Your Label Is Lying

Summary

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Elevation with Steven Furtick – "Your Label Is Lying"

Date: October 19, 2025
Host: Steven Furtick (with Holly Furtick)
Podcast: Elevation with Steven Furtick, iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode, titled "Your Label Is Lying," is the culminating message in the "Same Lies, New Loops" series at Elevation Church. Pastor Steven Furtick and his wife, Holly, focus on the power of labels—how the things we've been called, or have called ourselves, can become lies that limit our potential and identity. Drawing from John 5 and the story of the man at the Pool of Bethesda, they challenge listeners to reevaluate the labels they've accepted, recognize their true identity in Christ, and place trust in God's word over any limiting beliefs or negative self-definitions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Danger of Early Labeling

• Labeling Before Experiencing:

  • Steven shares an anecdote from a songwriting session to illustrate how premature labeling can restrict something (or someone) from becoming what it was meant to be.
  • Quote (09:15): “If we name it before we make it, there may be something else the song wants to be that we don’t allow it to become because we already gave it a name.” – Steven Furtick

• Diagnosis versus Destiny:

  • The hosts caution about society's habit of diagnosing and labeling children too early, limiting future possibility.

• Advice:

  • "Make it now and name it later." – Don’t define yourself by your current condition or setbacks.

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2. Labels vs. True Identity

• John 5: The Pool of Bethesda (07:19 – 11:00):

  • The story of a man labeled by his disability for 38 years; his identity is overtaken by his condition.
  • Bethesda translates to "house of mercy," a place supposedly for healing but in reality is filled with those left out.

• Memorable Quote:

  • “There are some of you listening to me preach today who have been labeled so long by what you can’t do that you forgot your name.” – Steven Furtick (19:19)

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3. Retrospective Wisdom & Timing

• Perspective Changes Over Time:
  • John wrote about Jesus’ miracles decades after they happened—a reminder that what we label as “bad” in the moment could later prove to be a blessing.
  • “Sometimes it is better to evaluate your situation later.” (18:10)
• Naming the Process, Not Just the Product:
  • Holly highlights the importance of being honest about the struggles, not just the victories, in our testimonies.

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4. The Package Doesn’t Determine the Value

• Gift-Giving Analogy (21:20 – 24:14):
  • Holly would put expensive-looking gifts in cheap boxes, while God does the reverse—He puts invaluable blessings in the least attractive boxes (pain, disappointment, struggle).
  • Quote:
    • “God will put the best stuff in the worst box.” – Steven Furtick (23:15)

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5. Interrupting Old Loops with God’s Word

• 38-Year Loops & Freedom’s Journey:
  • Reference to the Israelites’ 40-year (really 38 years) wanderings: it’s often the middle “loop” years, not the endings or beginnings, where most of growth happens (25:50 – 27:30).
  • Real deliverance is more about learning new ways to handle old problems than being instantly set free.
  • Quote:
    • "It was actually more powerful to hear about their process than it was to hear about their product." – Steven Furtick (27:17)

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6. Jesus Sees You Past Your Labels

• Jesus Saw the Man, Not the Mat

  • Emphasizes that Jesus looked past the man's label ("lying", "invalid") and saw his true self (32:54).
  • The religious leaders see only the mat—the sign of past failure—not the man's miracle.

• Quote:

  • “He stops by to see about somebody that doesn’t even have a name. Of course, he has a name, but his name has been replaced by his label.” – Steven Furtick (18:52)
  • “How can they see a man who has never walked before... and say, ‘You can’t do that’?” (35:44)

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7. The Power of God’s Command

• God’s Word over People’s Labels

  • Jesus’ command, “Get up, pick up your mat and walk,” looks impossible, but it overrules the voice of limitation.
  • Quote:
    • “Sometimes God will give you a command that makes no sense in the face of your condition.” – Holly Furtick (28:56)
  • Steven frames it: religion points at the mat (your history), but God sees the man (your destiny).

• Countering Condemnation with Truth:

  • “Shame said die. But God said, live.” – Worship Team (41:53)

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8. Rejecting the Lies, Embracing God’s Voice

• The Label Is Lying:

  • The stuck patterns in our thinking, identities, and emotional history are described as “lying labels” that only the Word can break.
  • Memorable Moment: The congregation chants “The word says otherwise!” as a declaration against the lies of the world, religion, or internal voices (40:31, 44:07).

