Ready..Set..."Rest"
When were young were taught growing up..about competition and about striving and doing our best...
And we learned about playing sports and games… Were taught that everyone gets ready, everyone gets set to participate...
and everyone exerts their self and tries their hardest to complete the task at hand
In the natural… That seems like it's the correct thing to do on a daily basis...
However...when that doesn't work out
It often leads to frustration...
But in the spiritual realm...in the supernatural it's exactly the opposite...
Because it has nothing to do with and it has never had anything to do with what our capabilities are...
It's only about Gods AMAZING ability to get things done...
Who has never been impatient? I appreciate those hands...the rest of you I'll pray for
Has anyone ever been in a restaurant and thought it took entirely too long
to either have someone wait on you...
or for your food to be prepared
and get to your table?
What about in traffic? I think everyone's patience is about the same when it comes to driving in traffic…
and the older I get the more exceptionally thin it seems everyone else's is as well....
No matter whether it's in the city, or the country, or on the interstate
Impatience...can be and is almost always ugly!
And the sad fact is… Sometimes were the ugly ones
Illus. THE CADDY
Two golfers stepped up to the first tee on the St. Andrews course in New York. The older golfer was a kindly man who played a thoughtful, deliberate game. The younger golfer was full of pride and impatience.
On the first hole he sliced, lost his ball in the tall grass, hit another one, & had a score of 8 instead of 4 or 5. And the next hole was even worse.
Frustrated, he began hollering at the caddy: "Keep your eyes peeled. I'm not here to do your job for you!" Thereafter, every bad shot was the caddy's fault! At the end of the first 9 holes, the younger golfer was so upset that he discharged the caddy & carried his own bag. "That caddy made me nervous. He doesn't like me, & I blankety-blank sure don't like him! I say good riddance to him!"
After several more holes had been played without a word, the older golfer broke the silence: "Several years ago a little kid from Yonkers came up here & became a caddy. He was a sweet-natured boy; quick-witted, willing, & had a nose for golf. Everybody liked him. His name was William; he had a clubfoot. But that didn't affect his caddying. It was a pleasure to go out with him."
"A famous doctor, a member of the club, became interested in William & took him South that winter & operated on his foot. When William returned, he went back to caddying. The doctor, however, had to give up golf shortly after that because of his health. And it wasn't long after that when he died.
"Months later I was playing a round with William carrying my bag. It was Spring, & the fields & hedges were alive with blossoms. William stopped several times to gather flowers until he had quite a bouquet. 'Who's the girl, William?' I asked. 'I haven't any girl, sir,' he said. 'They're for my friend, the doctor--twice a week I take flowers to his grave.'
"Now that's a caddie worth having," the younger golfer said. "What ever happened to him?" The older man paused & then replied, "For 9 holes he was carrying your bag."
From a sermon by Melvin Newland, Thanksgiving and Praise, 11/24/2010)
Have you ever been impatient with God?
Have you ever said or thought these things?
I've prayed and prayed and prayed…
I have asked and asked and asked…
I don't know why in the world this is taking so long....
The word says to ask, so I've asked...
and Lord I know you can do it so why isn't it happening?
Maybe it's not God's will...and if it's not let me know...give me some kind of sign
But Lord if it's your will....will you please answer my prayer
God's will is for you to rest in His ability and not your ability!
Sometimes doing that is hard… Sometimes we like to blame
other people and things, like the golfer in the story did..
We've been taught… Ready, set, go
But with God...it's ready, set, REST
In other words… a need arises, you pray about it
and let God know what the need is and then you REST
in His ability to answer and help you out of your situation
Here are some great words of encouragement from the book of John
John 3:34-35 MSG
“The One that God sent speaks God’s words. And don’t think he rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces. The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to him so he could give it away—a lavish distribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever!”
God in all His wisdom turned all things over to Jesus. Why?
For one reason and one reason only...
So that He could shower the world with His Grace....and give it away; lavishly distributing the gifts...He longs to share with His children
And how do we know this?
While He was here on earth we know because it's written in the word...
He healed everyone...
He healed the lepers....
He healed the blind and the lame...
He turned water into wine....
He even did long distance healing....
He did all...
He just gave and gave and kept on giving
to everyone...and there was no bias
It didn't even matter what your social status was...
And never any waiting lines..only healing lines, except when it came to Lazarus.
They were ready for...ready, set, go...
He was going to teach them about...ready, set, REST...
