Reverse The Search

Summary

Elevation with Steven Furtick: Episode Summary – "Reverse The Search"

Release Date: March 21, 2025

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Reverse The Search" from the "Elevation with Steven Furtick" podcast, Pastor Steven Furtick delves into the profound journey of faith by exploring the seven last words of Jesus Christ before His crucifixion. Drawing parallels between biblical narratives and personal experiences, Furtick emphasizes the importance of recognizing God's presence in the everyday details of life rather than seeking Him solely in grand, dramatic events.

Personal Anecdotes: Recognizing the Familiar

Furtick begins by sharing personal stories to illustrate how proximity to significant places or people can sometimes lead to overlooking their true essence.

• Charleston Memories:

  • Timestamp [00:00-04:20]
    Furtick recounts growing up near Charleston, South Carolina, and how frequent weekend getaways with his wife, Holly, made the historic city seem ordinary and unnoticed. He humorously describes their vacations as simple affairs devoid of family distractions, highlighting how constant exposure can desensitize one to the beauty and significance around them.

• Unexpected Recognition:

  • Timestamp [03:15-05:23]
    While dining at a local burger joint, Furtick encounters a waitress who recognizes him from his online sermons but is unaware of the church's proximity. This interaction underscores his message about the necessity of inviting others to experience the vibrant community and genuine connections his church offers, beyond just digital presence.

• Childhood Scar:

  • Timestamp [04:20-05:02]
    He shares a heartfelt moment with his son, Elijah, who notices a scar on his wrist—a reminder of a childhood accident. This anecdote serves to illustrate how sometimes the most significant aspects of our lives go unnoticed by those closest to us, mirroring how people often miss God's work right before their eyes.

Biblical Narrative: The Road to Emmaus

Central to the episode is the exploration of the Emmaus Road narrative from Luke 24:13-35, where two unnamed travelers encounter the risen Jesus without initially recognizing Him.

• Jesus’ Resurrection and Majesty:

  • Timestamp [05:02-07:10]
    Furtick emphasizes Jesus' triumph over death, hell, and the grave, highlighting His resurrection as a cornerstone of Christian faith. He posits that despite Jesus' divine nature and power, He chooses to walk unnoticed on a mundane road, challenging listeners to seek God in the ordinary rather than the extraordinary.

• Reverse The Search Concept:

  • Timestamp [07:10-16:57]
    Introducing the episode's theme, Furtick explains "Reverse The Search"—a call to shift our focus from seeking God in seemingly sacred or grand settings to recognizing His presence in everyday, often overlooked moments. He argues that true faith involves trusting in God's subtle guidance rather than relying solely on visible manifestations.

Key Messages and Insights

Furtick intertwines biblical teachings with practical life lessons, urging listeners to adopt a more intimate and pervasive view of God's involvement in their lives.

• God in the Details:

  • Timestamp [14:33-24:40]
    He illustrates how God operates through the minutiae of daily life, such as family interactions, personal struggles, and unnoticed blessings. By sharing his own experiences and biblical stories, Furtick encourages believers to open their eyes to God's subtle interventions and to value the small moments that collectively shape their faith journey.

• Faith Over Understanding:

  • Timestamp [24:40-34:41]
    Emphasizing Proverbs 3:5-6, Furtick advocates for trusting God wholeheartedly, even when His plans are unclear. He challenges listeners to prioritize faith over intellectual understanding, suggesting that spiritual growth occurs through active participation in life's journey rather than passive contemplation.

• The God of Detours:

  • Timestamp [05:23-18:16]
    Furtick presents God as the orchestrator of detours—unexpected turns in life that lead to personal and spiritual development. He encourages embracing these detours as opportunities for God to work within and through individuals, fostering resilience and deeper faith.

• Recognition Through Routine:

  • Timestamp [36:36-43:44]
    Drawing from the Emmaus story, Furtick explains how the travelers only recognize Jesus during a shared meal, a routine act. This point underscores the idea that divine revelation often occurs during ordinary activities, reinforcing the importance of maintaining a routine of spiritual practices like prayer and fellowship.

Notable Quotes

• Recognizing God in the Ordinary:

  • [07:10] "Reverse the search. Maybe we are missing the presence and the power of God because we're searching in the wrong places."

• Embracing the Journey:

  • [05:27] "He's with me when I'm right. He's with me when I'm wrong. He's with me when I'm going forward. He's with me when I'm stuck."

• Trusting God's Path:

  • [16:35] "It's digital discipleship so we can see Jesus in 3D. The first D is not destination, it's detour."

• Faith Over Perfection:

  • [18:16] "What if Christianity is a journey, not a destination? What if salvation was a starting block, not a finish line?"

• God's Subtle Presence:

  • [34:41] "He's right there on the road. He's walking with them. They almost can't recognize him because it's so common."

• Invitation to Faith:

  • [26:57] "Have you ever felt like God wouldn't leave you alone even if you wanted him to? Like you tried to disable your conscience and you still felt bad smoking it? Come on, talk to me."

Conclusion: Call to Faith and Awareness

In wrapping up the episode, Furtick reiterates the importance of "Reverse The Search", encouraging listeners to seek God in their daily lives and to remain open to His presence even in unexpected places. He calls for a shift from desiring grandiose signs to appreciating the subtle, consistent ways God interacts with individuals. Furtick invites his audience to embark on this journey of faith, assuring them of God's unwavering companionship through every detour and challenge.

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Final Thoughts

"Reverse The Search" serves as a compelling reminder to believers to recalibrate their approach to faith. By intertwining personal narratives with biblical insights, Steven Furtick effectively conveys the message that God's presence is intricately woven into the fabric of everyday life. This episode challenges listeners to remain vigilant and open-hearted, fostering a deeper, more personal relationship with the divine through the seemingly insignificant moments that often hold the most profound spiritual significance.

Transcript

[Steven Furtick]

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. We're looking at the seven last words of Jesus Christ, what he said before he died, how it applies to our lives. Taking some things that we might be very familiar with or may not have been familiar with at all, but. But really owning them personally and incorporating them into our lives of faith on our personal journey with Jesus. It is a journey. Sometimes on the journey you become so familiar with things that you don't notice them. They can just be right there. I grew up 30 miles from Charleston, South Carolina. I love going to Charleston with Holly. When we want to get away for a weekend, typically we will sneak away to Charleston. By the way, if it's a vacation, that means there are no kids. If the kids are there, it's a family trip. Vacation is me, Holly, a hotel and some shopping. Maybe some carbohydrates, too. But we go to Charleston a little bit and it's only three and a half hours from Charlotte. She asked me one time, the first time we went, she said, what was it like growing up so close to such a historic and beautiful place? I said, never thought about it when I was a kid. It wasn't a thing. It was Charleston. We never really made it past North Charleston. That's where the mall was. I never really even made it downtown. The place I pay now to go and spend the night, I never even drove to. It was almost too close to notice until I got away from it. Even the other day, y'all, I was eating with the family. We go out to eat most Fridays, and we were eating at this burger joint, as the young people say. Isn't that what the young people call it? The burger joint over at the 5 and dimensions? I'm going to get to my scripture in a minute. It's Luke 24, 13, 35. Don't worry, I'm going there in a minute. You can meet me there. Lace up your shoes, stretch your hamstrings, do whatever you have to do because we're going on a journey. Tell the person next to you, we're going somewhere. We're going somewhere. We went to this restaurant and the young lady who was serving us was really nice, but she kept looking at me funny, looking at me funny. Every time she come over, she's looking at me funny. She came up and Said, I just figured out who you are. You're the Facebook guy. I said, am I? She said, me and your friends send the clips of your Facebook preaching to each other. My friends in California. I said, cool, that's great. And all of that. She brought Holly her fries and came back another time. And she said, they just told me in the back, your church is here in Charlotte. I said, well, yeah, it's two miles from here.

[Unknown Speaker]

This restaurant where I preach from, we have churches in other places, not just.

[Steven Furtick]

In Charlotte, but it's based in Charlotte.

[Unknown Speaker]

We could probably throw a French fry.

[Steven Furtick]

At it and hit it.

[Unknown Speaker]

She said, I didn't even know it. Now she's two miles from the church.

[Steven Furtick]

Y'all need to invite people more is what I'm saying.

[Unknown Speaker]

You are not doing your job is what that said to me. But what it really reminded me because I told her, you can get it on Facebook and there's little clips, but if you really want to see what makes us special, you have to get in the parking lot, see the people there, get a hug from a greeter. Have you got kids? You need to drop your kids off at Ekids and watch how we teach them. I mean, you really need to get around the people. This is your lucky day because you're going to be my special guest. I gave her an invitation and she stood still, didn't come. But that's not the point of the illustration. The point of the illustration is you can be so close. Elijah, my oldest son. The other day, I went to hand him my phone. He said, daddy, what's that on your wrist?

[Steven Furtick]

I said, on my wrist?

[Unknown Speaker]

What's on my wrist? He was talking about my scar. I've had this scar since I was 4.

[Steven Furtick]

This scar, my mom tells me, from a childhood incident. She says, I was playing with.

[Unknown Speaker]

With a dog bowl and it was made of glass. I dropped the dog bowl. The dog bowl cut my wrist.

