Trapped In Transition

0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.600 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.840 --> 0:00:07.080 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.440 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.480 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:16.920 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:19.439 I want to hit you with a scripture from Acts 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:21.840 chapter three for a moment. And who knows where we'll 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:25.720 go from there, but Acts chapter three would definitely be 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:30.440 our starting place. It's exciting to think about the potential 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.440 that exists in a moment like this, where the God 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.240 who knows you by name and knows not only the 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:38.400 struggles that you have right now, but whatever you're going 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:41.040 to face this week, could give you the instruction to 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:45.559 comfort and the serenity that you need for whatever is 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:47.199 going on in your life, and to prepare you for 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:51.280 opportunities and oppositional lie just from one word, one word 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:53.559 that he could speak, and I want to share with 0:00:53.600 --> 0:01:04.840 you from Acts chapter three eleven. While he clung to 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:08.440 Peter and John, all the people ran together to them 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:12.840 in the portico called Solomon's astounded, And when Peter saw it, 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:16.600 he addressed the people men of Israel. Why do you 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:19.240 wonder at this or why do you stare at us, 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:23.120 as though by our own power or piety we have 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:27.520 made him walk. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:30.920 and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:36.720 glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.280 in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:41.760 release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:44.440 and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:47.880 and you killed the author of life, whom God raised 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:51.840 from the dead. To this we are witnesses and his name, 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.440 by faith in his name has made this man strong, 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.200 whom you see and know. And the faith that is 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.280 through Jesus has given the man this perfect health. In 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:05.720 the presence of you all, I want to speak to 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:10.639 you today for a few moments on this subject. Trapped 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:15.960 in transition, trapped in transition, and I want to pray 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:19.360 before we get into it one more time. Let's pray. Father. 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:21.800 Now I call on you to do the thing that 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:25.359 only you can do. I can study, I can prepare, 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:29.280 but I can only preach to a certain level unless 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:35.359 you inhabit this holy moment, Holy Spirit, there is a design, 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:40.440 custom tailored message that each person needs. I ask now 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.079 that you would measure that out to each heart. Help 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:46.560 us to get past all of the distractions that would 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:49.720 keep us from understanding the things that you desire to say. 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.560 And we give you all the glory in Jesus' name. 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:56.520 Somebody shout, a man on your way to your seat. 0:02:56.560 --> 0:03:01.680 Touch somebody and say I am in transition. I was 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:09.200 standing up and now I'm sitting down. You know, it's 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:12.160 really interesting when we travel. Holly likes to do stuff. 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:18.040 That's where we're different. I like to get in and 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:22.120 get out. If I'm preaching somewhere, I don't need to 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:26.440 see the sites. Just show me the stage where I 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:30.600 need to do my job. Get me back home where 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:36.040 my refrigerator is stocked with diet Coke. I'm not very adventurous. 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.119 She's the opposite. She wants to go and see all 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.920 the touristy stuff. And God helped that woman in a 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:50.120 gift shop. I'm serious. When we go through the gift shop, 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:53.320 I just know every time that it's going to be 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:56.920 a piece of my kid's college education fund that's going 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:59.120 to be left. Is this a true story. Those of 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.120 you who have traveled, Holly Fredick is a good forty 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:07.760 five minutes in any gift shop, and I understood it 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:14.640 till we went to Alcatraz. I couldn't understand why you 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:19.080 want to buy something. You know, the prison. It's not 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:22.760 a prison anymore. Now it's a national park, but until 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:27.200 nineteen sixty two was a prison, and I honestly enjoyed 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:30.120 that one. Now she's taken me to some really boring places. 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:32.720 I'm not gonna lie to you. One time we learned 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:36.640 about Australian military history and I just don't need to 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:39.599 know it, do you know what I mean? I appreciate 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:42.520 their continent, but it is not a part of my 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:46.880 history or my destiny. So I usually last about thirty minutes, 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.760 and then I start feeling trapped. I mean I really do. 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:52.960 I start feeling like I would do anything to get 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:56.720 out of this situation. But she's taken me all over 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:01.920 and at Alcatraz it was different because not only was 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:06.960 my wife not only was my wife interested to visit Alcatraz, 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:09.840 but she was interested for me to hear the stories 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.520 on the headset that they gave you for the guided 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:14.800 tour and I don't know it because I love seaw 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:19.200 Shank Redemption and it's my favorite movie. But something about 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:23.480 that just it connected with me. Okay, maybe it's all 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:25.560 the prison stories in the Bible. I don't know why, 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.599 but at Alcatraz it was different, and I wasn't born. 