Trapped In Transition

Summary

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Elevation with Steven Furtick

Episode: Trapped In Transition

Date: July 17, 2026
Podcast Host: Steven Furtick (Elevation Church)
Theme: Navigating “in-between” seasons of life and the spiritual, emotional, and practical challenges of transition.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Pastor Steven Furtick dives into the feeling of being “trapped in transition”—those seasons where you’re no longer who you used to be, but not yet where you’re meant to be. Using Acts Chapter 3 as a foundational text, Furtick explores the difference between change and transition, highlighting the vulnerabilities and opportunities that come with being “in between.” The message interweaves biblical insight, personal anecdotes, and practical encouragement for listeners who feel stuck, anxious, or overlooked on the journey to transformation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scriptural Foundation: The Transitional Miracle (Acts 3)

• Text Read: Acts 3:11-16 – The healing of the man lame from birth at the temple gate called Beautiful.
• Furtick calls this “a transitional miracle,” illustrating both the personal change for the man and the transitional phase for the early church moving from Jesus’ earthly ministry to the Spirit-empowered apostles.

  “It is the first miracle of healing that is recorded in the Book of Acts. It will not be the last. That’s why I call it a transitional miracle.” (09:29–10:24)

2. Transitions as Opportunity and Vulnerability

• Both the healed man and the apostles are navigating new ground—one learning to walk, the others ministering without Jesus physically present.
• Anecdote: Furtick uses a personal story about feeling trapped during tourist visits (notably at Alcatraz), relating how being able to see freedom but not reaching it mirrors transitional agony.

  “The ability to see it, visualize it, and maybe even taste it, but not experience it is a certain type of torture that is only known in transition.” (05:20)

3. The Power and Danger of Transition

• Transition points are powerful for growth but also vulnerable to distraction and attack.

  “Where there is transition, there is distraction. And where there is distraction, there is opportunity for someone who means harm to capitalize on the lack of focus and create instability.” (11:58–12:19)

• Furtick draws a parallel between physical security risks in transitional zones and spiritual/emotional vulnerability during life transitions.

4. God Acts in the “In-Between”

• The miracle happens before the man even arrives at his “spot” by the gate—before he thinks he’s ready, God meets him.

  “He wasn’t even in his spot yet when God decided to give him a miracle… God was waiting to bless the person before he even got to the spot.” (16:52–18:10)

5. Change vs. Transition: The Inner Battle

• Change: An external event, often immediate (ex: the man instantly walks).
• Transition: The internal process of adapting to and integrating change—slower, more complex.

  “Change is external, it’s something that happens to you… Transition is always an internal or a psychological event.” (31:08–32:23)

• Many frustrations come from wanting instant results from change without engaging the often uncomfortable process of transition.

6. Spiritual Maturity Requires Enduring Transition

• Furtick references Hebrews 5, lamenting how believers remain immature by not progressing through transition.

  “For though by this time you ought to be teachers… You need milk, not solid food… Transition is a skill. Change is a gift. Transition is a skill.” (37:29–38:24)

• True transformation is not just about receiving a miracle; it’s learning to live, lead, and give from that new place.

7. Letting Go of the Old, Clinging to the New

• After the miracle, the healed man clings to Peter and John—a vivid picture: what we cling to in transition defines our future.

  “You cannot take hold of what’s new while you have a death grip on what’s old.” (43:52)

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Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On Transitional Pain:

  “To be trapped in transition is to be waiting for your mind to catch up with the transformation that has already happened in your life.” (33:59)

• On God’s Unexpected Blessings:

  “God is going to bless you on the way… How many know God can cut you off and bless you?” (17:48–18:59)

• On Change vs. Transition:

  “Just because your feet are strong and just because your legs were… just because you now have the strength to stand doesn’t mean you have the understanding to walk.” (33:59)

• On Discomfort and Growth:

