Elevation with Steven Furtick - NO MORE NAILS

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

We love comfort. But it may be getting in the way of God’s plan for our lives. See why being comfortable may not be what God wants for us.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. Where would you expect to find Jesus on Resurrection Sunday? You know, he's 40 days away from ascending into heaven, and the Holy Spirit is coming to Jerusalem, so perhaps you would expect to find him in a place with stained glass windows. Would it surprise you to know that he went on the road, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, resurrected from the grave? Who's certainly risen from the dead has the power to call for any means of transportation. I mean, if I'm up from the dead, I'm getting an angel to give me a ride.

Forget Uber. I don't need lift. I would want to ride in style. But Jesus sets out on this road. Touch somebody, say walk with me. You sounded like you didn't really want to walk. You sounded like you were headed somewhere you didn't want to be. Touch them like you're going somewhere you want to go and say, walk with me. That's really the invitation of the series.

It's been turning my world upside down and really revolutionizing my walk with God to see Jesus walking backward on the day that he got up from the dead. To see that he's not in Jerusalem where the Holy Spirit is coming, the place where he was crucified was the place where the promise is going to be released. The place where he suffered is going to be the place where the glory of God is revealed. And while waiting for that to happen, Jesus goes for a walk. Last week we met an interesting character. Does anyone remember his name? Yeah.

Cleo. We call him Cleopis. him Cleopus, but we're friendly with Cleo. So we gave him a nickname, and we were surprised that we have never met him before, and he's the first one that Jesus appears to. Well, I should give you a little bit more context than that. But women went that morning, because sometimes women have more faith than men do. They have the ability to feel God in ways.

When you get men to worship, it's like a miracle. And women will lift their hands. They just don't really have a problem coming into the presence of God. And sometimes a woman will have the kind of persistence and patience with a child. I thought y'all would back me up right here. I'm trying to give some love to the women. But they went to the tomb, remember, to anoint Jesus' body. But his body wasn't there.

And in some ways, I guess, it was an indictment that they thought he would still be there when he told them, I'm getting up on the third day. They didn't really believe that, even though they were sentimental. They had not yet experienced that kind of supernatural resurrection power that enables you to know that even if it seems dead, was dead, is dead. It doesn't have to stay dead. That's what resurrection tells me. That's why our logo is a neon logo, a neon arrow pointing upward to let you know that wherever your life is, is today, love can lift you, whatever pit you've fallen into, love can lift you, whatever time

you've lost, whatever years you've wasted, love can lift you. Whatever fear has held you down up until this point, the grave is empty, he is risen, and we're going somewhere. So the women come to anoint his body, but his body isn't there. say it isn't there? I feel excited today. God's going to set somebody free. I feel it in every fiber of my being. God is going to set somebody free today. Yeah. His body wasn't there.

Okay, so his body isn't there. So he's up out of the grave. Where is he? Well, he kind of appears throughout the day, but I want to go back to where. Can I pick up where I left off last week? Don't worry about it if you weren't here. I'll bring you in. So he walks with Cleo in this unnamed companion. Some scholars speculate it could have been his wife. The text doesn't say that. The text doesn't give us the other name because sometimes it's not about you.

It wasn't about revealing who the other person was. It wasn't even about Cleo. Jesus is sneaking up behind two travelers who are disappointed and discouraged because God doesn't need for you to be happy to do a work in your heart. He doesn't just hang out with people who pretend like they have it all together. Cleo is not only concerned, but in many ways he is crushed because his expectation of who Jesus would be, what he would do wasn't met when he died on the cross. It crushed Cleo.

And Jesus comes alongside the one who has crushed and his unnamed companion. And he walks with him away from the place where the promise will fall toward an unknown Well, it's unknown today. They knew where it was at the time. But it was so insignificant in that day because God doesn't just show up in big places and appear to important people. He might show up and speak to somebody in the back of the room, somebody in overflow, somebody who isn't even in the church building there in a hospital bed.

He goes to this village called Amas. And along the way, wouldn't it be awesome if Jesus himself preached to you? I mean, I know I'm pretty good, Stacey. So you're walking. And Jesus comes up and doesn't ask if he can walk with you. He just starts talking. And he asks him a question. Okay, listen, before God gives you the answers, sometimes he'll change your questions.

