A New Season
A New Season Brings Changes
A New Season Brings Challenges
A New Season Exposes Champions
Slide 1
I love the fall.
I enjoy the cool weather.
I Love sleeping when I have to snuggle up in a blanket.
In the cool of the evening you can have a fire in the back yard.
It is great spending time with your family roasting marshmallows
As a family, we enjoy going apple picking in the fall and seeing the colors of the leaves change.
The beauty of God’s creation really comes out in the fall.
We are blessed to live in an area that has so many trees and leaves. The property we sit on here is beautiful this time of the year.
I can’t wait until our master plan is completed and we will have the opportunity to sit out here and look out some huge windows to the back and enjoy God’s handiwork.
To me, the beauty that God designed into the changes that take place in the fall are just further proof that we have a God who loves us and has blessed us with such great beauty.
I also like fall because we celebrate the season each year with a fall fest.
It is a time that we as a church gather and enjoy spending time together, eating together, and ministering together.
But a couple of the things that I don’t like about the fall is that it means
winter is right around the corner.
another year has passed and I am getting older.
My kids are getting older.
I have 2 kids in Jr. high and next year I will have a son in High School.
And as the seasons of the year become new, it means we are moving on with new seasons of our life as well.
The Bible tells about the seasons of life as well.
Turn with me to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (P. 473)
Slide 2
It tells us that there are seasons for all the activities of life.
It reads as follows
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
(from New International Version)
Everything has a season.
We see the same things in the lives we live right now.
We enter a new season of life when we
Get a new job
Get married
Have kids
Kids become teens
Kids leave home
We move
We retire
All of those things are natural points of life that enter a new season.
But there are times when we make a conscious choice to change direction in our life that we also enter new a new season.
Maybe we recognize that our life has not been moving in a positive direction or really has not been working out so well, so we seek to change directions, turn over a new leaf, if you will.
Many times, these moments of thinking through our life occur at natural points during the different seasons of our life
Around the beginning of the year.
At major birthdays
As well as during the natural changes of seasons that occur which we spoke of earlier, like marriage, having kids, etc.
So even at those times while things are changing already, we may sense a need for other changes that need to take place.
All of this is to recognize that Different life events lead to Different seasons in our life.
Some of you here today may be entering a new season of life as a natural occurance.
Whether you have just
become parents or
gotten married or
changed jobs.
Others of you may be recognizing that you need to make some changes in life and thus enter a new season of life.
This not only takes place in individuals but in corporations and churches as well.
Hickory Creek entering new season
Hickory Creek is preparing to enter a new season of ministry as we begin phase one of our building and parking lot expansion.
This church recognized a couple of years ago, that this ministry needed to enter a new season.
As changes have occured, it has not always been easy, and as we continue to move forward it will not always be easy, but we are beginning to see some of the fruit of this new season of ministry.
We have had opportunities to minister to new people and as we expand our facility, we are going to face more opportunities to minister to new people.
And while a new season of life, for a church or for individuals, can bring freshness and excitement, it can also be a little scary.
Starting a new job is both exciting and scary
Getting married is both exciting and scary
Having kids is both exciting and scary
Making a decision to follow Christ can be both exciting and scary.
Today, I want to give us some things that we can expect during a new season of life so that
it will be less scary and that
we will be better able to seize opportunities that present themselves and be better able to experience the excitement
that a new season brings.
To help us do that, I want to take a look at Solomon today.
Turn with me to 1 Kings 2 (p. 237)
Slide 3
Solomon, the most likely writer of Ecclesiastes, the book we read from a minute ago, was the son of King David. He became the King after King David.
Let’s read about the new season that Solomon experienced and see what we might be able to learn.
1 Kings 2:1-3
1 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. 2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, 3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, (from New International Version)
The first thing we need to realize is that
A New Season Brings Change
Slide
There was some change happening in Solomon’s life.
His dad was dying.
The man who had led Israel successfully for so many years
The man whom the people loved.
The man who was after God’s own heart.
Now Solomon was going to be expected to fill his shoes.
Now getting past the fact that I am sure Solomon was experiencing sorrow at the death of his father, I am sure he probably felt some excitement to be King, as well as a little apprehension as well.
How will I be able to lead like my father?
Change – people have a love/hate relationship with change.
They want things to change because if they didn’t, things would be boring.
They want things to stay the same, because change brings uncertainty.
It is that uncertainty that we are truly afraid of.
The things we don’t know.
We are excited to get married, but what will married life really be like?
I am excited to have children, but can I really raise them?
I am excited about starting a new job, but will I be able to do it?
I am excited that Hickory Creek is growing, but what will the growth require of me?
We like to know in advance, what any change is going to require of us.
The problem with that, from a Christian perspective, it requires no faith.
And the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 to “live by faith, not by sight.”
We like to live by sight, don’t we?
We want to know that everything will turn out just like we want it.
The fact of the matter is that we don’t really trust God to take care of things for our best interest.