  “If you are being tested, you are in transition. What that means is the greatest oil of anointing comes from in the place of greatest transition.” (39:08–39:19)

• Letting Go:

  “Why would you hold onto something that taught you how to beg, that taught you how to blame? It can’t heal you anymore. Something greater is here.” (44:06–44:27)

• Practical Call:

  “What you cling to in this season of transition in your life will determine whether you go forward or stay at the gate.” (45:34)

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Timestamps for Key Sections

• [01:59] Opening Scripture Reading (Acts 3)
• [05:20] Alcatraz story and the agony of seeing but not reaching freedom
• [09:17] Importance of transitions: biblical, personal, church-wide
• [13:25] Walking through Acts 3: transitions in scripture and life
• [17:46] God blesses us “on the way,” not just at the “destination”
• [27:07] Distinguishing between change (external) and transition (internal/psychological)
• [33:59] Feelings of being “trapped in transition”
• [37:29] Hebrews 5: Christian maturity, transition as a skill
• [43:29] Clinging to the new, releasing the old
• [45:34] Challenge: What are you holding onto that keeps you stuck?
• [46:52] Closing prayer for those in transition

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Practical Takeaways

• Transitions are spiritually significant: They’re the most vulnerable and most opportunistic times—where God often works most powerfully.
• Don’t rush the process: Change can be immediate, but the transition is where character and faith mature.
• Let go to move forward: Cling to what God is doing now, not what worked in a previous season.
• The right partnerships matter: God often sends “a Peter and a John”—people who help you rise and walk in new seasons.
• Your struggle is not a sign of failure: Feeling unstable or even “trapped” is normal in transition; trust God’s timing and cling to faith.

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Final Encouragement

Pastor Furtick wraps up with a heartfelt prayer, asking God to grant courage, patience, and new partnerships for all who feel stuck in the “in between”—so listeners may not only stand but actively walk into the new things God has for them.

“God, give them the grace not only to stand up, but give them the direction to walk… What do you need to let go of, and what do you need to take hold of?” (46:52)

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(All quotes and timestamps aligned to the original episode transcript; summary preserves the engaging, relatable, and practical tone typical of Steven Furtick’s teaching.)

Transcript

[Steven Furtick]

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[Steven Furtick]

I want to hit you with a scripture from ACTS Chapter three for a moment and who knows where we'll go from there, but ACTS Chapter three would definitely be our starting place. It's exciting to think about the potential that exists in a moment like this where the God who knows you by name and knows not only the struggles you have right now, but whatever you're going to face this week could give you the instruction, the comfort and the serenity you need for whatever is going on in your life and to prepare you for opportunities and opposition alike. Just from one word he could speak. I want to share with you from Acts chapter three. 11 while he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. Astounded when Peter saw it, he addressed the people. Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. And you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. His name by faith in his name has made this man strong. Whom you see and know the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect help. In the presence of you all, I want to speak to you today for a few moments on this subject. Trapped in transition I want to pray before we get into it. One more time. Let's pray, Father. Now I call on you to do the thing only you can do. I can study, I can prepare. But I can only preach to a certain level unless you inhabit this holy moment. Holy Spirit, there is a designed, custom tailored message each person needs. I ask now that you would measure that out to each heart. Help us to get past all of the distractions that would keep us from understanding the things you desire to say and we give you all the glory in Jesus name Somebody shout Amen on your way to your seat. Touch somebody and say, I am in transition. I was standing up and now I'm sitting down. You know, it's really interesting when we travel, Holly likes to do stuff. That's where we're different. I like to get in and get out. If I'm preaching somewhere, I don't need to see the sights. Just show me the stage where I need to do my job. Get me back home where my refrigerator is stocked with Diet Coke. I'm not very adventurous. She's the opposite. She wants to go and see all the touristy stuff. God helped that woman in a gift shop. I'm serious. When we go through the gift shop, I just know every time that it's going to be a piece of my kids college education fund that's going to be left. Is this a true story? Those of you who have traveled, Holly Furtick is a good 45 minutes in any gift shop. I understood it until we went to Alcatraz I couldn't understand why you want to buy something. You know, the prison, it's not a prison anymore. Now it's a national park. But until 1962, it was a prison. I honestly enjoyed that one. Now she has taken me to some really boring places. I'm not going to lie to you. One time we learned about Australian military history, and I just don't need to know it. Do you know what I mean? I appreciate their continent, but it is not a part of my history or my destiny. So I usually last about 30 minutes. Then I start feeling trapped. I mean, I really do. I start feeling like I would do anything to get out of this situation. But she's taking me all over. At Alcatraz, it was different because not only was my wife interested to visit Alcatraz, but she was interested for me to hear the stories on the headset that they gave you for the guided tour. I don't know if it's because I love Shawshank Redemption and it's my favorite movie, but something about that, it connected with me. Maybe it's all the prison stories in the Bible. I don't know why, but at Alcatraz, it was different. I wasn't bored. I was actually really fascinated, especially at this one part. I brought you a picture from when I visited prison as a tourist. This is me and Chunk standing at the part of the tour where they would show you how the prison, Alcatraz, because it's an island, was directly positioned where you could see 1 1/4 miles across the ocean. You could see San Francisco. What they said on the headphones, and I didn't forget this, is that what made it so agonizing for a prisoner was that you could see, just a little over a mile, everything you wanted in life, but you couldn't get to it. When I heard that, I paused my headphones and then I started making a sermon illustration about how many people today can see in your mind's eye the person you could be if you could ever be free from an addiction, a habit, depression or panic. The ability to see it, but I can't swim to it. The ability to see it, visualize it, and maybe even taste it, but not experience is a certain type of torture that is only known in transition. When we read the scriptures, we would do well to pay attention to the transitions. This is for Jason and Tim and Brad and Chad and all of my campus pastors who preach from time to time. It will make you a better preacher if you pay attention to the transitions. Just when you're reading the Bible, look out for the transitional phrases and even words like therefore and wherefore and whither and hither, the transitional words that take you from place to place. Pay attention to the transitions.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

As a matter of fact, it's not

[Steven Furtick]

only good for preaching in life, you will be so much more effective if you learn to pay attention to the transitions.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

The scripture I read to you today is a transitional miracle.

[Steven Furtick]

In the Book of Acts. I call it a transitional miracle because

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

it gives us a picture of what

[Steven Furtick]

the author, Luke, is already explaining as

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

he chronicles the birth of the church.

[Steven Furtick]

Not only is the church in a transitional period going from being considered a

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

cult with very little political capital to going into influential spaces and beginning to turn the world upside down for Jesus

[Steven Furtick]

Christ, the carpenter who was crucified. But the position of Acts chapter three is transitional in that it is the first miracle that is recorded other than the Pentecostal miracle of those being filled with the Spirit.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

It is the first miracle of healing

[Steven Furtick]

that is recorded in the Book of Acts.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

It will not be the last.

[Steven Furtick]

It is the first. That's why I call it a transitional miracle.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

It is giving us a picture of what Jesus meant when he said to his followers, don't leave Jerusalem, the city of peace. Don't leave this place of peace, but wait until you have received the Holy Spirit. It is difficult to sit still in transition while you are threatened by.

[Steven Furtick]

By opposition from the outside.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

They didn't like Jesus, and that's why they killed him. But Jesus told them to do something very difficult, to sit still in transition

[Steven Furtick]

and wait for him to do it his way. It's the hardest thing in the world. Yet every time Holly goes through the gift shop, they get her. Every time. They positioned that gift shop after she has seen all the history. I mean, I understand a mug, but this woman, she'll buy a journal, a mug, a memoir, a baseball cap, a beanie, a sticker. This woman, she's a sucker.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

They get her every time. No, I want y' all to pray for the woman of God that leads this church because she doesn't get it. You are so vulnerable on your way out. She doesn't get it.

