The Sticking Point

Summary

Podcast Summary: Elevation with Steven Furtick

Episode: The Sticking Point
Air Date: July 31, 2026
Host: Steven Furtick
Producer: iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

In this engaging and energetic episode, Pastor Steven Furtick explores the concept of “The Sticking Point”—those moments in life’s journey where we feel tempted to quit, get stuck in circumstances, or doubt the path we are on. Drawing vivid parallels between personal experience, biblical narratives (primarily the story of Moses and the Exodus), and relatable modern scenarios, Furtick delivers a resonant message about perseverance, faith, and trusting in what God has placed in our hands, even when things seem small or inadequate. The episode is marked by humor, vulnerability, impromptu stories, and memorable quotes, all aiming to encourage listeners to “push past the sticking point.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Definition and Universality of the "Sticking Point"

• Sticking Point Described
  • “Everything you love in life is going to have a part of the process you don't like and a part that is going to tempt you to quit. It doesn't mean you don't love it.” (06:44)
  • The “sticking point” is any phase—creatively, relationally, spiritually—where continuing feels hard.
• Humorous Relatability
  • “Tell them I love you like Homer loves donuts on the Simpsons...I love you like Kanye loves Kanye.” (02:06)
• Relationships, callings, and callings to God all hit “sticking points”—frustrating junctures that must be endured for growth and breakthrough.

2. Personal & Everyday Examples

• Furtick confesses to moments of insecurity in sermon preparation and creativity:
  • “There are times where a sermon idea will come to me, and I will feel enlightened...then five minutes later, I look at the same idea and it just seems so ridiculous and simple and basic.” (06:16)
• Provides comic anecdotes (getting stuck in Chicago, late-night parenting mishaps, gym shorts stuck in braces) to show that feeling stuck is normal in life.

3. Biblical Illustration: Moses at the Red Sea

• Provides deep exegesis into Exodus 14—Israel stuck at the Red Sea, pursued by Pharaoh:
  • “You are going through something right now. You are at a sticking point. I don't know if it is a state of mind, because sometimes we are stuck not in our situation, but in our state of mind.” (09:56)
• Compares Pharaoh’s pursuit to ongoing challenges that seem to follow us:
  • “Where God guides, Pharaoh follows.” (17:49)
• The increase of resistance is sometimes a sign of God’s activity:
  • “A proof of God's activity in your life will often be the increase of resistance.” (20:10)
• “When you get stuck, you get stupid...some of the dumbest decisions I made was because I got sick of being stuck.” (21:31)

4. Psychological and Emotional Layers of Stuckness

• Stuckness is often internal, rooted in unmet expectations, disappointment, and “supposed to”:
  • “Sometimes we get stuck, not in where we are, but where we were supposed to be in our plan for our life. So I'm stuck not necessarily in what it is, but in what I thought it was going to be. I get stuck in supposed to.” (28:53)
• Furtick gently mocks the stubbornness of human nature, our tendency to reach for bad habits when despondent, and the importance of self-awareness during these times.

5. Moses’ Personal Sticking Point

• Discusses Moses' resistance at the burning bush—his “negotiation” with God:
  • “But behold, they will not believe me… for they will say, the Lord did not appear to you.” (Exodus 4:1, 36:48)
• Defines “prejection”:
  • “He rejects himself before anybody else has the chance to. This is like advanced level rejection. This is prejection.” (35:38)

6. God’s "Stick" as a Solution for Sticking Points

• God provides Moses with a staff (stick), instructing him to use what’s in his hand to face impossible odds:
  • “For every sticking point in your life, God has given you a stick, and you have one right now.” (37:25)
  • “Until you surrender it, you will never see what it could be.” (38:03)
• The staff symbolizes utilizing what God has already given us, even if it appears inconsequential.

7. Facing and Overcoming Sticking Points

• Emphasizes stretching past fears with what you have:
  • “If you will stretch what he gave you over what you're going through, you're going to get through this. I declare it. I decree it. God said it. That settles it. Back up, Pharaoh. I'm coming through.” (41:09)
• Life’s challenges (resistance, fatigue, disappointment) are training ground for greater faith.
  • “That's not a good God to never let you have any weight. That's not a good God to never let you have any challenge. How would he grow your faith?” (31:46)
• Surrender and commitment are required:
  • “You will have to commit. You will have to walk through it. That means you'll have to walk through something that feels like it could collapse on you at any time.” (45:25)
• The ultimate encouragement: God is our “spotter,” seeing us struggle and giving us a lift without removing the challenge.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Faith and Resistance:
  • “Where God guides, He provides. But even where God doesn't guide, he'll still take care of you because you're His.” (15:27)
• On Emotional Reality:
  • “When you get stuck, you get stupid. I'm not saying you are stupid, but for me, some of the dumbest decisions I made was because I got sick of being stuck.” (21:31)
• On the Inner Dialogue:
  • “He's telling himself a story of what's going to happen. Have you ever been stuck in a story of what's going to happen?” (35:01)
• On The Power of Small Things:
  • “It always feels small. I know some of you are visited by the perpetual spirit of never enough. But it becomes enough when you stretch.” (41:03)
• On Perseverance:
  • “Everything you love will have a part of the process you will not like, including following Jesus.” (43:15)
  • “I have to stick it out. I have to persevere. I have a purpose. I have a reason. I have a calling. No, you can't have me back, Pharaoh. No. Come too far to get stuck here.” (44:41)
• Acronym for Application:
  • “Small trust, imagine, commit and know. That spells stick. Small trust God. It doesn't feel like much, but it's enough. Trust, imagine, commit and know.” (48:09)