Is it good? Mighty quiet in this church today. Sina is mighty quiet. Sina looks good. He shaved his head, looking like a UFC fighter, looking like a mixed martial artist. I'm be choking nobody, Sina. But he goes for a walk. and hey, what you're talking about?

And they tell him about their disappointment, and he can handle it. It doesn't chase him away. They tell him about their doubt, and he can handle it. And that's revolutionizing me, because I thought I had to have faith for God to meet with me. But I'm growing to understand that maybe God's presence is most powerful when I get honest about my doubt, get honest about my pain, and seek him even still. Maybe that's where I learned the most when it doesn't go the way I wanted to. The detours, the details, the dead ends, the detour.

Remember, we said we want to see him in 3D. So here's the Son of God, walking with two travelers, away from the destination. I'm supposed to be on that stage right now, but we're walking the wrong way. And as we're walking, he's talking, and he explains to them all about himself. The Bible says that he started with Moses and the prophets, and he talks about maybe, I don't know exactly what he said. The Bible just summarizes, but maybe he talks about the Passover lamb. that Moses had the people prepare to celebrate and commemorate their coming out of Egypt and their forgiveness of sin. Now, they're hearing about the Passover Lamb, but they don't know that they're standing with the Passover Lamb.

They won't recognize that right now because usually you only recognize the full extent of what God was doing in reverse. So while you're on the road, you might not see it. But they keep walking. Touch somebody say keep walking. And Jesus is just talking. And they like his teaching and they're interested in what he's saying. You know how I know? Because when they got to where they were going, the Bible says it was a seven-mile journey.

And that's why we're calling it seven-mile miracle. And we're using it to look at the seven last statements that Jesus made on the cross that are recorded in the Gospels. But he went with them all seven miles. He went with them all the way to Amas. And when they got to the place where they thought they were going, Because they weren't going to stay there long. God will meet you where you are, but he won't leave you there.

How good is this already, man? This is the introduction. I had got to my topic yet. Don't worry, I'll get you out on time, but I got something to say today. And as they walk, his words interested them. But when they got to the place where they were going, this village called Amas, The Bible says that Jesus acted like he was going to keep going because the journey starts where you are, but where it ends depends on you.

And you decide whether you want your relationship with God to just be some superstitious thing or whether you want it to be something so real that you fully surrender the operating system. Write that down. The cross is my operating system. It is not an addition. It is not an accessory. It is not an app. It is the new way that I do what I do, whatever I do.

It doesn't just change what I do on Sunday morning. It matriculates into my Monday. It transforms my Tuesday. It works on Wednesday. It comes through on Thursday. I follow him on Friday, and I'm still saved on Saturday, because he's the God. Of all seven miles.

How many have decided? I'm going all the way with Jesus. He'll be got a good work in me. We'll be faithful to complete it. I'm not stopping. Where I started. Somebody said, I'm going all the way. All the way.

And they were like, hey, you want to eat something? Cleo said, man, we didn't really plan on a guest, but come on in. And where we left last week is that while, look at verse 30 of Luke 24, I love this, is resurrection Sunday. Every day is resurrection Sunday. Every day is Easter at elevation. A miracle can break out in any heart, at any time, in any circumstance, in any grave. And so he sits down and in a...

In a common experience of a shared meal, the Bible says while he was at the table, because remember, they're interested in who he is, but they don't yet recognize who he is. Like some of y'all who come here who don't really believe the stuff yet, but you like the way it makes you feel. That's cool. You're not committed yet, but you're curious. You're like, that was kind of weird, that one thing. Want to go back? Yep. Because he meets you where you are.

And he sits down with him. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has time for a meal break on Resurrection Sunday. And Bible says he just starts taking over, okay? You've heard before that God is a gentleman and he won't come in if he's not invited. That's partially true. But once you let him in, he takes over. Be ready for that. He takes over.

