[what are you waiting for?]
I recall several years ago, my mother brought me to the nearest Christian bookstore, which was over an hour away from where we lived. i absolutely fell in love with that store! I was a new believer and this store had a ton of great resources for me to pick and choose from. On one particular occasion, my mother had brought me there and it was pretty close to my birthday and she told me I could pick out one or two items for that day.
I had recently discovered a new rock group, White Heart. I had been anticipating their new album, Highlands, quite a bit. Since I had some money, I purchased the album but as a birthday gift, I wanted the DVD that went with it. For weeks, that DVD sat on top of the refrigerator and I walked by it a dozen times every day. To be honest, sometimes I felt like it was a form of torture having to see that thing everyday.
Finally, the big day arrived. i already knew what I was getting but that didn’t matter. I had anticipated and been patient for this DVD and wanted to watch every second of it. While it was a very short DVD and only had two or three music videos on it, I still enjoyed it. When we cultivate a heart of patience we in turn cultivate a heart of gratitude.
One of the hurdles in the Christian life is knowing Jesus hasn’t returned yet. I say hurdle because we live in anticipation and expectation of his return. We have all seen the signs he spoke of; yet, here we are living and he is not here yet. Yet, God has called us to be patient.
I began writing this book back in 2009. I am writing this sentence in 2014. The question emerges, why has it taken so long? First, I am the king of procrastination. That is something I just simply need to share. Secondly, this book was nothing more than a sermon and that’s it.
You see, back in 2009, I was called upon by my pastor to preach a message as he was going to be away. In fact, he was simply going to miss the majority of the service but planned on being in attendance at the near end of it, which he was. I knew from the start that I wanted to preach on Matthew 28:18-20, otherwise known as the “Great Commission” passage.
Following my sermon, I decided to return home and begin writing out what I had spoken. Typically, I write my sermon notes prior to the delivery of the sermon but this was a little different. I was faithful to the text but there was more to it than what I had spoken that day.
Thus, I began undertaking an evaluation of the Great Commission. I, of course, was also completing my undergraduate degree and I knew I would begin seminary immediately following. Therefore, a great deal of my attention and time was given over to my educational pursuits. That, of course, made this book, more of a project than anything else.
About half way through seminary, I reignited my passion for writing on this subject and I began looking for potential publishers. I was really looking to see what was out there. I ended up getting in contact with my publisher and we began discussing options. Truth be told, they were much more serious about publishing my work than I was about writing it.
After several phone calls and discussions, I decided to return all of my attention back to completing seminary and getting my Masters Degree. That was my main goal in life. So, I threw aside all other distractions, focused on school and graduated in the summer of 2012.
Less than a month after graduation, I was driving to work when i received a phone call on my cell. I didn’t recognize the number so I pulled over and answered it. It was a check in coordinator for Cross Books. They were calling to see if there was still any interest in writing this book. No more school meant that I could finally begin the process of writing the book.
Writing is a process and patience is part of it. You see, when I complete writing, the manuscripts are sent to the publisher who will review the book. There is a checklist for them to complete prior to the publication as well. What began as a sermon in 2009 grew into a book that was released years later.
The term I want to introduce us to is “Launch Date.” You see, after I completed writing, my publisher has a checklist to complete. The publishing company reviews the work for grammatical issues, theological reviews and a host of other points before putting the product together. In addition, marketing comes into play, which allows others to know about the product that is coming out. The launch date then is set to help make the product known. So, while my writing is complete before publication, I must learn patience as I await the launch date for the book.
When we consider Christ’s finished work on the cross, it was a complete work. He did not have to accomplish anything else for the product to become reality but there was a launch date attached to that as well. First, the resurrection had yet to occur, which came into existence a mere three days following. Jesus appeared to over 500 hundred people which gave testimony to the resurrection. Finally, after Jesus’ own ascension, the Holy Spirit would be poured out, just as Jesus said. The Spirit being poured out and leading believers into all truth and convicting the hearts of unbelievers to repent and turn to Christ is the final product which is the result of the final work.
