There is a Season

There is a Season: Finding our Shepherd in a Tragic Time 1. God will Give us Grace “Your Father … sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). “In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). 2. God Supremely Values Simon and Corin “Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD” (1 Kings 14:13). “But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the LORD. And he said ‘Far be it from me that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at risk of their lives they brought it.’ Therefore, he would not drink it.” (1 Chronicles 11:19). 3. God Rewards Courage in the Face of Death “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Philipians 2:8-9) Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:38), Nicodemus (John 19:39), and Mary Magdalene (John 20:1) overcame the fear of death to great reward. “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) 4. God is Directing us to our High Priest “Herod … sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in that region who were two years old or under” (Matthew 2:16) “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3) 5. God is Doing Something Profound “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:3-4). How Do We Realize the Profound? 1. Patiently Endure – we’ll have to be patient, wait on the Lord, and overlook one another’s faults. 2. Seek the Depths of God – we must lean into the deep things of God’s Word to the neglect of those who want entertainment. 3. Draw Near to God Together – This body of people is the most important group of people on earth to me. I hope it will be to you, as well. Whate’er My God Ordains is Right Ensemble Whate’er my God ordains is right, His holy will abideth; I will be still whate’er he does, And follow where He guideth, He is my God, though dark my road; He holds me that I shall not fall; And so to Him I leave it all, And so to Him I leave it all. Ensemble Whate’er my God ordains is right, He never will deceive me; He leads me by the proper path, I know He will not leave me. I take content what He has sent; His hand can turn my griefs away; And patiently I wait His day, And patiently I wait His day. Ensemble Whate’er my God ordains is right, Though now this cup in drinking May bitter seem to my faint heart, I take it all, unshrinking. My God is true, each morn anew, Sweet Comfort yet shall fill my heart; And pain and sorrow shall depart, And pain and sorrow shall depart. Congregation Joins Whate’er my God ordains is right, Here shall my stand be taken; Though sorrow, need or death be mine, Yet I am not forsaken. My Father’s care is round me there; He holds me that I shall not fall, And so to Him I leave it all, And so to Him I leave it all. My Father’s care is round me there; He holds me that I shall not fall,