September 2, 2025 • 42 mins
What happens when you're completely unprepared for a change of seasons? That's exactly what I experienced landing in Paraguay for mission work—stepping off a plane from Phoenix summer straight into winter with nothing but a thin sweater. Shivering on a prayer mountain at 5:30am, I learned a powerful lesson about seasons that applies to every aspect of our spiritual lives.
Life unfolds in seasons, and understanding the spiritual significance of each one transforms how we navigate our journey with God. Just as the natural world moves through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, our spiritual lives follow similar patterns. Spring brings new beginnings and fresh opportunities. Summer offers abundance and growth but can tempt us toward pride. Autumn provides harvest and reflection on what we've cultivated. Winter demands complete trust during times of rest and restoration.
The wisdom of Ecclesiastes reminds us that "for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." These seasons aren't random—they're divinely ordained with specific purposes. Consider David, who would never have become an effective king without those lonely nights as a shepherd, developing his heart of worship and dependency on God. What appears to be an insignificant or challenging season might actually be essential preparation for what God has next.
Three truths about seasons can help us navigate them wisely: they are ordained by God with divine purpose, they each serve a specific role in our spiritual formation, and they inevitably change. The question isn't whether your current season will transition but what you'll learn and how you'll grow before it does. Many of us make the mistake of clinging to good seasons too long or trying to skip difficult ones altogether—both approaches leave us spiritually stunted.
Ready to embrace your season instead of fighting against it? Whatever phase you're experiencing right now, remember God is faithful through every season, and what you sow today directly impacts your harvest tomorrow.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Celeste Brown (00:00):
Good morning.
Well, I have a question for youtoday.
My question is what season areyou in?
When I was about 20 years old,I headed off to the country of
Paraguay.
If you don't know where that is.
If you look at a map, southAmerica would be towards the
bottom, and I was headed thereto serve in missions.
I was young, it was the firsttime I was going to go somewhere
(00:22):
by myself, without a group or ateam, and I was excited.
I was going there to help achurch that was thriving.
They were doing amazing things,and still are to this day and I
knew that God had put thatnation in my heart.
So I left Phoenix, I showed upto the airport, I had everything
packed, ready to go and I wasabout to head out.
(00:44):
It was the middle of summerhere, the beginning of summer,
so you know how hot it is inPhoenix and I got onto the plane
and did my transitions and madeit into Asuncion, the capital,
and when I arrived to Paraguay,it is opposite seasons of the
year.
So when I arrived, I arrived inthe middle of winter.
(01:04):
Now, it was not freezing, butit was cold, so cold.
You know the kind of cold thatlike is deep in your bones and
you just cannot warm up.
And I got off the plane and Iwas headed with the family and I
thought, man, I did some badpacking for this trip.
(01:24):
I was thinking of what I had inmy suitcase and I had a couple
pairs of slacks, I had some thinlong sleeves and I brought one
sweater, because if you grew upin Phoenix, one sweater is all
you need.
And I showed up there and Ithought this is not good.
So we got to the missionary'shouse and they were talking to
me and they said hey, listen, inthe morning we're just going to
(01:47):
put you right into the grooveof life here.
We're going to meet reallyearly.
We're going to leave our houseabout 5 30, and we're going to
head over am 5 30 am and we'regoing to head over to this
mountain.
You'll see a picture of itbehind me.
It has a cross on it.
We're going to go up and we'regoing to pray and people from
the church we gather togetherand we pray over the city.
So you're just going to join us.
And the wife looked at me andshe said did you bring any
(02:09):
winter clothes?
And I said, well, I brought asweater.
She goes, let me see it.
I showed it to her, she's likeoh girl, no, I have a jacket you
can borrow.
And so she gave me her jacket.
It was like a jacket that Iwould wear if I was going to
Flagstaff to go snowboarding orsomething.
Okay, and so I put it on.
The next morning got up, it wasdark, we got into the car and I
(02:31):
was just from the moment I leftthat house, I just remember just
shaking.
I was just shaking.
I was like, oh my gosh, it's socold I can't even focus.
And so we got up to themountain and I had no gloves.
They were all wearing gloves.
I did not have any.
And I was trying to put myhands in my pockets and you know
(02:51):
, when they're so cold, yourhands are red.
They're just red.
And I was like, oh, this is notgood, this is not good.
And then my eyes startedwatering because it was freezing
.
And as they're watering,they're just turning into
icicles on my face.
And at that point I can't evenpray.
I just pray and Lord, deliverme from this cold, just get me
out of here.
I just want to go home.
I was not ready.
(03:12):
Let's say that I was not ready.
I had left a summer in Phoenixand went straight into the to
the winter without being readyfor the change of seasons.
So this morning I want to talkto you about seasons, and I want
to start by telling you thisGod knows what season you are in
(03:33):
.
He does.
So I want to say welcome toCornerstone.
If this is your first timeyou're a guest with us, it is an
honor to have you here.
We love people and so we're sograteful that you've joined us.
This morning You'll see apicture of Jesus walking with
his disciples, and we just kindof set our steps with this
(03:55):
picture.
We want to be wherever Jesus is.
So if Jesus is moving, we wantto be moving with him.
We don't want to be stragglingbehind doing our own thing.
We get nowhere that way, but weneed to be with him.
So our motto is we want to bemore like Jesus, and we are
entering a new season of lifegroups, and so today you'll get
(04:17):
the opportunity to sign up.
I encourage you to do so.
There are new ones, there areones that are repeating, but be
part of a life group.
Join up, grow, stretch, buildrelationships and, just like we
do here we love God, we makedisciples and we reach the world
for Jesus, amen.
Well, if you have your Bibleswith me, I want you to open it
(04:38):
to Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.
And we're going to start byreading a few scriptures.
If you have a paper and a pen,I'm going to challenge you this
morning to take some notes.
I'm going to be giving you alot of scripture, but if you
don't have paper and a pen, takeout your phone but only have it
on the notes page.
If your friend sees you inanything else, you have the
right to nudge them and tellthem turn the phone off.
(04:59):
They got to focus today.
Okay, it's going to be a goodmorning.
Well, if you're there,ecclesiastes 3, verse 1, says
this For everything there is aseason and a time, for every
matter under heaven Time to beborn, a time to die, a time to
plant and a time to pluck upwhat is planted.
(05:21):
A time to kill and a time toheal, a time to break down and a
time to build up what isplanted.
A time to kill and a time toheal, a time to break down and a
time to build up.
A time to weep and a time tolaugh, a time to mourn and a
time to dance.
A time to cast away stones anda time to gather stones together
.
A time to embrace and a time torefrain from embracing.
(05:44):
A time to seek and a time tolose.
A time to keep and a time tocast away.
A time to tear and a time tosew.
A time to keep silence and atime to speak.
A time to love and a time tohate.
A time to war and a time tohate.
A time to war and a time forpeace.
(06:07):
How many of you know that thereare different seasons in the
year?
How many of you know that?
If you do, and you enjoy thedifferent seasons, I feel like
you are living in the wrongplace, because here in Phoenix
we have two we have summer andwe have spring.
(06:28):
We do not have fall, we do nothave winter, and the reason I
know that we don't have winteris because I see people wearing
shorts 365 days a year.
I see people swimming in aswimming pool 365 days a year.
I see people swimming in aswimming pool 365 days a year.
So we have summer and we havespring, but if you were to
venture outside of the MaricopaCounty area, you would actually
(06:52):
discover that there are fourseasons in a year.
It's fascinating, it's amazing.
It's something to try if you'redaring, but I just want to give
you a little recap of what thefour different seasons are.
So we have spring.
(07:12):
Spring is a transitional seasonfrom winter to summer.
Spring is when the weather isamazing.
Okay, I know that it kind ofgets hot here, but just
visualize the whole world.
It's amazing.
Spring is amazing, it's mild,it's cool.
Sometimes you even get a littlebit of rain and people want to
go outside.
So the one thing that we havethat's amazing here in Phoenix
is we have spring training games, and it is a time that either
(07:37):
starts really well or it's notso well.
And this is how we judge it by.
