"Why Seasons Change" | Pastor Debleaire Snell

and so today we're excited uh just to be able to give you part two of this uh sermon series uh that we started on last week we started a serious sermon series last week with the sermon entitled god and god alone and one of the things that we learned from the story of daniel and king nebuchadnezzar is that sometimes god has to expose the impostors in your life sometimes god has to bring about circumstances that he and he alone are able to address and then we learned last week is that god has given us access to him the wise men knew that there was a god who was able to deal with the situation but they were not sure that they as humans were able to access him but we're grateful that as god's children that we're no longer in the outer court but god has given us access to the holy of holies and then one of the things that we saw is that when daniel and his friends needed to get the answer they went to god in prayer and we learned that when things are up in the air we need to go down on our knees down on our knees and so today we're going to just pick it up back at daniel chapter 2 daniel chapter 2 and we're going to begin together here at verse number 16. daniel chapter 2 and verse 16 and i was hoping to be able to put a button on this sermon series today but i honestly got stuck um here again this week and so we're going to push it in push it again together next week daniel chapter 2 and we'll begin at verse 16 when you get there let me hear you say amen daniel chapter 2 and verse 16 the bible says so daniel went in and asked the king to give him time that he might tell the interpretation then daniel went to his house and made the decision known to hananiah mishael and azariah his companions that they may seek mercies from the god of heaven concerning this secret so that daniel made his companion so that daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of babylon then the secret was revealed to daniel in a night vision so daniel blessed the god of heaven and daniel answered and said blessed be the name of god for ever and ever for wisdom and might are his and this is where i'm going to rest on verse 21 and he changes times and seasons he removes kings and raises up kings he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding but again i just want to read the emphasis the beginning of verse 21 it says and he changes the times and the seasons do they say i want to talk to you for a little while under the subject why seasons change why seasons change let's look to the lord together in prayer father once again i ask for permission to join my human weakness my lack and my frailty to your divine strength lord my prayer is that in the hearing of the word that somebody would gain clarity that somebody would gain understanding that somebody would be able to sense discern and detect where it is that you are moving in their lives so lord once again i pray that in the hearing of the word that faith will be multiplied exponentially so lastly i asked lord that you would hide me in the shadows of the cross that jesus alone might be seen that christ alone might be heard and at the end of this message may jesus alone be praised we ask this in the mighty name of him who is altogether lovely it is in the name of jesus that we pray all things let god's people say together amen and amen again just talking to you under the subject why seasons change now again we left off last week with king nebuchadnezzar having a dream that he could not recall and so as a result he called all the wise men and the astrologers and he gave them the decree that they should make known to him the dream and the interpretation thereof and when they could not do it he turned to daniel and his three friends so that they could give him the dream and the meaning and as a result daniel and his friends they begin to call on the name of the lord in prayer and after an intense time of prayer god made known to them the dream and the meaning and here we find daniel in a state of elation as he moves into a session of doxology and praise under inspiration he says some things about god that are important for our consideration today in verse 21 he says god controls the times and god is in control of the seasons he says god sets up kings and god is the one that takes them down now understand that this has implications for nebuchadnezzar and for us in our time so god gives nebuchadnezzar a dream of a human statue constructed of many different metals it has a head of gold it has chests and arms of silver it has belly and thighs of brass it has legs of iron and the feet are constructed of iron and clay and he informs nebuchadnezzar that these different metals represent the major kingdoms throughout history uh all the way down to the end and it makes it clear that you own nebuchadnezzar in babylon represent the head of gold but that gold would be succeeded by inferior metals or kingdoms until jesus established an everlasting kingdom now remember that god through jeremiah foretold how god would use the king of the chaldeans or babylonians as a chastening tool against israel's sins so nebuchadnezzar had a specific purpose for a specific season so god would use the brutality of the babylonians to drive the israelites back to god and he would use the presence of the israelites in babylon to introduce the babylonians to god and so god designed a merger that was supposed to push israel to repentance and it was supposed to push babylon to conversion and he is letting nebuchadnezzar know that though your kingdom is going to be unmatched it is going to be temporary he says once you've fulfilled your purpose i'm going to use others to fulfill my purpose and in division he is teaching nebuchadnezzar our first point today that nothing can outlive its season let me say it again he wants us to understand that nothing can outlive its season in other words daniel here highlights the sovereignty of god and he wants us to know that you can't extend a season that god has already ended now notice that nebuchadnezzar he receives the word initially but eventually his arrogance is revived so in chapter 3 you notice that when he