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:32.600 I was actually really fascinated, especially at this one part. 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:35.640 I brought you a picture from when I visited prison 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:40.720 as a tourist. This is me and Chunk standing at 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:42.520 the part of the tour where they would show you 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:46.279 how the prison Alcatraz. Because it's an island, it was 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:50.440 directly positioned where you could see one and one quarter 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:56.520 miles across the ocean. You could see San Francisco. And 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:59.360 what they said on the headphones and I didn't forget 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:04.880 this is that what made it so agonizing for a 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.200 prisoner was that you could see just a little over 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:13.960 a mile everything that you wanted in life, but you 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:19.040 couldn't get to it. When I heard that, I paused 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:23.320 my headphones, and then I started making a sermon illustration 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:31.719 about how many people, how many people today can see 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:35.440 in your mind's eye the person that you could be, 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:40.120 if you could ever be free from an addiction. A habit, 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:47.200 depression or panic. The ability to see it but I 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:51.919 can't swim to it. The ability to see it, visualize it, 0:06:52.320 --> 0:06:55.920 and maybe even taste it, but not experience it. It 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.920 is a certain type of torture that is only known 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:04.200 in transition. When we read the scriptures, we would do 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:08.240 well to pay attention to the transitions. And this is 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:12.520 for Jason and Tim and Brad and Chad and all 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.240 of my campus pastors who preach from time to time. 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:18.320 It'll make you a better preacher if you pay attention 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:22.520 to the transitions. Just when you're reading the Bible, look 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:27.360 out for the transitional phrases and even words like therefore 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:33.080 and wherefore, and whither and hither, and the transitional words 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:35.560 that take you from place to place. Pay attention to 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:37.560 the transition. As a matter of fact, it's not only 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:41.720 good for preaching in life. You will be so much 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:46.960 more effective if you learn to pay attention to the transitions. 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:50.440 And the scripture that I read to you today is 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:53.920 a transitional miracle in the Book of Acts. I call 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.760 it a transitional miracle because it gives us a picture 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.760 of what the author Luke is our explaining as he 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:05.280 chronicles the birth of the Church. Not only is the 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:09.640 Church in a transitional period, going from being considered a 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:14.080 cult with very little political capital to going into influential 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.920 spaces and beginning to turn the world upside down. For 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:24.240 Jesus Christ the carpenter who was crucified. But the Position 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.720 of Acts chapter three is transitional in that it is 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:32.959 the first miracle that is recorded other than the Pentecostal 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:36.160 miracle of those being filled with the spirit. It is 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:39.440 the first miracle of healing that is recorded in the 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:42.800 Book of Acts. It will not be the last. It 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.560 is the first. And that's why I call it a 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:50.080 transitional miracle, because it is giving us a picture of 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:53.720 what Jesus meant when he said to his followers, don't 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:58.760 leave Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city of peace. Don't leave this 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:03.560 place of peace, but wait until you have received the 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:09.120 Holy Spirit. It is difficult to sit still in transition 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:14.560 while you are threatened by opposition from the outside. And 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:16.960 they didn't like Jesus, and that's why they killed him. 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:20.160 But Jesus told him to do something very difficult. To 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:24.000 sit still in transition and wait for him to do 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:27.440 it his way. It's the hardest thing in the world. 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.200 And yet every time Holly goes through the gift shop. 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:38.080 They get her every time because they position that gift 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:42.720 shop after she's seen all the history. I mean, I 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.600 understand a mug, but this woman, she'll buy a journal, 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:53.760 a mug, a memoir, a baseball cap, a beanie, a sticker. 0:09:55.520 --> 0:10:00.240 This woman, she's a sucker. They get her every time. No, 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:02.520 I want you all to pray for the woman of 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:05.719 God that leads us church because she doesn't get it. 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:16.520 You are so vulnerable on your way out. She doesn't 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:19.120 get it. One time, I was doing an assessment with 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.800 someone who was looking at our security in the church, 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:24.880 and they said, the most important place to make sure 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:28.840 that there's plenty of security is anywhere there is transition, 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:34.280 because where there is transition, there is distraction, and where 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:38.400 there is distraction, there is opportunity for someone who means 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:43.880 harm to capitalize on the lap of focus and create instability. 