Growing Through Waiting Series

TEXT: Psalm 31, 62

TITLE: The Growing Church: GROWING PAIN #2: Growing through Waiting

TOPIC: Spiritual Growth - Part One

OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, April 13th, 2008

PROP.: Waiting is probably not one of our favorite things to do. But in our times of waiting, Spiritual growth can take place! And when we wait on the Lord, we will experience His full blessing!

INTRODUCTION: JAMES MACDONALD Look-a-like contest.

Mark’s Picture

Paul’s Picture

Truth is: neither one of us looks much like James. And because of that, neither of us ‘won the prize’.

This month, we are focusing on SPIRITUAL growth! I’m so glad that God doesn’t have a look-a-like contest. Because there are times that I don’t look much like his Son Jesus, I look more like the world.

But I understand that growth is a process and I’m working on looking more like Jesus with each passing day!

So I’ve titled this month’s messages: Growing Pains. Because, in order to become the Growing Church, we are going to look at one area that we are called to ‘stretch’. To grow!

TODAY’S AREA OF STRETCHING THAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO IS TO:

Grow through Waiting!

WAITING. Isn’t that just a lot of fun? What could be more enjoyable than waiting! We will do anything to avoid waiting! We expect snappy service at the restaurant. We will find the quickest clerk at the bank. We will even find a detour in the event of a traffic jam.

None of us like to wait. We get frustrated and impatient, frazzled and worn out. And when the wait involves something serious and significant, like having a home in escrow, hearing back from a job interview, or getting biopsy results, we can struggle with fear and discouragement and anxiety and anger.

Waiting on things that are insignificant is one thing. But have you ever had to wait on God?

I know there are some here today are WAITING on God.

JOB--You are in a job that absolutely hate and they are WAITING on God to step in and intervene!

RELATIONSHIPS --

Marriage: There are some who are WAITING in their marriage relationship. You are struggling to get-a-long with your spouse let alone LOVE your spouse. You have placed it in God’s hands through the power of prayer and now you’re WAITING on God to show up and act!

Dating: Then there are those who are in a dating relationship who are waiting on God’s plan for marriage by not having sex before marriage and in doing so YOU WILL BE BLESSED! Sure it’s not easy. It’s not what the rest of the world is doing. But you WILL be blessed!

WAITING ON GOD AND RECEIVING BLESSING

GO HAND IN HAND!

How about you?

Are you waiting on God? For God’s timing? Are you in the midst of a period in your life that is uncomfortable and you are waiting for God to show up? Has it ever seemed that God has seemed distracted or even dis-interested in coming to your aide or providing answers? IF YOU HAVEN’T HAD TO WAIT ON GOD, YOU WILL! Why is that???? It might just be that God is wanting to bless you!!

KEY THOUGHT: (I WANT YOU TO GET THIS TODAY!!)

When you wait on God, you will be blessed!

T.S.: Let’s look at the blessings that are ours when we wait on the Lord.

PSALM 27:1-14

1. WHEN YOU WAIT ON THE LORD, YOU WILL HAVE THE BLESSING OF HIS PROVISION

When you let God do the things He wants to do when He wants to do them, you will see that He will show up BIG TIME in your life.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!” -

(EXAMPLE OF NOAH)

Look at the story of Noah!

God provided:

0. The Plan

1. The animals.

2. The time to build the ark.

3. The rain! -- Noah didn’t even know what rain was! Yet, God provided it! Even when it didn’t seem like it…through the ridicule of his neighbors, and the doubt of his own family…Noah waited on the Lord and the Lord provided!

David’s Psalm 27:

In the 27th Psalm, David starts off with how ferocious his enemies are! Maybe you can relate to David. Your enemies are big and numerous. How can victory be yours? And so you wait on God to come to the rescue! Like UNDER-DOG : here I come to save the day!

He focuses on the bad! But he ends on the good! David comes the reality that God is a PROVIDER! Listen to Psalm 27:13,14

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord!”