Elevation with Steven Furtick — "Make Room For The New"

Date: March 20, 2026
Host: Pastor Steven Furtick
Podcast: Elevation Church/iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this message, Pastor Steven Furtick explores the challenge and necessity of "making room for the new"—embracing spiritual, mental, or emotional growth by letting go of what is outdated or familiar. Using Leviticus 26:10, Peter’s experience in Acts, and his own life illustrations, Furtick encourages listeners to release old labels, mindsets, and patterns so they can receive God’s new blessings, insights, and opportunities.

Main Themes & Key Discussion Points

1. Setting the Stage: Letting Go to Make Room (01:03–04:31)

• Story about Ken Costa: Pastor Steven recounts a summer meeting with friend Ken Costa, who shared multiple scriptures—highlighting Leviticus 26:10:

  “You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.” (03:31)

• Furtick admits he usually skips Leviticus but finds this passage unexpectedly relevant.
• The framing for the episode: God is telling us to “make room for the new.”

2. The Comfort of the Old vs. The Challenge of the New (04:31–07:13)

• Furtick shares his fondness for old records and songs as a metaphor for holding onto the past.
• He relates this to spiritual life:

  “The challenge is now to hold on to the old to the exclusion of receiving the new.” (05:56)

• Historical context: Early Christians struggled to accept the shift from law-based faith (“works”) to grace-based faith.

3. The Tension of Change (07:13–13:54)

• Faith and Grace:

  “It’s not how much faith you have that saves you, it’s how much grace God has that saves you.” (06:23)

• Tension between holding on and letting go—especially relevant for the early church adjusting to new inclusion of Gentiles.
• Memorable Quote:

  “Your tolerance for tension determines your potential for growth.” (10:36)

• The “gift of tension” compares spiritual growth to strength training: progress comes by embracing difficulty.

4. Blessing or Inconvenience? — The Dual Nature of "New" (14:08–16:16)

• Leviticus 26:10’s promise can be seen as both a blessing (abundance) and an inconvenience (need to move on).
• Furtick:

  “Sometimes God can be giving you exactly what you want, but the tension that it takes to produce the growth… it’s super uncomfortable.” (18:27)

5. Transitioning from Old to New: Lessons from Peter and Joppa (16:16–32:23)

• Parallel between Old Testament wilderness wanderers adapting to new ways and Peter’s challenge to accept Gentiles.
• Peter's Story in Joppa:
  • Peter is surprised by God’s new direction (vision of clean/unclean animals)
  • Joppa is compared to unexpected places in our lives (“your job”, mundane moments).
  • Contrasts Peter’s openness with Jonah’s resistance—both at Joppa.
  • Memorable Moment:

    “Will you be like Peter, who… make[s] room for something new? Or are you going to be like Jonah, who ran from it?” (29:38)

• Application: Are we resisting or making room for God’s next move?

6. Practical Application: How to Make Room for the New (32:31–41:06)

Lesson 1: Don’t Limit Yourself by Labels

• Peter saw a vision of animals, challenging his categories.

  “It wasn’t about bacon. It was about barriers, mental barriers.” (36:11)

• God tells Peter:

  “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (38:06)

• Labels can restrict personal growth and relationships—spiritually, socially, and emotionally.

Lesson 2: Don’t Be Loyal to a Lie

• Holding onto familiar but false beliefs can prevent growth.

  “We will hold on so tightly to a lie because it's familiar that we will miss what God is bringing to us by faith.” (41:35)

Lesson 3: Don’t Be Late

• Move with the Spirit; don’t miss today’s miracles by clinging to yesterday.

  “If you hold on to what's old… you might miss today's miracle trying to hold on to yesterday's blessing.” (41:50)

• Multitask your miracles—stay adaptable as new blessings often overlap with old ways.

7. Spiritual Invitation/Prayer (51:34–53:45)

• Blessing and prayer to let go of old patterns, regrets, or offenses:

  “We are letting go of what we thought. We are embracing your ways. For your ways are higher than our ways...” (51:23)

• Invitation for salvation — “making room for the new” as starting a new life in Christ.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Make room for the new.” — Core phrase, repeated throughout (03:31)
• “Your tolerance for tension determines your potential for growth.” (10:36)
• “You can't receive new miracles with old mindsets.” (32:22)
• “Don’t limit yourself by labels.” (34:04)
• “Don’t be loyal to a lie.” (41:35)
• “Don’t be late.” (41:50)
• “What you need, He has it. God is going to bring it to me.” (20:53)
• “You didn’t lose it. God moved it.” (32:41)
• “Multitask your miracles.” (43:14)
• Playful Title That Didn’t Make It:

  “I thought about calling this message the Joppertunity of a lifetime, but that was corny.” (22:37)

• On Labels:

  “Stop limiting God with your labels.” (37:39)

Major Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Key Content | |-----------|---------------------| | 01:03 | Introduction, Ken Costa, Leviticus 26:10, the call to “Make Room for the New” | | 04:31 | Old vs. New: records metaphor and resistance to change | | 07:13 | Faith, grace, and tension; “It’s not how much faith you have...” | | 10:36 | “Your tolerance for tension determines your potential for growth” | | 14:08 | Leviticus promise — blessing or inconvenience? | | 16:16 | Acts, Peter’s story, church tension over Gentiles | | 20:50 | God brings blessings to you — “God is going to bring it to me” | | 22:37 | Lessons from Joppa; connection to Jonah’s story | | 29:21 | Jonah runs from Joppa; contrast with Peter | | 32:22 | “You can’t receive new miracles with old mindsets.” | | 34:04 | “Don’t limit yourself by labels” | | 36:11 | “It was about barriers, mental barriers.” | | 37:39 | “Stop limiting God with your labels.” | | 41:35 | “Don’t be loyal to a lie.” | | 41:50 | “Don’t be late.” | | 43:14 | “Multitask your miracles.” | | 51:21 | Letting go/prayer for new beginnings | | 53:41 | Invitation to faith |

Conclusion

Pastor Steven challenges listeners to check their hearts and lives for “last year’s harvest”—the old habits, labels, and beliefs that take up space God wants to fill with something new. Spiritual growth requires tension but brings fresh opportunities. By letting go of labels, refusing to cling to comfortable lies, and moving in step with God, believers can “make room for the new.”

If you are facing change, discomfort, growth, or uncertainty, this message offers practical and spiritual encouragement to embrace what God wants to do next in your life.