constructs the image it is not made of different metals he overlays the whole thing of gold from head to toe as a sign that his season and his kingdom angle never come to an end and understand that daniel chapter 2 is to be a script and a point of reference from leaders all the way back to nebuchadnezzar all the way down to donald trump he is teaching all leaders that you can try to extend the season but not when god has ended it you can refuse to acknowledge that it's over you can refuse to accept that is over you can refuse to concede you can refuse to acknowledge the votes you can refuse to accept and congratulate the new king you can try to keep the matter tied up in courts but the fact is that the medals are changing that god's will has been spoken and that god has shown himself an overwhelming fashion and both ancient and modern nebuchadnezzars learned the hard way that you can't fight god's will you've just got to embrace and celebrate god's will and let me just say to all my friends who are quick to say when trump came into office that you've got to accept that god is sovereign when he was voted in now you need to accept that god is still sovereign even when he is being voted out because the bible makes clear that god sets them up and it is god that moves them down according to his will and his purpose can the church say amen but understand that this lesson doesn't just ring true for nebuchadnezzar it is something important for all of us to digest that nothing can outlive its season you realize that there are certain flowers that can thrive in springtime but they can't survive in the wintertime and you realize that seasons are good because they keep everything in balance if there were no fall then the harvest could not be nurtured if there were no winter it could not kill the locusts and bugs that threatened the harvest without spring rain then the seed could not be germinated and fully developed and so in each season there is something good that is produced and in each season there is something bad that is pulled away but understand that no matter how good the season no season is permanent do i have a witness today in other words i need you to know that in some seasons you are being planted in other seasons you're being nurtured and other seasons god is removing some things from your life and if you were to see your character or your life as a harvest then you would get to a place where you thank god that season's changed and see the reason i want some of our young people and young adults to get this is i need you to get that because seasons change i need you to recognize that certain friendships are seasonal in other words we we tend to feel a certain way when the folk we were friends with in high school are not friends with us in college we we don't know how to take it when those that we were close with in college are not down with us while we're adults we we don't know what to do and those who are next to us when we didn't have nothing don't know us now that we actually got something and sometimes we can't point to where it went bad there was no major falling out we don't really know why we're not friends anymore and the fact is that sometimes the season has just shifted and they are no longer ready or available for this season do i have a witness that folk that were good for you in high school might not be good for you in college there were some folk that were assets in college that might be a liability now that you're an adult there were some folk that were good for you while you were single but they might be a detriment now that you're married and sometimes god has to send a winter to remove certain friends so that your harvest is not threatened do i have a witness in this place in fact i need y'all to understand this that some of the folk that you date god just put them in your life for a season i need you to know that just because they are there presently it doesn't mean they're supposed to be there permanently do you realize that sometimes god put certain people in your life just to teach you where not to settle do you realize that there were certain folk that god put in your life because the truth is that some of us wouldn't even be able to recognize a healthy relationship if we had not spent six months in a toxic relationship there are some that couldn't appreciate a godly person until we spent four months with somebody that don't never pray or know the lord do you realize that god is so good that he prepared you for mr right by sending mr wrong that god used miss wrong to prepare you for mrs right in other words you couldn't see bo ass if you hadn't spent time with bobo you would have went past esther if you hadn't been with sister erratic and god is so good that he prepares you for what he has for you by showing you what is not for you or y'all hear me today in fact i need somebody to recognize that certain jobs are just for a season certain jobs were designed to push you back to trade school back to college or back to get your master's degree in fact there are some folk that when you worked for them that was the illuminating thing that let you know you were designed to work for yourself in fact it was working for other people that pushed you into entrepreneurship am i preaching to anybody today in fact i need you to know that sometimes it is going to a job that you hate that gives you the fuel to realize that god has plans for you plans to prosper you and not to harm you it isn't going to an obsolete job that you realize that your gifts will make room for you and sometimes it is the wrong job that is the spring rain that pushes you into the harvest and that's why i want to say to somebody it don't know make no sense for you to spend a whole lot of time and needless lamentation over the mistakes and missteps in your life in other words learn from your mistakes but do you realize that god even had purpose in your mistakes let me let me say it again god had purpose in your mistakes i believe in romans 28 that all things work together for the good of them that love god to them that are called according to his purpose in other words there are certain life situations that you don't