Same Lies New Loops

Summary

Elevation with Steven Furtick — "Same Lies New Loops"

Release Date: September 14, 2025
Host: Pastor Steven Furtick
Podcast: Elevation with Steven Furtick (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

In this episode titled "Same Lies New Loops," Pastor Steven Furtick opens a new six-week series centered on breaking the cycles of discouragement, anxiety, and untruths that keep us stuck. Drawing from Lamentations 3 and the stories of Jeremiah and Elijah, Furtick explores how the enemy’s unchanging lies trap us in mental and emotional loops, while God offers new mercies and help each day. The message calls for recognizing and rejecting the enemy’s consistent deception in favor of speaking and embracing God’s truth, even when our circumstances seem unchanged.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Shared Struggle and Scriptural Foundation

• Steven Furtick’s Connection to Listeners

  • Expresses love for the congregation, even those he hasn't met personally.
  • Introduces the thematic phrase for the next six weeks: "Same lies, new loops." (04:23)
  • Sets context with national and global hardships, highlighting a universal need for Jesus.

• Scripture Foundation: Lamentations 3

  • Jeremiah, in the aftermath of Israel’s destruction, expresses despair:

    “I have been deprived of peace. I have forgotten what prosperity is. … My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped for from the Lord. I remember my affliction and my wandering... Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.” (06:56–07:35)

2. The Enemy’s Consistency: “Same Lies, New Loops”

• Nature of the Enemy’s Lies

  • The enemy isn’t creative; he’s simply consistent, repeating the same two core lies:
    1. It’s not enough
    2. You’re not loved
  • These lies are woven into our thoughts so seamlessly they can feel like our own. (17:27–18:38)

  “The enemy just hammers the same lies over and over again. … He’s not creative, but he’s consistent.” (14:30–14:45)

• Illustration: Personal Story of Holly

  • Furtick’s wife Holly, a "horrible liar," can't fake or hide her thoughts—and this inability to lie can also make it hard to detect lies.
  • Relates this to the listener: We must become better at identifying the lies we often mistake for truth. (12:41–13:31)

• Looping as a Mental Trap

  • The enemy exploits repetition and our honest nature so that his lies become inner monologues:

  “He’ll tell you the same thing over and over again until you can’t tell the difference between his voice and your thoughts.” (15:26–15:32)

3. The Two Big Lies

• Lie #1: “It’s Not Enough”

  • Applies to everything—time, money, peace, love, ability:

  “Every time you sin and you need to come to God … he’ll try to tell you it’s not enough.” (20:01–20:11)

• Lie #2: “You’re Not Loved”

  • Leads to striving for acceptance, approval, filling emotional or spiritual gaps with the wrong things.

  “You are not enough, never mind that Christ is enough… He put you in that family. Yes, that family. The weird family, the dysfunctional family. Every family is dysfunctional.” (21:27–22:05)

• Scarcity Loop

  • Lack leads to insecurity, which feeds the sense of not being enough or lovable—thus repeating the cycle.

4. True vs. False Loops: How to Break the Cycle

• Observation from Lamentations 3:

  • Not everything Jeremiah says is technically a lie—his situation truly was terrible—but being “stuck” focuses you on pain instead of possibility.
  • Furtick underscores that just because something is true about your situation doesn’t mean you have to stay in it. (24:32–26:19)

• Bitterness vs. Peace

  • You can't be full of peace if you are full of bitterness or replaying past hurts.

  “If I am filled with bitterness, I am going to be empty of peace.” (27:25–27:53)

• Circling the Hurt vs. Summoning the Help

  • Furtick encourages listeners to stop circling pain and instead “summon your help”—to actively call on God’s promises and presence:

  "Am I going to keep circling my hurt or am I going to summon my help? … O God, when you call Jesus, help is on the way." (33:21–33:42)

5. Change the Narrative—God Responds to Your Declaration

• Jeremiah’s Turning Point
  • The turning point in Lamentations is not when God speaks, but when Jeremiah does:

  "But in Lamentations 3, God doesn’t speak, Jeremiah does. That changed my mind life because I’m expecting him to say, my hope is gone… But God doesn't say a word. Jeremiah does. And when Jeremiah speaks, God comes." (31:14–32:01)

  • “Change what you say and you are going to speak… If you change what you say, you’ll change what you see.” (32:12–32:23)

6. Case Study: Elijah in the Cave (1 Kings 19)

• Elijah’s Loop

  • Elijah, like Jeremiah, falls into a loop of despair: "I am the only one left." (40:59–41:21)
  • God corrects Elijah with a gentle whisper, not in the dramatic showings, and provides new instructions and people to break his isolation (42:58–47:55).

  “Can you let God come to you a different way and not think he left you?” (43:52–44:19)

• Choosing a New Loop

  • God’s instruction is to “go back the way you came”—to step out of the cave, out of the loop, and connect anew to purpose and people.

7. The Greater Battle: Revelation, the Testimony, and the Blood

• Victory Over the Dragon

  • Furtick ties in the cosmic battle described in Revelation 12, where "the accuser, that ancient serpent" is cast down.

  “God has been creating longer than [the enemy] has been lying. God is better at his job than the enemy is at his.” (50:12–50:27)

• Application:

  • Our triumph is secured by “the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” (51:06–51:25)

8. A Practical Example: “A Beautiful Mind” Parallel

• Cites the film’s protagonist, John Nash, who learns to manage intrusive voices by choosing not to listen—a metaphor for ignoring the enemy’s persistent lies (51:38–53:12).