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Key Timestamps

• 06:16 — Defining “The Sticking Point” (personal vulnerability in process)
• 08:12 - 09:56 — Everything you love has parts you don’t like; “buying the field” (parable)
• 13:20 - 15:08 — Israel’s Exodus, Pharaoh’s pursuit, faith’s resistance
• 17:49 — “Where God guides, Pharaoh follows”
• 21:31 — "When you get stuck, you get stupid” (emotional honesty)
• 28:53 — Getting stuck in “supposed to” and unmet expectations
• 31:46 — Weightlifting analogy: God as our spotter
• 36:48 — Moses’ prejection—rejecting himself in advance
• 37:25 - 39:32 — God gives Moses a stick (staff); surrendering what’s in your hand
• 41:09 — Stretching the small thing God gave you over the big thing in your life
• 43:15 — Moses hitting the rock, the danger of getting stuck through fatigue and frustration
• 48:09 — “STICK” acronym for faith in action

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Closing Encouragement

Pastor Steven closes by urging listeners to “stretch what you have” and see God make a way through the sea. He prompts everyone to worship and thank God for the miracles—both expected and unexpected—that happen when we “trust our stuff,” keep moving, and refuse to give up at life’s sticking points.

“[When the Israelites] got through to the other side, they started singing. But sometimes you have to sing on the wrong side. Worthy is your name. Sometimes you have to sing when you feel pain. And you have to offer God the sacrifice of praise.” (49:42)

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Summary prepared for listeners who want a clear, engaging walk-through of “The Sticking Point.”
Inspiration, humor, and practical wisdom abound, with the charge: when you reach your sticking point, trust what you have and move forward!

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, thank you for listening to Elevation with Steven Furtick. Make sure you listen and follow along with Elevation with Steven Furtick on Amazon Music. And don't forget, you can also just ask Alexa. Hey, Alexa, can you play Elevation with Steven Furtick on Amazon Music? Also with Amazon Music Unlimited, you can now listen to all your favorite music, podcasts and audiobooks, all on the Amazon Music app.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Come on.

[Steven Furtick]

Everybody feels comfortable, just lift your hands. Everybody who doesn't feel comfortable, lift your hands. King of kings, Lord of lords, Jesus is your name. We bless you, honor you, respect you, admire you, and adore you. But really, we want you to know that we need you. We know that for the things we encounter as human beings that we cannot understand on the level of our existence, we need divinity. Would you direct the paths of each of the precious people that you assemble together today? See, I know we think we decided to come to church, but really, you brought us to this place. Something that you want to remind us of? Something you want to show us, Something you want to reveal? Whatever it is, clear out the debris of disappointment that has accumulated in our souls this week. A place for your glory and your presence to dwell. We are your temple and we reverence you and we worship you and we praise you in Jesus name. The whole church said together. Amen.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Amen.

[Steven Furtick]

Come on, let's show the Lord that he's important to us. Well, look at the person next. And tell them I love you so much. Tell them I love you. Come on, tell them I love you like Homer loves donuts on the Simpsons. Come on, tell them I love you like Kanye loves Kanye. Tell them you're my number one with the lemonade. Tell them right now. See if they're saved. How many of you are saved? Delivered on your way to heaven. Glad about it. God is so faithful. We want to welcome all of our campuses. Let's do that right now, Ballantyne. Let's welcome all of our locations all

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

over the Charlotte area. Asheville, North Carolina. Greenville, South Carolina. Toronto, Canada. Melbourne, Florida. Come on, let's thank God for Raleigh, Morrisville.

