The Importance Of Transition Series

The Importance Of Transition

God is calling his church to move from one spiritual position to another. God is always transitioning or repositioning individuals, nations and even rulers of earthly nations. This sermons examines biblical principles involved in such transitioning, as applied to the Christian. Using Acts 27.

Daniel 2:21 He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;

Acts 27 God is calling his church to move from one spiritual position to another.

As we examine this scripture we need to apply the following symbolisms, to better grasp some concepts we will look at:

Ship = Church,

The Cargo = What’s onboard,

Wind = The Holy Spirit,

Sails = response to the Wind of the Spirit,

Rudder = Willingness to be directed, Stars = divine direction,

The Journey = Destiny and Process,

1. The Need to Discern Times and Seasons (Acts 27:9)

The ship meant to carry Paul to Rome for his audience with Caesar undertook its journey at “an inopportune time.” “Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast”, vs. 9.

We want to be in the place that God is in the present, not in the place where God was. So the question is “where is God now”; this is a question of time. God has times and seasons that are inalterable, and we are required to cooperate with His divine timetable. To sail against the present move of God is inadvisable; the time for older moves is past.

It is God’s job to let us know what the times and seasons are, and the Lord warned this ship in two different ways that it was not advisable to continue on their journey, first by a declaration of the accurate season (vs. 9), secondly by a gentle wind blowing (vs. 13). Both warnings were ignored.

God is declaring His accurate times and seasons in the church. Such men are like the “sons of Issachar that had understanding of the times” (I Ch 12:32). The men of Issachar are noted as being with Deborah and Barak, indicating their obvious gift of counsel and insight to leaders regarding issues of war (Jud 5:15). God is the catalyst behind the times and seasons, both in the church and in the nations of the world, and He desires to reveal this to us by giving us wisdom and power.

Daniel 2:20-23 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

The "times" are the phases and periods of duration of empires; the "seasons," the fitting times for their culmination, decline, and fall. Times and seasons, are not regulated by chance or fate, as the pagan thought, but by God, and God wants to give us wisdom concerning the times. Discernment is one mark of a mature church, while Jesus made clear that one manifestation of Phariseeism is to know natural times and seasons, but be ignorant of and in fact miss the day of divine visitation Luke 12:56 “Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

Ask yourself are you doing what your doing because God is leading you or because you are driven by culture rather than the Wind of The Holy Spirit!

2. Reassess what is Valuable, Acts 27:18-19

The ship continued its course in spite of the above mentioned warnings, (verses 18-19) and immediately found itself in the middle of a hurricane. Facing sure destruction, the sailors decided to throw over their profitable cargo and even essential fixtures and furnishings from the ship.

Acts 27:18-19 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands.

Transitioning requires a throwing overboard of wrong mentalities and inaccurate methodologies for constructing the church, and forsaking the good cargo of programs and “successful church” which hinder us from receiving God’s best.

In practical terms, this means accepting God’s measurement of His church and building accurately, vs. buying into Babylonian standards for “success”. Churches today measure themselves based on three primary Babylonian standards: how many people attend, facilities, and programs offered. Notice not one of these criteria speak to the accuracy of a church, or indicates if they are moving with God or not. What is valuable to you? If it’s numbers or success in man’s eyes, your “good cargo of a successful church” may in fact aid in your ship’s demise. We must radically reassess what God counts as valuable for the journey, and reprioritize our life and ministry based on new definitions.