Elevation with Steven Furtick - Better Than Ever: 2021 Year In Review

Episode Date: December 27, 2021

This year wasn't just better — it was better than ever! Join us as we look back at some of our favorite sermons from Pastor Steven and Holly and our favorite moments from 2021.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. All right, we're going to get into the message very soon, but first, an important message for you. This is our 2021 year-end offering. I love this time of year. An amazing time of year, because every year we end with appreciation for what God has done,

expectation for what he's going to do. This has been a tradition. Like right now, they're going to put up a few graphics of all the offerings we've had through the years. I can't even remember them all. Game changer, waymaker. Surround. Beyond. But this year, you don't even know the word that God gave me. I don't. This is not staged. You always like to reveal it to me in front of people. This is not scripted. And we're doing our own camera work. So I apologize if the angle is off.

But this year, the Lord led me to the word better. Everybody say better. Better. I love it. Put it in the chat. And we don't mean better than another person or we don't necessarily mean that, you know, we're never content. What we mean by that is Haggai 2-9 says that the glory of this present house, what God is doing, will be greater than the glory of the former house. We believe God is always doing something greater. We just have to see it. So I want to thank you in advance for your gifts, those of you who already support this ministry. You're the reason. You're the reason we get to preach the gospel. You're the reason the thousands of testimonies that we here in this ministry are made possible. And for those of you who are beginning to give,

either through a one-time year-end donation to help us with our expansion, or the best way, really, through recurring giving, through putting God first with the tide, or maybe an above and beyond offering to say thank you to him and believe him. For better things in faith, we want to say thank you. And we're standing with you right now as we begin this season of giving called Better now through the end of the year. Yeah, thank you so much. Every time you give, it helps. us to spread the gospel to the world and beyond. And we are so thankful for your partnership with us in the gospel. It's going to be an amazing holiday season. And I can't wait to hear more about better. It's going to be better, better than you ask or imagine. Ephesians 320, we're believing

God for you. Now let's go. Well, thank you for being here with us at Elevation Church. I mean, what a year that it has been. We're so thankful that you've decided to be a part today, that you've been worshiping with us. I know the room looks a little bit different right now because we wanted to get together and just talk about some of our favorite moments from the year. My name is Chad Zolo. I'm the online pastor. I'm here with some friends. That's right. I'm Colleen Tunis. I'm on the programming team. My name's Chad. I'm the pastor at our university city campus. And I'm Brittany Akinsala. I'm our EGroots pastor. And like I said, we're just thankful that you're here in a part of Elevation Church. And as we look back and think about all that God has done this year,

I think about messages. I think about significant moments, the events that we've had. Okay, so I think about the beginning of the year back to when Pastor preached, beta blessings at the beginning of the year. And he talked about boat sinking blessings. My goodness, that was a good one. In your life, we talked about being built different. And sometimes we use that time lapse testimony.

Isn't it like you hear some of these? You're like, wait, was that this year? There's unreal that they were all this. This year. This year. Yeah. Pastor Breaching kept in the dark. It's like one of my top five ever, like ever.

Or yes you. Yes, you. Yes, you. Yes, you. Okay, in the chat, let us know what's your favorite sermon was this year. Or maybe it was your favorite moment. Holly with, I don't think I'm ready for this. And Pastor wrapped up the year like kept in the dark,

these phenomenal messages. But yeah, let us know because there were so many moments that probably marked very specific times for you. That's right. When you hear some of these messages. you think back and think, man, that was a big moment in my life when that reminded me that God had everything in control or, man, that's when this happened. Who remembers copy that? Do you remember when pastor brought Graham up on stage? Yes, yes. I do because I was weeping. I didn't control it. It was like stop crying. It was a moment. Green light at the Red Sea or this

one, the God knot. I think that one I think might be my favorite. The God nod. Who walked around doing that? Okay, the last message that Pastor Stephen preached this year. I think you've probably been doing this when pastor did this. Something good is coming from this. How many times did you do that in your life these past couple weeks? So many. It has been a staple in my week. Something good, God, I know it.

