Understanding The Times

Understanding The Times
Sermon Notes – Ps. Jim White
Sunday 7th March 2010
• Last week we spoke about enlarging our lives – as the NLT puts it, adding an addition to your house – our life being our house. We are the house of God.

• I spoke about the dimension of our life that God wants to enlarge – so that we are people of greater influence – with an increased capacity to carry the things of God.

• Today, I just sensed that there are other dimensions to our lives that God is calling forth and stirring up. Not only are we called to live larger lives for God – it’s vitally important that we are also people who are able to understand and discern the times and seasons that we are living in – and to understand what we are meant to be doing in those seasons.

• A few weeks ago, I set a whole day aside, and went up to Brunswick Heads – all by myself – and booked into a cabin overlooking the Brunswick River. That day, I made sure there were no distractions – no interruptions.... And all I had was a wad of paper, and a biro.

• It was peaceful and quiet – and I just talked and listened to God and wrote stuff down. My agenda was really simple. I just needed to step back from everything that I was doing – and to really evaluate what was important in my life – what I valued the most – what all the different areas and dimensions of my life meant to me...

• I started with about a dozen pieces of A4 paper, with a heading on each one. God, Marriage, Family, Church, Health... and without giving you too much information... I ended up writing a page on each of these areas, why they are important to me – what made them important...

• Then I grabbed another dozen or so sheets of paper and used the same headings, and wrote down what I could see those areas becoming – in other words – what my vision was for these aspects of my life.

• It took all day just to do that. But now I am in the process of taking another dozen sheets, and writing down what I am going to do about reconciling and balancing my life so that the things that are the most important to me, and the vision I have in these areas – is actually reflected in how I live my life and the choices and decisions I make day by day and moment by moment.

• This is not something I have thought up for myself. In fact, I know others here who have done the same thing, or are on the journey of doing it.

• It’s about understanding and knowing what season of life you are living in – and also knowing what God is calling you to do.

• When David was in the transition time of becoming the King of Israel, some extraordinary events took place, and God gathered around David all kinds of strong men, men of war, valiant men...

• 1Chronicles 12 lists all the different tribes and peoples that came together to support David and herald him in as their king.

• Listen to some of the descriptions of these men: Verse 8 – “mighty men of valour, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains...”

• Verse 30 – “mighty men of valour, famous men throughout their father’s house..”

• Verse 33 – “expert in war with all weapons of war, stouthearted men who could keep ranks...”

• It’s an impressive list of qualities you would be wanting in men who were going to stand with you in any situation.

• But in the midst of all this talk about warriors and mighty men of valour, is verse 32 – “...the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do...”

• David was a man who himself understood that timing was everything when it came to God’s plan for his life. Although Samuel the prophet anointed David as king of Israel years earlier, he knew that there would be a waiting for God’s timing before he actually stepped into the role.

• But God gathered around David men of similar heart – men who were able to discern the times and seasons. Men who had the wisdom and the spirit of God. Because timing is everything.

• We are always in a season. The church is always in a season. The key to successfully navigating through all the different seasons of life is to understand what season you are in – to discern what is happening around you and in you – to face the reality of what it means – and to have the wisdom to know how to respond while you are going through it.

• Eph 5:15-18 – “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit...”

• To walk circumspectly means to walk carefully – be diligent – be wise. Redeem the time because the days are evil. Bad stuff happens to good people – if for no other reason than we live in evils days and in a fallen world. But if we are people who are able to understand the times and seasons – then we can redeem time.

• This scripture is not so much talking about chronological time – as in minutes and hours – but kairos time – which speaks of opportunity.

• It’s not about counting the seconds and minutes and hours – but making the seconds and minutes and hours count!

• Men and women who are like the men of Issachar, will see opportunities. And they will redeem the time by making the most of those opportunities. Redeeming the time is about converting time into value. It’s so easy to foolishly waste time – to not value it for the precious dimension of life that it is.

• People who are like the men of Issachar will understand what the will of the Lord is for them in the very season they are walking in. They are men and women who are not filled and swayed or intoxicated with natural experience or like those who are drunk with wine – but they are filled with the wine of the Holy Spirit.

• Remember last week, I said that we are called to be new wineskins – able to carry the new wine of the Spirit – where we have the capacity to carry the new things that God wants to do in our lives. If we are a people who recognise that life has its seasons – then we will be able to enlarge ourselves, stretch according to the circumstances – stretch our faith, be flexible – knowing that God is for us and not against us.

• When you have a revelation of that truth from Rom 8:31, you live differently. You respond to circumstances differently.

• And you know that God means it when He says in Phil 1:6 – “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

• I believe the seasons have a lot to do with the good work that God is doing in us. It mightn’t feel like a good work at times – but if we go deeper with Him – if we find His grace and strength on the journey – then it’s a good work.