If you show up to a springtraining game and you decided to
wear a regular t-shirt, andthen you spring training game
and you decided to wear aregular t-shirt, and then you
leave the game and you take yourshirt off and you got the
farmer's tan, the whole seasonstarted off bad, right?
Or you wore shorts and only oneleg got tan and the other
didn't.
I am not speaking fromexperience, but I have heard
(07:59):
that this happens.
So that is spring.
The next season that we gothrough is summer, and let me
sum up summer.
In Phoenix, it is hot, hotter,and the hottest days of the year
.
Is that right?
So if anybody says I'm about tomove to Phoenix, just say
listen, this is what it's like.
It's hot, hotter and hottest,and so that is summer.
(08:20):
It is long days, meaning thatthe sun stays out the longest
during summer, so you feel likeyou have more time.
When you leave work in themorning, if you leave early, the
sun is already up.
When you come home at night,the sun is still out and you're
like wow, I feel like I have somuch more time today that I can
get things done.
Has anybody ever felt like that?
That is summer.
(08:41):
So it's the long days that giveyou energy to get things done.
Another season is autumn.
Some people call it fall.
It's a transition from summerto winter and the weather
changes to cooler temps and thedays become shorter.
Now in Phoenix, we miss thiscompletely.
(09:02):
We don't have leaves that fall,we don't have this pretty
scenery, but we try to live in apumpkin and spice type world,
even though it does not apply tous.
So when I see people that arelike, oh, it's all about
pumpkins.
I'm like why, this is not ourworld, but I know you want to be
(09:22):
in that world.
So we're good Autumn.
The next season is winter.
This is the coldest time of theyear and the days are really
short.
The weather can bring snow orfrost, and here in Phoenix, we
just enjoy it.
Honestly, we just enjoy thewinter.
It's the best season of ourlives.
But Ecclesiastes 3, I just wantto read verse 1 to you again.
(09:44):
It says this for everything,everything, there is a season.
Do you know that we also havespiritual seasons?
Did you know this?
There is a season foreverything.
In fact, if you were to rereadEcclesiastes verses 2 through 8,
it will say things like thisthere's a time to be born.
(10:04):
Verses 2 through 8, it will saythings like this there's a time
to be born.
So congratulations, you havepassed that season, you have
been born.
You are here.
There's a time to die.
There's a time to plant.
There's a time to remove things.
Somebody needs to hear thattoday.
There is a time to removethings.
It happens.
There's a time to build up.
There's a time to heal.
(10:25):
There's a time to dance.
Don't judge people in worshipwhen they're dancing.
You want to be there, I know itand you will, but, man, they
are celebrating the season thatthey are in.
There's a time to dance,there's a time to weep, there's
a time to laugh, there's a timeto seek, there's a time to keep
(10:47):
silent.
I don't know if you have evergone through that season yet.
It is one of the hardestseasons you can encounter, when
you can't say anything and Godsays nope.
And then there's a time tospeak, and I feel like a lot of
(11:08):
Christians got that one down Inevery season.
Let me tell you this God is infull control of time and purpose
.
Do you understand that?
God does not function in timelike we do, but he lives outside
(11:28):
of time?
So when you are living yourlife, you're living your life on
a timeline through seasons, andGod is in full control of time
and purpose.
In fact, he has a perfect andpermanent plan that no man can
change.
So if you want to be stubborn,go ahead and be stubborn, but
(11:52):
you're not going to change God'splan.
If you want to be hard-headedand do things your own way, go
ahead, do them your own way, butyou're not going to change
God's plan.
If you want to go and do yourown thing and run ahead of God,
go ahead, do your own thing, butyou are not going to change the
permanent plan that God has,because no man can change that.
(12:16):
So God knows what season youare in.
I want to tell you a few thingsabout seasons.
Number one seasons are ordained.
God ordains the seasons thatyou are in.
Do you know what ordained means?
It means they are ordered, soGod has ordered them.
(12:37):
There's examples in the Bibleyou can see it throughout all of
scripture of men and women whoyou will watch their progress
through the seasons.
One of them that I love tofollow is the life of David.
For those of you that are notas familiar with David, david
started out as a shepherd boy.
He was the youngest of hisentire family.
(12:57):
There was many boys in hisfamily and he was the youngest,
and so he got the privilege togo and take care of the sheep
out in the field.
He started out from a shepherdboy and, as you watch the
seasons of his life, he became aking.
His seasons were ordered.
I will tell you that when Davidwas young and he was in the
(13:18):
fields, no one was payingattention to that young boy.
He was just kind of thrown outthere.
Why?
Because all the older sons,they were too good for that job.
So they just gave it to David,they put him out there, and then
(13:38):
it says in scripture that theLord was going to remove Saul
from being king.
So he sent the prophet Samueland he said I want you to go to
the house of Jesse.
Jesse is David's dad.
He said I'm going to send youto the house of Jesse.
Jesse is David's dad.
He said I'm going to send youto the house of Jesse and there
I'm going to select a new king.
And so, as he goes to thathouse, he asked Jesse to line up
all his boys.
And so Jesse put everyone inorder, from oldest to almost the
(13:59):
youngest, and they werestanding there before Samuel,
and I'm sure that Samuel hadsome good options and Samuel
being the prophet, he would justgo in front of each person and
every time he stood there Godwould say not this one, and he'd
go to the next one, not thisone.
And he'd go all the way downthe line of the men in that
family till he got to what hethought was the youngest boy,
(14:22):
and God said no.
And Samuel was very confusedand he said Jesse, are there any
more boys in this family?
And he said well, the youngestone.
He's out in the field takingcare of the sheep.
And so Samuel said listen, Iwill not sit until you go and
you bring him to me.
And so they waited and waiteduntil David arrived on the scene
(14:47):
.
No one and I'm telling you, noone, not even the prophet at
that moment, knew that David'sseason was about to change.
David's season was ordained byGod.
He was ordered to be a king andno one in that entire room
(15:09):
looked at him.
But God had a plan.
It says in the book of Daniel,chapter 2, verses 20 and 21.
Daniel answered and said thisBlessed be the name of God
forever and ever.
To whom belong wisdom and might?
He changes times and seasons.
(15:29):
He removes kings and sets upkings.
He gives wisdom to the wise andknowledge to those who have
understanding.
Do not underestimate what Godcan do.
He changes times, he changesseasons, he removes kings and he
puts kings into place.
And we see that in the life ofDavid.
(15:51):
You know that he created youfor this time and this season.
You might not feel like it.
There might be times you wakeup and think man, what is this
life all about?
There's got to be more.
But you were ordained for thistime and this season.
Your season is ordained.
(16:12):
You take that which God hasgiven you and you give it your
all.
So let me give you an example.
It's easy to complain Anybodywith me.
I can complain very easily if Iwant to.
We're all like that.
We don't even have to be taughtto be complainers, we can just
do it well, and God will give us.
(16:35):
Things will come into our life.
Okay, a bad situation here,something we didn't really care
for here.
Maybe somebody cut us off intraffic.
We didn't ask for that.
Okay, things take place.
And what God is saying is listen, your seasons are ordained.
You take everything I give youand you do something with it.
(16:56):
You make the most of it.
It says in Acts, chapter 17,starting in verse 24 the God who
made the world and everythingin it, being the Lord of heaven
and earth, does not live intemples made by man, nor is he
served by human hands, as thoughhe needed anything, since he
(17:16):
himself gives to all mankindlife and breath and everything,
and he made from one man everynation of mankind to live on the
face of the earth, havingdetermined allotted periods and
the boundaries of their dwellingplace, that they should seek
(17:38):
God and perhaps feel their waytoward him and find him.
Yet he is actually not far fromeach one of us, for in him we
live and move and have our being.
That is God.
That is God.
Your seasons are ordained.
(18:01):
Number two seasons have purpose.
From before the time you wereborn, your life already had a
purpose.
That can be very hard tounderstand.
Maybe you've been adopted.
Maybe you are from parents whowere never married.
(18:21):
Maybe you were what you thoughtcreated in a bad situation.
You were not, because your lifehad purpose before you were
even created, had purpose beforeyou were even created.
Maybe you're in a tough seasonright now and you don't see a
(18:42):
way out or a way through.
Your season has a purpose.
