In this group bible study we discuss how our current decisions should be based on the life season we are currently in, and we also discuss how to make the best use or our time each day.

Series: Sharpening Your Sword

Scriptures:

Eccl 3:1-8
Eph 5: 15-16
Acts 6:1-4
Eph 4:1

Series: Sharpening Your Sword

If you give me 2 hours to cut down a tree I'll use the first hour to sharpen my ax
If you give me 3 hours to cut down a tree I'll use the first 2 hours to sharpen my ax
-- Abraham Lincoln

Seasons

What invention had the biggest impact on the farming industry?

The calendar

it allowed farmers to know when seasons changed
prior to that they just thought rain and sunshine were random and didn’t allow them to plan

Eccl 3:1-8

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What does it mean to be in a particular life season?

What are some examples of seasons?

student
relationship status

single
new girlfriend
newlywed

career

starting a new job
expert in your field

finances

unemployment
win the lottery

parent

new parent
teenage kids

your ministry
your health

What things change as you go through different seasons?

relationships
priorities

4 Seasons (Devotional)

Spring

Spring is the starting of new things. It's the planting of new seeds. It's the anticipation of new outcomes and a new harvest, and it's a lot of work. Spring is a lot of work. Yes, there's a lot of excitement, but there's a lot of work. You have to break the ground. You have to plant the seed. You have to make sure the water is getting to the plants. You have to prepare everything for the coming harvest. You have to be sure you do these things when it is spring. Summer is too late to plant. Fall is a time of harvest, not planting; but you may be in spring, which is the time of beginnings.

starting a new job
starting a new ministry
new relationship

Summer

Summer is when you work the seeds you've planted. The days are long, hard and hot. You spend a lot of time making sure the weeds aren't devouring your seeds. You spend a lot of time making sure your seeds are cared for with water and fertilizer. There's a lot of hard work to make sure the new thing you are starting is happening.

Fall

Fall is the harvest. Projects come to an end. Work comes to an end, and we celebrate the harvest. We celebrate what God is doing through us and around us. We celebrate all that God has been working through us. We enjoy it. We take time and relish it. We tell stories. We bring in our friends. We share that, but it's not a time of starting new. It's a time of things coming to an end.

Winter

Winter does some important work. The roots go deep in winter. The earth is replenished and prepares for spring, catches its breath and nourishes itself; and things die in winter. That's hard for us, isn't it? We want everything to keep on going all the time. It can't. There is not enough space in your life; there's not enough time in your life. There's a necessary time in your life to let things go.

time to be quiet.
time for grief.
time for nourishment and preparation

-- Pastor Mike Glenn

You can have a winter moment in your spring season and a summer moment in your Winter season

Can our relationship with God change based on the season we’re in?

God may speak to us differently based on the season

my example: bible study > others > prayer > bible study

Signs of a Change in Season

How do you know when you’re changing seasons?

you get laid off
you end a relationship
you get diagnosed with a health problem
uncomfortable about certain situations

The timing of spiritual warfare may reveal that important events are approaching

giants are not signs of your exit from Egypt, giants are signs of your entry into Canaan

The enemy knows the patterns of God, so he knows what's coming

Making Wise Decisions

Knowing what season you are in in life is one of the key factors to determining what decisions to make.

Is it Wise?

-- Hurman Hamilton

Eph 5: 15-16

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

When making decisions, you should ask “Is it wise?”:

in light of our past history
in light of our current season
in light of our future hopes

Time is:

a way to expand or minimize opportunity
life

“when it’s gone it’s gone”

Key Points

Small amounts of time consistently invested over long periods can have a major life impact.
Rarely are there immediate consequences to the neglect of any singular important activity.

bible study
meeting with friends

Neglect over a long period has a cumulative effect.

Think about your life:

Spiritually
Relationally
Professionally
Physically

Setting Priorities

Warren Buffett Story

list the 25 most important goals in your life
choose the top 5 top
now avoid the other 20 at all cost
the top 5 list will change based on your current season

If you fail to plan then you plan to fail

Acts 6:1-4

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists[a] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers,[b] pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Why did the original 12 disciples stop serving tables?
Did they feel that serving wasn’t important?

No they just felt that others could do it, so they’d spend their time on things where they could have a bigger impact.

The 12 became the first preachers.

“Put the big rocks in first” story　

Many people lead a life of obligations not a life of priority

Look Forward Not Behind

Don’t live in the past

“The present is the womb from which the future is born”

“If we don't have a picture of our future in our mind then it will be

forced to replay the painful memories of the past”

You can redeem the time in the future. God can redeem the time in the past.

example: not spending time with your children

A Life That Matters

Eph 4:1

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Is it more important to succeed or to matter?

“Some people climb the ladder of success just to find out it’s leaning against the wrong building”

“It's not as important to succeed as it is to matter

And you'll likely achieve the former if you aim for the latter”

You're going to work hard whether you achieve anything or not

Making God a Priority

God should be a priority in your life

Not necessarily that you spend all of your time helping the church, but that your focus should be centered around God’s calling on your life

We need to make sure that our relationship with God is a priority in our lives

Make This Your Season

A time for us to be reborn and a time to die to ourselves.
A time to uproot our unresolved past and plant something new in its place.
A time to kill certain behaviors and begin our healing process.
A time to tear down strongholds in our life and build up our walls of protection.
A time to seek occasions to laugh instead of finding reasons to weep.
A time to mourn those we have lost and dance with the memories we have shared.

-- Cliff Young

Summary:

You need to identify what season you are in, and factor that into all decisions you make
We need to intentionally focus on things that are best aligned with our current season and our future goals
You can have anything you want what in life, but you can't have everything you want (you need to prioritize what’s important now)
Our greatest fear shouldn't be that we don't succeed, but that we do succeed in something that doesn't matter
Focus on the future not the past; make today count
You're going to work hard whether you achieve anything or not, so why not make it matter
It’s more important to make a difference than to achieve the world’s definition of success
We need to make God’s work a priority in our lives.
We need to make our relationship with God a priority in our lives.

References:

A Question of Time by Pastor Hurmon Hamilton (NBCC)
https://youtu.be/Zs-CuUhANzU

Pages

Sunday, April 19, 2015

What’s Important Now (WIN)