Good opener video from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uor_gZnckLA
(available upon request)
---------------------------------- Story Illustration Opener
A group of travelers were being made to wait on their airplane, which was late due to another flight being canceled.
The crowd looked horrible and impatient as the time went on and on.
Finally an angry passenger pushed his way to the front of the line, slammed his ticket down and said, “I must be on this flight now and I must be in first class”.
The flight attendant, trying to be nice said, “Sir, we will get to you as soon as possible, but you must wait in line like everyone else”.
He quickly said, “Ma’am, do you have any idea who I am?”
Without hesitation, she smiled, picked up her intercom microphone and said, “We have a passenger here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to gate 17.”
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Have you ever been forced to sit and wait on something?
Did you know that if you lived on St. Paul Island in Alaska and got the urge for pizza it would take three days for the pizza to arrive?
Turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter 3 vs. 8
As you’re turning there, I would like to share with you the top ten things that I have found by asking 95 people “What they dislike waiting on.”
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Here’s what I found from these people:
#10 Waiting for your food in a restaurant because the waiter
messed up your order
#9 Waiting on commercials on TV so you can get back to your TV show
#8 Held up in traffic with no escape routes
#7 Waiting on highway traffic due congestion or traffic accident due to rubbernecking
#6 Waiting for a store employee to serve you while they finish personal conversations
#5 Waiting at long traffic lights or four way stop signs
#4 Waiting on meeting times or appointments or service repairs not kept prompt by others
#3 Waiting to speak to a live person when calling a company
#2 Waiting in a doctors office or dentist office or emergency room
#1 Waiting on slow cashiers at department stores, grocery stores or fast food stores
Other notables included -- waiting to be seated in a restaurant when there are hundreds of open tables
Waiting for my dog to find that perfect place outside to do their business
There’s no doubt that we all value our time. Some of us would rather give our money than our time.
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A Million Dollars
I love the story I heard a few years ago about the man who was having a conversation with God.
The man said, “God, how long is a million years to you?” God said, “A million years is like a second."
The man asked, “How much is a million dollars to you?” God said, “A million dollars is like a penny.”
The man said, “Could you spare a penny?” -- God said, “Sure, just wait a second.”
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Sometimes we get tired of waiting for God’s promises to come to pass – or we get confused about how it is all going to take place.
People ask, “Where is the sign of his coming?” -- There’s even confusion today about how Jesus will come back to earth.
The latest fear is that the Mayan calendar ends in the year 2012 --And there’s different beliefs about how Jesus will return also.
God has His own timing on His return for us because the Word says that God’s time has a different perspective than our time.
Today, I would like to share with you what Peter’s last words that he gave to believers who where undergoing persecution.
And that his last words written to us were said to encourage the church in it’s infancy as a message of hope – during a time of “intense waiting” for Christ to return.
Through these words, we can find truth in waiting for God’s promise to come true in our lives today.
---------------------------------- Read 2 Peter 3:8-18
The ABC show 20/20 once did an experiment on waiting and self-control with children.
The children in the experiment were given two choices.
They could have a single treat, one cookie, right now.
If they could wait while the reporter ran an errand, they could have two cookies.
Some of the preschoolers grabbed the single cookie immediately; while others waited up to twenty minutes to receive their two cookies.
Those who wanted the two cookies used all kinds of tactics to sustain themselves while waiting.
Some covered their eyes so that they would not see the cookies set before them.
Some rested their heads on their arms, talked to themselves, sang, and even tried to sleep.
The follow-up of this study revealed that those who were able to wait and forgo the instant gratification kept that same temperament throughout their adolescence.
The more impulsive kids who gave into instant gratification were more stubborn, indecisive, and stressed.
In the life of faith waiting on God is the hardest part.
Just has we dislike waiting at restaurants, in lines, and in traffic, we also dislike waiting on God’s promise of a new heaven and earth.
We know that God wants to teach us to wait, but we want him to hurry up and do it.
While we are waiting for our cookies or “our reward” in heaven – rather than “covering our eyes or sleep” as some of the children did
Peter gives us some instructions on what to do while we are waiting.
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Pursue the Peace of Christ vs. 14
1 John 3:21 reads: “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” THAT’S PEACE WITH GOD
Psalms 4:8 reads: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety. THAT’S PEACE WITH GOD
Peace, my beloved, is the Lord’s promise to us -- it is a GIFT -- you don’t have to earn it.
We entrust our cares and needs to Him. We tell it to Jesus, and we receive His peace.
Jesus also said it is MY peace that He gives to us.
