in Miami needed to declare that. I've got to get up. Stories like this in the Bible remind me that when God gets ready to do something, nothing can stop him. When God gets ready to move in your life, nothing can stop him. Don't worry about the people who don't like you. God will make the right people like you, and he'll remove the wrong people from your life. Boy, you shouted over that. Somebody is going through a breakup. Go ahead and praise God for the breakup that's going to lead to the breakthrough. When God gets ready to move, nothing can stop him. Nobody can stop him. I found that much to be true when we started our church in Charlotte. I told a lot of people I wanted our church to be multicultural. In other words, just because I'm a white pastor, that doesn't mean I just want to pastor all white people. Just because I grew up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina doesn't mean I only want to reach people from South Carolina. I want to reach everybody. God has called me to reach one guy I told this to. He was an expert in starting churches. He said, that won't work in Charlotte. You can't unify people in Charlotte. Racism is too ingrained in the culture of Charlotte to have a multicultural church. Every time I look around our church on Sunday morning and I see white people and black people and I see people that maybe don't even share the same background. They don't maybe share the same religious background, worshiping side by side. I am so glad that God did not consult that guy to see if he could have a multicultural church in Charlotte. That's the beautiful thing about God in our lives. The last time I was in Miami to preach to you, I shared this story. I'd like to share a little bit of it again about my dad. You know, when I gave my life to Jesus, I was 16 years old. I mentioned the name of the town I grew up in. It's called Moncks Corner, South Carolina. My wife was growing up in Miami and I was growing up in Moncks Corner. They're very different. The town I grew up in had 6,000 people in it. This room tonight, if you cut it in half, was the town I grew up in. It's just crazy that I'm here. But when God gets ready to do something, nothing can stop him.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

To be honest, when I first gave.

[Steven Furtick]

My life to Christ, I was so passionate. I was a little obnoxious. When I would share the gospel with people, I would always be very judgmental and condemning. So basically means I would run around telling everybody they were going to hell for everything all the time. Not just. I was telling them Jesus loved them. I'm like, you are going to hell. You're going to hell for smoking weed. You're going to hell for drinking beer. You're going to hell for watching R rated movies. You might go to hell for watching a PG13 1 movie. I just don't know what scenes are in it yet. You're going to hell for listening to secular music. Everybody is going to hell. But I meant well, you know, I'm still passionate, but I've adjusted my technique a little bit. The first significant person I Was really praying for was my dad. My dad is in heaven. My dad went to be with the Lord in 2013. When I gave my life to Jesus. He was not following Christ. He was dealing with several addictions in his life. He had a very traumatic childhood. He lost his own father at a very young age. A lot of the things about his life I would not even learn until much later. But at age 16, I remember telling my dad one morning I was getting ready to go to church and he wasn't going. I looked at him on the way out the door. I said I had to borrow his tie and stuff like that, but he wasn't using it to go to church. I'm putting on his tie out of his closet. I said, dad, before long, you're going to be dressing up to go to church, too. God is about to get ahold of your life. You need to get ready because it's going to be amazing because I'm praying for you. It's going to be awesome. So just get ready. I walked out the door. I know how you want this story to go. You want him to jump in the car and follow me that day. But that didn't happen. About two years later, I was on a traveling ministry team from our little Baptist college, which is actually how I got Holly to be my girlfriend. I put her on my ministry team, which is game, you have to admit. That is godly game. Hey, girl, do you want to be on my summer ministry team? I knew if I could expose her to my anointing for a whole summer, she would find it irresistible. Anyway, the last stop of the summer where we were going to all these little churches was at my home church again. It's been a couple of years since that conversation with my dad. I preached a sermon that morning. In the Baptist church, you would preach and then give an invitation for people to come forward and give their life to Christ. I remember that particular morning feeling like I had failed in my sermon. You know, there's a sense you get as a preacher, Like I just wasn't clear. I just didn't get the job done. I don't think they got it. I went and sat down on the front row and I bowed my head, which would have looked like I was praying, But I was really embarrassed. I didn't want to look and see that nobody was going to come to the altar after that terrible message. But Pastor Mickey, my pastor, tapped me on the shoulder and he pointed to the altar. And there was one person at the altar, and it was my dad. He's just crying like a baby. I mean, he's a big dude too, like six 2, 280 pounds. There are only three times I ever saw him cry in my life, and this was one of them. He gave his life to Christ that day after the worst sermon I ever preached.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

When God gets ready to do something.

