Frankie Mazzapica - Waiting for What's Next
We’re starting a new series today. This is going to be part one of probably a three-week series. The title is «Waiting for What’s Next.» So today we’re going to talk about what is happening while you’re waiting, and then next week I’m going to discuss what «next» looks like. I think that’s important so you can identify and say, «Oh my goodness, I think I just stepped into a new season because I’m seeing what we’re going to talk about next Sunday.» Let me dive right into it by describing what I hope to accomplish.
All of us have this sense that we were born for a special reason; however, I don’t think many of us are experiencing it right now. Are you with me? Say yes. I mean, you know God has blessed you; you acknowledge that He’s been taking care of you, and you’re grateful for it. However, there’s something within you that’s saying there’s got to be more. I know there’s more, but I don’t know what it looks like. I want to talk to you about what is taking place while we’re waiting.
Let me share our scripture; this is in Jeremiah 18:1. It reads like this: «The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 'Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words.'» I don’t have time to preach on this, but while I was studying, I saw this: The Lord says, «I will cause you to hear my words.» Sometimes we need to back up and say, «Cause me to hear your words, Lord.» Are you with me? Say, «Yes.» Then I went to the potter’s house, and there he was making something at the wheel. He had no idea what it was. He saw something happening, but the vessel he made of clay was marred. There was some kind of flaw; there was something hard in the clay. It was marred in the hand of the potter, so he made it again. Everyone say, «He made it again.» One more time, «He made it again» into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, «Oh, house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?» says the Lord. «Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.»
What the word of the Lord is saying in this scripture is that He’s saying, «You are clay.» It’s a word picture: you are clay, and I have you in my hands. The state you’re in is not the state you will be in. You are in my hands. I have three major points for you. The first one is: What is happening during the spinning of the wheel? Number two is: The shaping of the clay. And then number three: The whispering that is taking place during the spinning. So the clay is on the wheel; it’s spinning. Again, Jeremiah 18:3 says, «When I saw him working at the wheel.» The clay is on the wheel, and I want you to see what it looks like when you are clay, spinning on the wheel. The potter is spinning you on the wheel, and the potter is in complete control of the clay. The clay’s only responsibility is to stay in the hand of the potter. It’s the potter who is creating what is next, not the clay.
I want to emphasize this point: You cannot force your next season. The season comes upon you. You cannot force spring to come; you cannot force summer to come. It comes upon you. But when you’re waiting for what’s next, if you’re anything like me, you might think to yourself, «Am I doing something wrong?» Because I feel like I’ve been in this season for too long. Am I doing something wrong? I feel like God is calling me to something next, but all I feel is that I’m spinning in place. Have you ever been on a merry-go-round? How many of you were on a merry-go-round last time? I’m sure it was when you were a kid, and you thought to yourself, «I’m never getting on this thing again.» Are you with me? Say yes. «Never getting on this thing again!» Because you’re just sitting there spinning around, thinking the person who’s spinning you around is not thinking about you anymore.
And here’s the thing: You’re just sitting there getting angry because you’re done. You don’t want to do this anymore. While you’re spinning, if you can remember, I know it’s been a long time, unless you’re just a crazy adult. You’re picking a spot where you want to jump off. Are you with me? Every time it comes around, you’re like, «That’s where I want to jump. I’m going to jump right there.» But it’s going so fast, and you’re seeing places where you don’t want to jump because that’s going to hurt if you jump over there. It’s going so fast. Here’s the thing: If you remember, there are other people, friends watching, and they’re happy, right? They’re happy; they’re good. You’re not good, but they’re good, and they’re laughing. And when you see them, you think to yourself, «I want to be them.» Are you with me? Say yes.
There are times in life when you are on the potter’s wheel, and you have no idea what God is making you into. If the clay could talk, all it would say is, «I’m dizzy and I’m sick.» The potter would say, «I’m busy with you; I’m making you into something.» The clay would be like, «I don’t care what your plans are; I’m sick. Can we hurry up and get there?» Sometimes we look at somebody else, a friend who seems to be dialed into life, and we think, «How can you be doing so good?» And I’ve just been sitting here spinning my wheels for so long. Their next is not your next, and their now is not your now.
