It's A New Season - Pt.2 || A Message By Pastor Mensa Otabil

[Music] i am going to continue the message i started uh last week uh when i titled the message it's a new season and we talked about the sons of isaka who had understanding of the times and knew what israel ought to do and today i'm doing part two of it's a new season when we say a new season obviously it means that there is an old one uh so anytime we talk about a new season we are referencing a change in seasons and when there is a change in seasons there must of necessity be a change in attitude one of my memories as a child was in primary school when i was in primary middle school in those days one of the prized possession for for the boys and girls in school was to become a bell boy or on rare occasions a bell girl but mostly it was the job given to the boys and and this was the people who would go and ring the school bell at certain times uh to indicate uh changes and normally when there was a change in the school period uh they would go around and they would ring the bell and usually when they rang the belt they would announce change lesson please simply means change must take place and when that happened uh the teacher i would move from the subject he's teaching or she's teaching to the next subject and one of the things that happened when there was a change lesson uh the bell is wrong the teacher is moving from one subject to the other one of the first things the teacher would do is clean everything that is on the blackboard everything that you learned in the previous lesson is wiped off from the blackboard and a new lesson is about to be taught i believe our world is in such a place where there is a change lesson taking place and our blackboard or whiteboard or whatever board is being wiped out and some new things are about to be written some new things must be led some new attitudes must be learned and and we have to lend them in other to function effectively in this new season that we have entered in um our world's blackboard is being cleaned uh our world is going through some major changes and what you learned yesterday may not be valuable to you today as a matter of fact uh what used to be an advantage to you in a previous season may not be an advantage to you in a new season uh if if when we were in school some to move from the classroom to the sports field for physical education so you may have been very good in mathematics but when the seasons change and you have to go and play football or run around the school field you may be a very poor student in that so one time you are exceptionally good another time you find yourself becoming a liability so in a new season something similar happens one moment you are at the top of your game another moment you're finding yourself uh struggling to catch up and so we we're going to look at some things in the bible uh to help us to to bring this understanding to focus when seasons change what used to work for you could work against you that's that's the difficult thing about the changing seasons what used to work for you what used to be a strong point may actually turn out becoming your weakest point and and so although we are excited about a changing season we also must be mindful about how we make the right adjustments that god wants us uh to make so we will look at israel and how they're related to god and i'm going to present three cases of their relationship with god and then we'll draw some conclusions and then we'll learn some lessons we're going to look at how israel related to god when god was delivering them from egypt when god was delivering them from egypt when they were in egypt then we're going to look at how they related to god when god had just brought them from egypt into the wilderness then we're going to look thirdly at how they related to god when god was preparing them to enter the promised land and there are some interesting things that i want you to pay attention to so let's look at the first one when god was delivering them from egypt and the passage i'm going to read is from exodus chapter 5 verses 20 to 23. and this happens when uh moses and aaron uh go to pharaoh and demand uh that he lets the people go and uh pharaoh is so annoyed he's so incensed that he intensifies the affliction of the people so naturally the israelites were very upset with moses and with uh god because now they are suffering west than before and so they approach moses and aaron and let's read the conversation exodus chapter 5 verse 20 to 23. then as they came out from pharaoh they made moses and iran who stood there to meet them and they said to them let the lord look on you and judge because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of pharaoh and in the sight of his servants to put a sword in their hand to kill us so moses returned to the lord and said lord why have you brought trouble on these people why is it that you have sent me since i came to pharaoh to speak in your name he has done evil to this people neither have you delivered your people at all so the people come they complain to moses and then moses complains to god and then chapter six verse one uh god's response then the lord said to moses now you shall see what i will do to pharaoh for with a strong hand he will let them go and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land so they complain to moses complains to god and then god acts against moses so uh their complaint is working they they they complain god is not angry with their complaint they complain uh moses complains and god acts now if you were there observing you would say wow that's an interesting thing you know if you want god to do something for you you complain and god acts and god acts against pharaoh and not against them i want you to note that so that's the first case that i wanted to note uh god is bringing them out he wants to deliver them their situation is getting worse for them and they complain to god and god acts