"WAITING ON THE LORD"
TEXT: ISAIAH 40:27-31
INTRODUCTION
WHO HERE LIKES TO WAIT?
NOT MANY OF US DO, BUT NEVERTHELESS WE FIND OURSELVES DOING IT AN AWFUL LOT OF THE TIME... FREQUENTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND COUNTLESS TIMES THROUGHOUT THE WEEK WE FIND OURSELVES WAITING..
WE WAIT FOR TRAFFIC LIGHTS TO TURN GREEN...
WE WAIT FOR TRAINS TO PASS BY...
WE WAIT FOR THE BANK LINE AND THE GROCERY LINE TO MOVE....
WE WAIT FOR THE TOAST TO POP UP AND THE WATER TO BOIL.
WE WAIT FOR THE MOVIE AND THE BALL GAME TO START...
WE WAIT FOR PHONE CALLS AND WE WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO SHOW UP...
WE WAIT FOR BUSES TO COME, PLANES TO LAND AND CAR LINES TO MOVE.
WE WAIT FOR OUR TURN IN DOCTOR’S OFFICES, DENTISTS OFFICES, BARBER SHOPS AND BEAUTY PARLORS... AND WE WAIT FOR THE NEXT WEEKEND, VACATION OR DAY OFF....
WE ALL SPEND A LOT OF OUR TIME IN LIFE WAITING AND WE REALLY DON’T LIKE WAITING FOR THINGS. -- BECAUSE WE ARE A PEOPLE OF INSTANT GRATIFICATION WE WANT EVERYTHING AND WE USUALLY WANT IT NOW...!
TODAY AS BEGIN A STUDY ON THE SECOND HALF OF ISAIAH -- OUR MESSAGE IS NOT ABOUT WAITING IN LINE, BUT WAITING ON THE LORD....
THE BOOK OF ISAIAH WAS WRITTEN DURING THE TIME WHEN ISRAEL WAS DIVIDED INTO 2 KINGDOMS; ISRAEL IN THE NORTH AND JUDAH IN THE SOUTH. A TIME WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE WERE BEING PUNISHED BY FOREIGN NATIONS BECAUSE THEY HAD TURNED THEIR BACKS ON GOD.... THEY HAD CHOSEN THEIR OWN WAYS AND HAD FASHIONED THEIR OWN GODS.
AND AS THE PROPHET ISIAH WROTE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 7TH CENTURY BC, A LARGE PART OF JUDAH’S POPULATION AND ALL OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL WERE IN EXILE IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE.
SENNACHERIB HAD MARCHED IN AND STRIPPED JUDAH BARE, HE CAPTURED ALL OF THE FORTIFIED CITIES OF THE LAND, AND HAD ALMOST CAPTURED JERUSALEM ITSELF IN 701 BC. THIS WAS WHEN HEZEKIAH WAS KING, BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AN ANGEL OF THE LORD DELIVERED THEM FORM THE ASSYRIANS HANDS (IS 36-39).
ISAIAH, AS WAS HIS CUSTOM IN DARK AND DIFFICULT TIMES, LOOKED TO THE FUTURE FOR COMFORT WHILE ENDURING THE HARDSHIPS OF THE PRESENT. AND ISAIAH COULD SEE ON THE DISTANT HORIZON A GREAT DELIVERANCE FROM EXILE, AND BEYOND THAT AN EVEN GREATER DELIVERANCE, A DELIVERANCE FROM SIN...
THE SECOND HALF OF ISAIAH IS WRITTEN TO PEOPLE WHO HAD ALREADY BEEN AND WERE LIVING THROUGH SOME DIFFICULT TIMES... AND IF THAT WAS NOT BAD ENOUGH THESE PEOPLE HAD MORE TOUGH TIMES COMING JUST OVER THE HORIZON - BABYLON & DESTRUCTION OF THEIR NATION....
IT WAS TO THESE PEOPLE THAT GOD THROUGH ISAIAH GAVE US THE WORDS OF OUR TEXT; SOME OF THESE WORDS ARE VERY FAMILIAR TO US -- BUT TODAY AS WE PLUNGE THE DEEPS OF THEIR BEAUTY WE WILL SEE THAT THEY ARE FAR RICHER THEN WE EVER IMAGINED...
