Title: ‘Tis the Season
Text: 1 Chronicles 12:32
Date: December 2, 2012
Place: Washington A/G
Introduction
Seasonal Activity
“‘Tis the Season”
An often used expression this time of the year
Used to explain many phenomena we see occurring in a certain time or season of the year
Holiday Experiences
Just last week I experienced with many of you the madness of a late night door buster sale.
I marveled at the insanity
I observed the impatience of many with their fellow man and with the employees of various stores
I saw store shelves pillaged and ransacked in the name of a good sale
I saw frustrated customers and workers alike
In the middle of it all I even saw a few people that appeared to be enjoying themselves.
As I surveyed this scene playing out in many instances I remember repeating a certain phrase in my mind and a few times stating it aloud, “tis the season!”
With this phrase:
We excuse ourselves from many of our routine disciplines
Thanksgiving Dinners
Indulgences of the season
We try to overlook the rudeness and crudeness of others and justify our own as we all charge forward in the name of a great bargain
Console ourselves concerning the long lines and heavy traffic.
Uncharacteristic Activity
You may question why I’m leading down this road of observation.
My aim is to point out to you how willfully we will alter our lives just because the calendar mandates that it is a certain season of the year.
Many who participate in the hustle and bustle of the season do so simply because it’s the season to do so.
In the giving and receiving of gifts there is no recollection or symbolism in their minds of Jesus Christ as the greatest gift given to mankind.
I’m saying to you that there are many things we feel incumbent upon us to do or partake of simply because the calendar mandates.
Seasons Defined
Differing Entrances and Exits
Variance of ages
Variance of life experiences
Variance of seasons
Some in the earliest years of life
Some in the adolescence
Some in young adulthood
Some mid-life
Some, shall we say, well-experienced, or veterans of life.
There are things that we do in this life, or don’t do for that matter, that are dictated by the season of life that we are in.
One Common Season
Regardless of where we find ourselves in the theatre of natural things there is one calendar and one season that unites us all.
But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hand… (Psalm 31:14-15a)
In other words the Psalmist is saying that all of the circumstances of this life are amendable and subject to the will of God.
And so are the seasons of our lives subject to and superseded by “the Times and seasons the Father has put in His own authority” (Acts 1:7)
Clearly stated, no matter where you are on the timetable of the natural man we are all in the same season of God’s prophetic calendar
“Tis the Season”
Understanding the Season
As a people whose lives are all subject to the timing and the plan of Almighty God, I can honestly say that we need to be a people who understand the seasons in which we live and know how to respond.
From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take. (1 Chronicles 12:32 NLT)
Body
A Seasonal Snapshot
It is not for us to know the times and the seasons that the Father has put under His own power, but I believe the Bible gives us several snapshots, a mental picture of where we are on God’s Timetable and I believe these represent exactly where we are in the present.
"Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:4-12 NKJV)
Never has there been a generation in any greater need of a warning against deception
Rumblings and unrest among the nations are the news of the day
Can I tell you that the climate of this world burns with a vehement hatred for anything that is the reflection of Christ and His Kingdom
Iniquity does abound and the hearts of many have grown cold and calloused.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. (1 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV)
I see in this the reflection of the mainstream of our society
And never has there been a time when the Church was quite as anemic as it is in this present time.
I believe that it is no longer the case that we are living in the days before the Lord’s return but I believe according to the timetable of the Lord we may just be hours away.
Seeing that we live in such a season as this I believe that it’s time to employ the phrase, ‘tis the season, adjust the schedule, rearrange the disciplines and adjust to the calling of the season.
Appropriate Seasonal Activities
Seeking God
Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12 NKJV)
The Prophet Hosea spoke to a wayward Israel
The life affairs of the prophet symbolize the Spiritual harlotry of the nation Israel and God’s
The Prophet references this as a period in Israel’s history when “their hearts were divided” and Identifies it as a time when men need to seek the Lord.
Reasons to Seek
I believe ours should be assigned as a period when men ought to seek the Lord
It seems as if every day the world’s calamities and troubles are escalating. And there is little doubt that we are living in a volatile era.
In light of this forever is imposing itself upon us with greater intensity than ever before.
Everyone will spend eternity somewhere
It’s not just heaven or nothing!
It’s not just heaven for everybody, regardless!
You don’t want to get forever wrong!
Finding God
Prayer
Fleeces
Voices
Impressions
Bible
God’s revelation of Himself to man
The standard by which we gage all other revelations of God
What of God do we find?
His Character
His Person
His Commandments
His requirements
His wishes
His desires
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13 NKJV)
Acknowledgment of God as Sovereign
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7 NLT)
A voice from the Garden
The Serpent to Eve, “Has God Truly said?”
Plants in our minds a thought that because God’s command doesn’t mesh with our reason or lend to our desires it must not be true.
Many today hear the words of a preacher and accept it as nothing more than another opinion with no more consequence than their own because they never take the time to search the Scriptures and find for themselves the truth of God.
There are many in our generation who can behold the commands of God, learn of its consequence, and still excuse themselves from adherence to the command and in their minds consequence of disobedience because it doesn’t fit within the confines of their reason
Ignorance will be no excuse, but I can promise you this, It would have been better for you if you had never heard the Word of God than having hear not acknowledged it as the word of the Sovereign.
It is the season for you and I to acknowledge that this is Our Father’s world
He makes the rules
He does not ask our opinion nor seeks our approval, neither does He need His ways to fit our understanding.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV)
Walking in Obedience
For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God's household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God's Good News? (1 Peter 4:17 NLT)
Obedience is a hard thing
Do you ever wonder why God does not work within the confines of our understanding?
God will not contradict Himself
The just shall live by faith.
Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me. (John 14:23-24 NKJV)
Conclusion
These are indeed perilous times
In light of the season it is definitely time
To seek the Lord
To Acknowledge Him as Lord
To walk in obedience