It says in Isaiah 44, verse 24,.
Thus says the Lord, yourRedeemer, who formed you from
the womb.
I am the Lord, your Redeemer,who formed you from the womb.
I am the Lord who made allthings, who alone stretched out
the heavens, who spread out theearth by myself.
(19:04):
Nothing is by chance, nothing.
You were created on purpose andfor a purpose.
You see, the living God hasbeen accomplishing his divine
purpose Since before you wereborn, before our parents were
born, before anybody we knew wasever born.
God has been doing life.
(19:27):
He has been accomplishingthings.
His divine purpose has beenbeing accomplished throughout
all of history.
And if you choose, you have tomake the choice.
But if you choose to cooperatewith God's purpose and timing,
your life will have meaning.
Simple, if you choose tocooperate with the living God
(19:52):
and you take all the things thatare in your life and you choose
to cooperate, your life willhave a purpose.
But if you choose to do yourown thing, know this God's plans
will still be accomplished.
Romans 8.28 says this, and weknow that for those who love God
(20:13):
, all things work together forgood, for those who are called
according to his purpose, notyours.
His Spiritual seasons.
So what is a spiritual season?
They're phases that weexperience in our life as we're
(20:34):
following after Jesus.
That's what a spiritual seasonis, and you know that spiritual
seasons, they happen over andover and over again.
They're just not once and done,just like I know it feels like
we have summer all year long,and then summer again next year,
and then summer again next year, but it repeats there's a
(20:55):
breakup.
There's a breakup, there'ssomething different that happens
.
The phases change, and so Iwant to explain to you the four
seasons from a spiritualperspective.
Number one is spring.
It's a season of new beginnings.
It brings new opportunities andpossibilities.
I love spring season becauseit's the time when God puts
(21:19):
something into your heart andthe light bulbs come out and
you're like whoa, this isamazing.
I can't wait to start this ordo this or be a part of this.
This is going to be fun andit's like that moment of
something fresh.
That's the spring season.
But know this about the springseason Usually the decisions
(21:40):
that you make in this season ofspring, they will determine the
other seasons.
So maybe God has put somethingin your heart, maybe he's given
you a responsibility, maybe he'sasked you to do something and
you dropped the ball.
It affects the rest of theseasons, but if you take it and
(22:01):
you move and you go where he'sleading you, it affects the rest
of the seasons.
Spring, then we get to summer.
It's a season of abundance,it's a season of fruitfulness,
it's a time of spiritual growth.
You're serving God more thanyou ever have before.
You're excited.
You're so in love with him.
(22:22):
You want to be wherever he is.
You just want to be there.
You don't want to miss whatGod's doing.
That's the summer season.
So if you're sitting here todayand you feel like you don't have
that passion like you used tohave, go back to spring and see
what he handed you that you didnothing with, because you can't
(22:50):
sit here and say god's nottalking to me, god's not moving,
god's not doing anything in mylife.
He is, but maybe you didn't doanything with what he gave you
originally and now you're justsitting here complaining.
Summer is a time when weexperience the blessing of God.
(23:11):
Summer is a time when, in thespring, you planted seeds and in
the summer, you get to see thembloom.
Do you have flowers or do youhave weeds?
Because if you have weeds, yougot to go back and you got to
see what did he give me that I'mnot doing anything with?
(23:34):
Then we get to the third season.
It's autumn.
It's a season of harvest andreflection.
It's the season where you beginto see the results of your hard
work.
And let me tell you, followingJesus is not easy.
It is work.
It is work to not go with theflow but go against the flow.
Right, you can always be likethem, but they got to do a hard
(24:00):
turn to get back to where youare.
It's a season where you areseeing amazing things take place
, but it's also a season that,if you are not careful, you will
see pride begin to take root inyour heart and you'll begin to
think you are making that happen.
You'll begin to think, wow, Ido a good job.
(24:22):
Wow, they should ask me to doall the things.
Look what I accomplished.
It's also the point when, ifsomebody who is a brother or
sister in Christ that you loveand you respect and you go to
battle spiritually with them andthey come up to you and they
tell you I've been noticing alittle bit about your life it
(24:42):
looks like you're not as excitedas you were for God.
It looks like you're just kindof fading a little bit and you
get mad Check your seasonBecause all of a sudden you're
not listening anymore and youthink you're the one in charge.
You're the one doing it.
It's never about you, it'salways about him.
(25:05):
I think that's the hardestthing as a human being is to
know it's never about you.
Lord, I receive no glory, nohonor for any of this.
It's always you, lord.
I receive no glory, no honorfor any of this.
It's always you, jesus, youbore that cross, not me.
It's always about you.
(25:25):
Then we get into winter, aseason of rest and restoration
and trust.
What is it like to be in aseason when you put everything
you have into trusting Jesus,everything you trust provision
you, you trust him for healing,you trust him for breakthrough,
(25:48):
you trust him.
You don't have to go aroundgoing what should I do?
What should I do?
You're like what should I do?
Just you, just you.
What should I do?
And not like going over herelike can I get your advice?
I'm having a really hard time.
And then they tell you andyou're like I don't really like
that.
What about you?
(26:08):
What would, what do you think Ishould do?
Oh, that's not a good answer.
That's a lot of work actually.
But you just look and you justsay God, all trust goes to you
and you alone.
That is the winter season.
There is a purpose for everyseason that you go through.
I want to tell you about David.
(26:29):
He would have never been a goodking if he did not spend those
nights in that field, being ashepherd.
I don't know if any of you havetaken care of sheep and you've
spent time in a field I have not, but I can envision it very
clearly.
If I could fly a drone overDavid when he was young and we
(26:54):
were looking at his field, Iwould see many things I would
see.
Number one that he probablydoesn't shower very often, so
there's probably a smell.
I would see that he probablylooks crazy to people because
he's probably talking to thesheep as though they're people.
Hey, what have you been doingtoday?
Yeah, you getting a littlemuddy.
Like he's probably just outthere, like those are his people
(27:14):
, right, he's a shepherd.
And if you're getting a littlemuddy, like he's probably just
out there, like those are hispeople, right, he's a shepherd.
And if you're watching him,you're like he's a little bit
crazy.
And then you can see him outthere and he's probably got
names for every one of the sheep, but he's out there by himself,
he's alone.
(27:35):
He probably had moments wherethere was quiet times with the
lord, moments when he would justlook up to the heavens and say,
wow, man could not have createdthis.
This is only created by thehand of a living god.
There's other times when he hadto sleep there at night with
those sheep.
If it was me and the lightswent where the sun started
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coming down, I'm out of there.
I literally would pray a hedgeof protection over those sheep
please, lord, don't let any ofthem leave and then I would go
and I would be there at thebreak of dawn to check on them.
But he was out there.
He was a shepherd, he relied onthe lord in those dark nights
and that is where he gained theheart of a worshiper.
(28:17):
I have daughters and they loveto sing.
They sing in our house and theyare loud.
And I imagine David, when he isin that field and no one's
around him but those sheep, thathe just lifted his voice as a
young boy and he sang to the topof his lungs glory and honor to
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God, praising him and exaltinghim, and that his praises just
echoed and echoed and echoed.
He gained the heart of aworshiper as a shepherd boy.
So you've gone through somestuff Good, bad.
Let me tell you this it shapesyou and it molds you and it
(29:05):
creates the person that Godwants you to be If you choose to
take each of your seasons andyou cooperate with God's purpose
and timing, your life will havemeaning.
It will make you strong.
Seasons have purpose.
(29:27):
And number three seasons arechanging and everyone in Phoenix
said amen, seasons are changing.
And everyone in Phoenix saidamen, seasons are changing.
The season that you are inright now will end.
It will, yeah.
So if it's not a good season,you are like thank you Lord, I
(29:49):
am counting down the days.
If it's a good season, you'relike no, no, no, no, no, I don't
want it to end.
Seasons change and a new seasonwill begin.
Seasons do not last forever.
It's actually not healthy forthem to last forever.
Here in Phoenix, if we had 110plus days, 365 days a year, it's
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not healthy.
It's not healthy for manyreasons.
Number one I don't think ourelectrical grid can handle it.
Number two our drivers cannothandle it.