Lazarus was a different story...same outcome in the end, but with a slight delay in between with a great opportunity for everyone's faith, forever to be added to and encouraged...
Jesus chose to wait because He knew that if He had gone immediately, His disciples would not have believed...what was about to happen
He told them in John 11:14-15 MSG
14-15 Then Jesus became explicit: “Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn’t there. You’re about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let’s go to him.”
Jesus also knew that the delay was necessary so that Lazarus sister Martha...could fully see the glory of God, Jesus told her.
John 11:39-40 NKJ
39. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40. Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
Do you suppose there was ever any doubt that Jesus could raise Lazarus anytime He wanted....?
They had seen Him rebuke the wind...
Calm the sea...and walk on water, they knew He could do anything He wanted..
What Jesus was doing… I'm sure they were all questioning?
Because they knew He could heal anytime and from anywhere...
So the healing was always there and the gift was always ready...
Jesus always stands ready to deliver…
Even though He stands ready...there are some who can't see themselves receiving...
Remember what Joshua learnt when he sent spies into Jericho?
Joshua 2:8-11 MSG
Before the spies were down for the night, the woman came up to them on the roof and said, “I know that God has given you the land. We’re all afraid. Everyone in the country feels hopeless. We heard how God dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt, and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under a holy curse and destroyed. We heard it and our hearts sank. We all had the wind knocked out of us. And all because of you, you and God, your God, God of the heavens above and God of the earth below.
Now remember… Jericho was a fortified city with the huge wall around it...it had been a safe haven for years to its inhabitants ...
It was also part of a grand plan...that had already been ‘soften’ years ago, the moment Israel left Egypt....The land was theirs for the taking.
The people of Jericho were already afraid long before Israel reached the borders and Moses sent in the first spies....you see even though they couldn't see it, God had already went before them and made away...
Yet, when the first spies came back, this was how they felt.
Numbers 13:27-28 NKJ
27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there
It was not the land that was not ready; the people were the ones who were not ready.
For this was how they responded.
Numbers 14:1-4 NKJ
“So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.””
It wasn't ready set go… It wasn't ready set rest…
What they were saying was...ready set..
I don't even think so
You know sometimes, it takes a long time to get out of that kind of mindset…for whatever reason
And because of that...it took them a whole generation to be ready...and that generation never did make it to the promised land either....
We may not always realize it, or be ready to accept it...but when He tells us that He will do it...
you better believe God always stands ready in every situation..to deliver us and to deliver his promises that he's made to us
Our Circumstances are never a hinderance
When it comes to the promises of God!
Psalm 23:5 NKJ
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.”
And what He did for David...He still stands ready today...to do the same for you
John 13:3-6 MSG
Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”
Jesus knew that all things had been given into His hands....He could have done anything He wanted to..
and what did He choose to do?
He chose to serve us...
Even though He knew us and knew the quality of our character and how we would react...
John 2:23-25 MSG
“During the time he was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him. But Jesus didn’t entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn’t need any help in seeing right through them.”
Even though He knew what was coming...
He still was willing to carry out His Fathers
Will...with a servants heart willing to lay it all down
John 3:16-17 MSG
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted;”
Do you think There was or is ever a time...
that Jesus has ever been unprepared to handle what is asked of Him?
Now and forevermore...
There is nothing too hard for Jesus to do…
John 14:13-21 MSG
13-14 When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
15 Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”
16 But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”
17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.
18-21 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
I wanted to share this amazing story with you… To let you know that nothing is impossible with God...
Once again this parable illustrates...Jesus was wanting to give the disciples
the opportunity to grow their faith and to rest in the amazing abilities of His Father...
The disciples saw the opportunity, had the solution in their hands...
But only saw their own ability as the vehicle to making it happen
Instead of the countless ways...resting...in Gods already been there
Already done that, already cleared the path
already made the way...Capabilities!!
TBS....Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
The magnitude of this miracle was and is still amazing...
Can you imagine feeding the whole town of Monticello
With nothing more the a kids happy meal from McDonald's??
He would have me tell you this morning....
Nothing is outside the realm of the possibilities of God!!!
Even though He was completely capable of making the miracle
happen on His own..
He still prayed and asked His Father
and Wanted all those who were there and all who would ever
Read or hear this story to know....
That anything is possible when you rest on Gods ability
and have faith and believe!
What are you believing for today?
Are you ready...are you set...are you Resting?
Let's pray...
Please Note...The outline for this sermon came from
Reading an article from Rested Life Ministries