[Steven Furtick]

Nothing can stop him. Not even a bad sermon, not even a bad necktie. Nothing can stop God when he gets ready to do something. I had a conversation with my dad about that a little bit later. I asked him after God started working in his life and stuff. I said, do you remember that day when I looked at you and said, God is about to change your life. Get ready. It's going to be amazing? He goes, yeah, I remember. I thought you were crazy. I felt sorry for you. I knew you were about to be disappointed because you had no idea how far gone I really was. I knew that you had no idea what was really going on in my life. And if you knew what I was really dealing with, you wouldn't have that kind of faith like that. But when God gets ready to do something in somebody's life, I don't care if you're six two, I don't care if you bench press £405, I don't care what kind of creatine protein steroids you take.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

When God gets ready to do something, all of the brute force in the.

[Steven Furtick]

World can't withstand him.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

That's why some of you big dudes were crying during worship tonight. And you were trying to dry it before she saw it. But let it fall, man. Because we all need Jesus. We all need God. We all need grace. Am I right about it? That's why we were lifting our hands. Because we have some Goliaths that we're fighting. We have some giants we're facing, and we need God to bring them down. And all the power in the world can't do it. But one touch from God, one word from God, one moment. I feel like preaching. I need to get back behind this.

[Steven Furtick]

Pulpit and settle down.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

It's too early. But touch somebody and say, nothing can stop God. Nothing can stop God. Not a diagnosis, not a bad report, not a rejection. Nothing can stop God. Not an IQ deficiency. God likes to use people who aren't that smart. That way he gets all the glory when he shows you what to do. All the not too smart, but trust in God. PEOPLE shout.

[Steven Furtick]

So in this passage, we have a man who is too far gone. He's been in this condition 38 years. He's been unable to move 38 years. He has been unable to do what other people do effortlessly. 38 years. Until one day, one man speaks one word over his life. When Jesus showed up, the man didn't even get a chance to refuse. Jesus just told him, you've got to get up. Tell your neighbor, you've got to get up. That's crazy, isn't it? Because Jesus wanted to use this man. He wanted his mat where he used to lay to become his testimony. Yeah. God will use the thing you're struggling with. He will use the thing you're asking him to take away to teach you grace. He will use the thing you struggle with so that when he sets you free from it, you can go back to other people who struggle and say, let me tell you what God did for me.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

If he did it for me, he.

[Steven Furtick]

Can do it for you. That's why you have to get up. But you don't have to do it by yourself. The hero of this story is not the man. I don't even like the man in this story. He's full of excuses. We find out later in verse 14 that he lived a sinful life. He didn't ask to get healed. He didn't tell Jesus thank you. He didn't even know Jesus name. After the healing, he just took the free gift and was trying to sneak out of there before the man changed his mind.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

I don't even find this guy particularly.

[Steven Furtick]

Charismatic or worthy of a miracle.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

But when God gets ready to do.

[Steven Furtick]

Something, nothing can stop him. I want to show you briefly, three things Jesus did. I told you, I'm from a Baptist background. I have to have three points or I won't feel like I did my job tonight. There are three things Jesus does in this passage that I believe he wants to do with you and for you tonight. I want you to repeat them after me. Number one.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Jesus stops. Jesus stops.

[Steven Furtick]

Number two.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Jesus sees. Jesus sees.

[Steven Furtick]

Number three. This is my favorite. Jesus says Jesus stops. Jesus sees. Jesus says, Jesus stops. Imagine being one of his disciples. You're an apprentice to the most important man in human history.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Remember, y', all, Jesus doesn't have long.

[Steven Furtick]

He only has three years of public ministry before he goes to the cross.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

So one day, as he's headed up.

[Steven Furtick]

For this important Jewish festival, he turns to Peter, Andrew or one of those boys and says, hey, I've got a stop I need to make before we.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Get to the temple.

[Steven Furtick]

And it's like, okay, well, if we're stopping, Jesus is a healer and a savior and a Redeemer. And he has all these important things. We must be stopping for somebody very important.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

So you follow him.