[Steven Furtick]

One time I was doing an assessment with someone who was looking at our security in the church, and they said the most important place to make sure there's plenty of security is anywhere there is transition. Because where there is transition, there is distraction. And where there is distraction, there is opportunity for someone who means harm to capitalize on the lack of focus and create Instability. That's what I've been thinking about in regards to Acts chapter three this week.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

How the enemy will often set up

[Steven Furtick]

a gift shop to take your stuff at points of transition on the way out. On the way in.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

That's the only two times it costs me money.

[Steven Furtick]

When she takes me to a museum, they charge me for a ticket to get in. And then my wife empties our retirement fund on the way out. But it is at those points of

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

transition I'm preaching today to somebody who is in a transition in your life that is significant. It is the most significant place of opportunity and it is the most vulnerable

[Steven Furtick]

place of insecurity at those points of transition. Maybe I should show you in the text. Yeah, maybe before Holly gets mad at me for this illustration, I should show you in the text.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Go all the way back up to

[Steven Furtick]

Acts chapter three, verse one.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Do y' all feel like studying the Bible a little bit today? Let's look at it now.

[Steven Furtick]

Peter and John were going up to

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man who was lame from

[Steven Furtick]

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.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Every single component of the verses I

[Steven Furtick]

just read has a transitional element.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

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 are 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 53 years old. By the time we know what we should have saved money for, it's too late and the bill is already overdue. By the time we get the wisdom, we don't have the 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 3:1.

[Steven Furtick]

Now it's a transitional word.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Peter and John were going up to the temple.

[Steven Furtick]

They were on the way somewhere at

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

the hour of prayer. It was a transitional time. They're going about their day and now it's time to pray. Ding, ding, ding.

[Steven Furtick]

Everybody to the temple. Peter and John are transitioning to the temple.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

They are transitioning in their ministry because up until this point they've always had Jesus in human form to supervise their miracle working attempts and efforts.

[Steven Furtick]

Sometimes they didn't get it right. He was there to correct them. But he's not here in human form anymore. They are in transition. 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 John are moving toward the temple. Transitional period for the church. Transitional moment in their day, in between two activities. Then it says 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. There's a man who the Bible says 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 if you were going to make it and you couldn't walk, you had to have a racket. The best place you could go, pick a spot while people are going to church. 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. If you can catch them on the way in, maybe they'll drop you some change. Maybe it was 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 common place to set up. But I was blessed by this, and I thought you may be 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

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

I could arrive there, or if I could accomplish this, or if I could do that, or if I could fix

[Steven Furtick]

it, or if I could establish it, or if I could move through it.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

But I want you to notice this

[Steven Furtick]

is a transitional miracle.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

It means that church hasn't even started

[Steven Furtick]

yet, but God is already on the scene.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

It means God does not need for your life to be at a certain point where people say it should be in order to bless you. This is for everybody who is in transition. 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. That God was waiting to bless the person before he even got to the spot. It is a transitional miracle. Here's what I wanted to say. God is going to bless you on the way. God is going to bless you. He's going to meet you and cut you off on your way to your spot and bless you anyway. How many know God can cut you off and bless you?

[Steven Furtick]

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 I 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.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

You can believe God right smack dab in the middle of.

[Steven Furtick]

Sounds good, preaches good, doesn't feel good. I mean, it's so weird how we ask God to change our lives. And when he really does, now he changed your life. Now it's going to change your friends. Now he changed your life. Now it's going to affect how you spend your time.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Now he changed your life and now it's going to.

[Steven Furtick]

It's going to destabilize everything 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

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

acting it out in your life.

[Steven Furtick]

The miracle is in the transition.

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That's how we walk, right?

[Steven Furtick]

I transition the weight of my body. Until I transition the weight I cannot move. The center of gravity must change.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

In the same way, every time God is moving you forward in your life,

[Steven Furtick]

there will be a period of transitional instability.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

In this passage, the man has never walked before in his life.

[Steven Furtick]

He's being carried to the gate.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Peter and John are going to church and in transition.

[Steven Furtick]

And God sets up a moment for transformation.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

When it happens, it's so shocking, not

[Steven Furtick]

only to the onlookers and not only to Peter and John, who were just trying to get to Sunday school. 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 are first to the trough. You know, the early bird and 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 everybody else was stepping over to get to something they deemed more important. That's just for y'.

[iHeart Sports Announcer]

All.

[Steven Furtick]

Now let's look at it.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Peter.

[Steven Furtick]

Now they saw Peter and John. This man is on his way to his spot. Peter and John are on the way

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

to church, studying the Bible.

[Steven Furtick]

How many things happen on the way. How active God is in the journey, in transition. How many things God uses to change our life happen in between two fixed points we deem important.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Just all the little places Jesus would

[Steven Furtick]

stop and do a miracle because you know, the feeding of the 5,000 was not on Jesus itinerary. He was just trying to get somewhere else. And there happened to be 20,000 people who wanted to hear him teach. Some of the greatest stuff God will do in your day will not be on your calendar.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Some of the greatest stuff God will do in your life will not be in your five year plan. Some of the greatest stuff God will reveal in your life will not be

[Steven Furtick]

on your dream board. 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. Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us. He fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. I always like to say he was expecting the wrong kind of change. He wanted to know, do you have a few quarters? Do you have a few dimes? 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 he didn't even have the faith to ask for. God sets up at his spot, the spot where he was just going to beg and get through another day and some change, some spirit change. Peter is like, oh, I have change for you. See, this is a transitional moment. Remember, Jesus said, if you ask anything in my name, I give it to you. His name represents his authority and his power. When Peter said what he said next in the next verse, I have no silver and 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, 20%, don't come to Elevation Church, 20%.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

If they spit in your drink, 20%.

[Steven Furtick]

But Peter is saying, now look, let's get past what you expected. Let's get past this temporary change you desire.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I have a name. It's 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. If you don't get out and move the way 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. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by 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 50 of y', all, but God said, I'm standing over your situation, presiding and prevailing.

[Steven Furtick]

Oh, yeah, I forgot something. Sit back down. In psychology, they make a distinction between change and transition. The two are not the same. We'll see it in this man's life because in this transitional miracle, what is often unstated is that just because the man received a miracle, it didn't immediately fix his mindset. I want to spend a moment here because I believe many people are frustrated in their inability to change. I think in the text is a clue as to why. But we're going to have to pay attention to the transitions in this text. If you will lean into this text for just a moment, it's going to show you something about why some of the changes in your life don't stick. Why some of the changes in your life, as soon as they are introduced, it seems like, you know, everybody wants change in a certain area. It's often been said that change is the only constant in life, and I agree with that. But change is traumatic, even if it's positive. There are desirable changes, there are undesirable changes.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

While we're running around thinking that we

[Steven Furtick]

control our lives, the thing that really changes everything is the text message you never expected. I'm telling you,

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

I used to think

[Steven Furtick]

our church could avoid criticism. I would think, well, if we do

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

this right and we do that right

[Steven Furtick]

and we have integrity over here, it's never going to be the things you expect that people are going to attack you about.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

It's going to be something you never even thought possible.

[Steven Furtick]

It's just going to be something

[Greenies Advertiser]

you

[Steven Furtick]

didn't have the foreknowledge to expect.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Like this man.

[Steven Furtick]

He never knew he was about to get healed. But healing creates a new set of problems.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

If you don't understand this dimension, and

[Steven Furtick]

it is a distinction, Change and transition are two different things. So the man says, I want some change. Peter is like, cool, I'm about to change your life. He's like, Nah, man, $3 is fine. I mean, I'm just looking for a burger right now. But Peter is like, no, no, I don't want you to buy a Whopper. I want you to walk.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Take my hand.