I'm believing it's not believing it. But really, it's not just the messages from our pastors that we're so thankful for this year. We really believe God did so much through you. through this church, through elevation, in our campuses. We just know God showed up in homes and workout rooms and workplaces, in e-groups, in rhythm nights with our youth and e-kids, watch parties. I mean, we could go on and on about all that we saw God do, but really just being the church together every single week

and seeing people join from all over the world each and every week. It's so special. And how God is moving through this place is pretty, incredible. So let us know where you're joining from. We always love to see how this family isn't just limited to a building here in Charlotte, North Carolina, but it's a global family. And today, we're going to take a few moments and just share some of our favorite sermons, our favorite moments, some clips from some amazing messages from this year, because this year wasn't just a better year. You know, we're believing for better, but it isn't better? It was better than ever. Ever.

Okay, so we're going to kick it off. This was one of my favorite sermons from this year, and it was right at the beginning of the year. This one has helped me a lot, not just at the beginning of the year, but it's helped shape a lot of my perspective throughout the year. This one is from same devil's new levels. Take a look. Where in your life are you using an old strategy in a new season? Where does that need to be upgraded? You know, like when you do go through the legend of Zelda, this is a current pop culture reference here. for all the young people. When you do go through a video game, you've got to pick up all the

weapons along the way. And now the shame of it is when you're fighting with an inferior weapon, because it reminds you of Goliath. You know, when you're defensive but nobody's attacking you, that's bad. The whole thing of whether David lives or die, the whole thing on whether your joy lives or die, the whole thing on whether or not you make it, the whole thing on whether or not You live to show your kids something different. See, I feel sorry for David. He doesn't know how to be a king in this way. He had a bad example in Saul.

He was only the second king that Israel ever had. The whole reason Israel wanted a king was because the Philistines were oppressing them. The whole reason the Philistines were oppressing them is because the Philistines were metalworkers. So they had more weapons. The Israelites didn't have the weapon, so they wanted a king. thing, but they got a bad king because they selected on the basis of height, not heart. When David came into the throne, he had the heart for it, but he didn't know how. And that's the thing about the people I pastor.

I have the heart to be a good dad. I have the heart to be a good woman. I have the heart to be a good employee. I have the heart to break these chains. I want to get free, but I never saw how. So now I'm out here fighting 40-year-old giant. with 15-year-old tactics. And you can't fight grown-up battles with teenage tactics.

You've got to grow into this season. You've got to grow into this challenge. You've got to grow into this assignment. You've got to grow into the anointing that you've had all along. It's not automatic. It's not automatic. And whenever I face something that scares me, you know what I do? They say, same, what is it?

New levels, new devils? No, when I hit a new devil, I sink back to the same level. I go back to the sewer, you know? I go back to the dumpster. Back when I was emotionally homeless and had nothing to eat, I go back inside myself and keep counsel with the most unreliable person that I know, me unchecked. How does it go?

See all these crazy things preachers say. New levels, new devils. So I wanted to show you on one hand how. This is not Goliath, it just reminds you of him and that you have grown. But really what I want to show you is what God did for David when he was cornered. And I believe he's going to do it for you. I know what we want to happen. That is not going to be what happens.

We want when David's got a sword to his throat. Remember, this guy, this ish, I like how his name starts with ish, because we're all dealing with some ish, aren't we? That's the part of his name, I can't say. Somebody put in the chat, newish, same God. All right, stop. He had a sword 300 shekels. Can you believe that?

That's seven pounds. Can you believe that? Goliath was 15 pounds, 600 shekels. It was only half the size of Goliath sword. So why couldn't David beat him? I should be able to do this. I should be able to move it. I always did it this way before, and I got up and go, got up and went while we're doing cliches.

What's happening right now? Why isn't this working? Because it sucks. Because the moment you mastered the strategy, it shifts. So when my oldest became a teenager, I'm so proud of him, but I didn't know how to raise a teenager. And you know, everybody started telling me, just give him a space. I said space.