(EVEN AS I WRITE THIS INTRODUCTION -- I LOOK WITH EAGER EXPECTATION WHERE GOD WILL LEAD ME -- AND WHAT HE WILL TEACH AND SHOW ME)
ISAIAH 40:27-31
(VS 27); LISTEN TO VERSE 27 AGAIN,
"WHY DO YOU SAY, O JACOB, AND COMPLAIN, O ISRAEL,`MY WAY IS HIDDEN FROM THE LORD; MY CAUSE IS DISREGARDED BY MY GOD’"
NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION IS GIVEN AS TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR THIS COMPLAINT.... POSSIBLY IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULT TIMES THE PEOPLE HAD SUFFERED UNDER WICKED RULERS, AND FOREIGN NATIONS....
BUT MORE THAN LIMITED TO JUST THAT, THIS COMPLAINT HAS A UNIVERSAL TONE TO IT, WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY THE FORCE OF THE VERBS...
A UNIVERSAL COMPLIANT THAT IS RAISED BY GOD’S PEOPLE WHEN GOING THROUGH VARIOUS TIMES OF DIFFICULTLY AND ADVERSITY..
THE VERB SHOULD BE RENDERED "WHAT WILL YOU SAY..."
THEREFORE ISAIAH’S IMPLICATION IS THAT GOD’S PEOPLE HAD ALREADY SAID THIS, THAT THEY ARE SAYING IT NOW, AND THAT GOD’S PEOPLE WILL GO ON SAYING THIS IN THEIR FUTURE...
WHENEVER GOD’S PEOPLE GO THROUGH ADVERSITY THE NATURAL COMPLAINT IS TO WONDER WHERE GOD IS -- AND TO HIM ASK WHY HE IS NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT OUR SITUATION, OUR "CAUSE" AND THE WAY WE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO WALK...
THIS IS THE COMPLAINT GOD’S PEOPLE RAISED TO GOD AND TO HIS PROPHETS TIME AND TIME AGAIN-- AND THE ANSWER ISIAH GIVES HERE WAS PROBABLY NOT WHAT THE ISRAELITES WANTED TO HEAR AND IT MAY NOT BE WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR EITHER IN THE MIDST OF OUR ADVERSITY >>>> THE ANSWER GOD’S PROPHETS GIVE TO THOSE ENDURING DIFFICULTIES AND EXPERIENCING CONFUSION IS: WAIT ON THE LORD....
TODAY WE WANT TO ANSWER 4 QUESTIONS THAT WILL AID US IN UNDERSTANDING THE DEPTH OF THESE VERSES...
1. WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT ON THE LORD
AS I HAVE ALREADY SAID, WE DON’T LIKE TO WAIT -- WE WANT THINGS TO HAPPEN, AND HAPPEN NOW -- WE WANT TO BE CONTENT AND HAPPY IN LIFE >>> NOW!....
AND WHEN WE ARE IN A DIFFICULT SITUATIONS IN LIFE; WHEN:
OUR MARRIAGE IS ON THE ROCKS/NOT AT ALL WHAT WE DREAMED;
OUR JOB IS A ONE WAY TRAIN HEADED TO NOWHERE;
OUR FIANCES ARE UNSTABLE AND GETTING WORSE BY THE MINUTE;
OUR HEALTH IS SLIPPING LIKE GRAINS OF FINE SAND THROUGH OUR FINGERS;
WHEN OUR LIFE IS JUST NOT GOING WELL AT ALL;
THE ANSWER WE DON’T WANT THE LORD OR HIS PROPHETS TO GIVE US, IS WAIT.....
GOD’S PEOPLE IN ISAIAH’S DAY WERE GOING THROUGH SOME TOUGH TIMES.... THE ASSYRIANS HAD COME IN AND KILLED AND PILLAGED THERE LAND TAKING MANY CAPTIVE; KILLING WIVES, HUSBANDS, PARENTS, DAUGHTERS AND SONS... AND THE BABYLONIANS WERE NOW KNOCKING AT THEIR DOOR WANTING TO DO EVEN WORSE....
WHAT THEY NEEDED WAS SOME HELP -- THEY NEEDED SOME RELIEF -- THEY NEEDED TO GET OUT OF THIS DESPERATE SITUATION AND THEY NEEDED TO GET OUT NOW!