[Steven Furtick]

This authority, boom. And like a current, it shoots through his body. Watch what happens to him. This is a beautiful thing. When God blesses you in a moment, immediately he took him by the right hand and raised him up.

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And.

[Steven Furtick]

And immediately.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

There is no duration, there is no progression.

[Steven Furtick]

Immediately the man's feet and ankles were made strong. Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. Before you shout about that verse, pay attention to the transitional words because it says he began to walk. All he knew how to do was beg because he was born unable to walk. This is part two of last week when I told you that sometimes better feels backwards. And it's wonderful that he could walk. But where is he going to go? Every day he was carried to this spot.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Now what?

[Steven Furtick]

Cool, man. You didn't want to buy me a sandwich, I would have took Popeyes or Chick Fil? A. But now I'm standing here and I'm leaping and I'm happy and I'm changed. But it represents a transition. Let me read this to you so I don't mess it up. This is outside of my realm. I do theology. The psychology part. I want to read it and make sure I get it right. I don't want to get sued for malpractice up here. Change is external, is something that happens to you. The man didn't do physical therapy and learn to walk. It was an unexpected change. Good or bad, change is external. Change could be traffic. Change can be weather.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Change can be something that happens in your body. Change can be something that happens globally. Change happens externally. It is a situation that is imposed

[Steven Furtick]

by outside circumstances or unforeseen conditions.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Follow me.

[Steven Furtick]

Transition is always an internal or a psychological event. Do you see the contrast?

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

He jumped up immediately.

[Steven Furtick]

That's change.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

He began to walk.

[Steven Furtick]

That's transition.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

Some of us are frustrated by change because we are unwilling to endure the process of transition. I need God's help to preach this now. So we jump up and we jump up happy. You know how you get happy when God does something awesome in your life? That's a change. But transition is where transformation happens. Not by something external, but by something internal. I'll prove it to you. David said, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in me. What does that mean? David wasn't praying about his situation. He was praying about his spirit because he understood that if God changes your situation, but the spiritual process is left underdeveloped, it will cause an implosion. Now, the change happened. It was not illegitimate. He jumped up. He walked. His feet and ankles could do it. But it wasn't his feet at this point that was the problem. Just because your feet are strong and just because your legs were. Just because you now have the strength

[Steven Furtick]

to stand doesn't mean you have the understanding to walk. You're in transition, and it doesn't make much sense to you when you're in transition. It's unstable when you're in transition. In fact, when you're in transition, you can feel trapped. Here's why I left Egypt. I'm not in Canaan. I'm trapped in transition. I'm saved enough not to go to hell, but I'm not saved enough to not want to go to the club. I'm trapped. We got the angel choir over here in this section. The reality of it is transition takes time, and change happens suddenly. To be trapped in transition is to be waiting for your mind to catch up with the transformation that has already happened in your life. I was praying about it. I was asking God to give me a picture of what this looks like. I went back over to Hebrews chapter five and I looked for background on that particular situation where you see a Christian community struggling to come into the fullness of what God has for them in One of the most middle school teacher passages of scripture of all time. Because he's really, really frustrated with his pupils. This anonymous author begins to rant in Hebrews, chapter 5, verse 11, because he's trying to get something out. It's frustrating when you have something valuable but you have nowhere to put it. It's frustrating when you feel like you have something to give but nobody to receive it. Especially in a relationship when you want to give more, but when you look to give what you have in you, you don't find anywhere to pour it into. That's frustrating. As he's building up and building up, he's describing maturity. He's describing not just the miraculous salvation event, but the maturity of following Christ into deeper things and better motivations and new ways of doing things that rely on grace rather than legalism or the law. And as he teaches them this switch, he becomes frustrated. Somewhere in his letter, he senses he's losing their attention. So he goes about this. We have much to say, 11 and it is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. I love this. This means it's your fault for not getting it. It's not the preacher's fault for not saying it right. I'm going to put this verse on my pulpit. You have become dull of hearing. It's not that I'm confusing, it's just that you're slow. Okay, verse 12. For though by this time. That's what he said. For though by this time you ought to be teachers. Do you hear it? You ought to be teaching somebody, but you didn't transition. You got up and learned to walk, but you didn't reach back your hand to anybody else.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

