DO YOU KNOW WHAT SEASON UR IN?

When I was growing up, people that had been saved for a long while were referred to as seasoned saints. This meant that they were a mature Believer and understood the application of YAHWEH's Word. It had very little to do with age and more to do with experience and wisdom.

1. Time is the great teacher and enduring seasons of tribulation will fortify you:

• 1 Timothy 5:1; "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren."

The more time you spend in the faith, the greater your faith becomes.

1. And the more faith you walk in, the more trust YAHWEH has in you:

• Hebrews 11:6; "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to GOD must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

The true sign of a seasoned Believer is their ability to wait on YAHWEH without wavering.

1. Patience works out the doubt and fear to give the seasoned believer confidence that YAHWEH can do anything but fail!

• James 1:4; "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

1. The Bible is clear that seasons will come and go, and the seasoned Believer knows the correct response for the season that you are in: Ecclesiastes 3:1; "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

Understanding seasons is the key to walking by faith and not by sight.

1. If we judge things by how they appear and react the wrong way in any given season, then we may forfeit the blessing of the new coming season: John 7:24; "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

1. Immaturity in the faith or unseasoned Believers can sabotage their coming relief by not understanding how they should respond to testing and trials in the current season: Ephesians 6:18; "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

Some seasons are caused by mistakes we make or the mistakes of others.

Sometimes, we can't see past these mistakes because the consequences are so great.

1. But these seasons change as well: Isaiah 40:31; "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

1. In the midst of our pain and going through it, we must remember that YAHWEH will bring us through it if we truly repent and He will bring comfort if we keep believing:

• Romans 8:28; "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love GOD, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

1. This does not give us an occasion to sin, but it allows us new seasons to help us deal with the consequences of bad decisions and errors: Acts 3:19; "So then, let your hearts be changed and be turned to GOD, so that your sins may be completely taken away, and times of blessing may come from the LORD."

1. Every season comes with trials and tribulations: 1 Peter 4:12; "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you."

But the key to coming through these tests is passing them, and if the same trouble follows you everywhere you go, then you are the trouble.

1. Until you change, you will not progress: 1 Peter 4:15; "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters."

YAHWEH will always bring Godly wisdom and counsel to you but if you do not tap into it, it will not help you.

1. You can be in love with the truth, attracted to the truth, and speak the truth, but if you are not doing the right thing, you will not benefit from the very truth you know:

• Galatians 6:7; "Be not deceived; GOD is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

1. When we realize that YAHWEH's way will never fail us, then we can choose His way to exit out of storms and enter into seasons of blessings and abundance: Psalms 16:7; "I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons."

1. Learn from your mistakes and grow from them: 1 Corinthians 13:11; "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

1. Anytime you get a Word from YAHWEH, apply it to yourself before you picture others:

• Matthew 7:3; "And why beholdest thou the mate that is thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

Trace your suffering back to its inception.

1. This will help you pray intentionally instead of just emotionally: 1 Peter 4:7; "But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer."

Be content and embrace your reality.

1. The next season will bring relief: 1 Timothy 6:6; "But godliness with contentment is great gain. Utilize the wisdom of those that are seasoned."

1. When you can't hear YAHWEH's voice, He is probably speaking through someone:

• Philippians 3:17; "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample."

1. Many times, YAHWEH allows testing periods in our lives to get us in the correct posture to hear and receive from Him: 1 Peter 5:6; "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty Hand of GOD, that he may exalt you in due time."

1. We grow up in homes where dysfunction may have shaped us into self-centered or selfish individuals, and our focus becomes selfish and prideful: 1 John 2:16; "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

The way we are raised has a powerful effect on the way YAHWEH deals with us.

1. YAHWEH is all-powerful and can do anything, and one thing He chooses to do is let us make choices: Joshua 24:15; "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve."

But if we are spoiled in our childhood, we will seek that during our adulthood. If we are not taught responsibility when we are young, then we will be irresponsible when we are older; but the home dictates the future in most cases.

1. So if we desire to change childhood dysfunction we must allow YAHWEH to reshape and remake us: Colossians 3:8; "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth."

• Colossians 3:10; "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."

1. In this state, YAHWEH cannot operate in us so in order to truly humble us; we must endure seasons of disciplining: Hebrews 11:24; "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter."

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the People of YAHWEH, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Reshaping is not something that happens on the altar. It happens over time and it's a process that cannot be rushed.

1. Just as a child possesses adult DNA when they are born when we are Born-Again, we possess mature Believer DNA: 2 Corinthians 4:16; "For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."

But we must grow into maturity and endure many seasons of testing, trials, discipline, and disciplining.

1. We must allow YAHWEH to challenge us if we want to be conformed to His plan for us: 2 Timothy 2:3; "Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

1. Some of it is painful to endure, but it will help to rid us of dysfunctional behaviors that will have a negative effect on who we are in Christ: Hebrews 12:7; "If ye endure chastening, GOD dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?"

The problem with many modern-day Believers is that they fail to endure seasons that are meant to reshape who they are. Because of dysfunctional homes and issues during childhood, many of us are spoiled, selfish, self-centered, affectations, etc. These character flaws don't work in the Kingdom, so if YAHWEH is going to use us, He must first change us.

When we are Born-Again, our DNA changes but it takes seasons to reshape our mind and character.

YAHWEH will always put us in a place where change can occur but we must embrace the season and allow it to work us over so that real change can happen. If we are always seeking out validation and affirmation for our own desires then we will block the opportunity for real change to occur.

1. And when we refuse to change, we are refusing YAHWEH's plan for us and promoting our own agendas: James 5:10-11; "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the LORD, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the LORD; that the LORD is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."

Contentment is the key to enduring bad seasons.

1. When we are content we make better decisions and navigate through tests and trials better: Hebrews 13:5; "Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have."

Discontentment causes us to make seasonal decisions that we regret in the next season.

1. In other words, if we make decisions solely based on what we are going through, then chances are, when we get past those issues, we will regret the decision:

• Proverbs 21:5 "The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of everyone that is hasty only to want."

1. Our decisions should be based on truth and done according to the Word of YAHWEH: Psalms 33:11; "The Counsel of the LORD standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."

Making decisions based on pure emotion, feelings, and discontentment will cause even more issues and trap us in seasons that we desire to get out of. When we are going through seasons of grief, pain, loneliness, struggle, brokenness, cashlessness, etc. we must stay close to YAHWEH.

Reading and Studying the Word, fasting, and praying will get us through any season, but surrounding ourselves with seasoned believers that can advise us and keep the truth before us helps us well. The key is to not make seasonal decisions but make absolute decisions because decisions will work no matter what season we are experiencing. We should never base our decisions on what we are going through at the moment but rather base all of our decisions on YAHWEH's truth and doing things the right way. This way, we will escape the tough times and learn from them rather than prolong them.

1. After all, if we surround our lives with relative issues, then the absolute truth will become something we must purposely avoid: 2 Corinthians 7:8-9; "For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing."

One of the main purposes of going through seasons of suffering is to make us better.

1. The stronger we are emotionally, the more consistent we will be spiritually:

• 1 Corinthians 15:46; "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual."

Our emotions can stop blessings from YAHWEH if we continue to act on them versus acting on what we know to be right: 1 Peter 3:17; "Because if it is GOD’s purpose for you to undergo pain, it is better to do so for well-doing than for evil-doing."

It's not about feeling but it's about what YAHWEH says and the application of His truth in every circumstance and situation.

1. Though this is much easier said than done, it's necessary to make it through seasons of hardship: Proverbs 16:3; "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."

When we are impatient, we cannot follow YAHWEH.

YAHWEH moves and operates according to the big picture, so our understanding cannot comprehend his ways and thoughts: Isaiah 55:8; "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."

Impatience will cause us to move and act on emotion and usually sabotage our opportunity to be used by YAHWEH.

Spare-of-the-moment decisions and selfish ideology will get in YAHWEH's way every time and push us back from getting the true prize: James 1:7; "For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the LORD. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."

1. We are trying to get these patterns out of us and the more we endure, the better suited we are to do YAHWEH's will and not our own: James 1:4; "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

When YAHWEH goes to work on us, it becomes painful and lonely. He begins to break up the fallow ground of our hearts and this process hurts.

1. Especially when we have made selfish decisions for a while or operated against our creation roles over time: Jeremiah 4:3; "For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns."

The more ground we have laid on our own, the more breaking up YAHWEH has to do. The ground has to be right because what YAHWEH wants to build in us must be stable and able to stand.

1. This requires seasons of pain to get the ground prepared: Matthew 13:7; "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up, and choked them."

The loneliness comes because relationships get challenged during this time as well. Friends and family will scatter and oftentimes, spouses may resist.

1. But it's only a season and if we allow the right foundation to be laid, the building process can begin: Matthews 13:8; "But other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."

The key to minimizing the pain of YAHWEH breaking us is to lay a foundation based on His plan in the first place. The more decisions we make without Him, the more He has to break up once we surrender to Him. When we marry outside of Him, we are laying a lot of bad ground. When we arrange our homes without His creation role plan, it's gonna take more jackhammers in the future. When we make financial decisions based on want and not need, we will have to lose things to grow up. When we lay ground on our own, without YAHWEH's plan in mind, then we are operating in a dangerous place. Emotional decisions make it hard to follow YAHWEH and it makes our seasons of suffering more painful. It's better to start making good choices, getting good advice, and improving in these areas now than to wait for the season of misery to come and do it for us.

1. Either way, a season is coming, and we must endure it to be where YAHWEH wants us all to be: Luke 8:14-15; "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

The best way to endure seasons of testing and trials is to know that it is only a season.

1. The confidence in knowing that the season we are in will eventually change is an act of faith: Matthew 17:20; "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Operating and moving in faith will help us tackle the issues that cause these seasons.

1. Though the enemy tries to stop us, we must stay focused and believe:

• Romans 1:17; "For therein is the righteousness of YAHWEH revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

1. Our faith should not be covetous, but it should be based on the fact that doing the right thing will bring the right results: Luke 12:15; "And he said unto them, Take heed, and bewareof covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."

• Hebrews 11:1; "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

This means that we can't simply trust in what is evident to our eyes, but we must believe in things that our eyes can't see. Many times we go through seasons of testing to build our faith.

1. We all have a measure of it for salvation, but we add patience to our faith when we come through these seasons: James 1:3; "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

Believing in YAHWEH requires faith and receiving from YAHWEH requires patience.

1. These are the building blocks of who we are as Children of YAHWEH: James 1:4; "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

When we are in seasons of testing, things may look impossible, but we must have faith to believe that YAHWEH can do it.

1. He is still the YAHWEH of miracles and is able to do amazing things:

• Matthew 19:26; "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible, but with GOD all things are possible."

1. But if we base things on what we are able to see or what we feel we know, then we hinder our belief and this causes us to doubt YAHWEH's ability to intervene:

• 2 Corinthians 5:7; "(For we walk by faith, not by sight)."

Sure we are to be patient and wait the seasons out. But some seasons will end once we operate in faith.

"IF YOU'RE NOT WINNING SOULS FOR YESHUA...YOU DON'T WORK FOR YAHWEH...YOU'RE SELF-EMPLOYED!!"