We already got some mad ones.
We give them more heat and it'sgoing to get uglier.
But seasons change.
It says in Isaiah 43, verses 18and 19.
(30:41):
Remember not the former things,nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I, the Lord, am doing anew thing.
Now it springs forth.
Do you perceive it?
I will make a way in thewilderness and rivers in the
desert, and some of you shouldbe grateful that where you are
(31:04):
right now you will not remain.
But something new is on thehorizon.
He is doing a new thing.
As we look at King David, laterin his life he made some bad
decisions.
He had seasons of growth andfavor and then he had a season
(31:26):
where the Lord literally tookhis spirit away from him.
And that is a tough spot to bein To have been somebody who has
a heart after God, worshipswith all his might, dances
before the Lord, and then toenter a season where the Lord
(31:47):
took his spirit off of himbecause of the choices that he
was making.
I bet he so longed for thatseason to change.
All seasons change and what wedo in each season is important.
Some of us we try to hang on toa season too long Ever been
(32:11):
there.
You don't want it to end.
Things are going well, thingsare prospering.
Maybe you've had more moneythan you've ever had before,
maybe you're blessed withrelationships or friendships,
maybe things are going your wayand you just want to stay in
that season.
There is nothing worse thanhanging on to something that God
(32:32):
is done with and just like thatpicture of Jesus with his
disciples as he is moving.
You need to be moving with him,or you're going to be the one
straggling over here by yourselfsaying where did everybody go?
Life was so good, I was lovingit, and they've all moved on.
And you're just standing heresaying, oh, I wish I could be
(32:55):
back in this season.
And scripture says behold, I amdoing a new thing.
Others try to skip a season andpass to another one.
Nope, I'm not going to go thisway.
I'm just going to bypass thisentire season.
I'm just going to go over here.
I wish we could.
But whatever it is, the Lordwants to teach you in that
(33:17):
season.
You better learn it, or you'regoing to be going back to that
season again.
You know how I know that,because think of the Israelites
and how many years they spent inthe desert Just circling and
circling and circling.
Because if you don't learn itthe first time, I guarantee
(33:37):
you're going to learn it thesecond time.
What we sow in one seasondirectly impacts the other
seasons, it says in Galatians 6,9.
And let us not grow weary ofdoing well, for in due season we
will reap if we do not give up.
What season are you in.
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I'm going to invite the worshipteam to come and join me up here
and I want to tell you thatstory that I mentioned at the
beginning about living inParaguay.
You know, leaving here in thesummer, getting there in the
winter, I just wasn't ready forthe change of seasons.
Now, to my benefit, we didn'thave cell phones.
Back then, we didn't haveaccess to the internet.
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This was a long time ago, andso I just couldn't look up
what's the weather like over inAsuncion when I land tomorrow at
4 pm.
I just didn't know.
And I just showed up and it wasdifferent.
And I've been in those seasonswhere I didn't want to leave.
(34:43):
I've been in those seasonswhere life is going so well,
things are going well, whateverit is, things were just good.
And I was the type of personthat you just want to put your
heels in and sink all the waydown and be like don't move me,
this is good, this is good.
And God says come on, it'sgoing to get better, it's going
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to be better than you ever couldimagine.
But you got to move, you got tomove.
And then there's those seasonswhere you already know what's
coming.
It's kind of like the game oftelephone.
Somebody says something andit's moving through and
everybody's talking about it.
You already know what's comingand you're like I am not even
entering that season.
I will, I refuse.
This is not gonna be good.
I'm be struggling to breathe,it's just gonna be miserable.
(35:36):
I'm probably gonna be depressed.
I don't even wanna go there.
And God's saying I need you tomove through it.
If you want to get to where I'mleading you, you've got to move
.
You've got to move.
But in every season I can tellyou this without a doubt God has
been faithful and he has neverleft me.
(35:58):
The enemy will lie to you andthe enemy will tell you that he
is not there, but he is lyingbecause God is faithful faithful
.
Ecclesiastes 3.1 says this foreverything, everything, there is
a season.
I'm going to ask you to standwith me thing.
There is a season.
(36:18):
I'm going to ask you to standwith me.
Maybe you're here and you'relike man, somebody just invited
me and I just showed up to thisservice.
I'm glad you're here.
We love having guests with us.
You are not here by chance.
Maybe you've been coming for afew weeks now and we're so
grateful you're returning.
(36:39):
You are not here by chance, butGod has a plan for you.
We're so grateful you'rereturning.
You are not here by chance, butGod has a plan for you.
You'll see a cross behind me,and one thing I love about this
cross is it just representsvictory.
Victory.
You will not see Jesus on thatcross, because Jesus has been
raised from the dead.
He is seated at the right handof God.
Scripture says he's makingintercession for you, and so we
(37:02):
look at that cross.
It's empty and it representsvictory.
The desire of God's heart isthat everyone is in a
relationship with him.
He doesn't want anyone toperish without knowing him, but
he wants you to have life and tohave life more abundantly.
And this morning you may behere, you may be watching online
(37:25):
, and you have never made adecision to actually follow
Jesus.
There's nothing weird that youhave to do.
In fact, scripture says inRomans 10, verses 9 and 10,
because if you confess with yourmouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that Godraised him from the dead, you
will be saved.
For with the heart, onebelieves and is justified, and
(37:47):
with the mouth, one confessesand is saved.
That's it.
You just say, lord, it's notabout me.
It's about you and you'vecreated me, and whatever I've
been doing with my life ithasn't worked out too great and
I need the Savior of the worldto come and guide me, and I want
(38:09):
to follow you all the days ofmy life.
I want to declare you the Lordof my life.
If you're here today, I'm goingto ask everyone to bow their
head, close their eyes, just outof respect for somebody who may
be making this decision today.
Maybe you're here I'm the onlyone looking around, but if
you're like, you know what Iwant to make a decision to
follow after Jesus with my wholeheart.
(38:31):
I'm just going to ask you toslip your hand up.
I'm going to pray for you.
We're going to make sure we geta Bible into your hands before.
Yeah, amen, amen.
I see your hands, amen, amen.
I'm going to ask everybody torepeat this prayer after me.
God, thank you for loving me,thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
(38:56):
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you InChrist's name, amen, amen, amen.
We celebrate with you.
So there's a couple steps.
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I just want to tell you that,if you made that decision to
follow after Jesus.
Number one I want to give you aBible.
So if you come and find me orone of our pastoral team, we
want to get a Bible into yourhand, or one of our ushers.
Number two I need you to find achurch.
So if you don't live in thisarea and you go back home, you
need to find a church thatactually opens the Bible and
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reads from the Bible.
Okay, a Bible-believing church.
Then, if you are in this area,we would love to have you come
back.
This church is for you.
We have services 9 and 11.
Come join us, but then, ifyou're going to join us, get
plugged into a life group,because we need you to be around
a group of believers that youcan just build a friendship with
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and that you can just keepmoving after the Lord.
Amen.
Okay, believers, spiritualseasons are ordained, they have
purpose and they're changing.
What season are you in?
This altar is going to be wideopen today, because there's some
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of you who do not like theseason you are in, and that's
okay.
We've all been through that.
But I want you to come and Iwant you just to tell God Lord,
whatever it is I got to learnfrom this season.
Let me learn it fast and let meobey and then move me along to
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the next one, because I'm ready.
Maybe you're in a really goodseason and you're like I ain't
budging, I ain't moving.
You need to come and get yourheart ready so you can keep
moving further with him.
He wants to take you placesyou've never been before, but he
(40:59):
can't take you there if you'redigging your heels in and saying
no, he wants to do so much morethan you could even imagine,
and so this altar is going to beopen for you this morning.
Lord, I pray, I pray right nowfor you to move.
I know there's people that arein this room that are in
different seasons of life.
Some are good, some are bad,some are just like whatever.
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But, god, our desire is that wedraw closer to you and that you
would do so much more with usand through us and in us.
So this morning, as we open upthis altar, I pray that you
would move on hearts, that youwould touch lives and that, holy
Spirit, you would do what youdo.
We thank you for yourfaithfulness, in the mighty name
(41:44):
of Jesus 20 years for Angus andAnnie.
