Success In Every Season | Pastor Paul Strong | Pursue

Welcome to the Legacy Churches Podcast. We are so glad that you get you

in us today. We praise that God speaks to you through his message and

through his work. Now let's tune into the message verse seven of chapter five.

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming.

And see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop,

waiting patiently or patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rain. You too,

come on, Just tell your neighbors, say you too, Oh, that

was the wrong neighbor. Say other neighbor, you too, you too?

You too? To be patient and stand firm because the Lord's coming is near,

and don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you'll be

judged. The judge is standing at the door. Brothers and sisters, as

an example of patient in the face of suffering. Take the prophets who spoke

in the name of the Lord. As you know we come. Count is

blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of jobahs perseverance, and have

seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and

mercy. But you just bow your heads with me. Father we love you

today. We are so grateful for your presence in this place. We pray

God today that your word would fall not on deaf ears, but your word

would fall God on fertile ground. God, open up our hearts, our

ears, our minds to receive your word. And we thank you today God

for the powerful word of God that's sharper than a two edged sword. And

let it cut our hearts, let it speak into us and God, we

pray today God, it would produce a harvest of righteousness in the mighty name

of Jesus. And everybody said, Amen. As you get seated just high,

three or four people say tough seasons. Look, come on, just

tell them say, tough seasons don't last, but tough people do. Tough

seasons don't last, they don't last, but tough people do. How many

No, God's building us, building our character and building us into His likeness.

And this is just a sideway message. Today. I came to talk

to you because of just where we are as a church, or where we

are as a people, where we are as a city with the storm coming

through that how man know that when the storm comes through, sometimes we become

very myopic and think we're the only one going through the storm and not talking

to me today. Sometimes we think we're the only one going through the storm.

There was a post I saw on Facebook. Some lady was literally she

was rolling down her windows, stopping the car and yelling at the linemen.

Our power is out, and we're thinking so is everybody Else's like you're the

only one that lost power, Like you're the only one that's going through hell.

And sometimes we become so myopic in the storm. We think we're the

only one. And just because you don't smell like smoke doesn't mean you haven't

gone through some fire. Just because we're not posting on Facebook doesn't mean that

we're not going through something. In fact, that's probably the best thing you

need to do is learn how to not post everything you think, think before

you post, and then if you can't think, take away your phone.

Amen, how many have you ever wanted to just take away somebody's phone?

Be like, please Lord help them. Jesus, even when the Bible talks

about in the Gospel of Mark. When Mark, which is the first gospel

that was written, it was talking about how Jesus was on the boat,

and there are many boats in the lake, and then the storm came,

and it is amazing how that there were many boats in the lake, but

when the storm came, the focus became on the boat that they were in.

Because when you're going through the strong, you don't recognize everybody else is

going through the strong as well. But everybody's going to go through something.

Everybody in this room is going to go through some type of storm, some

type of situation and chains. This text just always speaks to me about how

to deal with and walk through the seasons in our lives. And we need

to recognize it that every season is necessary for success. And there's a difference.

I just want to put like a parenthetical next to seasons. There's a

difference between seasons and cycles. Some of us are blaming God for the season

we're in when it was a cycle we created. If you don't like your

if you don't like your harvest you've made, or change your seed, you

can't blame God for the situation that you're broke, busted and disgusted. When

you didn't apply yourself, you didn't do the things that you're supposed to do.

You cut and run when they got difficult at the workplace. And now

you want everybody to take care of you. You're not gonna talk to me

today. I got you. How many know, sometimes we have to own

our own own mistakes. Hello, my failure is not your fault. Oh

yeah, I may have to go back on vacation every season. And there's

a difference because we have to recognize the difference between cycles and seasons. There's

sometimes we're in bad habits, and we bad habits create bad fruit and bad

thinking, and we're in a in a rut because we chose to be in

that rut, and we're like the prodigal sudden. He says, when I

was in when I was in the pig pen, and I came to myself.