[Steven Furtick]

Just imagine you're following Jesus and Jesus says, I have a stop I need to make.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

And you pull up to this pool where people are lying around waiting for the water to be stirred because they are that desperate for a miracle. The Bible says they were blind and lame and paralyzed. Now, notice none of them are mentioned by their name.

[Steven Furtick]

They are all mentioned by their condition. The reason I point that out to you is because sometimes you can go through something so long you forget who you are.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Sometimes you can go through a season of depression that is so deep that.

[Steven Furtick]

You no longer say, I'm dealing with depression. You say, I am depressed. You start saying, well, I can't do that because I have anxiety. That's fine for you to have anxiety. We all get afraid, right?

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

I get nervous before I preach to you. I'm over on the side of the stage going, oh, God, my God, I need you now. How I need you now. Oh, rock O rock of ages there are 12,000 people in Miami who came for a word from you, and I'm not good enough to do it. So, God, would you help me tonight? Because they need you for their situation. But wouldn't it be terrible if I let the fear of letting you down stop me from preaching to you? Wouldn't it be terrible if I let the people who criticize me for my style of preaching stop me from preaching the way God called me to preach? God didn't call me to reach perfect people. I don't need to preach to perfect people. If I'm preaching to perfect people, that means I'm dead and I'm in heaven. That's the only place we're preaching to perfect people. I want to preach to some messed up imperfect. I need God, and I'm not ashamed to say it. People. Are there any people like that in the house tonight? So it's all right that you struggle.

[Steven Furtick]

With it, but the problem becomes when you begin to forget your true nature in Christ because you are so consumed by the thing that won't let you go, it could be an addiction. For some of you, it is. It could be the doubt you feel. Sometimes you wonder, is God even real? Sometimes, even in an environment like this, it can be tricky because it seems like everybody else has got their lives so much more together than you. You just look at them and they are like, I trust in God. And you're like, man, that must be awesome to just trust in God like that. Like you do. But I'm going to tell you a little secret. Those of us that are lifting our hands so high, we're not lifting our hands that high because we're so holy. It's because he is so holy. We're not lifting our hands so high because we've got it all together. We're lifting our hands so high because we need him to hold us together. Because without him we'd fall apart. Clap your hands if I'm right about it. From the front to the back. Doesn't it touch your heart to know that we have a savior who stops for one man who can't do anything in return? A man who has been stuck in the same place for 38 years. A man who everybody else just walks right over. Jesus says you, do you want to get well for one man? Thank God that he stops. I don't know how to explain this to you, but when I'm preaching, I'm able to picture as if Jesus was walking up and down these aisles in this arena tonight looking for one. Looking for one. One who has been praying. One who will be honest. One who will open up their heart. Just one. See, I have a visual for this, that Jesus would stop for one. Because as much as I love this and love you and want to preach tonight, if one little girl in this room named Abby Furtick screamed in pain tonight, I would stop the whole sermon for her. Somebody else, Rich Wilkerson, would have to come up here and pick up my second and third point.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Which might not be a bad idea.

[Steven Furtick]

Anyway, but somebody else would have to finish. Because if one of my children, now, if it was Graham, my 18 year old boy, I might just let him tough it out. I'm kidding. I would stop for him too.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

But I'm trying to get you to.

[Steven Furtick]

See that Jesus stops for one. He's a wonderful Savior. He's a merciful God.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Not only does he stop for one man, but he stops the disease that has robbed this man of his life. Jesus tonight can say stop to a.

[Steven Furtick]

Situation and it has to obey because.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

He has all power and all authority. Jesus, the King of Kings. Jesus the Lord of Lords. Jesus the Prince of Peace. Jesus the lily of the valley. Jesus the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the earth. Jesus the lion of the tribe of Judah. Jesus the alpha and Omega. Jesus the first and the last. Jesus the bright and morning star. Jesus who was and is and is to come. Jesus the man on the middle cross. Jesus the stone roller. Jesus the resurrection and the life. Jesus the good Shepherd Jesus the true vine. Jesus the need meter. Jesus the waymaker. Jesus the chainbreaker.