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:47.800 That's what I've been thinking about in regards to Acts 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:52.400 chapter three this week, how that the enemy will often 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:56.760 set up a gift shop to take your stuff at 0:10:56.800 --> 0:11:01.520 points of transition, on the way out, on the way in. 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:04.120 That's the only two times it costs me money. When 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:06.600 she takes me to a museum, they charge me for 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:10.880 a ticket to get in, and then my wife empties 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.360 our retirement fund on the way out. But it is 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:20.760 at those points of transition I'm preaching today to somebody 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:25.280 who is in a transition in your life that is significant, 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:30.319 and it is the most significant place of opportunity, and 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:34.480 it is the most vulnerable place of insecurity at those 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:38.400 points of transition. And maybe I should show you in 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:41.880 the text. Yeah, maybe before Holly gets mad at me 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:44.000 for this illustration, I should show you in the text. 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.360 Go all the way back up to Acts, chapter three, 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:48.520 Verse one. Y'all feel like studying the Bible a little 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.480 bit today. Let's look at it now. Peter and John, 0:11:51.880 --> 0:11:54.840 We're going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.520 the ninth hour, and a man who was laying from 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:02.600 birth was being cared, whom they laid daily at the 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:07.480 gate of the temple, called beautiful to ask alms from 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.480 those entering the temple. Everything I just said is transitional. 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:16.360 Every single component of the verses I just read has 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.959 a transitional element. And when I saw that in the text, 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.800 I was like, this is perfect for what we're trying 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:25.720 to understand in our lives, because our lives are constantly changing, 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:29.480 and they're changing so fast that by the time we 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:33.480 recognize the change, we don't have time to make the adjustment. 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:36.320 By the time we know how to be a good parent, 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.520 they are fifty three years old. By the time we 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.520 know what we should have saved money for is too late, 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:45.480 and the bill is already overdue. By the time we 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:47.920 get the wisdom, we don't have to strength to implement 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.280 it because we're tired from all of our dumb mistakes. 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.640 So when I read it and I realized everything is transitional, 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.199 put it up again, Acts three, verse one. Now it's 0:12:56.240 --> 0:13:00.560 a transitional word. Peter and John, we're going up to 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.760 the temple. They were on the way somewhere at the 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:07.840 hour of prayer. It was a transitional time. So they're 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:11.480 going about their day and now it's time to pray. 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:15.000 Ding ding, ding, everybody to the temple. Peter and John 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:19.439 are transitioning to the temple. They are transitioning in their 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:24.440 ministry because up until this point they've always had Jesus 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:29.720 in human form to supervise their miracle working attempts and efforts, 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.800 and sometimes they didn't get it right. And he was 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.959 there to correct them, but he's not here in human 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:43.520 form anymore. And they are in transition, and so now 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:46.440 here they're going to church at three in the afternoon. 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.319 That's what the ninth hour means. It's a transitional period 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.800 where all good Jewish men and women would go to 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:56.520 the synagogue for prayer. Peter and John are are moving 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:01.319 toward the temple, transitional period for the church, transitional moment 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:04.559 in their day in between two activities. Then it says 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:09.079 that verse two, there was a man who was being carried, 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:11.760 whom they laid daily at the gate of the Temple 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:14.920 that is called the Beautiful Gate. So now the Church 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.600 as a whole is in transition, as the Spirit of 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:22.600 God is beginning to manifest himself through signs, miracles, and 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:26.240 wonders through the hands of the apostles. Peter and John 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.560 are in transition, on their way to the Temple, which 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:34.080 is their daily routine, and there's a man who the 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.520 Bible says is being carried. I don't know how I 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:41.000 missed this. For so many years, I always pictured this 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:46.560 miracle with the man already laying beside the gate, but 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.800 he wasn't at the gate yet. The Bible says he 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:56.200 was in transition. He wasn't even in the spot yet, 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:59.720 because see, like if you were gonna make it and 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:03.160 you can and walk, you had to have a racket. 