Sometimes you got to come to your mind yourself and say, I don't

belong in this mess. I don't belong in this I don't belong I in

my father's house. I'm living lower than God's calling and purpose on my life.

Why am I in this mess? When my father's house there are many

servants. I will want some of us got to raise ourselves up and say

I need to get out of this. Think, thank you Jesus. But

every season is necessary for success in and James who's writing to the church.

He's writing to the church, and he's telling them how to operate in types

of trouble and tribulation and struggle. The church was under persecution, and James

is the he is the wisdom of the New Testament. He's the proverbs of

the New Testament. He's telling us to be patient, to be patient,

and how the farmer understands. He's given an agrarian concept of how the farmer

understands the process of sowing, watering, and reaping. That understands the process

of being in these seasons. That there's a planning season, there is a

spring season, there is a summer season, and then there is a harvest

season. That we have to understand the seasons that we're in, and none

of us like the night seasons. I don't know about you. I did

not enjoy being in my house at night with it being eighty two degrees.

That's not the will of God for me. It may be for you may

like it ninety I don't. I don't want to sweat when I get in

my bed. I want to lay the cover over me as the cold air

blows like billows over my head. I want to shiver underneath the covers.

As a nice bomb sixty nine blows in my house. You may not like

it that cold. That's okay. When we get to heaven, you'll discover

what the will of God is. I don't want to be eighty two.

I sure don't want nobody touching me eighty two degrees. Amen, my kids

like, I'm scared, go to your bed. It's dark, it's night.

I understand. But when we go through the nineteen seasons, we need

to understand that it's necessary for our development. And this is why Paul tells

us or James tells us, let patience finish the work. Just tell your

neighbors say, let patience finish the work. I'll tell the other neighbor.

They're not listening to say, let patience finish the work. It's important today

because maybe God wants us to grow through some of this instead a jump ship.

Too many of us we get Willy Kney and we leave right before our

blessing because we are too impatient in the process. And maybe God doesn't want

you just to go through it. God wants you to grow through it.

This year, maybe this storm, maybe this situation, maybe this season is

supposed to develop something on the endside of you, soul. Let patience just

put it up there. Let patience finish its work. And it's important today

because all of us sometimes we'll get to the point where we start saying why

me, And I have to be honest. I stop saying why me,

because it's very self centered to think that I'm the only one going through this?

Why mean? Why not me? Why am I going through this?

And we have to recommend no one is immune to suffering, no one is

immune to storms, no one is immune to what's going on in life.

And the more that God develops you, the more hell you're going to face.

I don't even try to pray for hell anymore. I pray for I'm

like Lord, as I pray for growth. I know when I pray for

growth, God just sends me some stuff that I really don't want anybody know

what I'm talking about. I kind of want to say, disclaimer, Lord,

don't send me anymore muss. I'm good. But I just recognized that

that's the growing process. And too many of us were feeling like we're getting

buried. But that's what seeds are developed in. And why are you complaining

about us seed? Because no seed can breve, produce a harvest until it

gets buried. And you're buried under something, but you'll never know what's in

you to you, something gets on you, ha ha ha. And I

needed you to understand that God when it comes to our lives, said that

there's a that we are always coming from seed form into into the plan of

God and to the purpose of God for our lives. And I remember with

my wife when we had when we had our big garden back in Arkansas,

when we we I love harvest season. I love picking the tomatoes off the

plants. I love going around looking for the cucumbers. Who look at that

cucumber. Oh, look at that one. Look at that one, and

just like we have so many cucumbers on the plants. Be like, hold

on, we gotta wait for that one grow a little bit bigger. My

wife she would make she'd make pickles with the cucumbers. M Jesus, and

so she'd getting Then we had squash, and we had we had all types

of produce and peppers. But that was that was the fun part of it,

going in there and looking for for the harvest. But how many,

No, that's not how it started. And so the seed. My wife

was started at sea form. We didn't go to home depot and buy plants.