• Personalizing Faith:

  • Listeners are encouraged to not just accept the labels that life, circumstance, or even well-meaning people put on them—but to hear and claim what God actually says about them.

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9. Celebration and Application

• Not Returning to Old Labels:

  • Symbolized by the man carrying the mat that he once lay on—not going back, but using the symbol of former struggle as a testimony (36:35 – 39:13).
  • Quote:
    • “He’s happy carrying that mat because he’s holding something that has been holding him his whole life.” – Steven Furtick (37:07)

• Joyful Response and Worship:

  • The episode closes in jubilant worship, emphasizing that God’s word sets people free from all false labels.
  • “You can’t do that.” “But the Word says otherwise.” – Repeated call and response (40:31–44:07)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Your label is lying.” – Holly Furtick (08:53)
• “The word says otherwise.” – Steven Furtick (07:45, 40:31, 44:07)
• “I am not what I did. I am not what I was. I am who God says I am.” – Worship Team (39:54)
• “I might be in it, but it is not in me.” – Steven Furtick (42:25)
• “I am the one he loves. I’m the one he stopped for.” – Worship Team (42:49)
• “God is not disappointed in you. How can he be disappointed in what he appointed?” – Steven Furtick (34:28)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:11] Introduction to "Same Lies, New Loops" series
• [07:19] Reading and exposition of John 5 (“Pool of Bethesda”)
• [09:15] Story of songwriting session—danger of premature labels
• [18:10] Evaluating situations with time; John’s gospel perspective
• [21:20] Gift-box analogy—what’s inside often doesn’t match the outside
• [25:50] 38-year cycles, testimony honesty, journey to freedom
• [28:56] God’s commands often contradict our conditions
• [32:54] “Lying” versus true name—seeing beyond labels
• [35:44] Religious leaders label the mat, miss the man
• [39:54] “This is the house of mercy” – Identity and worship declaration
• [40:31] “The Word says otherwise” – Affirming God’s truth as ultimate
• [41:53] “Shame said die. But God said, live.”
• [44:07] Worship climax: “Get up out of that grave!”

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Conclusion

"Your Label Is Lying" calls listeners to break free from the names, diagnoses, and narratives that have defined them in limitation and shame. Through scripture, story, and song, Steven and Holly Furtick point to the love of God and the authoritative word of Jesus, which call us out of old loops and into new freedom. The challenge is clear: Trust in what God says, not in the labels you or others have accepted. The episode closes with a rousing encouragement to “get up out of that grave,” celebrating the victory that comes not from the absence of struggle, but from embracing a new identity as one loved and called by God.

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Transcript

[Steven Furtick]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

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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.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Hope it builds your faith.

[Steven Furtick]

Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

But if you've been redeemed and you know it, if he snatched you out of the pit and you know it, he brought you this far and you know it. Say Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. We can sing it all day. We can sing it all night. But we gotta stop. Cause it's preaching time.

[Steven Furtick]

The word of the Lord is coming your way. Whether you're in this room or whether you're watching this later or whether you're listening in a car. I hope you're not watching in a car unless you're a passenger. Just listen and watch the road. The Lord has something he wants to show you today in his word. This is the final message in the greatest series in the history of our church. Y' all don't like it? My favorite series in the history of our church.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Because it's the one I needed the most.

[Steven Furtick]

Because it's called Same Lies, New Loops.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Same Lies, New loops. The Lord is giving you some new ways of thinking, some new ways of being, some new ways of talking, some new ways of seeing, new loops. It's going to be amazing today because we're going to see a picture of somebody who had believed a lie for so long that to him it was true. When you have believed a lie long enough, it's true to you, even though everybody else can see that it's not. Today, God wants to show you something about the way he sees you. Go ahead and put your name in.

[Steven Furtick]

The comments since you can't do that live.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Tell the person next to you your name. Tell them your full name, the one on your driver's license. Go ahead, give them your name real quick. Give me your driver's license. Name.