BUT ISAIAH’S DOESN’T TELL THEM WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR -- HE DOESN’T TELL THEM THAT GOD IS COMING SOON, RIGHT AWAY AND THAT HE WILL REMOVE ALL OF THEIR HARDSHIPS... NO ISAIAH TELLS THEM TO WAIT... TO WAIT ON THE LORD...
NOTICE HOW ISIAH’S ANSWER IS VERY DIFFERENT FORM MANY "SO CALLED" PROPHETS OF GOD TODAY... THE GIVE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ANSWER, A MORE POPULAR ANSWER; A MUCH MORE MARKETABLE ANSWER, A MORE PALATABLE ANSWER... THESE TICKLERS OF EARS BOLDLY PROCLAIM THAT GOD WILL GIVE YOU RELIEF NOW! THAT HE WILL RESTORE YOUR HEALTH NOW! RESTORE YOU MARRIAGE NOW! REBUILD YOUR FINANCES NOW!
AND THIS GROUP OF HERETICS, THESE WOLVES IN SHEEP CLOTHING HAVING CHEAPENED AND PERVERTED BIBLICAL FAITH IN TO A MEANS OR A FORMULA TO GET GOD TO ANSWER OUR DEMANDS... THEREBY REDUCING THE SOVEREIGN ALMIGHTY KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS TO NOTHING MORE THAN A COSMIC WAITER OR VENDING MACHINE. WHO FOR THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF CHANGE OR PROPER TIP WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT... AND FAITH HAS BECOME NO MORE THEN A TOOL BY WHICH WE MANIPULATE GOD TO MAKE OUR LIFE BETTER NOW...
RECENTLY I TALKED WITH SOMEONE BATTLING A SERIOUS ILLNESS -- AND THIS PERSON IS TIRED AND WEARY, AND WHO WOULDN’T BE... AND THIS PERSON HEARD THESE FALSE PROPHETS SELLING THEIR WARES OF DECEIT OF THE TELEVISION... AND THIS PERSON CALLED ME AND SAID THEY WERE BUYING SOME TAPES THAT WOULD TELL THEM HOW TO GET A HEALING...
AND I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SAID, "YEAH BUY THOSE TAPES -- YES THERE IS A FORMULA THAT WILL GUARANTEE YOUR HEALING.."
BUT MY ANSWER THOUGH BIBLICAL, IS NOT THAT POPULAR OR EASY -- LIKE ISAIAH I ENCOURAGED THIS PERSON TO WAIT ON THE LORD.... NOW, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A LOUSY ANSWER, BUT WHEN WE VIEW IT FROM GOD’S VANTAGE POINT IT IS BY FAR THE BETTER ANSWER... (THEY DIDN’T GET THE TAPES -- THEY ARE WAITING ON THE LORD)...
OFTEN TIMES THE ANSWER WE RECEIVE FROM THE LORD IN THE STORMS OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCE IS WAIT ON ME... NOW THIS ANSWER IS NOT A STRANGE ANSWER -- AT LEAST NOT FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE -- FOR IT IS AN ANSWER THAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO QUESTIONING AND COMPLAINING PEOPLE MANY TIMES BEFORE -- IT IS A TRUTH THAT HE HAS REITERATED TIME AND TIME AGAIN IN HIS HOLY WORD...
THEREFORE; WHEN GOD IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR ADVERSITIES TELLS YOU TO WAIT ON HIM DON’T ACT AS THOUGH HE HAS SAID SOMETHING STRANGE TO YOU... YOU ARE NOT ALONE OTHERS HAVE HEARD THE SAME ANSWER...
LISTEN TO THE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURES, I’LL READ SOME, AND SOME WE’LL READ SOME TOGETHER... THESE WORDS FROM GOD UNDERSCORE THE BIBLICAL TRUTH OF WAITING ON THE LORD..
"IN THE MORNING, O LORD, YOU HEAR MY VOICE; IN THE MORNING I LAY MY REQUESTS BEFORE YOU AND WAIT IN EXPECTATION..."