Jason Brown (41:48):
Congratulations, friends.
Praise the Lord.
Hey, we have a special eventhappening this week.
We'll ask if there's any guysthat can help us.
Right after this service.
We need to break all thesechairs down and bring in tables,
because we're actually hostinga bunch of pastors this week for
an event that we're holdinglater today.
So if you could help us withthat, we'd appreciate it.
Celeste Brown (42:07):
And life group signups.
As you head out, you'll see QRcode.
Just scan it, go view throughit.
There's some ones that arecarried over, some new ones, but
be a part of something.
Jason Brown (42:17):
Before we go.
I want to pray this blessingover us Before we go.
Lord, I pray this blessing overus.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
(42:38):
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
Pray all that in the powerfulname of Jesus Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this we love you very muchhere at Cornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
Good morning.
Well, I have a question for youtoday.
My question is what season areyou in?
When I was about 20 years old,I headed off to the country of
Paraguay.
If you don't know where that is.
If you look at a map, southAmerica would be towards the
bottom, and I was headed thereto serve in missions.
I was young, it was the firsttime I was going to go somewhere
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by myself, without a group or ateam, and I was excited.
I was going there to help achurch that was thriving.
They were doing amazing things,and still are to this day and I
knew that God had put thatnation in my heart.
So I left Phoenix, I showed upto the airport, I had everything
packed, ready to go and I wasabout to head out.
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It was the middle of summerhere, the beginning of summer,
so you know how hot it is inPhoenix and I got onto the plane
and did my transitions and madeit into Asuncion, the capital,
and when I arrived to Paraguay,it is opposite seasons of the
year.
So when I arrived, I arrived inthe middle of winter.
(01:04):
Now, it was not freezing, butit was cold, so cold.
You know the kind of cold thatlike is deep in your bones and
you just cannot warm up.
And I got off the plane and Iwas headed with the family and I
thought, man, I did some badpacking for this trip.
(01:24):
I was thinking of what I had inmy suitcase and I had a couple
pairs of slacks, I had some thinlong sleeves and I brought one
sweater, because if you grew upin Phoenix, one sweater is all
you need.
And I showed up there and Ithought this is not good.
So we got to the missionary'shouse and they were talking to
me and they said hey, listen, inthe morning we're just going to
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put you right into the grooveof life here.
We're going to meet reallyearly.
We're going to leave our houseabout 5 30, and we're going to
head over am 5 30 am and we'regoing to head over to this
mountain.
You'll see a picture of itbehind me.
It has a cross on it.
We're going to go up and we'regoing to pray and people from
the church we gather togetherand we pray over the city.
So you're just going to join us.
And the wife looked at me andshe said did you bring any
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winter clothes?
And I said, well, I brought asweater.
She goes, let me see it.
I showed it to her, she's likeoh girl, no, I have a jacket you
can borrow.
And so she gave me her jacket.
It was like a jacket that Iwould wear if I was going to
Flagstaff to go snowboarding orsomething.
Okay, and so I put it on.
The next morning got up, it wasdark, we got into the car and I
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was just from the moment I leftthat house, I just remember just
shaking.
I was just shaking.
I was like, oh my gosh, it's socold I can't even focus.
And so we got up to themountain and I had no gloves.
They were all wearing gloves.
I did not have any.
And I was trying to put myhands in my pockets and you know
(02:51):
, when they're so cold, yourhands are red.
They're just red.
And I was like, oh, this is notgood, this is not good.
And then my eyes startedwatering because it was freezing
.
And as they're watering,they're just turning into
icicles on my face.
And at that point I can't evenpray.
I just pray and Lord, deliverme from this cold, just get me
out of here.
I just want to go home.
I was not ready.
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Let's say that I was not ready.
I had left a summer in Phoenixand went straight into the to
the winter without being readyfor the change of seasons.
So this morning I want to talkto you about seasons, and I want
to start by telling you thisGod knows what season you are in
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.
He does.
So I want to say welcome toCornerstone.
If this is your first timeyou're a guest with us, it is an
honor to have you here.
We love people and so we're sograteful that you've joined us.
This morning You'll see apicture of Jesus walking with
his disciples, and we just kindof set our steps with this
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picture.
We want to be wherever Jesus is.
So if Jesus is moving, we wantto be moving with him.
We don't want to be stragglingbehind doing our own thing.
We get nowhere that way, but weneed to be with him.
So our motto is we want to bemore like Jesus, and we are
entering a new season of lifegroups, and so today you'll get
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the opportunity to sign up.
I encourage you to do so.
There are new ones, there areones that are repeating, but be
part of a life group.
Join up, grow, stretch, buildrelationships and, just like we
do here we love God, we makedisciples and we reach the world
for Jesus, amen.
Well, if you have your Bibleswith me, I want you to open it
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to Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.
And we're going to start byreading a few scriptures.
If you have a paper and a pen,I'm going to challenge you this
morning to take some notes.
I'm going to be giving you alot of scripture, but if you
don't have paper and a pen, takeout your phone but only have it
on the notes page.
If your friend sees you inanything else, you have the
right to nudge them and tellthem turn the phone off.
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They got to focus today.
Okay, it's going to be a goodmorning.
Well, if you're there,ecclesiastes 3, verse 1, says
this For everything there is aseason and a time, for every
matter under heaven Time to beborn, a time to die, a time to
plant and a time to pluck upwhat is planted.
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A time to kill and a time toheal, a time to break down and a
time to build up what isplanted.
A time to kill and a time toheal, a time to break down and a
time to build up.
A time to weep and a time tolaugh, a time to mourn and a
time to dance.
A time to cast away stones anda time to gather stones together
.
A time to embrace and a time torefrain from embracing.
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A time to seek and a time tolose.
A time to keep and a time tocast away.
A time to tear and a time tosew.
A time to keep silence and atime to speak.
A time to love and a time tohate.
A time to war and a time tohate.
A time to war and a time forpeace.
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How many of you know that thereare different seasons in the
year?
How many of you know that?
If you do, and you enjoy thedifferent seasons, I feel like
you are living in the wrongplace, because here in Phoenix
we have two we have summer andwe have spring.
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We do not have fall, we do nothave winter, and the reason I
know that we don't have winteris because I see people wearing
shorts 365 days a year.
I see people swimming in aswimming pool 365 days a year.
I see people swimming in aswimming pool 365 days a year.
So we have summer and we havespring, but if you were to
venture outside of the MaricopaCounty area, you would actually
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discover that there are fourseasons in a year.
It's fascinating, it's amazing.
It's something to try if you'redaring, but I just want to give
you a little recap of what thefour different seasons are.
So we have spring.
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Spring is a transitional seasonfrom winter to summer.
Spring is when the weather isamazing.
Okay, I know that it kind ofgets hot here, but just
visualize the whole world.
It's amazing.
Spring is amazing, it's mild,it's cool.
Sometimes you even get a littlebit of rain and people want to
go outside.
So the one thing that we havethat's amazing here in Phoenix
is we have spring training games, and it is a time that either
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starts really well or it's notso well.
And this is how we judge it by.
If you show up to a springtraining game and you decided to
wear a regular t-shirt, andthen you spring training game
and you decided to wear aregular t-shirt, and then you
leave the game and you take yourshirt off and you got the
farmer's tan, the whole seasonstarted off bad, right?
Or you wore shorts and only oneleg got tan and the other
didn't.
I am not speaking fromexperience, but I have heard
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that this happens.
So that is spring.
The next season that we gothrough is summer, and let me
sum up summer.
In Phoenix, it is hot, hotter,and the hottest days of the year
.
Is that right?
So if anybody says I'm about tomove to Phoenix, just say
listen, this is what it's like.
It's hot, hotter and hottest,and so that is summer.
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It is long days, meaning thatthe sun stays out the longest
during summer, so you feel likeyou have more time.
When you leave work in themorning, if you leave early, the
sun is already up.
When you come home at night,the sun is still out and you're
like wow, I feel like I have somuch more time today that I can
get things done.
Has anybody ever felt like that?
That is summer.
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So it's the long days that giveyou energy to get things done.
Another season is autumn.
Some people call it fall.
