Getting Unstuck

0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:03.240 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.400 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:09.119 enjoy today's message, why don't you be a blessing and 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:11.799 share it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.040 for God's very best in your life. God bless you. 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.000 It's great to be with you today, and I hope 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:20.680 you'll stay connected with us during the week through our 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:25.120 daily podcast, YouTube channel, social media, and you can come 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.560 visit us in person. We'd love to have you be 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.319 a part of one of our services. I'd like to 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.520 start with something funny, and I heard about this wealthy man. 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.000 He was known for being very eccentric. He's having a 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:40.199 big party at his house and in his backyard he 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.960 had a huge swimming pool filled with sharks and alligators. 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:48.120 He announced his guest, anyone that will swim across my pool, 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.160 I'll give you anything you want. In a few minutes, 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:53.680 there was a big splash and a man was in 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:57.880 there going ninety to nothing, dodging sharks and maneuvering around 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.600 alligators and made it to the other just in the 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.200 nick of time. I wander said, Wow, you're the for 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:05.720 evest person I've ever met. Now, what do you want? 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:08.480 The men said, what I want more than anything else 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.000 is the name of the person that just pushed me 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:15.440 in saying like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:18.280 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:20.960 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:23.800 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:28.000 of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:32.640 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:36.679 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:41.319 about getting unstuck. There are times that we all feel stuck. 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:45.039 We've had a disappointment, we get stuck in a bad mood, 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:49.560 or we've made mistakes, stuck in guilt. We can feel 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:53.840 stuck in our career, stuck being single, stuck raising a 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.880 difficult child. Thought's whisper It's never going to change, this 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:02.400 is permanent. Those are all lives. God did not create 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:06.480 you to live stuck, to be limited by your circumstances 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:10.679 and restricted because of what people have done. He created 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:14.560 you to rise higher, to reach new levels, to break 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.720 barriers of the past. And yes, there are seasons of waiting, 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:23.320 times of testing where we go through struggle, but that's 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:27.560 not how your story ends. There are seasons of harvest, coming, 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:33.359 seasons of breakthrough, seasons of uncommon favor where God steps 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:37.000 in and does what only he can do. You may 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:39.679 feel stuck in some area of your life today and 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.280 all the circumstances say it's not going to change. That 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.880 God must have forgotten about you. No, here's the key. 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:52.000 God shows up when you're stuck. Just as Paul in Silence, 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:56.440 they were stuck in prison, their feed in chains. It 0:02:56.520 --> 0:03:00.120 looked permanent. But at midnight, as they were seeing and 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.720 praise is, God showed up. There was a great earthquake, 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:07.359 the prison doors flung open. They walked out as free men. 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.560 Jonah was stuck in the belly of a well. He 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:15.720 had made mistakes, was his own fault. But God doesn't 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:19.919 abandon us when we get off course. That well suddenly 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:23.720 had indigestion, went to the shore and spit Jonah out. 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:28.240 God gave him another chance. Hannah in the scripture, she 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.320 felt stuck. She had been trying to have a baby 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.920 for years, but she was barren. She watched her sister 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:38.920 have child after child and didn't seem fair. She went 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:42.600 to the temple and prayed. The prophet Eli said to her, 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:45.480 God heard your prayer, and you will have a child. 