[Steven Furtick]

We're going to be spending a few moments today. That's a long name. I didn't say your eye color and your height. I didn't say tell them about your DUI either.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Leave that part out. We're going to be spending some time today together in John, chapter 5. Remain standing if you're able, for the reading of God's Word. As I share this with you today, the Lord wants to give us a picture of what it means to leave the lies behind. To leave the lies behind. That's what we come to church for. We don't want to come to church and hear truth and just take lies home with us like we didn't hear the truth. We want to come to church, receive the truth of God's word, and take it forward into the world he has called us to change. John, chapter 5, verse 1. I may just read all 16 verses. I was going to stop around verse 6, 7, but I thought I would go on down and read the whole thing. Now, y' all listen. What's wrong with y'?

[Worship Leader / Choir]

All?

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

John, chapter five, verse one. Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem, near the sheep gate, a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda. That word means house of mercy. Bethlehem means house of bread. Beth is house. And then seda from chesed, the word that means covenant, love or favor or grace or mercy. It means all of those things. It's the house of mercy. At least that's what it's called. It's supposed to be a place where people can come and get grace, but it isn't. And you'll see that in the passage. It's called Bethesda, and It's surrounded by five covered colonnades. Incidentally, since we're in John 5. Five in the Bible is often symbolic of grace. It's the number of grace. So this is supposed to be a place of grace, you know? Can I say that about our church? This is supposed to be a place of grace where anybody can come like they are and not leave that way. It was surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie. The blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, do you want to get well, sir? The invalid replied, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me. Then Jesus said to him, get up, pick up your mat and walk at once. The man was cured. He picked up his mat and walked. But that's not the end of the verse, is it? The day on which this took place was a Sabbath. So the Jewish leader said to the man who had been healed, it is the Sabbath.

[Steven Furtick]

The law forbids you to carry your mat.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

But he replied, I love this Bible verse right here.

[Steven Furtick]

The man who made me well said to me, I hear what you're saying to me, but the one who walked by me and told me I could walk too told me to do this. The man who made me well said to me, pick up your mat and walk. I have good news for you today, Church. The title of my message is the word says Otherwise. The word says otherwise. Tell your neighbor, I know you feel kind of depressed. I know it looks like it's over, but the word says otherwise. Put it in all caps in the chat. Put it in your language. Put it in your native tongue, put it in emojis. I don't care. The word says otherwise.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

We're going to give this message a subtitle. Also we're going to call it. See if I can explain this.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

This.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Your label is lying. Your label is lying. Do you know how that thing said it was a healthy food? Your label is lying. Do you know how that guy said he was a Christian guy? Your label. And he wore a Christian shirt. Your label is lying. You know how people say, when you come to Christ, everything will just be better all at once? Your label is lying. But God's word is true. Father, thank you for your word. In Jesus name, Amen. Be seated. Your label is lying. I'll share by way of anecdote what I mean by this statement. But first, write the statement down. Don't label it until later. Don't label it until later. Now you're going to write that down. You don't even know what I mean by that, but you will later. I was in a songwriting session recently, and we were just starting to work on a song. We had really not identified the tempo of the song, the time signature of the song, or even the theme of the song. I didn't know yet whether it wanted to be a ballad or a bop. Sometimes you don't know. Sometimes a song starts, like, really, really worshipful, and the next thing you know, you're dancing on a table and you don't know what happened. The key to this is to be patient. Let the song tell you what it wants to be. Let the spirit of God have his way. If you're writing a worship song. We were just starting to write a song, and the producer who was recording the session and needed to save the song on his computer stopped and asked a question. He said, what is this song called? I looked back at him and I knew he needed to save the file so he could access it and be organized. I looked at him and said, I can't name it. We haven't even made it yet. We need to make it before we name it. If we name it before we make it, there may be something else the song wants to be that we don't allow it to become because we already gave it a name. So what we need to do is just save the file as a work in progress. Then we can see what it's going to be by the end of the day, because we'll label it later. We'll make it now and label it later. I don't know who this is for, but maybe that's the word you came to get today. Make it now and name it later. We're so specific in our time about trying to diagnose everything. Even every child is diagnosed with all of these conditions before they are seven years old. Sometimes that can be helpful, but other times it can be a hurdle. If I give a child a label before that child has even had the chance to develop beyond those developmental limitations, I may limit what the child thinks the child can be because I gave the child a label too soon that limited their potential mentally, even though their potential in God was unlimited. Label it later. And I'm not talking about not going to doctors and specialists, you understand? I'm using this as a way to get you to see that sometimes you are trying to label your life as you are Living your life, it is causing you to misdiagnose some of the things about you that only God can reveal in time. It is causing you to name things and save things to the hard drive of your mind. And you call yourself things and you call situations things that they really aren't because you are trying to label it before you have even lived it. So you say things like, this is the worst season of my life. How do you know that? Yet the seed hasn't even given the harvest forth. You have no idea. As a matter of fact, I would imagine that anytime the dirt is being plowed, it is hard for the dirt. But we understand that this is the part of the process that is absolutely necessary for anything good to be cultivated. And so it is true in your heart that some of the hardest seasons you will go through, some of the heartbreak seasons you will go through, some of the things you would wish away. If God came down and asked you.