9. Call to Salvation & New Beginnings

• Furtick leads a salvation prayer for those who feel trapped by lies of “not enough” or “not loved,” inviting listeners to embrace a new identity in Christ and join the journey toward new loops. (53:48–56:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Same lies, new loops. His mercies are new every morning. So are the devil’s temptations.” — Steven Furtick [08:17]
• “If you look at your life, [the enemy] says the same things to you over and over again. He’s not creative, but he’s consistent.” — Steven Furtick [15:21]
• "The problem with the things Jeremiah was saying in Lamentations, Chapter three [is] none of them were outright lies… but just because they're true of you does not mean you have to be trapped in them for the rest of your life." [25:57]
• “If you can ever find the lie he is telling you, you can flow in the truth God has given you.” — Steven Furtick [16:10]
• “Am I going to keep circling my hurt or am I going to summon my help? O God, when you call Jesus, help is on the way.” — Steven Furtick [33:21–33:42]
• "God has been creating longer than [the enemy] has been lying. God is better at his job than the enemy is at his." — Steven Furtick [50:12]
• “This I call to my mind. Therefore I have hope.” — Lamentations 3:21 [07:35]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:23] — Introduction of series theme: “Same lies, new loops.”
• [06:56–07:35] — Reading and application of Lamentations 3.
• [14:30–15:32] — Discussion on the enemy’s lack of creativity and consistency in lies.
• [17:27–18:38] — Furtick lists the two foundational lies: “It’s not enough” and “You’re not loved.”
• [24:32–26:19] — Explanation of not being trapped in old truths.
• [27:25–27:53] — Full of bitterness means empty of peace.
• [33:21–33:42] — Breakthrough moment: “Circling your hurt” vs. “summoning your help.”
• [31:14–32:23] — Jeremiah’s shift: changing self-talk to change perspective and outcomes.
• [39:53–47:55] — Elijah’s cave, the “only one left” lie, and God’s gentle whisper/change of direction.
• [51:06–51:25] — Victory is by “the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”
• [53:48–56:00] — Closing prayer and invitation to Christ.

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Tone & Original Language

Pastor Furtick’s delivery is highly energetic, personal, and contemporary, blending humor (as seen in his family anecdotes) with biblically-rooted teaching. The message is honest about pain and struggle, yet unflinchingly hopeful—challenging listeners to take practical action by changing self-talk and actively embracing God’s truth amid hardship.

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Closing Challenge

Furtick closes by emphasizing the communal journey toward freedom from toxic mental loops, promising that future messages in the series will equip listeners for further breakthrough. He encourages listeners to “tune back in next week” for more tools and revelations, leaving them with hope and practical steps for the week ahead.

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Summary prepared for those seeking insight and transformation, whether or not they’ve heard the episode.

Transcript

[Steven Furtick]

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[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.

[Congregation/Church Member]

When you give him a hug, let them know we're in this together. Let him know God is good. Bring my screen out, would you? Let him know he's still on the throne. Let him know I've got a king named Jesus and I'm going to be all right no matter what happens. He already showed me that the worst can happen and he's still great. Somebody shout God is great. He's still great. He's always great. Well, if your God is that great, give him a great shout of praise.

[Steven Furtick]

Praise the Lord. Love you Stacy Love you, Timothy. I'm looking around for people I love. Love you, Brad.

[Congregation/Church Member]

You do. She said, we love you.

[Steven Furtick]

I want to tell you something. If we ever got to know each other, we would be best friends. I promise you. We would be texting each other all the time. Silly stuff, stupid stuff. You feel a sense of love for those you lead, even if you don't personally know them. It's a strange thing to describe. On Monday, I was praying for you. I was half hungover from my sermon on Sunday. It's a holy hangover. The Lord started showing me stuff. It was amazing. He gave me a phrase I want to teach on for the next six weeks. As different events were unfurling and whirling about our heads this week, I was so glad God spoke to me and gave me this for us because it's exactly what we need. For right now.

[Congregation/Church Member]

I want you to.

[Steven Furtick]

Stand to your feet and remain standing until I've read my scripture. We welcome our Efam around the world. Although it has been an incredibly difficult week in our nation, we understand that in parts of the world there are tragedies we never mention from this pulpit. But we want you to know that wherever you come from, whatever you're going through, we are here to bring Jesus into your situation. We believe that if Jesus comes into your situation, anything is possible. The scripture I want to set up this series with is in Lamentations, Chapter three. Did you say, uh, oh. Lamentations is not the party book of the Bible. The name kind of gives it away. But I think the Lord, in the way he does, has something hidden in this for us today, for the questions we've been asking inside of ourselves, for the isolation we've been dealing with and not knowing who to reach out to. The prophet Jeremiah was writing from a difficult time in the history of the nation he lived in, called Israel. In fact, their temple had been destroyed. Many of the people had been carried into exile in a place called Babylon by a king called Nebuchadnezzar. He had the difficult task of preaching through his own tears into the tragedy of the people. In Lamentations, Chapter 3, we receive a poetic collection of some of his thoughts after he revised those prayers. I want to share with you from verse as he writes about his feelings from this place. Here's what he says. Lamentations 3:17. I have been deprived of peace. I have forgotten what prosperity is. In one translation he says, I have rejected peace. He says, I can't let peace in. I have so much anxiety, so much fear. I can't let it in. I have rejected wholeness and peace in the esv. He says, I have forgotten what happiness is. I've forgotten not only how to be happy, but I don't even really remember what it feels like now. After he says that, he gives a little bit of his internal monologue. He says, so I say, my splendor is gone and all that I had hoped for from the Lord. I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them. And my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind. And therefore I have hope.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Because of the Lord's great love.