You've been a Christian for 14 and

[Steven Furtick]

you're still not asking any better questions of life. You're still simplifying it. You've been walking with God this long and you should be further. But I'm frustrated because you're not farther along. I don't know. He's frustrated. It's a halftime talk. He's in the locker room. We're better than this, team. We're better than this. Yeah, Krytone, you're better than this. That's what he's saying. He said you have need of someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

You need milk, not solid food.

[Steven Furtick]

For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained.

[Steven Furtick]

Oh, is a skill. Transition is a skill. Change is a gift. Transition is a skill. He said this skill requires use and practice to distinguish good from evil.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

The only way to know the difference

[Steven Furtick]

between God's will for your life and your will for your life is you have to go to Gethsemane.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

You have to go to the place Jesus went to, where he learned the separation between what I want based on

[Steven Furtick]

comfort and convenience and human preference and

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

feelings and what God wants based on the position he has put me in. Now, understand this. When Jesus finally got to the cross, he had no trouble giving up his life. It was only in Gethsemane transition, where he had to pray God. If there's any other way. The greatest test is in transition. So get ready for this. If you are being tested, you are in transition. What that means is the greatest oil of anointing comes from in the place of greatest transition. So God is growing you up. That's what he's doing. He's growing you up. He's teaching you to stand. Therefore, to stand when it's uncertain, to stand when it doesn't feel good, to stand when it's controversial, to stand when it doesn't seem to be happening, to stand on what you know. When you can't trust what you see

[Steven Furtick]

or what you feel, you're in transition. Transition takes a little time. Now the decision is, do I hold on to the old or do I lean into the new? That's what the man had to decide. And so do you, and so do I. I had my spot. I had my system. I had my support. Now I'm in transition. I can't do what I used to do anymore. I had this. I had this cup where people would come by and they would drop change in my cup. I had to drop my cup to grab hold of Peter's hand so I could stand up and begin to walk. But that's not the part of the text that got my attention. Because after the man stands up, everybody is shocked to see this man who they were used to ignoring, who used to be kept on the outside. They were like, that's Joe. I gave him a name because the scripture didn't. And it doesn't seem right that I would spend 50 minutes talking about him and not even give him the courtesy of a name. That's Joe. No, it can't be. Dudes walking, jumping, dancing. No, as Tom telling you, that's him. How do you know it's him? Guys, I know. I walk by him every day. I used to walk by him Every day I walked by him every day. He'd come in and we would transition past each other every day. See, when he started to change, they couldn't understand it and they didn't like it. Transition is traumatic. The way I know it's traumatic is because he dances, he walks, he goes past the gate and goes into Solomon's portico. This was a big, long porch. That whole side of the temple was one big porch. I never forgot this verse when I read it because it said in verse 11 that the man clung to Peter and John. I never forgot that. That just gripped me when I read it. I realized it matters in these moments of transition what you cling to. I hear the spirit saying to somebody today that you are going to have to choose to cling to something that is new and uncomfortable to you to move forward in this transitional season of your life. For many of us, this means we

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

are having to let go of something

[Steven Furtick]

old that exists in the paradigm of our mind in order to embrace something new. I mean, just because the man can walk doesn't mean he can stand by himself. Now, when we met him in the text, he's being carried. And when we say goodbye to him in the text, he's clinging.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

What makes that significant for our lives

[Steven Furtick]

is you cannot take hold of what's new while you have a death grip on what's old.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