need to try to throw away you just need to recycle oh it's about to get good here uh you know that about 30 years ago what we would do is we would just throw everything away but but now we handle waste a little bit differently we don't put everything in the trash we put some stuff in the recycle bin because once they take that bottle or that can in the recycle bin they're gonna go through and sort it then they're gonna clean it then they're gonna repurpose it so that it can be used for something greater next time and what i'm saying is don't try to forget or throw away all your life experience you just need to let god sort it let god cleanse it then god will repurpose it so that something greater comes from it thank god that he is a god that recycles the situations and the circumstances of our lives are y'all hearing me today thanks so the word says here in verse number 21 the bible says that god changes that god changes the times and the seasons now again what daniel is doing is he is pointing to the sovereignty of god and declaring that god controls when the seasons start and god controls when the seasons end and if you're glad that god controls timing and seasons let me hear you say amen now let me just say for those of you at home that was a little bit of a trick statement now i need you to understand that even though that's good news it doesn't always feel good because in the same way a st a a good season can't be extended in the same way a bad season can't be shortened in the same way i can't extend the season that i like in the same way i can't hurry up the season that i despise see remember this is important for daniel and the hebrew people why because when you read jeremiah chapter 25 verses 11 and 12 god made it very clear that because of israel saying that the babylonian exile was going to be for 70 years that jerusalem would be in desolation not a day shorter than the 70 years in other words he is letting them know that some of y'all are going to leave babylon as youth you're gonna grow old and you'll leave jerusalem as youth you're gonna grow old in babylon and you're gonna be old by the time you get back he's saying some of y'all are gonna have kids in babylon and babylon is going to be all they know and they're not going to want to come back and he said some of y'all going to be old when you leave babylon and y'all going to be there so long that you're not going to ever make it back and the crazy thing is that even though daniel and the three hebrew men show faithfulness and courage and bring a knowledge of god to babylon god does not shorten the life of their time their faithfulness does not overthrow the previous decision the reason that god doesn't alter the 70 years is because god has made some calculations that anything less of than 70 years is going to cause them to go back into moral and national apostasy in other words i need you to know that the length of certain seasons has been measured by god in other words god is saying this is how long it's going to take to sanctify them 70 years is how long it's gonna take to rebuild them this is how long it's gonna take to redeem them this is how long it's gonna take to break the bow of the oppressors that govern them and if i cut it short they'll wind up back where i'm trying to bring them out of oh i wish somebody heard me today i said i need all this understand that just like a good parent your punishment of bad children is not random it is measured it is calculated it is made measured out to make sure that it is enough of a deterrent to keep them from going back into the same behavior i can say it you know pretty honestly that in my house we have sliding scales of discipline uh based upon each child we don't discipline each one the same way and there are some of the uh uh disciplines that may be from the loss of privileges or an early bedtime and some are a little more intense do i have a witness in this room and it's funny because there's some folk that mock and say time out don't work on our kids but but my youngest son he hates time out i mean because he likes to move around so having to be still is it is torture and toil to him now i need you to understand that the amount of time i choose for time out it is not random it is based upon what's going to be a deterrent so if i make it too short he gonna go right back into the bad thing if i let him in and let him come out 30 seconds later he's going to go right back into the same cycle so i have to pre-determine a time and not adjust the time until that behavior is going to be amended does that make sense to somebody today and watch this because daniel and his friends know and they accept that the time is fixed it helps them know how to pray instead of praying lord will you shorten the season they understand that the wise thing to do is say lord would you give me strength for the season and see the reason that some of us feel like god is not answering our prayer is we've only prayed one prayer and that is for god to adjust the life of the season but the problem is when god says no this is how long it's going to take we feel like god didn't answer the prayer and the problem is we'll only accept one answer instead of saying lord if you don't shorten this season then give me the strength to endure the season and the reason that god sometimes will not adjust the length of the season is that god who measures the character god who weighs the reins of the heart he realizes that this season hadn't killed what is supposed to kill it hadn't developed what it's supposed to develop it hasn't matured what it's supposed to remature it hasn't germinated what needs to be germinated and somebody instead of saying lord shorten the season you need to be saying lord give me the strength for the season and the reason this is epic for somebody to consider because one of the things i learned as i study the scripture is that god never negotiates the time of a season with mankind what are you talking about pastor you remember in the book of genesis god told abraham way before joseph that your descendants are going to be in egypt for 400 years and it is not until year 400 that moses shows up with the