[Steven Furtick]

We are not consumed.

[Congregation/Church Member]

For his compassions never fail.

[Steven Furtick]

They are new every morning.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, the Lord is my portion. God said, somebody needs to change what you say to yourself. You need to change what you say to yourself. Somebody shout, the Lord is my portion. Therefore I will wait for him. Now, the word God gave me for.

[Steven Furtick]

Us over this season of our church, he said to talk to you about Same lies, new loops.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Same lies, new loops.

[Steven Furtick]

His mercies are new every morning. So are the devil's temptations.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Same lies, new loops. Father, help me give it to them.

[Steven Furtick]

Just like you gave it to me. Don't water it down, don't weaken it with my opinion, but preach it like your word.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Help me do that.

[Steven Furtick]

I give you glory in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. I have been waiting to worship with you. I can tell when a sermon really gets a hold of me because I start just drawing stuff and scribbling stuff everywhere. Whenever I start pulling out napkins in restaurants and asking the server, would you please bring me a napkin and a pen? The napkin they understand, but the pen, they look at you kind of funny. And I've been writing all over the house. Same lies, new loops. Let me draw it for you. I even practiced my drawing. So cheer for me when I do this because I'm insecure about it. Same lies, new. I've been praying for years and the Lord still hasn't healed my handwriting. So we're dealing with it. Same lies. Same lies. New loops.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Thank you.

[Steven Furtick]

Appreciate it. Like an infinity symbol. Same lies, new loops. Holly is hosting reflect on Friday, September 19th. It's going to be an amazing time. Holly is an amazing preacher. She's an amazing teacher of the word of God. You better be here. It's going to be amazing. She's an amazing wife. Even better wife than she is a teacher of the word of God. She's so good at so many things. She's my favorite cook. She's a great kisser. She's a great affirmer. She's a great mother. She's a great encourager. All of these things are true. There is one thing she is not, though. She is a horrible liar. Holly is a horrible liar. She is the worst liar. Therefore, you have to be very careful what you ask her about. If I show Holly one of my songs I just wrote and ask her, how do you like it? I better really want to know because she is a terrible, I mean, horrible liar. How do you like it? She'll do this thing. She'll go, is it finished?

[Congregation/Church Member]

Thought it was.

[Steven Furtick]

Maybe not. She's just supposed to say, yeah, babe, I think that could be the next jireh. I think that could be the next great. Just lie to me long enough to give me the confidence to put it out there in the world. No, but she's a horrible liar. Even when she tries to be polite, she's a horrible liar. Should I wear this? Does this look good? You can always see it in her eyebrows. You can always see the lie in her eyebrows because she's going to look at you so distinctively before she tells you, yeah, it looks great that you're not going to believe it because she's a horrible liar. There's a game our kids showed us called out of the loop. I think that's what it's called, out of the loop. The way the game works, you have to be a good liar to win it. You pass the phone around the table. Everybody gets a category, like animal. And then within the category, there is a certain animal. We say hippopotamus. Then one person doesn't get to see what the animal is, but they have to pretend like they know what it is. Then you go around the circle and ask questions and say, is it this? Is it that? Could you have this animal as a pet? Then the person who doesn't know what the animal is, they have to pretend like they do so nobody will know they were out of the loop and didn't know it's a hippopotamus. So when we play this game with Holly, it's the moment we ask her, can we have it as a pet? She'll go, well. And everybody will go, it's mom.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Mom is out of the loop. She's such a bad liar.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm glad she's a bad liar. I'm glad for that. I don't want her to get any better at lying. But there's a problem when you're not that good at inventing lies. Sometimes you're not that good at identifying lies either. Sometimes it's hard for you if you have a hard time telling a lie to tell when someone is lying to you. The problem with this isn't that I think she needs to become a better liar. I don't want anybody in this room to become a better liar. That would be a horrible thing to want for your church. But I do want you to become better at identifying the lies the enemy has been telling you all your life that have kept you lost in a loop of his lies.

[Congregation/Church Member]

The truth of the matter is, ladies.

[Steven Furtick]

And gentlemen, that God is the creator.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He summoned light, said, let it be, and light was. If he called light darkness, it would.

[Steven Furtick]

Change and turn out. God cannot lie. If God said that blue shirt was red, you would watch a transformation and it would be washed in the blood real quick. God cannot tell a lie. It is impossible for him to lie. He is not a man that he should lie, nor the Son of man that he should repent.

[Congregation/Church Member]

As impossible as it is for God.

[Steven Furtick]

To lie, it is impossible for the devil to tell the truth. Jesus said in John, chapter eight that.

[Congregation/Church Member]

When he speaks, he speaks his native.

[Steven Furtick]

Language, he's a liar from the beginning. He's been lying a long time. He was lying before you got here. He was lying over your life when you were just a little baby.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He has been planting lies in your.

[Steven Furtick]

Mind before you had a conscious thought.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He has been lying to you a long time.

[Steven Furtick]

And it is difficult for you to identify those lies because rather than tell a whole bunch of different lies, I have noticed that the enemy just hammers the same lies over and over again. Why?

[Congregation/Church Member]

Because the enemy is not creative.

[Steven Furtick]

God is.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He has no light to create, no.

[Steven Furtick]

Stars to breathe forth, no sun to.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Put in its place, no waters to cause to recede and bring forth fish in the sea. He is not creative by nature.

[Steven Furtick]

He is created and fallen. He is fallen.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He's fallen because he's not created.

[Steven Furtick]

He cannot be creative.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Since he can't make anything, he has to make something up. But since he's not creative, he has to be consistent. The devil is not very creative.

[Steven Furtick]

If you look at your life, he says the same things to you over and over again.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He's not creative, but he's consistent. He'll tell you the same thing over.

[Steven Furtick]

And over again until you can't tell the difference between his voice and your thoughts. That's what makes it so diabolical. The lies come in disguise.

[Congregation/Church Member]

If he said it with a big.

[Worship Leader]

Big voice up here like Holly, oh.

[Steven Furtick]

Your song is great. I would know he was lying because his voice changed.

[Congregation/Church Member]

But did you ever notice that the devil's voice doesn't change when he starts.

[Steven Furtick]

Lying in your mind?

[Congregation/Church Member]

It sounds just like your own thoughts. Because you are an honest person, you have a very difficult time identifying the.

[Steven Furtick]

Lies he tells you.

[Congregation/Church Member]

But if you can ever find the lie he is telling you, you can flow in the truth God has given you. If you can ever find the lie he's telling you, you can begin to fill yourself with what God has spoken.

[Steven Furtick]

And receive the peace that is your birthright and inheritance as a child of God.

[Congregation/Church Member]

You can get your happy back and you can get your home back and you can get your heart back. Because the devil has hijacked your mind, your heart with lies long enough.

[Steven Furtick]

The reason I know it's him is.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He is not creative.

[Steven Furtick]

He only has two lies he tells over and over again. The prophet Jeremiah is believing both of.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Those lies in Lamentations, chapter three.

[Steven Furtick]

And he's going to a very deep, dark place.

[Congregation/Church Member]

See, there are really only two things the devil ever tells you.

[Steven Furtick]

And you might want to write this down.

[Congregation/Church Member]

So the next time he slithers up to you, that ancient snake, the next time he slithers up to you, he's under your feet. The next time he starts speaking to you, the next time he starts suggesting to you, the next time he starts tempting you, the next time he starts to make you move your feet off the solid rock of Jesus Christ and the word of God, you can find the lie. There are really only two.

[Steven Furtick]

One is it's not enough. The second is you're not loved. Every lie you've ever believed from the enemy and every pit of self pity you've ever dug for yourself and every relationship you've ever reached to that wasn't good for you, but it felt good to you was because of one of these two lies. The enemy told you so consistently and so convincingly. He told you it's not enough and you're not loved. Am I right about it?

[Congregation/Church Member]

I prayed on my knees this week. I said, I'm not going to get up in front of my church and tell them there's only two lies and just say a bunch of stuff. You have to show me, Lord, what are the two things or three things or four things? He said, there's really only two things. From the time your mind is conscious in choosing, the enemy is whispering to you, it's not enough. And you're not loved.

[Steven Furtick]

I began to search the Bible to see if that was correct, because I don't trust my impressions. The devil is a liar.

[Congregation/Church Member]

I went all the way back to the book of Genesis and all the way forward to the book of Revelation.

[Steven Furtick]

And I found out that the snake only says one thing. Did God really say that's why he's a snake? He's shaped like that? Question mark. Did God really say to get you to question what God clearly said, to.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Get you to step outside of how God identified you? He's a liar.

[Steven Furtick]

He'll tell you it's not enough. He'll tell you that it's not enough for you to just believe in Jesus. You have to have a whole bunch of other beliefs. You have to have a whole bunch of other dependencies. It's not enough just to call on the name of Jesus and be saved. You have to work your way to God. Try to get you so trampled down with shame.

[Congregation/Church Member]

The devil is so, so good at lying.

[Steven Furtick]

He's nothing like Holly, let me say that for the record. The devil is nothing like my wife. He's so good at lying that he'll do it like this. When you're tempted to sin, he'll say it's no big deal. He'll get you to believe that the power of God to resist temptation is not enough.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Then when you sin and you need.

[Steven Furtick]

To come to God and confess your sins so he can cleanse you from your sin and purify you from all unrighteousness, he'll try to tell you it's not enough.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He'll try to get you to think.

[Steven Furtick]

That the blood of Jesus is not enough, that the grace of God is not enough.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Before you sin, he'll try to get you to think that the power of.

[Steven Furtick]

God inside of you is not enough to keep you from sin after you sin, he'll try to get you to think that the price Jesus paid for.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Your sin is not enough to take that sin off of you, to teach you to roll your shame away, to bring you into a new beginning, to give you new mercies. With every sunrise, every day the sun comes up, you're waking up in not enough.

[Steven Furtick]

Because the devil is very effective through repetition.

[Congregation/Church Member]

It's not enough. Think about everything you have to do today. You start thinking this before the covers come off in the morning.

[Steven Furtick]

I know you do.

[Congregation/Church Member]

It's not enough time to get it all done. It's not enough money to pay every bill. It's not enough sleep I got last night. It's not enough people I want to see at work to make me want to throw these covers off and get out of these comfortable pajamas with the footies on them and put my uncomfortable shoes on and stand up for eight hours all day. Because when I get home after eight hours at work, there's not going to be enough of me to go around for all these people. And since it's not enough, I'm not loved. Because if I don't show up enough.