[Steven Furtick]

She said she thought I was going to die. I don't remember any of this. It's not traumatic for me, but I've always had this little Harry Potter thing right there on my wrist. Elijah never noticed it. That's crazy.

[Unknown Speaker]

These are the first hands that held.

[Steven Furtick]

His ungrateful butt and wiped his. Ungrateful. He never even noticed. How many times have I changed his diaper? With these hands? Probably not many. Single digit, probably.

[Unknown Speaker]

But my point is, it can be.

[Steven Furtick]

So close and remain unnoticed, so imminent and invisible to us. But that doesn't mean it's not there. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Let's go on the road seven miles. Let's go. Are you ready? I probably shouldn't have worn my white sneakers today. They're going to get dirty because we're going on this emmaus road. Luke 24 Jesus only has 40 days.

[Unknown Speaker]

He has risen from the dead.

[Steven Furtick]

He is resurrected, just like he said he would be. He has the keys to death, hell and the grave.

[Unknown Speaker]

He gave the devil a big black eye when that stone rolled away. Now all of hell is trembling because the temple they thought they had destroyed has rebuilt himself, just like he said he would. He is risen. The women went to the tomb and it's Sunday morning and they brought some spices, but they would not need them because the angel said to the women, why do you look for the living amongst the dead? I want to talk in this first installment of seven Mile Miracle on the subject. Reverse the search. Maybe we are missing the presence and the power of God. The resurrection power of God, the redemptive power of God, the restoration power of God, the redeeming power of God.

[Steven Furtick]

Because we're searching in the wrong places. They were looking for the living among the dead. He is not here. He's risen. What are you looking for? A living God in a dead place. A dead relationship, A dead text thread, A dead Facebook page. Why are you looking for the living God in dead religion? Dormant religion? Why are you looking for the living?

[Unknown Speaker]

Reverse the search.

[Steven Furtick]

He is alive and he is real.

[Unknown Speaker]

And the presence of God is not meant to be an add on or accessory, but the operating system of the life of anyone who will choose to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. God has raised him from the dead and he's risen from the dead. He has to go. Get the message out, get on the road. He has only got 40 days. He's about to be taken up to heaven and seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. He has to go and he has to show the world he's living so they'll believe the proof of the power of his resurrection. So he has to go. What should he do first if he wants to reveal himself to the world and let them know? The proof is that he is the Son of God in the fact that death could not hold him and the grave could not keep him. And the tomb was borrowed because it wasn't needed for very long. Where does he go? What does he do? Perhaps we should host a resurrection Reenactment event. Maybe he can get Barclays. Maybe he can call Jay. Maybe he can do it in a cultural center. Maybe he ought to call Zuck. Maybe he ought to put this on Social. Maybe he ought to get it out. Maybe it can go viral. Maybe he ought to make a meme. What does Jesus do on the day he defeats death?

[Steven Furtick]

You might be surprised, because what he does next is take a walk. Come on, let's walk. Will you walk with me? I don't even care if you know where Luke is in the Bible. I just want you to walk with me to this passage of scripture where we join two travelers who, as of yet, remain nameless. What's that? Jesus on the day of his resurrection, with only 40 days to spare to tell the world that he is God and convinced them with many signs and proofs, appears to two travelers whose names we have never seen. I mean, at least go get Bartholomew. I've heard of him. But these two travelers were just like you and me, walking along. They were headed toward a village called Emmaus. I've been there. Five years ago, we did an Easter presentation for our church by the name Seven Mile Miracle. We decided it'd be cool if we shot it there, but when we got there, how many of you would love to go to Israel one day if you could, and see where Jesus walked? How many of you are fine just to watch it on National Geographic and you don't need all that, and you're like, well, thank you for your honesty. But if you go, they'll tell you when you get there, they'll say, hey, this is Emmaus. And then if you have a really honest guide, they'll say, I mean, it's maybe Emmaus. We don't know exactly where Emmaus was because it was such an insignificant place in its day that there is no archaeological evidence that this was definitely the place. Why would Jesus go to a place that wasn't even significant enough in its day to be known in modernity or pinpointed on a map. We look for God in places everyone recognizes. We think Jesus needs a shout out from Kim or Kanye. We act like Jesus needs an Oscar for best resurrection, but instead, he goes on this dirty road. It's a little road, really tiny road, the one they say he might have walked. I walked it. He meets up with two people, and it's not Zuck and it's not Trump. Watch, they're walking toward Emmaus. Jesus died in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the place where the Passover feast had just been celebrated. Jerusalem was the place where the promised Holy Spirit was to come. But Jesus leaves the place where the Spirit is coming to follow. Two people and we don't even know who they are. What kind of God is this who would speak to you in a crowd of thousands and would bring you to this place? At this moment, these men are walking along on that same date, the same day Jesus got up from the grave. So picture it now two things are happening at once. The eternal word of God, who was in the beginning with God, the fullness of his glory, full of grace and truth, has trampled death, sin, hell and the grave, made a mockery of Satan. And those who handed him over are soon to bow down and worship him. And every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory, glory of God the Father. And God has exalted Jesus to the highest place and given them the name that is above every name that's happening. And these two unnamed people, most scholars say probably a husband and wife, in a minute we get the guy's name, we don't get the woman's name. Because in Bible times, people didn't treat women too well. They were pretty overlooked. But that's the kind of people Jesus liked is the people who were overlooked. He would work a miracle with the little kids lunch. In their math, kids didn't count. But in Jesus math, that's where the multiplication was in the hands of the one who everybody else walked past. I'm just saying that because you might think you can only go on this journey if you're perfect. You might think you can only go on this journey if your life is profound, that God can only use you if everybody knows you. Because we worship the idol of fame in this age. But the famous one, the name above every name, meets with two previously unnamed travelers. Only because he met with them do we know the name of the man was Cleopas. Jesus Christ and Cleo. That's what his friends call him. Since we're going on this walk with him, we should call him by his nicknamed Cleo. They're walking to a village called Emmaus. A village. Nobody even knows where it really is today. They can guess, but they don't. They're going toward Emmaus. Why would Jesus make one of his first resurrection appearances headed toward a place away from where the Holy Spirit was about to fall? Toward a place no one would even remember. Could it be possible that we look for God in the destination.