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.200 She not only had one baby, but God gave her 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:53.680 six children. This was after years of her feeling stuck, 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:57.840 thoughts telling her that she would always be barren. Don't 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:02.440 believe the never lies. Never get well, never get married, 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:06.560 never accomplish your dream. You may be stuck now, but 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:09.640 you're not gonna stay stuck. God's about to show up. 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:14.120 Job thought he was stuck. He went through great difficulties, 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:18.520 lost his health, his family, his business. He was so 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.800 depressed he said, I hate my life. I wish I 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:24.880 had never been born. His wife joined in and said, 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.479 I agree. Job, just curse God and die. It's good 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.360 to have supported people and all the circumstances said. Job 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:37.000 was done. But God shows up to stuck people. He 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:40.400 not only restored what Job lost, but Job came out 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:44.640 with double. God makes the enemy pay for bringing the trouble. 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:48.160 And we all go through difficulties and things that are 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.880 not fair. And those thoughts will tell you it's never 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:53.760 gonna change. But you have to keep this down in 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:58.120 your spirit. Stuck is not your destiny. God came to 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.800 loose the captives came to free you from what has 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:05.800 you restricted. Joseph thought he was stuck in a pit. 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:10.120 His brothers left him there to die. A caravan of 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:14.560 Ishmaelites came. He was sold into slavery in Egypt, where 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.760 years later he would become the Prime Minister. Looked like 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:21.280 he was stuck, but it was all a set up 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:25.280 to move him into his purpose. The enemy won't tell 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:28.880 you that God's working behind the scenes that is leading 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.920 you to your purpose, that being stuck is only temporary. 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:36.920 He'll whisper all you're done, it's never gonna change. Don't 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:41.320 believe that God's purpose for your life cannot be overridden 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:45.720 by a bad break, a delay, a loss, a hardship. 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:48.960 And sure there'll be times we feel stuck, but you 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:52.880 have to remember God is still in control. He's still 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:58.400 ordering your steps. At the appointed time, he will loose you. Suddenly, 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:02.400 doors will open, the well spit you out. Suddenly you 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:06.000 have that baby, Suddenly you've become the Prime Minister, so 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:08.680 to speak. You step in to a new level of 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:13.080 your destiny, and the scripture says, lift up your head 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:16.800 and the King of Glory will come in. If you're 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.760 going to get unstuck. You can't go around with your 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:24.200 head down focused on your problems, thinking you've reached your limits. 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:26.880 As long as your head is down, you're going to 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:30.600 stay where you are. Do yourself a favor, lift up 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:34.920 your head, have a new perspective. You may be stuck, 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:37.640 but we serve a God who knows how to get 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:40.839 you unstuck. He did it for all those people in 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.200 the Bible. He's going to do it for you. You 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:47.440 may have tried everything you can. You've done your best, 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:51.520 but nothing improved. You don't have any more options. The 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:55.200 good news is God never runs out of options. You 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:57.880 don't see a way, but God has ways that you've 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.880 never thought of. Instead of having defeated, mind said, well, Joe, man, 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.080 I never get any good breaks. I can't get through 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:08.520 this addiction. I don't think I'll ever get well or 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.680 turn it around. I may be stuck now, I don't 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.400 deny that, but I know this. I am coming out. 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:18.560 Something good is gonna happen to me. Blessings are chasing 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.080 me down. The battle is taking place in our mind. 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:27.400 It's easy to become complacent to where we're comfortable with mediocrity. 