[Steven Furtick]

Would you like to skip? Those stages will be the very stages.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

That later you will look back and label it and you will say, that was the season where God taught me the most. That was the season, am I right?

[Steven Furtick]

Where God got me out of that.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Relationship and I'm so glad he did.

[Steven Furtick]

That was the season where God set.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Me free from something I thought I needed.

[Steven Furtick]

If he would have kept giving me what I wanted, I would have never.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Gotten what I needed.

[Steven Furtick]

When I label my situation while I'm still in it, I limit my situation.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

To how I see it.

[Steven Furtick]

The problem with me is I can't see see things like they are.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

I only see things as I am.

[Steven Furtick]

And I am limited. So if I look at my situation.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

And label it with my mind, I.

[Steven Furtick]

Will always find a way to zoom into the microscopically bad. Or maybe I'm just wanting this one thing to happen so bad. Or maybe something happens in my life.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

And I don't like the package it came in. So I don't receive the purpose that it came for. I'm going to stop and breathe for a minute.

[Steven Furtick]

Clap your hands and give God praise. Clap your hands and give God praise for all of the gifts he gave you that you didn't know it was a gift when he gave it. Praise God for all the gifts he gave you that you grumbled about when he gave it to you. You've got to remember John wrote John, okay? You know that John, the disciple who Jesus loved. That's what he called himself. That's how he labeled himself. That's wild to me.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Who are you?

[Steven Furtick]

The one he loves not One of the one he loves. The one he loves. John did not write his gospel as.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

The ministry of Jesus was happening, though.

[Steven Furtick]

He wrote it somewhere around 50 years.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

After the events transpired. There's a reason I'm telling you this.

[Steven Furtick]

Sometimes I think we read these stories.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

In the Bible, like they're coming from the journal of one of the disciples.

[Steven Furtick]

We read a story like this, and it's wonderful. There was a man who couldn't move, and he got up and he was healed. And it was amazing.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Even the titles that are in the Bible, like Over John, chapter five, it says the healing at the pool. That's what this story is called in retrospect.

[Steven Furtick]

But in real time.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

This was not a healing at the.

[Steven Furtick]

Pool in real time.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

This was a confrontation with the authorities. I'll explain that later. Y' all see what I'm doing? I'm going to say it now. I'm going to explain it later. Jesus, a lot of times, as he was doing things in his ministry, would not explain it to his disciples. He would just do it as he would do it. They might think about it, Boy, that was a really bad move. I mean, Jesus should have waited until Tuesday to heal this guy.

[Steven Furtick]

Did you see it in the text? It said he healed him on a bad day. Now, let me ask you a question. If you haven't walked for 38 years and you have the opportunity to walk, is it ever a bad time to do a good thing for somebody yet? That's what the religious leaders said. They said he should have done it on a different day. Jesus knew that. But when John is writing the gospel, he's not writing it later that night. He's not taking what he saw happen.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

And John's Gospel is a little different because Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are all written somewhat differently. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called synoptic gospel. It means, see with. They kind of use the same source material, they refer to the same events, and they just take them from different angles. John's gospel is wild.

[Steven Furtick]

He just shows you stuff from the.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Bonus footage from the cutting room that.

[Steven Furtick]

None of the other disciples showed you. Maybe it was the special way he.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Felt about his relationship with Jesus that he includes things the others don't.

[Steven Furtick]

This miracle is only included in John's Gospel.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

That's the first thing I wanted to tell you. But the second thing I wanted to tell you is that it was included in John's Gospel after decades had passed, which means sometimes it is better to evaluate your situation later.