[Unknown Speaker]

But he.

[Steven Furtick]

Is the God of the detour.

[Unknown Speaker]

Can I preach on this for about 15 or 30 minutes. He is the God of the detour. I'm trying to tell you that the perfect, flawless son of God turned his back on Jerusalem, set out on a road toward an unknown place, followed to people we've never met before. Because he is not the God of arrival. He is the God of the first step and the second step and every step. He's with me when I'm right. He's with me when I'm wrong. He's with me when I'm going forward. He's with me when I'm stuck. He's with me when I'm high stepping. He's with me when I'm crawling. He's with me when I'm strong. He's with me when I'm weak. He walks with me. He talks with me. They're walking the wrong way. Remember, they're walking the wrong way. If they really believed he was going to raise from the dead, they would have stayed in Jerusalem. But they didn't. And God followed them to the wrong place.

[Steven Furtick]

Because grace will chase you down.

[Unknown Speaker]

Something special is going to happen in this church today. Something special, something significant, but it might start really small.

[Steven Furtick]

See, we look for God in the dramatic, but he hides in the details. Sit down. Let's go for a walk. This is just a setup week. It's going to be amazing. It's going to be seven last sayings of Jesus Christ before he die. Last words. We're going to study them, apply them to your life. This is going to be amazing.

[Unknown Speaker]

It really is.

[Steven Furtick]

We're going to do a devotional on YouTube, Facebook. Did they tell you Instagram, everything? MySpace. I'll send a pigeon to your house with the devotion.

[Unknown Speaker]

You see what I'm saying? We'll do whatever we have to do.

[Steven Furtick]

It's digital discipleship so we can see Jesus in 3D. The first D is not destination, it's detour. Because God will meet you on the detour. The parts of your journey you didn't ask for, plan for or pack for.

[Unknown Speaker]

Feed these people.

[Steven Furtick]

We didn't bring lunch. You didn't tell us to. Jesus said one time, I need to go through Samaria. And they were like, that's not the most direct route. Jesus is Lord. I don't mean this in an insulting way, but I think you'll agree he's inefficient by human standards. It says in Proverbs 3, 5, 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. When you try to search for God with your understanding and you say, I'll start my journey when I understand you will never leave Ur of the Chaldeans, Abraham, because it grows as you go with every step you see? So he walks up to them on the detour in the wrong direction toward a destination that has disappeared from our modern maps. Because it wasn't what happened when they got there, it was what he revealed along the way. What if Christianity is a journey, not a destination? What if salvation was a starting block, not a finish line?

[Unknown Speaker]

What if God is not done with you? What if you don't have to find out to step out? What if you don't have to know the reason to stay on the road? All these two were doing was walking. They didn't invite Jesus, they didn't pray to Jesus. They didn't go to church, they didn't sing a hymn, they didn't pray a prayer, they didn't memorize a verse. They didn't even join an egroup. But you should.

[Steven Furtick]

But they didn't.