He says, down. He took bread. He just took it. And Cleo's just watching. And this visitor, this traveling companion, becomes the host in somebody else's house. And that's what happens when he comes in your heart. And when he takes the bread and he gave thanks, so Mary taught him manners. Say the blessing before you eat.

and he broke it and he began to give it to them. We postulated last week that when verse 31 says it was then that their eyes were opened and then that they recognized him, that perhaps the reason they saw his presence when he sat down with them and gave them the bread, was not only that he broke the bread like they broke his body, but that when he gave it to them, in Jewish custom, the bread was broken like this and given like this, and they saw where he was wounded. They saw where the nails were. And when they saw where the nails were, they realized who he was. which lets me know that sometimes the power of an example is greater than the power of an explanation. He walked with them seven miles.

He walked with them for the entirety of their journey and what his words could not show them they saw in his wounds. Graham was listening to this sermon, and you know how kids will just say what they think? He goes, how do you know? because he was pointing out to me that it doesn't say that they saw his scars in the text. And the more we got to talking about it, I realized the way he was thinking about it was like this. Well, if Jesus got up from the grave and he has the power to overcome death, he wouldn't leave scars where the nails had been. You know, if God has resurrection power, surely he'd do a little cosmetic surgery.

So Jesus isn't having to walk around with some big holes in his hand or marks in the places where they had nailed him, where the Roman guard that was led by the Jewish leaders had crucified him, sentenced him to death, executed him for the sins of all mankind. Surely he wouldn't leave the scars. But I had to show Graham, and I'm going to show you today how I know they saw his Because look, the Bible says their eyes were opened and they recognized him. They saw the one that was with them all along, but they saw him not in his words, but in his wounds.

They saw him not because they heard the stone was rolled away, but because they were up close and personal with the one who had suffered. And when they saw where he suffered, they realized who he was. Then their eyes were open and they recognized him. And then he disappeared from their sight. Because that was never their destination. Look at verse 32. The scripture says, they asked each other, we're not our hearts burning while he talked.

His words made their hearts burn. But it was his wounds that opened their eyes. There are some things that cannot be explained. They can only be experienced. And when I tell you that God is near to the brokenhearted, I can tell you that all day long, but it is not until your heart is broken. It is not until you are at the end of yourself. It is not until those who walked with you have turned their back on you, but God stood

by your side that you can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper. What can man do to me? I bear on my mind of the Lord Jesus. Let no man trouble me. I walked through the valley. I went through the shadow. But it wasn't with his words. It was where he was wounded.

That's where they saw him on the road. He opened the scriptures to us. And now they're excited, so they leave Amas. They got up and went back. God told me to tell somebody, get up and go back. I know Jesus got up, but the reason he got up is not so you could stand around with sacramental spices and sing some sacramental songs to a stationary God. He got up so I could get up the same power. I'm sorry I'm shouting, but something's inside of me.

Makes me shut. Because I see you getting up and I see you going. back. I see you getting up. The prodigal son said, this is ridiculous for me to be down here with the pigs when my father owns the palace. Get up, go back. You don't need a speech. This is your second chance. They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, and they retreaded the seven miles. This is the second seven miles when they turned around rerouted by the resurrection power. of God revealed in the scars of the Savior. Thank you, Lord.

I feel his presence today. They got up, they went back. This is your comeback. Come back, Cleo. Come back, Cleo. The Spirit is coming. Come back, Cleo. God's not done with you yet.

Come back, Cleo. They got up and they came back. And when they got there, they found the 11. this is the disciples minus Judas. Judas didn't go so well for him. He didn't come back. But they were all assembled together. And when Cleo got there, they were starting to get the picture because Jesus had been appearing to them too. And now it all comes together. And now the ones who went away come back and the ones who stayed. They all get together. And they say, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. And Cleo's like, yeah, me too. We saw him through. It's amazing.

Look at verse 35. They were like, hey, we were on this road, and he was told my Moses. When he broke the bread, he was recognized in the scars. How do you know he still has scars? Graham said, okay, here's how I know. Because what Luke doesn't tell us, John does tell us. And I want to go there for a minute because it's Resurrection Sunday, now it's evening. It's been a long day for Jesus.

You start off with a little exercise, push that stone out of the way, a little crossfit. They take me for granted. That humor was epic. That is elite-level preacher humor. Whether you recognize it or not, the Lord liked that joke. I never realized how funny the Bible is, man. It's hilarious. It really is.