[Steven Furtick]

If you look at it in the moment all you can see is man.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

This is a lot of trouble. Jesus is about to get in.

[Steven Furtick]

Jesus really is wasting time. Imagine this. They're setting out to go to the festival. They're on their way. The Bible doesn't mention which of the three festivals, but it's one of the major ones. They get to Jerusalem and Jesus stops by this porch where. Look at verse three. These kinds of people are lying.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

The blind, the lame, the paralyzed. Please circle those three words, Justin, if you can. The blind, the lame, the paralyzed, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

[Steven Furtick]

Jesus is stopping by to see somebody. He is the most important figure in human history. He is the centerpiece of civilization. He is the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Alpha and the Omega, the masculine master and the maker of the universe, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the shepherd of the Lost, the one the angels worship. 247 around the throne. And he stops by to see about somebody that doesn't even have a name. Of course he has a name, but his name has been replaced by his label. So we don't know who he is or what he can do. The only thing we know about him is that for 38 years. Watch this. He has not been able to move. There are some of you listening to me preach today who have been labeled so long by what you can't do that you forgot your name. You have been labeled so long by what you don't have that you have forgotten your true nature. You have been labeled so long by what life didn't give you that you have forgotten your blessings. But the Devil is a liar. I said the Devil is a liar. I'll Preach this another 10 weeks if I need to. He's telling the same lies over and over and over and over again. What he wants to get you to do if he's effective at his job. And the Devil is really sneaky at it because he will try to convince you that your issue is you. But I found out that God is masterful at using situations we would not wish to accomplish. Purposes for which we don't even know to pray.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

I'll give you an example. I can tell I'm kind of overwhelming you with information today. About 5 is the number of grace. Bethesda means house of mercy and synoptic gospels and all this. So let me just break it down like this. When Holly gives gifts at our house, I will say she is the best gift giver I have ever known in my life. I'll also say she is the greatest gift I have ever known in my life, other than you, Lord. Amen.

[Steven Furtick]

I will also say. I'm not even saying that just so you'll clap for it. I really feel that way.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

But she used to do something when she would give gifts that was so disappointing. We finally got her to stop a few years ago. But let me tell you what she was doing. I don't know if she was doing this intentionally. I don't know if it was just something she did out of efficiency. I don't know what she'd do. Okay, I already told you, she gives great gifts. But let's say Christmas will roll around and there are several gifts for each person Holly bought.

[Steven Furtick]

She wraps them.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

They're beautiful and all that. You take the wrapping paper off. Then there would be a box she would put the gift in. But the box was absolutely no indication of the value of the gift. Here's what I mean by that.

[Steven Furtick]

She would take the box from the.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Nicest store you can imagine. Picture your favorite store, your favorite brand.

[Steven Furtick]

Like the fanciest, nicest box. You peel the paper back and you'd be like, oh, yeah, this is going to be good. This is about to be good. Then when you would take the lid off the box, she had put the worst gifts. The box would say Nordstrom, and the gift would say Dollar Tree. You'd be looking at the gift, talking about, what is this? She would put the worst gift in the best box. God does just the opposite. I'm sorry, Holly, but this is one time where you are nothing like God. Because God will take the worst box, the worst situation, the worst hell you've ever been through, the worst insult, the worst persecution. God will hand you a box, and the box will be so beat up, and the box will look so small. And the box will look like it's been rained on, and the box will look like the dog chewed it up. And the box will look like betrayal, and the box will look like God. I don't know what to do. And the box will look like, there's no way out of this. But if you open that box and trust in God, not the box. I said trust God, not the box. Because my God is out the box. And God will put the best stuff. Can I preach like I'm in St. Paul, Minnesota, on a Tuesday night? God will take the worst box and put the best gift. I'm saying this in case life dropped off a box on your doorstep and it doesn't look like what you prayed for, and it doesn't make any sense with what you feel called to, and it doesn't line up with your expectations.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

But open that box. Because God has a way of putting.

[Steven Furtick]

The best blessings in the ugliest boxes so the box doesn't have to be beautiful for the gift to be from him.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

High five.