[Unknown Speaker]

All they did was walk. And as they're walking along the road to a village called Emmaus, as I'm walking through my life, as I'm raising my kids, as I'm dropping them off, as I'm smacking them as we go.

[Steven Furtick]

Toward Emmaus, a seven mile journey, I'm glad I put that detail because that lets me know that he who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it. 7 in the Bible is the number of completion. God created the world in six days. On the seventh day, he rested. He didn't rest because he was tired, he rested because he done. Do you like that? I love y'all so much. I love sharing the Word of God with you. The Word of God is alive and active.

[Unknown Speaker]

It'll make you holler. It will. It'll make you scream. When the Word of God is alive to you. When Jesus shows up on the road and meets you in your sin and snatches you from your shape, it will make you holler. You just jump up.

[Steven Furtick]

And they're going along the road, touch somebody, say, I'm going somewhere. I'm going somewhere.

[Unknown Speaker]

I don't have to know the destination.

[Steven Furtick]

Because every detour he will direct my paths.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's what Proverbs 3, 5, 6 says.

[Steven Furtick]

He will direct my paths.

[Unknown Speaker]

That means the straight ones and the crooked ones. He'll bend them all together. That's what grace is. 7. 7 is the number of completion. 7 times times around the walls of Jericho and they fell. Did you go to Bible school? Do you remember this? Seven miles.

[Steven Furtick]

They're walking Cleo and Mrs. Cleo. They're talking with each other about everything that had happened. How they hung the one they had hoped to be the Redeemer on a tree and how the Romans had crucified the one who was supposed to deliver them from their oppression. Look at verse 15. Are you with me? As they talked and discussed these things, these events, the divorce, the job loss, the struggle, the wasted relationship you didn't know how to handle. As they talked about the death of what they had set their expectation on, right there in the middle of it, Jesus himself came up, didn't politely ask to join them on their journey, walked along with them. Have you ever felt like God wouldn't leave you alone even if you wanted him to? Like you tried to disable your conscience and you still felt bad smoking it? Come on, talk to me. Don't look at me like you came in church riding in on a chariot. Polish a halo. I will come at you. I walked right up to you. That's what he did. He walked right up to them, but they were kept from recognizing them. Have you been kept from recognizing resurrection right in front of you? We look for God in the dramatic, but he shows up in the details. He takes a walk. Jesus, you do not have time for this. Let me be his press agent for a little while, okay? We have 40 days. We have to meet with people, make things happen. We have to get this show on the road. He says, yeah, on the road with Cleo. I got to meet with Cleo. I have to show myself to Cleo. But he was kept from recognizing it. Didn't say that he didn't recognize him. Something kept him from recognizing. Resurrection begins in your life. When you ask the question, what is keeping me from recognizing the presence of God that is right there, not only beside me, but within me. Can I teach about this a little bit? Just a little bit. This is an opening week. It will get better as it goes. But you have to start somewhere. The journey has to start somewhere every day. Every journey that is successful begins with the end in mind.

[Unknown Speaker]

I know it seems kind of backwards.

[Steven Furtick]

That I want to teach you a.

[Unknown Speaker]

Series on what Jesus said before he died. I'm starting with a spoiler alert that he's already resurrected and on the road.

[Steven Furtick]

But when you begin with the end in mind, you see that no matter.

[Unknown Speaker]

What I go through in life, the result is that God will use whatever I go through to reveal his glory. I am convinced that the sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in me if I stay on the road. See, I don't understand all the reasons, but I'm on the road.

[Steven Furtick]

They were kept from recognizing him. How many times have I been kept from recognizing what God was doing right in front of me? How many times have I been kept from recognizing ordinary moments of joy because I was waiting on things to be perfect? How many times have I missed a miracle because all I saw was the mess? How many times have I missed the opportunity to give something because I was so centered on myself? How I feel, what I need, what I didn't get.

[Unknown Speaker]

God said, if you'll change the question and reverse the search. Maybe it's not about what is happening to you. Maybe it's what I want to do through you. They hung him high. He didn't come down because he had something to do. They didn't recognize it.

[Steven Furtick]

I didn't recognize it. I didn't recognize that my kids were growing up fast, so I didn't make the time. I didn't recognize. I didn't recognize the good things about the person I said I'd spend the rest of my life with. So I started focusing on the things about them that were mildly annoying. And eventually it became an insurmountable resentment. I didn't recognize that the people I was hanging out with were doing some things that were going to stick with me for the rest of my life. And it became an addiction. Even though it just started out as an attraction, I didn't recognize. And they were kept. What kept them from recognizing? You can be kept from recognizing the patterns that created your outcomes. You can be kept from recognizing the behaviors that are leading you to the destinations you hate. You know, you hate where you are, but you don't know how you got there. And they were capped from recognizing him. And he was right there with them. Like that dude who prayed God would save him. And the helicopter came, and he didn't take the helicopter. You know this story. The boat came, he wouldn't get in the boat. He drowned and he died. He said, God, I asked you to save me. And God said, that helicopter was me, that boat was me. That rejection was me. Yeah, even that pain, I let it.

[Unknown Speaker]

Happen because I wanted to produce a power in your life. And the only way I could get it through.

[Steven Furtick]

Open your eyes. They're walking and here comes Jesus, like a stalker. Come on. It's kind of weird, right? He just shows up in the middle of them, Cleo and Mrs. Cleo. And he asks Him a question.

[Unknown Speaker]

Just sit right down beside him in church. Walk up on the road.

[Steven Furtick]

I love Jesus. This is comical to me. If you think the Bible is boring, I want to challenge the fact that maybe it's you that is boring in you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Watch this.

[Steven Furtick]

This is some funny stuff. The author of life, who knows all things, who lays bare the intents of every heart, who created Cleo and Mrs. Cleo before the foundations of the earth for an express purpose by whom and through whom and for whom all things are created. That Jesus, the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth, walks up to Cleo and says, what are y'all talking about?

[Unknown Speaker]

Like he doesn't know.

[Steven Furtick]

They stood still, their faces down. Everything in this text seems backwards to me, y'all. He's going toward Emmaus, away from Jerusalem. That doesn't make sense. He's talking to people that don't seem important. That doesn't make sense. He just got up from the dead. If you just got up from the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Dead, would you want to hang around happy people?

[Steven Furtick]

I would want to find somebody who could celebrate. Come on, we're going to pop something. But Cleo is sad because it didn't go the way he thought.

[Unknown Speaker]

It didn't end up the way he thought.

[Steven Furtick]

Their faces were downcast. All of a sudden, they stopped walking. The Bible says they stood still, their faces downcast, and they stop. And apparently Jesus stops with them. They're sad, and apparently he enters into their sadness. They start explaining to the one who created life how life was supposed to turn out. I love the Bible. I'm fascinated by this journey. If you read the Bible like a magic rulebook, you will never fully understand the extent to which it is meant to speak to your situation and guide your life. If you really get into this thing with me over the next seven weeks, I'm going to show you how God is not scared to walk right up in the details of your situation. A bird falls out the sky and he counts it and puts it on the ledger. And you think. Do you think he doesn't know about your loneliness, your tears, your heartbreak, your questions? You think he's intimidated by your skepticism? Do you think your broken heart can chase him away? The Bible says a broken and a contrite heart he will not despise. The only heart he can't get into is the one that is closed up through pride.

[Unknown Speaker]

But if you open yourself, even with.

[Steven Furtick]

Your face downcast, Cleo said, hey, man, this is ironic, huh? The host of heaven has come to earth. He died and rose again, lived A perfect life. Cleo says, are you the only one visiting Jerusalem? Remember, he made it. They're treating treat the God of the world like a guest. This is so funny to me, how we get it twisted, how we get it out of order. We start thinking God needs to consult our blueprint of how our lives need to be built.

[Unknown Speaker]

I can get this way as a pastor telling God what he needs to.

[Steven Furtick]

Do in my church.

[Unknown Speaker]

You get this way as a parent, what God needs to do with your children. Cleo launches out on this long Cleopatra. Cleopatra launches out on this long, long speech telling Jesus what happened to Jesus. God has a sense of humor because he lets him talk. Cleopas gives him his speech and Jesus lets him finish. Are you the only one who doesn't know what happened? The one it happened to is standing there and Cleo wants to tell him what happened. See, what had happened was Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. They are standing before the great I am. And they start with he was. There he is. And they're stuck in he was. Are you missing what is because you're stuck in what was. We hoped he was the One, but it took a turn for the worse. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death. And they crucified him.

[Steven Furtick]

Jesus is nodding.

[Unknown Speaker]

Verse 21. Tell me all about it. But we had hope. Had I been Jesus, I'd have stopped you right there. Because hope that is seen is not hope at all. If you had hoped and don't hope anymore, what you had wasn't real hope. Because real hope can hold on even on Friday.