That's something I didn't get because I always thought God was so serious. And I know, hey, I know it's serious. It's a matter of life and death. Trust me. Nobody takes more serious to me. But Jesus is just messing around with people sometimes. Watch this. It says on the evening of the first day of the week, this is verse 19, John chapter 20. Same evening now. So Cleo is coming back, and the disciples were together

with the doors locked for fear. See, that's what fear will always do. It will always lock you in from the inside. They weren't locked out. They were locked in. We lock ourselves in because of fear. Remember that. That's important. They were locked in for fear of the Jewish leaders. Hey, they might kill us. Hey, there's a rumor circulating that we stole the body. We better stay up here. Now, remember, Cleo and his companion went the wrong way. But is it any better to stay in Jerusalem with the doors locked? Some people go away from God. Some people stay in church, but their heart is so locked, they might as well not even be there. It's about your heart. And Jesus is so funny.

Watch this. The doors are locked for fear of the Jewish leaders. And Jesus came and stood among them. How did he do it? He picked the lock. See, grace will break in the back door, kick the door down. Grace is a G. Grace will come on in, take on over, take your bread, break your bread, change your life.

Jesus showed up and said, peace. Grace is a G. Touch somebody say, grace is a G. Hashtag grace is a G. Just any way in. Be with you. But watch this. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Five wounds. Five is the number of grace. Just remember that. Five wounds in his side, in his hands, in his feet. Five wounds. He showed him his hands. Five fingers. He showed him his hands where the nails were. Where the nails were. And I wonder did they have a flashback because the first word, there are seven, we're going to get them all. This is the first word that Jesus spoke from the cross. It's a statement. He said, Father, forgive them.

For they know not what they do. What a generous interpretation. When people insult me, I tell God they know exactly what they're doing. And if I do forgive somebody, it takes me time. But while they were driving the nails, I'm flashing back. Now, from the cross, I wonder when they saw his hands, did they remember his words? I wonder when they saw where he was wounded. Did they remember the words he spoke?

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Not what they did, but while they were doing it, he had the presence of mind to forgive. And he needed help. Even Jesus, perfect as he was, human as he was. was, knew that he could not forgive without the help of his father. So as I think about forgiveness today, I wonder where you've been wounded. Jesus, it was in his hands. When they saw the hands, they realized this is not an impersonator, this is not an imposter.

They had to see something. They had to see something that let them know what he went through. you keep trying to prove God's presence by your successes. But when it came time for Jesus Christ, the son of God, to prove his presence, he said, look where the nails were. See my hands? See where they drove the spikes between the bones so they would not break so that it would support the weight of my body long enough for me to suffocate? See? See, it killed me, but I didn't stay dead. It broke me, but I am now whole.

I was dead, now I'm alive. See? My scars. My scars tell a story. I'm not ashamed to show my scars. Christianity is not cosmetic surgery so you can hide what you've been through to try to get people to think you're perfect. Christianity. Jesus Christ didn't come to conceal the pain.

He came to reveal his glory, and he showed it in his scars. But there was one. God is always looking for the one who wasn't there. And the Bible tells us that even though the 11 minus Judas got to see him, there was one who wasn't there named Thomas. Can I talk about Thomas for one minute? Let me teach you about Thomas. Oh, man, Thomas, he gets a bad rap.

They call him in the church. They call them Doubting Thomas. If you ever heard this before? Doubting Thomas, because church people will label you by one moment in your journey. Doubting Thomas. Adultery Annie. I'll stop right there. Some things going through my head that would have to be edited out for you too.

Because life will label you by what you did. And the Bible gives us a little p. Only John tells us to this, because John had this sensitivity to him. When you read his gospel, he tells you things other people don't mention. He said, now Thomas, also known as didomus. I mean, if we've just got to label Thomas, a doubter, can we at least call him doubting didomis because the alliteration works much better? Doubting didimus.

The Bible says that doubting diddy, one of the 12, was not with. Somebody say, he wasn't there. So now Jesus and Thomas got something in common. When they went to look for Jesus' dead body, he wasn't there. When Jesus showed up alive and resurrected, Thomas wasn't there. And Thomas wasn't there. The Bible doesn't say why he wasn't there. I've always heard it preach like he wasn't there because he didn't have enough faith to be there.

