9.14.12 "The Season of Preparation"

"The Season of Preparation"

Isaiah 15:1-18:7
Galatians 1:1-24
Psalm 58:1-11
Proverbs 23:12

God has big plans for your life! Each of us has varying levels of understanding of that statement. We're all aware of Jer. 29:11, and know that God wants to do a great work in us and through us. So, now what?

There have been times of my life where I've been waiting for God's plans to "happen" to me. I get a big dream or vision, and then sit around and wait for it to occur. I wouldn't really recommend that as a course of action. At least not if you want to see the dream come about. Rarely, if ever, does God complete his work in us as we sit around and wait. One of my wife's middle school teachers always told her: "Nothing of value is ever obtained in an atmosphere of comfort." In other words, "No DREAM is free!" 

In this opening chapter of Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul addresses the purity of the message of Jesus Christ. He's recounting to them that the plan of salvation is, and needs to remain unaltered. It is through Jesus Christ alone.

In verse 13-14, Paul is talking about his old life & how he tried so hard to be religious and was persecuting Christians. In verse 15 he says, "But then something happened! For even before I was born God had chosen me to be his, and called, me - what kindness and grace - to reveal his Son within me so that I could go to the Gentiles and show them the Good News about Jesus." You know the story - Damascus, light, etc.

You can remember from reading in Acts what happened next. He got hooked up with Ananias, etc. We probably think that after such a dramatic conversion, Paul was thrust right into his dream - This "calling" that was ordained from before he was born. Not so.

"When all this happened to me I didn't go at once and talk it over with anyone else; I didn't go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. No, I went away into the deserts of Arabia, and then came back to the city of Damascus. It was not until three years later that I finally went to Jerusalem for a visit with Peter, and stayed there with him for fifteen days." (Gal 1:16-18) In verse 22 he says, "And still the Christians in Judea didn't even know what I looked like."

When God moves on our hearts, and gives us a glimpse of His plan, we wanna get moving! We want to jump into victory and change the world. Right now. Why not? It's from God, right? Let's go! What are we waiting for?

It's easy to forget that God needs to bring us through a season of preparation. This is a season of becoming Empowered Through Biblical Training. It may involve a desert or wilderness, but it's not without purpose. It is a necessary part of the refining process. We need to understand that this is not a "holding pattern". It is a "proving ground". During these seasons of preparation, we need to be picking fruit that is necessary for the journey God has laid out for us. God needs to complete is work in you before he can complete his work through you.

When we built our house we had some major challenges. One of them was a grading problem between our neighbors driveway and our house. The slope was so intense, we were at risk of their driveway washing into our house. We had to build a huge retaining wall. It felt so good to place the last of the Four Hundred Six 75lb blocks! We were THRILLED to be done with this. It took us over 2 months to do this wall. What takes most of the time is the preparation work. It takes forever to lay down the foundation for the first course of block. We backfilled with 125 tons of stone laid down 8 inches at a time then packed down. An incredibly long process. Why? Why does the preparation take longer? My neighbors put a little 3 foot lanon stone wall in and it only took 2 days. Why the difference? It's because of the function it is to serve. Their wall isn't holding back much dirt. Mine is keeping my neighbor's driveway from washing into my house. We want it to last. We want to make sure to do it right. Because of it's purpose, it must take much longer in preparation.

Sometimes the season of preparation you are in is taking longer because of the great purpose God has created you for. He is laying a foundation that needs to be firmly established so that you wont be washed away in the storms to come. We need to understand the importance of this. During what we call "holding patterns", we too often relax, and lose our intensity for the preparation process. We don't understand that this is our chance for being Empowered Through Biblical Training and we MUST make the most of this opportunity. If we don't give it that focus, then we risk never seeing God's purpose accomplished in us or through us.

I'm not sure where you're at right now, but I do know that the discipline of getting into the Word needs to be one of your highest priorities. You may be in the "deserts of Arabia", but understand that you can't just sit on a sand dune and feel sorry for yourself cuz your dream hasn't "happened" to you. You need to prepare for what is to come, because it is coming! And you will be able to say like Paul does in Gal 1:24 "And they gave glory to God because of me."



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

Pastor Greg Lathe

Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