Elevation with Steven Furtick - A Look Back

Episode Date: December 31, 2023

Here are some of our favorite sermon moments from 2023. What were yours? We hope that as you reflect on God’s faithfulness this year it inspires your faith and stirs hope for what God has next for our church and for you. If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: http://ele.vc/tIepfr To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: http://www.elevationchurch.org/giving/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hi, everybody. Thanks so much for subscribing to our video podcast here at Elevation Church. We trust that these messages are speaking directly to your heart. Beginning January 7th, we're moving to audio-only podcast. We'd love for you to still participate in it. All you have to do is search for Elevation with Stephen Ferdick.

If you'd still like the video, that's great. You can subscribe to Elevation Church on YouTube and be a part of these sermons anywhere you are. Thanks again for being a part of the family. We'll see you soon. Well, what an incredible time in God's presence this morning. And if you're just now joining us, welcome to Elevation Church. You know, we spent the last couple of minutes just thinking about the faithfulness of God. And that's exactly what we're going to do here today is we're going to look back on 2023 and just thank God for all that he's done.

We're going to talk about some special moments and specifically some sermons that we are still thinking about right now. And it's not just me. I have some other people here. We have Chad, Britt, and Jason. And we also have some lovely people from from from our local Charlotte area campuses. So thank you guys for being here today. Yeah. And it really has been an incredible year.

It's very hard to condense down into just a couple things to talk about because God has been so good to our church. But I thought before we dive into the sermons, the things that really, you know, we're still processing. Chad, if people have never been part of coffee fan before, do you want to explain the format today? Yeah. So we're taking a little bit different format on this last Sunday of the year where we typically

talk about the message. So like Colleen said, each week we get to do that. the opportunity to talk about the message that we just heard and we call that coffee fam and we typically do that live on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. And so a lot of you join in online on YouTube or Facebook. And it doesn't matter if you go to a physical campus or not. Everybody's joining in to really dive in and discuss a little bit deeper of what the sermon meant to them. And so today we get that opportunity to look back and discuss some of these sermons. And I like to say I'm looking for those like Me Too moments where it's like, oh, you thought that too. That's the thought that I had.

or you were wondering that too, well, I dug into that a little bit deeper, too. So that's what we hope to do today. It makes you feel so much better to know, like, oh, I'm not the only one who's, like, shrugling through this thing. And so, yeah, we're excited to talk about all of this. So before, well, if you tune into coffee fam, we like to, we have to warm up the conversation a little bit. And so before we dive into the sermons, let's hit just, what is, like, a moment or two for you guys that you look back on this year and you're like, man, I can't believe I got to see God do this or I got to be part of this thing. Yeah, I'm tired between two, okay? Okay, you can have to all right.

First of all, Belmont just had his first worship experience. December 24th. Yeah. Formerly known as Gaston. That's right. Formally known. Artists formerly known as Gaston. That's what we're going to say.

11 years of non-permanent. We got to move into a permanent facility. We got to worship God. His faithfulness has just been amazing. But I love that how our church has different expressions. Yes. And so another expression is our pop-ups. And we went to San Diego.

Yes, we did. We did. I went for the first time. We baptized 85 people. So it was my top moment, just seeing that. that God is moving in a place that we don't have a building. Yes. Yeah, yeah.

And really people are committed to what God is doing in Elevation Church. I love it. Wow, that's amazing. Okay, okay, well, you talked about, you know, buildings and pop-ups. Okay, I'm like you. I got like two, all right? I got a tie. Okay, number one, it was not really a moment.

It was like a seven-week moment. It was a seven-week Bible study that we did earlier this year, called immeasurably born. Maybe some of you might know what I'm talking about, but it was really a time where we got to journey through the book of Ephesians together as a church. Our pastor preached through Ephesians. We got to journey through it in small groups. So we, you know, buildings, pop-ups, living rooms, coffee shop, zooms, whatever it takes to see the gospel go forth.

So that was one. But then I also got to go with Love Week. I mean, a week where we're in the community serving around the world, top moment for me, 2023. How about you, Chad? Yeah, I love that. Well, I love that a few weeks back, we shared all of these different experiences. of church and what you were saying of like, it's not just in a building like this, but this year, so many of you know we got the opportunity to go to so many different states with elevation

nights. Yes. And elevation nights is something we've been doing for a few years, but it never gets old getting into an arena and sitting there with 10, 15,000 people who are worshiping together, who are listening to a message from pastor. And we got the opportunity to do that a bunch this year. And I can't pick just one that was the best. But they're always an amazing time.