• Time is not up yet. God is not finished yet. The days may be evil, but God is good. He is faithful, He is mighty. He is our all in all.

• Habakkuk, the prophet, said in Ch 2:1 – “I will stand my watch, and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.”

• Here’s the heart of a man who seeks to understand the times and the seasons. He sets himself on the rampart – a place that is elevated and fortified. And he watches to see what God will say. And he seeks also to know how he will respond.

• What if we all lived with that kind of attitude, and positioned ourselves in the high and fortified places with God?

• In verse 2-3 – “Then the Lord answered me and said, write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come. It will not tarry.”

• Then in verse 4 it says that the just shall live by faith!

• God said to Habakkuk, write down clearly and simply what I am showing you and speaking to you. Because it is a vision for an appointed time. It’s not for our appointed time – but God’s appointed time. In the end it will speak. In the end it will declare the goodness and faithfulness of God. In the end God will be proven to be true and right.

• It will tarry. In other words, there will be a waiting time. The vision will linger. It will seem like it’s being delayed. But God says – Wait for it!

• There seems to be a real contradiction here because it’s says at the beginning of the sentence – “though it tarries”... and at the end of the sentence it says – “it will not tarry.”

• It’s because it might seem like God’s running late – according to our schedule. But the truth is – the timing is perfect according to His schedule.

• I want to ask you this morning – what season are you in? Is it a season of growth and increase? It is a season of waiting and trusting? Is it a season of change – or transition. Or a season of stripping away some scaffolding around your life? Maybe it’s a season of old things dying and new things being birthed. There can be a lot of pain in a season like that.

• It reminds me of John 12:24 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

• I sense there are some here who feel that there’s dying going on in some dimension of your life. But unless the dying to self happens – you will remain alone. The paradox is that in the dying – a harvest of grain is produced.

• Some things have to be buried in the ground so that new life can come forth.

• But sometimes it’s not a death that needs to happen at all, but a fight for life. That’s why it’s so important that we understand the times and seasons. You don’t want to let something die that God actually wants you to fight for.

• The days are evil. That means the devil is out to destroy you and your vision. So there are times when we need to recognise the truth of Eph 6:12,13 – “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand.”

• This is where our weapons of prayer and faith, the Word of God, the blood of Jesus, fasting – all have their place in pulling down the strongholds of the enemy. And having done all – you stand. There’s the waiting again. Being steadfast, grounded, persevering, looking forward. The battle in the heavenlies is as real as the things you see with your natural eyes.

• Sometimes you just have to stand in faith – and that’s your season.

• Remember the time when Daniel was mourning for three weeks because of a prophetic vision he had – and he fasted and prayed and sought the Lord for help. And after three weeks, he had the vision of an angel. In Dan 10:12-14, the angel says to him, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

• This is just one example of how the natural realm and the heavenly realm are so closely linked together. We might think our prayers and our faith and the weapons of our warfare do very little – but the truth is – when we pray, we connect with heaven – and we stir into action the spiritual warfare that is a very real part of our journey in life.

• The angel said to Daniel, I have come to make you understand. We need to be people who understand spiritual things – understand the visions we have – understand the battle that rages for our soul – understand that there are different seasons in our life – and we need to know how to respond to those seasons.

• This message is about encouraging you to know what season you are in. We don’t have to react without understanding. We can respond with wisdom. The wisdom comes from knowing God – knowing His word. Just that simple story about Daniel is an example of how the Word teaches us and gives us wisdom and insight into what’s happening in the spirit world.

• Apart from your own personal life – the church also needs men and women who discern the times and seasons. I believe we are in a time of transition as a church. We’ve experienced a season of growth and increase, and that continues – but with growth comes change – and we have to understand and have the wisdom to respond to new challenges – and new opportunities.

• There are opportunities for men and women to enlarge their capacity to care – to love – to lead... We need more spiritual fathers and mothers who can see and respond to the needs of the body – the church.

• There are some that I believe God is saying to you – you have been called for such a time as this. You may relate to the story of Esther – who through some unusual circumstances, found herself positioned strategically in a place of influence right at a critical moment in Israel’s history.

• The season and position you are in right now might be related to business, your family, your workplace – it could be an area of ministry – and remember ministry is something that happens both within the church and outside.

• Remember what Mordecai said to Esther? – “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

• What season are you in right now? Be honest with yourself. How does God want you to respond?

• Is there something in your life that needs to die – so that new life can come? Or is it a season for you to step up and fight for your life – with weapons of spiritual warfare?

• What opportunities can you see? How can you redeem the time this week?

• Let’s put a high value on this moment right now. Close your eyes – look with the eyes of your spirit.