Sermon Central
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It's A New Season
Contributed by Brian Menear on Apr 13, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Just are there are seasons with crops there are seasons of your life. Planting, Growing, Tending, Harvesting, and Planning.
“It’s a New Season”
ECC 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ECC 3:2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, ECC 3:3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, ECC 3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, ECC 3:5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, ECC 3:6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, ECC 3:7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, ECC 3:8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Today we are going to talk about seasons. Our lives and our world is governed by seasons.
The Seasons
Spring-The Time To Plant
Summer-The Time To Watch Blossom and Grow and Tend
Fall-The Time To Harvest
Winter-The Time to Plan For Next Year
We will focus on the seasons of our lives.
Life comes in three volumes, volume #1) YESTERDAY, #2) TODAY, #3) TOMORROW. Yesterday is gone, but it pays visits to Memory Lane. Tomorrow is a good place to dream, but tomorrow may never be! Today is where life should focus. There will be seasons of success and seasons of failure.
Don’t build monuments to your own success. Success that is rooted only in your Earthly life and possessions can easily be gone tomorrow.
ECC 2:24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
If the sole purpose of your life is to collect as much wealth and “stuff” as possible you will be dissapointed. The righteous and humble will inherit what you have anyway.
GAL 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
If your plans or goals are not Godly minded, they will not be Godly blessed.
“Success” has many meanings to different people. Success is not what you “have to show”, but being able to “show what you have” if you have God in your life
So don’t base success on what you have to show!
The Great Conqueror Charlemagne was born on April 2, 742 in Northern Europe. "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne became master of Western Europe. Charlemagne was determined to strengthen his realm and to bring order to Europe. In 772 he launched a 30-year military campaign to accomplish this objective. By 800 Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm encompassed what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. It included half of present-day Italy and Germany, and parts of Austria and Spain. By establishing a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire and paved the way for the development of modern Europe.
It is said that about 200 years ago, the tomb of the great conqueror
Charlemagne was opened. The sight the workmen saw was startling.
There was his body in a sitting position, clothed in the most
elaborate of kingly garments, with a scepter in his bony hand.
On his knee lay the Holy Scriptures, with a cold, lifeless finger
pointing to Mark 8:36: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and loose his own soul?"...
The Seasons of Life
Spring-The Time To Plant
Your value is not based on money or possessions, your value comes from God’s design built into you to accomplish the goals he has set before you.
Goal-Whatever you intend to happen.
Ask 3 questions to yourself about your goals
1 Why do I want that goal?
2 What is the purpose?
3 What is my motive? Motive makes all the difference
Goals should be just out of reach but not out of sight.
You will face opposition to any goal that is for the Kingdom of God