[Steven Furtick (Congregation or Choir)]

Jesus who has the name that is above every name, that at the of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Jesus stops. For a man whose name we don't even know, he stopped that good. He's that powerful. He's that personal. He's that purposeful. He has aligned your life in such a way that there is nothing you're going through that surprises him. There is nothing you're going through that makes him ashamed of you. There is nothing you can bring him that is insignificant. You're his child. There's nothing you can bring him that's intimidating. He is God. There is nothing in your life that you can't come to him about. He stops. One time the disciples were in a terrible storm in Mark, chapter four. And Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the ship. Peter thought he didn't care. He said, wake up, Jesus. Do something. We're about to die. Jesus was like, I was just letting you go through the storm for a little while. Then he got up and stopped it. Because Jesus can stop a storm. Jesus can stop it. Touch three people say, Jesus can stop it. He can stop it. He can stop a storm. He can stop a storm in your life. The next time the panic attack comes, just start calling on the name of Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, you're enough. Jesus, Jesus. Still this storm in my life. He can stop a storm. One time in Luke chapter seven, they were having a funeral for a little boy. They were going through the streets of a town called Nain, and a widow was about to bury her only son. He was going through the streets dead. But Jesus had compassion on the woman. He reached out his hand and he touched the little boy. The boy sat up straight. Because Jesus can stop a funeral. Don't bury your hope. Don't bury your faith. Don't bury your joy. Jesus can stop it. One touch from him and all of a sudden the funeral was canceled. Jesus can stop it. One time in John chapter eight, they were about to stone a woman to death because she had done something very sinful. And they caught her. Maybe you're dealing with shame and condemnation in this place tonight. I want you to know what Jesus did for the woman. I believe he'll do for you. He got down in the dirt. Because not only is he a savior who stops, he's a savior who stoops. He got down in the dirt of the woman's situation. He began to write something in the dirt. When the People had their stones ready to throw at her, which represents the condemnation of the enemy against your life tonight. You've been feeling so ashamed and you've been feeling like maybe I don't have a future and maybe it's over for me. Jesus said, let he who is without sin cast the flesh first stone. And here's what he knew. The only one without sin was him. He was down in the dirt. And the only one who can pronounce over your life what your life can be is the one who created you and fashioned you. Jesus stopped the stoning. And I came to declare over Miami tonight we have a savior who can stop it.

[Steven Furtick]

I love that Jesus stops. I love every time that little hissing sound comes out of the scoreboard because I feel like it's the devil having a panic attack. While we're praising God in here tonight, the devil is sighing because he knows this is the last night you're going to believe the lies he has been telling you. I know he has been lying to you, some of you. He has had you up at 2 and 3 in the morning worrying about situations that may never even happen. He's stealing all your strength and all your joy, even in this service tonight. It's so important that when we say Amen, you don't stop singing. It's so important that when we say Amen, you don't stop praising. You've really got to carry this night with you. The giants you're facing aren't going to be any different when you get home, but you are. He stops, and then verse six. I love it. It's so poetic to me. Do y' all just love the Bible like I do? Man, it's fresh to me. I've been preaching it since I was 16 years old and it's still fresh to me. Look what verse six says. It's coming up on the screen, please. When Jesus saw him lying there. Now, what's so significant about that? Pastor Steven, Why are you stopping to tell me that? Think this man was lying on a mat and most people only identified him with his mat. They only saw what he couldn't do. They only saw what he couldn't be. But Jesus didn't see the mat first. He saw the man. He sees me. Say it out loud. He sees me. He sees me in my storm. He sees me in my disappointment. He even sees the parts of me that I want to hide from everybody else. He sees the parts of me that I won't even admit to myself. One of the most amazing things to realize about Jesus. And I want to say this just right, okay? So bear with me for a moment. When I realized that the one who knows me the best, loves me the most is set me free.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

If he knows me totally and loves.

[Steven Furtick]

Me completely, what can others do to me? Jesus saw the man lying there and he learned that his condition was so bad, it looked hopeless. Like my dad, who said, you had no idea how far gone I was. Then Jesus is probably thinking, but you have no idea how good I am.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Hey, you have no idea how good I am at my job. See, Jesus is the word of God.

[Steven Furtick]

He doesn't speak the word of God. He is the word of God.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

So when Jesus sees the man, he.