[Steven Furtick]

Somebody say, open the box. Open the box. Open the box. God can do what he wants to. Open the box. Let God out the box. You got your little puny way of labeling what God can do and who God can do it through, but open the box. You're not even in church today, but God can meet you in the kitchen. Open the box. Put down the fork in the night, lift your hands and give God praise.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

God is out the box.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Jesus said to the man, I know this situation isn't what you would have chosen, and I know this is not the place you want to be, but your label is lying. I wish I could draw this, but I didn't bring my screen out this weekend. I'm not going to slow down the momentum of this message for technology. Just imagine, boop boop loop.

[Steven Furtick]

You've seen it.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Imagine one of the loops says, you can't do that. That's the lie, right? But when everything that's around you looks like sickness long enough, you begin to believe the box. When everything your eyes can see, when everything your emotions feel tell you, well, I guess alcoholism is just a genetic thing. And there's no amount of therapy or recovery that can break those chains off of you. There are not even enough prayers for it. Didn't you pray about this last year? 38 years, man. That's a long time to circle the situation. It brings me all the way back to the first story I shared in this series. When the Israelites wandered in the same loop for 40 years. You know, technically it was 38. One year they spent getting out of Egypt, one year they spent getting into the promised land. Those years aren't counted in the 40. It was 38 years. People will always tell the story of your first year and your last year, but they don't see the 38 year loop. Please do this. When you're sharing your testimony with somebody, be honest with them. Don't make your label a lie. Don't tell them. And the Lord just set me free from anxiety. I had somebody tell me that one time, and the Lord set me free from anxiety. I said, I believe he does that, and I believe he did that for you. And I praise him for it. But what exactly do you mean he set you free from anxiety? When they said it, they said the Lord set me free from an anxiety in 1984. So what I wanted to ask was, and since then, what did you do? Swallowed the key. The Lord set you free, friend. You swallowed the key or the Lord swallowed the key. Like what happened? As they began to share in more detail, it was actually more powerful to hear about their process than it was to hear about their product. What they meant by it. When they labeled it the Lord set me free was they meant he began to show me ways to deal with it that were not harmful and destructive and sinful. Instead of just going to porn every time I felt anxious, instead of just going to drugs every time I feel anxious, instead of just going to self mutilation every time I felt anxious, instead of just waiting up all night. They didn't say this, but they basically said, I learned some loops. I quit just going around and around spiraling. And I found out how to interrupt my worry with the word of God. Isn't that more powerful?

[Steven Furtick]

Isn't that more powerful to hear that than to hear somebody say, well, the Lord just set me free. And then you're like, well, I guess he doesn't love me. He must not love me like that.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Or I must be doing something wrong. Maybe they're just not describing freedom fully. To know that freedom involves a journey of 38 years. This is powerful. I even feel it as I'm preaching right now. I feel the Lord telling me to slow down and tell you what it really means that this man got up and walked. It doesn't say that he knew where to go. It doesn't say that his life was problem free. In fact, Jesus finds him a few verses later and tells him, stop sinning or something worse is going to happen. He's not even finished with his issue yet. The powerful thing about Jesus, when I get to the part of my sermon where I know this is the word of the Lord, because there is a moment in a sermon where the word of the Lord comes. It's all the word of the Lord, this whole passage. It's the word of the Lord. But there is a moment where the word of the Lord comes to you. What happens in that moment is your condition is interrupted by a command. It's like the man's condition is sick, paralyzed and stuck on the porch. The command of Jesus makes no sense in the face of that condition. Get up, take your mat. Sometimes God will give you a command that makes no sense in the face of your condition. Sometimes God will tell you, as a teenager, I Don't care what all your friends do. I don't care what they say you're weird about. I don't care what they call you for it. You be pure. I don't care what a thousand people do over here. A thousand people. Just like your parents used to say. I don't care if everybody else is doing it. If everybody else was jumping off a bridge, you'd be like, shut up. See, I. I don't say if everybody else was jumping off a bridge. I just want to tell you what Jesus did.