And so if you haven't had the opportunity to get to one, you got to get to next. We're coming up on another elevation nights in February. So make sure that you get there if you can. The Northeast, we're coming your way. Get excited. But yeah, no, I would echo everything you guys said. I'm just always in awe of the reach God's given our church. When I started coming here, we were meeting in a high school, Providence High School.

I don't know if anyone has been around that long. but it's just incredible to be hundreds of thousands of miles away to hear people singing the songs that God brought up out of our church and to meet people who are like, my best friends are in my E-group. And you're like, you live in Texas or California. You're like, this is amazing what God is doing. And so I'm incredibly grateful to be a part of it. And I know most of you are as well, why don't you go ahead. Let us know in the chat.

If you have a favorite moment that we haven't said or maybe we shared yours, but you can share it again. Or if there's a sermon that you're hoping we might talk about. Now, we only have so much time. So we've narrowed it down to three. And this is like I said before. I don't know how, but we did. Don't know how. That's right. So we have three that we're going to talk about. Jason, you want to start us off here?

Absolutely. One of my favorite, we had a couple of A-words that pastor started off with. Just a couple. Great start-words. Very good ones. For context. The first one was the God of also, if you know your favorite A-word, that is a good word. Look at Chad. I'm making them blush over here. But we have the God of again. You know, so many put in the chat in the crowd, shout it out. But the God of also was one that challenged me personally. Yeah. Because it was like God, it's not just the God of Abraham, Isaac, or Moses, but he's also doing something in my life,

not just around my calling of what he wants me to do, but who he wants me to become. Yeah. All right, in case you missed it, we got a little recap for you, so take a look. So the first thing we have to understand when we come to God is we must not box him in with our broken understanding of who he is or our limited language. Or those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son.

Ah! So God's calling is really about character. Why is God who is holy stooping down to call himself the God of Jacob? Maybe he wants you to know that he doesn't just want to be your God. when you're living like a prince. Maybe he wants you to know that he is also God when I've got it together, but he is God when I don't. Stop hiding from God when you're feeling ashamed.

Come to him and thank him that there's no shame on Jesus, so there's no shame on me. Biggest comfort in my life is that God knew it all when he called me. Jesus has given us all a gift that is common to us, but it is so specific to us. And our identity in him is the most important thing about us. Wow, wow, wow. I'm telling you, the God of All Soul was such a challenging moment for,

I believe, all of us. For me, it was about getting it to our character, not just our calling being what we're doing. Right. And the topic pastor started with, the character, he started with what's Moses, how Moses was called to deliver the people out of Egypt, but also caught in murder. Yes. He had a serious thing he was wrestling through.

And I don't know about you in the crowd or in the chat. I just want you to put that one thing God developed in your character this year. I want to see it for me as a pastor. I know y' think I'm just, you know, floating on angels wings. That's what I think. But God developed my... You don't think that chat? Okay.

Got it, got it. But he developed my patience. Oh. And so I really want to know from you guys, like, what did God really do that you didn't expect him to do in your character as you trusted him? That's a great question. You're going deep right on the God. I mean, well, let me start with this because you kind of hit on this, but I'm looking back at my notes, which this is why I love that we do this, because it just brings back all these things to mine. Absolutely.

And I highlighted this. It says, before Moses ever called on God. God called on Moses. I love that. And so when you're talking about our character, there's times where, and I'm not speaking for everyone, just those of us that struggle with these little things, right?

But there's times where I forget, like, and I like to think I'm a strong independent woman, right? Like, I got this. I'm on this. You know, like, I'm doing my thing. But then, like, before I ever get to any of that, God's already called me. Wow.

And it's so funny how sometimes we get amnesia. Yes. And we forget. And we think that we can do this, like, in our own strength or in our own way. Absolutely. But it all stems from God. So it's just such a beautiful picture because I love this quote. Before Moses ever called on God, God called on Moses.

Before you ever called on God, God called on you. It's great. God called on me. We all have a calling in life. And so for my character, it's like helping me define purpose. That's great. And understand that what God has for me. Like, I can't even, like, foresee it.

His ways are greater than our ways. Absolutely. it's just a touching thing to go back and remember this and have that quote hit me the same way as it did when he preached it. That's great. You did say patience. You didn't expound on it, so I'm going to take it too. But I'm going to expound on it because it's in multiple areas in my life. So when I think about patience, I think about certainly just my life, my kids.

If you have kids, you're like, God's developing patience in my life as we speak. day. But it's really more about me wanting to see what it is that I believe is to come, right? Not just in my kids, but in my own life, in my workplace. And so as I'm thinking, man, God, I thought that it was supposed to look this way. I thought that it was supposed to get to that point earlier. You know, patience is something for me that I think, I mean, I'm always thinking that things should be much faster than they should be. But what I realize, even just looking back on this year is I'm so thankful that God didn't do the things and the timing that I wanted him to do. Because then I, in a lot of ways, I'd be like, yeah, that's right. I knew exactly that's

what was supposed to happen in that way. When it happens like this, which is more often than not, you always look back and say, man, God, I'm just so thankful that you didn't take my advice on this on this one, but I'm following your advice and I'm following the plan that you're laying out for me step by step. So I think this year, it's a common theme for me, though. I don't know that that's going to go away next year and saying patience. It's going to read the thing. My kid's still going to be in the house, so it's coming back. Well, as I was going to say, I was like, the character thing is like, I feel like when God, like, reveal something to you, you're like, got it, God, I'm going to work on it. And then it gets frustrating when you're like, why am I still working on this thing over and over and over again?

And Pastor Stevens said a long time ago, he said, we will go through a lot of the same stuff over and again, but the fact that we're aware of it, we're, like, circling it at a higher level. So, like, before, I wouldn't even know when I was, like, frustrated or not being patient. But now I'm like, okay, God's, like, putting these little checks in my spirit. I was telling Britt this morning. I felt like even this morning, I think God knew we were going to talk about this sermon, but I was walking my dog, and I let him off leash. There was no one out for a little bit.

I know people might come from me in the comments for that. But this lady came by, and she was like, your dog needs to be on a leash. And I, like, I, like, immediately went to match her energy, where I'm like, I'm not normally, like, a confrontational person. I'm kind of like, don't tell me what to do. And so, like, I was like, he's fine. And I think I told her, like, you need to calm down. Again, not great. I'm being very vulnerable with you guys right now.

But I'm not, no joke, the whole walk back, I was like, why did I react like that? Right. And I was one of the other things pastures said is like, your potential is revealed in your maturity. Yes, he. And so for me, I was just thinking I'm like, again, I'm being hard on myself in this moment. But I also am grateful that God was like helping me, like, work through it. Like, hey, you shouldn't have done that. And I'm like, and he forgives me for it.

And I'm good. but also just to be aware, like, that's one of the things I got to keep working on. That was the encouraging thing about this sermon, how God said, he didn't just call you on your high points. Yes. He didn't just call you in the places that you're proud of. He called you at your low moments, too. That's right.

And Romans 829, where Pastor kind of came from, he says, God knew us before we even knew ourselves. That's right. And he already had a plan laid out for our weaknesses and our shrinks when we go off on the woman with the dog. That's right. For me, for me, Colleen, I'm not going to leave you out there by you. yourself. But for me, I was actually in the hospital with my mom when this sermon was playing.

Yeah. And my patience was like, God, when are you going to do what I'm anticipating? And in the chat right now, we don't know what you're going through, but we would love to pray for you. Put in the chat right now, maybe your end of the year is still hard and you need to see the God of also work. But in that moment, I got a reminder that God is not just wanting to do something for me. That's right. He's wanting to do something in me. Yeah. He's wanting to develop some character in me. and I know some of you have takeaways and we went through this sermon, but we actually have one in our live studio audience.

We do. We have Robert from the Blatney campus. Go ahead and stand up, Robert. Robert's going to share his takeaway from this sermon because I know it impacted me, but we want to know how it impacted you. Go ahead. Yeah, no, it was a lot to take away from this actual message.

But the thing that rested on me the hardest or the most that kind of like resonated with me and it continues to sit on me is God is also the guy. of self-development. And the line that he made was that self-development is the key or is the direction to self-discovery. That's right.

All self-development is self-discovery. And when I realized that, I realized that, like, as God continues to develop me, I discover more of who I am and who he created to me to be. And realizing that, you know, a lot of us think that we already know ourselves so well. Like, I know me.

I know me. Nobody knows me better than I know myself. but realizing that he knew me before, I really got to know myself the way I know myself. And so, yeah, that was a great option. So giving up for him. That's great. Thank you so much, Robert. Yeah, that's beautiful.

I love that, too, because Pastor, when he was preaching this, he pointed out, like, because Jacob had his name changed. Yes. But he didn't say, like, I'm the God of your new fancy name. He said, I'm the God of Jacob, yeah, aka Deceiver. Yes. That's the name that scripture uses when he says,

I'm the God of Jacob. That's right. And so I thought that that was beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. I love that you just shared that about the self-discovery because that's something that I was thinking about so much longer after the message of all of this self-development being this discovery of who I already am. And I think that's so much of what this message was about of like,

you already are the thing. It's just deep inside you. You already are a patient person because God is patient and God is kind. And so if God is living in me, then I must have that attribute as well. So how am I discovering that I already am that person? And that messed with my mind a lot because I'm like, but I don't feel like I'm these different things that I'm striving to be. But I love that pastor always talks about when really that's placed on you, that development piece is placed on you. You'll start to see things pull out of you that you didn't think we're in there.

be like, oh, that's inside of me. Maybe it wasn't developed. Maybe it's just being discovered now. Maybe it's something, God, that's already been inside of me. And so I try to think back on that when I think, man, I don't have that. I don't have the thing that I'm looking at that I'm like, man, God, I wish I could just be a little bit more resilient. And he's like, no, no, no, you're resilient. You're resilient.