Now, we got a packet of seat eighty eight cents. And my

wife would start planning. She literally laid out the whole kitchen table, and

she had a whole pods of little be pods that had dirt, and then

she'd put a little seed in there, and she'd covered up and put another

seed there and cover it up, and she'd put another seed there. I

remember she was making green beans. Put I love green beans. Just giving

a word for somebody that if they want to bless their pasture with fresh green

beans or or tomatoes or squash, or or or zucchini. I like zucchini

bread. If you want to make suit, I'm just the Lord's using me

right now. Come on, if you're hearing me, amen, she should

how many we should be putting all this achin? And she put all there.

All of a sudden, she'd be putting them on there. I mean

we had like five trays and and she'd start watering them and she'd have a

lamp over them, and then she'd go through the process and we'd start seeing

ones that sprout. Yeah, and that would be so exciting. Oh,

look at these these little plants are sprouting. They would also know that there

were some seeds that weren't sprouting. We noticed that the seed the ground wasn't

then nothing was happening, and we can kind of do a little investigation like

what's going on and underneath the ground, like why isn't this one? And

I almost would tell us that I think these aren't working. My wife said,

no, no, no, be patient. The seed's on schedule.

The seed is on schedule. You may not be able to see anything that's

working, but the seed is on schedule. It may be a little bit

slow on the road, but it's on schedule. And sometimes look at other

people and we say, there's nothing happening. But can I tell you today,

I came to talk to somebody today who feels like maybe nothing's happening and

they're getting their breakthrough and they're getting their miracle, and I don't see nothing.

I came to tell you the seed is on schedule. God is doing

something below the ground. And if you could pull back the sea the crown,

you would see that there was some roots that were growing and there was

some development that was happening and cannot tell you today that God is wanting to

do a work today and the seed is on schedual. Just come on,

just high five. Somebody said, I'm on schedual. I'm on schedule.

I'm on schedule. I'm not late, I'm not delayed, I'm not denied.

God's got a perfect plan for my life. I might not be where

I used to be. I might not be where I want to be,

but I'm not where I used to be. I am growing in the depths

of God's rich truth and his rich power. There is some roots used to

fall down when the storm came, but now I can stand in the middle

of the storm. I used to cut, bait and run, But now

I'm recognizing that greater is He that is in me, that he that is

in the world, the seed. He is on schedule. I'm telling you

God is doing the work. I'm on schedule today. I'm not too layed,

I'm not tonight. I'm just some time for the plan of God for

my life. I can't compare myself to Peter or Change or John. I'm

in this on this race I own, and I gotta learn to run the

schedule that God has from my life. Gloried to God, give God praise

today who she's on schedule. Excuse I'm building God's building my faith. Walk,

God's building my love. Walk. God's building my kindness. God's building

my patience. God's building me in self control. That's why James said,

consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when your face trials of

many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

And let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature. I used

to be immature. I used to be adolescent. I used to be petty.

I used to get offended when things didn't go my way here. I

used to get mad at God. But there's something happening on the inside of

me, and I recognize that the seed is at work. It's recusing me

to have a roots in my God's word is transforming me from the inside out.

I don't need to be changed from the outside in. I need to

be changed from the inside out. Who who I'm telling you today? And

that is the dynamic of us patients do its work. We'reever patient. I

don't know about you. I don't like the way all these sanctified people over

here. I remember when my mom with bacon cake. And then when she

put the batter in the tray, she greased the batter first, greased the

tray, put the batter in, put the cake in the oven. About

twenty minutes in, she'd pull it out. She'd get a toothpick. Y'all

know what I'm talking about. Hm. Some of y'all, I don't know

what I'm talking about. You think Kate just magically appears in a tray.

And then she'd go there and do the toothpick and pull it out. Then

she see a little batter and she'd put it back in the oven. And

she said, baby, just wait, it's not finished yet. And I

came to tell somebody. You're frustrated that God pulled you out and there's still

some stuff that's stuck on you, that's got to come off of you.

