The Seasons and the Reasons - Holy Living in a Hostile World

Changing seasons - tools in the life-building tool kit of God

Using what it will take for you to have a bigger God and a better you.

God reveals . . .

4 Life-Building Experiences

To help us become what we would never become otherwise.

His loving purpose in each of these seasons and experiences. Deut. 4:35

God’s tools touch us in one of three ways . . . The Ow! The Wow! The Pow!

BOLD CHOICE # 6

I WILL EMBRACE GOD’S PURPOSE, WHATEVER THE SEASON.

Proverbs 19:21 Mathew 26:39

Four experiences that turn our heart upward and open our eyes and our heart. Deuteronomy 4:32-39

1. TRIALS AND TESTINGS OW!

• In school, first you get the lessons, then you get the test.

In God’s “school,” first you get the test, then you get the lessons!

What God is building with His “trials and testings” tool – Perseverance - Romans 5:3

Still going when others quit. Built in God’s weight room by increasing the load. Compassion - II Corinthians 1:3, 4

Sometimes He uses hard things for correction. Deut. 4:36a Sometimes for connection. Deut. 4:36b

To say things we would never hear otherwise.

God’s most powerful classroom - the wilderness! Deut. 8:1-5 - It’s humility school. 8:2a

A cure for the curse of self-reliance. Because in the wilderness there’s no self to rely on!

It’s a heart exam. 8:2b

Strips away any veneer. Reveals the real you.

It’s an appetite enhancer. 8:3

The sooner you embrace His purpose, the sooner you’ll experience His peace.

What kind of person is God producing with His “trials and testings” tool?

A champion! A finisher!

2. SIGNS AND WONDERS WOW!

What God is building with His “signs and wonders” tool?

Great faith Deut. 4:36-38 31:3-6

Standing for Jesus in world getting darker requires great faith in a wonder-working God!

What kind of person is God producing with His “signs and wonders” tool?

A risk-taker for Him!

3. BATTLES POW!

What is God building with His “battles” tool?

Courage and confidence Deut. 7:17-22a

Because victory is not something you achieve, but something you receive!

I Corinthians 15:57

What kind of person is God producing with His “battles” tool? A fearless fighter

4. A MIGHTY HAND AND OUTSTRETCHED ARM WOW! AWE-INSPIRING SPECTACLES

God the Intervener . . . the Waymaker . . . the Game-Changer! Defying odds. Changing outcomes.

The answer to all our “how can we’s?”. Deut. 7:17, 18

What is God building with His “mighty hand” tool? Hope When it seems there’s no way.

What kind of person is He producing? An Overcomer!

God lovingly balances life’s ow’s and wow’s and pows. There is always something to praise Him for and always something to trust Him for.

Six bold choices that defy the growing darkness.

• I WILL REST IN HIS SOVEREIGNTY.

• I WILL LIVE MY TRUE IDENTITY.

• I WILL RESIST THE DRIFT.

• I WILL BUILD FAITH IN MY FAMILY.

• I WILL DO ONLY WHAT GOD BLESSES.

• I WILL EMBRACE GOD’S PURPOSE, WHATEVER THE SEASON.

A life not defined by your culture... by your feelings...by your obstacles... by your fear. A life undeterred by the news, by loss, by disappointment, by temptation, by others’ choices, by pain. Because you have set your course and will not change it - holy living in a hostile world!

Navigating the rest of your life by your never-moving . . . NORTH STAR!

YAHWEH YOUR ELOHIM! THE LORD YOUR GOD!