Trust in me. Believe in me. That's great. Understand that the place that I've put you, I've given you everything that you need to stand to handle what it is that I've put in front of you. Absolutely. And then develop it. Yeah. Right?

That's the key word, right? The development. Discovery is one phase. Yeah. Which, as if that's not, it is difficult sometimes because we don't always see those things in us. That's why they say that we should always have, like, people around us to help us see some of the things, trusted people that, like, we sometimes overlook or don't recognize. Is this a lot for e-groups? I am not, but I'm always here for e-groups.

I'm just going to drop it in. It's never not going to happen. You need people around you, yes. But I really believe it. Yeah. I really do believe it, and I've really seen it in my own life. Yeah. Where I won't see something in myself.

Yeah. And then somebody will see it, and they'll give me that opportunity, or they'll speak that life into me, and it's helped me develop to the point that I'm at now, because my yes is put the demand on me. That's right. What you talked about. So if you see, oh, there is that kindness in there.

You have to put the demands on you to be kind to develop it. Right. You need both. And so putting in the work after the discovery is just as important, And that's the part that sometimes I think some of us will get the glimpse. Will we be willing to put in the work to actually develop that character within us? I love how Pastor Stephen kind of landed this sermon. And he kind of reminded us that we don't have to be afraid to come to God

when we've made that mistake on the road to development. That's right. I think it's really important that we still go to God for the things we need internally that are not developed. Depending on our own strength or depending on ourselves. It's how Moses got in trouble when he tried to do it on his own and not depend on God's grace. Right.

That's when it fell short. And so I don't know where you're at today, but we want to tell you to keep trusting God, keep believing that he is the God of also, of our weaknesses and our shrimps. Yeah, yeah, that's right. Well, speaking of also, Holly also preached some incredible service this year.

Britt, I know you have a lot of favorites, but if we had to pick one to talk about. Okay, well, this one's for the ladies. Where my ladies at? Don't leave me hanging. make yourself known in the chat. But in all seriousness, our pastor preaches incredible messages

every single week that are life-changing. Yes, that's right. I've been under his teachings and preaching for 11 years now. That's right. And it really has changed my life. And with that, we also have the amazing gift

of Holly Ferdick as well. And our first lady, Pastor Holly, has preached some amazing messages this year. But there is one in particular that she preached on Mother's Day, actually. And it was called Sudden Strength.

And it really is a beautiful picture of how even in our weakest moments, when we look to the right place where dependency, God will strengthen us even in those times. And just as a little refresher, let's take a look at this. When we experience a difficult situation, we have two choices.

We can wonder why, or we can ask what next. When I sit in my pain for too long, I get stale and I get bitter and nobody wants to be around me. But when I drag my pain to the feet of Jesus, sometimes over and over again, when I seek God, he answers. We're not fighting in our own power. That's the amazing thing. Paul said, be strong in the Lord. And in his mighty power, it's his mighty power that is at work on the inside of you.

But sometimes you got to get up. If you want to activate God's power in your life, you got to move. You got to seek him again and again and again. You got to arm yourself so that you can stand against the enemy. Don't give in. Don't let him win. Keep fighting even when... You're tired.

Do you guys see why I loved it so much? I get it. I totally good. First of all, she hits with that Ephesian 6. We're going to be armed. Yes. But I really do love so much the handles that she gave us because she said this.

She was talking about how sometimes an unexpected fight does break out. And for me, I can think of the times where, like, you know, I was doing good. I was on my grind. I was doing my thing. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, I'm like, where did this come from? And because I was so unprepared, like, I wasn't expected. expecting it, I went into literal battle, weak, and I didn't know where to find my strain. That's right.

So the tools that she gave us, I hope that we all took to heart. And if not, it's fine. We're going to unpack them a little bit more today so we can really get these in our spirit going into 2024. But here's the deal. She said this, and this is kind of where I want to start. She asked us the questions, like, when something does happen in our lives, we can wonder why or we can ask what's next.

And so I kind of wanted to unpack and sit there for just a couple of moments with like, can you guys think through a process through like when something unexpected happens, like what is your default? And then how do you navigate maybe out of what your natural default might be? That's great. Yeah, I was going to say, well, do you want like the church answer or like what I actually do? I want the real answer. So I think like for me, and I think this even goes back to a little bit of pastor's last sermon is I feel like when something like that happens, I am very quick to try to figure stuff out on my own.

I'll ask everyone of my friends before I come to God. And I will, I'll sit in it for a minute. And it's not good, but that was why her sermon was so helpful for me because I'm like, it was such a good perspective shift instead of like sitting there asking like, like asking God why and stuff. And you're like, no, like he's going to use this. Like, what's next? What do I need to do? And so I love when she talked about like what you do today is giving you strength for tomorrow.

And so even what you said, Britt, is like you have to like, you have to like, you have to be prepared daily to go into that. And so I think the thing that I've learned about myself is like I have to spend time with God. I'm praying in my car, whether that's reading my Bible, whether that's journaling things I'm grateful for. I have to be filled up in order to be prepared when that next thing comes.

And so am I good at it? Not all the time. But I'm learning the things I need to do so that I am prepared when I go into it. Yeah. I would say I'm good at telling my kids that this is preparation for what's next. Yeah.

because that's the way I see like my life. I mean, everything I'm doing for my kids, and it's like, well, what? I don't want to do that now. No, no, no. We're teaching you so that later on this, you're going to thank us later for this because we're helping you to understand you've got to clean up after yourself. This will go well for you later in life. I'm teaching you to be disciplined with the things that you're committing to.

This will go well for you later in life. And they don't necessarily always love it. But when it happens to me, it's very much different than that. I'm like I'm a fighter in the moment when something's happening. I'm like, I don't, like, there's got to be a reason this is happening in this moment and it's for right now. And so I'm going to bring everything I have at it. I'm going to fight it because I want to fix things. I want to make things right. I'm a fixer. You know, I'm not one to sit back and be like, let me just really believe and think, what is God trying to teach me here through this?

Because that is so difficult for me to do. That is such a difficult thing. It's, it's easy. to sit here and talk about to just say, well, just do it, do it. One of the things I love that Holly said, though, was you've got to do the work. Yeah. You got to do the work. And you got to do the work to dive in and even just sit back and say, God, what are you showing me? That's work for me. Because it's not work to just get up and I'm fighting.

I'm going after this. That's not really work for me. The work does come when I have to sit back and say, God, okay, what do you want to show me through this? What are you trying to teach me through this? What are you trying to help me understand that this is preparation for? And that's tough. That's not easy.

Yeah. Well, it's the discipline part of what you said is because, like, I think we want it to be easy, but I'm like, the discipline part's hard. Like, I don't always want to read my Bible every day. Like, truthfully, I'm like, but you have to like make yourself do the things to see, like, to see the progress and to see it working. And so it's not easy, but that's what discipline is. Yeah.

Because normally under pressure, we respond so differently. From a psychological standpoint, they say it's three responses. Fight, flight. are freeze. Yep. I would love to know which one. What am I flight people at? Fight, freeze.

Yeah. Sometimes all three. Depends. I don't know what to do. But as a leader, I find myself always, like you, Chad, wanting to solve it. Yeah. And I'm also a worst-case scenario person. So I'm not trying to solve the actual problem.

I'm trying to solve the worst-case scenario problem. That's good. Which doesn't even exist yet. And I don't know why. And so I feel like my imagination can get away from me. and I try to go into mode. And so I love this sermon because it teaches us how to surrender even in a fight. Yeah, it's really kind of cool because the story that Holly was preaching from it was like about David.

And everything had been taken, his wives, which we're not going to talk about that right now. Everything had been taken. And they were all like at their lowest point. And they're like super weak. Like they were exhausted. They couldn't have been lament or cry anymore. And then like the strength of the Lord came to David in that moment. Yeah.

And so what a beautiful picture of even like when we're going through some really difficult things. And I mean, I don't know about everyone, but this year I've hit some loads, you know? Like life has been life in. My favorite quarter of years. In all seriousness, like, you know, like difficult things. Like, moming is not easy. And then, you know, I've experienced loss. I've experienced a lot of real things this year.

And in those moments, like when you're talking about all of those, I think I do a little bit of all of it. But one thing I do very practically in those moments. And I don't know if this is right or not. But I always give myself a deadline to feel whatever I want to feel. That's great. That's great, right? So, like, when I'm like, and I'm like, I can wall out, I can say what I want. Again, I'm not saying this is best.

I'm just saying I give myself permission to maybe it is. Like, lamenting is fine, right? But, like, maybe not some of the ways I do it. But. What's your normal deadline? Like, how long are we talking? Okay, it depends on what it is. Okay.