[Steven Furtick]

Doesn'T see him where he is. He sees who he really is. Sometimes you get confused about who you really are because all you see is your mat. All you see is the thing you struggle with. One of the things that really makes me laugh about my wife now, I need y' all to pray for her about this, because this is the only issue she has other than this. She is truly the perfect woman. She's a great gift giver. But one thing she does that's so confusing. You know how at Christmas when you give your gifts, you kind of stagger them where you start with the smallest one and then you go to the biggest one if you're getting multiple gifts for somebody. Okay, so Holly always gets great gifts, but she does this weird thing with boxes because she's got all these really nice boxes and she doesn't want them to go to waste. So what she'll do y' all pray for her about this? The Lord can deliver her. I have faith that he can. When she gives you the cheapest gift, a lot of times it will be in the nicest box, which is so disappointing. When you open the paper and the box says Nordstrom, and then you open the box and the box says Nordstrom, and the gift says Dollar Tree.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

You open the box like, what is this? This doesn't match that. She will put the worst gift in the best box. But God will do just the opposite. God will package some of his best gifts in some of the ugliest boxes. Have any of you been dealing with an ugly box in your life lately? Come on, don't leave me up here by myself. Like, I'm the only one that Amazon dropped off a box that had been beaten and torn and rained on and weathered. But if you open the box and if you trust God and not the.

[Steven Furtick]

Box, you might find that the season you're Going through right now, you're going to look back at it a year.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

From now and go, thank you, Lord, for that ugly box. Because in that ugly box was a great gift. I just came to declare right now, you cannot give up on this season of your life because you don't like the box. God does not live inside of your box. God sees things you can't see. God knows things you can't know. God does not see the man on the mat. He sees the mat on the man. In other words, God sees you coming out of this. I declare tonight you are not going to die in this low state. This is not going to be the end of your story. This is just a chapter in your life. You have to get up. Your future children are depending on it. Some of you in this room are to be the one in your generation that breaks the curse that has been over your family. Oh, God. I felt chills all up and down my spine when I said that. I don't know who it is, but there are some of you in this room, and if it hit you when I said it, jump up and give God praise that I'm the one. God is going to use me. I'm going to have a testimony. I'm not dying down here.

[Steven Furtick (Congregation or Choir)]

He stops and he sees.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Somebody. Say Jesus stops. Say Jesus sees. And my favorite part of the verse, y', all, is Jesus says, because you have two voices going on. You have one voice saying, stay down. You can't stay down.

[Steven Furtick]

You've tried before.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Stay down. It's no use. This is not real. That dude up there with the microphone, he is just hyping you up. This is just emotionalism.

[Steven Furtick]

It is not emotionalism that I am preaching to you tonight.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

It's called faith. It's called the power of God. It's the presence of God. It's the name of Jesus. This is not hype. This is hope. It has been too long. You've been down there with one word from Jesus.

[Steven Furtick]

Verse number eight. Then Jesus said to him, you have to get up. I've got to get up.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

And it worked. He got up and he took up his mat. Just because he did what the man said. I wonder what would happen tonight if you would just do what the man said. This guy got healed and he didn't even know Jesus. Name. You know a name. You know a name that can silence roaring waves. You know a name that can empty out a grave. You know a name that when it resounds, chains have to break.

[Steven Furtick]

And the man got up and began to Walk when he did. The Bible says it was a Sabbath day, which was not the day they thought he was supposed to be healed, but it was the day God decided to heal him. Because when God gets ready to do something, nothing can stop him. Didn't I say that at the beginning of my sermon?

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Watch this.

[Steven Furtick]

This is crazy. Miami, get ready for this. In verse 10, the Jewish leader said to him, the man who had been healed, it is the Sabbath. The law forbids you from carrying your mat. In other words, you can't do that. Now, I want you to see the coldest verse in the entire New Testament is verse 11. They're saying, you can't do that. You can't carry your mat.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

There will always be a voice telling.

[Steven Furtick]

You you can't do what God told you to do. But his voice is the voice that.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Matters because it is the voice that spoke the world into being out of nothing. It is the voice that heals. It is the voice that saves you. So you have one voice saying, you can't do that. In verse 11, the man does something. This is so powerful to me, he replied the man who made me. Well said to me. Jesus stops. Jesus sees. Jesus says. It's as if he's saying, I appreciate your opinion that you're telling me I.