And he's putting you back in because he wants you to know. I need

you to come out pure. It's going I need you to come out better

than what you came in. I need to cut you know that today I

kind of finish the work. Nothing worse than having wrong cake and then wrong

nothing. Everything that God does is to prepare you for what's next. And

some of you're trying to open up doors for your life that you're not prepared

for. So you got to recognize that every season it's developing for your success.

If you'll let patients do the work, you'll let the patience of God.

God's developing your character so that you'll grow into what He has for your

life, which means this is why James says that you need to learn to

stand firm, don't grumble and complain. M hmm, because your daily discipline

is on display in tough seasons. Can I just put something out here,

is that when you talk about the Lord at your workplace or at your school,

they don't listen to you until you go through hell. And when they

see you go through hell and still have sweetness in your spirit, they know

what you are saying is true. And and that's why your daily discipline is

on display when you're going through a tough season, and you have to learn

this that you have to you have to act your way into feeling instead of

feel your way into acting. Your obedience should lead your emotions, not your

emotions lead your obedience. Some of us in this season, God is trying

to teach us how to obey whether you feel like it or not. There

is a word that God is saying to you. Where is your faith walk?

Where is your love walk? Where is your where is your serving walk?

Where is all that God is trying to teach you? How to be

consistent? It's your consistency that builds credibility with people. It's your consistency that

you've been steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of God, because

your labor is not in vain. That you learn that your sun set it's

better than your sun rise. And we live in a world today that just

wants Christianity to be be all blessing and not burden, all glory and no

suffering. But you cannot have glory without suffering, and you cannot have blessing

without burden. Don't shout me down while I'm preaching, so good pastor a

man preacher, you better preach this word. Yes I am, Yes,

I am, Yes I am. That's consistency. God's trying to work out

your inconsistency, your sea legs, and you just get all wiggedly on us

when hard times come. You become wiggly when things don't go the way.

But you gotta learn today to learn how to be consistent under pressure. You

gotta learn to not let the situation determine how things are going. You got

to learn how to be steadfast and faithful and letting God's word shape your heart

and develop you. Because the moment that you stop doing the necessary, you

start doing the negative. That's why he says, stop grumbling. It's a

sign that you're replacing the good with the bad. If you don't like your

words, check your wealth. God's trying to establish you today. He's trying

to build your character. He's trying to build your life on his solid rock.

Today and today. When we begin to grumble and complain, it's a

sign that we have lost perspective. We haven't lost the promise. We've lost

perspective. The promise still stands to those who will persevere to the end.

It's diligence plus decisions that equal our destiny. Most of us we want destiny,

but we don't want diligence. It's the faithful man who's at the plow,

continually following God in this process. It's the one who continually dies daily

and says, Lord, let you live, and let Christ live me is

it's the daily walk with Christ that says, Lord, today, I surrender

all, not I surrender some. I trust you, I follow you,

And today I just came to tell you today. It's in those processes that

you develop your consistency of serving and giving and loving and worshiping. There's nothing

more powerful than you worshiping God in the middle of a storm. Nothing more

more powerful than you developing a habit of worship. Today, how I give

you praise naked I came in, and naked I come out. But blessed

be the name of the Lord. I praise you Lord in the storm because

I recognize that Lord. As long as I've got breath, I've got praise.

Hey, my God, And today I recognize those things. Because you

can't rock and row at the same time. What are you talking about.

Well, when I'm in a boat, I need people rowing, not rocking.

And you can't rock and row at the same time. You're gonna have

to make a decision whether you're gonna row and grow or gonna rock and create

problems and frictions in your life. And you need to learn that today.