So, like, if it's something like, say, like my son or my husband like make me mad, I'm gonna say, you know what? I'm gonna go like, I'm literally gonna go take a shower and just sit in my room for an hour. Okay. And then I have to get over it because I got to figure it out. Or if it's, you know, a friend thing, I might take the night and be as angry as I want and then I'm gonna come back, you know, the next day and we're gonna figure it out. That's right.

We've got to solve this thing. We've got to move on from it. Or if it's, I don't know, it's so different depending on. I never let myself sit in it, though. too long. I'm typically one of the next, I'm like, you're ready for next, pretty quick. 24 hours or less than 24 hours, just because I know if I let myself

go too long, then it's going to be really bad for me. Because then I've started a spiral and I'm not going to be able to get out. But then there's like different cycles, like grief. Yeah. Maybe I can't just do 24 hours. But I'm going to give myself 24 hours to feel everything and then I'm going to do

something. And then when it hits me again, like a wave, I'm going to give myself another time period to just feel whatever I need to feel and give myself permission and grace through that season. That's great. And so, but it also, in my mind, it just triggers something like, you get to be human, you get to feel this, you get to experience this because you guys know, like, I really am a firm believer of, I know God gave us emotions, but then he tells us things like, be slow to anger.

I'm like, you literally gave me this anger. He won't be slow. Whose fault is this really good, I mean. But I really believe that, I read this devotion all years ago, that just, and it's always always stuck with me. This is maybe like 10, 15 years ago about like emotions are meant to catch our attention. That's right. So anytime you feel like anger, frustration, like that is a signal to you, not to act out of that, but to bring that to God because it caught your attention for a reason. Great Britain. And so that is what I've been really working really hard to be

able to do. And I feel like the strength piece, though, that Holly taught about in those moments is what's so powerful. Because if you take everything from me, I might be falling out on the floor, trying to figure it out. What am I going to do? Because I feel some type of way. But I love it. I how she was like, no, God will strengthen you. And then David went and he got back what was his. He did. What God had given him. That's right.

I love the example of David because in the book of Psalms, you see him always expressing what he's feeling, what he's going through and going to God and not just saying it to his neighbor. So for me, I love to complain. I don't know where my complainers are. Yeah, I got a lot of issues, guys. I'm going all in. Jason, there's a therapy right now. Yeah, I got you. Thank you.

I feel so therapeutic. Good. But I just want to complain. But when I complain to my wife or my friends, that causes, like, fear or anxiety to him. But when I complain in the presence of God, he has answers and solutions. And so just like you, it's like, I'll give myself

a moment, but I'm like, okay, God, how can we circle up? This is what I'm really feeling. He's not afraid of my doubt, my anxiety, my fear. He holds space for all of that. He said, hey, Jay, come to me. And that's sometimes the hardest part is just to kind of go to God. Oh, yeah, totally. Which just seems so simple.

He does. We all know the thing to do, but we just don't do it. Nope. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Wonder why. Or, like Holly said. That's right. Ask what's next. What now? What would you have me do?

That's wonderful. That's great. What's next? Perfect. We do have someone in the crowd as well who has a takeaway from this message. What's up? Lake Norman. There we go.

The lake. I resonated with this sermon so much because I was in the middle of a battle of feeling like I wasn't equipped to raise our teenage son. And hearing her say, the enemy is out. there and he wants you to be too tired for the calling God has put on your life. Wow. Really encouraged me, really shot me in the gut, if I'm being honest. But the pandemic really rocked our teenager's world. He went through a really deep depression and he was this kid that showed up for church

every weekend. He volunteered. He was baptized at our church and now he is questioning God. Wow. And it's been a really long battle, but just listening to this sermon reminded me like, I can't give up. I've got to fight this for him. I have two more sons, so I'm going to need that strength for them as well. But yeah, it was so good. Thank you for sharing that. That's so great. That's so powerful, and that's so real. And I know that there's a lot of people that are here today

that can relate to that. And I just thank you for being vulnerable and being in it right now, because there's so many of us that are in it right now. But I also love how the scripture says that the strength comes suddenly. That's right. And so wherever you find yourself, that would be our belief in our prayer for you that the strength will come suddenly. Right now, even in this moment,

I believe that you'll be strengthened just in the presence of what today means for us and through this conversation and just knowing that God will provide the strength that you need, even in the hardest moments like what Pastor Holly shared with us through the sermon. Amazing. All right, well, we have one more sermon

that we're going to get to talk about. Chad, one of your favorites. It is one of my favorites. We're going to week two of this year, where Pastor rolled out Do the New You. And everybody's shaking their head yes because they all pre-ordered Pastor's book. Pastor just wrote a new book called Do the New Year, and it's based off of this message and some messages beyond this.