It's a transition from summerto winter and the weather
changes to cooler temps and thedays become shorter.
Now in Phoenix, we miss thiscompletely.
(09:02):
We don't have leaves that fall,we don't have this pretty
scenery, but we try to live in apumpkin and spice type world,
even though it does not apply tous.
So when I see people that arelike, oh, it's all about
pumpkins.
I'm like why, this is not ourworld, but I know you want to be
(09:22):
in that world.
So we're good Autumn.
The next season is winter.
This is the coldest time of theyear and the days are really
short.
The weather can bring snow orfrost, and here in Phoenix, we
just enjoy it.
Honestly, we just enjoy thewinter.
It's the best season of ourlives.
But Ecclesiastes 3, I just wantto read verse 1 to you again.
(09:44):
It says this for everything,everything, there is a season.
Do you know that we also havespiritual seasons?
Did you know this?
There is a season foreverything.
In fact, if you were to rereadEcclesiastes verses 2 through 8,
it will say things like thisthere's a time to be born.
(10:04):
Verses 2 through 8, it will saythings like this there's a time
to be born.
So congratulations, you havepassed that season, you have
been born.
You are here.
There's a time to die.
There's a time to plant.
There's a time to remove things.
Somebody needs to hear thattoday.
There is a time to removethings.
It happens.
There's a time to build up.
There's a time to heal.
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There's a time to dance.
Don't judge people in worshipwhen they're dancing.
You want to be there, I know itand you will, but, man, they
are celebrating the season thatthey are in.
There's a time to dance,there's a time to weep, there's
a time to laugh, there's a timeto seek, there's a time to keep
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silent.
I don't know if you have evergone through that season yet.
It is one of the hardestseasons you can encounter, when
you can't say anything and Godsays nope.
And then there's a time tospeak, and I feel like a lot of
(11:08):
Christians got that one down Inevery season.
Let me tell you this God is infull control of time and purpose
.
Do you understand that?
God does not function in timelike we do, but he lives outside
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of time?
So when you are living yourlife, you're living your life on
a timeline through seasons, andGod is in full control of time
and purpose.
In fact, he has a perfect andpermanent plan that no man can
change.
So if you want to be stubborn,go ahead and be stubborn, but
(11:52):
you're not going to change God'splan.
If you want to be hard-headedand do things your own way, go
ahead, do them your own way, butyou're not going to change
God's plan.
If you want to go and do yourown thing and run ahead of God,
go ahead, do your own thing, butyou are not going to change the
permanent plan that God has,because no man can change that.
(12:16):
So God knows what season youare in.
I want to tell you a few thingsabout seasons.
Number one seasons are ordained.
God ordains the seasons thatyou are in.
Do you know what ordained means?
It means they are ordered, soGod has ordered them.
(12:37):
There's examples in the Bibleyou can see it throughout all of
scripture of men and women whoyou will watch their progress
through the seasons.
One of them that I love tofollow is the life of David.
For those of you that are notas familiar with David, david
started out as a shepherd boy.
He was the youngest of hisentire family.
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There was many boys in hisfamily and he was the youngest,
and so he got the privilege togo and take care of the sheep
out in the field.
He started out from a shepherdboy and, as you watch the
seasons of his life, he became aking.
His seasons were ordered.
I will tell you that when Davidwas young and he was in the
(13:18):
fields, no one was payingattention to that young boy.
He was just kind of thrown outthere.
Why?
Because all the older sons,they were too good for that job.
So they just gave it to David,they put him out there, and then
(13:38):
it says in scripture that theLord was going to remove Saul
from being king.
So he sent the prophet Samueland he said I want you to go to
the house of Jesse.
Jesse is David's dad.
He said I'm going to send youto the house of Jesse.
Jesse is David's dad.
He said I'm going to send youto the house of Jesse and there
I'm going to select a new king.
And so, as he goes to thathouse, he asked Jesse to line up
all his boys.
And so Jesse put everyone inorder, from oldest to almost the
(13:59):
youngest, and they werestanding there before Samuel,
and I'm sure that Samuel hadsome good options and Samuel
being the prophet, he would justgo in front of each person and
every time he stood there Godwould say not this one, and he'd
go to the next one, not thisone.
And he'd go all the way downthe line of the men in that
family till he got to what hethought was the youngest boy,
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and God said no.
And Samuel was very confusedand he said Jesse, are there any
more boys in this family?
And he said well, the youngestone.
He's out in the field takingcare of the sheep.
And so Samuel said listen, Iwill not sit until you go and
you bring him to me.
And so they waited and waiteduntil David arrived on the scene
(14:47):
.
No one and I'm telling you, noone, not even the prophet at
that moment, knew that David'sseason was about to change.
David's season was ordained byGod.
He was ordered to be a king andno one in that entire room
(15:09):
looked at him.
But God had a plan.
It says in the book of Daniel,chapter 2, verses 20 and 21.
Daniel answered and said thisBlessed be the name of God
forever and ever.
To whom belong wisdom and might?
He changes times and seasons.
(15:29):
He removes kings and sets upkings.
He gives wisdom to the wise andknowledge to those who have
understanding.
Do not underestimate what Godcan do.
He changes times, he changesseasons, he removes kings and he
puts kings into place.
And we see that in the life ofDavid.
(15:51):
You know that he created youfor this time and this season.
You might not feel like it.
There might be times you wakeup and think man, what is this
life all about?
There's got to be more.
But you were ordained for thistime and this season.
Your season is ordained.
(16:12):
You take that which God hasgiven you and you give it your
all.
So let me give you an example.
It's easy to complain Anybodywith me.
I can complain very easily if Iwant to.
We're all like that.
We don't even have to be taughtto be complainers, we can just
do it well, and God will give us.
(16:35):
Things will come into our life.
Okay, a bad situation here,something we didn't really care
for here.
Maybe somebody cut us off intraffic.
We didn't ask for that.
Okay, things take place.
And what God is saying is listen, your seasons are ordained.
You take everything I give youand you do something with it.
(16:56):
You make the most of it.
It says in Acts, chapter 17,starting in verse 24 the God who
made the world and everythingin it, being the Lord of heaven
and earth, does not live intemples made by man, nor is he
served by human hands, as thoughhe needed anything, since he
(17:16):
himself gives to all mankindlife and breath and everything,
and he made from one man everynation of mankind to live on the
face of the earth, havingdetermined allotted periods and
the boundaries of their dwellingplace, that they should seek
(17:38):
God and perhaps feel their waytoward him and find him.
Yet he is actually not far fromeach one of us, for in him we
live and move and have our being.
That is God.
That is God.
Your seasons are ordained.
(18:01):
Number two seasons have purpose.
From before the time you wereborn, your life already had a
purpose.
That can be very hard tounderstand.
Maybe you've been adopted.
Maybe you are from parents whowere never married.
(18:21):
Maybe you were what you thoughtcreated in a bad situation.
You were not, because your lifehad purpose before you were
even created, had purpose beforeyou were even created.
Maybe you're in a tough seasonright now and you don't see a
(18:42):
way out or a way through.
Your season has a purpose.
It says in Isaiah 44, verse 24,.
Thus says the Lord, yourRedeemer, who formed you from
the womb.
I am the Lord, your Redeemer,who formed you from the womb.
I am the Lord who made allthings, who alone stretched out
the heavens, who spread out theearth by myself.
(19:04):
Nothing is by chance, nothing.
You were created on purpose andfor a purpose.
You see, the living God hasbeen accomplishing his divine
purpose Since before you wereborn, before our parents were
born, before anybody we knew wasever born.
God has been doing life.
(19:27):
He has been accomplishingthings.
His divine purpose has beenbeing accomplished throughout
all of history.
And if you choose, you have tomake the choice.
But if you choose to cooperatewith God's purpose and timing,
your life will have meaning.
Simple, if you choose tocooperate with the living God
(19:52):
and you take all the things thatare in your life and you choose
to cooperate, your life willhave a purpose.
But if you choose to do yourown thing, know this God's plans
will still be accomplished.
Romans 8.28 says this, and weknow that for those who love God
(20:13):
, all things work together forgood, for those who are called
according to his purpose, notyours.