against pharaoh so after that there are ten major plagues that god brings against pharaoh then when they entered the wilderness they have no water and they get water and the water they found is not for good for human consumption so they use the method they have learned uh complain exodus chapter 15 verse 22 to 25 exodus chapter 15 22 to 25 so moses brought israel from the red sea then they went into the wilderness of shur and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water now when they had come to mara they could not drink the waters of marra for they were bitter therefore the name of it was called mara and the people complained against moses saying what shall we drink so he cried out to the lord and the lord showed him a tree when he cast it into the waters the waters were made sweet there he made a statute and an ordinance for them and there he tested them so when god is delivering them from egypt things go bad they complain god acts against pharaoh and god delivers them they get to the wilderness they want water there's no water then they get water it's not good for human consumption they complain to moses moses complains to god and they get results so by this time if you had israelite you would just begin to notice a pattern complaint gets results exodus chapter 16 this thing seems to be working exodus 16 verse 2 two four this time they are hungry and they use the tried and tested method exodus 16 2 2 4 then the whole congregation of the children of israel complained against moses and aaron in the wilderness the children of israel said to them all that we had died by the hand of the lord in the land of egypt when we sat by the pot of meat and when we add bread to the full for you have brought us into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger then the lord said to moses behold i will reign bread from heaven for you and the people shall go out and gather a second a certain quarter every day that i may test them whether they walk in my law or not they complain and god solves the problem they're hungry and god rains bread from them from heaven for them now if you were in the company by now the the principle has been tested and proven the way to get god's attention is complain and he will solve your problem for you i'm sure the israelites think now we have the blueprint of how to survive in dealing with jehovah when you are in trouble complain and god will act that is the lesson that's a lesson they've learned but the bell is about to be wrong and there's going to be a change lesson and and and and uh when you have studied the bible for a while you get to understand that god actually responds to faith and not to doubt because when we complain we are doubting god but for some curious reason at this season of their lives doubt seems to work doubt and complain seems to get god's attention god seems not to mind their doubt at all and i believe they are in a certain season of their lives they are what i would consider a baby season of their lives they are a new nation they've just been delivered they are babies in the sight of god and isn't that how babies behave when they want food they cry they throw tantrums they fall to the ground and they they throw a fuss and the mothers uh respond the fathers sometimes don't respond that quickly but mothers do so at this stage israel through the experience and through god's dealing with them have learned a major lesson and the lesson is if you want god to act for you if you want things to go on well for you if you're not happy with something complain throw a tantrum fast and god will work it works for israel it even works for moses it works for moses because when they complain against moses moses complains to god and god acts that's the lesson now they are about to enter the promised land or god wants to prepare them for the promised land and this is very important because the reason why he took them from egypt is to take them to this land now he wants them to get to this land and something happens there almost similar to the lessons they've learned in the past god told moses to send 12 spies to go and see the promised land and the 12 spies went they saw the promised land they came back 10 of them gave a very very gloomy report to israel and told them listen folks it's not possible we cannot enter the promised land so the nation is discouraged but two of them joshua and caleb said well you know we saw the land we believe god will give us the land and and the people were offended uh that that some people had a positive vision for the nation uh and so they said we don't want that we want gloom and and they they get back to what they know they start complaining they are angry they're angry at god they're angry at moses they're angry at everybody so let's read how god responds this time numbers chapter 14 verse 2 and 3. then all the children of israel complained against moses and aaron and the whole congregation said to them if only we had died in the land of egypt or if only we had died in this wilderness why has the lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword and that our wives and children should become victims why would it not be better for us to return to egypt now if you've been studying israel this is a very rehearsed lesson it's it's a complaint they have mastered they've majored it because if you pay attention it is similar to what they said in exodus chapter 16 verse 3 all that we had died by the hand of the lord in the land of egypt so anytime they are in trouble this is how they complain and when they complain this way god answers them so they realize well you know situation is bad let's let's do what we know how to do so they complain again exodus chapter 14 they complain the same complaint use the same words but look at how god responds to them exodus 14 and numbers chapter 14 verse 26 to 29. and the lord spoke to moses and aaron saying how long shall i bear with this evil congregation who complained