[Steven Furtick]

Amen. Should we see who's watching on our efam, our extended family around the world. There are always many different cities and states and nations watching. Somebody pull it up for me. Go ahead and pull it up on the Elevation Church YouTube. Make sure you go on the Elevation Church one because it will have the most viewers. You go over to Elevation worship. It's not as popular. So good. Are y' all going to get that new song, you never lost a battle. Are you going to get that on Friday? Make sure you get that. Stream that. That's going to be so good. You can just get it stuck in your head all the time. Now, how many of y' all have that song stuck in your head? We didn't sing it today, which seems like a strategic misfire that we're releasing it Friday and we didn't sing it today. But anyway, it's a good song to get stuck in your head, but I promise you, your wife would rather hear Tiffany and Chris sing it than you. You can't sing. So download it, stream it and play it. Let the professionals do it. You can sing along. Tell me where you're watching from on the comments of YouTube. Oakland, California. Wisconsin.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Seattle.

[Steven Furtick]

Nigeria. Rockwell, North Carolina. Have you ever been to Rockwell? Have you heard of it? I hadn't either.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Indiana. Charlotte.

[Steven Furtick]

Supposed to be at church. You better have the flu. The measles, the mumps, the shingles or something. Uganda. Atlanta. Chicago. Pennsylvania.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Brazil. Baltimore. It's so fast, it's scrolling so fast.

[Steven Furtick]

Guatemala, Dominican, Indonesia. Ask somebody, where did you come from? And what are you cooking for lunch? Can I come over? Ask them that real quick. Amen. Welcome our Efam around the world.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Let's give out 17 hugs on our

[Steven Furtick]

way down to our seat. Can we do that? Are you ready for the word of God? Come on. Let's thank God for the worship team. It's the reason I said that. I don't know how else to transition them off the stage. You can be seated.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I want to talk to you about

[Steven Furtick]

something today that came up in a creative team meeting. I was asked the question about songwriting and sermon writing. Which one do I enjoy more? To which I responded, it depends on what part of the process you catch me during. There are certain times where a sermon idea will come to me and I will feel enlightened and spiritual and confident. Can't wait to preach it. Get me a new 9 volt battery and my microphone and gather the people. I have something to say from heaven. Then five minutes later, I look at the same idea and it just seems so ridiculous and simple and basic. I basically tell y' all everything I know every week. I'm just waiting on you to actually do it one time. Just kidding. You're great. You're growing. I know you're a disciple. It's like the process of creativity has certain points in it. When I was talking about it, I called it the sticking points. As I talked about that creatively, I want to speak about it today. That's the title of my message. It's called the Sticking Point. Everything you love in life is going to have a part of the process you don't like and a part that is going to tempt you to quit. It doesn't mean you don't love it. I don't know when we started thinking we have to love everything or like everything all the time. I quit my job because I wasn't feeling it. Well, were you feeling indoor plumbing? Go back to work, pay your bills. You don't have to love everything all the time because everything you love is going to have a part. I called it the sticking point. It's going to have a part or parts you don't prefer. I can't tell if you're with me yet. Let me take this a little deeper. Every person you love,

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

look straight ahead.

[Steven Furtick]

Is going to have some parts that you don't prefer. I'm going to say it that way. It's gentler than saying you don't like or that you want to change. Not me. I love everything about him. You're dating. It's been two weeks. I can tell. There's a parable about this. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a man who found a treasure and was excited. He liked the treasure so much that he sold everything and bought the field the treasure was in. So if you want the treasure, you have to buy the field. This isn't going good. We want the treasure, not the dirt that comes around it. We want the treasure or the blessings, or sometimes we want those joyful moments. But even if you love your marriage, there will be some times where you just want to control the TV without any voting. Even if you love your kids, there will be times where you will secretly Google adoption agencies to see. I've never actually done that. For the record, I'm getting hate mail. But everything you love, even preaching. There are times when I'm preaching, I feel the spirit. And then there are times where I look at the wrong person in the room and I feel another spirit. The spirit of stress. Even people will walk out sometimes while you're preaching. I called it when I was talking to them the sticking point. It's the moment where you start to doubt what you were so secure in. It's the moment where your mood doesn't match your mission, but you have to push through anyway because you have something important to do. It's the moment where. Oh, I didn't know that about you when I said I do. Well, you did and now you do. The sticking point for a scriptural example. I thought of no better passage than the classic Exodus where God led his people out of Egypt through the Red Sea. Did you notice what I said in my setup? Through the Red Sea. Not over it on a boat, but through it on foot. You are going through something right now. You are at a sticking point. I don't know if it is a state of mind, because sometimes we are stuck not in our situation, but in our state of mind. Even recently, Holly pulled up a picture from a few years ago when we were flying home from Seattle and we got stuck in Chicago overnight on a layover. We were laughing because we were in such a bad mood. We were just remembering how late it was. It was probably 10 o' clock at night, but let's make it two in the morning just for dramatic effect on the story. Creative license. It was late and our bags were checked and we had no clean underwear. We checked into this horrible hotel American Airlines had put on. We were stuck in Chicago and we were laughing about that. We weren't laughing when it happened. We were laughing looking at when it happened two or three years ago. Remember that? When we got stuck in Chicago. Well, why were we stuck in Chicago? Technically, American Airlines. But if you take it apart a little bit more, the city of Chicago is a city we like. We have visited there by choice before. When I preached for Steve Muncie and J. Mac. We stayed over two extra days just so we could shop and watch the Cubs. We had a good time too. We ate deep dish pizza. This was in my early 30s when I could do it and just plank a little bit and it would fall right off. We had marital enrichment in the hotel room on that trip. That was a good trip. There's nothing wrong with Chicago.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

It wasn't like it was Des Moines. I love y' all so much.

[Steven Furtick]

You're so triggered. My aunt is from there. When was the last time you went

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

to see her, huh?

[Steven Furtick]

It wasn't the situation we were stuck in. The reason we called it stuck is because it wasn't on our schedule. You better get to the text verdict. Exodus 14:10. The Israelites are leaving Egypt. God heard their cry.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

They were stuck as slaves for four

[Steven Furtick]

centuries, serving Pharaoh who had taken away their building materials, increasing their requirements while reducing their resources. So they're stuck and God hears them.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And God breaks through. And God uses Moses to lead them out.

[Steven Furtick]

There comes a period where God sees you stuck and realizes you cannot get yourself out of the situation.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

So he said, I've heard the cries of my people, and I have come

[Steven Furtick]

down to visit them.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

When he chose Moses to do it,

[Steven Furtick]

he knew all about Moses brokenness.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And he knew all about Moses reluctance. He led them out and compelled Pharaoh

[Steven Furtick]

to let them go. Not the first time, not the second time, but after 10 plagues of negotiation. Sticking point is a negotiation term. They talk about it in business. Well, we almost had the deal done, but then the asking price was a sticking point because they wouldn't let me finance it over five years. They wanted me to pay it off in three. Or they wanted me to leave the septic tank.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I wanted to dig it out and take it with me.

[Steven Furtick]

We hit a sticking point. You hit a sticking point in your faith. You hit a sticking point in a relationship.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

You hit a sticking point in your life. You've come as far as you can come. And then God comes down and he sees you struggling. And he does for you what you

[Steven Furtick]

cannot do for you. Then don't shout. You come to something that wasn't on your schedule. Exodus 14:10, When Pharaoh drew near. Wait, what's Pharaoh doing in the picture? I thought we were done with him.

[Worship Leader]

No.

[Steven Furtick]

Okay. Can I preach on half of a verse? Do y' all have anything to do after this, or should we just. Okay, complete this sentence. If you grew up in church, complete this sentence. Where God guides, He provides.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

True.

[Steven Furtick]

Let me add to it. Where God doesn't guide, he still provides because he's so good. Have you ever had God bless you when you were going backwards and doing the wrong stuff? There are angels in this section over here.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Elijah in the Bible was running from

[Steven Furtick]

Jezebel and in the wrong direction from his assignment.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

He laid down and wanted to die. Even though he had seen God do great things. And the angel made him a cake. He was going away from his assignment, and God fed him with an angel food cake. Don't look at me like the reason you always ate is because you were always good. Some of you know you didn't deserve it. You didn't earn it. You didn't pray enough to get it. You didn't quote Philippians. You didn't always take the right turn or follow the North Star, but God tracked you down under a broom tree and blessed you anyway. I need some people who were blessed anyway to shout. Just 10 seconds. Just shout. Because he fed you even as you fled from Him.

[Steven Furtick]

So where God guides, He provides. But even where God doesn't guide, he'll still take care of you because you're His. Then I wanted to add One more. See if you could put this on Pinterest. Okay, they're leaving Egypt. Here comes Pharaoh, their enemy. Behind them, they hear clickety clack, clickety clack, clinkety clack. That's Pharaoh's Lamborghinis. These are fast chariots because they're Pharaoh's best. And they're being chased down on their way out. So they turn around and see something they can't go back to, look forward and see something they can't get over. Now they have to go through it. Because where God guides. Not that one, this one. Where God guides, Pharaoh follows. In negotiation terms, they've reached a sticking point. Here's a little business tactic. Okay, I'm going to do a seminar on negotiating right now. I'm not going to charge you. It's not $49. You can just listen. If someone is holding on to something in a negotiation, that means it's valuable. If they don't let it go easy, that means it has great worth. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but the devil hasn't been letting you go easy. You've been trying to shake this for a long time. The reason, maybe the reason if the devil is real and if destiny is a fact and not just a concept or a fantasy, maybe the reason it has been so difficult for it to let you go is because what you

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

carry is of such great value. I believe this in my core. Some of you are at a sticking point right now, and Pharaoh won't let you go easy. Because once you get through this, there is great glory after this. If you're ever negotiating with someone and they're like, oh, yeah, I'll throw it

[Steven Furtick]

in, it's nothing, you can have that too. It's nothing.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

But if they ever pull it back, you know how every time you try to get out of depression and addiction and you try to stop with the pills and you try to stop with the porn and you try to stop

[Steven Furtick]

with the complaint,

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

This is a sticking

[Steven Furtick]

point for some of you.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

You've been flushing it, but then you buy it again. Then you've been deleting it, but then you put it back. Then you've been walking away from it, but then you feel drawn to it. I wanted to tell you that when you get stuck, that means you're on the verge of something significant. God has his hand on your life.