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:32.240 You had big dreams, but it's been so long, nothing 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:35.840 has worked out, so you water down your dreams. I 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:38.640 can live with this addiction. I'll never have more than 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:42.960 enough all my family struggles. I don't deserve to be blessed, Joel, 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:46.120 I've made so many mistakes. There has to be a 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:49.640 change on the inside before there will be change on 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:54.520 the outsides. Victory starts in our thinking. When you've been 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:58.600 stuck a long time, it can create strongholds that keep 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.960 us from God's best. You need to lift up your head, 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.800 have a new vision. You may be stuck now, but 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:09.120 can I encourage you? Where you are is not where 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:13.000 you're staying. You will beat the sickness, you will break 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:16.800 the addiction. You will meet the right person. You're about 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.800 to become unstuck. Where what's held you back is broken 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:24.000 off of you. There's going to be a release where 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:28.480 God thrust you into your purpose, favor blessings that you've 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:32.000 never seen. This is what my mother did when she 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:36.040 was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer back in nineteen eighty one. 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.800 There was nothing more the doctors could do. They send 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:42.240 her home saying that she had a few weeks to live. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.120 And it was around Christmas time and our whole family 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:50.240 felt stuck. Medically speaking, they had run out of options, 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:52.480 and my mother told how in the middle of the night, 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:55.920 thoughts would come saying, you can be buried in that 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.360 new pink dress that you bought. The enemy would love 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:03.360 for you to start planning your demise, planning your going down, 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:08.160 living lonely, addicted. His goal is to keep you focused 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:12.400 on the problem, how impossible it looks, how long it's been. 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:18.600 The scripture says, look away from all that distracts under Jesus, 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:22.960 the author and finisher of our faith. In difficult times, 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:25.640 more than ever, you have to look away from the 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:30.199 distractions and look up. Fix your thoughts on what God 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:34.320 says about you. He's the author and the finisher. What 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:38.600 he starts, he's going to complete. You may be stuck now. 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:43.000 The good news is God is not finished. He's still working. 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:48.000 Keep looking up, keep thinking him, keep declaring what he promised, 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:52.000 keep talking like it's on the way. And despite the 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:55.000 negative report, I would hear my mother going through the 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:58.720 house saying, Father, thank you that you're restoring health back 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.480 into me, that I will live and not die. That 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:05.240 the number of my days you will fulfill. You know 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:09.040 what happened. The King of Glory came in. God did 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:12.440 what medicine couldn't do. That was forty four years ago. 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:16.360 From a few weeks to live to over four decades. 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:20.720 You're never too stuck for God to free you. You're 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:26.319 never too addicted to depressed, medical report, too bad, child, 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:30.120 too far gone. Lift up your head and chains will break. 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:35.360 Healing will come, supernatural turn around. There was a man 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:39.040 in the scripture that had been crippled for thirty eight years. 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.720 Every day his family would carry him to the Pool 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:47.000 of Bethesda. They'd lay there hoping to be healed. They 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:50.679 believed that an angel would trouble the water, the first 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:54.080 person in would be made well. There were hundreds of 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:57.880 sick people and disabled gathered at this pool, But of 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:01.280 all the people, Jesus came to this man who had 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:05.360 been stuck for thirty eight years. It's not a coincidence 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:08.439 that the scripture tells us how long he's been laying. 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:12.679 Many of the people Jesus healed, we don't know how 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:15.880 long they were blind or how long they had leprosy. 