Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Fall
For Such a Time as This • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
We are very fortunate to live in a place in which we can celebrate four distinct seasons each year. We often joke here that sometimes we have all four seasons in one day! Our temperature can often have a 30 degree swing making it difficult in choosing the wardrobe for the day. Nevertheless, we have four distinct seasons being Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.
Genesis 1:14-19 indicate that God established the seasons as part of His created order.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
We know from experience that each season brings about change. In the created order we read in Genesis, we see that the change is evident in light and how day and night are separated. This is also evident in growing cycles where plants can grow from seeds and produce fruit. All that comes into play in the growing cycle.
Spiritually, we go through seasons as well. For example, the Fall season is a time nostalgic growth. It often is seen as a time of reflection and the end of the harvest time. Winter is that time of season that we may face discouragement. We think of the cold, dark times of winter and discouragement hits us like an icy wind in the face. Spring is a time of renewal and refreshment. It is a time to experience new life and nourishing the seeds in which we have planted. Summer is a time of rest and rejuvenation. It is a time to celebrate and enjoy the bounty of that which God has provided for us.
Our focus in this sermon series will be about these seasons and how we can adapt, change, and grow in each of these seasons. We will also emphasize the differences that each season holds and clarify why each is necessary.
Each season marks necessary steps to prepare in order to successfully move on to the next season. Spiritual seasons, however, do not have a particular order but there is always preparation to do in order to move on to the next.
For the purpose of our study, we will begin with the Fall then move to Winter, Spring and Summer. We will utilize points of reflection and points of action for each season.
As we have mentioned earlier, Fall is a season that encourages nostalgic growth. Perhaps Fall is that for you because it takes you down a memory lane reflecting on the events of the summer or previous Fall seasons. For some, it is a time of change when the things of old start to die off. In a spiritual context, it also follows God’s design. In the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher is trying to help the readers find meaning and identity in life. Way before the rock group Kansas made the song To every Season Turn, the Teacher penned words that were rich in describing a time for everything.
God’s Design (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
God’s Design (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
We learn in this great passage that God has designed and purposefully made all things. In these eight verses there are 28 particular scenarios. Incidentally there are 28 moon cycles that these coincide. Truly, there is a time for everything.
God’s design includes His providential care. As we reflect during this season, we can be assured from His Word that He cares for us.
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if you hear his voice,
God’s design includes His providential care and His purposeful care that He might be made known.
But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
Theologian H. W. Robinson wrote: “God is intimately connected with time, His relation to mankind itself requires the time-order for the fulfillment of His purposes.”
God has set purposes in our lives and therefore will utilize our seasons for His purpose and glory. We would do well to remember this as we enter into this Fall Season.
His care by design is also a processed care. Going back to Ecclesiastes 3:1,
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
I am reminded that God is not a God of chaos but one of order. If you remember in Genesis 1:2, the Bible tells us that the earth was formless and empty. The original Hebrew word there means confusion or chaotic. However, when God spoke, He brought order to the chaos and confusion. God can do that in our lives as well. His design gives us a process. To everything there is a season. In other words, God allows the days of our lives to give place to the nights and the nights again give way to the day. The clearest sky will be clouded and the clouded sky will become clear. God provides purpose and process.
In that, God gives us a special designation. We see this theme through out the Bible. For the purposes of our study, we are going to skip over to Esther.
God’s Designation (Esther 4:14)
God’s Designation (Esther 4:14)
The Book of Esther is a rich adventure story in the Bible. It is the only book in the Bible that does not mention God by name. Esther is a beautiful, young Jewish woman that is summoned by a Persian king after she refuses to parade her beauty before a large gathering. The king is unaware of Esther’s background, but his close advisor, Haman, knows about her Jewish cousin Mordecai and how Jews refuse to worship the king. So Haman convinces the king to issue a decree that calls for the Persians to attack the Jews and annihilate them.
However, God is a work behind the scenes. Imagine that! He has placed Esther in the unique position to offer help directly to the Jewish exiles in Persia. Mordecai encourages her to be brave and in the most famous verse of this book, we read:
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
God designated Esther to be Queen and use her royal influence to help save the lives of her people. The result is a new decree issued in which the Jews are now permitted to defend themselves and they win. To commemorate their victory, the Festival of Purim is established and it is still celebrated by Jews today.
We learn from this passage and this book that God is always aware of every situation we face in life. In fact, there is no problem in the family, workplace or any other situation in which God is not aware. In the season of life when we are seeing old things pass away, God has designated a path of redemption “for such a time as this.”
We are so fortunate to know that path of redemption and His Name is Jesus. Jesus comes to us and injects Himself in our messed up world. In the midst of darkness His words shine brightest and lights our paths to enable us to move away from the junk into the newness of His life.
God designates us as His children to by placing us in the right place at just the right time. He puts us in a position that is just the right position. He provides for us the ability to do what Esther did, to pray. Esther not only called her people to fast and pray but she also this herself.
God put Esther in a royal position of influence. The truth is if we are Christians, we are children of the Most High King and we are heirs. Esther understood she should go on with a courageous heart. She prayed and fasted and she demonstrated bravery.
God uses what seems to be bad to do His Good work. Genesis 50:20 reminds us of this. We can be like Esther and pray, pray, pray!
Think with me about the power we have in prayer. We need to get more serious than ever about praying. Not that we get what we want, but that we do what God desires and that we trust His plan. Our prayer is to conform our ways to God’s ways not God’s ways to our ways.
We can use this season to do just that! Fall sometimes produces the dread of what is coming in the winter. However, it is also a time of courage to prepare and face what is coming ahead.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
God in His design and in His designation gives us the opportunity to choose. His determination is that we can decide whether or not we can follow His design and receive His designation.
God’s Determination (Galatians 6:7)
God’s Determination (Galatians 6:7)
The reminder of God’s determination for our lives is found in a concept mentioned in Galatians 6:7,
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
This principle is as old as scripture itself. We will reap that which we sow. In fact, some of the oldest scripture hints as this concept.
“They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.
As I have observed, those who plow evil
and those who sow trouble reap it.
There is a cause and effect to what we sow. If we sow bad seed we will reap a bad harvest. God’s determination is that we will reap what we sow and we can choose what we sow and where we sow.
In the terms of gardening, we can choose the plot. We have to determine is our plot is going to be of God or of ourselves. If we sow of the Spirit, we will reap Godly things. If we sow of the flesh, the Bible says we will reap corruption. We have to determine the plot.
We also have to determine the plan.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
We will reap in proportion to what is sown. It is easy to think our actions will not matter, but they most certainly do.
When I was in sales, the number of deals I would do would be in direct correlation with the number of contacts I made. My harvest was determined by the amount of seed I had sown. Spiritually, the same thing happens. In this season of life, if I plot where I am going to sow seed of the Spirit and how much of it I am willing to do, I will be prepared better for the things to come, in this case, my next season which will be the long wintry months. Therefore, I must keep my hand to the plow so to speak, and keep on keeping on!
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Based on the authority of God’s word, we can be assured that God’s design for us is that we are under His care, fulfill His purpose and use His process. We can also be assured that God places us in a time for such is this and gives us a position that will glorify Him and we must pray and seek His ways. We can also be assured that God has determined that we, as His people, can choose His way or our way. There will be a harvest time and we will indeed reap what we sow.
Based on these truths, what is God’s design for you? What is His designation for you? What is His determination for you? As you go through this season of reflection, be reminded that God loves you. He created you and you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Let Him show you exactly what that means! Live for Him!
Let Him lead your life!