-- PS 5:3
"WAIT FOR THE LORD; BE STRONG AND TAKE HEART AND WAIT FOR THE LORD..." -- PS 27:14
"BE STILL BEFORE THE LORD AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM; DO NOT FRET WHEN MEN SUCCEED IN THEIR WAYS, WHEN THEY CARRY OUT THEIR WICKED SCHEMES...." -- PS 37:7
"WAIT FOR THE LORD AND KEEP HIS WAY. HE WILL EXALT YOU TO INHERIT THE LAND; WHEN THE WICKED ARE CUT OFF, YOU WILL SEE IT." -- PS 37:34
"SINCE ANCIENT TIMES NO ONE HAS HEARD, NO EAR HAS PERCEIVED, NO EYE HAS SEEN ANY GOD BESIDES YOU, WHO ACTS ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HIM." -- IS 64:4
"AT THE TIME I HAVE DECIDED, MY WORDS WILL COME TRUE. YOU CAN TRUST WHAT I SAY ABOUT THE FUTURE. IT MAY TAKE A LONG TIME, BUT KEEP ON WAITING - IT WILL HAPPEN! -- HAB 2:3
NOT ONLY SO, BUT WE OURSELVES, WHO HAVE THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT GROAN INWARDLY AS WE WAIT EAGERLY FOR OUR ADOPTIONS AS SONS, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES..."
-- RM 8:23
KEEP YOURSELVES IN GOD’S LOVE AS YOU WAIT FOR THE MERCY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO BRING YOU TO ETERNAL LIFE."
-- JUDE 1:21
BUT WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THINGS TO GET RIGHT... .
BECAUSE WE ARE NOT HOME YET....
WE ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, THINGS ARE NOT RIGHT HERE; BECAUSE WE ARE NOT HOME HERE...
BROTHERS AND SISTERS WE WERE
CREATED TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT HARDSHIPS
IN A LAND WITHOUT WEEDS
AND IN A HOME WITHOUT HEARTACHE
AND IT IS TOUGH, I KNOW IT IS, GOD KNOWS IT IS TO NOT YET LIVE WHERE WE WERE INTENDED, WHERE WE WERE CREATED TO LIVE.
FOR INSTANCE, SUPPOSE THERE IS A FISH ON THE BEACH -- IT IS DRYING OUT AND IT’S SCALES ARE GETTING HARD... WHAT DOES THIS FISH NEED?
IF YOU GOT A BUCKET OF MONEY AND POURED IT ON TOP OF HIM WOULD THAT HELP HIM? WHAT ABOUT IF YOU PICKED HIM UP SOME JACK DANIELS AND THE LATEST COPY OF PLAYFISH MAGAZINE? WOULD A NEW SUIT HELP OR A LOT OF JEWELRY? HOW ABOUT SOME PEOPLE SKINNED SHOES?
THESE THINGS MAY MAKE THE FISH THINK HE FEELS BETTER, BUT ONLY FOR A MOMENT >>>
WHAT DOES THIS FISH "REALLY" NEED... WHAT IS THE ONLY WAY HE WILL BE REALLY CONTENT OR HAPPY -- THE ONLY WAY FOR THINGS TO BE RIGHT -- THE ONLY WAY MY FIENDS IS FOR THAT FISH TO BE IN HIS INTENDED ENVIRONMENT...
IT’S THE SAME WAY FOR US...
WAITING ON THE LORD IS NOT ALWAYS POPULAR, IT MAY NOT SELL A LOT OF BOOKS OR GET YOU A LOT OF AIR TIME OF TV -- AND IT’S PROBABLY NOT THE ANSWER THAT YOU WANT TO HEAR WHEN LIFE IS TOUGH --
BUT THAT’S THE WAY LIFE IS... AND THAT’S THE WAY IT WILL BE TILL WE GET HOME.....
"AT THE TIME I HAVE DECIDED, MY WORDS WILL COME TRUE. YOU CAN TRUST WHAT I SAY ABOUT THE FUTURE. IT MAY TAKE A LONG TIME, BUT KEEP ON WAITING IT WILL HAPPEN!!" - HAB 2:3
2. WHY SHOULD WE WAIT ON THE LORD
DOES ISAIAH GIVE HIS READERS ANY REASON WHY THEY SHOULD WAIT ON THE LORD? LISTEN TO VERSE 28,29 OF OUR TEXT AGAIN...
"DO YOU NOT KNOW? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD? THE LORD IS THE EVERLASTING GOD, THE CREATOR OF THE ENDS OF THE EARTH... HE WILL NOT GROW TIRED OR WEARY AND HIS UNDERSTANDING NO ONE CAN FATHOM... HE GIVES STRENGTH TO THE WEARY AND INCREASES THE POWER OF THE WEAK..."
