It's Time to Leave. Launch Now.

Cleaned from the live recording. Lightly edited for reading.

*Anchor scripture read by the host: "The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have dwelt long enough in this mount. Turn you, and take your journey" (Deuteronomy 1:6-7). The host jokes that Elder Esther is "silent and violent."*

Opening

Uh, you can type that in the comment: silent and violent. Because the scripture says the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12). We are sons of El Gibbor, servants of El Gibbor, the mighty God (Isaiah 9:6), the God of war, the Lord of angel armies.

*Question: how do you know when it's time to leave familiar ground?*

When you have outgrown it

There are so many directions we can go. The first way you know it's time to leave is when you have outgrown it. Let me put it in context: it brings no challenge, no direction and no fruitfulness to your life or to your assignment. You're stuck.

There are times you know you're stuck. You can be part of groups, part of different things, but you just know this is going nowhere. You're going around in circles. You're occupying time and space but not moving forward. You're stationary.

When you're uncomfortable

You can also know it's time to move on from familiar places when you're uncomfortable. Sometimes the Lord pushes you out. It's not warfare. It's the Lord trying to get you to move. Sometimes he'll speak to you in dreams. You'll see yourself doing things beyond the present level.

Let me give a perfect example. There was a period when I was looking to transition from the job, because there was a conflict between the job and the work. I wasn't able to do what God had called me to do. I couldn't serve either the job fully or the church and the ministry fully. I was juggling both. So I knew it was time for me to make a move.

But working for 22 years in an organization is not a few days. And things were picking up. I would be getting more commission, the money would be coming more. But that wasn't satisfying me. I was feeling trapped. You know when it's the season.

I remember Apostle Carmen Williams saying to me, about two years before, you're in the season, but the timing is not right as yet. I felt the uneasiness. I'd be on my job looking out the window feeling as though I'm trapped in a cage. I knew the season. Every sign was there.

"I will know the what, and she will know the when"

One of the things I remember the Lord saying to us, Pastor Sarah and myself: I will know the what, and she will know the when.

So that's not a decision I could make by myself, because it would affect the entire family. I shared it with her before, and she wasn't ready. Then one day she had a dream where she saw me on the job in rags. She came to me and said, "It's time to leave."

So God can use different means to speak to you. Some in dreams, some in visions, some through prophetic people. But there will always be this knowing inside. There will always be this unsettling inside, that this place is too small for you. You've outgrown it. You're not learning anything.

It's like you're supposed to be in elementary school, but you're still in kindergarten. The children are happy and excited for what's happening in kindergarten, and it's good for them. But you're looking and saying, no, I don't belong here. What they're teaching is good for everyone else here, but I belong in elementary. And some people in elementary will say, this is good for the people enjoying it here, but I'm supposed to be at tertiary. You just don't fit in anymore. The things that worked before don't work anymore.

Sometimes people will say to you, "Uh-uh, like you turn big shot now. You don't want to be among us anymore." But there's no issue with the people. You've just outgrown that circle. So there are various ways. I'll pause there so Elder Esther can jump in, and I'll come back.

*Elder Esther shares that years ago, before she was a minister, she was in a circle where "everybody knows everything." In a dream Apostle Carmen Williams showed her a person and told her to move away. She did, and it was then she could identify her giftings. She adds a second sign: you know it's time to leave when you can leave without being beaten up and without destroying the path, the way a rocket's spent stages are dropped in the ocean where no one is harmed.*

Don't cause destruction on the way out

Let me say that again to those watching us. When you know it's time to leave, to transition, to move on from that familiar place, make sure you are not bitter.

When a rocket is launched, or when the booster stage re-enters, they make sure there's a clear flight plan over certain areas, and that it lands in a certain way, in a certain place, where it doesn't cause destruction. I love that, Elder Esther. So when you're moving, when there's a transition, don't cause destruction.

We're talking especially in the context of leadership and organizations. There are ways to exit an organization. There are ways to exit an institution. There's a way to exit a church. There's a way to exit relationships. We need to be very careful how we do that.

Sometimes people don't understand when you exit silently. Some would say, "Me? I would have given them a piece of my mind." I remember one time, in an organization I was working with, somebody got fired, and the person was saying, if they only knew me, I would have urinated in front of their door. We don't exit like that.

*Elder Esther: some people exit leaving bitterness, confusion and chaos. Abraham was told to leave, but he did not leave in confusion, and when his son needed a wife he sent right back there to get one (Genesis 12:1; Genesis 24:1-4). If he had caused bitterness, the story might have been different. When God does a thing, he does not do it in chaos. Leave in peace.*

Don't burn the bridges

Don't burn the bridges. You can type that in the comments. Remember this day, the 12th of September: do not burn the bridges.