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:05.760 And so the best place you could go pick a 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:09.240 spot while people are going to church, and they would 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.160 do it different. They wouldn't get you on the way 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:14.640 out because you already gave an offering in church, so 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:17.600 they would get you on the way in, right, And 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:19.880 if you can catch them on the way in, maybe 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.760 they'll drop you some change and maybe they'll you know, 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.960 it was considered piety to give alms, and so they're 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:31.360 catching people with a gift shop at the gate by 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:33.080 the temple. He wouldn't have been the only one. This 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.560 was a very commonplace to set up. But I was 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.280 blessed by this, and I thought you maybe too. He 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:43.800 wasn't even in his spot yet when God decided to 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:48.320 give him a miracle. I think a lot of times 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:52.560 that if I could get here, or if I could 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.120 if I could if I could arrive there, or if 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.720 I could accomplish this, or if I could do that, 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.280 or if I could fix it, or if I could 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.120 establish it, or if I could move through it, but 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:09.080 I want you to notice this is a transitional miracle. 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.800 It means that Church hasn't even started yet, but God 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:17.480 is already on the scene. It means that God does 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:20.200 not need for your life to be at a certain 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:23.240 point where people say it should be in order to 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:28.000 bless you. So this is for everybody who is in transition. 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:31.240 And I don't know if you're switching jobs. I don't 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.040 know if you're switching girlfriends. I don't know if you're 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:37.680 switching schools. I don't know if you're switching ways of living. 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:40.600 I don't know if you're switching from You used to 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.280 get high on a substance, but now you're trying to 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:46.240 connect to Christ. I don't know what the switch is. 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.880 But I love the fact that God was waiting to 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:53.400 bless the person before he even got to the spot. 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.200 It is a transitional miracle. And here's what I wanted 0:16:57.240 --> 0:17:00.200 to say. God is gonna bless you on the way. 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:02.720 God is gonna bless you. He's gonna meet you and 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:05.800 cut you off on your way to your spot and 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:08.960 bless you anyway how many No God can cut you 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:18.960 off and bless you. So he was about to go 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:23.600 into the gate and what is a gate. It's a 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:30.080 symbol of transition. Everything in the text is pointing me 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:34.720 to the fact that God is most active in moments 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:40.800 of what I perceive to be instability and transition. Now 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.760 feel the Holy Spirit just all up in your stuff 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:47.679 because there's something you're trying to get through. But you 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:50.520 don't have to wait to get through it. You can 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:55.440 believe God right smack dab in the middle of it. 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:10.400 It sounds good, preaches good, doesn't feel good. I mean, 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:13.439 it's so weird how we ask God to change our 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:20.080 lives and when he really does. Because now he changed 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:25.320 your life. Now it's going to change your friends. Now 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:27.399 he changed your life. Now it's gonna affect how you 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:31.360 spend your time. Now he changed your life, and now 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:36.040 it's gonna destabilize everything that you've come to depend on. 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:41.399 It's a transitional text. It's a transitional moment for the 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:44.480 author Luke, as he's compiling a history of the church. 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:49.200 He's going from an explanation to a demonstration. That's when 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:53.200 it gets good, when you go from theoretically believing something 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:58.400 to practically acting it out in your life. The miracle 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:02.080 is in the transition. That's how we walk right, I 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:05.360 transition the weight of my body. And until I transition 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:09.280 the weight, I cannot move. The center of gravity must 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:13.159 change in the same way. Every time God is moving 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:16.000 you forward in your life, there will be a period 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:21.120 of transitional instability. In this passage, the man has never 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:24.800 walked before in his life. He's being carried to the gate. 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.520 Peter and John are going to church, and in transition 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:33.439 God sets up a moment for transformation. And when it 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:39.239 happens is so shocking, not only to the onlookers and 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:41.200 not only to Peter and John who are just trying 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:45.959 to get to Sunday school. Now this is important too. 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:48.800 Can I throw this in? This is for free. I 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:50.520 won't say it in the next service. I will just 0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:55.080 say it for you, all right, Yellow first to the trough, 0:19:57.760 --> 0:19:59.440 you know, the early bird in the worm and all that. 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:05.600 Right now, now look at me. The first miracle that 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:09.879 is recorded in the Book of Acts was waiting in 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:12.919 something that everybody else was stepping over to get to 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:18.239 something they deemed more important. That's just for y'all. Now 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:22.080 let's look at it. And Peter. Now they saw Peter 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:26.240 and John. This man is on his way to his spot. 