IN THESE VERSES ISAIAH GIVES AMPLE REASONS FOR WAITING ON THE LORD;
1. HE IS THE EVERLASTING GOD; THIS MEANS HE HAS NO BEGINNING AND NO END... GOD’S ALWAYS BEEN HERE AND HE IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE HERE... HE HAS SEEN IT ALL, AND HE SEES IT ALL... WHO BETTER TO WAIT ON THAN AN EVERLASTING GOD....
2. HE IS THE CREATOR; HE MADE ALL THINGS, THEREFORE; HE IS GREATER THAN ALL THINGS, HE CONTROLS ALL THINGS... GOD KNOWS HOW EVERYTHING WORKS AND AS CREATOR HE KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR HIS CREATION. SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE WORTH WAITING ON.
3. HE IS ALL POWERFUL; GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL STRENGTH. EVEN YOUTHS ISAIAH SAYS GET TRIED AND WEARY... EVEN EMMITT SMITH, MICHAEL JORDAN AND MIKE TYSON -- HAVE TO TAKE A BREAK ON THE SIDE LINES, GO TO THE BENCH FOR A FEW MINUTES OR REST BETWEEN ROUNDS...
BUT GOD DOES NOT GET TIRED OR WEARY... THAT’S WHY WE SHOULD WAIT ON HIM...
THAT’S WHAT THE PSALMIST HAD IN MIND WHEN HE WROTE PS 121;
PS 121:1-8
4. HE GIVES STRENGTH TO THE WEAK; NOT ONLY DOES GOD NOT GET WEARY, NOT ONLY DOES HE HAVE STRENGTH, BUT HE GIVES THIS STRENGTH TO THE WEAK... TO THOSE WHO ADMIT THEY NEED IT...
PAUL ADMITTED THAT WEAKNESS AND RESTED IN THAT STRENGTH;
PAUL WAS GOING THROUGH A HARD TIME -- HE WAS EXPERIENCING A SITUATION THAT HE WANTED GOD TO REMOVE.... WE DON’T KNOW
WHAT IT WAS BUT GOD DIDN’T REMOVE IT -- GOD TOLD HIM TO WAIT AND PAUL HAS THIS TO SAY ABOUT THAT;
2 COR 12:9-10
NOW IF YOU ASK ME THOSE ARE 4 GOOD REASONS FOR US TO WAIT ON THE LORD..... I HAVE 1 MORE REASON, IT’S NOT IN OUR TEXT:
6. NOT WAITING ON GOD LEADS TO TROUBLE; THERE ARE MANY
EXAMPLES IN SCRIPTURE OF PEOPLE NOT WAITING ON THE LORD AND THE TROUBLE IT BROUGHT THEM... 2 THE STICK OUT TO ME ARE MOSES AND ABRAHAM... ABRAHAM COULDN’T WAIT ON GOD TO GIVE HIM A SON THROUGH SARAH SO HE TOOK HAGAR AND HAD A SON THROUGH HER.. (AFTER ALL HE WAITED TILL HIS WAS 100 AND SARAH WAS 90), BOY DID THIS LEAD TO TROUBLE NOT ONLY DOMESTICALLY BETWEEN SARAH AND HAGAR, BUT FROM THAT IMPATIENCE WAS BORN THE ARAB NATION... A PERPETUAL ENEMY OF ISRAEL...
AND MOSES COULD NOT WAIT FOR GOD’S PLAN TO DELIVER ISRAEL SO AT THE AGE OF 40 MOSES GOT A HEAD OF GOD AND KILLED AN EGYPTIAN... AND SPEND 40 YEARS IN THE DESERT TENDING SHEEP THINKING ABOUT IT...
WE TOO GET OURSELVES IN TROUBLE WHEN WE DON’T WAIT ON GOD TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS TO RELIVE OUR PAIN... WE MAY NOT HAVE A CHILD WITH A WOMAN BESIDE OUR WIFE OR KILL AN EGYPTIAN, BUT WE OFTEN TURN TO OTHER THINGS TO ANSWER LIFE’S QUESTIONS AND BRING IMMEDIATE RELIEF TO LIFE’S HURTS AND IT GETS US IN TROUBLE TOO...