But
for us to grow in our relationship with God,
for us to grow in our faith,
we need to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.
That requires that we move forward in the midst of change and uncertainty.
And as our faith grows, we bring pleasure and glory to the Lord.
Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please God.”
For Solomon to grow, for Solomon to please God, he needed to experience change.
David needed to enter into his eternity so Solomon could grow and become the King that God wanted Him to be.
For Hickory Creek to grow, there are going to have to be changes.
Changes in ministries
Changes in buildings
Changes in the way we do things.
But trusting the Lord through change will help us grow closer to the Lord as He leads us through them.
For you to grow, you need to experience change.
Maybe it is through some of the natural points of change that God will help you grow in your trust of Him.
Maybe the change you need to experience is the change from living life your way, to living life God’s way.
That can be a scary change, but it is a change that will provide eternal benefits beyond any you can measure.
As changes come naturally, accept them as part of life and let the Lord grow you through them.
As you recognize that a change needs to take place, commit to trusting the Lord to lead you through it to draw you closer to Him.
Not only do we experience Changes during a new season, but
A New Season brings Challenges
Slide
Solomon not only had a changed position now as the new King, but with those changes came some challenges.
And he realized that these challenges. Now how was he going to face them?
Turn with me a page or two to 1 Kings 3:5-9
Slide
Solomon is now king and he needs to govern the people of Israel as King.
He faces a great challenge.
Let’s read
1 Kings 3:5-9
5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
6 Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
7 "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
Who is able to govern this great people of yours?
Solomon had an awesome and challenging task before him.
Many of you may have challenging tasks that lie ahead of you.
Maybe you have a challenging role in raising your children.
Maybe they are beginning to test your authority and you are not sure how to handle it.
Maybe you’re facing challenges in your marriage.
Or Maybe it is a challenge in your job that you are facing.
Our challenge at Hickory Creek is
ministering to the people of this church and
reaching out with the good news of Jesus Christ to our community.
As we expand, we face new challenges in doing that.
Whatever the challenge we face, how do we get through it?
We need to face it like Solomon faced it, with humility, seeking the wisdom of the Lord.
James 1:5 says
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
We need to seek God’s wisdom during times when we find our self challenging situations.
Be in prayer and be asking for it.
Lord, how is it that I should be teaching my child to respect my authority?
Lord, what do I need to be doing in my marriage?
Lord, give me wisdom in being a leader at my workplace.
Lord, how should I glorify your name in serving You?
Humbly seek His wisdom in facing your challenges, and He will provide you with it.
Finally, we can expect
A New Season Births Champions
Slide
Turn over a few more pages to 1 Kings 8:10-14.
Solomon has just completed building the temple of the Lord.
1 Kings 8:10-14
10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.
12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."
14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them.
Solomon accepted the changes that came his way,
He faced the challenges that occurred with humility, seeking the Lord’s wisdom, and as he continued to move forward, He was able to be used to do mighty things for the Lord.
With building the temple, God was pleased.
His presence which filled the temple showed that.
Maybe you are thinking
I could never be used to do anything great
I will never be a champion
I don’t have anything to offer
I have tried to do things in the past, but have failed.
Perhaps you have been trying in your own strength.
The key to becoming a champion is submitting yourself to Christ.
When we submit ourselves to the Lord in our daily living, trusting him with the changes that go on, humble seeking him in the challenges we face, He gives us new opportunities to be used in greater ways.
And the reality is that
God wants to use everyone in this room and
He can use everyone in this room.
But you need to
humble yourself and
Submit yourself to Him
James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
If you humble yourself by putting your trust in the Lord and following what He wants us to do, you can be a Champion for Christ too.
It all starts with
accepting the changes He may want to make in your life,
walking in faith through the challenges, and
moving forward humbly and obediently into what the Lord would have you do.
That is how a champion is born.
I want to tell you that there is nothing greater than being used by God to accomplish something awesome.
Maybe you are unsure what the Lord is wanting you to do.
Well, some things we can be sure of are that
He wants His Kingdom grown and is
looking for people to help with the harvest.
Luke 10:2
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Connect with a local church
Maybe the Lord wants you becoming a part of a local church to help with the harvest.
Use your time and talents and treasure to help the church reach your community for Jesus Christ.
If you don’t have a church, I welcome you to find out more about Hickory Creek to see if this is a place where the Lord can use you.
Receive Christ as Savior
Maybe it is taking the initial step of putting your trust in Christ.
I grew up knowing about Jesus, but never really knowing Jesus.
Maybe that is you today.
Maybe you have known the facts about Jesus, but never really have taken a true step of belief by receiving Him as your Savior.
Let today be the day that you choose to enter a new season of life by receiving Jesus as your Savior.
John 1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
Romans 10:13
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Call on the name of the Lord and begin a new season.
If you would like to do that, receive Jesus now by expressing your heart to Him in prayer.
Pray