I remember as a kid, I felt like the oldest of three kids. Oh shoot, how many brothers and sisters do I have? My dad was busy; how many do I have? Seven. It’s a blended family, so I can’t even remember what’s going on. But I’m the oldest, and when I was a kid, my younger brother, his birthday was in February, and mine is in March. It felt like to me that his birthday was before mine and that he was going to catch up to me. So this big celebration was going on before me. But what I didn’t understand as a kid is that mine was coming up. There are some people you’ll look at and think, «You’re dialed in; you’re doing what God’s called you to do. This is awesome.» It’s just not our time yet. We’re just sitting there spinning, but you can’t force it. You’ll walk into it.
When you look back over your life, every time something incredible happened, and you know God did that, you couldn’t have made that happen. Are you with me? Say yes. You can’t force it; it comes upon you. So relax—you can’t make it happen.
Number two: During the spinning, during the crazy, God is sitting there forming you. Let me share with you Jeremiah 18:4: «And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter.» Let me talk about this marred. If you look it up, it means something is flawed. There’s a flaw within the clay. What I love is that it says it was marred in the hand of the potter, so the potter is holding marred clay. When you see a flaw, when you see all the things about you that you wish were godly, but they’re not—you’re flawed, you’re messed up—you’re still in His hands.
The potter does not wipe you off; you are not forfeiting your future. He’s holding you in His hands while you’re flawed. When you look in the mirror, when you see yourself do something, know this: The enemy is whispering, «You’re stuck; you’re going to be in this season forever; you have royally messed up.» I want you to remember this verse, where you can back up and say, «I’m flawed, but I’m still in His hands.» If you’re going to write down a verse and you’re only going to write down one, this is the one I want you to write down. If your app is open, you see it. It says this in Psalms 103:14: «He remembers how you were made; He remembers that you are only dust.» You are dust; you are dirt; you are within your skin. Don’t take this personally; you’re a dirt bag. Don’t take it personally. If I walk up to you and say, «Hey, you’re a dirt bag,» I’m just reminding you I’m not.
When the Lord looks at you, He doesn’t look at you and say, «Oh my goodness! I expected!» No, He looks at you and says, «I remember how I made you.» Do you remember making a sandcastle at the beach? You take sand, pack it together, or maybe you stick it into a bucket and make a motorcycle. You know what’s so funny? I hear that motorcycle every Sunday at this time in the middle of the service; I don’t know who he is, but that guy is on schedule every single Sunday. Anyway, when you make a sandcastle, inevitably it starts to crumble on one side. Are you surprised? Are you looking at it like, «I did not see that coming»?
When the Lord looks at you, He thinks the same thing you think when you’re dealing with sand. God does not back up and say, «My whole plan for this person was dependent on them being perfect, and now they’re flawed. What am I going to do now?» Now, when you see part of the sandcastle start to crumble, do you remember what you used to do? You grab water to pack it; it was too dry. Are you ahead of me?
It was too dry, so you take some water and repack it. What you don’t do is grab all that sand and throw it away. You don’t do that. You take some water, deal with the same sand. If you’re playing with a cup and sand, what do you do? You go into the ocean and throw it. No, you take the same sand and you go back to the ocean. When you’re walking with the Holy Spirit, Galatians 5:16 says, «Those who walk after the Spirit, they will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.» They won’t crumble, but if you do, God’s not surprised. What’s happening next in the season that’s coming up is not scrapped.
You’re in the shaping. What you and I call waiting on the Lord, God calls shaping. When you start to fold under temptation, you crumble; you fold under temptation when you crumble and fold under guilt. When you just fold, you didn’t intend on folding; you didn’t plan on folding. When your faith starts to crumble, when you’re depressed and down and overwhelmed, and everything in life starts to fold, you didn’t plan that; you didn’t want that. But you’re clay, and it just kind of happened.
