Blessing Is Coming

I'm preaching today to somebody who is in a transition

in your life that is significant, and it is the

most significant place of opportunity, and it is the most

vulnerable place of insecurity at those points of transition.

And maybe I should show you in the text.

Go all the way back up to Acts, chapter three,

verse one. Y'all feel like studying the Bible a little

bit today, Let's look at it now. Peter and John,

we're going up to the temple at the hour of prayer,

the ninth hour, and a man who was laying from

birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the

gate of the temple called Beautiful to ask alms from

those entering the temple. Everything I just said is transitional.

Every single component of the verses I just read has

a transitional element.

And when I saw that in the text, I was like, this.

Is perfect for what we're trying to understand in our lives,

because our lives are constantly changing, and they're changing so

fast that by the time we recognize the change, we

don't have time to make the adjustment.

By the time we know how to be.

A good parent, they are fifty three years old by

the time we know what we should have saved money

for is too late, and the bill is already overdue.

By the time we get the wisdom, we don't have

to strength to implement it because we're tired from all

of our dumb mistakes.

So when I read it and I realized.

Everything is transitional, put it up again, Acts three, verse one.

Now it's a transitional word. Peter and John were going

up to the temple. They were on the way somewhere

at the hour of prayer. It was a transitional time.

So they're going about their day and now it's time to.

Pray, ding ding ding. Everybody to the temple.

Peter and John are transitioning to the temple. They are

transitioning in their ministry because up until this point they've

all always had Jesus in human form to supervise their

miracle working attempts.

And efforts, and sometimes.

They didn't get it right, and he was there to

correct them. But he's not here in human form anymore,

and they are in transition, and so now here they're

going to church at three in the afternoon.

That's what the ninth hour means.

It's a transitional period where all good Jewish men and

women would go to.

The synagogue for prayer.

Peter and Johnner are moving toward the temple transitional period

for the church transitional moment.

In their day. In between two activities.

Then it says that verse two, there was a man

who was being carried, whom they laid daily at the

gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate.

So now the church as.

A whole is in transition, as the Spirit of God

is beginning to manifest himself through signs, miracles, and wonders

through the hands of the apostles. Peter and John are

in transition on their way to the temple, which is

their daily routine, and there's a man who the Bible

says it is being carried. I don't know how I

missed this for so many years. I always pictured this

miracle with the man already laying beside the gate. But

he wasn't at the gate yet. The Bible says he

was in transition. He wasn't even in.

The spot yet.

Because see, like if you were gonna make it and

you couldn't walk, you had to have a racket. And

so the best place you could go pick a spot.

While people are going to church and they would do

it different. They wouldn't get you on the way out

because you already gave an offering in church, so they

would get you on the way in, right, And if

you can catch them on the way in, maybe they'll

drop you some change, and maybe they'll you know, is

considered piety to give alms, and so they're catching people

with a gift shop at the gate by the temple.

He wouldn't have been the only one. This was a

very commonplace to set up. But I was blessed by this,

and I thought you maybe too. He wasn't even in

his spot yet when God decided to give him a miracle.

I think a lot of times that if I could

get here, or if I could if I could if

I could arrive there, or if I could accomplish this,

or if I could do that, or if I could

fix it, or if I could establish it, or.

If I could move through it.

But I want you to notice this is a transitional miracle.

It means that Church hasn't even started yet, but God

is already on the scene.

It means that.

God does not need for your life to be at

a certain point where people say it should be in

order to bless you. So this is for everybody who

is in transition. And I don't know if you're switching jobs.

I don't know if.

You're switching girlfriends. I don't know if you're switching schools.

I don't know if you're switching ways of living. I

don't know if you're switching from You used to get

high on a substance, but now you're trying to connect

to Christ.

I don't know what the switch is. But I love

the fact.

That God was waiting to bless the person before he

even got to the spot. It is a transitional miracle.

And here's what I wanted to say. God is gonna

bless you on the way. God is gonna bless you.

He's gonna meet you and cut you off on your

way to your spot and bless you anyway. How many

No God can cut you off and bless you. So

he was about to go into the gate. And what

is a gate. It's a symbol of transition. Everything in

the text is pointing me to the fact that God

is most active in moments.

Of what I perceive to be instability and transition.

Now, feel the Holy Spirit just all up in your stuff,

because there's something you're trying to get through, but you

don't have to wait to get through it. You can

believe God right smack dab in the middle of it.