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:28.480 Peter and John are on the way to church. Study 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.640 in the Bible. How many things that happen on the way, 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:38.560 How active God is in the journey in transition. How 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:41.840 many things that God uses to change our life happen 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:45.760 in between two fixed points that we deem important. Just 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:48.600 all the little places Jesus would stop and do a miracle, 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:51.440 because you know that the feeding of the five thousand 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:55.320 was not on jesus itinerary. He was just trying to 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.879 get somewhere else, and there happened to be twenty thousand 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:01.760 people that wanted to hear him teak. Some of the 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:05.200 greatest stuff that God will do in your day will 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:08.600 not be on your calendar. Some of the greatest stuff 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:10.600 that God will do in your life will not be 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:14.040 in your five year plan. Come on, some of the 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.760 greatest stuff that God will reveal in your life will 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:21.840 not be on your dream board. And they're just trying 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:24.440 to get to church, and the man is just trying 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.440 to get something to eat, and they meet in transition, 0:21:28.200 --> 0:21:31.720 and God is in position, and the man is in transition, 0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:34.919 and Peter and John are in transition, and God is 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:37.439 positioning all of it, just like He is in your 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:40.640 life today. Just like he is in your family, just 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:43.240 like he is in your situation, just like he is 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:47.719 in our church. And he's arranging a meeting. And the 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:53.880 man sees Peter and John and he asked to receive alms, 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:58.640 and Peter verse four directed his gaze at him, as 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:04.200 did John, and said, look at us. And he fixed 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:09.280 his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 0:22:10.560 --> 0:22:12.639 I always like to say that he was expecting the 0:22:12.680 --> 0:22:17.480 wrong kind of change. He wanted to know, do you 0:22:17.560 --> 0:22:20.800 have a few quarters? Do you have a few dimes? 0:22:22.040 --> 0:22:25.680 And Jesus like, the one thing I've learned about him 0:22:26.400 --> 0:22:30.720 is sometimes he doesn't meet your expectation because he wants 0:22:30.760 --> 0:22:36.240 to exceed it. Don't be too disappointed if God didn't 0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:40.600 give you what you wanted. This man, in this moment 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:44.480 is about to receive a change that he didn't even 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:53.239 have the faith to ask for. And God sets up 0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:56.280 at his spot, you know, the spot where he was 0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:58.119 just going to beg and get through another day and 0:22:59.200 --> 0:23:03.639 some change, some spare change. And Peter's like, oh I 0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:10.080 got changed for you. See this is a transitional moment. 0:23:10.160 --> 0:23:14.040 Remember that Jesus said that if you ask anything in 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:18.320 my name, I'll give it to you. His name represents 0:23:18.359 --> 0:23:22.639 his authority and his power. And so when Peter said 0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:25.560 what he said next in the next verse, I have 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:29.879 no silver in gold, but what I do have I 0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:34.440 give to you. At first, this man is thinking, oh, 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:39.800 another one of those Christians that leaves you a track 0:23:39.880 --> 0:23:43.600 and doesn't leave you a tip at the restaurant. That'll 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:45.520 send you straight to hell. By the way, if you 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:48.320 don't tip your server twenty percent, don't come to Elevation 0:23:48.520 --> 0:23:52.480 church twenty percent, if they spit in your drink twenty percent. 0:23:57.760 --> 0:24:01.520 But Peter is saying, now, look, let's get past what 0:24:01.560 --> 0:24:08.040 you expected. Let's get past this temporary change that you desire. 0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:11.920 I have no silver and gold, but what I do 0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:16.320 have I have a name. It's not my name, because 0:24:16.359 --> 0:24:20.280 in my name you get nothing. In my ability, there 0:24:20.359 --> 0:24:24.680 is limited strength, power and resource. But I know a name, 0:24:25.760 --> 0:24:28.199 and the one who has this name gave it to me. 0:24:29.040 --> 0:24:31.760 So I'm not operating in my own authority. But watch, 0:24:31.800 --> 0:24:35.240 this is the transition of power. Jesus said, if you 0:24:35.359 --> 0:24:39.320 wait for my spirit, you can receive my power. So 0:24:39.440 --> 0:24:41.320 if you don't get out and move the way that 0:24:41.359 --> 0:24:43.720 you think you ought to move, but wait for me 0:24:43.880 --> 0:24:46.920 to direct your path. If you will be in position, 0:24:47.400 --> 0:24:53.960 you can receive my power. Who in the name of 0:24:54.119 --> 0:24:57.800 Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk? And he 0:24:57.880 --> 0:25:01.359 took him by the right hand, right hand. That's the 0:25:01.440 --> 0:25:05.320 hand of authority. Why the right hand, because all power 0:25:05.640 --> 0:25:09.600 and authority was given to Jesus. Come on, get happy 0:25:09.600 --> 0:25:12.040 with me. I don't care if it's fifty of y'all. 0:25:12.320 --> 0:25:18.000 But God said, I'm standing over your situation, presiding and prevailing. 0:25:25.960 --> 0:25:32.560 Oh yeah, I forgot some sit back now. In psychology, 0:25:32.600 --> 0:25:41.159 they make a distinction between change and transition. Okay, the 0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:44.080 two are not the same, and we'll see it in 0:25:44.119 --> 0:25:50.919 this man's life because in this transitional miracle, what is 0:25:50.960 --> 0:25:57.640 often unstated is that just because the man received a miracle, 0:25:58.480 --> 0:26:04.640 it didn't immediately fix his mindset. Okay, And I want 0:26:04.640 --> 0:26:07.800 to spend a moment here because I believe many people 0:26:07.880 --> 0:26:12.800 are frustrated in their inability to change, and I think 0:26:12.880 --> 0:26:15.119 in the text is a clue as to why. But 0:26:15.160 --> 0:26:19.040 we're going to have to pay attention to the transitions 0:26:19.080 --> 0:26:22.040 in this text. And if you will lean into this 0:26:22.119 --> 0:26:23.800 text for just a moment, it's going to show you 0:26:23.880 --> 0:26:28.320 something about why some of the changes in your life 0:26:28.880 --> 0:26:33.159 don't stick. Why some of the changes in your life 0:26:34.280 --> 0:26:38.159 as soon as they are introduced. It seems like, you know, 0:26:38.480 --> 0:26:44.359 everybody wants change in a certain area. And it's often 0:26:44.400 --> 0:26:46.440 been said that change is the only constant in life, 0:26:46.480 --> 0:26:50.480 and I agree with that. But change is traumatic, even 0:26:50.520 --> 0:26:59.680 if it's positive. Right, So there's desirable changes, there's undesirable changes. 