[Steven Furtick]

That's the first half of the first verse. Pharaoh drew near. Where God guides, Pharaoh follows. A proof of God's activity in your life will often be the Increase of resistance. Behold, the Egyptians were marching after them and they feared greatly. Yeah, I bet they did. This is not stuck in Chicago. This is not. We're going to have to catch the 6:35am flight out Central Standard Time. This is pulses pounding panic triggered by the trauma of a lifetime of bondage. They're standing there. This is one thing that happens. They start arguing with Moses. It says verse 11. They said to Moses, because there are no graves in Egypt, that you have taken us to die in the wilderness. What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? So now they're fighting the one who's helping them. Parents. Don't worry about it. They'll thank you one day. Maybe if you don't kill them. Is this not what we said to you in Egypt? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians. I never heard them say that. All they were doing before they got out was praying to get out. Well, let's all admit when you get

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

stuck,

[Steven Furtick]

you get stupid. I'm not saying you are stupid, but for me, some of the dumbest decisions I made was because I got sick of being stuck. So I'm going to just do something.

[Podcast Host]

Ah,

[Steven Furtick]

I'm sick of this. You know when you hit send.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Oh, no. Unsend, Unsend, Unsend, unsend.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm going to invent the unsend button. But when you get stuck. Elijah came in our room the other night. This was Friday night. We were both asleep. We were off duty on parenting for the night. Our office hours are 7am to 5pm and it's off duty. And he comes in the room laughing. We were both asleep. He's like, you're not going to believe this. He's laughing. He had gym shorts, mesh Elevation Youth Champion gym shorts hanging from his braces. He said, get it off. Get it off. I was going to. Right. I said, first, let me get a video

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

real quick.

[Steven Furtick]

Let me show you this. Listen.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

It stuck on my teeth.

[Steven Furtick]

Did you pull my whole brace out?

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I did, yes. Look,

[Worship Leader]

bro.

[Steven Furtick]

Cause I wish you would look at your neighbor and tell him, when you

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

get stuck,

[Steven Furtick]

you get stupid. Maybe don't date anybody for six months until you heal from the last heartbreak. I'm in Exodus 14. When you get stuck, you reach for stuff. You reach for the stuff you flushed when you get stuck.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

When you get lonely, when you get hungry, when you get tired. When you get stuck. Ah, now I have the whole thing hanging out my mouth. Ah, now I have a rainbow vacuum cleaner. Ah, now I got a timeshare when you get stuck. I didn't do it because I didn't love God. I did it because I was stuck. When you hit the sticking point, everybody is like, come on, rejoice. I can't. I'm stuck.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm stuck in a memory. You ever been stuck in a memory? I'm stuck in a pattern. I'm stuck in a generational thing that started before I ever came to the planet. I'm stuck. I get stuck preparing these sermons. It's horrible. I'm not playing now. I know. I've been showing you illegal footage of my children and everything in church. Orthodontist is going to kill me Monday. He's a great orthodontist, too, Dr. Hull. Y' all should look him up. He's great. He has to fix that tomorrow. We're going to have some business for him. But when I get to prepare these sermons, I get stuck, and it's horrible because the sticking point makes me want to just give up on everything I've worked on. Please don't think I'm preaching to you about preaching. That's too meta. I'm preaching to you about preaching because that's where I get stuck. And I figured you might get stuck sometimes, too. When I go to prepare, it will just be moments where none of it makes sense for Everybody who's, like, 40 and older. Like when you had antennas on the TV and you could see the station, but not fully because you were watching your neighbor's HBO before you got saved, before BC it's under the blood now. It'll scramble. I won't even know where to start. I'll be like, I don't know what to say. I'm preaching about Moses coming through the Red Sea. And I already preached about that before. They already know he got through the Red Sea, so his spoiler alert won't be interesting. So maybe I should start it with Abraham, because it's Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Then Joseph went to Egypt, and he never meant to get trapped in Egypt. He went there to get food. But sometimes you get trapped where you went to get food. And sometimes a place where you go to survive is a place where you get stuck. Maybe we should start there. I already preached that a couple of weeks ago. And they'll probably remember that because they come every week. They don't ever miss. That's about the burning bush, because he went to the burning bush and the bush was burning up. But it wouldn't burn up. It would just burn. It wouldn't burn up. Maybe that's like us sometimes when your presence comes and our passion stays alive even though we go through stuff and we burn, but we don't burn up. And the proof of your presence is the fact that we're on fire, but we stay on fire even though we go through all kinds of hell. I'm talking about the bricks and the straw because isn't it good to be talking about Hallelujah? Sometimes you have all the mud, but you don't have the straw, so you have to go get your own straw. You didn't have a dad, so you tried to be a dad. And you don't have what you need to be what you're trying to be. And the devil used that as condemnation to try to keep you stuck in a slave. Then after that I'm like, oh my God, I need a nap. I would just feel like I don't know where to preach this sermon on Sunday. I'm stuck. I get so stuck. I don't want to say anything. How y' all doing? Praise the Lord. I figure you get stuck too. Even if you don't preach sermons. I figure you go. I have to have this meeting at the kids school and I want to go down there and talk to the principal because I don't think the principal is even fair to my kid. But I don't teach my kid sometimes that people aren't fair in life. Sometimes you have to let them go through things. Maybe they need to learn how to act. I figure you get stuck sometimes. I figure you get stuck too sometimes. It's a sticking point. This is not the first time you've been stuck. This is not the first time Moses was stuck. That's the good thing about it. If he did it before. I just want to keep you breathing today because I know you've been stuck. If he did it before. See, we get stuck not always at the external circumstance. Sometimes we get stuck in ourselves. Sometimes stuck is a state of mind. Chicago is a nice city, but you weren't supposed to be in Chicago. Sometimes we get stuck not in where we are, but where we were supposed to be in our plan for our life. So I'm stuck not necessarily in what it is, but in what I thought it was going to be. I get stuck in supposed to.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Have you ever been stuck in supposed to?