staff saying let my people go god said to the uh israelites that you're going to be in babylon for 70 years and 69 years nobody has been delivered it is not until the time is complete you realize that israel wanted the messiah to come way before he did but the bible says it is in the fullness of time that jesus showed up and as bad as i want jesus to show up in my season the bible says no man knoweth the day of the hour i'm tired of racism tired of coronavirus tired of all this foolishness i want god to shorten the season but if he doesn't come right away i gotta say lord give me strength for the season that i'm in or y'all hear me saints and see the reason this is important is because somebody is in a season of chastening and it may not be abbreviated and you need to say lord just give me the stress to endure this season of chastening there is somebody that's in a season of waiting and it may not be abbreviated and you need to say lord give me the patience to wait on you there is somebody in a season of loss or grief and it cannot be accelerated and you need to pray lord give me the strength to work through this season of grief there is somebody in a season of persecution and it may or may not be hurried but if it's not hurried then you need to pray lord give me the strength for the journey and let me say to somebody that you may not know what season you're in go ahead and feel free to let your requests be made known unto god ain't nothing wrong with saying lord let the season change but you need to add an addendum to the prayer that says lord if it don't change and lord if it don't get better and lord if it don't get healed and lord if it don't go away then i just need you to give me a sufficient grace to be able to stand up under the weight of the trial so that if it don't change do a change in me so i can withstand the weight of the season are y'all hear me saints listen let me say it this way i remember i'm growing up you know i was thinking maybe eighth in ninth grade i just made my little little high school basketball team and so we would get out of school around 2 30 and practice would be over around 4 o'clock but my parents didn't get off work till almost five and so i was used to like just getting on the bus uh to go home or or somebody would pick me up so but when we didn't leave until about four i have no way to get home and so i remember my dad saying well well son the school is only like three miles from the house you can just walk home from school and i remember looking at him like crazy like what do you mean walk home i you know i can i can just wait for y'all to get off work and come and pick me up and you say no son just like us we would walk home from school after practice and i'm still looking like man what you mean walk all the way from godby all the way down to mission road i'm like lo i don't know what you're talking about and he said son you're gonna walk home from school and i said well maybe i'll just wait till y'all get off from work and he had to help me understand that that was not a recommendation this is not a suggestion he's saying you're going to walk home from school and and so say i'm a little bit slow to get this thing and so what dad does is is he takes my backpack and he puts a bottle of juice in the backpack puts a honey bun in the backpack and says you just gonna walk home from school now it's crazy i thought he was trying to be funny but he put the juice and the honey bun in the backpack i had a bad attitude cause he put a juice in a honey bun in the backpack but when i was walking home from school after about a mile and a half i got a little thirsty and after about two miles i got a little hungry and guess what the juice was already there and the honey bun was already there and and even though he didn't change the length of the journey he gave me something to give me strength for the journey and how many of us can just thank god that even if he doesn't change the list of the journey he's promised to give you strength for the journey you got to take are y'all hearing me today's thanks now now real quick let me pause and say this to somebody because see there's somebody at home and you're listening to this message with a certain amount of jadedness because what i'm saying does not align itself with your experience because in your mind you're saying no pastor i have inherited some circumstances i've inherited some hells that have been touching my life from the time i was a child to an adult in other words in your experience seasons don't never change because you've been dealing with some things from the very beginning or the onset of your life that never ever seem to improve and let me just kind of pause and say this this may not solve the issue a little uh completely but i'm praying that it gives some insight because see there are certain things that only god can change but there are other things that only choice can change and what i mean when i say this is that there are some of us that are in a bad season but there are others that are in a bad cycle oh no let me let me say it again there are some of us that are in a bad season but there are others that are in a bad cycle you you see seasons have a start time and an end time but but cycles just simply repeat one another you realize that a season is designed to create purpose but cycles just create a negative result you see a season produces growth but a cycle keeps you exactly where you are and the thing somebody's got to get is that seasons are ended by god but cycles don't change until you make a different choice and see the reason that is important is because some of us are in a bad relationship season but see there are some of us that have lived in bad relationship cycles cc i need you to understand that the person in the bad season just don't have no good options based on where they live or or where they go to church but at some point that season may change but you realize that even if you're in a bad relationship cycle that ain't gonna never change until you make a different choice because if you're in a bad relationship cycle even if god gave you a great person because of your thinking and your