HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS SEASON

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS SEASON

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This is a great time of year but it can also be stressful. How can we get the most out of this season?

No matter what season you are in every season looks different. Not only are there seasons of the year but there are seasons of life.

Life is filled with unexpected twists and turns and the devil would love to steal our joy, but we can have Victory over him!

Philippians 4:4-9, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”(NIV)

CHOOSE TO REJOICE – We need to choose to rejoice. We can’t only rejoice when we feel good. Rejoice isn’t based on feelings but on the truth that God is in control. He’s still on the throne. Your future is in His hands.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

The greek word for rejoice is chairo. It’s the same root word for grace.

Rejoice = Experience God’s Grace.

So how can we as believers rejoice even when we are going through difficulty. Because as believers we have experienced God’ grace!

We have received forgiveness of sin, freedom from the past, hope for the future!

How many of you know that we, as believers in Jesus, have a lot to be thankful for?

We may not have all of the money we want but we can Rejoice Because of God’s Grace! 

We may not have the perfect job but we can Rejoice Because of God’s Grace!

We may not have the car or house that we want but we can Rejoice Because of God’s Grace!

We may not the fact that we are in pain but we can Rejoice Because of God’s Grace!

We may not like the fact that we are going through challenges right now but we can Rejoice Because of God’s Grace!

Let’s rejoice!

We can all easily get focused on our own life and situations and forget about the world…

Philippians 2:14-15, “Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”(NLT)

The next time you are tempted to complain because your food arrives later than you want –

27,000 children will die today due to malnutrition

The next time you are tempted to complain because you don’t make enough money….

Half the World (3 billion people) live on less than $2 a day.

The next time you are tempted to complain because you don’t like your job….

1 Billion people around the world don’t have a job.

The next time you complain because you have a headache….

200,000 people will die today for “curable” diseases.

The next time you are tempted to complain about your church not meeting your needs…

3 Billion people can’t attend church today without fear of persecution

GIVE THANKS IN ALL THINGS

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

We may not feel like giving thanks FOR all things but we should give thanks IN all things.

1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”(NLT)

Not only will we rejoice but we will choose to give God thanks Right IN the middle of the difficulty.

Right IN the middle of the chaos.

Right IN the middle of the pain. 

Everything happens for a REASON and everything happens for a SEASON.

Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”(NLT)

There is a SEASON for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, “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. 9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.”(NLT)

 For everything there is a SEASON.

God is making everything BEAUTIFUL in HIS time.

 So choose to Give Thanks today and during every season!

TAKE YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD

Why is it when we have questions or we need something it’s almost like God is the last person we go to?

This is HUGE.

We often have unrealistic expectations.

Stop expecting your best friend or your spouse to be your Savior.

God didn’t expect them to carry all of your burdens.

Jesus says, “Cast all your burdens upon me! Because I care for you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”(NKJV)

Jesus died on the cross so we could be set FREE. He paid the price for our sins so we could lay our burdens at this feet.

When we go to others first with our raw emotions and needs we rob God of the opportunity to bless us. We put too high of expectations on others and we will be disappointed and frustrated that they didn’t do what we wanted them to do.

Before we go to others with our burdens, cares, concerns make sure that you spend time with God be honest with Him. He cares for you! He’s your Savior!

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

What we think about has a huge impact on our life.

As Martha shared recently it’s now been proven by science that we can change our DNA by how we think. Science is starting to catch up with the Bible!

What we think impacts what we say.

Think about what? 

• True – Some say there is no absolute truth. But Christ is truth! And everything truth comes from Him. 

John 14:6, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”(NLT) 

• Noble – Honor. Is what we think and say “honoring” others.

• Right - Righteous

• Pure – Set Free from defilement. (in greek not used often)

• Lovely – Love-able. To attract the love of others.

• Admirable – Good report. Means that what you have said others give a good report.

• Excellent – living up to your purpose and potential. So it’s thinking and speaking about God’s purpose and potential in others.
• Praiseworthy – It means to have thoughts of praise about others.

Everything happens for a reason and everything happens for a season.