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.400 We just know they got healed. But this link was 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:23.200 included on purpose, so we would know that no matter 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:26.480 how long you've been stuck. It's not too late for 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:30.320 God to turn it around. Jesus asked the man, do 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.560 you want to get well? Seemed like an odd question. 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:36.040 Of course he did, That's why he came to the pool. 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.800 But Jesus wanted to see his frame of mind. Was 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:42.800 he looking up, was he believing he could get well, 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:46.400 or was he looking down thinking it had been too long. 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:50.559 He said to Jesus, I don't have anyone to help 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:54.320 me get into the pool. He was saying, in effect, yes, 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:57.720 I want to get well, but I'm at a disadvantage. 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:00.920 Jesus could have said, man, you didn't answer right, you'd 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:04.560 have said, yes, healed you. God's full of mercy. The 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:08.000 fact is Jesus knew the man went to the pool 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:12.320 every day. He saw his faith every morning, the man 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:15.960 getting out of bed, putting his clothes on, being carried 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:19.240 to the pool. He could have been at home laying 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:23.360 in bed self pity. Life's not fair. Every day he's 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:27.360 out there hoping to get well, expecting the waters to move, 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:32.120 believing for a supernatural touch. Jesus said to him, rise, 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.400 take up your bed and walk. Some people say the 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:39.600 man didn't have much faith, but if you've never walked 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:43.400 in your life, someone tells you to get up, do 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:46.480 you know how much faith that would take? The man 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:48.960 could have said, Jesus, what do you mean, I'm crippled. 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:52.320 I've been this way my whole life. Or this man said, 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:55.040 in effect, if you say I can walk, then I 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.319 believe I can walk. If you say I'm not stuck anymore, 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:02.080 then I believe it. As he started to rise up, 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:07.440 suddenly strength and healing flowed into him, energized his legs. 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.960 He stood up, walked out of there first time thirty 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:16.160 eight years. What's interesting is this all happened on the Sabbath. 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:20.000 The religious law said that you can't do any work 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.680 on the Sabbath. Jesus knew this, but he broke the 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:28.079 rules to get the man unstuck. God will break rules 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:32.640 to get you to your destiny. He'll break protocol. He'll 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:36.600 do things that are unusual. Heal you without the treatment, 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:40.280 like my mother. Choose you to be a pastor when 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:43.240 you don't have the training. Give you the compact center, 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:47.800 a sports arena for a church. Uncommon. How did the 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:52.840 ordinary something you weren't expecting to get you unstuck, to 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:56.720 release you into your purpose. You don't have to figure 0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:59.160 out how this is going to happen. All you have 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.640 to do is lift up your head, activate your faith. 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.600 Saw one three, David talks about all kinds of opposition 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:11.440 he was facing and how people were treating him very badly. 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:14.840 This is when King Saul was chasing him through the desert. 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:19.520 He was living on the run, stuck in an unfair situation, 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:23.240 stuck with someone trying to get rid of him that 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:26.640 he had been good to. He said in verse three, 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:30.080 my enemy has chased me. He's knocked me to the 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:33.760 ground and forced me to live in darkness like those 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:38.640 in a grain. I'm losing all hope. I'm paralyzed with fear. 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:43.960 When you have doubts, fears, and uncertainties, don't get so 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:48.360 down on yourself. Here's David, a man after God's own heart, 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.880 a hero of faith. Yet he had times of discouragement, 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.520 times where he felt like he was stuck, didn't see 0:14:56.520 --> 0:15:00.400 how it could ever change. The key is don't stay there. 