His Spiritual seasons.
So what is a spiritual season?
They're phases that weexperience in our life as we're
(20:34):
following after Jesus.
That's what a spiritual seasonis, and you know that spiritual
seasons, they happen over andover and over again.
They're just not once and done,just like I know it feels like
we have summer all year long,and then summer again next year,
and then summer again next year, but it repeats there's a
(20:55):
breakup.
There's a breakup, there'ssomething different that happens
.
The phases change, and so Iwant to explain to you the four
seasons from a spiritualperspective.
Number one is spring.
It's a season of new beginnings.
It brings new opportunities andpossibilities.
I love spring season becauseit's the time when God puts
(21:19):
something into your heart andthe light bulbs come out and
you're like whoa, this isamazing.
I can't wait to start this ordo this or be a part of this.
This is going to be fun andit's like that moment of
something fresh.
That's the spring season.
But know this about the springseason Usually the decisions
(21:40):
that you make in this season ofspring, they will determine the
other seasons.
So maybe God has put somethingin your heart, maybe he's given
you a responsibility, maybe he'sasked you to do something and
you dropped the ball.
It affects the rest of theseasons, but if you take it and
(22:01):
you move and you go where he'sleading you, it affects the rest
of the seasons.
Spring, then we get to summer.
It's a season of abundance,it's a season of fruitfulness,
it's a time of spiritual growth.
You're serving God more thanyou ever have before.
You're excited.
You're so in love with him.
(22:22):
You want to be wherever he is.
You just want to be there.
You don't want to miss whatGod's doing.
That's the summer season.
So if you're sitting here todayand you feel like you don't have
that passion like you used tohave, go back to spring and see
what he handed you that you didnothing with, because you can't
(22:50):
sit here and say god's nottalking to me, god's not moving,
god's not doing anything in mylife.
He is, but maybe you didn't doanything with what he gave you
originally and now you're justsitting here complaining.
Summer is a time when weexperience the blessing of God.
(23:11):
Summer is a time when, in thespring, you planted seeds and in
the summer, you get to see thembloom.
Do you have flowers or do youhave weeds?
Because if you have weeds, yougot to go back and you got to
see what did he give me that I'mnot doing anything with?
(23:34):
Then we get to the third season.
It's autumn.
It's a season of harvest andreflection.
It's the season where you beginto see the results of your hard
work.
And let me tell you, followingJesus is not easy.
It is work.
It is work to not go with theflow but go against the flow.
Right, you can always be likethem, but they got to do a hard
(24:00):
turn to get back to where youare.
It's a season where you areseeing amazing things take place
, but it's also a season that,if you are not careful, you will
see pride begin to take root inyour heart and you'll begin to
think you are making that happen.
You'll begin to think, wow, Ido a good job.
(24:22):
Wow, they should ask me to doall the things.
Look what I accomplished.
It's also the point when, ifsomebody who is a brother or
sister in Christ that you loveand you respect and you go to
battle spiritually with them andthey come up to you and they
tell you I've been noticing alittle bit about your life it
(24:42):
looks like you're not as excitedas you were for God.
It looks like you're just kindof fading a little bit and you
get mad Check your seasonBecause all of a sudden you're
not listening anymore and youthink you're the one in charge.
You're the one doing it.
It's never about you, it'salways about him.
(25:05):
I think that's the hardestthing as a human being is to
know it's never about you.
Lord, I receive no glory, nohonor for any of this.
It's always you, lord.
I receive no glory, no honorfor any of this.
It's always you, jesus, youbore that cross, not me.
It's always about you.
(25:25):
Then we get into winter, aseason of rest and restoration
and trust.
What is it like to be in aseason when you put everything
you have into trusting Jesus,everything you trust provision
you, you trust him for healing,you trust him for breakthrough,
(25:48):
you trust him.
You don't have to go aroundgoing what should I do?
What should I do?
You're like what should I do?
Just you, just you.
What should I do?
And not like going over herelike can I get your advice?
I'm having a really hard time.
And then they tell you andyou're like I don't really like
that.
What about you?
(26:08):
What would, what do you think Ishould do?
Oh, that's not a good answer.
That's a lot of work actually.
But you just look and you justsay God, all trust goes to you
and you alone.
That is the winter season.
There is a purpose for everyseason that you go through.
I want to tell you about David.
(26:29):
He would have never been a goodking if he did not spend those
nights in that field, being ashepherd.
I don't know if any of you havetaken care of sheep and you've
spent time in a field I have not, but I can envision it very
clearly.
If I could fly a drone overDavid when he was young and we
(26:54):
were looking at his field, Iwould see many things I would
see.
Number one that he probablydoesn't shower very often, so
there's probably a smell.
I would see that he probablylooks crazy to people because
he's probably talking to thesheep as though they're people.
Hey, what have you been doingtoday?
Yeah, you getting a littlemuddy.
Like he's probably just outthere, like those are his people
(27:14):
, right, he's a shepherd.
And if you're getting a littlemuddy, like he's probably just
out there, like those are hispeople, right, he's a shepherd.
And if you're watching him,you're like he's a little bit
crazy.
And then you can see him outthere and he's probably got
names for every one of the sheep, but he's out there by himself,
he's alone.
(27:35):
He probably had moments wherethere was quiet times with the
lord, moments when he would justlook up to the heavens and say,
wow, man could not have createdthis.
This is only created by thehand of a living god.
There's other times when he hadto sleep there at night with
those sheep.
If it was me and the lightswent where the sun started
(27:55):
coming down, I'm out of there.
I literally would pray a hedgeof protection over those sheep
please, lord, don't let any ofthem leave and then I would go
and I would be there at thebreak of dawn to check on them.
But he was out there.
He was a shepherd, he relied onthe lord in those dark nights
and that is where he gained theheart of a worshiper.
(28:17):
I have daughters and they loveto sing.
They sing in our house and theyare loud.
And I imagine David, when he isin that field and no one's
around him but those sheep, thathe just lifted his voice as a
young boy and he sang to the topof his lungs glory and honor to
(28:40):
God, praising him and exaltinghim, and that his praises just
echoed and echoed and echoed.
He gained the heart of aworshiper as a shepherd boy.
So you've gone through somestuff Good, bad.
Let me tell you this it shapesyou and it molds you and it
(29:05):
creates the person that Godwants you to be If you choose to
take each of your seasons andyou cooperate with God's purpose
and timing, your life will havemeaning.
It will make you strong.
Seasons have purpose.
(29:27):
And number three seasons arechanging and everyone in Phoenix
said amen, seasons are changing.
And everyone in Phoenix saidamen, seasons are changing.
The season that you are inright now will end.
It will, yeah.
So if it's not a good season,you are like thank you Lord, I
(29:49):
am counting down the days.
If it's a good season, you'relike no, no, no, no, no, I don't
want it to end.
Seasons change and a new seasonwill begin.
Seasons do not last forever.
It's actually not healthy forthem to last forever.
Here in Phoenix, if we had 110plus days, 365 days a year, it's
(30:17):
not healthy.
It's not healthy for manyreasons.
Number one I don't think ourelectrical grid can handle it.
Number two our drivers cannothandle it.
We already got some mad ones.
We give them more heat and it'sgoing to get uglier.
But seasons change.
It says in Isaiah 43, verses 18and 19.
(30:41):
Remember not the former things,nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I, the Lord, am doing anew thing.
Now it springs forth.
Do you perceive it?
I will make a way in thewilderness and rivers in the
desert, and some of you shouldbe grateful that where you are
(31:04):
right now you will not remain.
But something new is on thehorizon.
He is doing a new thing.
As we look at King David, laterin his life he made some bad
decisions.
He had seasons of growth andfavor and then he had a season
(31:26):
where the Lord literally tookhis spirit away from him.
And that is a tough spot to bein To have been somebody who has
a heart after God, worshipswith all his might, dances
before the Lord, and then toenter a season where the Lord
(31:47):
took his spirit off of himbecause of the choices that he
was making.
I bet he so longed for thatseason to change.
All seasons change and what wedo in each season is important.
Some of us we try to hang on toa season too long Ever been
(32:11):
there.
You don't want it to end.
Things are going well, thingsare prospering.