Let me get this right. This human being that gave me no space or sleep for the first two years of his life, now I'm supposed to just back off. That's hard to do. Why are you looking at me crazy? You can't parent a 15-year-old the way you parent a two-year-old. I see people try to do it. And then I see the kid explode when they get out from under that supervision because you

did not shift the stress. strategy to match the season. Do you think pastoring this church now is like how it was pastoring when we had 19 people? Imagine if we tried to have the cookout on my grill after this sermon like we did back then. There's not enough propane in North Carolina. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. So what you have to do is what Abashai.

I want somebody to name their baby that. I wish you all would have named one of my kids, Abishah. It's a good name. No, it's a good name. It means, Father of a gift. And what I wanted for the Bible to say, because when I feel like the enemy is closing in on me, and I'm tired, and I'm spent, and I'm out of ideas,

and I'm sick of people. I want him to send me an angel. God did not send an angel to rescue David. My goodness. I see why that's one of your favorites, Chad. I just wanted to keep going. I know. I wanted to keep going. I got to go back and... I was sitting on this front road. We heard you. We heard you, Chad.

And it's just over and over here. That's my... That's my pastor. Thank God. And, like, that's how we started out the year. We started out the year so strong. And I know the sermons have been speaking to us all year. And there's one other thing that I have to say started out real strong, y'all. And that is worship. There were this album that we recorded this year called Old Church Baseball. Yes.

Yes. So good. You know, just a few weeks ago, it's been nominated for a couple of Grammys. Okay, we have album of the year. That's right. And then we also have two songs, Zyra, and Wait on You that are also nominated for Grammys. You know, if you all remember when we got to hear Wait on You,

when he let us hear before. Oh, like the preview? Yeah. I was like right here. We've been. First time we heard that song. Yeah, we got a little exclusive look as a staff and it was a little, If you are not familiar with it, or maybe you just want to relive it for a moment,

take a look at this. Okay, so this is one of, admittedly one of my YouTube repeats. Yes. Oh, of course. I want that to keep going. I know, I know. We can't do that. Who wants that to just keep playing?

And speaking of YouTube, can we talk about how YouTube has been ministering? It's been the year of 2021. Yeah. Playing back all the sermons. And we've even seen two new YouTube channels launched. That's right. So we had Elevation Plus launch this year. That's right.

And that's where you can watch back some of the stories that we're able to share in church. We actually go live every Wednesday and we're able to dive deeper and talk about the sermons. But then we also launched Holly's YouTube channel this year. That's right. And it's been super fun. It's honestly a really fun channel. It really is. Recipes.

There's clips of sermons, all types of things. It's also inspirational. She's got devotional on there. It's got everything you could possibly want. That's right. But the woman of God, Holly Ferdick, has been bringing words this year that have been ministering to my soul. Can we talk about that for a second? How's been different?

She's been different. She's been on another level. And she preached one of my favorite sermons called Running on Empty this year. And Colin, you probably remember these. We got these after she preached it. Yes, it was awesome. And it's literally just like a graphic

that she made to help us remember. And it says cry out, reach out, and pour out. These were the points that she preached about. And a little bonus point called Live on What is Left. And so take a look at this clip. Hey, you know, sometimes we go through seasons where the emptiness, so it's more than just the feeling that we don't have purpose. Sometimes it's the feeling that you don't have enough to make it.

And I know that some of you under the sound of my voice, you're like my friend, and you're going through the hardest thing you've ever been through. You're fighting for your life. And the word of the Lord for you today is just keep pouring. You have to keep pouring. The miracle, because it's while you pour, oh, I'm out of jars. It's while you pour that you experience God's strength and his grace and the joy that only comes while you pour. Because now you're pouring with a purpose.

She was pouring for those boys. But she was never pouring from a full jar. She was pouring from a jar that only had a little bit of... And if you wait... Thanks, guys. If you wait until you feel full to pour, you will never experience the power of... It's the miracle of feeling like God is just pouring through you.

Sometimes when you pour, it does feel like a sacrifice. A sacrifice that no one will ever see. You know what Jesus said? Luke 638, he said, give, and it will be given unto you. A good measure. Press it down. Shaken together, get that jar full, because it will be running over into your lap. Jesus said, you just keep giving it.