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.800 At some point you have to look up. David listed 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.760 all these bad things that were happening. Then in the 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:12.280 next chapter, when he still felt overwhelmed, still didn't see 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.360 a way he said in verse nine, I will sing 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:19.080 a new song unto the Lord. He was saying, I'm 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:22.200 done talking about defeat. I'm gonna lift up my head. 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.760 I'm going to get a new perspective. Listen to how 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:29.440 he changed verse three. Great are you, o Lord. I 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:33.200 will meditate on your awe inspiring deeds. For you help 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:37.240 the fallen, you lift those under heavy load, You protect 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:40.960 those who trust in you. He went from poor, oh me, 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:43.760 I'm stuck to God. I think you that you are 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.640 fighting my battles, that you're my vindicator, that you're bigger 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.960 than what's trying to stop me. When you feel stuck, 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:54.400 it makes a difference what you're focused on. Are you 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.680 dwelling on the problem or are you dwelling on the promises? 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.120 Are you focused on how big the oppostion is or 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:04.240 on how big our God is. If you'll lift up 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:07.680 your head, the King of Glory will come in. God 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:11.160 will make things happen that you couldn't make happen. A 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.080 couple of years after we were married, Victoria and I 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.440 were walking through this neighborhood close to where we lived. 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.000 We came to this new house that was almost finished 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:25.520 being built in the last stages of construction. Nobody was around, 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:28.520 so we walked up to it was this nice two 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:33.480 story house and was so beautiful, this spacious entry and 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:38.240 big windows in the back and high ceilings. The kitchen 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:42.160 was open to the den. It was amazing. As we 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:45.800 were leaving, walking down the front porch, I'll never forget this, 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.080 Victoria stopped and said, Joel, one day, we're going to 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.240 live in a house just like that. She might as 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.120 well have said one day we're going to go to 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:58.080 the moon. We were living in an old, one story house. 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:01.800 We could barely afford that. And being the great man 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.720 of faith that I am, I started telling her all 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.280 the reasons that it wasn't possible, how I worked for 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:11.360 a church. I'm never going to have that income. If 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:13.480 we saved one hundred and twenty four years, we won't 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:17.200 have enough. That went in one ear and out the other. 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.760 She acted like she didn't hear me. She said, no, Joe, 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:22.840 I'm telling you, we're going to live in a house 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:25.760 just like this. That made me mad. I did my 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:29.600 best to convince her. We're stuck, we're limited, we're at 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:33.960 a disadvantage. The difference was I had my head down, 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:37.720 she had her head up. I was looking at what 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:41.400 we could do. She was looking at what God can do. 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:46.520 I was focused on all the facts, the numbers, what's logical. 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:50.160 I didn't see a way. But God is not limited 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:53.840 by what you don't have. He's not limited by your 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:57.560 bank account, by the medical report, by what family you 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:02.200 come from. He controls the universe when you believe, all 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:06.040 things are possible in the natural. We may be stuck, 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:10.040 but God is supernatural. He makes streams in the desert, 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:13.920 He brings water out of a rock, He parts red seas. 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.000 Peter caught a fish that had a coin in it 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:20.920 to pay his taxes. God is not scratching his head 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.280 trying to figure out how to get you unstuck. He's 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:27.560 going to do things that you never saw coming, that 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:34.440 exceed your expectations, explosive blessings that catapult you into your destinies. 