Most of us would have to admit we have never heard anyone say, “I love to wait”.
There are some particular things we hate to wait for, such as:
• Sitting in the dentist’s office waiting for them to say, “You are next!” When they say this, you almost want to kiss your wife and kids goodbye, because you are not sure you are going to see them again.
• Sitting at a railroad crossing, waiting for the world’s longest train to pass by.
• Sitting at an intersection, with a light that goes through a half dozen changes, before your turn comes around.
None of us enjoy waiting. But yet, in our text, this is exactly what God tells us we should do.
Did you notice who we are to wait on? That is, we should WAIT ON THE LORD! Everyday, some folks:
• Will wait on trains.
• Will wait on elevators.
• Will wait on red lights.
• Will wait on people.
But, they do not spend any time WAITING ON THE LORD EACH DAY. The Lord tells us that to wait on the Lord, is one of the most important things we can do. Let us look at-
I. THE PROBLEM OF WAITING.
Many people confuse waiting with laziness. For example, if you ask some folks what are you doing? They will say, “Oh, I am just sitting here waiting.” What they really should say is, I am sitting here because I am to lazy to get up and do something!
THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF WAITING GOD IS TALKING ABOUT!
Illus: These people remind me of a story of a traveler, whose train stopped in a small country town to unload supplies. This traveler stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, and noticed an old hound dog sitting nearby, howling as if he was in pure misery.
The traveler asked one of the farmers, “What is wrong with that dog? He sounds like he is in pure misery?” The farmer said, “That is old Sam. His problem is that he is lazy, and good-for-nothing.” The traveler said, “Yes, but just being lazy should not bring on that kind of howling.” The country fellow said, “Yes, it will. You see, old Sam sat down on a sand-spur six months ago, and he is to lazy to get up off it. That is why he is howling all the time.”
Many people are like this, they are not WAITING ON THE LORD, they are just too lazy to move.
Illus: This reminds me of a man, who had some of the richest top soil in his county. The local county agent came by one day, and tested his soil, and said, “Man, with this rich soil, you could get rich planting corn here!” The old farmer said, “Yes, I guess I could.” The old farmer said, “There is only one thing that is keeping us from having the best corn crop in the county.” The county agent said, “What is the one thing that is keeping you from having the best corn crop in the county?” He said, “My Wife!” The agent said, “I do not understand. How does your wife keep you from having the best corn crop in the county?” He said, “Because she is to lazy to plow and plant!”
Laziness has robbed people of many blessings in THIS LIFE, and in the LIFE TO COME.
Many give the impression they are just waiting around for something to happen in their lives, but the fact is, they are pure out lazy, and if they live to be old, they will look back on their lives, and there will be little to show for the years they have been here on earth.
This is THE PROBLEM OF WAITING, many do not know the difference between BEING LAZY and WAITING.
The Word of God tells us to WAIT ON THE LORD. Let us look at-
II. THE PURPOSE OF WAITING.
The Hebrew word for “Wait”, is “Qavah” (Kow-vow) which means several things. Such as:
A. IT MEANS TO BIND TOGETHER BY TWISTING.
A string, by itself, can be broken by the human hand, but when strands of string are twisted together, they become so strong, that they cannot be broken with the human hand. This is exactly what happens when we wait on the Lord.
Our lives become twisted with His life, and we become so strong, that we can say with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” The apostle Paul had supernatural spiritual strength.
Let me give you a Bible example of this.
In Acts 16:20-25, we read this about the Apostle Paul, and Silas, “And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
• These servants of God were humiliated because they were preaching the gospel. Look at verse 22, we read their clothes were “rent off.” Now, I do not know about you, but it would upset me, if someone ripped my clothes off.
• These servants of God were “beaten”. Verse 23 says, that many stripes were laid on them. I would be even more upset if they had beaten me.
• These servants of God were “Cast” into prison. Look at the word “Cast”. This is the Greek word, “ballo”, which means to “thrust or throw.” These servants of God, were being greatly abused. Now I would really be angry!
• These servants of God, had their feet placed in stocks, once they were in their jail cells. I would be saying to the Lord, “What is a good fellow like me, doing in a place like this!”
After all this abuse, we read in verse 25, of how they were reacting to all this unjust treatment. We read, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
Their life was intertwined with the Lord Jesus. It did not matter if they were going through GOOD TIMES, or BAD TIMES, they sang praises unto the Lord.
As we spend time at the feet of Jesus, waiting in His presence, we are not wasting time. It is during these times the Lord keeps wrapping Himself around us, and soon our lives are so intertwined with His life, we can face the TRIALS and TEMPTATIONS of life.
God’s Word said “Wait”, this means TO BIND TOGETHER BY TWISTING. Also, it implies-
B. SOMETHING IS EXPECTED TO HAPPEN.
Every married fellow in the congregation, knows what it is like to go somewhere with his wife. You are ready to go, and your wife is still getting ready. Now the best thing to do, in a situation like this, fellows, is to go ahead and get in the car. Now, go to sleep, and have her wake you, when she decides she is ready.
But the fact is, the reason you are waiting is because, you are expecting something to happen. You do not know when it is going to happen. You don’t know exactly when she is going to come out, but you are waiting for it to happen, and you are hoping it will happen in this decade.
Bible “Waiting”:
• Means to bind together by twisting.
• Means to expect something to happen.