0:27:00.560 --> 0:27:03.119 And while we're running around thinking that we control our lives, 0:27:04.800 --> 0:27:08.480 you know, the thing that really changes everything is the 0:27:08.520 --> 0:27:15.000 text message that you never expected. I'm telling you, I 0:27:15.000 --> 0:27:18.120 I used to think that our church could avoid criticism, 0:27:19.080 --> 0:27:21.720 right because I would think, well, if we do this right, 0:27:21.760 --> 0:27:23.720 and we do that right, and we have integrity over here, 0:27:23.920 --> 0:27:26.200 it's never going to be the things that you expect 0:27:27.240 --> 0:27:30.760 that people are going to attack you about. It's going 0:27:30.840 --> 0:27:34.240 to be something that you never even thought possible. It's 0:27:34.240 --> 0:27:37.480 just going to be something that you didn't you didn't 0:27:37.480 --> 0:27:41.440 have the foreknowledge to expect. Like this man. Okay, he 0:27:41.600 --> 0:27:44.919 never knew that he was about to get healed. But 0:27:45.040 --> 0:27:48.639 healing creates a new set of problems that if you 0:27:48.640 --> 0:27:53.119 don't understand this dimension, and it is a distinction. Change 0:27:53.800 --> 0:27:58.480 and transition are two different things. So the man says, 0:27:59.320 --> 0:28:01.399 I want some change. Peter's like, cool, I'm about to 0:28:01.440 --> 0:28:04.760 change your life. He's like, nah, man, three dollars is fine. 0:28:04.800 --> 0:28:06.720 I mean, I'm just looking for a burger right now. 0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:08.720 But Peter's like, no, no, I don't want to give you. 0:28:08.800 --> 0:28:10.160 I don't want you to buy a whopper. I want 0:28:10.160 --> 0:28:13.359 you to walk. Take my hand. This authority boom and 0:28:13.480 --> 0:28:15.320 like a current, it shoots through his body. And what's 0:28:15.359 --> 0:28:17.320 what happens to him? This is a beautiful thing when 0:28:17.320 --> 0:28:19.800 God blesses you in a moment. And immediately he took 0:28:19.880 --> 0:28:22.159 him by the right hand verse seven and raised him up. 0:28:22.320 --> 0:28:26.320 And immediately there is no duration, there is no progression. 0:28:26.640 --> 0:28:31.400 Immediately the man's feet and ankles were made strong, and 0:28:31.640 --> 0:28:43.400 leaping up, he stood and began to walk. Before you 0:28:43.520 --> 0:28:50.000 shout about that verse, pay attention to the transitional words, 0:28:51.560 --> 0:28:59.160 because it says that he began to walk, and all 0:28:59.200 --> 0:29:03.800 he knew how to do beg because he was born 0:29:04.520 --> 0:29:09.080 unable to walk. This is part two of last week 0:29:09.120 --> 0:29:15.320 when I told you that sometimes better feels backwards. And 0:29:15.360 --> 0:29:18.880 it's wonderful that he could walk, But where's he gonna go? 0:29:21.320 --> 0:29:25.360 Every day? He was carried to this spot Now what 0:29:26.920 --> 0:29:30.520 cool man, you you didn't want to buy me a sandwich? 0:29:31.640 --> 0:29:33.720 I would have took pop Eyes or Chick fil A. 0:29:35.080 --> 0:29:39.760 But now now I'm standing here and I'm leaping, and 0:29:39.800 --> 0:29:45.360 I'm happy, and I'm changed. But it represents a transition. 0:29:47.240 --> 0:29:50.240 Now change. Let me read this to you so I 0:29:50.240 --> 0:29:53.320 don't mess it up. This is outside of my realm. 0:29:53.680 --> 0:29:56.680 I do theology, the psychology part. I want to read 0:29:56.720 --> 0:29:58.160 it and make sure I get it right. I don't 0:29:58.160 --> 0:30:04.400 want to get sued from malpractice up here. Change is 0:30:04.520 --> 0:30:10.800 external is something that happens to you. Okay, the man 0:30:10.840 --> 0:30:14.920 didn't do physical therapy and learn to walk. It was 0:30:14.960 --> 0:30:21.320 an unexpected change, good or bad. Change is external. Change 0:30:21.640 --> 0:30:26.120 could be traffic. Change can be weather. Change can be 0:30:26.160 --> 0:30:29.080 something that happens in your body. Change can be something 0:30:29.080 --> 0:30:33.560 that happens globally. Change happens externally, and it is a 0:30:33.600 --> 0:30:40.280 situation that is imposed by outside circumstances or unforeseen conditions. 0:30:40.280 --> 0:30:46.720 That's change. Follow me. Transition is always an internal or 0:30:46.760 --> 0:30:52.920 a psychological event. You see the contrast. He jumped up immediately, 0:30:53.560 --> 0:30:59.160 that's change. He began to walk, that's transition. Some of 0:30:59.240 --> 0:31:03.959 us are fronted by change because we are unwilling to 0:31:04.160 --> 0:31:08.760 endure the process of transition. I need God's help to 0:31:08.800 --> 0:31:13.760 preach this now. So we jump up, and we jump 0:31:13.840 --> 0:31:16.600 up happy. You know how you get happy when God 0:31:16.640 --> 0:31:20.200 does something awesome in your life. That's a change. But 0:31:20.440 --> 0:31:25.800 transition is where transformation happens, not by something external, but 0:31:25.880 --> 0:31:29.760 by something internal. I'll prove it to you, David said, 0:31:29.880 --> 0:31:33.440 create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew 0:31:33.480 --> 0:31:36.640 a right spirit in me. What does that mean? David 0:31:36.720 --> 0:31:40.040 wasn't praying about his situation. He was praying about his 0:31:40.160 --> 0:31:45.080 spirit because he understood that if God changes your situation 0:31:45.800 --> 0:31:49.960 but the spiritual process is left underdeveloped, it will cause 0:31:50.000 --> 0:32:02.040 an implosion. Now the change happened, it was not illegitimate. 0:32:02.280 --> 0:32:04.640 He jumped up, he walked His feet and ankles could 0:32:04.680 --> 0:32:07.240 do it. But it wasn't his feet at this park 0:32:07.280 --> 0:32:11.920 point that was the problem. Just because your feet are strong, 0:32:12.720 --> 0:32:16.520 and just because your legs were and just because you 0:32:16.640 --> 0:32:20.080 now have the strength to stand, doesn't mean you have 0:32:20.160 --> 0:32:31.440 the understanding to walk. And you're in transition, and it 0:32:31.440 --> 0:32:33.760 doesn't make much sense to you when you're in transition, 0:32:35.480 --> 0:32:39.520 and it's unstable when you're in transition. In fact, when 0:32:39.560 --> 0:32:43.880 you're in transition. You can feel trapped. Here's why I 0:32:43.960 --> 0:32:51.440 left Egypt. I'm not in Canaan. I'm trapped in transition. 0:32:54.000 --> 0:32:57.680 I'm saved enough not to go to Hell, but I'm 0:32:57.720 --> 0:32:59.880 not saved enough to not want to go to the club. 0:33:00.440 --> 0:33:09.840 I'm trying. We got the Angel choir over here in 0:33:09.880 --> 0:33:16.960 this section. The reality of it is, this transition takes time, 0:33:18.640 --> 0:33:23.320 and change happens suddenly, and to be trapped in transition 0:33:23.640 --> 0:33:27.840 is to be waiting for your mind to catch up 0:33:29.360 --> 0:33:33.600 with the transformation that has already happened in your life. 0:33:34.480 --> 0:33:38.360 So I was praying about it, and I was asking 0:33:38.400 --> 0:33:40.360 God to give me a picture of what this looks like. 0:33:41.680 --> 0:33:45.680 I went back over to Hebrews chapter five, and I 0:33:45.680 --> 0:33:51.560 looked for background on that particular situation where you see 0:33:51.560 --> 0:33:54.160 a Christian community struggling to come into the fullness of 0:33:54.200 --> 0:33:57.120 what God has for them. And in one of the 0:33:57.120 --> 0:34:01.560 most middle school teacher pass just a scripture of all time, 0:34:01.960 --> 0:34:06.840 because he's really really frustrated with his pupils. This anonymous 0:34:06.880 --> 0:34:10.640 author begins to rant in Hebrews chapter five, verse eleven 0:34:11.480 --> 0:34:15.799 because he's trying to get something out, and it's frustrating 0:34:15.800 --> 0:34:18.320 when you have something valuable, but you have nowhere to 0:34:18.360 --> 0:34:21.920 put it. Is frustrating when you feel like you have 0:34:22.000 --> 0:34:25.520 something to give but nobody to receive it, especially in 0:34:25.560 --> 0:34:29.120 a relationship when you want to give more, but when 0:34:29.160 --> 0:34:30.960 you look to give what you have in you, you 0:34:31.000 --> 0:34:34.480 don't find anywhere to pour it into. That's frustrating. And 0:34:34.520 --> 0:34:39.960 as he's building up and building up and he's describing maturity, 0:34:40.320 --> 0:34:43.960 he's describing not just the miraculous salvation event, but the 0:34:44.000 --> 0:34:48.680 maturity of following Christ into deeper things and better motivations 0:34:48.760 --> 0:34:52.080 and new ways of doing things that rely on grace 0:34:52.200 --> 0:34:55.480 rather than legalism or the law. As he teaches them 0:34:55.480 --> 0:34:58.919 this switch, he becomes frustrated, and somewhere in his letter 0:34:59.080 --> 0:35:01.879 he senses that he's losing their attention. So he goes 0:35:01.920 --> 0:35:04.600 about this, We have much to say, eleven. And it 0:35:04.680 --> 0:35:07.960 is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. 