It sounds good, preach is good, doesn't feel good. I mean,

it's so weird how we ask God to change our

lives and when he really does. Because now he changed

your life. Now it's going to change your friends. Now

he changed your life. Now it's gonna affect how you

spend your time. Now he changed your life, and now

it's gonna destabilize everything that you've come to depend on.

It's a transitional text. It's a transitional moment.

For the author Luke, as he's compiling.

A history of the church. He's going from an explanation

to a demonstration. That's when it gets good.

When you go from theoretically believing something to practically acting

it out.

In your life. The miracle is in the transition. That's

how we walk.

Right, I transition the weight of my body. And until

I transition the weight, I cannot move. The center of

gravity must change in the same way. Every time God

is moving you forward in your life, there will be

a period of transitional instability. In this passage, the man

has never walked before in his life.

He's being carried to the gate.

Peter and John are going to church, and in transition,

God sets up a moment for transformation, and when it

happens is so shocking, not only to the onlookers and

not only to Peter and John who are just trying

to get to Sunday school. Now this is important too.

Can I throw this in? This is for free. I

won't say it in the next service. I will just

say it for you, all right, Yellow first to the trough.

You know, the early bird in the worm and all that.

It all applies right now, now look at me. The

first miracle that is recorded in the Book of Acts

was waiting in something that everybody else was stepping over

to get to something they deemed more important.

That's just for y'all. Now let's look at it. And Peter.

Now they saw Peter and John. This man is.

On his way to his spot. Peter and John are

on the way to church. Study in the Bible, how

many things that happen on the way. How active God

is in the journey in transition. How many things that

God uses to change our life happen in between two

fixed points that we deem important, just all the little

places Jesus would stop and do a miracle, because you

know that the feeding of the five thousand was.

Not on jesus itinerary.

He was just trying to get somewhere else, and there

happened to be twenty thousand people that wanted to hear

him teach. Some of the greatest stuff that God will

do in your day will not be on your calendar.

Some of the greatest stuff that God will do in

your life will not be in your five year plan.

Come on, some of the greatest stuff that God will

reveal in your life will not be on your dream board.

And they're just trying to get to church, and the

man is just trying to get something to eat. And

they meet in transition, and God is in position, and

the man is in transition, and Peter and John are

in transition, and God is positioning all of it, just

like he is in your life today, just like he

is in your family, just like he is in your situation,

just like.

He is in our church. And He's arranging a meeting.

And the man sees Peter and John and he asked

to receive alms, and Peter verse four directed his gaze

at him, as did John, and said, look at us.

And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive

something from them. I always like to say that he

was expecting the wrong kind of change. He wanted to know,

do you have a few quarters? Do you have a

few dimes? And Jesus like, the one thing I've learned

about him is sometimes he doesn't meet your expectation because

he wants to exceed it. Don't be too disappointed if

God didn't give you what you wanted.

This man, in this moment is about.

To receive a change that he didn't even have the

faith to ask for. And God sets up at his spot,

you know, the spot where he was just going to

beg and get through another day and some change, some

spait change, and Peter's like, oh, I got change for you.

See this is a transitional moment. Remember that Jesus said

that if you ask anything in my name, I'll give.

It to you.

His name represents his authority and his power, and so

when Peter said it, what he said next in the

next verse, I have no silver in gold, but what.

I do have I give to you. At first, this

man is thinking, oh, another one of those Christians that

leaves you a track and doesn't leave you a tip

at the restaurant, that'll send you straight to hell.

By the way, if you don't.

Tip your server twenty percent, don't come to Elevation Church

twenty percent.

If they spit in your drink twenty percent.

But Peter is saying, now, look, let's get past what

you expected. Let's get past this temporary change that you desire.

I have no silver and gold. But what I do

have I have a name. It is not my name,

because in my name you get nothing.

In my ability, there is limited strength, power and resource.

But I know a name, and the one who has

this name gave it to me. So I'm not operating

in my own authority. But watch, this is the transition

of power. Jesus said, if you wait for my spirit,

you can.

Receive my power. So if you don't.

Get out and move the way that you think you

ought to move, but wait for me to direct your path.

If you will be in position, you can receive my power.

Who in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise

up and walk? And he took him by the right hand.

Why the right hand, that's the hand of authority. Why

the right hand, because all power and authority was given

to Jesus. Come on, get happy with me. I don't

care if it's fifty of y'all, but God said I'm

standing over your situation, presiding and prevailing.

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