[Steven Furtick]

I hope. I had hoped it would be over by now. I had hoped the medicine would fix it. I had hoped they'd say yes. I hoped they had asked. I had hoped. I had hoped hope is standing in front of hopelessness. Christ and Cleo and the cross clashed with Cleo's expectation. And now his experience has left him downcast. We had hoped he was the one. I thought I'd be further along by now. I thought I'd be married by 26. I thought, hoped they would be good to me and pay me back and appreciate me after all I did for them? I had hoped he was going to redeem me. I had hoped he was going to heal me. Could it be that we miss God because we look for him in the dreams, but he is found in the disappointment? Their faces were downcast, their hopes were dashed and from their standpoint, the story was over. Since I'M your tour guide on this seven mile journey. Let me give you a professional travel tip. Don't judge the journey before it's over. I don't know who that was even for. Don't judge the journey of seven miles when you haven't even been two yet. See what the end will be if you trust his promise. You have to trust the path. It might be winding and it might lead to a cross and it might not feel good and it might be confusing, but he is the God of the detour. It might not be spectacular and he might not prove himself to you with signs you can see or sense or feel. It might not be a goosebump that proves his presence. He might show up in the details, you know, the little things. It might be in the little ways.

[Unknown Speaker]

He's right there on the road. He's walking with them. They almost can't recognize him because it's so common. What's happening is so common. He looks like just another guy. They are standing next to resurrection and they don't recognize it. And it's right there. He's right there. He is here now. He is. He was. He is to come and he's with you in this moment.

[Steven Furtick]

Hopefully was the one. What is more, Cleo says, to make matters worse, look at 21. It's the third day. It's funny, y'all don't know that's funny. I'm sorry. I'm just a nerdy little pastor. I get kicks out of weird stuff. It's the third day.

[Unknown Speaker]

The whole time he was on the earth, he said, this is going to go bad on Friday, but come Sunday, don't look for me in the tomb they buried me in. I'm getting up out of here.

[Steven Furtick]

What they thought was the dead end was really just the beginning. You want to see him in 3D?

[Unknown Speaker]

Look for him in the detours. You want to see him in 3D? Not this flat little coloring book, Jesus with a lamb on his lap, but the living risen Son of God under whose all feet things still sitting, standing strong, seated at the right hand of God. You want to see him like that? Don't look.

[Steven Furtick]

Look for him in just the dramatic. Look for him in the details. That little thing God has been doing in your life. Do you want to see the Son of God? Do you want to see Jesus? How many of you want to see him? How many of you want to see God active in your life?

[Unknown Speaker]

I mean, with the eyes of your.

[Steven Furtick]

Heart, to know him? He can be found at the dead ends when you used to hope, and now it's hard to hope. That's where he meets you. On your Emmaus road. I'm glad they can't find Emmaus. I'm glad they can. Because that means we each get to have our own. That means I get to have my own Emmaus. I'm on my own journey. I'm on my own path. And I'm not alone. I don't even like walking very much. I don't have a Fitbit. Everything about this seems backwards, doesn't it? He spent his whole life telling people, follow me. And now he's following them. He has come down out of heaven. And instead of people making their way to God, now God has come to us. He has reversed the search. You weren't even looking for him, and he was looking for you. You weren't even seeking for him and he was showing himself all along. Cleopas said we had hoped he was the one. In addition, he said some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning. Wrong place. He's not in the tomb. He's on the road. He's not in religion. He's in relationship. Please help me preach this.

[Unknown Speaker]

I need to know you're receiving it. Because God told me that some of you are going to come out of tombs, tombs of tradition, and really experience the presence of God. How many want to experience his presence.

[Steven Furtick]

On the road? Our women went to the tomb. They didn't find his body. They came and told us they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb. This is still Cleo talking, telling Jesus about Jesus, still not recognizing what's right beside him. Some of our companions went to the tomb and found it, just as the women had said. But this is the most ironic verse in all of scripture.

[Unknown Speaker]

They did not see Jesus. He is telling Jesus about other people who didn't see Jesus.

[Steven Furtick]

And he doesn't know it's Jesus. Have you ever realized how easy it is to judge somebody else's journey and not even recognize what God is doing in your own? Y'all better stand up so I can close this message. Jesus said to them, how foolish you are and slow to believe. That's the problem. Look at me. Every location, watching on television, watching online. I want you to look at me. If you can't look at me, look at the screen. Look at me. It starts in the heart. He said, you're slow to believe. You keep trying to make sense of things in your life with your Head. You keep trying to figure out the reason for what's happening to you. When you can't figure out the reason. You want to jump off the road. You want to stop following. You want to stop trusting when you can't figure it out. But if you would reverse the search and believe in your heart what you have not yet seen with your eyes and believe the goodness of God. Who am I preaching to in the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Top level of Ballantine? If you would get it in here. This journey doesn't start with making sense. This journey starts with faith. Have faith in God.

[Steven Furtick]

He's with me on this road. Did not the Messiah have to suffer.

[Unknown Speaker]

These things and then enter in his glory? You keep wanting to see the glory, but you're only going to see it in the suffering. He is the God of the detour. He is the God of the detail. He is the God of your dead end. And he has brought you to this moment. Today.

[Steven Furtick]

The Spirit of God is in this place. I am preaching out of my mind for somebody who has been on the road. Watch this. Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them, he took it all the way back to show them that the one the prophets had looked forward to was standing right in front of them.

[Unknown Speaker]

He explained to them what was said.

[Steven Furtick]

In all the scriptures concerning himself, man. He broke it down.

[Unknown Speaker]

On the way on the road. That's where you learn on the journey. You don't wait until you understand to get started. You grow as you go, you know as you go. Keep walking, keep walking, keep walking, keep walking, keep walking. You'll understand it better by and by. Give it a chance, man. Give him a chance to show you who he is. Hold on to his unchanging hand.

[Steven Furtick]

Trust his heart, even if you can't trace his head. God, I don't get this, but I'm going forward. It's a decision. It's a decision. Can I give you one more thing? I don't want to cheat you. Some people drove a long way to get here. How many of you drove over an hour to be at church today? Over two, over three, over four hours.

[Unknown Speaker]

Over five, six, seven hour miracle. Six hour energy, whatever touch.

[Steven Furtick]

Seven People say we're going somewhere. God didn't save us to leave us like he found us. God didn't save us to leave us like he found us.

[Unknown Speaker]

God didn't create me to stay stuck in one place, one frame of mind, one way of looking at things.

[Steven Furtick]

Every step. Eugene Peterson said, every step is an arrival. Every step. By the time they arrived they had already arrived. What was revealed on the road was only recognized in reverse. What was happening to them as they walked only made sense once they sat down. The same one who got up from the grave. Watch what he does next. They approached the village to which they were going. They got a lot more than they bargained for along the way. They didn't plan for this. They didn't wake up on that morning expecting a miracle. They were mourning the loss of what they had thought was the answer. The answer walked up to them and asked them a brand new question. I love it. I'm excited about this series.

[Unknown Speaker]

This is just the beginning.

[Steven Furtick]

We have a lot of ground to cover. I want you online every day at 7am in the car, treadmill, whatever, under the covers, eye boogers, whatever. Join the journey. You see, he's there all along in the little things. They got there to the place. Look at 28 again. 28, 28, 28. They approached the village and Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. The journey starts where you are, but where it ends depends on you. They got there. Jesus is like, thanks for the company. I'll see you later. See you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Cleo.

[Steven Furtick]

Yo, Cleo. I have to go, Cleo. I have Peter to see, things to do. Cleo said, hold on. Look at verse 29. They urged him strongly. Cleo said, although we've come to the end of the Emmaus road, still I can't let go.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's unnatural. You can't leave me now. You can't leave me now. You started something, God. You started something in my life. Stay with me until it's over. Stay with me. Hold my hand. Walk with me, talk with me. I need you every hour.

[Steven Furtick]

Stay with me. So he went in to stay with them and they sat down. Remember, he's the same God who sent angels to a tomb. He's the God of the dramatic, but he's also the God of the details. The Bible says while he was at the table with them, he took bread. He's always taken over. He takes over conversations. He takes over supper time.

[Unknown Speaker]

He's supposed to be a visitor and.

[Steven Furtick]

He becomes a host and he takes the bread.

[Unknown Speaker]

God wants to take your life over today. Don't you see it? You've been doing it on your own.

[Steven Furtick]

You don't have to do it alone anymore. They invite him in. He takes over, takes the bread, breaks the bread like he was broken, blesses it. Thank you, Lord. He says grace and he breaks the bread. He gave him the bread. He had just finished breaking the Bible says when he broke the bread to give it to them, when he broke the bread to give it to them, then their eyes were open. What was revealed in the routine of the breaking of the bread that was not revealed all along the road? What did they see at that moment that they had not seen before? Saw it in his scars.

[Unknown Speaker]

They saw it in what he suffered. Do you see it? Do you see it? Sometimes you see him in the broken places more than you see them in the blessed places. Sometimes you have to see it in the scars.

[Steven Furtick]

And the hair that had held them all along, revealed to them. When they saw his scars, then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. Open our eyes, Lord. Open our eyes. Open our eyes. Close your eyes. Quit focusing on what you have to do next. Close your eyes. Ask him, Open my eyes, Lord, out loud. Open my eyes, Lord. Ask him what the disciples asked him say. Stay with me. Tell him, come on in. We're going on a journey. Yeah, he's with you in this journey. Every mile, every mile, every detour, every detail, every dead end, every scar, every struggle, he's with you. 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 elevationchurch.org podcast 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.