[Steven Furtick]

Everybody else didn't die on the cross for you. Everybody else can't rise from the grave. Everybody else isn't going to be there for you in the midnight hour. Everybody else didn't make you knit, you call, you choose you gift. You don't let them label you. Don't even let them tell you what kind of kid you need to be to be cool. I'm not concerned with you being cool. I'm concerned with you being called. I'm concerned with a God who can raise you up and make your name great. I'm concerned with a God whose name is greater than any other name. That's what I'm concerned about in this season of my life, not what they label me. I don't care what they say about me. I don't care what they say about my preaching. I care when I close this Bible today. Did I say the word of the Lord? Did I speak the word of the Lord? Did I say what God gave me to say the best I could say it with a stammering tongue and a limited vocabulary and a Moncks Corner, South Carolina accent? Did I say the word of the Lord not how somebody else said it, not how I should say it, not how I would say it if I was smarter. Did I say it to the limit of my iq? Did I speak the words of God when the word of the Lord came to this man? It was so personal. The Bible says something I think you need to see before you hear what Jesus said to him. I want to show you something. In John, chapter 5, verse 5. This is the part that made me cry when it says when Jesus saw him. That's verse six. That's verse six. When Jesus saw him. Go back to verse five, though. One was lying there.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Now, lying is not his name. It's his label. That's the condition he was in.

[Steven Furtick]

He was lying on a mat. Mat was not his name. Could have been. It is a name, but it's not his name. It's where he is not who he is.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

I'm going to preach this, Lord.

[Steven Furtick]

I am going to preach this just like you showed me. Because it was so beautiful how the Lord showed me in verse 6. The key to all of this is when Jesus saw him. Just encircle the word him. Now contrast that when Jesus walked by.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

There's a blind person.

[Steven Furtick]

There's a person who can't move. There's another person. I'm not sure of their condition. There's somebody who has only been at the pool two weeks. Here's somebody who has been here two years.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Here's someone who has been here 38 years.

[Steven Furtick]

I'm speaking to somebody today. And this is not your first day in this situation. This is not your first frustration. That's all right, because the Bible says that Jesus saw him. I still have to show you what I mean. It says Jesus saw him lying there. Now, if you fast forward when the man gets up, the religious leaders see the man, but they see him a little differently. They label him differently. They label him according to his condition and they label him according to their expectation. The Sabbath was supposed to be a day of no work, but they see him carrying a mat. The Sabbath was not a day where.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

You can't make up your bed.

[Steven Furtick]

The Sabbath was a day where you couldn't do commerce in the city. But they've twisted it.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

They have labeled it.

[Steven Furtick]

Their label has become a lie. Did you know religion will always try to label something the Lord gave you?

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

And instead of using it to lift.

[Steven Furtick]

A burden, it will create one. So you begin to see God as the person and who's perpetually disappointed in you. God is not disappointed in you. How can he be disappointed in what he appointed? If he called you, that means he knew you would be in this situation before you were in this situation. Do you think you can surprise God? Do you think God is like, I wish I would have done a scouting report on them? You think God is somehow mesmerized by your weakness? Now, people are. People are very different. The religious leaders in verse 10 have their focus somewhere completely different. The Bible says the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, it is the Sabbath. The law forbids you to carry your mat. They are looking at a man and they are talking about a mat. How can they only see the mat and not the man? No, no, no. I'm honestly asking how can they see a man who has never walked before if he's 38 years old? Maybe he did walk a little while.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Before those 38 years.

[Steven Furtick]

We don't know, but for almost 40 years, he hasn't been able to walk. He's walking. They walk up to him and say, hey, you can't do that. He's like, I know. I didn't think I could either, but I met a man and he walked by me and he stopped for me and he talked to me and he told me to get up and take it up and walk. And I'm walking in the power of his word. And I'm walking, walking in the potential of a brighter tomorrow. And I'm living in the life of a new day. I'm just speculating. I think this man started singing at this point. I think he started singing, look at.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

What the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I. That's why I got my mat. Cause I'm not going back.

[Steven Furtick]

Say it.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

Not going back.

[Steven Furtick]

Say it.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

Not going back. Give him my spot.

[Steven Furtick]

Cuz I'm cuss em take my mat, cuz I'm all right. We need to work on yalls rhythm.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

And call and response.

[Steven Furtick]

My man is walking.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

And you talking.

[Steven Furtick]

About a math practice. You talking about a mat. I'm a man. You can't see the man for the mat. It makes me wonder, what's your mat that I can't see that has you magnifying mine? This man has to be singing, carrying a mat. He's not going back to the place he's been for 38 years that isn't working anymore, man. He's happy, too. He's happy carrying that mat because he's holding something that has been holding him his whole life. Boy, he's happy. He turns around, Goodbye, goodbye yesterday five covered colonnades. Goodbye, colonnades. Y' all missed it. I'm living in the light of a new day. I won't waste another minute on my old ways. Praise the Lord. He's not even saved yet, not even born again. He doesn't even know it's Jesus yet. He doesn't find that out to later. See, sometimes God does it now, but you praise him later because you didn't even know he was doing it at the time.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

I feel God saying, praise me now and I'll explain it later.