But the boys inside had the doors locked. They weren't any better. So if we're going to give out nicknames, let's talk about Simon Peter inside with the doors locked. How about Scarety cat Simon Peter? Scarety Simon. How about Lock Door Levi? Lock him up, Levi, and doubting Dickey. And we all have doubts.

That's what I'm trying to say. We all have scars. We all have dysfunction. You might have long sleeves. But if I could roll up your sleeves, you've been through something. You struggle with something. Your wife may not know it, but God does. I got to hurry.

I'm getting really indulgent. I've got to get you out of here because the next crowd's coming in. Somebody say nails. Nails. Nails. So the other disciple told him, we have seen the Lord. But Thomas said, this is why they call him Downing Thomas. I call him honest Thomas.

I don't call him doubting Thomas. I call him honest Thomas. Truthful Thomas. Because Thomas is like, I'm not buying it. I'm not buying it off what you said. I need to see for myself. I got to see Jesus for myself. This has to be real to me.

So, hey, unless I see the nail marks in his hands, unless I see where he suffered, I will not believe in his glory. And unless I put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I won't believe. Watch Jesus. Now, I want to point out one thing in verse 26. Look at it. Seven days later. A week later, seven. Seven miles.

Seven days. God will leave you in a space where you don't understand to create faith in your heart. So Thomas says, I need to see the scars. Jesus could have showed up on the spot. He waited seven days. Jesus could have walked up to Cleo and said, See, my scars, it's me. But sometimes he wants to let you walk and wonder and walk and wonder,

not because he doesn't love you, but because if your faith needs an explanation, it cannot sustain the trials of life. So he waits seven days. Y'all help me preach this. He waits seven days. Have you ever had to wait seven days? Have you ever had to wait through a custody battle?

Have you ever had to wait to see if this is ever going to feel better? Have you ever had to wait through pain, wait through depression, wait through anxiety attacks, wait through bad reports, wait through a newscast? Have you ever had to wait? A waiting period? And then when Jesus shows up a week later, seven. Everybody say seven? Seven days, seven miles.

Seven days, seven miles. miles. It's the number of completion. And then Jesus shows up, maybe just at that point, where Thomas is tired of waiting, and the disciples were in the house again, and Thomas, this time, was there. And Jesus walks in. Look at the next part, though the doors were locked. They still locked the doors, still scared, but they stayed. Still scared, but they stayed. I still got some addictions, but I'm in church today. God can work with that. I'm still on the road.

I don't get it, but I'm still. And this time Thomas was there, he's not going to miss it this time. And Jesus came in, stood among them, and said, peace. Watch what comes next. You'll tell me to see my scars. Now, this is important. Put your finger here. Where the nails were.

Isn't that what you needed to see, Thomas? Where the nails were. Now, notice something. He didn't say where the nails are. Yo, Tommy, I'm back from the grave to see something. Look, Thomas, put your finger where the sin was. Put your finger, where the shame was. Put your finger where they tried to crucify.

The creator of no more. Somebody shout, no more nails. No more nails. In other words, what held me doesn't hold me anymore. I came to declare. It's a day of freedom. I wish you would push your neighbor till they almost fall over and say, no more nails.

No more nails. Now, I've heard so many sermons about forgiveness because we've all been wounded. Raise your hand if life hasn't wounded you yet. I want to see where the liars are in the church, because I want to have a special prayer for all the liars who would have the audacity to lie in the presence of God and act like you haven't been wounded. We've all been wounded. Rock Hill, Gaston County, it doesn't matter.

Toronto, Canada. You can't walk the road without being wounded. You can't go to church without being wounded. You didn't speak to me. That's why I laughed. They didn't speak to me. I was in a church one time, and the preacher got on this thing about wounds. And it was so weird, y'all, because he was like, he was preaching about wounds.

His thing was, try to get everybody go back and remember all the ways they've been wounded throughout their whole life. He had me thinking of stuff in the third grade. Just the craziest stuff, like that was going to bring healing. Look at this. Jesus didn't show Thomas his wounds. He showed him his scars. There is a difference between being wounded and being scarred.