choices you will eventually begin to sabotage it until you begin to make some different choices you're not in a relationship season you're in a bad relationship cycle come on and say amen can i just say it this way there are some of us that are in a season of sickness but then there's some of us that are in a cycle of sickness because the truth is that there are some of us that if god healed you of every malady in your body in nine years you would be right back where you are because of the choices that are being made do you realize do i have any witnesses that some of us around the holidays get in in a weight gain season but but there are some of us that are in a weight gain cycle where where it repeats itself and understand that god can change the season but it's not till you make a choice that you can change the cycle am i preaching anybody out there today see there are some of us that are in a season of financial like lack but then there are some of us that are in cycles of financial lack i need somebody to understand that poverty is not an income status poverty is a mentality because there are some of us that if you gave us 10 million dollars tax free in a year we'd be right back in the projects because it is about the cycles that we inherit because of the choices that we make every day i need you to know that financially you hadn't been in a bad season you keep getting nowhere because financially you're making choices that keep you in a negative cycle there are some that are in a season of loss but understand young person that when you get in the games and you try to live that thug life you covet a cycle of loss you covered a cycle of death where it becomes a part of your norm because of your repeated choices and see the thing i just want to say real quick this doesn't solve it all but some of us inherit cycles some of us adopt cycles but at the end of the day the cycle won't be broken as long as you're pointing at your circumstances it won't change as long as you're saying if i had been born here as long if i had been born there if those who were my parents said if i had grown up in that type of neighborhood understand that the season can be an influencer but it is not a determinant see i need you to understand that as long as you're saying if i had this or if i had that you gonna stay in the cycle until you say until i do this and until i do that that's when the cycle is going to break because god can change the season without your cooperation but he can't change the cycle until he has your submission are you hearing the word of god today and so the word says here in daniel chapter 2 and verse number 21 the bible says and he changes times and seasons he removes kings and raises up kings watch this the word says he gives wisdom to the wise watch this he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding last thing this word teaches us today is that god is not wasteful with his resources no so as i'm looking at this she i'm like this don't sound right daniel says okay god gives wisdom to the wise and he gives knowledge to those who already have understanding now to me that seems like somewhat of a of a gluttonous kind of a habit for for god to develop why would you give wisdom to those that already got it why would you give knowledge to those who already have understanding it seems like this would read he gives wisdom to the simple or that he will give knowledge to those who are devoid of understanding but understand that when daniel says this it is an open rebuke to the king and the wise men and it gives us some insight into who gets what and why see the truth that emerges is that god disperses wisdom and knowledge with discretion he discriminates about whom he gives certain resources to you realize that god doesn't just go walking around passing out wisdom all willy-nilly is too valuable proverbs says that richard our wisdom is more precious than rubies so he can't just go disperse it to those that don't appreciate it he's got to ration it out as he wills so he reveals that wisdom is given to those who are wise and he gives knowledge to those who know what to do with it so that the gifts that god gives are based upon our ability to rightly use them in other words i need you to get he's saying that god could not have given the dream or the interpretation to the astrologers not even to the king he can't get he had to snatch the dream from the king he had to hide it from the astrologers why because they would take wisdom and ignore it they would take knowledge and misapply it they would take knowledge and treat it for granted god said he had to snatch it from the king had to hide it from the wise man he had to funnel the truth through us because if he had not sent it through us they wouldn't even legitimately consider what's being said and we see that this is authenticated by what happens in chapter three that when god gives them the wisdom he agrees with the first but then he takes the statue made of different medals makes it of gold from head to toe and what he literally does is he turns the wisdom of god into the foolishness of men and it shows that if you don't know how to handle wisdom wisdom becomes futile in your hands if you don't know what to do with it and it gives insight to who gets what and why because some of us are like nebuchadnezzar in that even if god gave you certain things you wouldn't know what to do with it oh it's going to get a little quiet in here do you realize that information in the wrong hands becomes a weapon that wisdom in the wrong hands becomes a con do you realize that everybody can't be trusted with power that everybody can't handle authority everybody can't be trusted with money and very few people can be trusted with fame or recognition and it is because god does not disperse things without discretion and so i'm looking at this thing saying i'm wondering like why is it because i've always wondered why do people with more or what they have always tend to get more why do people that have wisdom always get more wisdom why do those that get good grades get better grades whether those that have understanding continue to get understanding why do those that