And I will pour into you. Our instinct says, hold on tightly to everything you have, but Jesus says, just keep giving. Be generous with your love. Be generous with your time. Be generous with your encouragement. When you feel empty, just keep pouring. So here's how the story ends. When all the jars were full, she said,

to her sons, bring me another one. But he replied, there's not a jar left. Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, go and sell the oil and pay off your debts. You and your sons can live on what's left. Can I give you a bonus point? Live on what's left. You see, when you're in a pouring season, that season where you're fighting for your life. And you just keep your head down, and you keep pouring. You pour when you're tired. You pour when you feel like no one notices.

You pour when everyone else's kids are acting right by yours. You pour when your friend gets pregnant by accident, but you still can't get pregnant on purpose. You pour when someone else gets the promotions. You pour when you need a healing in your own body. And the next thing you know, you made it through another day. You don't know how, but you did. And one day, you turn around and you've got a pantry full of oil to live on. Live on what's...

Remember that Bible study that I wrote for the women of our church? When we were in the pandemic, my husband and I were just praying about how we could help. people during this time. Like, what else could we do? I said, well, I have this little Bible study. So we sent out a message on Facebook and thousands of women from all over the world responded. And for eight weeks, every Tuesday night, they joined me live. And we studied how to be a godly wife. Somehow you made it through those dark days. But now you see, all along through the pain and the confusion and the heartache, you've been stockpiling.

She lost her husband. She's not going to get her husband back, but she had something left to live on. Oh, oh, here's that friendship that I made sitting in chemo treatments. And here's the verse that God gave me when I was crying on the couch. And here's the song that I listen to every single day for months. And every time I hear that song, it just reminds me of the faithfulness of God. And oh, here's that gratitude journal where I learned how to look for the little blessings. I get to live on what's left.

A million little miracles. Don't be afraid of the empty spaces. Because empty is where God does his best work. Empty is where God does his best work. Now you see why this was one of my favorites. And I get it. That's why I keep this reminder in my Bible. Right.

Right at Second Kings 4 verses 1 through 7. as a reminder of what Holly shared with us. And you remember she wrote, Just Keep Pouring. Right. And so that's the anthem that I've been living through in 2021 is just keep playing. That's so good. It's such a powerful visual. I think of that all the time of her just holding all of their stories.

I actually remember watching that sermon. I was like, she's definitely going to drop on this. She gave us a jar. She did. Yes, I have it on my desk. Ali, look at it all the time and it reminds me of that exact thing that you just said. Holly just has gone to a whole other level. That's right.

Whole other level. And I'm just so thankful for our pastures. The way that they continue to pour. and poor and poor weekend and week out. And one of the other things that I've loved about this year is that we were able to sync up across all of our campuses and online this year. And one of those moments was with Race to Life Vatism Weekend.

It was amazing to be able to be in these rooms again where we've been shut down for so long and doing everything we can to build again and to have this moment to see people go public with their faith in these massive numbers was amazing. And you guys got to go on the road. That's right. Our online team got to go to nine different.

states to baptize people. And you got to go to Houston. I got to go to Colorado. Chad was here baptizing people at Valentine. And it was just so, it was really special to be a part of. It's amazing. It's amazing to see people that have been waiting for an opportunity. That's right. To be able to go public in faith. And this moment representing them leaving pain in this water, leaving shame in this water, sin. And so many things that I feel like pastor's been used, or God's been using pastor to really preach to throughout the year. One of my favorite sermons. this year was a troubled mind in an open door, where pastor got real practical around what does it mean for us to be able to step into some of the things that God has called us to do.

How about we check this clip out? Now listen to this what God says to the church at Philadelphia, and I believe you might say it to the church at elevation too. I know you have little strength, but it's not about strength. Can I show you something? This is really cool. Everybody say strength. Now everybody say scheme.

