God's Timing and My Time

God’s Timing and My Time [Inspired by John Maxwell’s "God’s Timing and my Time.]

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1

Icebreaker: In a recent panel for the comic strip The Family Circus, Dolly was shown drawing a picture with her crayons. Her grandmother passed by and asked, "What are you drawing?" Dolly replied, "I don’t know. I’ll decide after I’m finished." It’s a humorous response from an artistic child but a tragic and oft repeated reality for many teenagers and adults. If we wait to decide on the direction of our life until we’ve finished, there’s a very high probability it won’t be the destination we wanted. Clear vision for where we hope to end up helps us make better decisions in the present and offers a much more redemptive journey. Beaumont Enterprise, The Family Circus, 12/30/8, p.6C

Intro: I love celebrating a new year. I love the feelings that come with this time of the year. It always feels like we get a clean slate and a fresh start. I think it’s because we kind of look at the new year as a time to forget the things that have passed and begin to concentrate on the things that are present and in the future.

-Many of us also take this time to do some personal evaluation. Are we where we want to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Today, I’d really like to focus on your spiritual health. And if you haven’t already, I want to encourage you to take some time today to do some personal spiritual evaluation as you enter a new year. How is your spiritual walk? Do you have a personal relationship with the one who made you? Are you as close to God as you want to be? The start of a new year is a great time to make some decisions about your spirituality. It’s a great time to allow God to begin something new in your life.

-You can become a new person this year, with God’s help. God is the God of the new. He loves doing new things. In fact, did you know that right now, whether you like it or not, you’re a new person? Not long ago, scientists at White Laboratories discovered that 98% of the atoms that are in your body today were not there 365 days ago. You are literally not the same person you were this time last year.

-Of course, goes a lot deeper than just physically. But we know that don’t we? A lot of things can happen in a year, can’t they? Some of you have welcomed new family members, some of you have said goodbye to loved ones, some of you have switched jobs, some of you lost hair and said hello to new wrinkles. Some of you have started attending church here in the past year, and I thank God for you. Some of you have given your lives to Jesus or made some kind of new commitment to him in the past year, and that’s awesome!

-So, a lot can happen in a year, and we tend to do two things in January:

1. We look back and regret. – We wish we could have perhaps done something differently.
2. And we look to a new year and begin to resolve. – We being to resolve that what we have done in the past, we will not do in the future. And my prayer today is that this time we have together this morning will be a time of resolve that will make 2009 the greatest year of your life.

(Prayer)

-This morning, we’re going to talk about God’s timing in our lives. Let’s look at what the Bible says about his timing:

Scripture: