Real Christianity Part 8: Godly Strategies for Every Season!

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT)

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity/experience under heaven.

#1: God’s Strategy for “Stressful Seasons” is to !

James 5:13 (NLT)
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray.

• God cares about us, and what stresses us!

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

• God hurts when we hurt, and He helps when we pray!

Philippians 4:5-7 (NLT)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

#2: God’s Strategy For “Successful Seasons” is to !

James 5:13 (NLT)

Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

Deuteronomy 8:10-19 (NLT)

When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God … ¹² For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, ¹³ and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!

¹⁴ Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt … He led you through the great and terrifying wilderness … He gave you water from the rock! ¹⁶ He fed you with manna in the wilderness …¹⁷ He did all this so you would never say to yourself, “I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.”

¹⁸ Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful …

• Praising God is a pride vaccine!

Proverbs 16:18 (MSG)
First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

• Praising God improves our memory!

Psalm 103:2 (NLT)
Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. ³ He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. ⁴ He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. ⁵ He fills my life with good things.

#3: God’s Strategy For “Suffering Seasons” is to Prayer!

James 5:14,15 (NLT)

Are any of you sick? (literally “without strength”) You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well (whole). And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

When we’re suffering … we need to let someone know … rather than expecting them to know!

• God sometimes heals !

Acts 28:8 (NIV)

His father (the governor’s father) was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.

• God sometimes heals !

Acts 28:9 (NIV)

When this happened (the healing of the governor’s father), the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.

• God always heals !

Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT)
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

#1: God’s Strategy for “Stressful Seasons” is to !

#2: God’s Strategy For “Successful Seasons” is to !

#3: God’s Strategy For “Suffering Seasons” is to Prayer!