Go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Verse 11 is one of those that I've read out of context for years. I didn't even really know what it meant. I never really read it in the context of Paul's conflict. But now I have, and I saw something. He said in verse 11, we've got to forgive and get through this in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we're not aware of his schemes.

Now, what was interesting to me is he didn't say in order that Satan put the verse back up. He didn't say in order that Satan might not overpower us. He said outwit us. Because the battle is not about strength. It's about strategy. Put this in the chat, say it out loud if you're with me in the room. It's about the strategy. And Satan is not stronger than you.

We just read this. If God opens a door, nobody can shut it. No devil, no depression, no trauma, no abuse. Nothing can stop the gospel of Jesus Christ from going forth in your life, in your heart, in your marriage. We give the devil too much credit sometimes because we'll say, oh, well, the devil is attacking my marriage. The devil is attacking my finances.

That's where you're feeling it, but that's not where the attack is happening. He didn't say in order that Satan might not overpower us, because that would make it about your strength. And we already know from John 1633 that Jesus said, peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you. In the world, you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. It's not about the trouble in front of you. We could have a testimony service about your trouble.

What's the point? We can all line up in play. Can I top your trouble? I have a headache. I have a back egg. I don't have a back. I don't have a head. I'm decapitated.

I've seen people do it. I've seen people do it, and we top each other with our trouble. But that's not what this is about, is it? It's not about what's happening in my life. Satan's not stronger than you. He can't make you do anything. If God opens the door to freedom, if God opens a sea, you can go through it. I don't care who's chasing you.

I don't care who said you couldn't. I don't care how long you struggled with it. It's not about who's stronger. It's about who's smarter. Because you're like, well, that's Jesus. Jesus has overcome the world. I'm not Jesus. But 1 John 4.4 says,

greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. So he's not stronger. That's not why you're stuck. He's not stronger. You have the spirit of God. He's not stronger. The condemnation that haunts you in your midnight hour has been nailed to the cross. The written regulations have been nailed to the cross.

That's dealt with. That is not what is standing at the door. Paul said, I had an open door, but I had a troubled mind. And so he sent Titus with a letter to the Corinthian Church, because he didn't know if things were going to be all right. You know, your body can be one place and your mind can be another. And Paul's at Troas, and God's given him opportunities, and he can preach the gospel to a whole city.

And he said, but I couldn't find Titus, so I left. And it didn't like he left because he wanted to. When Paul says in verse 14, I believe it is, he said, I said goodbye, that's the only time he uses that phrase in all of Scripture. It's a solemn farewell. He's almost embarrassed about it. He's like, I couldn't get my mind right so I couldn't seize the opportunity. Now that hit me because I'm trying to raise these kids, you see.

And I know God has given me an opportunity to be a great father. But sometimes if I'm honest with you, I'm sitting at the table with them. And my body is there. My body is there. But my mind is on other stuff. And some of it is real. And some of it is completely fabricated of stuff that might happen three years from now, maybe. and so my mind will drift to the possibly and slip away from the present.

Now, when I saw Paul, I saw us. He said, I was in Troas, and so was the open door that God gave me. And great things could have happened in Troas. But I had to say goodbye, not because of the trouble in Troas, but because my mind was trouble. The enemy wants to mess with your mind so much that you can't even go through the doors that God opens for you, that you can't even enjoy the moments that God gives you. He wants to mess with your mind and scramble your perspective to the point where you can't even focus long enough to sit down and pray about something. He wants to get you so focused on

something, and I put down four things that spell the word door with each first letter. One was the disappointments in your life. One was the outcomes that you can't control. That's the O. Disappointments, outcomes. One, we mentioned, the offenses that you can't get over. And one is the regrets of the opportunities that you can't get back. My God.

I mean, I really love the way that pastor not only preaches revelation. And it's a spirit that comes in rooms. to pull you out of these dark moments. But he gives you practical action steps, things that you can do and spelling things so that we can remember them, yes. I'm just so thankful for the way that Pastor and Holly has poured out this year.