against me i've heard the complaints with the children of israel make against me say to them as i live says the lord just as you have spoken in my hearing so i will do to you the carcasses of you who have complained against me shall fall in this wilderness all of you who were numbered according to your entire number from 20 years old and above so god sets out to eliminate a whole generation of people 20 years and above for doing the same thing that got them results in the past in the past it got pharaoh eliminated in the past it got them water in the past it got them food this time it got them death so something has changed it's a changed lesson god says i'm not going to deal with you the same way i used to deal with you in the past so let's ask ourselves what has changed has god changed no he's the same god he's the same god have the people change no they are the same people same people of israel these are not philistines same people god has not changed the people have not changed have the people's methods change no it's the same method they've been using from egypt through the wilderness so what has changed the season the season has changed now they are about to enter the promised land to be responsible owners of the property god has promised them and god says you are not going to use the same thing you use as babies when you have become adults so when we say it's a new season it has serious repercussions for all of us it means that some things that we think works may not work some lessons we learned in the past and have mastered may not be useful something that used to be an advantage to us may be a disadvantage to us what is allowed and celebrated in one season could be rejected and punished in another season what got you results yesterday may not get you results today so i'm excited about the future i know you are some of you are scared but we're not going to live the future the way we live the past because when the seasons change attitudes must change it's almost like uh leaving ghana during december wearing light and trouser because it's warm here to go to london in december you move from heat in ghana and when you get to heathrow airport you realize although you are the same human being and you are in the same earth you've moved from one season to the other and your shirt has now become a liability if you don't have a winter clothing you could freeze to death it's the same earth same human being but the seasons have changed what used to be an advantage is no longer an advantage most of you who are a bit older will remember that on sunday the 4th of august 1974 ghana changed from driving on the left side of the road to driving on the right side of the road and those of us who were alive then remember all the advertisement that went out at that time when we used to drive on the left side of the road having a right hand drive car was an advantage because it helped you to see clearer if your car was a right-hand car but overnight one sunday we moved from driving on the left side of the road to the right side of the road which we still do and having a car that was right-handed was not a liability you had to have a left hand drive car to right on the right hand side of the road so overnight those who had cars that seemed to be an advantage to them were not a liability something that had worked for them for years was a liability can you imagine if somebody had imported so many of those cars to sell all of a sudden they are not appealing because overnight the seasons have changed and what used to work is not working any longer so what am i saying i believe that the era we live in is presenting as a similar season 2020 is a change lesson is a changeless it's a season change covet did not create it it only accelerated something that was already happening so what probably would have taken us generally about 10 years to get into or 20 years to get into we have now been ushered in speedily quickly instantly and in the season some things that work for so long are not working one of the things i've seen happen in these times is people who spent a lot of money building office blocks for companies to use to rent having difficulty just last year that seemed to be the best real estate investment for most people overnight people are working with laptops and phones and ipads at home and offices are now a liability so investment in that hard building doesn't seem to work it's not the only thing that doesn't seem to work can you imagine if somebody had spent all his money all his savings to say the hotel industry is the best industry in the world and finally last year built his hotel and finally opened it at christmas last year waiting for the christmas market and the new year market and hoping for the easter market and all of a sudden no hotels oh can you imagine somebody who started his airline business last year spent all his savings just to start an airline and just overnight it's not working when it's a change blessing something that was as predictable as possible last year may not be working for you this year so normally when things change you can decide you won't change and and there are very confident people who believe that they can weather the season and and the season will adjust to them for those i will kindly say uh that approach is not the smartest the season doesn't adjust to you you adjust to the season the interesting thing about israel though is that when god finally got a generation that did not complain and it took him 40 years about that to get a generation that had to unlearn the old lesson and learn a new lesson when he finally got that in three days they went to the promised land and they took over the promised land and and they took over jericho and then went on and won almost all their battles so what seemed to be so difficult became so easy because they adjusted the lesson and when they adjusted the lesson they started winning so sometimes what it takes to win is not as