(12/19/2022) Welcome to Christ’s Community Church. Thank you for joining us this morning as we wrap up our message series Psalms For All Seasons. If you are joining us for the first time, over the past several weeks we’ve been walking through the Psalms and have discovered that they meet us in every season of our lives.

In week one, we learned about seasons of harvest and fruitfulness. In week two we learned about God’s provision in every season. And in week three we learned the importance of seasons of waiting. And today we want to talk about the confidence to stand firm in whatever season you find yourself, because one thing is certain, there is an appointed time. There is a time, there is a when, and so every prophecy, every revelation, requires a certain degree of patience.

In fact, one of the things that we can learn from Israel’s history is that they understood the value of waiting patiently. The psalmist said it this way,

"My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning…. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins" (Psalms 130:6-8).

And so, like the psalmist we wait patiently because there is an appointed time for our redemption. There is a time of visitation, there is a response from heaven, and there is a day of redemption.

In Habakkuk chapter 2, we find the prophet positioned as a watchman, a lookout standing on the wall of Jerusalem just watching and waiting for any sign of movement. He had made his complaints known to the Lord and was now stationed in his post like a sentinel waiting to see what the Lord would say. In verse three, the Lord replied saying,

"The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay" (Habakkuk 2:3).

It’s important that we understand that there is an appointed time. It will certainly come, and so from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation,

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

In other words, it’s right on time, everything is on a schedule. I know that sometimes it feels like it, but the events of our lives are not just happening in some sort of random haphazard way. The Lord has placed parameters in the earth as he tells us to the psalmist,

"The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter" (Psalms 74:16-17).

And so, even though the Lord is far above our concept of time, we need to understand that he has a watch, there is an appointed time. And so, we don’t need to be worried, wondering if what we’re going through is ever going to end. Or if what we’re going through is what we’re supposed to be going through in this season. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel that way but we can trust that the Lord has a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

There is a time and like my yard at home there is a big difference between how it looks right now and how it looks in the spring. If you were to drive up right now, the grass is withered, and the flowers have faded. The leaves have fallen, leaving the trees ugly and barren, but there is a season. There is a time when all the trees are blossoming and you can enjoy the contrast of the white and pink dogwoods, the flowering cherry and pear trees, but today, right now is not the time, because it’s not the season. And so, there is a time in all of our lives when we need to let go of what we had, recognizing that the old is gone and the new has come, and that there is a time and a season for everything.

You may be able to read music, but Dawn can tell you, if you can’t keep time, you’re going to throw the whole worship team off. Because when it comes to playing music, timing is everything. In fact, much of life is ordered in a rhythm, our bodies have a rhythm, our breathing, our pulse, our heartbeat, all have a rhythm. God created everything that is alive, everything that moves with a rhythm. The sun, moon, and the stars have a rhythm. The ocean has a rhythm, the tide and the waves have a rhythm, because there is a time for everything.

Nature itself teaches us that we can only be fruitful in season. Psalm chapter one says,

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (Psalms 1:1-3).

In other words, it’s all about timing, you can’t be fruitful out of season. And so, you have to know when it is your season, and you have to know when it is not.

You also have to know when to sow your seed, because if you’re not sowing in season, if you don’t put anything in the ground, you’re not going to get anything out of the ground. That’s why the Bible says,

"Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well" (Ecclesiastes 11:6).

And so, you’ve got to understand that everything comes in seasons. God has a time for everything and…

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Genesis 8:22).

There is a rhythm, there is a cycle, and when you get into your season everything will become clear. In other words, where there is a season, there is a purpose, because there is an appointed time. It’s all about timing as the Bible says,

"The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening" (Psalms 104:19-23).

You see, there is a time and a season, and there are things that you learn from working and struggling, things you learn by trial and error, but the truth of the matter is that the best things in life take time.

Now, I know that we’re not a predominantly agricultural community, and so day by day we don’t really think about the time or the season, but the truth of the matter is that much of our lives is seasonal. Some of the people in your life are seasonal, some relationships are seasonal, some jobs or opportunities are seasonal, and when the season changes, we may think it’s over, but it’s just that the season has changed.

Solomon, with the great wisdom that God gave him said, there is a time and a season for everything. In other words, there is an appointed time.

"A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:2-4).

And so, I want to encourage you to stand firm, to be faithful, to be patient in whatever season you find yourself in because it’s just a season. In other words, there is going to be a time, we don’t know when, but there is going to be a when. That’s the way James illustrates, he said,

"See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near" (James 5:7-8).

You see, we don’t know when, but we can take courage because we know there is a time. And so, we don’t know when, we don’t know what’s going to happen next, but we can wait patiently because we know that God has a schedule. In other words, he knows when and he’s still in control, he still has a plan, because there is a time and a season for everything.

For the woman whose cycle has stopped, she’s sick in the morning and she can’t figure out what’s wrong, because she’s not usually sick in the morning. Now, you and I know that it just hasn’t been revealed to her yet, there is a time. In fact, the Bible says,

"In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David" (Luke 1:26-27).

"The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:30-32).

Now, her not knowing that she was pregnant, her lack of knowledge didn’t negate the fact that a seed had been planted. In fact, at that moment she received a divine ultrasound without ever going into a doctor’s office. The angel even revealed the gender of that baby growing inside of her body.

Of course, Mary was troubled by his words, wondering how this could be since she was a virgin. But the angel said,

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).

Now, she didn’t know him yet, but she knows he’s coming, because she had received revelation, this was her time of visitation.

In the same way, we know he’s coming, we know that the Lord is near, because from Genesis to Revelation God has given us different levels of revelation. He has revealed glimpses of that which was hidden, the fact that Jesus was chosen before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last times for your sake (1 Peter 1:20). And so, there have been times and seasons of revelation, coming in stages, coming in phases, through the Word of God and through experience.

There is a seed planted in season, there is a time to be born again, there is an appointed time, but just because you came forward and gave your life to Christ doesn’t mean that Christ is fully formed in you. In other words, it’s going to take time, there are going to be periods of development. The apostle Paul said to the church,

"I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you" (Galatians 4:19).

In other words, he was laboring to bring them out, because just like it was for Mary, Christ has to be formed in you. And so, it’s going to take time, there are going to be growth spurts, but Christ in you is a mystery.

It’s not something that can be proven, it can’t be explained, but it must be revealed. And so, it’s going to take time to develop, to grow and become mature, until you attain to "the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). And for most of us, it’s going to take a lifetime to get it right. You know, to see Christ fully formed in you, because it’s a mystery that has to be revealed.

And many of you are here because Jesus revealed himself to you. He showed himself, revealing his invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature through creation. That’s what the Bible says, that he has been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made (Romans 1:20). Or maybe he chose to let you see him through preaching, in the Word of God, or through a song in worship. Some of you weren’t even in church, you might have been in the house or in the car, but Jesus gave you a sneak peek and revealed himself to you.

Others of you are here because somebody brought you, like in John’s gospel when Andrew went to get his brother Simon. And so, maybe your parents brought you here, they brought you to meet Jesus. Or like Philip who found his friend Nathaniel and said, "Come and see"

"We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote" (John 1:45).

And no matter how you got here, you are growing, you are developing, you are maturing, because that’s his purpose for you. In other words, this is your time, this is your season, this is God’s purpose for you in Christ. That you would no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by every wind of teaching, but as the apostle Paul said, that you would be found in Christ,

"Not having a righteousness of (your) own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith" (Philippians 3:9).

That’s the goal, that you would grow up in him, that you would be found in him, but it’s going to take time. I know that not just from my own life, not just from 20 years of ministry, but also because I’ve got six kids. And even though two of them are twins, none of them are the same, they’re all different ages, they’re all at different stages of development, because it takes time for Christ to be formed in you.

It’s always been that way, because from the beginning of time, Jesus has chosen to reveal himself through types and shadows. In other words, he was the voice of the Lord walking through the garden, he is the lover of your soul, and your kinsman redeemer. He is the rock in the wilderness, the tabernacle, the brazen altar and the mercy seat. He is the Lamb that was slain and the bright Morning Star. All of these are just quick glimpses, shadows of who Christ is, but when Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled, the intangible became tangible, the invisible was made visible, because he said,

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

In other words, God left the host of heaven and came down where we were. Jesus was God walking among us, God dwelling among us in the flesh, he was the answer to the psalmist’s prayer.

"Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us" (Psalms 80:1-2).

"Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved" (Psalms 80:17-19).

And so, God came down and revealed himself. He was playing peekaboo with his children, he was giving greater revelation, he was parting the veil in the temple, because the Godhead is a mystery, it can’t be explained, it must be revealed.

God came down to his people, showing us in a very practical sense that he is the tabernacle in the middle of the 12 tribes of Israel. He is Immanuel, God with us, and so he came down among Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, and the others. He said to the 12,

"Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20).

In other words, if you start praising me, I will be right there in the middle of you. If you start talking about me, I’m going to sit down in the middle of your conversation, because it’s so good when brothers live together in unity" (Psalms 133:1). And so, he says, when you start declaring that I’m worthy to be praised, when you start shouting hallelujah, I’m going to sit down in the presence of your unity.

As we gather together today, assembling in his name, when the Lord turns to look, when he comes to sit in our midst, when he rests on the praises of his people, I can’t act like I haven’t been waiting on this. Because this child, this son who was born, this promise one, he is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. He is the Word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us. He is God’s love made flesh and he comes to us through Mary.

"We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Mary was the tabernacle, her womb became the holy of holies, and that which was conceived in her was by the Holy Spirit.

I hope you are getting this word, this revelation of Christ down in your spirit, so that when you shout hallelujah, you know the one that you are worshiping. He is Immanuel, God with us, and when Jesus comes to sit among us, we’ve got to worship.

When David brought the ark of the Lord back into Jerusalem, he couldn’t contain himself, he was worshiping, he was dancing and leaping before the Lord with all of his might. And the Bible tells us that his wife saw him out the window and was appalled by his behavior. She scolded him for acting in such an undignified manner before all the people. And David replied, "But that was before the Lord, I will celebrate before the Lord,

"I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes" (2 Samuel 6:21-22).

And so, David refused to be held back, he wouldn’t be kept from worshiping, and he was going to shout and dance for the Lord even if it got on her nerves, because he knew that the Lord was worthy of his praise.

That’s why we praise him like we do. That’s why we have Psalms For All Seasons, because we know who our God is, we know what he’s done, and we’ve just got to praise him for his goodness to us. We’re not going to be fearful of what people say, or worried about getting on their nerves, because God made a way where there was no way. And so, even now, the answer to my prayer might not come when I want it to, it might not come like I thought it should, but I know that God has a time, there is an appointed time, because

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

In other words, everything is on schedule, the answer is coming, the miracle is on the way, because the Lord has a watch, he has a time. And so, you just need to be patient, and when you think you can’t take it anymore, all you need to do is stand. You don’t need to answer, you just stand your ground, because it’s just a season. Let’s pray.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott