“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

In first Samuel chapter 25, and we know that Abigail was married, but she was married an ungodly drunkard, whose intention was to kill King David and his men, but she stepped in and shifted the situation so that her husband did not go through with his treacherous plan. Her shift even caused his demise.

Now, because she strategically and intentionally decided to shift the negative plan, to save her servants and the workers. God shifted David from his plans to annihilate her household, because you know he was a mighty man of valor, and he was king, and he did not want to be dishonored.

But she recognized something, and so in her shift—because she shifted—David saw not just her beauty, but he saw her wisdom, and eventually she became his wife. And her people were not annihilated.

So yesterday we heard beautifully from Rev. Bob. He gave us wonderful examples of the Bible being filled with powerful examples of positive shifts, and even some negative shifts as well.

So this morning, we’re going to just talk about steps we need to take so that we can embark on this twenty-one days of fasting—not just twenty-one days, but a lifestyle of change of God, a lifestyle that will affect us through eternity.

Now let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen, and I know you know this. We serve a God who operates in divine, orchestrated kairos moments—moments that belong to Him, moments when He shows up when you were not expecting Him. We expect Him to come through because we’re limited by our calendar. We’re limited by our seasons. We’re limited by our initiatives. We’re limited.v But God is way beyond our seasons, and our calendar, and our days, and our initiatives—way beyond that. Because not only is He in time, but He is time.

Tell yourself that God is time. So He can operate at any moment because He is time.

So we’re going to look at this theme this morning: positioning yourself for the shift.

Now, in track and field, I was very active in track and field when I was younger in Jamaica. And you will notice the position of the takeoff during a race that is strategic in pushing the athlete forward immediately after hearing the gunshot. You see?

A sprinting athlete should begin in what is called a four-point stance and drive toward pushing off, using both legs for maximum force production. The strongest leg should be placed in the front block, with the hips raised above the level of the shoulders for maximum thrust effect.

So you see the importance of the athlete being positioned for takeoff. So what is your position this morning? Are you positioned for the shift that’s coming so that your life can be transformed? Come on—I’m talking to you this morning. This is for us to think about. Are you positioned for the shift that is coming?

So we’re going to look at some scriptures that are very familiar to us. The New King James Version in Romans 12:2 tells us,

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

So we’re talking about transformation. Transformation requires positioning, not passivity. You cannot be passive. If you want transformation, you’re going to have to get down on your knees. You’re going to have to lift your hands in prayer. You’re going to have to lift your hands and pray. You’re going to have to read God’s Word. You cannot be passive.

Your position cannot be passive, okay? You have to align yourself intentionally with the will of God.

And so what does that really look like? So we look at the first letter as seeking.

Matthew 6:33 tells us,

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

And Jeremiah 29:13 says,

“And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with your whole heart.”

So in seeking, you have to be intentional—to seek with your whole heart. If you lost something in your house or you lost something in your car, you are diligent, pulling the seat back, pushing it forward, trying to get to that item that you. You are diligently seeking with your whole effort, and that’s how we’re seeking the Lord.

So seeking is not casual curiosity. You’re not just being casually curious. It’s a priority pursuit—priority pursuit. That’s what it’s all about: a searching and a longing to be centered in God’s will through prayer, reading the Word, and fellowship.

Now when we seek God first, we position ourselves for divine realignment. That’s what happens when you go and get your car fixed—a realignment. So when you seek Him first, you’re being realigned, and shifts happen when God becomes our focus, not our fallback.

Oh, we’re falling back on Him now because we didn’t put Him first. He was not our focal point, and now we’re stuck, and now we’re going to fall back on Him.

Come on—put Him first, so He can become the priority.

We don’t stumble, ladies and gentlemen, into this consecration coming up—the twenty-one-day fast. We’re not going to stumble into transformation. We’re going to seek it. We’re going to seek it—not stumbling into it, but intentionally seeking it.

So as you are praying and as you are fasting for these twenty-one days, it’s not stumbling. God has come, He’s meddled in our lives, and He’s shifting some things around.

Do not evade the shifting, because it’s for our good.

And then it says to seek Him. Hebrews 12:2 tells us,

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.”

That’s who we’re talking about this morning—Jesus Christ.

Not the doctor. Not the lawyer. Not the teacher. Not the politician. Not the president of the United States.

We’re seeking Him—the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the author and the finisher of our faith, who sacrificed His life for us on Calvary, Jesus Christ, and sent His precious Holy Spirit to walk alongside us.

And John 15:5 tells us that He is the vine. He is the vine, and we are the branches. We cannot do anything without Him.

That’s Him we’re talking about.

So this shift is not about methods. You hear me clearly. It’s not about methods, such as fasting and praying. It’s not about methods. It’s not about motivation, being obedient to your pastor, being obedient to your instructors, being obedient because you’ve been given some instructions by your leaders.

It is not about the momentum, meaning twenty-one days. For some people it’s four days, for some people three days, for some people it’s two weeks. So that’s not what we’re talking about.