0:35:08.600 --> 0:35:12.000 I love this. This means it's your fault for not 0:35:12.040 --> 0:35:14.160 getting it. It's not the preacher's fault for not saying 0:35:14.200 --> 0:35:16.480 it right. I'm gonna put this verse on my pulpit. 0:35:16.920 --> 0:35:20.480 You have become dull of hearing. It's not that I'm confusing, 0:35:20.800 --> 0:35:23.839 it's just that you're slow, okay Verse twelve. For though 0:35:23.840 --> 0:35:26.600 by this time, that's what he said, for though, by 0:35:26.640 --> 0:35:29.440 this time, you ought to be teachers. You hear, you 0:35:29.520 --> 0:35:36.440 ought to be teaching somebody, but you didn't transition. You 0:35:36.480 --> 0:35:40.799 didn't transition. You got up and learned to walk, but 0:35:40.880 --> 0:35:44.759 you didn't reach back your hand to anybody else. You've 0:35:44.760 --> 0:35:49.319 been a Christian for fourteen years and you're still not 0:35:49.440 --> 0:35:52.640 asking any better questions of life. You're still simplifying it. 0:35:52.960 --> 0:35:56.560 You've been you've been walking with God this long, and 0:35:56.600 --> 0:36:01.239 you should be further. But I'm frustrated because you're not 0:36:01.280 --> 0:36:07.680 farther along. And as he's I don't know, he's frustrated. 0:36:07.680 --> 0:36:09.160 As a halftime talk to you know, he's in the 0:36:09.160 --> 0:36:15.320 locker room. We're better than this team. We're better than this. Yeah, 0:36:15.960 --> 0:36:18.320 cried Tom. You're better than this. That's what he's saying. 0:36:19.040 --> 0:36:22.399 He said, you have need of someone to teach you again, 0:36:22.440 --> 0:36:25.840 the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, 0:36:25.920 --> 0:36:29.359 not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is 0:36:29.480 --> 0:36:33.520 unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 0:36:34.440 --> 0:36:37.960 But solid food is for the mature, for those who 0:36:38.040 --> 0:36:45.160 have their powers of discernment trained, Oh is a skill. 0:36:46.719 --> 0:36:54.880 Transition is a skill. Change is a gift. Transition is 0:36:54.920 --> 0:37:00.680 a skill. And he said this skill requires use and 0:37:00.800 --> 0:37:06.200 practice to distinguish good from evil. The only way to 0:37:06.320 --> 0:37:10.279 know the difference between God's will for your life and 0:37:10.400 --> 0:37:13.080 your will for your life is you've got to go 0:37:13.120 --> 0:37:16.360 to gainst semone. You've got to go to the place 0:37:16.360 --> 0:37:20.720 that Jesus went to where he learned the separation between 0:37:20.760 --> 0:37:25.440 what I want based on comfort and convenience and human 0:37:25.560 --> 0:37:30.080 preference and feelings, and what God wants based on the 0:37:30.120 --> 0:37:33.200 position that He has put me in. Now understand this. 0:37:33.719 --> 0:37:37.200 When Jesus finally got to the cross, he had no 0:37:37.360 --> 0:37:41.560 trouble giving up his life. It was only in gathtseemine 0:37:41.880 --> 0:37:46.319 transition where he had to pray God if there's any 0:37:46.360 --> 0:37:49.600 other way. The greatest test is in transition, So get 0:37:49.640 --> 0:37:52.759 ready for this. If you are being tested, you are 0:37:52.800 --> 0:37:57.160 in transition. And what that means is the greatest oil 0:37:57.280 --> 0:38:02.400 of anointing comes in the place of greatest transition. So 0:38:02.560 --> 0:38:10.040 God is growing you up. That's what he's doing. He's 0:38:10.080 --> 0:38:16.080 growing you up. He's teaching you to stand. Therefore, to 0:38:16.239 --> 0:38:20.200 stand when it's uncertain to stand when it doesn't feel good, 0:38:20.440 --> 0:38:24.000 to stand when it's controversial, to stand when it doesn't 0:38:24.040 --> 0:38:26.799 seem to be happening, To stand on what you know 0:38:26.880 --> 0:38:30.320 when you can't trust what you see or what you feel. 0:38:33.520 --> 0:38:38.719 And you're in transition, and transition takes a little time. 0:38:40.000 --> 0:38:45.120 And now the decision is this, Do I hold on 0:38:45.800 --> 0:38:52.000 to the old or do I lean into the new? 0:38:52.600 --> 0:38:55.640 That's what the man had to decide, and so do you, 0:38:55.719 --> 0:39:00.279 and so do I. Because I had my spot, I 0:39:00.320 --> 0:39:06.279 had my system, I had my support. But now I'm 0:39:06.280 --> 0:39:10.600 in transition and I can't do what I used to 0:39:10.680 --> 0:39:17.760 do anymore. So I had this I had this cup 0:39:18.880 --> 0:39:22.440 where people would come by and they would drop change 0:39:23.400 --> 0:39:26.560 in my cup, and I had to drop my cup 0:39:27.760 --> 0:39:33.160 to grab hold of Peter's hand so I could stand 0:39:33.239 --> 0:39:39.080 up and begin to walk. But that's not the part 0:39:39.080 --> 0:39:42.680 of the text that got my attention, because after the 0:39:42.680 --> 0:39:49.000 man stands up, everybody is shocked to see this man 0:39:50.080 --> 0:39:53.520 who they were used to ignoring, who used to be 0:39:53.640 --> 0:39:58.720 kept on the outside. And they were like, that's Joe. 0:39:59.000 --> 0:40:00.839 I gave him a name, but as a scripture didn't 0:40:00.880 --> 0:40:02.640 And it doesn't seem right that I would spend fifty 0:40:02.640 --> 0:40:04.480 minutes talking about him and not even give him the 0:40:04.480 --> 0:40:10.799 courtesy of a name. That's Joe. No, it can't be 0:40:11.440 --> 0:40:15.720 dudes walk in, jump in, dancing. No, it's time telling 0:40:15.760 --> 0:40:19.560 you that's him. How you know it's him? Cause I 0:40:19.600 --> 0:40:21.840 know I walked by him every day. I used to 0:40:21.840 --> 0:40:24.640 walk by him every day. I walked by him every day. 0:40:24.680 --> 0:40:26.600 I walked by I walked by him every day, and 0:40:26.600 --> 0:40:29.279 he'd come in and we would transition past each other 0:40:29.320 --> 0:40:31.319 every day, and then we would say and see when 0:40:31.320 --> 0:40:36.239 he started to change. They couldn't understand it, and they 0:40:36.239 --> 0:40:42.560 didn't like it. Transition is traumatic, you know. And the 0:40:42.640 --> 0:40:48.440 way I know it's traumatic is because he dances, he walks, 0:40:49.560 --> 0:40:54.240 He goes past the gate and goes into Solomon's portico. 0:40:54.360 --> 0:40:56.920 This was a big, long porch, man. It would take 0:40:56.920 --> 0:40:59.359 the whole that whole side of the temple was one 0:40:59.400 --> 0:41:05.319 big porch. And I never forgot this verse when I 0:41:05.360 --> 0:41:09.719 read it, because it said that in verse eleven that 0:41:09.760 --> 0:41:17.080 the man clung to Peter and John. I never forgot that. 0:41:17.080 --> 0:41:20.840 That just gripped me when I read it, because I 0:41:20.880 --> 0:41:25.000 realized that it matters in these moments of transition what 0:41:25.080 --> 0:41:29.960 you cling to. And I hear the Spirit saying to 0:41:30.000 --> 0:41:33.600 somebody today that you are going to have to choose 0:41:33.640 --> 0:41:37.400 to cling to something that is new and uncomfortable to 0:41:37.480 --> 0:41:41.919 you to move forward in this transitional season of your life. 0:41:43.560 --> 0:41:46.760 For many of us, this means that we are having 0:41:46.800 --> 0:41:49.480 to let go of something old that exists in the 0:41:49.520 --> 0:41:53.439 paradigm of our mind in order to embrace something new. 0:41:53.520 --> 0:41:57.440 I mean, just because the man can walk doesn't mean 0:41:57.480 --> 0:42:00.719 that he can stand by himself. So now when we 0:42:01.160 --> 0:42:04.920 met him in the text, he's being carried, and when 0:42:04.960 --> 0:42:07.800 we say goodbye to him in the text, he's clinging. 