[Steven Furtick]

My kids were supposed to be valedictorians.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I was supposed to be married. Still, I was supposed to.

[Steven Furtick]

It can be very painful.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I was supposed to to by now. My retirement went out in 08. I was supposed to be ready to

[Steven Furtick]

Quit working by now.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I was supposed to be married. My roommate got married and she's crazy. I'm a good person. I'm a Christian girl. And I sing in the choir at Elevation Valentine.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm supposed to be married. Some of us are stuck in what we think we were supposed to be. You can get stuck. You can get stuck in a season every time. In fall, I start to feel a little drained from the ministry of the year. Then depression can come in because it's the same, same, same, same, same, same. Then everybody else in the church is feeling the same way. Then I have to preach to y'.

[Podcast Host]

All.

[Steven Furtick]

So, you know, I grew up in the low country of South Carolina. You don't know where I'm going with this yet. Hang on. They used to take their trucks out on Friday night and get stuck on purpose. Called it mudding. But I found out something. Now you don't get stuck in anything shallow. If you feel stuck, that means you're in the deep stuff. Maybe God is doing something deep in your life when you feel stuck. Maybe when you feel stuck, you're building strength. That's the only way you really build strength to get to that sticking point, to get to that point where you can't push through. I know you lift weights all the time, P. Wag. How much you bench press? Five, 35. I'm making this up. I didn't hear what he really said, but he's big. You know, he's in there. I used to have this spotter in high school. I didn't bench press535, but he would stand over me, and the moment I started to struggle, he would just lift the whole weight off of me. I thought, well, man, that's not a good spotter. That's not a good God to never

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

let you have any weight. That's not a good God to never let you have any challenge. How would he grow your faith? No, see, a good spotter.

[Steven Furtick]

You're on rep 11, right? 5:35, rep 11.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

And I'm just a little stuck. God is standing over your life. I need you to know this. He sees where you're stuck, that sticking point, and he says, I'm not going to take it off of you. I'm going to give you a lift. Have you ever had God be your spotter? I declare the God of angel armies is standing over your life. And if you feel stuck, he will do what you cannot do. He is your strength. He knows how to get me past the point where I'm stuck.

[Steven Furtick]