But what I love so much is this kind of top. in so much to everything that we've already been talking about is how the you that really is inside of you, the you that God knows is not always the me that I know. It's not the me that I see on a daily basis, but the me that God wants me to be is inside of me. And it's really all about what are the different steps that I need to take in life to see that happen. How do I need to really let that come out and walk forward in what God has for me? And so if, if you're If you missed it, I hope you didn't. You can certainly watch it on YouTube, and I would encourage you to do that. But we have a little recap to show you about it, too. Take a look. The way that you have been living that has been limiting you, it is a product of the patterns of the world that you have copied unconsciously until now. We almost have elevated authenticity.

to the level of ultimate authority in our lives, to give ourselves permission, not to make progress. What wind are you cursing? Because you avoided dealing with the storms inside. The awareness of how I start doesn't have to become indicative of where I end. I believe that there is a power in Christ for you to decide.

You are being called this year to do. But he said, before you were born, before I formed you in the womb, I happened. God said, I had intimate knowledge of your intellect. And he brought me to church

to tell me to it, the new you. I got to go back. I got to go back and watch it. I got to go back and watch it. I love that pastor was just sharing before before we even knew us, he knew everything. And I just feel like I said this just a minute ago, but that has just been flowing throughout today,

that before we even got to the place that we're in, God knew that we would be in the place that we're in. God set us up to be exactly where we're at. He gave us everything we need for where we're at today. But one of the things that pastor said is, what wind are you cursing? And knowing that there's so much going on, and you may be sick,

oh, man, I hate that I'm in that position, or I hate that I'm dealing with this right now or why are they doing that again or why kids acting up this way again? What's the wind in your life that you're cursing that if you stop to sit back and say, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, God. Is that actually the thing that you're trying to do in me right now?

Is that the me? Is that part of me today? And so everybody's been asking questions. Here's my question. What's the wind you're cursing today, Jason? What's the wind in life that? that maybe is something that God's put in your life. Yeah, yeah.

I feel like the win, I'm cursing. I always go back to my leadership because I lead so many people. And maybe you can relate to this. There's always something to solve. And I'm like, why do I have to carry this weight of solving this problem again? Yeah. You know, why do I have to continuously move this forward again? Because sometimes I feel tired.

I feel like I don't have the answers. People want solutions. They want marriage counseling. They want, they want me. to be the source, and I feel empty sometimes. And so it's like, God, why are you bringing me all of this that I have to carry the weight? And maybe you feel that as a parent, maybe you feel that as a business owner. Like, why am I under this weight?

Why am I here again looking for solutions? And people are coming to me for solutions. But I feel like that win has definitely put a resilience in me to just keep going. Sometimes I may not have the answer, and it's okay to tell people, hey, I don't know. but we're going to pray about it. We're going to believe God for it. And not in the cliche way. We're actually going to sit and pray

and wait on God to be there. And so I feel like that wind comes in moments that I, you know, I hate to go all the way back to 2020. I hate, we're going into a new year. Let's see that behind that. But I feel like that pressure as a pastor or as a leader, it just kept building and building. Okay, how can we solve this problem?

And this year will be full of problems. And I already know it. But I believe that, you know, if I continue to keep my eyes on the one that called me before he knew me before I knew I would be here. He knew I would be under this weight. And so how does God want me to carry it?

And so I feel like that went from me is just constantly solving what's next. Love that. Love that. Yeah. It's really good. I mean, there's a few things that come to mind. That you're cursing. Yeah. In a kind way.

No, I think that like it's, maybe not the same because actually I'm one of those people that's energized by problems. I more so get really annoyed with what I feel like are barriers. You know what I mean? And I just get so, like, frustrated at it. And I'm like, really? Like, again? Or like, why is this in the way?

This could be so great if just this or, you know, whatever that might look like. And so for me, I think that's the thing. But you're right. You've already said a lot of what I would say. Like, since you're asking such great questions, and forcing us to now process it. Yeah, real time. Looking back, it really is beautiful how God uses that

to really, like, strengthen you and teach you perseverance and not to give up, and you have to push through that to achieve this for my glory. And, you know, and that looks like all types of different things, but, like, it is interesting, but, like, barriers are the thing I'm always, like, for real. But maybe it's because I'm, like, naturally, like, I like to be a go-getter.

And, like, so when something's, I feel like it's trying to stop me from doing that, I get super frustrated. And I'm just like, oh, so for me, real, we're gonna, we're gonna box up, we're gonna square up right now because, why? Why are you, you know what I mean? But like, it is that for me, I think. Right. For me, I think I think I, the wind that I'm cursing, as you said, is, uh, I have these, like, benchmarks I set for myself where I'm like, I should be here in this area of my life. I should be here in this area of my life. So I think for me, it's like season of life where I'm in my head, I'm like, I thought

I'd be here. I thought I'd be doing this. I thought, you know, all these different things. And so I think it's very easy for me to get, I don't know, not like a, I guess, I mean, yeah, sometimes I get upset about it, but I think, like, for me, I'm trying to figure out, well, one, these are self-imposed deadlines I've put on myself. Yeah. It's not like anything God was like, you were supposed to do this. I'm like, no, this is like in my head what I thought. Right.