The shift is a move. We’ve been pushed to move, to move toward Him, toward Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the center of everything. Everything finds its proper place when you align with Him and He becomes the focal point.

So what is this transformation that we’re talking about? Are you determined to change and to make major adjustments? Are we willing to make those major adjustments as God continues to meddle, meddle, meddle in our lives?

Come on—transformation. Let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen. Transformation flows from connection, not control. Not control—connection. Transformation flows from being connected to the source. And so we’re seeking Him how? Intentionally.

Proverbs 4:23 tells us,

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

What comes out of your mouth was in your heart. From your heart the mouth speaks.

So what is in your heart? From it, the issues of life should flow out—intentionally.

And then Ephesians 5:15–16 tells us that we are to walk circumspectly, redeeming the time.

Come on—the clock is ticking. Look at what we’re dealing with in this country. Look at what we’re dealing with in America. Look at what we’re dealing with in the world. Christ is soon to come.

Come on—redeem the time. Don’t waste time thinking frivolous. Don’t waste time going places where you shouldn’t be going. Don’t waste your energy and your time. Foolishness is what intentionally? Seek Him.

Spiritual growth doesn’t happen accidentally. It’s not by osmosis. You’ve got to read the Word of God and let it penetrate. We’ve got to lift our hands in prayer to God. It’s not going to happen accidentally. We need to be intentional.

Here’s what we’re going to do intentionally. We are going to pray and not panic. I’m going to pray and not panic. Come on—something tragic comes in your life, or you get a bad report from the doctor, don’t panic. We’re going to pray instead.

We’re going to be obedient over convenience.

Oh my God—and that’s for me. Coming in the morning for 6:00 a.m. prayer, for me sometimes it’s not convenient, but I have to be obedient.

What is the Lord saying to you to be obedient over, and obedient in, and obedient with?

Thirdly, scripture reading over internet binging.

Your favorite show—you binge three months, four months, six months. When was the last time you binged on God’s Word? When was the last time you binged in the presence of the Lord? So scripture reading over internet binging.

And lastly, fellowshipping with God’s people over online viewing.

Sure, you can watch the service online, but it’s so good to fellowship with God’s people.

And last but not least, you will now have purpose over pressure. No more stress. No more pressure, because you’re walking in the purpose of the living God.

So what you do on purpose will determine how you grow on purpose. You want to grow on purpose, but what you do will determine how you grow.

Four. So, SHIFT. You’re going to be shifting for the confidence that we’re going to have.

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 (NKJV)

Come on. Whatever you’re dealing with—sickness, the heartache, the heartbreak, the relationship that’s challenging you—it is working for a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Do not give up because you are in a difficult place. Hold on. Your shift is coming. The transformation is coming. The growth is coming.

Hold on, ladies and gentlemen. Hold on for your granddaughter. Hold on for your grandson. Hold on for your husband and your wife. Hold on for your children. Hold on for that sick one that’s in the hospital. Hold on! It’s coming.

Everything you’re walking through is for something. It’s not for nothing. It’s for something.

God never, ever wastes pressure. And some of us are in pressure right now. He doesn’t waste the pressure. He uses it to prepare us and to empower us, so we can go to work, so we can go out and live this life.

So your process is producing something powerful. Lift your hands and say, “Thank you, God, for the process. Thank you, God, I’m coming out powerful. Thank you, God, I’m coming out empowered.”

And last but not least, the last letter T in SHIFT is transformation.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

Every day you wake up and you say, “God, I want to go to the next glory. God, I want to go to the next level. God, You’re shifting me in my house, shifting me in my health, shifting me in my finances.”

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.”

Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV)

Wake up every morning saying, “Thank You for this new heart. Thank You for a heart that’s changed, a heart that wants to be transformed.”

So transformation is not behavior modification. It’s not behavior modification. That’s good. It’s heart renovation. That’s what transformation is—heart renovation.

God doesn’t just change what you do. He changes who you are. He changes who you are, not just what you do.

So a true shift shows up in how you think, how you speak, and how you live.

Live expecting Kairos moments to show up. Live expecting God to come through. Live expecting the shift that’s going to change you for eternity, change you for your family, change you for your job, change you for your church.

So in conclusion, this shift is available, but this shift requires positioning— positioning yourself by seeking Him, by staying focused on who He is, by living intentionally, trusting the process for the purpose, and expecting the transformation.

Abigail knew she had to step in and make a shift in her household. If not, her family would have been annihilated. And this woman used wisdom.

Let us use wisdom to shift the situations happening in our households that are negative. Come off negative street right now, and let’s get into a positive lane and think positively.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 2:5 (NKJV)

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?”

Isaiah 43:19 (NKJV)

So if you want a new season, if you want a new life, please, please understand your position so you can shift in the name of Jesus.

Father, thank You for Your Word this morning. Thank You for the truth of Your Word. As we position ourselves for the shift, we pray with thanksgiving in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen.