Who I Am – 6

Who I Am – 6

Subject – Seasons and Delays

by Rick Welborne

Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! 

Last sermon in this series:

1. In discovering God’s soul print you may find that your greatest weakness may become your greatest strength. 

Adler: Perceived disadvantages often prove to be disguised advantages because they force us to develop attitudes and abilities that would have otherwise gone undiscovered.

And it’s only as we compensate for those disadvantages that our greatest gifts are revealed. 

2 Corinthians 12:10 (NKJV) 

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

2. In discovering our soul print we find out God will use past experiences and present circumstances to unfold our destiny.

Batterson: Every past experience is preparation for some future opportunity.  God doesn’t just redeem our souls.  He also redeems our experiences. And not just the good ones.  He redeems the bad ones–especially the bad ones.

3. In discovering your soul print God will use your greatest challenge to uncover His divine preparation.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV) 

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

–Today’s message:

1. In discovering your soul print you will discover that God allows us to go through certain seasons on our journey.

–As you get older and mature you realize the battle is won long before you are on the battlefield. You win or lose based on your faithfulness to whatever season you are in

–In our impatience we forget there is a time to be on the front lines and a time to be on the sidelines. There is a time to be in the limelight but there is a time to be in the shadows.

–Moses needed to take care of sheep for 40 years before he could lead and shepherd Israel. The disciples had to learn to be fishers of fish before they became fishers of men.

Batterson: Every divine appointment is preceded by a season of preparation. And if we submit to the preparation, God will fulfill His promise. If we don’t, He won’t. Why? Because God never sets us up to fail. 

–As I think about God’s preparation for me (some extremely difficult - Hitler), I can now look back and see how all of that was necessary for me to be who I am and where I am.

–Were those seasons tough? Absolutely! Did I think about quitting? Of course! Did I seemingly barely survive?  Oh yes! Were there people to encourage me to quit?  Yes!

–Another key to fulfilling your destiny is to recognize the season you are in and not let frustration and disappointment take over.

–There are seasons when learning to lead is not as important as learning to follow. There are times learning to handle failure is better than handling success.

–We worry so much about making our business, church, or whatever grow, but before God can grow them, He has to grow us.

–If you are growing thru the tough seasons God will grow the institution you are leading.

–One of the biggest mistakes we can make is focusing all our energy on the next season of our life instead of enjoying the season we are in. Or possibly enduring.

–Example - If you are single and feel that you are stuck where you are...don’t focus on finding the right person...focus on becoming the right person...How long? As long as it takes.

–What we perceive to be the worst season of our lives may just turn out to be the portion of our lives that benefit us the most in the next season.

2. In discovering your soul print you will discover that often there will be divine delays.

Batterson: Your dream seems like a mirage that remains the same distance away no matter how fast or how far you pursue it. You know you have a destiny to fulfill, but the elapsed time causes you to second-guess yourself.   

–This is what you must understand...if you arrive to early at what you think to be your destination (your destiny) you will miss the growth you would have experienced.

 –My personal opinion: many teach out of theory having very little substance to back up what they are saying ...second hand knowledge is not as convincing as firsthand experience.

--Our credibility is substantiated by our real life situations and delays.

–Consider the disciples of Christ who went thru 3 years of intense life with Him and then came what they thought was a delay...it was...a divine delay.

–There came the cross which made them feel that their hopes were dashed...Jesus died...Peter said I am going fishing...Our dream or destiny is dead.

–What they did not realize was the resurrection, the ascension, and Pentecost were on their way...divine delays do not always mean that hope is gone.

–Even after Jesus rose from the dead...yippee renewed hope...Oh yes, guys, I am going to Heaven but I will send Holy Spirit to be with you...another delay.

–They came very close to losing God’s destiny for them because life had not gone the way they had expected ...can you imagine in those 10 days of waiting...is it over?

–Obviously we know that it was not over because Pentecost came...The Spirit came...the fullness of time came and 3000 were saved that day. 

Dutch Sheets: Are you struggling to get to the next stage? Don’t give up. Your struggles won’t be wasted; they may even be necessary. The key is not to quit.  

–You must realize that God wants you to get to your destiny more than you want to get there. Take a deep breath, enjoy the journey, and know God will get you there when you are ready to be there.

–Your current frustration (your current delay) will be cause for future celebration if you hang in there long enough. Don’t give up!

Batterson: God is building emotional endurance. And the key to emotion endurance is experiencing high levels of disappointment that break us down so God can build us back up with holy confidence. 

3. In discovering your soul print you will discover that without a crucifixion there is no resurrection.

–The days between death and resurrection are long and dark but that is often when a miracle is about to happen.

Batterson: You never know how or when or where a dream will be resurrected, but if it’s God ordained, then God Himself will bring it back to life somehow, somewhere, sometime.

–I can imagine that David (as he watched his brothers go off to war) felt overlooked and underappreciated. It seems like everyone else is getting the recognition, the promotion, or the guy or girl. Your day will come.

 –Don’t short circuit God’s plans for you by taking short cuts and by doing what so many have done by compromising...there is a price to pay for forcing your desires and wishes.

–God is setting you up just like He was setting David up...His day of destination was coming and what he had to do in the meantime was to be faithful where he was.

Matthew 25:21-23 (NKJV) 

21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 

22 He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 

23 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 

–Notice the faithfulness to the few compared to being a ruler to many things. David was faithful to a few sheep and God made him ruler of a nation.

–Maybe you are being faithful to a few (single mom faithful to her children or a SS teacher faithful to a few children in her class) ...you fill in the blanks.

–The Master is keeping good records and the reward...the resurrection will come...don’t give up...don’t compromise. Compromise or unfaithfulness costs more than you want to pay. 

Matthew 25:24-30 (NKJV) 

24 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 

26 But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 

27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 

28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 

29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 

30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 

–What was the wicked servant saying about his master:

A. You are a hard man...God, you are too hard to serve...I’ll make my own choices.

B. You reap where you have not sown. You receive when you have not given. Where did the talent come from?  

C. You make me afraid...You can’t be trusted to do what You say. No compassion.

 –Hear me, one of the fastest ways to mess up what God has for you is to not trust Jesus, to try to help Him fix your situation, and to compromise the Word of God.

–OK, life has been tough, Jesus has been there, most of us have been there but without a crucifixion there is no resurrection. Your choices...your decision to be faithful will be the catalyst for you discovering your soul print.

Matthew 24:12-13 (NLT) 

12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 

13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.