[Steven Furtick]

Then everybody in my life feels like a demand and nothing feels like a supply. So now the enemy has got me in an infinite loop of scarcity because it's not enough. And you are not loved. Now he has you thinking you are what you do. So if what you do isn't enough, then you are not enough. Never mind that Christ is enough. Never mind that he wouldn't have created you, planned you, brought you into this moment in your life, spoken you into the earth at this time, put you in that family. Yes, that family. The weird family, the dysfunctional family.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Every family is dysfunctional. Stop lying to yourself saying, if my.

[Steven Furtick]

Family wasn't dysfunctional, I wouldn't be.

[Congregation/Church Member]

If your family wasn't dysfunctional, you would be an angel. That's the only non dysfunctional family God ever made. They're called angels. They live in heaven. We live on earth. It's called hell. Get used to it. Bring heaven to earth and get on with it. The family of God is dysfunctional, but we are here.

[Steven Furtick]

Do not be deceived. I was scribbling this down on the napkin and I was thinking, same lies, new loops. What I want you to do is pull back up Jeremiah the prophet in Lamentations, Chapter 3. I want you to go all the way from verse 18 to verse 21. This is what we're working on in our lesson today. Somebody say, same lies, new loops. If a person lied to you as much as the devil does, how many times would you keep letting them in your front door? If every time they came through they stole something. If every time they came through they tracked mud all over your beige carpet, how many times would it take? And yet we go through the same lies over and over again. Don't feel bad about it. Jeremiah did. And I am looking for Lamentations on this screen. There we go. Oh, I was stalling. I was stalling bad just now. But look at this. In verse 18, I want you to circle this. He said, so I say, my splendor is gone, or my glory is gone, or it feels like God is gone, or it feels like my imagination is gone or my happy is on hiatus and I can't find it. I forgot what it is to be happy, he said. So I say, my splendor is gone. And all that I had hoped from the Lord. I want you to circle those three words. I had hope. Put it in the comments, please, if you're watching online. I had hoped. I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. This is the verse we felt so excited about when we read it because it gives us a new loop. I'll explain in a moment.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Yet this I call to mind, and.

[Steven Furtick]

Therefore I have hope. I want you to circle those three words now. I have hope. The question is, Jonathan, how do we get from here where hope is in the past tense? I had hoped to hear where I got it back. I am preaching better than you're saying Amen. That's the truth. How do I get from I had hoped to. I have hope. It's not as easy of a journey as you may think by the time you've been going around the same lies over and over again in your mind. And you've been looping. I've been teaching a lot on looping in church. It's the number one thing that I've been having people send me texts about. They said it was so helpful how you explained to us that sometimes we don't get in the loop of the Word of God because we don't continually meditate on it, we just consume it. And then we go out into the world and we get consumed and we get in a different loop. The problem with the things Jeremiah was saying in Lamentations, Chapter three is that none of them were outright lies. On the surface, they all sounded true. The temple had been destroyed. That was true. Many of his friends and family had been taken away. That was true. It would never be the same again. That was true. There may be some things that are true of you today, but just because they're true of you does not mean you have to be trapped in them for the rest of your life.

[Congregation/Church Member]

This is where it's difficult, because the devil will talk to you so good. He's such a good liar, he'd be.

[Steven Furtick]

Talking about hippopotamus and trying to describe a hippopotamus.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He's not like Holly. He's a good liar. So he'll start talking to you and.

[Steven Furtick]

He'Ll say, you know what?

[Congregation/Church Member]

You have been afflicted. You are lost. There have Been a lot of people who have left your life. There is a lot of evil in the world. You ought to be scared to go out in public. Everybody is crazy. Everybody is against each other. Everybody is fighting against one another. Part of that is true. But you have to be very careful what you say to yourself as you go through what we all go through. When he said, I am afflicted. When he said, my splendor is gone. When he said, Verse 19, please. On the lower thirds. I remember my affliction and my wandering and the bitterness and the gall. We begin to understand that you cannot be full of bitterness if you expect.

[Steven Furtick]

To be filled with peace. Let me teach you for a moment.

[Congregation/Church Member]

If I am filled with bitterness, I am going to be empty of peace. Verse 17. He says, I have been deprived of peace. But it's not exactly that somebody took your peace away. Sometimes it's that you rejected it. Sometimes you reject the peace God wants to give you about the situation because you believe the lie the devil told you about the situation. God really wants to give you a peace, but you push the peace away.

[Steven Furtick]

How?

[Congregation/Church Member]

By going around the same loop many times for me. I find myself replaying offenses, replaying movies in my mind. I didn't even like the first time I saw him. Why would you buy a ticket back to the movie when you hated it the first time? Jeremiah is in a desperate place, understand? Not a flat tire, not a failed class, not a drop college offer, not a little ache in his pinky toe. He has lost everything. I had hope. I don't have hope. And he goes around and around.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm going to tell you what he's doing in this situation. I've done it before myself. He is circling his hurt. Have you been circling your hurt? How you've been going around and around it and around it and around it? Now God left this book in the Bible for a reason. I'm glad that God didn't edit it out. Because then I would feel like being an overcomer in Christ means I feel no pain. I would think that being afraid was a lack of faith. If he didn't leave it all in. He said, I've been afflicted, I've wandered. I've tasted bitterness and gall. I am so filled with it that.

[Congregation/Church Member]

I even began to wonder, not only.