But I think you said it earlier, like, there's so much that I'm like, he's teaching me in this season and there's so many things that I thought I wanted when I was 20. And I'm like, thank God I didn't get that when I was 20. I would have ruined it. Yeah. So that, that to me, I think, is where I struggle the most. Yeah. Yeah, that's great.

I would agree with that. It's a both-in for me because in it, Pastor talked all about putting off your old self. Yeah. And so then I always feel like, well, if I'm putting off my old self, then I'm growing toward my new self. But like you said, it's all about the timing and the timelines. And for me, I'm like, so I'm not there yet, though. I'm not to what I wanted to be. I'm trying to put off the old self.

Yeah. But I just can't get there yet. And so when I'm looking at these markers, like you said, that it was like, man, I thought by now this would look this certain way. I thought by now I'd be done with that. I thought by now I'd be hitting that gym five to six times a week. I'm still hitting it three times a week. What is the problem? You know what I mean?

No, but these, even in those little things, though, is when I start to get discouraged. Because I feel like, man, well, God, like if I'm. building and working toward who you've created me to be. If I'm trying to keep you at the center of my life, then I thought things would look a little bit different by now. And so that can be discouraging, but it really is trusting that, like we've been saying, that God placed me right here. He knew that I'd be exactly where I am. He knew that I'd be in the position that I am, with the people that I am, with the people that were not, just all of the different situations that you find yourself in and believing that God, this was your plan. This is what you had

in motion all along. I love what y'all are bringing up because I felt like this year I had to abandon the image of who I thought I needed to be. I had to abandon the image. And I go back this year, I got the opportunity to preach in a prison. We do a prison ministry here at Elevation Church. I think it's incredible. Yeah. And preaching the inmates that are, you know, just locked up for life sentences or 12 years, I mean, what do you say to them? You know, how do you encourage them in such a hard place? Right. But this year, I experienced the loss of my mom. and sharing with them that I had to abandon the image that God was going to do what I thought he was going to do in my life.

But once again, he was doing something in me. And I could stand and share my pain or my grief with them and say, hey, God still can be faithful in difficult situations. That's great. So the image of me this year was like, I'm going to be strong. I'm going to be a great leader. I'm going to do all these incredible things. But God saw me being more vulnerable.

More honest. Extending more hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ. and not through my life, but what he's done. And so abandoning that image for me was how the new me kind of came forth. But I didn't think it was coming forth through something so hard. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, as we wrap up this year, I just can't think of a better sermon to just reflect on

when you think back to the beginning of the year when you first heard this. And it was like, okay, this year, this is what I'm going to do then. If I'm going to do the new me, this is the thing that I'm going to do. Since you start putting things in place. And now we're at the end of the year and we're like, did I do it need? Wait, wait. But here's one thing that I love that pastor said in the message. He said, it is in obedience that potential is realized.

That's great. And I think that as we look back this year, if we can look back and say, God, man, it definitely doesn't look like I thought it was going to go. But what I can say is, I've tried to be obedient. I've tried to just follow what it is that you've put in front of me, step by step. If you've closed the door, then you've closed the door. If you've opened a door, I've tried to walk through it, God. I've tried to make new habits. And just understanding that there's grace for those that are just saying, God, I just want to be obedient to you this year.

And it may not have ended up the way that I thought. But if you're being obedient, pastor said, that's where your potential is realized. And I really believe that God respects that. And he's like, man, I see you trying. And as we look forward to a new year. it's exciting just to believe God for what's next. Totally. Hey, maybe those things didn't happen this year, but God all in your time ain't what you want to happen. That's right.

And I think when you do look back on this year, whether we're doing this here as a church, but like collectively, like look back on your own life. Like, what has God done for you? And I think hopefully it'll get as excited for what he's going to do next year as we continue to press into him and, you know, keep circling some of the same stuff.

Absolutely. At a higher level. At a higher level, exactly. Hey, I hope you enjoyed the podcast. And if you did, make sure to share it and subscribe so we can get you all of these new messages as soon as they're available. I also want to take a moment and thank all of you who are a part of elevation. Whether you support us financially or serve with us or just share these messages,

it's because of you that we're able to reach people all around the world. And if you want more information on how to be a part of elevation, click the link in the description. Thanks again for listening. Make sure to leave a review, share the message, and say, Subscribe. God bless you. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.