have already had a big idea continue to get big ideas why do those that have innovation continue to get more innovation and one of the things i'm learning about getting more is that receiving more is not based on my desire it is based upon my character readiness see the reason certain folk get more is their character qualifies them in other words there are certain folk that can't appreciate certain things so let me show you to you in the word of god let's let's go a few places proverbs chapter 17 and verse 16. proverbs chapter 17 and and verse number 16. proverbs chapter 17 and verse 16 when you get there let me hear you say amen proverbs 17 and verse 16 the bible says why is there in the hand of a fool a purchase price for wisdom since he has no heart for it i don't know if y'all caught that in other words he's saying man i don't really want this wisdom in my hand it's too expensive it costs too much in other words there are certain people that can't rightly assess the wisdom that god gives let's go over here to proverbs 17 and verse 24. proverbs 17 and verse 24 the bible says wisdom in the sight of him who has a wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth in other words if i have wisdom our wisdom seems close but if i'm a fool wisdom seems like it's too far away it seems unattainable proverbs 23 and verse number 9. proverbs 23 and verse 9 the bible says do not speak in the hearing of a fool for he will despise the wisdom of your words do you realize what what god is saying through solomon that there is wisdom he literally said wisdom cries out in the streets but you can't go to everybody because there are certain folk that even when you try to give them understanding they don't know what to do with it go with me if you don't mind there's one other qualification i want you to see matthew 25 verses 21-29 the parable of the talents matthew 25 and verse number 21 matthew 25 and verse 21 when y'all get there let me say amen matthew 25 and verse 21 so the bible says his lord said unto him well done good and faithful servant you were faithful over what few things i will make you ruler over what anything many things enter into the joy of the lord he also said to him who received two talents he came and said lord you've delivered to me two talents look i've gained two more talents beside them and his lord said unto him well done good and faithful servant you've been faithful over a few things i'll make you rule over in many things enter into the joy of my lord watch this thanks and then he who had received one tap came and said lord i knew you to be a hard man reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you've not scattered see and i was afraid and i wouldn't hear your talent in the ground look there is what is yours but the lord answered him and said you wicked and lazy servant you knew that i reap where i have not sown you know i gather where i've not scattered seed you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers and at my coming i should have received back my own with interest therefore take the talent from him did y'all see this he gonna take the one that he has and he's gonna give it to the person that already has more are y'all catching these saints in other words it's showing that you got to have a certain type of character to qualify for receiving more and this is what i need us to understand is that doers will always be trusted with more than talkers and dreamers [Music] do you realize saints that even the little you've been given that little is a test oh help me holy spirit you realize that that little that god gave you was a test and see the problem is that some of us like the man with one talent because we are mad that we did not get more what we gonna do is preserve and protect and hoard what we have instead of putting it into the use so that it can grow and multiply and these some of us get mad that we were not given more but when you read the beginning of the parable the bible says that the master divided the talents based upon their ability to be able to handle it in other words there was a reason he only got one talent the reason he only got one was because the master knew he can trust him to do something if he had gotten more and the fact that he went and hid the one down in the ground was an authentication of the master's good judgment and only giving him one in the first place his behavior validated the decision that the master made he says if you can't do nothing with what you got then i can't trust you with more and the bible principle is that when you're a good steward over little then god can make you steward over much and i need somebody to understand that the little that you have been entrusted with it is a divine test and if you spend your whole life lamenting your little and complaining about your little and coveting somebody's much you will never be able to transition from little to much because you won't do nothing with what you have you see there are some of us that look with jealous eye on the successes of others people because you think to yourself all the time i could have done that and i could have done this or you think to yourself i thought of that first i had that idea a long time ago and how many of god's children have been giving life changing ministry changing community changing some of us have been given million billion dollar ideas that we have let die on the inside of us and we mad that god keeps giving them more ideas and more dreams and more innovation it is not because he loves them more but it is simply because he's going to give his gifts to somebody that's going to do something with hits he can't keep letting visions and journey oh lord he can't keep letting stuff die on the inside of you because there are things that will impact the world for his glory that he can't trust with those that are just gonna dream on it and talk about it write it in notebooks and name it and claim it and i just need to know do i have some that receive visions and dreams and you have made it up in your mind to say i'm gonna do more than talk and dream out loud and say what i'm gonna do and declare and decree but i'm gonna put some work behind