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Tom Petty gave us the song that says, “The waiting is the hardest part”, and I think that I would have to agree with Tom. Waiting is never easy, especially when you are waiting on God to move or you are waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. You’ve prayed and you have believed but yet there is no answer, or no tangible manifestation of what you are believing for– no evidence of what you desire to see come to pass or to take place. Mary and Martha were in this same position and they were friends with Jesus! They had had moments of enjoying one another’s company and they had shared conversations over meals together. They had done life and shared numerous experiences, but this one was different. Lazarus their brother had been sick and is now dead, so they call for Jesus. The problem is, He shows up 4days later. Nevertheless, He was right on time! He raises Lazarus from the dead. And, after several personal dialogues of questions being asked and questions being answered—everyone is happy and God is glorified. Even though Jesus showed up late—He was still right on time! Even though it doesn’t happen the way you had planned it or how you thought it should happen– You can trust the timing of God!

Have you ever doubted, wept or been frustrated? Have you ever said you wouldn’t, but you did! This clip is for you.

“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.” I Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭3‬-‭7‬

“Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.” Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭36‬-‭43‬

*Luke 5:1-11 / John 21:1-14

• They Toiled
• They Tried
• They were Tired
• They were Troubled 
• And They were Tested

Inconvenience Will:

1. Test Your Faith
2. Try Your Patience
3. Take You Deeper

They were washing their nets.

*Pebbles, weeds, dirt, mud and debris. Life can get messy!

When they would wash their nets they would be removing debree; but they would also be repairing and reinforcing.

A net is only as strong as what it’s connected to.

They were tired… they were frustrated… they were done! 

Frustration occurs when you put forth effort without a desired result. Burnout occurs when frustration continues without a resolve or different outcome.

• It’s so easy to get frustrated.
• It’s so easy to experience burnout. 
• It’s common to get tired of life’s routines and responsibilities. 

We are truly the Lords stewards…

• the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof! *Psalm 24:1 – however, He has given us dominion.

• the Lord knew us before we were. They for we existed in the heart of God before we were ever born through natural birth. We came from God, but we came through our parents. Jeremiah 1:5 – therefore we are stewards of our children which are a gift from God. 

• we are stewards of the earth, our marriage, our children, our job, our homes, our possessions, our responsibilities, our relationships, our finances… everything! That’s why we get weary and tired! 

They were washing their nets, probably while Jesus was teaching. You don’t 

wash your nets until you’re FINISHED fishing… 

• What are you ready to wash your hands of?
• What are you frustrated with?
• What are you finished with? 
• What are you tired of? 
• What have you toiled with? 
• What are you troubled by?
• What are you being tested with?

The question is what have you decided to wash your hands of that God may be saying, “try again.”

Someone said, “I through in the towel and God through it back and said, ‘wipe the sweat off your face and keep going’!”

What is it that you have the the Lord is wanting to use. What is it that He desires to be in the center of? 

The boat that caught the fish was the boat Jesus was in. What if we invited Jesus into the center of our home, marriage, children, jobs, and money, stead of washing our hands of it?

They forsook all and followed the Lord. Isn’t it interesting when we receive what we desire it’s then we realize it’s not what we truly want or need. It’s the Lord and His presence that we truly desire and truly need.

Jesus was at a table with His disciple. They were eating. However, most theologians and historians believed that they were not sitting up like we picture, but leaning on their hand and resting on their elbows. That means that they would have been positioned head to feet and feet to head. 

Why is this important. It’s important because their feet were more than likely dirty. The passage tells us that with supper being ended, Jesus got up from the table and girded himself with a servants apron and washed the feet of His disciples.

Traditionally someone should have been at the door of the room where they were eating. And the person at the door would have washed their feet as they entered the house. Nonetheless, it appears that no one was there. It is also is apparent that none of the disciples volunteered to wash feet either.

There are so many interesting scenarios that surround this event. One being that Jesus didn’t wash their feet until after they were finished eating. Maybe they were too hungry to wait. Maybe they were preoccupied. Or maybe Jesus was just waiting to see if someone else would rise to the occasion and seize the opportunity.