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:38.719 Don't do like I did. Come up with all the reasons. 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.359 You can't get out of debt, and you can't get well. 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.320 Your dreams too big, and that child of yours will 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:50.080 always be off course. Do yourself a favor. Lift up 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:53.679 your head. God. I don't see away, but I know 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:58.040 you have a way Victoria finally convinced me to get 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:01.160 in agreement with her. We were living in this old 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:06.600 rundown house, had foundation problems, crooked floors, some of the 0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:09.879 interior doors wouldn't shut. But it was on a nice 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:14.280 half acre lot close into the city. The neighborhood changed 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.920 the deed restrictions to where you could subdivide the property. 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:20.919 A builder knocked on our door. A couple months later. 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:24.040 He bought half of the property for more than we 0:19:24.119 --> 0:19:27.320 paid for the whole property. He built two homes there, 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:31.600 one for us, just like that house that Victoria had seen. 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:36.119 I could have never made that happen. I couldn't have 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.720 put that on paper. What am I saying? God is 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:42.920 going to do things that are uncommon that you didn't 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:46.639 see coming. You may be stuck in some area, but 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:49.959 here's a key. Being stuck is a set up for 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:52.600 God to show out in your life, to do something 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:55.720 out of the ordinary. Don't believe that lie that is 0:19:55.760 --> 0:20:00.320 permanent has been too long, Your dream's too big. No, 0:20:00.520 --> 0:20:03.240 like the lame man that was there for thirty eight years, 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:09.080 your time is coming. Keep looking up, keep believing, keep expecting. 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:14.080 That's your faith being released. Second King, Chapter seven, the 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:18.360 Syrian army had surrounded the city of Samaria, cutting off 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:22.600 its food supply. The people were starving. There were four 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:27.880 lepers living outside the city gates. Leprosy was contagious. They 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:32.120 weren't allowed to be around people. Not only were they outcast, 0:20:32.440 --> 0:20:34.960 but when the enemy army came, they would be the 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:38.440 first ones to be killed. They had no protection, talk 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:44.240 about stuck, no future, no food, dreaded disease. But sitting 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:47.120 by the gates, one of them said to the others, 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:50.160 why are we just gonna sit here like this till 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:54.080 we die? They thought, if we stay here, we're gonna 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:57.320 start to death. We have nothing to lose. Let's go 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.480 to the enemy's camp and see if there's any there. 0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:05.040 They started walking toward the other camp. God multiplied the 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:08.840 sound of their footsteps. It sounded like a huge army 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:12.879 was coming. The enemy army panicked and took off, running 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:15.840 as fast as they could, where they left behind all 0:21:15.880 --> 0:21:19.600 the supplies. The lepers showed up. Couldn't believe it, a 0:21:19.680 --> 0:21:24.560 whole camp full of food, clothing, equipment. They went back 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:29.560 and told the Israelites all their lives were spared. But sometimes, 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:33.560 like these lepers, we get stuck at a gate. We've 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:37.520 had bad breaks, gone through a disappointment. Now we're stuck 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:42.280 in self pity, in holding onto hurts, made mistakes. We 0:21:42.359 --> 0:21:47.360 have regrets, stuck in guilt, stuck in shame. We can 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:51.720 get stuck in an addiction, incompromise. We tried to do better, 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:56.080 but we keep falling back. The challenge is we can 0:21:56.119 --> 0:21:59.600 get comfortable at the gate. We can learn to function 0:21:59.840 --> 0:22:04.640 in dysfunction. We have to ask ourselves what the leopers ask. 0:22:05.160 --> 0:22:07.320 Why am I going to sit here till I die? 