Bible “Waiting” is something else also, let us look at-
III. THE PROMISES OF WAITING.
He has promised that four things would occur, if we WAIT ON THE LORD. We can safely assume that if we do not WAIT ON THE LORD, these things will not take place in our lives. What He has promised us:
A. THEY SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH.
Illus: Ironside said, “Mere natural and physical powers will not avail in the hour when one is called upon to face great mental and spiritual emergencies.”
The fact is, the strongest man in the world can be so weak spiritually, that the weakest demon in hell can knock the socks off him.
Many today go to the gym daily to gain physical strength, but the great need of the hour, is for men and women to become strong spiritually. We live in an age when we have a lot of weak Christians. And the reason they are weak, is because they do not wait on the Lord.
For example, we live in an age when people do not know what it is to have a “QUIET TIME” anymore. Especially our young people, they absolutely do not know what it is to have a “QUIET TIME”. The devil knows how important it is for them to have a “QUIET TIME”, so that God can speak to them and refresh them spiritually, so he keeps them busy.
• If they are not talking and laughing, they are watching television.
• If they are not watching television, they are listening to music on radio.
• If they are not listening to music on the radio, they have a head set on their ears, listening to something they should not be listening too.
Listen, how can God ever speak to them, if they do not learn how to shut the world out, get alone with God, and “WAIT” on Him to speak?
Some people can talk, and you can hear them in the next area code, but when God speaks to us, He speaks in a still small voice. (I Kings 19:12)
YOU HAVE TO WANT TO HEAR HIM, OR YOU WON’T HEAR HIM.
Listen, the reason people today are so messed up, is that they are not spending enough time before God, to get the INSTRUCTIONS, ENCOURAGEMENT, and THE SPIRITUAL REFRESHING they need. The best thing we can do each day, is to take time to find spiritual rest at the feet of Jesus. THIS IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO EACH DAY!
Illus: We read in the New Testament about two sisters, Mary and Martha. The Bible tells us that Martha was like so many today, she had so many things to do, that she felt were important, she did not have time to sit at Jesus’ feet, like her sister Mary. She complained to the Lord Jesus, that Mary would not help her with the chores that needed to be done. She was probably expecting Jesus to say, “Martha, you work so hard, yes of course I will speak to Mary, and tell her to help you.”
But the Lord did not rebuke Mary for sitting at the feet of Jesus, but instead, He rebuked Martha, and said, “Mary hath chosen that good part”, by sitting at His feet.
Listen, never, never are we wasting time when we sit at the feet of Jesus. Our problem is not that we do to much of it, our problem is we do not do enough of it. God has promised believers, that if they would “Wait on the Lord, He would “Renew their strength.”
The Lord said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” But notice something else, He said-
B. THEY SHALL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS AS EAGLES.
God compares the Christian life to the eagle for many reasons. For example, the eagle knows how to use the wind to his advantage. He does not fight against it as an obstacle, he uses it to lift him above the storms. If Christians would learn to wait on the Lord, God would teach them how to use their obstacles as stepping stones, to get closer and closer to the Lord.
C. THEY SHALL RUN, AND NOT BE WEARY.
Most of us, who are considered to be over the hill, can remember the time when we could have run all day long, if we had to. We not only ran, but we ran with ease. But today, if we run fifty feet, we feel like these big monsters on television. As we run, it seems like our legs weigh about a ton each, as we pick them up and put them down.
Physically, we can no longer do what we once did. But spiritually, as we learn to sit at the feet of Jesus, we discover we can RUN AND NOT BE WEARY!
D. THEY SHALL WALK, AND NOT FAINT.
Illus: Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells the story about a black preacher,
• He said, “Brethren, this church, it needs to walk.” And one of the deacons said, “Amen.”
• He said, “Brethren, this church needs to run.” And the deacon said, ”Hallelujah.”
• Then he said, “Brethren, this church needs to fly.” and the deacon said, “Amen and Hallelujah”
• Then the minister said, “Brethren, it is going to cost this church some to fly.”
• To this the deacon said, “Let her walk, brother, let her walk.”
But what this verse simply means, is what it says, WE CAN WALK AND NOT FAINT.
Illus: Have you ever seen someone on a desert, in a movie. They are walking across the desert, and the sun is beaming down on them, and it looks like, any minute, they are going to faint and fall down.
In this Christian life we go through some very difficult times. But if we learn to sit at the feet of Jesus, He will teach us how TO WALK AND NOT FAINT.
We all have seen Christians that, at one time, served the Lord. But, spiritually speaking, they are no longer standing. They have fallen by the wayside. If you ask them what happened to them, they might give you a half dozen reasons, but the truth is, the reason they have fallen, is because they stopped spending time at the feet of Jesus.
Conclusion:
The eagle, described in Isaiah, makes it’s nest in inaccessible places. It dwells in the cliffs. Proverbs 30:19 states that, his way is, “…in the air.” It flies without effort, and soars without exerting any energy at all. The eagle is the only bird, that can look directly at the sun, and not injure its eyes.
The application is this: God wants us to be as the eagle. He wants us to wait in the inaccessible places. He wants us to hide ourselves with Him. He wants us to focus our eyes upon the Son. Then, He will enable us to mount up. We will soar effortlessly above extreme trials and difficulties.
I. THE PROBLEM OF WAITING.
II. THE PURPOSE OF WAITING.
III. THE PROMISES OF WAITING.
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach many of these sermons on Youtube. Just type Youtube Lykesland