Yeah, totally agree. Pastor Steven has preached some incredible messages this year, and there's one that probably only a handful of people have gotten to here, and that was his message for Elevation Knights. And if you don't know what that is, we actually got to go on tour this year, and we got to worship with over 65,000 people

in eight different cities across the United States and it was just a surreal thing to be a part of you got to go to Atlanta. Did you? That was the kickoff. Both of you guys. It was mind blowing. It was amazing. It was wild just to think of the beginning of this year, just what church looked like. Then to fast forward to the fall where we're worshipping in full arenas of people singing songs all across the United States of the things that came out of our church. And so it's always so special for me to see and get to meet our eFAM. And for you too, we got to meet so many people that came up to us and said, like, you have no idea.

how God used your church to get me through the last two years. It did feel so much like family. You know, that was the thing. You know, we'd go into an arena and it was an empty arena. And then when it was full, it didn't feel like a bunch of strangers joining together. It felt like family coming together and worshiping and hearing from pastor. It was amazing. It really was.

Well, if you didn't get to make it to one of those stops or we didn't come near you, take a look at this. While you wait on God, you're getting stronger. He is a God of yes and amen. And he has come through for me in the past and he's not going to leave me now. You but your faith. You've been in a storm lately when I see Jesus walking over top of your situation. You've been under anxiety.

The devil's been telling you you're not going to make it. He's a liar. This rock, Jesus said, I will build my church. Does it make you want to go back a little bit? I want to go back. I do too. Truly, truly. So what's crazy about this is that we were on the road

for, our teams were gone for 10 days. Pastor Stephen preached eight times in 10 days. And then we got back, did we get back on Saturday, Friday, Saturday, whatever it was, the weekend was right around the corner. And Pastor Stephen just jumped in with one of my favorite sermons from the year. And I'm like, I don't know how he does it, but he did it. And it was called Stop Crying. It's coming. It's unbelievable.

Take a look at this clip. It says, after Jesus cried, which is important. You know, trauma is real. 70 years in Babylon will make you cry it'll make you forget to sing when you find out what your kids have been doing behind your back it'll make you cry

when you and your husband don't even look at each other except when you're around people so you can fake it real good it'll make you cry alone God doesn't correct the sisters but I'm glad he didn't stop there and you can't either because in verse 38 John 11 13 It says, not Jesus cried, but Jesus once more deeply moved came. So he cried, and then he came.

Stop crying. It's coming. I don't want the old temple to keep me from seeing Jesus. Seriously. You know how it said in the verse in Haggai that from the day I brought you out of Egypt until now? Did you catch that? Really small thing in verse 5. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but it is a big deal.

because they thought that Pharaoh had to let them go for them to leave Egypt. That wasn't their biggest problem. Their biggest problem was letting go of Moses. Because see, Moses gave them the law, and they were so committed to that that when Jesus came, who was the true image of God, to show them what God is really like, not to break the law, but to fulfill it. When Jesus came, they could not recognize better because they were stuck in before. So while we're fighting like, hey, Pharaoh, let me go, hey, addiction, let me go, hey temptation, let me go.

God's like, the thing that you're holding on to is the former glory. I don't know who it is if it's three people is worth saying. You got to let go of former glory to receive present help. Now, that means a lot of things. It means that the same Jesus who cried at the gate came to the tomb. It didn't stop him from doing what he came to do. Because he didn't come just to cry or give him a hallmark card. He didn't just bake him a roast so they could eat it three days later.

He came to show them who he was. He came to reinvent their concept of God and to switch their template of truth. That not only am I a healer, I am resurrection. He came to prefigure what he would do. He came. So he cried. Everybody say he cried. Come on, don't tap out on me.

this is the best part of the sermon. I know y'all aren't going to listen to a sermon about the glory of the ladder house and skip the end of the sermon. This is the part I wanted to preach us to because he cried and you've been crying and you have a Christ who cries so that's fine. He will cry with you. But then you have a Christ who, after he stopped crying, he came to the tomb. So he's coming to the tomb.

He's coming to the part that's buried. He's coming to the part that's broken. He's coming to the part that's dead. He's coming to the part that stinks. He's coming to the part that's rotten. He's coming to the part that's given up on. He cried. He came, but that's not the good part.