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:13.320 Why am I going to stay this way? Offended? Guilty, insecure, 0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:17.960 no passion. We're waiting for God to change things, but 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:21.720 God's waiting for us. When you make a move, it 0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:25.320 sets off a chain reaction. That's when God begins to 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:31.480 work open doors, bring healing, new relationships. A small act 0:22:31.560 --> 0:22:36.080 of obedience can lead to a big blessing. It may 0:22:36.119 --> 0:22:40.440 be forgiving that person that did you wrong, or forgiving 0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:44.520 yourself for the mistakes you've made. It may mean getting 0:22:44.640 --> 0:22:47.440 up in the morning and emptying out all the low 0:22:47.520 --> 0:22:52.560 self esteem, the insecurity, and reminding yourself who God says 0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:57.720 you are. A small act can get you unstuck. Maybe 0:22:57.760 --> 0:23:01.400 it's to quit hanging around that friend causing you to compromise, 0:23:02.200 --> 0:23:04.920 or not listening to the news, driving to work all 0:23:05.040 --> 0:23:08.600 day has causing you to be mad at the world. Instead, 0:23:08.640 --> 0:23:14.040 put on something inspiring, uplifting that feeds your faith. Don't 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:17.440 go the next twenty years stuck at the gate. Do 0:23:17.520 --> 0:23:20.080 what you can, and God will do what you can. 0:23:20.760 --> 0:23:24.480 You make a move and he'll multiply your steps. You 0:23:24.600 --> 0:23:27.879 lift up your head and he'll turn things around that 0:23:27.960 --> 0:23:31.359 you thought were permanent. There was a man we knew 0:23:31.440 --> 0:23:35.240 growing up that could play the piano so beautifully. He 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:38.800 taught lessons to people and served at the church. But 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:44.000 over time he developed rheumatoid arthritis, kept getting worse and worse, 0:23:44.080 --> 0:23:47.840 and he had trouble using his hands, and finally got 0:23:47.840 --> 0:23:50.800 to the point where his fingers were all shriveled up 0:23:50.880 --> 0:23:54.520 and he could no longer play the piano. Was so 0:23:54.680 --> 0:23:58.000 discouraged over it all. Well, twenty years went by and 0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:00.919 he had accepted that his these days of playing the 0:24:00.920 --> 0:24:04.199 piano were over. But one day he heard my father 0:24:04.480 --> 0:24:07.960 speaking about forgiveness and how important it is to let 0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:12.080 things go. For years he had been estranged from his parents. 0:24:12.520 --> 0:24:15.040 He felt like they hadn't raised him right, they'd let 0:24:15.119 --> 0:24:18.680 him down, and all these offenses had built up to 0:24:18.800 --> 0:24:21.800 what he pushed them out of his life. When he 0:24:21.800 --> 0:24:25.640 heard that message, he felt something so strongly telling him 0:24:25.640 --> 0:24:29.639 to forgive, to make things right. The next day he 0:24:30.160 --> 0:24:33.080 went to his parents' house and knocked on the door. 0:24:33.880 --> 0:24:37.320 They answered and couldn't believe it was him. They hugged 0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:41.840 and wept, and there was healing and forgiveness. The relationship 0:24:42.080 --> 0:24:46.800 was restored when something interesting happened. Little by little, the 0:24:46.880 --> 0:24:51.760 men's fingers began to open up. He started having more flexibility, 0:24:51.800 --> 0:24:54.679 and the pain in his joints began to lessen it. 0:24:55.040 --> 0:24:58.800 He kept getting better and better. Six months later, he 0:24:58.840 --> 0:25:02.200 could sit down and the piano like you did twenty 0:25:02.280 --> 0:25:05.560 years earlier, like he had never missed a beat. He 0:25:05.680 --> 0:25:09.320 was stuck all those years, but a simple act of 0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:14.479 obedience caused him to get unstuck. Like those lepers, he 0:25:14.600 --> 0:25:17.639 was comfortable at the gate. He had learned to function 0:25:17.840 --> 0:25:21.760 with the problem. He didn't realize the offense was holding 0:25:21.840 --> 0:25:25.280 him back. When he made a move. God did what 0:25:25.359 --> 0:25:28.160 he couldn't do when he said, I'm not gonna sit 0:25:28.200 --> 0:25:31.439 here like this till I die holding on to something 0:25:31.520 --> 0:25:35.359 that's poisoning me. That's when God stepped in and brought 0:25:35.400 --> 0:25:40.359 healing and restoration. If you're stuck in some area, you 0:25:40.440 --> 0:25:43.439 need to look inside and say, God, what do I 0:25:43.520 --> 0:25:47.040 need to do? Show me anything that's holding me back. 0:25:47.680 --> 0:25:50.399 If you'll take that step of faith, your act of 0:25:50.440 --> 0:25:54.800 obedience will start a chain reaction of the goodness of God. 0:25:56.040 --> 0:25:58.240 Life may not have treated you fair, and you've got 0:25:58.240 --> 0:26:01.160 a good reason to stay where you are, but stuck 0:26:01.440 --> 0:26:04.840 is not your destiny. What happened to you did not 0:26:05.040 --> 0:26:10.399 stop your purpose. Mistakes you've made did not cancel your assignment. 0:26:11.200 --> 0:26:16.240 There is still a beautiful life, a blessing, fulfillment, abundance 0:26:16.359 --> 0:26:20.840 that belongs to you. It's time to arise. Shake off 0:26:20.840 --> 0:26:24.159 the guilt, forgive the people that hurt you, let go 0:26:24.280 --> 0:26:27.800 of the self pity, lift up your hair, get that 0:26:27.960 --> 0:26:31.199 fresh vision. God didn't bring you this far to leave you. 0:26:31.760 --> 0:26:35.480 Being stuck is not permanent. It's a setup for God 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:38.720 to show out in your life. You may be stuck now, 0:26:39.040 --> 0:26:42.080 but I believe and declare this is a new day. 0:26:42.640 --> 0:26:47.080 You're about to become unstuck. God is releasing you from 0:26:47.080 --> 0:26:51.879 whatever is holding you back. Chains are being broken. Strongholds 0:26:51.880 --> 0:26:57.600 are coming down, Freedom is coming, Restoration, divine connections, the 0:26:57.640 --> 0:27:02.520 fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. If you receive it, 0:27:02.720 --> 0:27:06.359 can you say amen? I'd like to give you an 0:27:06.400 --> 0:27:09.800 opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would 0:27:09.840 --> 0:27:13.560 you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent 0:27:13.600 --> 0:27:17.399 of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you 0:27:17.520 --> 0:27:21.040 my Lord and savior. If you pray that simple prayer, 0:27:21.160 --> 0:27:23.920 we believe you got born again. We'd love to send 0:27:23.960 --> 0:27:26.600 you some free information on your new walk with the Lord. 0:27:26.960 --> 0:27:29.240 You can text the number on the screen or go 0:27:29.280 --> 0:27:31.720 to the website. But I hope you'll get into a 0:27:31.760 --> 0:27:35.359 good Bible based church and keep God first place.