But now Watch this. You may not like this. The first sticking point Moses encountered was not Pharaoh. The first sticking point Moses encountered, maybe the greatest one, is that he tried to negotiate with God. He got stuck at the burning bush before he got stuck at the Red Sea. God is like, I chose you. Now he's already stuck tending sheep for his father in law, Jethro. He had been doing that 40 years because he got mad at somebody and killed them. Because when you get stuck, you get stupid. So now he's doing something that's a consequence of his decision. Then the Lord speaks to him. He's like, I chose you. Go to Pharaoh and tell him, let my people go with the hand motions. Did you go to Bible school? Pharaoh? Pharaoh, Moses is stuck. He's like, give me chapter four, verse one, Exodus 4:1. And he shows this because you might be stuck in yourself. He said, but behold, they will not believe me. But you haven't even talked to them yet. Or listen to my voice, for they will say, the Lord did not appear to you. Now, there are two things about this that are wrong. One, it's on other people. And two, it's about a future event. You can't control either. So he's stuck. He's stuck for good reason. It's because he knows himself. He knows Moses. You know you to negotiate with God is usually like, nah, I better not try that. So I'm stuck in myself. Isn't this crazy? He's telling himself a story of what's going to happen. Have you ever been stuck in a story of what's going to happen? Wake up in the middle of the night sometimes, just like, ah, I'm in a king size bed. Everything is good. I have the most beautiful woman in the world sleeping next to me.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Ah.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm screaming. I'm stuck in a story of what might happen tomorrow. Or what has happened before. Have you ever been stuck in a story? Have you ever been stuck in yourself? Have you ever been stuck in a story about yourself? Rejection is painful, but Moses takes it to a new level. This is not rejection. He rejects himself before anybody else has the chance to. This is like advanced level rejection. This is prejection.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Huh?

[Steven Furtick]

I'm not even going to try. It's the story of my life. Everything always goes wrong. I see this. I don't want to do a dating seminar. We already did a negotiation seminar. When you ask her out on a date, I know you probably don't want to, but I know

[Worship Leader]

you have to

[Steven Furtick]

have some confidence to it.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Man.

[Steven Furtick]

Walk up to her like, hey, I didn't know if you wanted to go Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Come on, I'm helping you name your kid Larry.

[Steven Furtick]

That's my legal first name. But Moses is like, I can't do this. I know me. I don't have it. I can't do it. He's stuck in a story about himself. Now, the bigger story does not revolve around you. Remember that. When we get stuck in ourselves, we miss the whole point that God is doing something that is bigger than you. It's bigger than what's wrong with you. It's bigger than what you didn't do.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

It's bigger than the time you wasted

[Steven Furtick]

and is certainly bigger than the opinions of others. God makes this kind of, like, pep talk. He's like, what is that in your hand? What is that in your hand? This wouldn't make me feel any better if I have to lead a whole nation and tell the most powerful man in the world, let my people go. Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, what is that in your hand? Moses says, give me the verse.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

A staff.

[Steven Furtick]

The ESV calls it a staff, but technically it's a stick. For every sticking point in your life, God has given you a stick, and you have one right now. In order for Moses to see what that instrument could be, he had to release it and throw it down on the ground. When he released it on the ground, it became a snake. Until you surrender it, you will never

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

see what it could be.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm going to preach this thing.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

I'm going home in a minute.

[Steven Furtick]

But let me tell you something right now. If you will release it, if you will put it before God, if you will say, here's my intellect, here's my

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

will, here's my understanding, here's my ability, you will watch it transform. It became a snake to become a sign.

[Steven Furtick]

Because Moses needed to know this is

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

really God, because he was stuck in himself. When you need to get out of yourself, you have to release what God has given you so he can show you what it can become.

[Steven Furtick]

But then he had to do something crazy. He had to do something I would never do. He had to do something you only do if you really love nature.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

He had to pick up the snake

[Steven Furtick]

when he first released it and it became a snake, he ran from it because he was smart. Not because he didn't have faith, but because he had intelligence. But then God called him to reach for what he had been running from. I promise you, I feel the Holy Spirit so strong right now. When he did, turned back Into a stick. A stick is something small,

[Worship Leader]

but it

[Steven Furtick]

would be that same stick. I need you to know this because you've never been through this challenge before. You've never been 24 before. You've never been 61 before. You've never been a wife before. You've never been a mom before. I've never been a dad before. This is my first rodeo. You've never been through this before. This wasn't on my schedule. And I don't feel like I'm what I'm supposed to be for what I'm up against. Can I tell you what God told Moses by the power of the Holy Spirit, that when you stand in front of those red seas in your life, God took him back and showed him the same stick. The same stick that God had changed into a snake and back into a stick. That same stick. He told them in Exodus 14:16. I want you to take your stick and point it at what you're going through. I want you to take your stick and I want you to point it at what you can't get over. I want you to take your stick, raise your staff. I know it's small. It always feels small. I know some of you are visited by the perpetual spirit of never enough. But it becomes enough when you stretch.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Becomes enough when you use it. It becomes enough.

[Steven Furtick]

This is the miracle of faith.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Why? Because God changes things. God changes things. That's what he does. God changes things. He turns mourning to dancing. He changes things. He gives beauty for ashes. He changes things. He turns shame into glory. He turns crosses into empty tombs. He turns graves into gardens. He turns bones into armies. He turns seas into highways. And if you will stretch what he gave you over what you're going through, you're going to get through this. I declare it. I decree it. God said it. That settles it. Back up, Pharaoh. I'm coming through.

[Steven Furtick]

So I know it feels small. And I know for many your energy

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

has been diminished by what you've gone through.