I know there's context and layers to these things. There are some things you just need to move on from. And there are some things you can only come out of in a violent manner. Some things don't allow you to come out peacefully. We understand there's context and layers.

I remember a particular educational institution had given me a grade, and then when I got my results they told me I failed. So I couldn't graduate when I should have, because one thing was showing one result and another thing was showing another. And I remember Dr. McGowan, who was my senior pastor at the time, Apostle Dr. Winston McGowan, saying to me, we were at South Road there: "Lambert, you never know when you'll have to return and you'll need something." Don't burn the bridge.

When you're young, you tend to feel you know everything. When we're young we're hotheaded. But I listened to him. It's good to listen to fathers, mentors, coaches who have passed that way before and can help us navigate those challenging periods of our life. So I learned there are ways you can exit certain places gracefully. And there are ways you can exit by giving corrective feedback, on how they can improve, how it can better the organization, and how it can be of more benefit for those coming after you.

*Host: young people, if you developed yourself and outgrew a position, be honest: tell them your qualifications now and that you have a better opportunity. You may need to go back there for a recommendation. Next question: what are the signs that a season has ended?*

No drive, no passion

Some of the signs we mentioned with the first question. There is no drive, no passion. You're just going through the motions. The thing that used to give you joy, drive and passion to do it is no longer there. That can be one sign.

Seasons change with geography

Two, something the Holy Spirit just dropped in my spirit: it can be a change of location. Many times people don't understand that seasons can change with geography.

What you were doing was necessary because of where you were. But now that you've changed geography, some people try to fit themselves back into things that worked in a previous location. And then they get frustrated because they're not finding success or joy there, and they think something is wrong with the people or the location. It's not the people or the location. You were trying to fit into something that was geographically specific.

You find that even with businesses. Something worked well, and you decide to open a new branch somewhere else. When you open the new branch, you do exactly what you did at the first location, and it doesn't work. You need to study that location.

For example, in Pakistan, when you drink certain drinks, the Sprite for example, it tastes different from the Sprite you drink here. Why? Because they make it a certain way, with certain things in the drink. They realized that market is two hundred something million people. This is a large market. I need to adapt to their taste. Add something to the ingredients they'd like, something that feels like home.

Or when you go and eat fried chicken, I stopped calling names, those organizations did not sponsor us, but when you go to certain nations and eat fried chicken from a particular franchise, it may taste a little different from what you eat on your continent or in your country, because they add spices. Something you consider tasty, someone on another continent may not find tasty that way. So they make that adjustment. So that's one of the signs: you're offering something, but it's not being received.

Seasons in the life of a congregation

As a minister, we need to understand seasons in the life of the congregation too. You can't pick up your Bible and teach anything that comes to mind with no research. Your congregation is growing. You have different demographics, ethnicities, ages, nationalities. So now you need to expand and build capacity.

You need to speak in such a way that those who may not have gone to tertiary education can understand you. At the same time, you need to speak so that those with a tertiary education feel challenged and motivated. But while you're challenging and motivating them, you can alienate those who only had a certain level of schooling.

Another thing I'm realizing more and more when communicating: there are things people say in their language that don't carry over. For example, when a Nigerian or an African says something, I was saying to our colleague Dr. , and to Apostle Jonathan Curley in Ghana, when you say these things I'm at a loss, so I ask what it means. Saying "boss" is a way of showing respect. That would be lost in our culture here in South America. Same idea, different word.

So when you go to a different nation, you need to communicate in a way that bridges. I will say certain things in Guyana, but when I'm in Pakistan I need to communicate so they can understand me clearly there. You need to learn how to break through linguistic barriers.

So with all of that, when you see people are not grasping what you're saying, you know the season for that level has expired. You need now to elevate yourself. I'll pause there.

*Elder Esther: sometimes you know a season has ended because people begin to push you out. In relationships that have ended, some keep running behind them, weakening themselves and their finances, because they want the season to remain. Be strong. The next season may be unfamiliar, but you are a child of God and the Lord has gone before you.*

The eagle's nest

I just want to pick that up a little. It is said about eagles that when the eaglets reach a certain stage, the parents push them out of the nest (Deuteronomy 32:11). You've outgrown the nest. You've outgrown me going to fetch food and bring it to you. It's time for you to go and hunt.

So if you're watching me here and you're being pushed out, don't try to force yourself back in. You will starve. With the eagles, when the parents push you out to teach you to fly and hunt, you could stay in the nest, but no food will be coming there. The food is out there. It's in the rivers.

Don't let the comfort you felt in the past season hold you. The new one might seem uncomfortable. It might seem strange. Don't worry. The young eagles learn to fly. They learn to hunt and they grow. And when they get big, they do it to their young too. That's why there are still eagles flying around.

*Host: if you never leave the nest and the comfort zone, you won't have learned enough to help your offspring. Stream ends here.*