my face i'm gonna roll up my sleeves for some sweat equity and division and if i do that god will kiss it he'll spread it like the leaves of autumn it is when i put my dreams into action that we see god do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask or think are y'all hearing the word today saints he's got to give his resources to those who know what to do with it are y'all hear me so i mean it's tough because man if you acting crazy with the wisdom he's given you why can he give you even more let me say this because he there's this principle when you're faithful with the little he can trust you with more we got some that that you you can't be you you can't be bothered to sing on a wednesday night when it's only 150 of us but but you only want to show up when it's sabbath morning when the church is full now if you can't be faithful in this setting then god can't trust you in that setting there are some of us that if you can't be faithful steward over the money you got if you can't be faithful over 40 thousand a year you won't be faithful over 400 000 a year listen if you can't be humble with the recognition that you get you know you can't be humble if god gives you more recognition young person if you're wasting the scholarship money you got playing fortnite why are you asking god to give you more scholarship money if you can't manage your small house well you can't keep that clean what you gonna do with 5 000 more square feet come on and tell the truth in here and see it's not a matter huh it's not a matter of what you deserve it's what does your character qualify you for and see i need to understand even to a certain extent this transcends spirituality because remember jesus says man the sons of this world are wiser than the children of god because listen i need you to understand that an unspiritual doer might be trusted more than a spiritual dreamer who ain't gonna put their hands on nothing and actually get it done are y'all hearing me today saints and see i need to understand that god is looking for people that that learn how to say whatever my hand's fine to do i'm gonna do it with all my might as unto god and not unto me am i preaching to anybody out here today it's crazy i remember this summer you know back early in summer they were showing the the last dance documentary y'all talked about this after school the documentary on michael jordan and one of the greatest characteristics uh that they said about jordan is that that jordan never changed his performance based on the size of the audience in other words he played the same on a february night in milwaukee as he did in the nba finals when all the lights was off in other words the size of the venue didn't dictate the quality of his effort and god is needing some believers that are saying the size of the venue is not going to dictate the quality of my effort in other words i want to be one of those preachers that's going to preach the same whether i'm preaching to 12 people or whether i'm preaching the 12 000. i'm going to preach the same with seven people in this room as if everybody was here and every seat was full i'm gonna preach the same whether it's virtual or in person whether the audience is white whether it's black whether it's big or whether it's small i want to give god my best i want to preach it every time like i know somebody's hearing the gospel for the first time and the last time the size of the venue doesn't change the quality you give to the assignment and there is somebody as i'm getting ready to close that god wants you to know that he has plans to prosper you plans to uh not to harm you but to give you a future and a hope he needs somebody to understand that he wants you to know that your gifts will make room for you that you will not serve before obscure men like daniel and the three hebrew boys you'll serve before kings but god is saying very clearly he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding in other words he's saying i can't just give this to everybody i got to give it to somebody that either knows what to do with it or somebody who is willing to do something with what they've been entrusted with and i'm saying somebody today that's sitting at home i need you to understand why seasons change see the reason seasons change and it's tough because are sometimes in certain tough seasons there are certain things that god is trying to remove there are certain things that god is trying to mature there are certain things that god is trying to germinate and guess what god can shorten that season until his work has been completed in that season of your life i need you to know that the season is not punishment it is preservation it is not it is not a a a harsh discipline it is for your development and instead of saying lord change the season lord give me strength for the season there's somebody that needs to kind of maybe make the distinction say lord am i in a bad season or maybe you need to recognize you're in a bad cycle because there are some circumstances that god can move but your circumstances will repeat if you never make a different choice seasons are moved by god cycles are broken when you make a choice and you submit to him and there's just somebody i just want to talk to that person man that god has got something welling in the inside of you it is something that keeps you up at night it's something that torments you it is something that angers you when you ever whenever you see other folk that are doing what you said you were going to do it who put in to practice the thing that you've been dreaming about and god is saying listen man at a point in time if you keep letting my visions my dreams die inside of you i get to give it to somebody that's gonna act in faith that's gonna trust me that's not there's gonna be a hearer of the word that's not just gonna be a sayer of the word but somebody that's gonna be a doer of my word and my will so there's somebody today that needs to make it up in their mind to say i need to get to a place where i'm in a i'm in a committed relationship with jesus christ you you realize that that the issue and the reason you're not experiencing what i'm talking