[Steven Furtick]

Am I not enough, but is God enough? The devil won't tell you God isn't enough. You know too many Bible verses for him to do that. He'll start to tell him he's not enough for you and your situation and how it's different with you. You start circling how bad it hurts and it hurts. It did hurt. It hurt for Jeremiah to lose everyone he loved. It hurt for them to walk out on you. It hurt for them to say that about you. It hurt for them to criticize you. It hurt in your body when you were diagnosed with the illness and then you found out it was worse than you thought. It hurt and it hurt and it hurt. If I were the devil, I would keep you circling your hurt. Because as long as you remember it more than you recognize God in it, he can keep you going around and around and around and around and around and around and never get to verse 21. What happens in verse 21 of Lamentations chapter 3 is very powerful. I wrote down in my notes, when you say this point, walk down and make sure they're paying attention. That's what I'll do right now. You would expect that with Jeremiah, who is a prophet for God.

[Congregation/Church Member]

What is Jeremiah? Not a bullfrog. He is a.

[Steven Furtick]

For the old timers. I know. You don't know about it. You don't need to know about it. It's the same stuff. It's the same stuff. It works every time.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He's a prophet for God, which means he speaks for God to people. So you will think at this moment.

[Steven Furtick]

And you are understandably wrong, that God is going to speak to him because he speaks for God.

[Congregation/Church Member]

But what blew my mind, I don't mean mind blow emoji. I mean cold chills up and down my body while I praying about some of the hurts I keep circling in my life, some of the abandonment I keep reliving in my heart, some of the trauma. If I can use an overused word that enters my body during high stress times. And I don't know what to do because I am expecting for God to speak to Jeremiah. But in Lamentations 3, God doesn't speak, Jeremiah does. That changed my mind life because I'm expecting him to say, my hope is gone. God is gone. I'm expecting God to stand up and say, no, I'm not Jeremiah.

[Worship Leader]

I am here and I am He.

[Congregation/Church Member]

But God doesn't say a word. Jeremiah does. And when Jeremiah speaks, God comes. God is waiting for you to change what you say and you are going to speak. See what he spoke. When you change what you say, shove three people, tell them, change what you say. If you change what you say, you'll change what you see. God will walk in the room and God will show up in the hospital. And God will show up in a broken heart and God will show up at your job and God will show up in your emptiness God will show up, show up in your loneliness and God will show up in your doubt and Jesus will come into your storm.

[Worship Leader]

And Jesus will step into your boat and Jesus will make a wind and a wave die down when you speak. Come on, call him right now. Somebody say, jesus, I need you right now. Not five years from now. I don't have five years for therapy. I need you right now. I need you right now, Jesus.

[Congregation/Church Member]

So please believe me when I say I know it hurts. But you have to make a decision, don't you? Am I going to keep circling my hurt or am I going to summon my help? O God, when you call Jesus, help is on the way.

[Worship Leader]

Because when you say, come, Lord. Because when you say, I'm empty and.

[Congregation/Church Member]

I need to be filled, Jesus shows up. Yes, I have hurt. That's an old story. Yes, I have hurt. It's human. Yes, some people suck. They're human. But some don't. God said to remind you that the longer you circle your hurt, the less.

[Steven Furtick]

You can summon your help. Let me draw you this.

[Congregation/Church Member]

I just pictured somebody in here today.

[Steven Furtick]

And I was like, you've been circling.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Hurt, circling hurt, circling hurt, circling hurt.

[Steven Furtick]

But the moment.

[Worship Leader]

I've been drawing on lapkers. I'm trying to fight that devil that's been beating you down and let him know I lift my eyes to the hills. We're done. My hell. Holler hell, hell, hell. Been through hell, but I got hell. Been hurting a long time, but I got hell.

[Congregation/Church Member]

You see that, Jeremiah? Tell seven people I got help. Tell them the world is real crazy, but I have help. Tell them the darkness does its best to try to keep us down, but we have help. Our God is a very present help.

[Worship Leader]

In the time of trouble.

[Congregation/Church Member]

The devil. Devil is a very present devil in the time of trouble. But for every lie the devil speaks, there is a new loop of the truth of the word of God that.

[Worship Leader]

Is flowing to his people. And this rock is Jesus.

[Congregation/Church Member]

He's the one.

[Worship Leader]

This rock is Jesus. And the wind came and the storms blew, but my house did not fall because it was help. I have help.

[Congregation/Church Member]

I'm not enough, but I have help.

[Worship Leader]

They don't love me, but he does. I'm not enough, but I have help.

[Congregation/Church Member]

They don't love me, but he does.

[Worship Leader]

Same lies.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Say all you want. Devil, keep on talking. Devil, wear your voice out.

[Worship Leader]

Devil, get laryngitis.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Devil, talk to me in the Light.

[Worship Leader]

Devil, tell me you're going to kill me. Devil, tell me not to preach this.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Devil.

[Worship Leader]

And I just open my mouth and help 10 people on the left side of the church.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Who am I preaching to? Who am I helping?

[Worship Leader]

The Lord sent me to remind you. You have. There's more with us than with them. There's more with us than with them. There's more with us than with them.

[Congregation/Church Member]

There's more with us than with them. There's more with us than with them. There's more with us than with them.

[Worship Leader]

I got angel all around me. I have family all around me. I have Jesus all around me.

[Congregation/Church Member]

That's what the prophet said.

[Steven Furtick]

Elisha said, there's more with us than with them.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Same lies.

[Steven Furtick]

The devil has you surrounded again, but whatever is surrounding you, God made a loop surrounding it.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Same lies.

[Steven Furtick]

How did the prophet Elijah end up hiding in a cave from a woman named Jezebel? He forgot he had help. He sat down on a broom tree and say, kill me. God wouldn't kill him. God wouldn't kill him because he had a new loop for him. God wouldn't even let you die. God wouldn't even let you abandon the faith.

[Congregation/Church Member]

God wouldn't even let you not come to church today. You had a bad attitude when you walked in, and God dragged your bad attitude in with your worshiping mouth. And now you found out I have help.

[Steven Furtick]

But you don't know that when you're in the valley. Bring me that Bible in 1 Kings, chapter 19. I already sat down. I don't feel like getting back up to get mine. And this was mine before I gave it to you.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Somebody help me. Come on, help me preach, y'. All. I'm not up here by myself. I'm not in this by myself. The Bible said that Elijah ran 40.

[Steven Furtick]

Days, 40 nights into the cave. I want to show you the loop he was in because it might be very meaningful to you. The Lord came to him, and the Lord shows off when God comes. He comes and does all kinds of stuff. See, the mountain he's at is Mount Sinai. Do you remember when God gave the law to Moses at Mount Sinai and.

[Congregation/Church Member]

The earthquake came and like the fire of God and the glory of God.

[Steven Furtick]

So when Elijah goes to hide in the cave because he called down the.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Fire from heaven, sometimes the thing that makes you powerful on the mountain can.

[Steven Furtick]

Make you crazy in the cave. He begins to say this thing to himself over and over and over again. It's written two times. In 1Kings 19, the Bible says the word of the Lord came to him when he was in his cave and it said, what are you doing here, Elijah?

[Congregation/Church Member]

He replied.

[Steven Furtick]

I've got to get up now. I have to draw it. I really want you to get this. I really want this to help you. I don't want you just to hear me. I want to help you. I know the devil has been lying to you. I know he has been telling you that there is something incurably wrong with you. I know he has been telling you that it's your fault from what happened five years ago that you can't apologize for again, but you can only move forward. I know what he's saying. But here is Elijah in the cave. And the Lord asked him, what are you doing here? He's not happy either. I am the only one. Lie.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Show them. 1 Kings 19, number 17.

[Steven Furtick]

I think that's the right one.

[Congregation/Church Member]

God said, yet I reserve 7,000 in.

[Steven Furtick]

Israel all whose knees have not bowed to Baal.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Elijah said, I'm the only one not serving the false God. I'm the only one.

[Steven Furtick]

Boy, he has that song on a loop, too. I'm the only one. Say it long enough, it'll feel true. Treat people that way long enough, it will become true. Now it's not just a lie, it's a loop. And it's your life. You say, I had hoped, but I lost it in the loo. Read the story. Saints First Kings, chapter 19:10. The Lord said, what are you doing here, Elijah? He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant. True, they did. Because humans hurt you. They torn down your altars. True, they did that. They put your prophets to death with the sword. That's true. They did that. I am the only one left. Lie. But the devil had convinced him so much with stuff that was true that once he got him in the loop, it was easy to convince him of what wasn't true. Now Elijah is giving this speech to God. How are you going to start telling God how God's people abandoned God? How do you think it hurt you more than it hurt God? He has been circling this hurt for a long time. When you circle your hurt long enough, you don't summon your help. You forget how to reach out to who you do have. You forget to pray. How you know how to pray. You forget to be grateful, don't you? You stop saying those gratitude things in the morning. You stop saying them because you got up on Not Enough and Not Loved that got on a loop. Now watch what the Lord does. He is so kind. Elijah says, now they are trying to kill me too. And the Lord said, go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord wasn't in the wind. The wind came, and then after the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. The Lord came in all of those ways in Moses time. But he's coming a different way to Elijah. Can you let God come to you a different way and not think he left you? I feel this thing going deep. If y' all have a lunch appointment, please feel free to leave. But I'm going to finish this message for the hundred people who need to hear it today who have been on the loop. After the fire came a gentle whisper. I've done whole messages where I whispered for 10 minutes to talk to you.

[Congregation/Church Member]

About how when the enemy is lying.

[Steven Furtick]

To you, he's loud because he can't get to you. When God tells the truth to you, he whispers because he's close. That's why the devil is so much louder. That's why you have to draw near to God to hear him. The Bible says, when Elijah heard that whisper. Boy, this font is so small. I can't believe I used to preach from this Bible. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Isn't that a crazy phrase? The mouth of the cave. The cave has been talking, just bouncing around. You're the only one. Have you ever heard the mouth of the cave? But then comes the voice of the Lord. I cannot draw God, but I make him bigger than Elijah. I make him happy. I'm going to give him a crown.

[Congregation/Church Member]

That's the best I can do, Lord, but that represents you. God says, watch this. God says, watch this new loop. I say. I say, and the Lord God of.

[Steven Furtick]

Elijah brought you here today to open a new loop over your life. A new way of thinking, a new.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Way of being, A new way of handling adversity. A new way of processing pain. It's as small as a whisper, but it can change your world. It can break you out of the cycle of thinking that put you in this place all alone, that made you feel shut off and cut off and forgot your help and circling your hurt. Jeremiah said it 250 years after Elijah learned it. He ministered In a different place. But it's the same lesson. This I call to my mind. Therefore I have hope. It is because of the Lord's new loop. It is because of the Lord's voice. It is because of the Lord's love. It is because his compassions are infinite. It's a new loop. It's a loop of his love that never stops. It means he has me in his hand even when I don't understand it in my mind. It means he has me in his plan even when I can't prove it with my math. It means he has me in his sovereign will even when I rebelled and got off course. The Bible says he asked him a second time, what are you doing here, Elijah? Elijah replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant and torn down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword. I'm the only one left. He's still in the loop. Ah, but give me verses, verse 15, where the Lord said to him, new loop. The Lord said to him, new loop. Go back the way you came. And when you get to the desert, I have somebody in Damascus for you to anoint. His name is Hazael, and he will take care of the International Affairs. Verse 16. After you get done anointing Hazel, go anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, king over Israel. He will handle the national affairs. Then when you get done anointing those two government leaders, anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Maholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael. And Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve 7,000 in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him. Verse 19 is the happiest verse. I read you all day. It says, so Elijah went from there. Not I've been very zealous and the Lord abandoned me. And it's not about what they did, it's about what he said. It's not about what they didn't do. It's about what he still can do. It is not about circling your hurt.