And when I'm in the middle of a storm, I don't need anybody rocking

the boat. Complaining, why is the storm happening? Why aren't we getting

this? Why an't we getting that? The devil is a liar? Shut

up in Jesus' name, Come on, we ain't got time. We gotta

row, We gotta grow, we gotta develop, We gotta be people of

character. God, help us to believe you in the dark, what you

said in the light, I said, God, help us to believe what

you said in the darkness, what you said in the light. That God,

that you are faithful and true. Today we gotta learn that. We've

gotta learn how to be patient and to stand firm. But most of all,

we're gonna look to others who have finished their season. James does a

roll, calling says, consider the prophets who persevered. He said, consider

Job. He pulls out. Job says, Job, come to the witness,

stand and testify of what God taught you in the silent seasons of life.

That when all hell breaks loose. Now, number one thing that we

gotta learn is don't misinterpret God's silent Many of us we get frustrated because for

forty something chapters in the in the book of Job, we see God doesn't

speak. Why Job cries out and sometimes we feel like God does not hear

us. But can I tell you he heard you the first time? You

cried? Mm hm? Y'all, remember I never understood this. When I

was a kid. I would ask my mom something. Mom, Can I

go out and play? Mom? Can I go out and play? Mom?

Can I go out and play? My mom would be in the kitchen

doing something, and I'd get frustrated, said Mom, can I go out

and play? She wouldn't respond, and finally I said, Mom, can't

did you hear me? She said, yes, boy, I heard you

the first time. Now go sit down. Anybody have a mama like that?

Now? Every once in a while I get Cooper over here. Then

Cooper will be talking to me, Dad, blah blah blah, Dad,

did you hear about this? Dad? Did you hear about it? And

I have to say, boy, sit down, I heard you the first

time. Just because just because God does has not responded the way you think

he should respond doesn't mean he has not heard you. He just lets you

know that he's above you, he reigns over this situation, and he's teaching

you how to trust him in his silence, that he's still in control,

that he's still sovereign, that he's still faithful, that he's still true,

that he's still able. Just because he's silent doesn't mean that he doesn't see

what's going on. Just because he's silent doesn't mean that he doesn't see what's

going on in the workplace or what's going on behind closed door. God sees

all, and God will work it out in his season of due time.

Give God praise today. He's sovereign to it. But most of the things,

yeah to come to this reality as well, that Joe Blert I came

in with nothing and I'm leaving with nothing. It gives us an eternal perspective

about life. I love what Pastor Abraham shared nobody eternity, and it's the

truth is that we sometimes we have such an external reality that we've forgotten the

eternal reality. And we need to recognize today that no one was born with

a Nike suit and Jordan's come on now, nobody was born with the protest

suit. No one came out with a Louis Vuitton clutch. Come on now,

nobody came out with an Adidas track suit. No, no, they

were naked. I don't know about your baby. When my baby came out

naked, naked day came out naked in a mess that came out and when

they when when my when I laid my last breath, I'm gonna I'm gonna

be naked I leave, which means there's nothing in this earth that's gonna go

with me. And I've got to recognize the each a perspective I have about

life that one day I will stand before the maker of heaven and earth,

and I want him to hear hear him say well done. And most importantly,

I need to recognize today that faith that has not been tested cannot be

trusted. Most of us today we are praying for things that we're not even

ready for, and faith that has to be tested. That's why it's called

a testimony. Because you've passed the test today. Aren't just so thankful today

that when I got on the airplane that they had passed the test. I

wanted they did all types of examinations. I don't want to get on any

plane that hasn't passed the test. I don't want them to say we hope,

and I want to trust that they have everything working in that plane.

When we get up in the air cannot get a witness, and God is

saying, if you're gonna carry people, if you're gonna carry my glory,

if you're gonna carry my promise, I got to trust you. And I

can't trust you if I can't test you. And my testing is not to

grade you. My testing is to grow you into the likeness of my son

today. And that's why you're going through that, because God is developing your

faith so that you can be trusted. If you're faithful over the few things,

God will make you rule over much. It starts with the little.