So when I prayed about this first word of forgiveness, the Lord told me to talk to you about the nails. Whatever has wounded you, whatever you hide, whatever happened. See, when Jesus shows Thomas his scars, I'm glad he kept his scars. I'm glad he kept that part. I'm glad he didn't stay dead, but I'm also glad that he came out scarred because that gives me hope. And that's how I try to preach. I don't want to preach wounded, because if I preach wounded, I'm going to inflict my pain on you.

And I don't want to be a wounded parent. I don't want to be a wounded spouse. I don't want to walk around. God spoke to me a couple months ago, and he said, if I've really healed you like you claim I have, why are you still so touchy? Thomas said, I want to see where the wounds were. When I teach preachers, Jonathan can tell you, I tell them, don't you get up and tell the church all the ways that you woke up at 5.30 a.m. And if I put you in my pulpit, show the church some of your scars.

You can show them the stones that God has rolled away. That's fine. That's a part of it. He is a God of miracles. He is a God who makes dreams come true. And we've all got some stones that he's rolled away, but we've all got some scars too. So show them your scars. Show them where you didn't get up at 5.30.

In fact, show them where you pretended like you didn't hear the baby crying at 5.30, and Anna got up. Tell them that story. Tell them how you almost quit. Tell them how you wanted to throw up the first week you went out to preach after the news media ran a story about you for four days straight saying things about you. Tell them that. Tell them how you were in the bathroom and you came out smiling.

Show them where the wounds were, and it'll give them hope that what wounded me doesn't have to hold me. It's been seven days. Forgiveness doesn't mean it didn't happen. The scar shows it happened. Jesus didn't show up and say, what, cross? What you're talking about? I don't remember cross. I heard a preacher say one time, this guy's an idiot.

He should have his credentials revoked. He said, if you've really, let's get a preacher's voice going, And if you've really forgiven someone in your heart, you will not even remember the offense. There is a word that comes to my mind to describe what he said, but I'm going to just say it's inaccurate. It's not denial. When I say forgiveness, because I've got to be careful, because I'm a pastor, right? I'm not just passing through preaching one week leaving.

I'm not trying to just get something. I'm trying to go on a journey with you and to let you know that when you let go of whatever wounded you so that you can be free and go into the future God has for you, it doesn't mean that you pretend it never happened. This is not denial. The nails were there. My dad walked out on me. Not my dad. I'm saying that you could say, my mom had an impossible standard that I could never live up to. And I believe that part of my eating disorder today has to do with that. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I can't let it hold me. me, I cannot blame her forever. Not if I'm a Christian. Not if I am a Christian. Not if I worship

the one who was wounded for my transgression. See, I need to let you know something because the hardest person you'll ever forgive is not your ex, is not your mom, is not your dad, is not your neighbor who came over your fence and your property line. The hardest person you will ever have to forgive is yourself. See, the truth be told, it is my self-inflicted nails that I have the hardest time letting go of. But I want the devil to know when he comes to hammer at me with accusation. I don't know where you go when that starts to happen, how worthless you are. Have you noticed the devil loves to hammer you? And he's got a big hammer. But let me tell you little secret. He ain't got no more nails. Somebody shout no more nails. The next time the devil

hammers you with accusations, shout back in his face. You ain't got no nails. All my nails are in that cross. All my shame is on that cross. Somebody shout no more nails. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. The devil might have a hammer, but he doesn't have any nails. Reach out and touch. It plays where the nails were, where they were. It doesn't mean it didn't happen.

It happened. I fell short. It happened. I ruined the relationship. It happened. They abused me in ways that I don't know. even want to tell my own spouse. It happened. I deal with the traumatic remembrance. See, it's not that it didn't happen, and it's not that it doesn't hurt. That's not what forgiveness

is. Forgiveness doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. I mean the nails might be gone, but the memory is still there. And it's really easy to forgive sometimes when the person that you're forgiving is gone. But when you still have to work out shared custody, when you still have to work out, to live with the memory when you still can't be touched without recalling the shame of when you were touched the wrong way and now you're trying to learn how to love the right way when you're trying to learn how to trust it doesn't mean it won't hurt away with the preaching that will teach you that the pain will go away when you forgive the offense is not that the pain goes away I'm helping somebody I'm setting somebody free

You keep waiting for the feeling of forgiveness to come. It's not a feeling. It takes faith. I said it takes faith. I said it takes faith. I said it takes faith. It takes faith to believe that the same place where the nails were is the same place where the healing is. They saw it in his scars.