[Steven Furtick]

I know some of you feel too young, some feel too old, and some feel too in between. And some feel too shut up.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Trust your stuff.

[Steven Furtick]

Don't do something stupid like give up and quit just because you feel tired. I felt tired from the 9:30 and I came out and preached this one. And I had to get in a freezing cold shower to wake up because you need this word.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

So I grabbed my stick and preached it because I can't stop doing what I'm called to do just because I'm tired.

[Steven Furtick]

But you will have to trust that it is enough. Not that God is enough, but that what he gave you is enough for where he put you. This is a sticking point. If you sit there and try to negotiate with God, you will miss it. The saddest thing in the world is that Moses never even went into the Promised Land. He got stuck. He hit a rock with his staff, the same staff he raised over the sea. And the waters parted and they got through. He took that staff because he was tired of the people. And he struck the rock twice. And God said, now you can't go in because you don't trust me enough. Everything you love will have a part of the process you will not like, including following Jesus.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Did Jesus love the Father?

[Steven Furtick]

Then why did he ask in the Garden of Gethsemane if there's any other way? I don't want to do it. Because everything you love will have a part you don't like. I'm so sick of my generation thinking we always have to feel happy to move forward. Sometimes we can do it because we love God enough and we love people enough.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

We're called. And because we have a staff, I have to stick it out. I have to persevere. I have a purpose. I have a reason. I have a calling. No, you can't have me back, Pharaoh. No. Come too far to get stuck here.

[Steven Furtick]

Some of you came from broken homes and broken families and busted situations. God would not be bring you out here to drown you. He's dealing with your enemies.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Stretch your stick and trust your stuff and go forward.

[Steven Furtick]

Stand there. It's a small thing. And if you trust him enough to stretch the small thing over the bigger thing, I don't know what that is. For you. I'm going slow because I need you to imagine. I need you to see yourself on the other side of this. What it's going to be like when you're helping somebody else and all the hell you went through isn't wasted, but it's invested. It's the dumbest thing, but I just saw a picture, like Popeye or something, of you just getting strong in your spirit because you're pushing past the sticking point. Now you have a spotter, and God is not going to let it fall on you. But you have to imagine, okay, okay. I will rejoice again. I will sing again. My children are going to be free because I fought for this. I'm going to do it. But you will have to commit. You will have to walk through it. That means you'll have to walk through something that feels like it could collapse on you at any time. The story goes that he stretched the staff. He trusted God. God made. Don't you love this? An interstate highway through the sea. Who else can do that? Who else can turn a sea into

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

a highway, a stick into a shape, a grape?

[Steven Furtick]

Only God can do it. So the ability to walk through something God is holding up for you. You can't stick your right foot in and your right foot out. You can't hokey pokey through the Red Sea. It's going to mean saying, God, I'm going to see this through. I'm going to stay in this uncomfortable place. I would rather stay stuck and have you deal with what you need to deal with. I would rather stay stuck and see your purpose for my life fulfilled. When you're standing in front of something you've never seen before, hold on to what you know. You have.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

A stick.

[Steven Furtick]

When it happens this week, when you hit the stick again, point. If it's a mood or if it's a. I don't want to say this, but if it's a mother in law or if it's something really deep and dark we can't talk about out loud when you hit it, use your stick. Small trust, imagine, commit and know. That spells stick. Small trust God. It doesn't feel like much, but it's enough. Trust, imagine, commit and know. Father, as your word has gone forth today, I have experienced such a joy of seeing these people receive this personal word. On the other side of the camera, watching through a screen somewhere is someone who needed this message. Sitting in this room is someone who is at a sticking point. What they do next will determine so much about whether they stay stuck or move forward. Everyone standing at all of our locations, no one leaving. Thank you Lord. Glory to your name. Thank you, Jesus. Blessed be your name. Holy is your name. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. When they got through to the other side, y', all, they started singing. But sometimes you have to sing on the wrong side. Worthy is your name. Sometimes you have to sing when you feel pain. And you have to offer God the sacrifice of praise. I wish there were about a thousand people at Elevation Ballantyne and a few hundred at Blakely and a few hundred

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

at Gaston that would just lift your

[Steven Furtick]

hands and begin to worship God.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

Begin to thank him that he turns seas into highways. Begin to thank him that he turns morning to dancing. Thank him that he stills wins and waves and the things that only he can do and the glory that only he deserves.

[Worship Leader]

You give beauty his name is great.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

His word is true and it will

[Worship Leader]

come to you are the only one who care. You turn crazy to goddess. Oh you turn bones into army.

[Congregation Member/Assistant]

How many believe that? Come on, sing it like you believe it. Every location.

[Worship Leader]

You turn crazy to God. You turn bones into army. Oh, you turn seas into highways. You're the

[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.

[Podcast Host]

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