[Steven Furtick]

My man is walking, talking about, I'm dancing on the. I'm carrying the mat that I once laid on, carrying the mat that I once laid on, carrying the mat that I once laid on carrying the mat that. I mean, this mat ain't heavy.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

Carrying the mat.

[Steven Furtick]

Carrying the mat.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

Yeah, you can't do that. You can't do that. Yes, I can.

[Steven Furtick]

We're not doing the stairs. Get out. And here's the Pharisee. He's like, carrying the mat that I want. You can't do that. No, you're doing it wrong. To carry in the mat that I want. You can't do that. No, you're doing it wrong.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

Carrying the mat where I used to lay.

[Steven Furtick]

You can't do that. Because this is the wrong day. We have confrontation. Y' all don't know how to act in church.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

What kind of church is this? What kind of church is this? This is the house of mercy. This is a place for grace. This is a place. Place where I am not what I did. I am not what I was. I am who God says, I.

[Steven Furtick]

Can'T do that. I listen to what that man said. I'm making this up off the cuff. I don't know if it's any good, but they said, the law says you can't. The man said, the Word says otherwise. Somebody shout otherwise. Otherwise. And the hand of the Lord was upon me. And he took me down to the valley. And the valley was full of bones, and they were very dry. And the bones said, death, and the bones set over. But the Word said otherwise.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

And God said, prophesy to the bones. Prophesy to the marriage. Prophesy to the bankruptcy. Prophesy to the depression. Prophesy to the blindness. Prophesy to the lameness. I prophesy.

[Steven Furtick]

To your legs.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

I prophesy. To your righteousness in Christ. I prophesy. There is a better word than condemnation. Shame said die. But God said, live. Live, live. I'm dancing on the ground. I'm dancing on the grave. I'm dancing on the grave.

[Steven Furtick]

You can't do that. You can't dance in church. You can't be happy. You're going through hell. I might be in it, but it is not in me.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

I'm not my match. I'm not my match. I'm not my bad decision. I'm not my shame. I'm not the abuse. I'm not my past. I'm not myself. I am the one he loves. I'm the one he stopped. Five, four. And I'm dancing on the grave. I'm dancing on the grave. I'm dancing. You can't dance. You got moves. Show me your church dance. Get up on your feet and praise the Lord. Jump up and holler.

[Steven Furtick]

You can't do that. You can't dance on a grave. You can't get beauty for ashes. You can't be grateful when you still have a kid who's far away from God. You can't keep worshiping through tears. You can't keep trusting that God is good through cancer. You can't do that.

[Worship Leader / Choir]

But the word says otherwise. I said the word says otherwise. The stone set dead but the word says rise get up, get up, get up get up out of that grave get up, get up, get up get up out of that grave get up, get up, get up, get up out of that grave get up, get up, get up, get up out of that grave Good Word the word get up out of that grave the word, the Word get up out of that grave Go Word the word get up out of that grave I see y' all soon. Keep dancing, keep dancing. Get up.

[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 media stories and tag us LevationChurch. Thanks again for listening.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

God bless you.

[Asma Khalid]

America is changing and so is the world.

[Tristan Redman]

But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Tristan Redman]

Tristan Redman in London and this is the Global Story.

[Asma Khalid]

Every weekday we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Tristan Redman]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

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[Steven Furtick]

See paypal.com promoter points can be redeemed.

[Holly (Steven Furtick's wife)]

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[Steven Furtick]

To terms and approval. PayPal Inc. And MLS 910457.

[Saint Bonaventure Indian Mission Announcer]

You heard it before Many times. Water is life. But do you know that almost half of the homes on the Navajo reservation do not have clean running water? With your support, Saint Bonaventure Indian Mission and school is ready to give water to Navajo families. So we invite you to help provide this precious gift of life life to those in need. Contrary to many average Americans, Navajo families survive on just 10 gallons of water per day. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission. Org.

[Steven Furtick]

This is an iHeart podcast.