I want to remind us what the scripture says in Jeremiah 18:2: «And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so he made it again.» Remember that word for the rest of your life: again, again, again, again. He keeps doing it again and again and again and again until another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. He made it again.
While you’re waiting, you’re going to feel like you’re spinning. While you’re waiting, He is shaping. What does shaping feel like? Stop saying that’s called shaping. Shut your mouth sometimes; other times, open your mouth. I made you to lead; open your mouth. I made you to lead; stop saying that. Stop going there; will you just forgive him? Will you just forgive her? These are the shaping moments. That’s what shaping looks like. And so what does He do? When He sees that it’s flawed, He makes it again. And when He makes it again, it’s better, it’s bigger, it’s stronger. The clay stayed there; He makes it again and again. The same clay that was marred is the same clay in his hand. He doesn’t discard it.
What is happening while you’re waiting? Yes, you’re spinning, but you cannot force the shift of season; it comes upon you. What is happening while you’re waiting? There’s this shaping taking place. While you’re waiting and while you’re being shaped in the hands of God, it is greater than what you’re experiencing, and it’s more meaningful. He is preparing you for that now.
Now, the whispering. See, sometimes we make the mistake of thinking while we’re waiting, the only thing that’s happening is we’re spinning and God is fixing. We’re spinning, and God is fixing. We’re spinning, and God is shaping. And so we feel like we’re in this stuck season where nothing really good is happening because we’re just spinning, shaping, spinning, shaping, spinning, shaping. It feels like the only purpose is working on you. Are you with me?
And you’re like, «What is there? Any like what?» Gosh, let me tell you there’s something sweet that’s happening during the waiting that is so sweet. See, while you’re waiting, the real gift is not what you’re waiting for, it’s who you’re waiting with, and that’s the real gift. See, when you begin to experience the presence of God like you never have before, the season that you’re waiting to shift becomes less important because the presence of God has become so real that it now consumes you.
Let me give you three examples of how the presence of God consumed three different people. Take a look at this. This is David Briner. He said this: «My soul was so overwhelmed with a sense of divine love that I could not rise from my feet.» David is just like you and me; he’s anticipating, hoping for another season, but he’s on his knees, looking to the Lord. It’s so overwhelming that he can’t stand up. Do you think he’s concerned about what’s next? He’s overwhelmed with the presence of God while he’s praying, and the presence of God has a way of making you want to just stay in His presence versus wanting to leave to go do something different than what you’ve been doing. See, when you’re in the presence of God, now is more important than next.
Let me show you another example: John Wesley. While he was praying, he said, «I was flooded with divine assurance and peace.» I’m just going to word it the way I want to: «Oh, I’m sorry; that isn’t supposed to be"—Is there an «is» in there? —"It’s a strange warmth within my heart.» There’s a peace. There are levels of peace. One level of peace is: «Everything’s going to be okay; I know everything’s crazy, but everything’s going to be okay.» Then there’s another level of peace where it feels like you’re being flooded with a spirit that you cannot understand, and that’s when your now becomes more important than what’s next.
Let me show you another example: Thomas Goodwin said, «There is a light and heat, like a heat. I don’t even know how to describe it—a heat that flows from Christ into the soul during prayer as the sun shines on the earth. I felt as though heaven itself had bent low, and the spirit whispered assurance into my heart.» When you’re experiencing the presence of God in prayer, your now becomes more important than your next.
The Bible says in James 4:8, «If you come close to me, I’ll come close to you.» There is nothing that anyone has ever experienced in the presence of God that you cannot. It may not look exactly like that, but I promise you, it’s overwhelming. There will be times when you pray. I’ll make it personal: in 2018, I told the Lord, «I’m going to set my alarm; I’m going to shut the lights out, and I’m going to walk back and forth.» There was enough light to where I wouldn’t walk into the wall, but I said, «I’m not coming out of this room until my alarm goes off for 30 minutes; I’m not coming out.» There were so many moments where I’m just walking back and forth. It doesn’t make you holy, but it keeps you awake.