Jesus needed those nails. If they hadn't nailed him to that cross, if they hadn't punctured, if the blood didn't flow from that place, the power wouldn't be released. I'm saying not that God's going to take the scar away, but that he is going to release the greatest strength in your life from the place where the nails were. Come on, shout, no more nails. It's a declaration. It doesn't mean it didn't happen. It happened. They bullied you.

It happened. They lied about you. By the way, not only have you suffered some wounds, but you've inflicted a few too. And it's kind of crazy how we can be comfortable putting all of our nails in Jesus cross, but then walk around with a pocket full of our own to put it. in other people. If all my nails are in His cross, that means all of yours are too. I cannot demand to receive a grace from God for me that I will not give to you.

And so what it means isn't that it didn't happen. What it means isn't that it didn't hurt. What it means is not that I won't handle it. I might not be able to be friends with you in the same way anymore because I might not be able to trust you. Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. Don't go emailing your ex on message them on Facebook. When you're married now for 12 years, talking about will you forgive me in the still of the night,

end of the road, flashbacks to prom. It's not that things won't be different. It's not that I won't handle it. But Thomas, I want you to put your finger. in the place where I was held to the cross and I want you to know

that what held me doesn't hold me anymore. That's what forgiveness is, friends. It's not that it didn't happen. It happened and it was horrible. It's not that it doesn't hurt. It's just that I'm not going to live in the offense any longer.

I've been wounded long enough. Why would I choose to stay wounded when healing is in his hands? Why would I keep nailing you to a cross when it's only hurting me? Somebody say, no more nails. No more nails. The Spirit of God is in this place. No more nails. It's all in the cross.

All my past. All my shame. It's all in the cross. No more nails. To be free, I got to let go. And I declare over your life today, not that it won't ever hurt again, not that some things won't need to change, not that it won't be a process. Remember, this is only my one of our journey.

But if you will put your nails in that cross and trust what Jesus proved that all things, somebody shot all things, even the nails, even Judas, even Judas. even that. I talked to a woman who went through the most traumatic childhood experience you could describe. I wouldn't put it in this sermon because there are kids who came in. But what she went through was so horrible, yet she was able to look at me in the eye and say, although I wouldn't choose it, and although I'm not saying it was okay or that it was right or that God did it, I'm not trying to justify it, when I see how God has used,

Even the things that I wouldn't choose is not that I wanted it to happen. It's not that it doesn't hurt. I'm not going to fake. I'm not going to live in denial. I'm not going to stay in dysfunction. But I wouldn't trade my scars for anything because my scars are the proof of his power. Yeah, I got scars. Yeah, I went through it.

Yeah, it hurt like hell. Yes, they drove the nails. Yes, it was offensive, and yes, it was wrong. But no, I won't stay here. I won't sacrifice my future on the altar of my past. No more nails! I'm coming out! I'm coming out!

How long do you want to stay wounded? How long do you want to stay stuck? It happened. I'm not living in denial. It hurts. I'm not going to live defensive pretending like it doesn't hurt. And I have to handle it. I'm not going to live in dysfunction,

enabling dysfunctional situations and calling it forgiveness. I'm not going to stay here dead when he is risen. No more nails. No more nails. He is going on the cross today, all of it. All of it. The sin you did, the sin that was done to you, is all going on the same cross today. And all things, even the scars, not just the stone, but the scars.

All things will work together for the good. Look, Thomas, it doesn't hold me anymore. Thomas. Your doubt doesn't have to hold you anymore. Look, Thomas. Touch. You see my scars? You see my scars. I know you got some wounds. They've been open long enough. I know you're not over it yet. You may never feel completely over it, but you've got to move on. You can't stay like this forever. You can't stay angry about it forever. You got to get going. Lift your hands. Lift your hands. Thank you for joining us.

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