When we consider the Christian life there is a gap; there is a launch date so to say. When we become believers and we are told of the impending return of Christ, this news is often accepted as both exciting and alarming. That was how I received it anyway. On one hand, I knew I would be going home to be with Jesus my Savior. On the other hand, I had friends and family who were lost and needed to hear about Jesus. This is where Christianity can often time become more difficult than we realize.
I remember when I became a believer, I was “on fire” for God. I was constantly reading the Word of God, I was constantly sharing my faith with my friends and family and I was going to church all the time. I had this passion you could not describe burning inside of me. Yet, no matter what I did or how I shared the gospel, very few people came to accept the message of Christ. I rarely saw any life transformation occur.
As I continued to share and live my faith, I never saw the fruit of my life. I never saw people coming to Christ through anything I was either saying or doing. I never saw that passion that burned inside of me, infect others. Days turned into months, months turned into years and as time went by, I witnessed my friends at church begin to walk away from the truth we all embraced. One by one they were led back into the ways of the world.
Before I even knew it, I found myself asking God these questions about where he was and what he was doing. First I didn’t see any conversions in my life, through what I was sharing and then I was witnessing my friends fall from the faith left and right.
Then I watched myself fade from the light. I slowly began to walk away from the truth I lived out so loud. I slowly walked away from the love that had so willingly die for me. My passion had begun to turn cold and I lost all sense of urgency concerning the return of Christ.
God, in his amazing grace, got a hold of me. He shook me up, he turned me around and set my feet back on the foundation of his Son Jesus. Yet, I discovered that when I had returned the passion wasn’t the same; the flame was there but it was burning as bright as it once had.
Not only had the passion gone down but the desire to witness had faded out. My burning passion for sharing Jesus with others had not returned to what it once had been. Why was there this delay in Christ’s return? Why was it when I returned, did the passion not come back?
God often operates with a time delay. Let me show you Biblically that this is most often the result. God called Abram when he was 75 to journey to the Promised Land. At the young age of 90, God promised a son, which didn’t show up for another ten more years.
God promised back in Genesis 3:26, the Messiah would come. That took a while too, if I remember correctly. God had David anointed as King of Israel 17 years before he actually took the throne. Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit came, which occurred ten days later.
God’s time delay is designed to bring forth patience in us. The purpose in patience is victory. Victory begins with surrender and at the heart of surrender, there is patience. Prophets and saints alike can testify to that truth.
Psalm 62:1|
“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.”
If I may, I’d like to share a story with you. When I was about 16 years old, I began taking marital arts classes at a resort, which my parents had joined. The sense (karate instructor) had just opened up a second class at the resort and it was just me and his daughter during this time.
Since I had taken Karate classes when I was younger, I picked up the teachings rather quickly. The instructor had one goal for me: tournaments. I was a little nervous about doing those but I had high hopes that I would excel. At my first tournament, I realized quickly this was not the case.
I had eagerly awaited the moment where I would be able to show off my martial arts background with other people. I was in a small venue with about twelve other guys and I felt in my heart and hoped I could make it to at least the semi-finals.
I lost the first match, 3-0. I couldn’t even get a point! I was frustrated and disappointed. My instructor knew that as well but we went back to the drawing board in preparation for the next tournament.
The next tournament was a much larger venue but once again, I was with about twelve other guys. I began my first match, once again hoping I could do well. The match began and my opponent scored a point. Then, he scored again. My heart sank. I was defeated. I didn’t face a literal defeat but I had defeated myself. Then I looked up and saw my instructor who encouraged me to try out the technique we had been working on. It worked too! Before I knew it, I had won the match, 3-2.
I followed that with winning the next match, 3-0. I had made it to the third round but unfortunately I was exhausted. I did my absolute best but fell short, 3-1. However, that doesn’t erase the fact I had won two previous matches.
The same goes true in the life of a Christian. We might get knocked down but the test is that we rise up and practice patience. The truth is, I wasn’t ready the first time out. I tried and failed. The second time around I wasn’t ready either. I had allowed defeat to overtake me. What changed was my instructor’s presence and encouragement. That was the key to my victory.
In Psalm 63, David shares this truth. Victory comes from God and to gain that victory, David waited quietly before him. David was patient before God and remained still before him, knowing he was in control of all things.
Victory comes from a life that is surrendered before God and faith lives in accordance with God’s reality.