difficult as it appears so three main things i want to conclude with based on everything i've said i believe we are entering a season of accelerated development and advancement i believe with all my heart that after chaos will always come construction after chaos will always come something new god created order out of chaos the earth was without form and void darkness is upon the face of the deep the spirit of god is moving upon the face of the waters and god said let there be light and there was light god moves from chaos to order from darkness to light from from destruction to construction so after every system of destabilization comes an era of stabilization and of growth and of increase and of abundance so i believe we are getting there i believe it's going to happen whether you want it or not it's going to happen it's a change lesson it's a changing season the season doesn't need your cooperation for it to happen it will happen in spite of your lack of cooperation so it's better that we adjust to it so i believe that we are going to advance and we're going to develop and for everyone who is listening to me you are about to enter a better season of your life a more prosperous season a greater season and more flourishing season is going to happen you may have lost so much but you are about to gain so much so if what you built has been destroyed it's sad but something better is about to be built again in your life you are about to enter a new promise that i can say with every certainty but two things must happen if we're going to benefit from this new and i believe just from my observation that these two things are important that if we're going to really seize the next season we must develop self self-dependence everything we need for our survival must be within our reach both as a group and as individuals so as a nation everything we need for our survival must be within our reach we cannot outsource survival and as an individual as a business person everything you need for your survival must be within your reach that's the most important lesson because if this thing has taught us anything it is that there comes a time when all nations shut down and if you don't have capacity to survive by yourself you are dead so for everybody who is thinking of the next season this is a lesson second thing that at the same time as we are becoming self-dependent we have to become more effective at working with people but linking up with people is going to become very important but this linking up is not going to be done physically so what we used to do in one place together we must learn to do in a different form and this lesson is going to continue whether it's church or business whatever or education that transition has taken place and we have to find effective ways of doing the old things we used to do in the new way if we can adjust then like israel we will enter the promise but if we insist on using the same old lessons we may be very good at it but it may not work for us so i'm speaking to this nation i'm speaking to africa i'm speaking to churches i'm speaking to businesses i'm speaking to individuals that's some things that used to work for us may actually work against us in this new season and next week when i do part three of it's a new season i will go a little further in that direction but today i just want you to get this principle when there is a changing lesson when there is a change in season what you were a master of in one season may not equip you effectively for the next season that means no matter how old you are you must learn new things all of us must learn new things it may sound scary but it's not that scary we can lend them as a matter of fact for israel they had a man called caleb who was 85 years who learned the new thing and survived in the promised land so you can still be old and new you can be old and fresh and i pray that in this new season you will not miss your visitation that when the abundance comes you will not miss it when there is a time to rebuild you would not miss it for some of you who have struggled for years you are about to rise in a way that will shock yourself for some of you who have lost so much in this time you are about to receive a full recompense good measure praise down shaking together and running over that is the way of the lord god you serve and he will bless you abundantly he will increase you abundantly and he will cause you to receive everything to the full i just want us to spend a little time praying before we close today and i just want you to ask god to help you to learn everything new that you must learn just say lord i'm ready to learn i'm ready to change i'm ready to do it differently i'm ready lord help me give me a learning heart a heart that is open to new things a heart that is yielded to you and a heart that will not fight and resist the new thing that you're doing in my life so father we thank you this morning for reminding us through your word that what used to work yesterday may not work now and what used to get results yesterday may not get results now but you remain the same god yesterday today and forever and we trust you to open our hearts teach us new things and help us lord to be part of the new thing that you are doing in this new season of our lives in jesus name amen and amen and amen well we give god praise this morning i believe that something has dropped into your heart that god has spoken to you the life has come to you and i believe that god is going to do something great in your life i am persuaded your best days are ahead of you greater years ahead of you greater days are ahead of you don't be afraid of this season it will favor you if you learn your lessons and may the lord help you to lend the right lessons in jesus name amen and amen [Music] you

Channel: Christ Temple

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Length: 36min 24sec (2184 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 16 2020