Another interesting scenario was the fact that of those seated at the table with Jesus—one would betray Him, one would deny Him and all of them would fall asleep during one of the most crucial moments in Jesus life. Jesus would pray and sweat great drops of blood, while His disciples would sleep. Yet in this moment, He washed their feet. 

As leaders—and sometimes as friends or family—we may know the whole story. We may know all the facts, even those things that no one else knows. Yet we are still called to love, lead, serve, and give of ourselves anyway.

That’s what Jesus did. He led with a heart of humility and served with a heart full of love. He led by example and continued to serve even though He knew what His followers would eventually do. The question for us is: How will we follow His example, and how can we make a “stinky” situation better?

In regard to the matter of us “doing like wise” and the practice of washing feet. I’m not sure if Jesus was referring to it in the literal context exclusively. I think He may have also been referring to something like this as well:

1. Lead by example—even when you know all of the facts.
2. Be willing to do what know one else was or is willing to do.
3. Do what should have already been done—even if no one else will do it now.
4. Act in love and humility and serve others—even in a stinky situation.
5. Humble yourself and meet the “obvious” need with a heart of humility and love.

A Mindset is the set of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that shape how a person thinks, interprets experiences, treats others and responds to challenges.

A Mindset is the mental posture you take toward life, yourself and others.

It’s the internal lens through which you  see, yourself, others and the world.

Your mindset influences:

• How you handle setbacks

• How you view success and failure

• How you approach learning

• How you relate to others

A mindset is a belief!

  For example:

• A negative mindset believes things are set—I’m just not good at this”, “That’s just the way I am”, “It’s always been that way”, “That’s just not my thing.”

• A positive mindset believes things can change and become better—“I can improve with effort and repetition”, I can be different” “I can be better”, “I can and I will!”

In simple terms:

A mindset is the mental posture you take toward life. It’s also a mental picture of one’s self.

Some things to remember about mindsets:

• If you don’t change what you believe and how you think things are not going to be any different.

• The decision to change how you think about yourself and how you view uncomfortable situations and difficult circumstances will determine “the story of your life.”

• You go into every situation—mind first. So start by getting your mind thinking the right thing.

• Nothing changes until your mind changes!

• There has to be a mindset change before there’s ever going to be a life or culture change.

I want to show you the power of a mindset:

In Numbers 13:1-4: “The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan. I will give this land to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve tribes.” So Moses obeyed the Lord’s command and sent out the Israelite leaderswhile the people were camped in the desert of Paran. These are their names: Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, and Geuel. Joshua and Caleb.

“We saw the giant Nephilim people there! (The descendants of Anak.) We felt like little grasshoppers. Yes, we were like grasshoppers to them!” Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬

“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬

Not many remember the 10 spies that said, We can’t!” But, most everyone is familiar with Joshua and Caleb. And it’s because of their mindset—that said, “We can!”

However , because of the mindset of the other 10 spies, the Children of Israel experienced 40 years in the wilderness instead of entering in and enjoying the promised land. It took 40 days to get the children of Israel of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of them. 

The statement: “and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” in Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬ is interesting. It’s interesting because I’m pretty sure that the 10 spies didn’t have a mirror to see themselves. I’m also pretty sure that the giants of the land that intimated spies didn’t even see them to call them “grasshoppers.” They were spying. Therefore, they got in and out without even being seen. The giants didn’t see them and they couldn’t see themselves, but their self image was a mental picture of they felt themselves compared to the giants of the land—it was a mindset.

Your mindset matters! What you decide to believe about yourself, others and the obstacles that you may face, will determine what you experience. The mindset that you determine to have will determine what others remember about you. It will be your life story.

What do you want to be remembered for? What do you want your legacy to be? I can or I can’t? I will or I won’t? The decision that you make will determine the story of your life. 

The reason I chose this passage and to write this is because I want to see your life and your future be blessed. I want to see you experience the things that you deserve and that you desire.

I want you to believe that you can develop a different mindset. A mindset that says, “We can, not we can’t.” A mindset that says, “I can and I will”, not, “I can’t and I won’t.” So I leave you with this today: “You can and you will!!!” All you have to do is change your mind about yourself and the way things are. Develop a different mindset, because mindsets matter.

“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” —Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