The good part is verse 43. Put verse 43 on the screen quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly. And when Jesus has said this, he called. So he cried. He came. And then he called in a loud voice. And I hear that voice calling today through the halls of history, from the pages of Haggai to this very moment in the house of God.

Lazarus! Come forth! He's speaking to your joy. He's speaking to your peace. He's speaking to your strategy. He's speaking to your spirit. Come forth! So you cried a while.

It's all right. I am convinced that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed. So, did you catch that whole sermon? He cried. He came. He called. You got to call some things out today.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, ain't not going to come just automatically. You can cry over it as long as you want. But I believe that something deeper is calling from the insults. What the prophet told the people was, you got to do the work. You got to do the work. Is wishing for something that you don't have, keeping you from working with what you do have. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I needed this word that the Lord said, you can cry, but eventually you got to come and you got to call those things that be not as though they are.

Beneath your feelings and the promise is it's a covenant not a commitment Commitments can be broken yeah covenants cannot especially when one of the parties is the one who cannot lie So it's a lot of pain you know when they laid the foundation Ezra showed us something Give me Ezra 310 when they got that temple started and I think I'm gonna pick this up next week for real y'all because y'all got one point it's your fault you were shouting and and and receiving and glorifying die I didn't come to get through my points I came to give you this word stop crying it's coming it's coming this message was so challenging yet encouraging at the same time and I think that's just one of the things I appreciate the most about it's preaching you get both and it was so so helpful

We get that time and time again all year long. And I hope even just reliving some of those moments stirred up some feelings of, man, I remember what God was doing in my life at those specific moments. Maybe you're new to joining us and you're like, I want to see the rest of that. Where can I see the rest of that? Well, if you had over to Elevation Church's YouTube channel, you can catch all of these messages and more. Finish him up. Pastor was saying, I'm going to pick that up next week.

You can see what he preached the next week. And so what we just really hope that you came away with today is a sense of gratitude of what it is that you're able to be a part of. And thankful for how God is moving, not just in a global church, but through you, right where you are. And that's what we love seeing. You know, we didn't have time to hit some other amazing moments this year. Love Week. Youth X. Youth X.

How many hours was the last street? Too many. So many hours. It was a long time. that were impacted by e-groups. Yeah, e-groups. I mean, we could sit here all day and relive some of the amazing moments that we saw God do incredible things in our lives. And we're trusting that it happened right where you are. And I was just stated again, what I love about our church is that it's not just

some people here in Charlotte, but it's people in University City. It's people in Florida. It's people in GTA. It's people on the other side of the world who are mobilized to be the church right where they are. And so thank you for what you do. And thank you to our pastors. I mean, we'd be a miss to go any further without saying thank you to Pastor Stephen and Holly for your leadership for you allowing to God work in and through you and speak through you to the world, literally to the world each and every week. So put it in the chat. Just as we're closing up here, how thankful you are for our pastors. We're so thankful for you, Pastor Stephen and Holly, and thankful for you, Elevation Church. Seeing how God is working in and through your life has been

amazing even in this year-end season, seeing how many of you have stepped up for the very first time through giving in this year-end offering. So many of you said, I'm placing God first in the air of my finances and we're excited to see how God works in your life. Or maybe some of you, well, we know a lot of you went above and beyond and gave thousands of you did to say, I want to see what God can do as I trust him and step out in faith and believe for more. And that's what we're believing for your life as we wrap up this year and really look forward to what's next. We're really excited. that we get to be a part of something this year that was better than ever. That's right.

I don't know what you thought you were coming into this year with. Maybe you were carrying some heavy things, but we're just believing that it was better than ever, but we don't have to stop here. We're believing that next year is even better. Next year is going to be the best year. So thank you for being a part of the church. Thank you for letting God move in and through you from right where you are.

Our prayers of blessing are on you today. Thank you, church, for being a part. Well, if you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple things I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. You can also help us reach others by investing today at elevationchurch.org

slash give, and thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast, Guaranteed Human.