Maybe you've had more moneythan you've ever had before,
maybe you're blessed withrelationships or friendships,
maybe things are going your wayand you just want to stay in
that season.
There is nothing worse thanhanging on to something that God
(32:32):
is done with and just like thatpicture of Jesus with his
disciples as he is moving.
You need to be moving with him,or you're going to be the one
straggling over here by yourselfsaying where did everybody go?
Life was so good, I was lovingit, and they've all moved on.
And you're just standing heresaying, oh, I wish I could be
(32:55):
back in this season.
And scripture says behold, I amdoing a new thing.
Others try to skip a season andpass to another one.
Nope, I'm not going to go thisway.
I'm just going to bypass thisentire season.
I'm just going to go over here.
I wish we could.
But whatever it is, the Lordwants to teach you in that
(33:17):
season.
You better learn it, or you'regoing to be going back to that
season again.
You know how I know that,because think of the Israelites
and how many years they spent inthe desert Just circling and
circling and circling.
Because if you don't learn itthe first time, I guarantee
(33:37):
you're going to learn it thesecond time.
What we sow in one seasondirectly impacts the other
seasons, it says in Galatians 6,9.
And let us not grow weary ofdoing well, for in due season we
will reap if we do not give up.
What season are you in.
(34:01):
I'm going to invite the worshipteam to come and join me up here
and I want to tell you thatstory that I mentioned at the
beginning about living inParaguay.
You know, leaving here in thesummer, getting there in the
winter, I just wasn't ready forthe change of seasons.
Now, to my benefit, we didn'thave cell phones.
Back then, we didn't haveaccess to the internet.
(34:23):
This was a long time ago, andso I just couldn't look up
what's the weather like over inAsuncion when I land tomorrow at
4 pm.
I just didn't know.
And I just showed up and it wasdifferent.
And I've been in those seasonswhere I didn't want to leave.
(34:43):
I've been in those seasonswhere life is going so well,
things are going well, whateverit is, things were just good.
And I was the type of personthat you just want to put your
heels in and sink all the waydown and be like don't move me,
this is good, this is good.
And God says come on, it'sgoing to get better, it's going
(35:12):
to be better than you ever couldimagine.
But you got to move, you got tomove.
And then there's those seasonswhere you already know what's
coming.
It's kind of like the game oftelephone.
Somebody says something andit's moving through and
everybody's talking about it.
You already know what's comingand you're like I am not even
entering that season.
I will, I refuse.
This is not gonna be good.
I'm be struggling to breathe,it's just gonna be miserable.
(35:36):
I'm probably gonna be depressed.
I don't even wanna go there.
And God's saying I need you tomove through it.
If you want to get to where I'mleading you, you've got to move
.
You've got to move.
But in every season I can tellyou this without a doubt God has
been faithful and he has neverleft me.
(35:58):
The enemy will lie to you andthe enemy will tell you that he
is not there, but he is lyingbecause God is faithful faithful
.
Ecclesiastes 3.1 says this foreverything, everything, there is
a season.
I'm going to ask you to standwith me thing.
There is a season.
(36:18):
I'm going to ask you to standwith me.
Maybe you're here and you'relike man, somebody just invited
me and I just showed up to thisservice.
I'm glad you're here.
We love having guests with us.
You are not here by chance.
Maybe you've been coming for afew weeks now and we're so
grateful you're returning.
(36:39):
You are not here by chance, butGod has a plan for you.
We're so grateful you'rereturning.
You are not here by chance, butGod has a plan for you.
You'll see a cross behind me,and one thing I love about this
cross is it just representsvictory.
Victory.
You will not see Jesus on thatcross, because Jesus has been
raised from the dead.
He is seated at the right handof God.
Scripture says he's makingintercession for you, and so we
(37:02):
look at that cross.
It's empty and it representsvictory.
The desire of God's heart isthat everyone is in a
relationship with him.
He doesn't want anyone toperish without knowing him, but
he wants you to have life and tohave life more abundantly.
And this morning you may behere, you may be watching online
(37:25):
, and you have never made adecision to actually follow
Jesus.
There's nothing weird that youhave to do.
In fact, scripture says inRomans 10, verses 9 and 10,
because if you confess with yourmouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that Godraised him from the dead, you
will be saved.
For with the heart, onebelieves and is justified, and
(37:47):
with the mouth, one confessesand is saved.
That's it.
You just say, lord, it's notabout me.
It's about you and you'vecreated me, and whatever I've
been doing with my life ithasn't worked out too great and
I need the Savior of the worldto come and guide me, and I want
(38:09):
to follow you all the days ofmy life.
I want to declare you the Lordof my life.
If you're here today, I'm goingto ask everyone to bow their
head, close their eyes, just outof respect for somebody who may
be making this decision today.
Maybe you're here I'm the onlyone looking around, but if
you're like, you know what Iwant to make a decision to
follow after Jesus with my wholeheart.
(38:31):
I'm just going to ask you toslip your hand up.
I'm going to pray for you.
We're going to make sure we geta Bible into your hands before.
Yeah, amen, amen.
I see your hands, amen, amen.
I'm going to ask everybody torepeat this prayer after me.
God, thank you for loving me,thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
(38:56):
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you InChrist's name, amen, amen, amen.
We celebrate with you.
So there's a couple steps.
(39:17):
I just want to tell you that,if you made that decision to
follow after Jesus.
Number one I want to give you aBible.
So if you come and find me orone of our pastoral team, we
want to get a Bible into yourhand, or one of our ushers.
Number two I need you to find achurch.
So if you don't live in thisarea and you go back home, you
need to find a church thatactually opens the Bible and
(39:37):
reads from the Bible.
Okay, a Bible-believing church.
Then, if you are in this area,we would love to have you come
back.
This church is for you.
We have services 9 and 11.
Come join us, but then, ifyou're going to join us, get
plugged into a life group,because we need you to be around
a group of believers that youcan just build a friendship with
(39:58):
and that you can just keepmoving after the Lord.
Amen.
Okay, believers, spiritualseasons are ordained, they have
purpose and they're changing.
What season are you in?
This altar is going to be wideopen today, because there's some
(40:19):
of you who do not like theseason you are in, and that's
okay.
We've all been through that.
But I want you to come and Iwant you just to tell God Lord,
whatever it is I got to learnfrom this season.
Let me learn it fast and let meobey and then move me along to
(40:39):
the next one, because I'm ready.
Maybe you're in a really goodseason and you're like I ain't
budging, I ain't moving.
You need to come and get yourheart ready so you can keep
moving further with him.
He wants to take you placesyou've never been before, but he
(40:59):
can't take you there if you'redigging your heels in and saying
no, he wants to do so much morethan you could even imagine,
and so this altar is going to beopen for you this morning.
Lord, I pray, I pray right nowfor you to move.
I know there's people that arein this room that are in
different seasons of life.
Some are good, some are bad,some are just like whatever.
(41:21):
But, god, our desire is that wedraw closer to you and that you
would do so much more with usand through us and in us.
So this morning, as we open upthis altar, I pray that you
would move on hearts, that youwould touch lives and that, holy
Spirit, you would do what youdo.
We thank you for yourfaithfulness, in the mighty name
(41:44):
of Jesus 20 years for Angus andAnnie.
Jason Brown (41:48):
Congratulations, friends.
Praise the Lord.
Hey, we have a special eventhappening this week.
We'll ask if there's any guysthat can help us.
Right after this service.
We need to break all thesechairs down and bring in tables,
because we're actually hostinga bunch of pastors this week for
an event that we're holdinglater today.
So if you could help us withthat, we'd appreciate it.
Celeste Brown (42:07):
And life group signups.
As you head out, you'll see QRcode.
Just scan it, go view throughit.
There's some ones that arecarried over, some new ones, but
be a part of something.
Jason Brown (42:17):
Before we go.
I want to pray this blessingover us Before we go.
Lord, I pray this blessing overus.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
Lord, make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you.
Lord, lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
(42:38):
Lord, I pray a blessing uponyour church, your people.
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
those around us.
Pray all that in the powerfulname of Jesus Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this we love you very muchhere at Cornerstone.
God bless you and have a greatweek.
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