It starts with little things. Starts with little things. It's like showing up

on time. That's little things. Well, you're not gonna talk to me

today, and little things about being faithful and fruitful over little things. God's

testing you. Everybody in this room. You don't know it, but you're

being interviewed by God right now. And God is testing you to see where

He can place you in his promise and plan for your life. And here's

the most important thing. And I close with this. I don't think it's

the most important, but it's one of the many things. It's perseverance,

pace, James says, patiently waiting for the harvest. God's got a harvest

for your life, harvests of righteousness, harvest of the seeds you've been sowing.

God's got harvest for you. The Bible says that don't become weary in

doing good, for if you faint not, you'll receive your harvest. Induce

season, you'll reap Today. God wants you to know today that some of

us were just right there on the edge of what God has for us,

and all hell is breaking loose. And I can tell you today you got

to be learning to be patient. You got to be willing to be patient

and say God, I trust you that it's coming, and that I'm not

coming to my harvest. My harvest is coming to me. I perseverance pays.

I can testify like David, I was young, but now I'm older,

and I've never seen the righteous forsaken other seed begging for bread. I've

seen the Lord do miracles in my life. But it's because I was willing

to persevere. Ah. Did I feel like quitn't Oh yeah, oh yeah.

Did I get frustrated? Oh yeah, oh yeah, that I think

that that it wasn't wasn't fair? Almost definitely, Yeah, But I learned

God, you're still good. Yeah, God, You're still good. And

life isn't fair and my story is not your story. But I gotta walk

this thing out one step at a time. And I came to tell somebody

that you're wanting to step away from some stuff, and God's trying to tell

you, no, no, no, Keep on walking, keep on trusted,

keep on moving, keep on believing, keep on grinding, keep on

praying, keep on serving, keep on smiling even though it hurts, even

though you see them and they're looking at you laughing, he just keep on

smiling. God, you're good, You're faithful, you're true, you're righteous,

you're holy, You're a good father. I don't understand it, but

I don't have to understand it to trust you, Lord. I know at

the end, Lord, that you work all things together. I'm gonna preach

this to myself for the good of those who love God and are called according

to His purpose. And as long as I love you and am I called

according to your purpose. You said you'll work it out. You'll work out

the good, you'll work out the bad, you'll work out the ugly,

you work out the things that nobody see that they said you work out the

things that people said that it was seen. God, you'll work it all

out. God, you were gonna work it out from my life. You're

gonna work it out for my home. You're gonna work it out for my

family. You're gonna work it out for my children. You're gonna work it

out, because that's the God that I serve, God that works it out.

You work it out. You work it out on your schedule, because

the seed is on schedule. The seed is on schedule. God, what's

started a seed? God, there's gonna be a moment to we're gonna see

the harvest. We're gonna see the harvest, and God, we're gonna celebrate

all that ship done and give your praise. Staying with me today, I

feel the presence of the Lord in this place today, and somebody, you

just need to go ahead and throw up your hands and begin to give them

thanks right now. Come on, I need you to do this. I

feel the Holy Ghost talking to me, he says. Some of you been

grumbling, complaining, and God wants to turn your grumbling into praise. Come

on, just beginning to give them thanks right now. God, I thank

you right now for this arm thinking. Lord, I'm sorry for my crumbling.

I'm sorry from my complaining. Lord. In every season, I will

get praise to you, Hen every season, you are still God. I've

got a reason to worship. I've got a reason to praise Hen every season,

in every situation, Hen, every starm you are still God. You

are still God, and I kind of reason to praise. I've got a

reason to worship, have got a reason. If it's just me up here

giving you praise, I won't be silent, even if the rocks cry out,

I'm not gonna be silent. I'm gonna give you praise. Oh,

thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. Come on, just begin to thank

him. Open up your mouth. Come on, begin, open up your

mouth and thank him. Come on, begin, open up your mouth and

thank him. I'm telling you, when you open up your mouth, you're

silencing the lives of the enemy. Open up your mouth in the name of

Jesus and give him praise. Today. I give your praise. God.

I can leave your praise today. I bless you today, God. I

bless you Lord. I bless your Lord. I bless your Lord. I

bless your Lord. I bless you Lord. Hol godh