So I’m walking back and forth, and I can’t tell you how many times I just start thinking, «Gosh man, when’s that alarm going to go off?» It feels like I’ve been in here for five hours, just walking back and forth, and I’m like, «Holy Spirit, you gotta help me focus.» That is a great prayer. You need to help me focus! I love you, Jesus; I love you. And then I go down to the most basic things. «Thank you for these shoes; you know there are people who don’t have shoes. Thank you for these shoes. Thank you that I had a bed in the morning.»
And all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit starts leading you to other things to talk about. And then I decided, «You know what? This relationship with you is really not what I’m hoping for.» So now I changed the alarm to 45 minutes: «I’m not coming out.» My relationship with Him became very, very sweet. But not like I—no, not like I–I really wanted an hour, that’s it. Not coming out for an hour. Alarm goes off: «What am I gonna do? How am I gonna fix my golf swing?» Dear Jesus! You start thinking about everything. Holy Spirit, you’re going to have to help me pray, «Thank you for these shoes; thank you for my bed.»
And then the Holy Spirit begins to help me pray. I go through that probably seven or eight times while I’m praying. Holy Spirit, you’re going to have to help me! Go right back to the basics. «Thank you for my car; thank you for my air conditioning.» And the Holy Spirit takes you off from there. An hour and a half is so sweet, but it wasn’t sweet enough. See, the more you give God, the more time you spend with Him, the more He wants. So this is where I’m at now. I don’t come out for two hours. If I’m going to pray, I’m not coming out for two hours.
I put in buds in my ears, play brown noise, start at the beginning: «Holy Spirit, you’re going to have to help me; thank you for my shoes; thank you for my air conditioning.» And then He takes over from there. When you start saying «Thank you,» you enter into His gates with thanksgiving in your heart, and the Holy Spirit just helps you, and you just start praying, and it’s so easy. Then all of a sudden, your brain starts wandering; He’s not mad at you because He remembers you’re made from dust. «Holy Spirit, I need you to help me.» Go right back to the beginning of praising Him. «I thank you for my car. I thank you for my kids; I thank you I’m not in the hospital; I thank you that I’m breathing.» And the Holy Spirit takes it from there.
Now, where has the relationship solely graduated to? You say, «I’ve got to get two hours!» No! But you lock yourself up and say, «I don’t have time for that.» You can always wake up earlier. I did a half Ironman one time—70.3 miles of running, swimming, and biking. It took me—I can’t remember; I wasn’t very fast, but I think it took me like seven hours to do. I woke up at 5 in the morning for nine months to train—nine months for a medal that I could’ve bought for $3 to run, bike, swim.
Then it dawned on me: I can always wake up earlier. If you have kids, you can wake up earlier before them, and guess what? You’ll be in a better mood when they wake up. Let’s all stand to our feet and give Jesus a big round of applause. Come on, let’s give it to Him! We love you, Jesus! I’d like for all of our prayer partners to come down if you would. If anyone wants to come up to me and tell me I went eight minutes over, come back next week; I’ll go sixteen minutes over. All the prayer partners, please come down. I say this every Sunday because I don’t know who’s in the room, but if your heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes, are you 100% sure you know where you’d spend eternity?
100% sure? If you don’t, I’m begging you at this point to come down and take the hand of a prayer partner and just say, «I need to get my life right with God.» If you’re in this room and you’re waiting for what’s next, but, Pastor Dwayne, can you scoot everyone down for me? Thank you. If you’re waiting for what’s next but you’re tired, sometimes you just need someone else to pray for you. You’re trying to pray for yourself, but sometimes you just need someone else. If that’s you, I want to encourage you to come out of your seat and take the hand of a prayer partner.
If you look down here and see, «Hey, all the prayer partners are praying with somebody,» just come down to the bottom of the aisle, and they’ll point you to the first available prayer partner. None of the prayer partners are going to pray long, so you won’t have to wait long. There’s no official dismissal; you can leave whenever you’re ready. But let’s sing this song one time through before anyone goes. May the Lord bless you; may He keep you; may His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you; may His countenance be lifted up on you and bring you peace. In Jesus' name, amen.