[Steven Furtick]

Can'T pick up my mat and walk.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

But y' all have walked by me every day for 38 years, and not one of you had the power to get me up. But that man over there. Come on, help me preach, Miami. That man over there, the man who made me well said to me, get up. Pick up your mat and walk. I believe this man was so happy that he was able to walk. I believe he started singing Goodbye yesterday. I'm living in the light of a new day I won't waste another minute on the colonnades Praise the Lord. I walk again I'm dancing on the grave that I once lived and dancing on the grave. Hold on. Maybe he couldn't dance yet because he's never walked before. But maybe he just starts simple. Maybe he just says, I'm carrying the mat that I once laid on. I'm carrying the mat that I once. Come on 100 people. I'm carrying the mat that I once laid on. I'm making this up.

[Steven Furtick]

Y'. All. Y' all gotta help me with this.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

And then the religious leaders are like, you can't do that. No, you're doing it wrong. And he's like, I'm carrying the mat that I once. Come here, Naveen. I'm Carrying the mat that I once laid on. I'm carrying the mat where I used to lay. You can't do that on the Sabbath day. And then he points. The man over there has the final say. The man over there has the final. The man.

[Steven Furtick (Congregation or Choir)]

Are there 3,000 people in Miami.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Who.

[Steven Furtick (Congregation or Choir)]

Are ready to leave this place different than you can? Well, if that's you, when I say three, you've got to. One, two. Get up.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Three.

[Steven Furtick (Congregation or Choir)]

Ten. I'm dancing on the grass. I'm dancing on the grave. Take up your mat. I'm dancing on the grave. Come on, my enemy, You all right? I'm a. I'm carrying the mat that I once laid on. I'm carrying the mat where I used to lay the man off. Man has a final say. A man has a final say. Now if you believe Jesus has the final say, give him a shout.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Praise the Lord. I've been born again.

[Steven Furtick (Congregation or Choir)]

And I won't be back. Goodbye, yesterday. Come on. I'm being different, friend.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

Because I've got to get up. Because he's calling me.

[Steven Furtick]

Because he has done too much for me. The God who never gave up on.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

You, even though you were there on that mat for 38 years, he saw every season of your life.

[Steven Furtick]

And he.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

He never lets you go. Don't you see it? That's why you're here. That's why you're breathing. You have to get up. He brought you here.

[Steven Furtick]

To get you up. You're not getting up by yourself. Jesus stops. Jesus sees. Jesus says. If I could give you a fourth point, it would be Jesus saves. Right now. I want you to bow your head and close your eyes. Nobody moving in this moment. This is an important, precious, sacred moment. I want to invite everyone in this room who needs to give your life to Christ tonight. Really give your life to Jesus. Really make him the Lord of your life. I want to give you that opportunity. I believe that Jesus will stop this whole service for one person, this whole event for one person. He loves you that much. He sees you and he can save you. He says to you tonight that his grace is sufficient for you. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. You will. He'll raise you up. The same God who raised Jesus from the grave will raise you up tonight. It is by grace. You are saved through faith. It's the gift of God, not of works. So no one can boast. Right now with heads bowed in this beautiful moment. God has brought us together for I'm going to pray a prayer. This prayer is not magical, but if you mean it from your heart tonight, God will hear you from heaven and he will heal you and forgive you of your sin and cleanse you from your unrighteousness. And this will be your new beginning. We're going to pray this together, Miami, for the benefit of those who are coming to Jesus tonight. I want us all to pray it out loud in faith for those people. If you mean it in your heart and you say, Jesus, here's my life.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

I turn from my sin, I turn to you.

[Steven Furtick]

I want your forgiveness. I want a new beginning. And I trust you as my Savior, then right now repeat these words after Heavenly Father, as a church family, let's say it out. Heavenly Father, I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. And tonight I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he died that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life. I receive this new life. This is my new beginning. I am a child of God. If you just prayed that to give your life to Jesus, when I say three, shoot your hand in the air.

[Steven Furtick (Assistant or Echo Voice)]

One, two, three. We celebrate new beginnings tonight. Come on, let's give the Lord praise for every new beginning. Thank you Jesus.

[Steven Furtick]

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 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. God bless you.

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