Changing Seasons

Does anyone have a favorite season?

Intro

Fall is my favorite season. Not only does it contain many warm days similar to summer but also many cold days like the winter. The warm days of fall are sunny like summer but still too cold for water activities like swimming. The cold days are not as intense as winter yet cool enough to enjoy some nice evenings bundled up around a bonfire.

Personally, I love to see the leaves turn color, the fall harvest festivals and the Thanksgiving holiday.

With that being said, fall is essentially a transitional season. It is a period of time which in some ways are like the summer past or the winter in the future but still fall is distinctly all its own.

However, if fall is not your favorite season the good news for you is that in just a matter of time your favorite season will be back.

Genesis 8:22 ESV

22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

God promises us that the seasons of life will continue on earth until the new heaven and the new earth are formed. And while most can clearly observe this truth in the natural world the Bible teaches us that our individual lives will also have different seasons.

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 NLT

1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

King Solomon was the author of Ecclesiastes and writes much of the book through the lens of the human experience highlighting the complexity of life with its good moments and bad moments. However, the over arching theme of the book is that an elderly Solomon looks back on his life with regret because of His folly but recognizes God’s hand of provision upon him. Because Solomon had access to all the wealth, carnal pleasure, and important career a person could desire yet he acknowledges that nothing in life is meaningful without a relationship with the Lord.

His best moments are not those based on anything else the world offered him but rather Solomon’s best times are when he simply followed the Lord and walked in His ways.

Like Solomon each of us will experience different seasons in life some wonderful and others painful or challenging. There is an appointed time for each season and the most significant relationship we can have throughout our lives is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Main Point:

You see brothers and sisters in this life changing seasons are certain but Jesus Christ is God and His character is unchangeable no matter what season we are going through.

Today’s anchor verse can be found in the book of Hebrews chapter thirteen verse eight.

Hebrews 13:8 ESV

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

This scripture is an essential one to remember and a great one to highlight in your Bible.

It should provide every believer with great comfort to know that even though we live in a world of highs and lows and that seasons change we can always count on Jesus Christ! Amen!

You see the Bible didn’t say that Jesus was just there for the people of long ago. It didn’t say that He is just going to be there for the people in the future. The word didn’t say that Jesus is only for us today. Rather God’s character is steadfast and dependable and unchanging from generation to generation! Somebody give Him praise! Hallelujah!

So you may be asking yourself since Jesus is always the same then what is He like? Well I am glad you asked!

Jesus is a Humble Servant

John chapter thirteen verses one through five say that Jesus is a humble servant.

John 13:1–17 NLT

1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” 10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

This means that Jesus has a servants heart and despite Him being the King of King and the Lord of all Lords that He still will humble Himself to serve those He loves. Furthermore He instructs us as His followers to serve one another as well.

Said simply when you need someone or something Jesus is not only able but willing to serve you Himself or to send along another brother and sister in Christ that He can work through to serve you. Glory to God!

Jesus is Love

Next we can read in Ephesians chapter five verses one and two that Jesus is also love.

Ephesians 5:1–2 NLT

1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Jesus is the personification of God’s love. He gave His life so that we could have life and life more abundantly.

Jesus holds nothing back from us yet instead freely gave of Himself not only on the cross and the Resurrection but also with His teaching, preaching and demonstration of how we are to live.

Therefore no matter what season we are in we know that the love of Christ is with us in this age and in the age to come! Aren’t you glad that God’s love is with you wherever you go! Hallelujah! Somebody give Him praise!

Jesus is Endurance

Hebrews chapter twelve verses two through four show us that Jesus is also endurance.

Hebrews 12:2–4 NLT

2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

Jesus could have called out to the Father at any time and legions of angels would have tended to Him and destroyed those who harmed Him. However, Jesus demonstrated perfect endurance as He was faithful to the Father’s will even when it cost Him His very life.

Friends there will be many times in our lives when we will grow weary. The Spirit of the Lord is very strong but our flesh can be weak.

The devil wants nothing more than to discourage you and stop you from serving the Lord. He will put any number of negative influences in your life that will try and convince you to stop following the Lord and turn to the ways of the world. These influences can range from culture, relationships, careers and even your own thoughts or emotions.

But through it all follow the example of Christ and endure to the end so that your rewards in heaven will be great! Amen!

Jesus is a Generous Giver

Second Corinthians chapter eight verse nine teaches us that Jesus is also a generous giver.

