wavePod

Get Wave AI

Make Room For The New - Elevation with Steven Furtick | Wave AI Podcast Notes

Back to Elevation with Steven Furtick

Make Room For The New

Elevation with Steven Furtick

Fri Mar 20 2026

Summary

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and necessity of "making room for the new"—embracing spiritual, mental, or emotional growth by letting go of what is outdated or familiar.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.

Loading summary...

Transcript

Podcast Host (0:00)

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

VRBO Advertiser (0:04)

At VRBO, we understand that even the best of plans sometimes need a little support. So we plan for the plot twists. Every booking is automatically backed by our VRBO Care guarantee, giving you confidence from the very start. Whenever you need help, it's ready before your stay, through the moments in between and after your trip. Because a great trip starts with peace of mind and maybe a good playlist. But we've got the peace of mind part covered.

Howie Mandel (0:32)

The Global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my How We Do It Gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow $267 million gaming in an epic Global Gaming League video game showdown. Plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Level Up Expo.

Steven Furtick (1:03)

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. I want to tell you something that happened to me last summer. I have a friend who lives in another country, Kyn Costa. He's originally from South Africa. He resides now in London, England. He travels the world. He comes to see me once a year. He just turned 70. He's a good man. He has a book out called Joseph of Arimathea. Free plug for my friend. He gave me the scripture I want to use to frame our message. Not necessarily to preach the scripture, but to frame the message. I figured I owed him a book plug, so check it out on Amazon. Ken Costa, Joseph of Arimathea. Now that that's out of the way, when he comes to see me, he will usually bring three or four scriptures. We'll read the scriptures together. He jots them down. This is the paper he brought me in July when he came to see me after my break family break this summer. He brought me these scriptures. We sat on the porch and we looked at the scriptures and the first one was Exodus 14:14. We read it together and he said, that's the wrong one. So we moved on. He gave me Joshua 3, 4, Isaiah 42:16, and then Leviticus 26:10. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I normally Skip Leviticus on the Bible reading plans. It's not my go to book to fight discouragement, but we looked at it and we read it together. Put that one on the screen. Leviticus 26:10. The Lord says, you will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. We read that together. I said, well, what does it mean? He said, I don't know. I put it in my Bible and a few weeks ago it fell out of my Bible on a Friday night. I started looking at it again and I texted it over to Bishop T.D. jakes. I said, what does it mean? He said, oh, that's a good one. He preached about it. And that was. Well, the phrase I want to use and put it up there again is where it says, make room for the new. The Lord told me to tell you today, make room for the new.

Steven Furtick (4:31)

Room for the New. This is a word for you. Make room for the New. You know, I'm getting into old stuff now. I have about 80 records upstairs in my office at my house and a turntable, vinyl. Something about getting up and having to only listen to three songs at a time is preferable to having every song in the history of the universe on my phone at my fingertips. For some reason, I'd rather listen through a scratchy analog representation of the music than a digital recreation of the music that fits in my pocket. I think there's something comforting about something you used to touch and hold. Old. I used to like something and be attracted to it if it was new. But now I like old stuff. I like old songs. I like Smashing Pumpkins. I don't need any of this new stuff. I don't need any of the. I like the old stuff. The hymns I used to yawn through in church are the ones I now write songs around. As a grown man, a lot of things come full circle in your life that you don't appreciate at the time. The challenge is now to hold on to the old to the exclusion of receiving the new. When I shared with you last week, we were given A picture of Peter who was having to fight against the traditions and customs of the well meaning circumcised believers. One thing it is difficult for us to appreciate about this community is that they were receiving from God an entirely new system by which to relate to him. Imagine that at one point you had to atone for your sins with the blood of bulls and goats. Now, instead of shedding the blood of an animal, you were trusting in the blood of Christ. That's a very difficult thing to apprehend when you had something tactile, something you could touch. Now you have to believe something by faith. The paradigm of justification. We call it justification by faith, but it's actually justification by grace through faith. See, it's not how much faith you have that saves you, it's how much grace God has that saves you. If it was about how much faith I had, I would be going to heaven one five minute period and I would be bound for the same hell as a serial killer in the next five. I don't always have that much faith.

Steven Furtick (16:18)

go back into Acts chapter 10 and I want to read the story to you again. Or as we said last week, the whole story. You never really know the whole story. That's why you have to keep living. That's why you have to keep praying. That's why you have to keep believing. That's why you have to keep trusting. That's why you have to keep swinging. Because you don't know the whole story. That's why you can't kill your kids. It might grow up and pay for your retirement or something like that. Because you don't know the whole story. That's why you can't judge anything too soon. You're going to see this in the Scripture. Right here. In the midst of great tension, a great truth was shown. Make room for the new. Verse 1 says, the apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. The gospel is spreading. I guess you could say grace is going viral. It's just out of control. Can't stop it. It's just all over the place. They didn't like that because they are in the tension of trying to protect the old. When you are protecting the old, what's new looks like a threat. When I asked my dad one time, are you threatening me? He said something. I'm sure you've heard this before. He said, it's not a threat, it's a promise. I was like, oh. He was 6, 2. I was like, got it. I'm good. No further questions. It's not a threat, it's a promise. He said that it's not a threat, it's a blessing. They were threatened by the blessing because they did not recognize it and it did not remind them of what they were used to in their religious routine. Are you threatened by your very own blessings? Come on, Raleigh. They get used to it. I know y' all love the word of God. In Raleigh, They are being blessed. The church is growing. That's exactly what they want. Sometimes God can be giving you exactly what you want, but the tension that it takes to produce the growth, it's super uncomfortable. We don't like tension in our Christianity. Rapture me, Jesus, and get me out of here. In the meantime, you need to pay your taxes and change your oil and

Steven Furtick (22:37)

I thought about calling this message the Joppertunity of a lifetime, but that was corny. Yeah, I scratched that one out real quick. You can have it. That's not a good title for a message. But it got me that he was in Joppa because I was like, joppa, Joppa support city. I know that they put the timber there. They would take the timber and the timber came there. When they built Solomon's Temple, I think they brought the timber from Lebanon to Joppa because it's on the Mediterranean coast. They brought timber there and then they sent it to build the temple. Oh, maybe Joppa is something where God takes the raw materials. Joppa. No, that's not it. Joppa. Joppa. Joppa, Joppa. Why does it say over and over again, he was in Joppa? Go to Acts 10:1. It says it a couple times. Remember, Peter got in trouble. He didn't have to go looking for trouble. Trouble came looking for him. Y' all were shouting a minute ago. We just killed the vibe. I think we killed the vibe. Peter wasn't looking for controversy. He wasn't looking for conflict. He wasn't looking for problems. He was in Joppa because there was a woman in the church at Joppa who was very important to the believers there. He was in Lydda raising people from the dead. You know, just the stuff you do. When he was in the middle of this crazy revival in Lydda, which wasn't too far from Joppa, this amazing Ekids volunteer died. Her name was Dorcas. Her Greek name was Dorcas. Her name was also Tabitha. They asked Peter if he would come to comfort them. He got there. He saw how important she was to all of them in Joppa. He started looking at all the clothes she sewed for widows. She had a ministry to the poor. She cared about people. She served on the parking team. She cared about people. She worked on production at Raleigh Durham. They hated to lose Dorcas. Peter got kind of bored. He was a man of action. So he's like, this is cool. Taking a tour of everything she did. But y' all leave the room. Check out this scripture real quick. I know I said Acts 10, but I want to go back to Acts 9 real quick. I want to give you the whole story. We know what happened when he got to Joppa. How did he get there? It's important. He went to Joppa to visit dorcas. Give me 9:40. Peter sent them all out of the room. She has been washed and placed for burial in the upper room. As they're memorializing her, he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, tabitha, get up. Peter is like, we could have a funeral or we could have a resurrection. Peter was. Peter was bold. He tried it like Jesus. One time. Jesus did the same exact thing, but it was with a little girl. This little girl was dead. And Jesus sent everybody out of the room because he knew that if they stayed in the room, their doubt might make it impossible for faith to really do what faith can do when it is unto unencumbered by doubt. What's the title of this message? Make room for the New. When Jesus sent them all out, he said something in Aramaic. Talitha kum. It means little girl. Get up. Now watch Peter imitating his master. He sent them all out of the room and turned toward the woman and said, tabitha, get up. It's almost like Talitha. It's just one letter different. He thought something. If he did it, if Jesus did it, and if his spirit lives in me.

Steven Furtick (41:06)

So don't judge me by my. Ask Lil Nas X, ask him about labels. Is it country? Is it rap? I'll tell you what it is. It's a billion streams, it's a Grammy, and it's multi million dollars. You could take me right out of this box and drive me to the bank. God wants to do something bigger. But you will limit yourself with the label and you limit others who label who you can and can't receive from who God can and can't use in your life. What God can and can't use in your life. Oh, well, they're insulting me. Are they? Or is God using them to instruct you? I don't like it. It doesn't feel good. So don't limit yourself with labels. Number two, don't be loyal to a lie. I don't have time to show you. But the passage in Acts ends with Peter and the council there. The deacon board that called him in. That's a Baptist flashback I was having right there when they called him in. By the end of it. I said this on Sunday. I didn't say it on Saturday last week. It said that it started with protest and ended in praise. When they brought him in, they were protesting like we always do when God is doing something new in our lives. God, I don't like it. I don't like it. I don't like it. Everybody who hears new will hear something different when I preach. People will quit their jobs over this marriage over this message. People will quit their marriage over this message. Some will quit their job and their marriage over this message. And they're missing the point. What I mean is, make room for the new in you so you don't have to find out after you move to five different cities running from yourself that sometimes the environment is not the issue. What we will do a lot of times is 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 because we don't like how it feels. Don't be loyal to a lie. My third one is don't be late. One thing the Spirit told Peter, I wanted to say to you through the power of the Holy Spirit today. Yeah, you got it. They're so good in the back. They anticipated my verse. I love them. Acts 11:12 says, the Spirit told me to have no hesitation. About going with them. Don't be late. If you hold on to what's old, the way you thought and what you wanted and how it was, you might miss today's miracle trying to hold on to yesterday's blessing. What am I holding that's old, that's keeping me from receiving what's new, what's now, what's here? I don't mean we don't value tradition and experience and continuity. That's not my message. But the scripture said in Leviticus 26:10, you will still be eating last year's harvest. That's the old. When you will have to move it out to make room for the new. It's not that the old was bad, it's just that the new is here. A new covenant, a new day, a new season. Some of you are really destabilized right now. In life, we all go through these seasons of instability that really test our faith. God gives us this tension in these moments to see what will we do in Joppa? Run from God or run toward God? If that's where you are today in Joppa. I mean, in a psychological sense, obviously. Not a geographical sense or a spiritual sense, an emotional sense, trying to figure out, God, what are you doing in my life? I've never seen this before. I've never felt this before. I've never been in my 40s before. I wonder what you will do in Joppa. The thing about God's blessing is it rarely checks your schedule to see if this would be a convenient time. In fact, Leviticus said, as they were giving all the instructions for worship in the covenant to set up the community and how to deal with diseases and poverty and how to deal with indebtedness and how to be a people as they were adjusting and acclimating to be out of Egyptian slavery and coming into a new place. Place before God made them the promise. He said, you need to know that you're still going to be eating last year's harvest when you have to move it out to make room for the new. This is how it works. You're not even used to it yet. Here comes something new. You have to learn to multitask your miracles. You have to learn to multitask your miracles. You have to learn to move between things and to trust God and keep giving, keep going, keep trusting and keep believing by faith. Or else you're going to find yourself missing today's opportunity because you are too attached to yesterday's blessing. I wonder what new mindset God is creating in me in this Season. I want to know. I wonder what barriers he's going to break through your life. I want to know. He said you will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. That's what repentance is. It's a change of mind. It makes room for the new. New way of thinking. You're doing it the old way. You keep manipulating, keep forcing, keep getting angry. That's the old way. That's not how you do it anymore. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come. There's a new way to do this. A new way to live, a new way to love, a new way to serve. A way that seems upside down but is actually right side up. God said if you'll make room for the new, you will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out. Father, I thank you for your word today. The power of it. The precision of it. You are so on time. I trust you. I trust you that it will not return void. What you spoke in this place today is not just about Peter. This is not a history lesson or an agricultural lesson. This is a word from heaven for someone's life. Make room for the new. I pray for your people, Lord. Whatever they're holding onto that is old, that needs to be moved out to make room for the new. Maybe all their life they thought they had to earn acceptance, so they're stuck in performance, and they think you're like that, too. I pray that today grace would clear the way to make room for the new. I thank you today that strongholds in our minds are being broken by the power of the Spirit of God. We thought we had to run to something else to get our needs met. That's the old way of thinking. That's the old way of living. That's the old way of coping. But we came into your presence today to make room for the new. We thank you that you're doing something in our life right now. We'll never truly know the power of this moment until it's over. We'll never fully understand the reason for this season until we're in the next one. But I ask that you would grant unto us the gift of faith so we can trust you for what's next. Everyone standing. No one moving. If God brought you here today and you've been holding on to something old, maybe it's an offense or a regret. It could be a pattern of habits or just A way you get your own way. God knows I have plenty. You want to release that right now? In the presence of the Lord, I invite you to just lift your hands to heaven like you're letting something go. And just keep your hands up. Just keep them up. I don't want to miss it, God. I don't want to miss what you have for me. We don't want to miss what you have for us because we were afraid or because we thought we were smarter than you. You are the potter. We are the clay. We ask you to mold us and fill us and make us, O Lord. Touch each heart, each mind. Lift the burden. Break the barrier. Whatever they think you can't do, do it. Show them what kind of God you are. Show them how you can raise the dead. Show them how you kill categories and make ways and do stuff human minds cannot innovate or imagine. Do it in our lives, God. Do it through our children. Do it in our generation. Do it in our world. Do it in our church. Do it in this movement. Create in us a clean heart. Make room for the new. We're letting go of what it was.