Hey y’all! I hope that you are happy and healthy on this Sunday. Continue to take the extra precautions needed as things continue to open up! 6 feet of social distance. ↔️

Okay, with that out of the way – let me know in the comments what your favorite part of Pastor Steven Furtick’s message was this week. ⤵️

I don’t know about you, but it seems like his messages just keep getting more and more 🔥.

My favorite part was when he said that it is staying in the breaking that leads to your blessing. How do I take that? Don’t give up when it gets hard – that’s the sign that things may be turning around for you.

Click here to go watch this message on YouTube.

While Elevation Church is located in Charlotte, NC – it’s so easy for you to get involved from wherever you are. Whether it’s volunteering or joining an eGroup – there is a place for you! Visit elevationchurch.cc for more information.

Thanks for dropping by – here are my notes. Just a reminder – I type these as I’m watching while he’s speaking. You’ll need to watch to gain the context. 🧡

Pastor Steven Furtick – Staying Power

• Acts 27:20-32; 44
• Do the biggest storms make for the best stories in our lives? Usually.
• The greatest stories usually revolve around the greatest storms.
• Sometimes you have good advice but you have bad timing.
• It’s one thing to be told you’re going to go through a storm, and it’s other thing to be experiencing one.
• Staying Power
• A lot of people have starting power, but less have staying power.
• Staying gets sexier the longer you live.
• We have such a hard time celebrating the right things in our culture. 
• The greatest power is often not in the faith to start, but what you have the faith to stay with.
• Does it take more faith stepping out of a boat when Jesus calls you or does it take more faith to stay it the boat when Jesus has called you to get to the other side?
• Most of the time people don’t really want advice, they really just want you to affirm what they are already going to do.
• Paul is doing something that he always wanted to do – which is go to Rome to preach the gospel. However, he’s going there in chains as a prisoner.
• You have an appointment.
• But in our hearts we get disappointed in the way that God does certain things.
• Just because people let you down, don’t give up and jump into the sea.
• Don’t stop trusting that God is your provider.
• You have an appointment in the storm – Paul knew that in the storm the ship was going to break apart.
• How could God call you to stay in something that is breaking? Yet it is staying in the breaking that will lead you to the blessing.
• It’s not what you go through that determines where you end up.
• It’s who you listen to.
• Rather than stay in a place that they didn’t like, they sailed into a place that would destroy them.
• You can’t control certain things (the first storm) don’t create a second storm with your decisions. 
• You can pray to God to help you in the first storm.
• Don’t try to drive out darkness with darkness.
• You can run to places in the storm that are more dangerous than the storm itself – but you can’t change if you never stay.
• One voice is wisdom, and the other is worry. Gratitude/grumbling. Blame/faith.
• Doubt doesn’t keep you from having faith, it gives you something to have faith for.
• Blame will block faith every time.
• Some storms can be avoided – sometimes it’s not the devil it’s your decisions.
• God will get us there, but sometimes may have to remove things/people for it to happen.
• You’ve got an angel telling you right now that you’re going to make it.
• Greater things – bigger storms – better stories
• Tell somebody – I’M IN THE SEASON FINALE!!!
• We’re celebrating that we stayed in the storm.
• If you stay, you will be saved.
• You can’t give up hope now – I’ve got to stay in this moment and let patience have it’s perfect word.
• Patience is the active ingredient in faith.
• Stay praising – I’ve decided that that is my survival. 
• If I don’t praise him, the rocks will cry out.
• It takes faith to stay.
• Stay sweet when the world is sour.
• Cut the ropes – quit trying to escape the stuff God is using to change you.
• Don’t cut yourself off from the vine while God is pruning you.
• The only way we can see the power of God is to stay in the place of peace.
• We’re not promised that things will look the same when we arrive – but we are promised that we will make it anyway.
• The same boat that broke apart, still got them to land safely, even though it looked different.

That’s what I got. Don’t forget to watch the message for yourself!

I pray for each of you for the upcoming week. If you’d like specific prayers, add a comment below.

Take care!