2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT

9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

If you can imagine for a moment that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in glory being worshipped by the heavenly hosts and having no limit of power or resources. Then by His own free will Jesus steps out of the portals of glory to be born as a humble man walking from town to town and staying at others homes or sleeping outside if need be.

Jesus made this sacrifice not for Himself because He has access to any and all riches at any time but rather He became poor, so that by doing so we could be made rich with the gifts of peace, love and eternal life in paradise with God.

The Lord’s generosity is endless and if we trust Him and follow His ways than we will have what we need when we need it and that is a confidence which is required during many seasons of our lives.

Application:

So now that we have established that seasons will change but that Jesus remains the same. And also we have discussed just a few of the many characteristics of Jesus how can we use this knowledge in our lives.

Simply put since Jesus is steadfast and does not change yesterday, today or tomorrow therefore as His followers our desire should be to remain steadfast in all seasons of our life as well.

To be more like Christ requires us to have greater faith to believe that He is who He says He is and that He will do for us what He says He will do. Furthermore we are to then to keep trusting and having faith after we receive a blessing and not pull away as some do.

So how do we grow our faith you may ask?

The Bible teaches us that faith increases by hearing the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

So therefore the more we hear the word of Christ by reading our Bibles, attending church, praying, worshipping and replacing worldly influences with Christian influences the more our faith will increase.

Then the as our faith increases the more we can see how the Lord works in our lives which then deepens our faith even more and gives us the confidence and peace we need in all seasons.

This may seem like a simple statement and it is however most people fall into a couple of categories.

The first type of person is someone who primarily reaches out to the Lord in times of distress. They are in a season of difficulty things are not working out according to plan and they are in a bit of panic mode. So they start praying more or reading their bibles more or attending church more. These are all great things to do obviously and when this person is sincere in their heart and in their efforts the Lord will honor their requests and bless them.

Unfortunately however, many times when they receive their blessing they then go back to investing more into other things than their walk with the Lord or in serving others. They read their bibles less, they pray less, they stop attending church regularly, and they start allowing ways of the world into their environment. All of these things will then trigger them to become more weak spiritually speaking and when the next season of distress comes the cycle continues.

This is a similar pattern to the children of Israel in the Old Testament that would be in trouble then cry out to the Lord. He would help them then they would follow His ways for a time. But then they would stop following His ways, turn to the world, which caused bad things or judgement to happen to them. So they would turn back to the Lord then He would bless them and they cycle continued until finally the country was destroyed and they spent 70 years in captivity.

Next there is a second type of person who while far from perfect does their best to live a godly life in all seasons. Perhaps they used to repeat the same cycle as the first person and learned from it but either way the second type of person has learned to be consistent in their walk.

They do not pray because they need something in the moment but rather they always pray to the Lord because they desire God.

They do not read their Bible because they need to solve a particular problem at the moment but rather they are a life long student of God’s word so that they can operate in wisdom to make the best choices in all seasons.

The second type of person does not attend church because they have no where else to go or to see what they can get out of it but rather they attend church because they realize the significance of assembling with other believers in the house of God to worship the Lord and to serve one another.

So which type of person is better equipped to handle all the seasons of life good, bad or ordinary? The person who mostly seeks the Lord in panic mode but then slowly backslides after they receive their blessing or the person who is steadfast in their walk and seeks the Lord in all seasons?

The obvious answer is the second person who is steadfast, consistent and faithful in their walk.

So how much more is Jesus Christ who is perfectly steadfast with never changing perfect character who not only has the power to bless us but the desire to bless us! Glory to God!

Listen my point is simple trust the Lord and walk in His ways in all seasons of your life and then you can rest assured that He will be there to celebrate your blessings with you as well as comfort you in the pain and provide for your every need in all seasons.

Jesus is the rock of our salvation, He is ever present in times of trouble, He is closer than a friend, He is the humble servant, He is endurance, He is a generous giver, He is love and He is God alone! He will never leave you or forsake you in good times or bad and He is preparing a place for you in paradise even as we speak. Hallelujah! Give God praise!

Closing

So hear me this morning pray without out ceasing, read your Bibles, faithfully attend church, live a holy life and serve others then you will further develop that personal relationship with Jesus Christ that gives you the confidence and peace in any season.

As we read today its not a matter of if seasons will change but rather when seasons will change. And when changes do happen we can have peace and enjoy it or we can struggle the choice is ours because Jesus remains the same.

Prayer

Thanks for joining me today and remember our joy is in Jesus!