The Law of Seasons Part I
We the people have the advantage of being in the position of voluntary submission to leadership, but when the transparency of leadership is clouded, and policy is made in the back room with a board of “yes” men, not spoken for all the people to hear as an official statement from the pulpit, it causes confusion concerning what they are being asked to submit to. Policy is made from the pulpit, not in the back room in a secret meeting.1 Cor 14:8 “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?”
Present church leadership, in general, typically has the shape of a pyramid, the people sit at the bottom, then the elders sit above, and there is one person in leadership at the top, who virtually directs, and in some cases, mandates vision.
i think maybe the leadership structure should be more like an upside down pyramid, and the eldership, which is supposed to be comprised of longstanding, well broken, lots-of-miles-under -their-belt people, not “yes” people who are rubber stamps and simply do what they’re told. The pastor should never be allowed to resemble the dictator of a regime. Maybe the present leadership model is more a season of the church learning to do better what God has asked of them…. a season. Luke 22, “Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing. Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.”
i have heard somewhere, servants, not paupers or beggars, but true servants make great leaders. Hmmm….i wonder where i got that?
Seasons – an appointed occasion, meaning an event with a reason and a cause. There are seasons of learning leadership and seasons on learning to be a servant. i think the season of being a servant is permanent, and the season of being in leadership shifts as the need arises.
Jesus was transparent about what He was asking the disciples to submit to. It was a “clear sound”, a “sure and specific sound”. It is the time and season for us to make a sure sound.
Each of the following has a season in itself: Wisdom, character, authority, ministry, and money.
Wisdom is before character, character precedes authority, authority is the forerunner of ministry, and ministry comes before money. Here it is in reverse, so go with me on this:
Money follows after ministry. Ministry NEVER follows money around. When it was rumored that God was in the house, the house packed out, not because someone built a nice place and hoped God would show up. There are seasons when God allows money to flow into ministry, and other seasons ministry happens with or without money.
If money follows ministry, then ministry follows authority. Ministry craves to be under authority. Godly authority is the horsepower for ministry, and tends to increase what it touches. Ministry is a picture framed by authority, God given, never man-made. Without authority, ministry has no strength. Watchman Nee was a firm believer that there is always more authority than there is ministry.
If Money follows ministry, and ministry follows authority, wouldn’t you know, authority follows character. God calls us to personal holiness, character, which is the teeth in authority. In the time of Job the way widows were treated was indicative of moral character. Godly character is the container for authority so we are not overwhelmed for lack of intestinal fortitude, having the ability to stand effectively in authority. Without character we are swallowed up in the ground battles of the work.
Character follows wisdom. Without wisdom who guides and builds our character, it is just wheel spinning and ignorance. Wisdom accompanied God when eternity was designed and brought into being. Prov 3:19 “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth…”; Prov 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing…”
And at the top of the list is wisdom:Prov 8:” The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.”
Everyone has “seasons” where God works in them the work of His Hands, and there is a pattern as sure as summer follows spring…..that pattern is what i’ve started calling, the “Law of Seasons”.
In Ecc 3:1 God is the One who causes all things to happen in their“ seasons” and gives everything a “purpose.” In Ecclesiastes 3 all of life is described as “a grand mosaic of times and seasons; there is a time todo everything”. Take note here: There is a difference between time and seasons in that verse, they are two different words, not even spelled similarly.
Although God is timeless, time, as in the measured progression of existence, is one of our boundaries as long as we wear skin and breath air, so God uses time words in order to relate to us. “Season” and “seasons” are time words, not just general time, but an aloted span which contains specific appointments, as in… it is the season to grow a garden, but now is the time to plant and later harvest. A season or occasion for rejoicing, with a specific allotment of time for toasting in that occasion. There is a time for plowing, a season of transition, a time of learning and understanding, a season of storms, and faith is for all seasons and times, for a time and times and half a time.
i’ve found six things, at least, which are not affected by seasons… being a servant at heart, right judgment, speaking the word of the Lord, a state of readiness, doing the right thing, and living uprightly.
The Hebrew word “yasar” or “yatsar” (H3335) means, among other variations, to squeeze into shape, to mold into a form, to fashion, to devise. The primary meaning of the word is derived from the idea of cutting or framing as used in Psalm74:17, which references framing and shaping seasons. Seasons, in many forms, are directly connected to the development of our character. If we want ministry, it would seem prudent to ask the Lord for greater personal holiness, or character. We want to BE the people, not just LOOK like the people, which starts with wisdom and character, letting God use His seasons to squeeze us into the necessary shape for our destiny….we’ll never get righteous authority and ministry without righteous wisdom and character as forerunners. It is the season, and there is always a cause and reason for the season.
So here ends part one of the Law of Seasons.