It is not a fake, it’s real.
Jesus was persecuted, rejected by his own, betrayed by his own disciple, yet in all of these He still had peace.
His peace was not in the absence of difficulties, but in the presence of God.
Jesus was completely at peace because He knew that God the Father was with Him
-- He knew His Father was in control – He would take care of Him
-- He knew His Father was always right and could be trusted
He said to His disciples that He is giving them this same peace.
And this PEACE is the same peace that Jesus gives us today.
Do you have it? You’ll know if you have peace when the results come back and you’re told that you have cancer
Do you have it? You’ll know if you have peace when you’re waiting at home for your child and they never make it home that night or the nights following.
Do you have it? You’ll know if you have peace when your life partner suddenly decides to tell you they are not in love with you anymore and they’re gone.
Whatever the difficulties, we can still have that same peace Jesus experienced.
It is not something you can muster up -- Peace is given to us through Jesus from the Father. Do you have peace in your life?
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Sleeping Through the Storm
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.
He constantly advertised for hired hands.
Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic.
They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.
As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer.
"Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him.
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him.
The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore – one of those storms coming off the Atlantic ocean.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters.
He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged by the old man’s response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot.
Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.
To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins.
The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred.
The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.
Nothing could blow away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant when he said that “he could sleep when the wind blows”
And he returned to bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
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When you’re prepared, you have nothing to fear.
Expectations prepare you so you can sleep when the wind blows through your life.
What about those times when you least expect something to happen?
Do you have the Peace of Christ within you?
Have you learned to prepare for the storms in your life and to rest in His peace
The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.
We secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves firmly in the Word of God and through prayer
It’s what God expects of us --- not to fail, but to be prepared – by securing our faith with His peace – the Peace of Christ.
The same peace that Jesus had as he let walked up a mountain called calvary to endure the storm for you and me.
Peace comes to a mind that doesn’t fear
That’s why children love to sing “Yes, Jesus loves me” especially the part saying “…we are weak and He is strong”
When we give up fearing, and rest in his strength and not yours, then and only then -- YOU WILL FIND PEACE.
Want a taste of it? SILENCE FOR 30 SECONDS
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2. Practice Patience of Christ vs. 15
Psalms 40:1 reads: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.”
James 1:3 reads: “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
There’s a difference between waiting, and waiting with patience.
When you just wait, some people put their minds in neutral and just idle until the light is green.
When you wait with patience, there’s an air of anticipation that keeps you alert and ready for opportunities that arise
That’s why people cannot hear God – because they just wait – they haven’t learned to wait patiently with anticipation
Have you ever been in a cashier’s line (remember the #1 reason people hate to wait) while waiting for that lady with two grocery carts piled shoulder length high with groceries when you just need to pay for two or three items?
You put your mind on idle and pick up one of those tabloids to entertain you.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a cashier two lines down announces her line is open. While you’re trying to cram the tabloid back into its slot, the open line already has two or three people in it.
You were just waiting, instead of waiting with patience
Waiting with patience does not mean just sitting or standing and doing nothing.
Waiting with the Patience of Christ involves anticipation.
---------------------------------- Story Illustration
The Telegraph
Back when the telegraph was the fastest means of long-distance communication, there was a story about a young man who applied for a job as a Morse code operator.
Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, noisy office.
In the background a telegraph clacked away.
A sign on the receptionist’s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.
The young man completed his form and sat down with seven other waiting applicants.
After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in.
Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. Why had this man been so bold?
They muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet.
They took more than a little satisfaction in assuming the young man who went into the office would be reprimanded for his presumption and summarily disqualified for the job.
Within a few minutes the young man emerged from the inner office escorted by the interviewer, who announced to the other applicants, ‘Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has been filled by this young man.’
The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and then one spoke up, ‘Wait a minute! I don’t understand.
He was the last one to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair.’
The employer responded, ‘All the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse code: “If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.”
None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. So the job is his.’”
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The young man got the job because he was not just waiting — all of the other men were waiting — but he was waiting expectantly.
We are all sitting in the waiting room. But it is how we wait, and what we do with the waiting, that is important.
The young man in that office in his patience was listening. And because he was, he was rewarded.
Waiting with patience does not mean just sitting down and doing nothing.
You have to be watching and looking for God to fulfill his promise.
You have to believe he is going to do it.
Because sometimes we could miss what He is doing because we are just waiting without expecting God to really come through.
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3. Position your Faith in Christ vs. 17
1 Peter 5:8,9 reads: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert - your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith…”
Hebrews 3:14 reads: “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
Peter said in verse 16 that people twisted Paul’s writings even as they did “the other Scriptures.”
And in verse 17 he warns believers to know what they believe to avoid falling from their own steadfastness – in believing someone elses ideas or theology that is not supported by the Word of God.
This is why it is important that ALL Believers know what God has written to them so they will KNOW what they believe
When you read God’s word, it’s like reading a driving manual before you get your license to drive
So you’ll know when to slow down, speed up, merge, what to do when you make a left turn
God’s word is given to you to keep you safe and to keep you clean
---------------------------------- Story Illustration
The Coal Bucket
The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson.
Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.
His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.
One day the grandson asked, “Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book.
What good does reading the Bible do?”
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, “You will have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home.
Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was “impossible to carry water in a basket,” and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water.
You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all.
The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, it’s useless!”
“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.”
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different.
Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.
“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.”
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Do you know enough so that your faith is guarded from that which can lead you astray?
Many Christians are choice food for the enemy because they’ve been cleansed by the blood, but unprotected by the Word.
You’ve already been washed up to be eaten by the enemy, because the Peter in his first book refers to Satan as a lion always on the prowl looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
You watch the natives on the Discovery channel, and wonder how they survive in a jungle dressed almost naked
They survive, because they know how to protect themselves, they know what plants, bugs, reptiles, snakes to avoid. They know what plants are healing.
Yet many Christians are wandering through lifes jungle after years of having a relationship with Christ -- still unprotected.
Walking around with spiritual mosquito whelps brought on by the enemy as he sensed fresh blood in you
Spiritual snakebites from the enemy as you encountered something unexpectedly while walking along spiritually empty
You’ve developed spiritual rashes because you’ve touched things that looked good, but were harmful to you.
Because you were unprotected by the Word
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:1
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
Peter urges believers to be on guard and know their faith so that they can spiritually survive the many myths and teachings that can draw them away from the one true God.
And if you are not on guard and know your faith, you will be drawn away and fall from your own steadfastness REPEAT
I’ve seen it too many times, especially with new believers who are excited about their new life in Christ, but fail to protect themselves by reading the “driving manual” through life – the word of God.
They soon become discouraged and leave the church, never to be seen again
I’ve seen it too many times, especially with church members who are amused with the pastor’s stories, humor, and kindness, but then fail to instruct themselves by reading the Word of God in learning to feed themselves.
They soon become stagnate and numb and leave the church, never to be seen again
Does the Bible take priority in your personal life outside of the church?
Do you know what it really says, or do you rely on someone else to tell you what it says?
Are you allowing it to transform your life, like the dirty coal bucket in the above story?
There’s a difference between going to heaven and being ready to meet the Lord. This (point to heart) will get you to heaven, this (raise up Bible) will get you ready to meet the Lord.
And finally Peter instructs us to grown in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which will…
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4. Produce the Fruit of Christ vs. 18 (2 Timothy 3:15) (Hebrews 5:12) (Hebrews 6:1)
Hebrews 5:12 reads: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”
Hebrews 6:1 reads: “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”
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The Little Old Lady
There was a little old lady, who every morning. Stepped onto her front porch, raised her arms to the sky, and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD!"
One day an atheist moved into the house next door.
He became irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he would step onto his front porch after her and yell: "THERE IS NO LORD!"
Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day. Then one morning, in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD! Please Lord, I have no food and I am starving, provide for me, oh Lord!
The next morning she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there.
"Praise the Lord!" she cried out. "He has provided groceries for me!”
The atheist neighbor jumped out of the hedges and shouted: “There is no Lord -- I bought those groceries!!"
The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted: “Praise The Lord -- He has provided me with groceries and made the devil pay for them!”
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Growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus gives us the ability to see Him working even while we are waiting for His answer
Don’t give up -- SHOW WAITING VIDEO – from YouTube
(available upon request)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc5qgPgzQ-0
Growing in grace isn’t a matter of your becoming bigger and stronger, growing in grace is getting yourself out of the way to allow Christ to live through you.
While we learn to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ,
I think some of us get discouraged when God doesn’t meet our deadlines or we see big stuff happening that we pray for.
And one of two things happens – either we just give up on the miracle.
We get discouraged and we stop believing, we stop praying, and we stop hoping…
Or we strike out --- so we stop getting into the batter’s box.
We reason to ourselves that if we don’t swing we can’t miss.
But the problem with that is this: you can’t get a hit either!
Please don’t give up praying. I’m still praying for some of you…for over a year!