[Steven Furtick]

It is about summoning your help. If you go all the way to the Book of Revelation, not Revelations, it's not Walmarts either. It's just one mark that is wall. And it's one revelation from John on the island of Papa. At most, not many revelations. I was reading how it ended and I realized something. Very powerful. In verse seven, he said, a great war broke out in heaven and Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. See, we say crazy stuff when weird stuff happens in the world and horrible things happen in the world. And we're like, it's never been like this before. Is in the first book and the last book of the Bible, all of it. He said there was a war that broke out in heaven and the angels started fighting for God against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but he was not strong enough.

[Congregation/Church Member]

They lost their place in heaven.

[Steven Furtick]

If y' all shouted over that verse, you really like.

[Congregation/Church Member]

9. The Great Dragon was hurled down.

[Steven Furtick]

Let me remind you who that dragon is that's fighting against you today.

[Congregation/Church Member]

That ancient serpent. He has been lying a long time, and he's really good at his job, but God has been creating longer than he's been lying. God is better at his job than the enemy is at his. I came to remind you today the dragon was cast down. So the next time your soul gets downcast, call to your mind the victory Jesus already won for me. Verse 11 says, and verse 11 says, and verse 11 says,.

[Worship Leader]

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. If you got a testimony, stand up straight. Let the devil know. Great is his faithfulness. Great is his faithfulness.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Morning. By morning, I have new mercies, new loops. Same God, New loops, same lies, new loops.

[Steven Furtick]

We watched the movie A Beautiful Mind, and the man in the movie always heard voices. He always heard voices. He always heard voices. And he was explaining to somebody after he had recovered and gotten treatment. He was played by Russell Crowe, the great John Nash. He was playing this man who suffered from a terrible condition, and he heard voices. They asked him at the end of the movie, did the voices go away? He said, no, but you just learn not to listen to them. We will journey together over these next weeks, not only for your sanity, but for your sanctification so you can be set back apart for God from the enemy. We will labor together. We will find out how to get from Lamentations 3:18, where the prophet said, man, I just. I just kept going over and over in my mind everything I've lost. And while I was going over everything I lost, I was in a loop. Then in verse 21, he says, yet I call this to my mind. Oh, I didn't even get to preach that to you. Good. You come back next week, right? You come back next week, right? I really need you to tune back in next week because this word is Going to be a reversal. For some of you, it's going to be a reversal. This season is going to be a season of reversal to where everything the enemy has been speaking over you is going to give way to what God says about you. I have so many napkins around my house house with these little loops. Don't make me waste one the week I might give the napkin you need. Don't be sleeping. Because there are some things God wants to show you that are really true.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Today I feel like.

[Steven Furtick]

There'S somebody the Lord brought here who has never begun this journey of following Jesus. You never even took the first step to follow him. Maybe you thought you weren't enough and he wouldn't love you. Maybe you thought you didn't need him. But you have found in this season of your life that you do need his grace and his strength. Right now, we have a very special tradition at our church where we all bow our heads and close our eyes together. This is for you online, too, and at every location. The Bible says it is by grace. You are saved through faith. This is the gift of God, not of work, so that no one can boast. The grace of God is enough to save you. All you have to do is place your faith in him. The Bible says if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. He'll come get you right now. He's already running your way, his arms wide open. Just come to it with your head bowed and your eyes closed. Our entire church family is going to pray out loud for the benefit of those who are coming to God. Or maybe you're coming back to God. This is going to be a new day, a new beginning for you right now. If you want to give your life to Jesus today, you don't have to wait another day. You could do it right now. Repeat this prayer out loud after me. Everybody praying together. Heavenly Father, today is my day of salvation. 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. Today I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he died for my sin 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 prayed that, shoot your hand up on the count of three.

[Congregation/Church Member]

One, two, three. I want to celebrate you all over the room, all over the church. God bless you. We got a Bible coming your way. This was all worth it if it was just for you. Come on. Welcome home. Welcome home. Welcome home. Welcome to your full circle moment. Welcome, Welcome. I like it. L.J. let's sing it a few times. Jesus be the name. Say it.

[Worship Leader]

Jesus be the name. It's all the glory. Oh Jesus be the name Name say Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name that gives all the glory Every location say Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name that kiss all the glory.

[Congregation/Church Member]

Grab the hand of the person on either side of you. Link up with somebody, get across the aisles and look them right in the eyes and say, I know it's hard, I know it hurts, I know it's heavy, but you have help. Squeeze their hand real hard so they'll know how strong their help is. Come on, squeeze it until the circulation cuts off. Let them know how strong their help is. Squeeze it until they realize that God won't let you go, that God won't let you down, that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly.

[Worship Leader]

Above all you ask, think or imagine. In Jesus name I dismiss you.

[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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[Congregation/Church Member]

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[Steven Furtick]

This is an iHeart podcast.