God is saying you have gone as far as you can go holding onto

[Steven Furtick]

what you used to be.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

This requires that the excuses that have become so embedded in your life have to be left behind at the spot of your transformation. Because you're in transition now. God is giving birth to a new thing in your life. It is going to require letting go of old habits. Look, man, if you are a husband now, you can't be single in your mindset anymore. You have to consider a new responsibility. What happens a lot of times is we go into new situations holding on to old habits. You can't have a husband situation and have bachelor habits. Before long, it will tear you apart trying to hold on to two things. So I hear God saying today, let it go. It is not serving you in this season anymore. Why would you hold on to something that taught you how to beg, that taught you how to blame? It can't heal you anymore. Something greater is here. There is a name that is greater than any other name, higher than any other name, stronger than any other name. But you have to cling to it. Cling doesn't mean you kind of swat at it. Cling means you grab for Jesus with all you have.

[Steven Furtick]

Because you know, like Jacob, that if he doesn't bless you, you won't be blessed. He clung to Peter and John. What you cling to in this season of transition in your life will determine whether you go forward or stay at the gate. Do you know what the first thing Peter did when he saw the man grabbing onto him was? He used him for his sermon.

[Boost Mobile Advertiser]

Illustration.

[Steven Furtick]

God wants to use you. God wants to use you. God set it up so he could use you.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

God set it up just so he

[Steven Furtick]

could use you for his purpose and his glory. But you're in transition right now. By holding on to the old, you forfeit the future. I came to say, let go of that thing that keeps you paralyzed. Let go of that thing that keeps you fearful. And let go of that thing that keeps you stuck.

[Co-Preacher or Assistant Speaker]

This is a metamorphosis.

[Steven Furtick]

And to be stuck at one stage of your spiritual growth, when opportunity, power, and authority is standing in front of you is a terrible thing with everyone standing at every location. I would like to pray for you concerning this transitional moment in your life. It would be awesome if I knew all the details, but I don't have to. God does. You've been on the way somewhere and frustrated because change is taking longer than you thought it would. What I'm speaking to right now is not. You waited three days on something. I mean, when you have been frustrated that you are not changing, here's what God is saying. What do you need to let go of? And what do you need to take hold of? The word he uses that they translate, cling, is also used to mean put under arrest. Isn't that cool? This man was like, oh, no, y' all aren't leaving me here. He grabbed Peter and John and refused to let go. I think that's what it takes to see change in our life, to grab hold of it and say, oh, no, no, no, no, no, you're not going to leave me like you found me. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not going to try this once and then go back to misery. I'm not going to suffocate in despair when hope is in front of me in the form of the Spirit of God. No. Lord, I ask you now because I know somebody has been trapped in between old and new, trapped in between a past and a future. I ask you right now to give them the grace not only to stand up, but give them the direction to walk. I pray right now in Jesus name that nobody would leave this place holding on to something that is keeping them stuck. In the name of the Lord, I command you to rise up and walk. Not just to jump up and shout, but to walk in a new direction. To walk toward what God has called you, to walk toward what he sees in you, to walk toward what he created you to be. Spirit of the living God in this moment of transition, whether it's circumstantial or whether it's emotional doesn't matter. I pray that you, being the constant God who never changes, the constant God who does not move, who is not bound by time, that you would touch every situation by your grace and glory today and enable feet that were never able to stand before to jump upright and to walk in a new direction. Home. Lord, you know what they're dealing with and you know what is beneath what they're dealing with. On the surface. I pray for patience. Sometimes it takes that. I pray for new partnerships. Give every person in this room a Peter and John that they can walk with on the way to where you're leading them. It is so uncertain. We don't know what one moment to the next holds. We just know that change is inevitable. But we choose transformation through every change in our life, good or bad. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to Give now or visit elevationchurch.orgpodcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe, you can share it with your friends. You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social stories and tag us LevationChurch. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.

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[Steven Furtick]

Guaranteed Human.