---------------------------------- Personal Examples:
I’m still praying for Beth Mitchell’s arm and shoulder to be healed and the pain to go away. I’ve been praying for her since 10-17-07
I’m still praying for Beth’s mother, Nancy Hogan, who has breast cancer. I’ve praying for it to be evaporated from her body. I’ve been praying for her since 04-06-08
I’m still praying for Lorrie and Phillips ex son in law to be healed physically and spiritually. I’ve been praying for him since 04-23-07
I’m still praying for Lucas Cunningham (Jo Cunningham’s son) to regain vision in his eye. I’ve been praying for him since 04-23-07
I’m still praying for others of you who have come to me and asked to pray for you for things I won’t mention. I’m not giving up.
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What if Naaman had only dipped in the Jordan six times?
What if Elijah had only prayed for rain six times?
What if the Israelites had only walked around Jericho six times?
They were all obedient in what God instructed them to do, but what happens if they fell short of total obedience to God
They would have forfeited the miracles because they would have given up too soon – they would have had missed out on the growth and knowledge of God.
But if we keep seeking and keep believing and keep waiting we’ll experience those miracles! We’ll see those miracles!
---------------------------------- Personal Examples:
I’m still seeking because I’ve had prayers for you answered by God -- like Cliff Williams’ cancer dissipated on June 26, 2008
I’m still believing because I’ve prayed for Randy Roach for his health to improve dramatically (July 27, 2008) and a financial situation he was in to be resolved (February 14, 2008)
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I’m still waiting because I’ve seen His miracles in the past…even though I’m still waiting for others.
Are you producing the fruit of Christ by growing in the grace and knowledge of Him in your waiting period?
How long has it been since you’ve experienced Jesus doing something new in your life because that has given you more grace or a deeper knowledge of Him?
What are you doing in your waiting for the Lord’s return? Are you busy about His kingdoms business?
Are you waiting patiently with anticipation
****SHOW “ARE YOU READY” RAPTURE CLIP****
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH089UErSuQ
from YouTube (available upon request)
Are you growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior of your life?
Or are you just coming to church, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday…changing nothing. Doing nothing but waiting…
Are you waiting in anticipation to spend an eternity with God
Are you really ready for the return of Christ? What have you done while waiting for that hour when Christ returns?
Are You Ready for Him to come at any time?
---------------------------------- Story Illustration
The Salesman
One time when 20th Century Fox advertised in the New York papers to fill a vacancy in its sales force.
One applicant replied: “I am at present selling furniture at the address below.
You may judge my ability as a saleman if you will stop in to see me at anytime, pretending that you are interested in buying furniture.
When you come in, you can identify me by my red hair. And I will have no way of identifying you.
The salesmanship that I exhibit during your visit will be no more than my usual workday approach and not a special effort to impress a prospective employer.”
From among more than 1500 applicants, this guy got the job.
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Be Ready and Waiting
Jesus wants us ready like that.
We don’t know when He’s coming back, so be prepared all the time and not just doing nothing in your “waiting”.
Come to church “waiting patiently” in anticipation to learn or do something that you have perhaps never done or…
Experience a new ministry to help you grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ
Because as you grow, you will produce fruit – the fruit of Christ!
If there is no fruit, then no growth – because Jesus said you will know them by their fruits.
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Conclusion
As you practice these four things which Peter instructed us, someday, the Word promises us that it’s worth “waiting” for.
The Bible says, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). The race is to those who have learned to endure.
The believers who endure wins the race.
They’re waiting with peacefulness. They’re waiting with patience.
They waiting with faithfulness because they know their position of where they stand in their faith with God.
They wait expectantly to produce the fruit of what they have practiced in Christ.
The Word of God that says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, KJV).
Maybe you’re not waiting on God, but instead God is waiting on you.
Maybe you are among the many that God is patiently waiting on to come to Christ by faith.
How long will you make Him wait?
Today is the day of Salvation, come to Christ; don’t wait any longer.
Maybe you’re waiting on someone to come to God or for God to do something in your life
What is it that you need, while waiting? Is it the “Peace of Christ”?
Is the “Patience of Christ”? Is it know where you stand with God by finding your Position in the faith?
Maybe God has place a hunger in you for His Word, and you have this inner yearning to seek and find scriptures to claim for you.
Maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve experienced any REAL growth in your life and Jesus is calling you to know Him in a more intimate way
Maybe He’s revealed to you someone that you need to grow in grace to – show more grace because you’ve been a little hard on them.
Whatever it is, do not leave this building until you have taken care of it.
********powerpoint slides and sermon outline for bulletin available upon request*************