about is because you've never really had fully submission and you hear words like submission and submit let me just it's just a church word that means you're voluntarily placing yourself under his care and under his authority and what you've done is you get putting segments of your life under authority and sections under authority but you've never put your whole self on the altar you've never put your whole life under his care and under his authority you've never just said throwing up both hands and say lord i surrender you never just throwing up both hands and said lord i'm yours you've just never thrown up both hands and and not just physical hands but the posture a posture of soul that says okay i'm not my own my life is not my own to you i belong i'm available to you lord and maybe this is that day maybe you're here in huntsville and you need to be in one of the next baptisms of this church you need to join a church through baptism or or rededication or profession of faith that's your desire today would you email us at prayer first sdachurch.com prayer at first sdachurch.com or if you're watching on youtube or facebook there is a a link coming up in the comments called typeform click on it and right there you can make a decision to be baptized we're going to be having about the baptism in the next coming weeks you want to you want to have your mind made up to be in one of the next baptisms here at first church or maybe you you need to come back to church you need to get rededicated recommit it maybe you just been floating from church to church and broadcasting broadcast you need to say about a new year i need to settle somewhere where i can be involved and get active because i believe god wants to give me the holy spirit but i i ain't doing nothing with the measure of spirit i've been given so you're saying email us pray at first statchurch.com or maybe you're you're in the links on facebook or or youtube or maybe you're in another city state or country uh we've facilitated this for a number of people maybe you need to get into a great bible believing adventist church in your city where you live email us just the same and we'll get you connected with a pastor a bible instructor and somebody that can help facilitate that journey with jesus christ now i want to just pray a brief prayer for anybody that you're saying lord i don't want to let a dream i don't want to let the vision die inside i want to be a person you can trust with wisdom i want to be a person you can trust with understanding i want to be a person you can trust with discernment and knowledge i i don't want to just know what to do but i'm being i'm going to be willing to do something with it and so right now in your home you're standing to your feet you and your your spouse you and your kids y'all are gathered together and you're praying this prayer submission where you're saying lord i'm i'm putting myself voluntarily under your care and under your authority i'm willing to go where you go say go and do what you say do father in heaven lord for anything good that results from this sermon all glory belongs to you and for any mistakes missteps misspoken words lord only the mistake should be applied tonight to me and so lord my prayer today lord is that as we see things happening in the world as we see the medals changing help us lord not the focus on the medals but lord help us to focus on that rock cut out of the mountain without hands that shall put an end to all earthly kingdoms and kings and we look forward to the day when you shall establish your kingdom which shall never ever end help us all to be faithful until that day and lord we want that season to come quickly but lord until that season comes would you give us strength to abide strength to endure patience to wait upon you father i ask in a very special way lord that for that person that is not just in a season they're in a cycle help them to make a different choice help them to purpose in their hearts help them to say not circumstance not situation but to say it's me it's me it's me it's meow standing in the need of prayer i don't want to pray for that person that that was like nebuchadnezzar you gave them the dream but you had to snatch it from from them because you couldn't trust them to do the right thing with it you've given us dreams for our kids for our work for ministry for this church you've given us some things that we've treated with with indifference we've we've abused it we've used it for self-interest we've used your wisdom as a con we've used information like a weapon and we we repent that we have mishandled the oracles of god and the things and resources you've made available to us but lord we just asked if you give us another chance you give us another opportunity you open up the door one more time we gonna make the decision to walk through with boldness and have our feet planted firmly on your word your way in your direction so lord for the head of the household for that sister that brother that young person that teenager that young adult lord would speak would you speak would you speak in in mistakeable terms giving clarity understanding and discernment that changes our lives henceforth and forevermore so would you bless us keep us we submit we yield we throw up both hands and say lord we are yours would you bless and keep us as only you can we pray in jesus name amen amen god bless you thank you all so much for letting us bring the gospel to your home come on back next week invite a family member co-worker friend as we look to god's word again together next week

Channel: First Seventh-day Adventist Church

Views: 11,809

Rating: 4.8095236 out of 5

Keywords: sermon, sermons, church, bible, churchonline, powerful sermons, trusting god, faith, healing, preachers, 2020, series, sabbath, worship, worship songs, praise and worship, God, Holy Spirit, sermons by great preachers, sermons on healing, best sermon on healing, best sermons on relationships, let the church say amen, sermon on thanksgiving, sermon central, thanksgiving sermon, advent celebration

Id: bp-d6GpY6ac

Length: 55min 23sec (3323 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 14 2020