0:42:08.960 --> 0:42:12.880 What makes that significant for our lives is you cannot 0:42:12.960 --> 0:42:16.680 take hold of what's new while you have a death 0:42:16.719 --> 0:42:20.840 grip on what's old, and God is saying you have 0:42:20.960 --> 0:42:24.759 gone as far as you can go holding on to 0:42:25.360 --> 0:42:29.800 what you used to be. This requires that the excuses 0:42:30.040 --> 0:42:33.360 that have become so embedded in your life have to 0:42:33.400 --> 0:42:37.720 be left behind at the spot of your transformation. Because 0:42:37.760 --> 0:42:41.560 you're in transition now, God is giving birth to a 0:42:41.640 --> 0:42:44.759 new thing in your life. It is going to require 0:42:44.880 --> 0:42:49.080 letting go of old habits. Look, man, if you are 0:42:49.120 --> 0:42:53.560 a husband now, you can't be single in your mindset anymore. 0:42:54.000 --> 0:42:57.600 You've got to consider a new responsibility. What happens a 0:42:57.600 --> 0:43:01.080 lot of times is we go into new situations holding 0:43:01.120 --> 0:43:05.520 on to old habits. You can't have a husband situation 0:43:05.960 --> 0:43:09.480 and have bachelor habits. Before long, it will tear you 0:43:09.560 --> 0:43:12.960 apart trying to hold on to two things. So I 0:43:13.000 --> 0:43:16.080 hear God saying, today, let it go. It is not 0:43:16.280 --> 0:43:19.680 serving you in this season anymore. Why would you hold 0:43:19.719 --> 0:43:22.160 on to something that taught you how to beg that 0:43:22.280 --> 0:43:25.239 taught you how to blame. It can't heal you anymore. 0:43:25.680 --> 0:43:28.719 Something greater is here. There is a name that is 0:43:28.760 --> 0:43:31.919 greater than any other name, higher than any other name, 0:43:32.400 --> 0:43:40.760 stronger than any other name. But you got to cling 0:43:40.880 --> 0:43:44.520 to it. And cling doesn't mean that you kind of 0:43:44.600 --> 0:43:50.320 swat at it. Cling means that you grab for Jesus 0:43:50.719 --> 0:43:55.200 with all you've got, because you know, like Jacob, that 0:43:55.280 --> 0:44:00.839 if he doesn't bless you, you won't be blessed. Said 0:44:00.880 --> 0:44:06.840 he clung to Peter and John. And what you cling 0:44:06.960 --> 0:44:11.919 to in this season of transition in your life will 0:44:11.960 --> 0:44:17.200 determine whether you go forward or stay at the gate. 0:44:20.840 --> 0:44:22.759 You know what the first thing that Peter did when 0:44:22.800 --> 0:44:26.359 he saw the man grabbing onto him, was he used 0:44:26.400 --> 0:44:30.600 him for a sermon illustration. God wants to use you. 0:44:32.239 --> 0:44:36.200 God wants to use you. God set it up so 0:44:36.239 --> 0:44:39.600 that he could use you. God set it up just 0:44:39.719 --> 0:44:44.239 so he could use you for his purpose and his glory. 0:44:44.840 --> 0:44:49.880 But you're in transition right now, and by holding on 0:44:49.920 --> 0:44:55.080 to the old, you forfeit the future. I came to say, 0:44:55.640 --> 0:44:58.919 let go of that thing that keeps you paralyzed, let 0:44:59.000 --> 0:45:01.480 go of that thing that keeps you fearful, and let 0:45:01.560 --> 0:45:05.080 go of that thing that keeps you stuck. This is 0:45:05.080 --> 0:45:13.000 a metamorphosis, and to be stuck at one stage of 0:45:13.040 --> 0:45:18.240 your spiritual growth when opportunity, power, and authority is standing 0:45:18.280 --> 0:45:23.040 in front of you is a terrible thing. With everyone 0:45:23.120 --> 0:45:26.279 standing at every location, I would like to pray for 0:45:26.360 --> 0:45:34.399 you concerning this transitional moment in your life. It would 0:45:34.440 --> 0:45:37.520 be awesome if I knew all the details, but I 0:45:37.520 --> 0:45:45.319 don't have to. God does. And you've been on the 0:45:45.360 --> 0:45:50.480 way somewhere and frustrated because change is taking longer than 0:45:50.520 --> 0:45:53.399 you thought it would. Now, what I'm speaking to right 0:45:53.440 --> 0:45:56.560 now is not you waited three days on something. I 0:45:56.600 --> 0:46:00.440 mean when you have been frustrated that you are not changing. Now, 0:46:00.480 --> 0:46:02.960 here's what God is saying what do you need to 0:46:03.040 --> 0:46:06.440 let go of? And what do you need to take 0:46:06.480 --> 0:46:12.520 hold of? The word that he uses that they translate 0:46:12.600 --> 0:46:18.040 cling is also used to mean put under arrest. In't 0:46:18.040 --> 0:46:21.560 that cool? This man was like, Oh no, y'all, ain't 0:46:21.640 --> 0:46:27.640 leaving me here. He grabbed Peter and John and refused 0:46:28.200 --> 0:46:32.920 to let go. I think that's what it takes to 0:46:32.960 --> 0:46:36.360 see change in our life, to grab hold of it 0:46:36.480 --> 0:46:39.080 and say, oh no, no, no no, no no, You're not 0:46:39.080 --> 0:46:41.560 going to leave me like you found me. No no, 0:46:41.560 --> 0:46:43.879 no, no no, no no no. I'm not gonna try this 0:46:43.960 --> 0:46:46.359 once and then go back to misery. I'm not going 0:46:46.440 --> 0:46:49.279 to suffocate in despair when hope is in front of 0:46:49.280 --> 0:46:56.959 me in the form of the spirit of God. No. So, Lord, 0:46:57.000 --> 0:47:00.239 I ask you now, because I know that somebody has 0:47:00.280 --> 0:47:06.320 been trapped in between old and new, trapped in between 0:47:08.400 --> 0:47:11.800 a past and a future. I ask you right now 0:47:12.520 --> 0:47:14.640 to give them the grace not only to stand up, 0:47:15.440 --> 0:47:19.920 but give them the direction to walk. I pray right 0:47:19.960 --> 0:47:23.720 now in Jesus' name that nobody would leave this place 0:47:25.400 --> 0:47:30.640 holding on to something that is keeping them stuck. In 0:47:30.719 --> 0:47:34.359 the name of the Lord, I command you to rise 0:47:34.440 --> 0:47:38.160 up and walk, not just to jump up and shout, 0:47:39.239 --> 0:47:43.080 but to walk in a new direction, to walk toward 0:47:43.200 --> 0:47:46.560 what God has called you, to walk toward what He 0:47:46.640 --> 0:47:50.520 sees in you, to walk toward what He created you 0:47:50.600 --> 0:47:55.080 to be spirit of the Living God in this moment 0:47:55.120 --> 0:48:01.720 of transition. Whether it's circumstantial or whether it's motional, doesn't matter. 0:48:02.680 --> 0:48:07.320 I pray that you, being the constant God who never changes, 0:48:08.239 --> 0:48:11.920 the constant God who does not move, who is not 0:48:12.120 --> 0:48:16.279 bound by time, that you would touch every situation by 0:48:16.320 --> 0:48:20.839 your grace and glory today and enable feet that we're 0:48:20.880 --> 0:48:25.120 never able to stand before, to jump upright and to 0:48:25.239 --> 0:48:29.880 walk in a new direction. Home, Lord, you know what 0:48:29.960 --> 0:48:34.319 they're dealing with, and you know what is beneath what 0:48:34.320 --> 0:48:38.840 they're dealing with on the surface. I pray for patience. 0:48:39.920 --> 0:48:44.719 Sometimes it takes that. I pray for new partnerships. Give 0:48:44.760 --> 0:48:47.000 every person in this room a Peter and John that 0:48:47.040 --> 0:48:49.960 they can walk with on the way to where you're 0:48:50.040 --> 0:48:53.920 leading them. It is so uncertain. We don't know what 0:48:53.960 --> 0:48:55.920 one moment to the next holds. We just know that 0:48:56.440 --> 0:49:03.160 change is inevitable, but we choose transformation through every change 0:49:03.160 --> 0:49:07.440 in our life, good or bad. Thank you for joining us. 0:49:07.760 --> 0:49:10.200 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:49:10.280 --> 0:49:13.759 this ministry is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:49:14.200 --> 0:49:16.760 You can click the link in the description to give now, 0:49:17.280 --> 0:49:21.160 or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information 0:49:21.680 --> 0:49:24.839 and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You 0:49:24.840 --> 0:49:26.920 can share it with your friends. You can click the 0:49:26.920 --> 0:49:29.239 share button, take a screenshot and share it on your 0:49:29.239 --> 0:49:32.239 social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again 0:49:32.239 --> 0:49:38.400 for listening. God bless you.