THE QUICK FIXES FOR PAIN IN LIFE: $, PLEASURE, DRUGS, ALCOHOL, FAME, SUCCESS, FOOD, ADULTERY, IMMORALITY >>> IN THE LONG RUN THEY DON’T HELP >> THEY HURT...
IT’S BETTER TO WAIT ON THE LORD...
SO FAR WE HAVE ANSWERED 2 QUESTIONS TODAY WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT ON THE LORD? AND WHY SHOULD WE WAIT IN THE LORD?
THE NEXT QUESTION IS:
3. HOW DO WE WAIT IN THE LORD
WE WAIT IN FAITH
THE HEBREW WORD THAT IS TRANSLATED WAIT, ALSO MEANS TRUST, HOPE -- FAITH...
WE WAIT IN THE LORD IN FAITH... WE KNOW THAT HE CAN BE TRUSTED TO DELIVER WHAT HE HAS PROMISED...
AGAIN I TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THAT PASSAGE OUT OF THE SECOND CHAPTER OF HABAKKUK...THIS TIME WE WILL READ VERSES 3 AND 4;
(HABAKKUK QUESTIONS THE INJUSTICE OF HIS WORLD)
"AT THE TIME I HAVE DECIDED, MY WORDS WILL COME TRUE. YOU CAN TRUST WHAT I SAY ABOUT THE FUTURE. IT MAY TAKE A LONG TIME, BUT KEEP ON WAITING - IT WILL HAPPEN!... I THE LORD REFUSE TO ACCEPT ANYONE WHO IS PROUD. ONLY THOSE WHO LIVE BY FAITH ARE ACCEPTABLE TO ME..."
HOW DO WE WAIT -- WE WAIT IN FAITH.....
WE DON’T DEMAND THAT GOD DO WHAT WE WANT NOW.....
GOD WILL NOT ACCEPT THOSE WHO ARE LIKE THAT >>>
WHAT WAIT IN FAITH;
"FAITH IS BEING SURE OF WHAT WE HOPE FOR AND CERTAIN OF WHAT WE DO NOT YET SEE..."
AND WE WAIT IN EXPECTATION....
PAUL IN ROMANS 8:23 WHICH WE READ EARLIER SAYS WE AS CHRISTIANS GROAN INWARDLY (WE ARE FISH OUT OF WATER).... BUT WE WAIT WITH EAGERLY AND WITH EXPECTATION.... BECAUSE WE KNOW SOMETHING GOOD IS COMING.... AND IT IS THIS GREAT EXPECTATION THAT KEEPS THE FIRES OF OUR FAITH BURNING...
LIKE A CHILD WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS WE WAIT BECAUSE WE KNOW THE WAIT WILL BE WORTH IT....
HEBREWS 11:13-16
ROMANS 8:18
WHAT IS ABOUT HEAVEN THAT EXCITES TO YOU?
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT A PERFECT WORLD WHAT MAKES IT APPEALING TO YOU?
IS IT THE LACK OF PAIN, THE ABSENCE OF DISEASE, THE REMOVAL OF GUILT -- THE INCREDIBLE BEAUTY, THE WIPING AWAY OF TEARS.... OR STANDING IN GOD’S PRESNESE...
YOU NEED TO GET THAT PICTURE IN YOUR MIND, LOOK AT IT, ARTICULATE IT, GAZE UPON IT, DREAM ABOUT IT, BE ENCOURAGED BY IT... AND THEN REALIZE THAT WHATEVER YOU HAVE IMAGINED IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO HOW GOOD IT IS GOING TO BE...
WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN WHAT A DAY OF REJOICING THAT WE’LL BE WHEN WE ALL SEE JESUS WE’LL SING AND SHOUT THE VICTORY..
WHEN WE UNDERSTAND: WHY WE ARE TO WAIT... WHO WE ARE WAITING ON....E WILL WAIT IN FAITH AND WITH GREAT EXPECTATION
WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR LAST QUESTION
4. WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN WE WAIT ON THE LORD?
OUR TEXT SAYS;
"THAT THOSE WHO WAIT IN THE LORD, WILL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH, THEY WILL SOAR ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES; THEY WILL RUN AND NOT GROW WEARY, THEY WILL WALK AND NOT BE FAINT..."
WITH APPARENTLY NO EFFORT THE EAGLE MOUNTS HIGH INTO THE SKY; IN LIKE MANNER THE PEOPLE OF GOD WILL MOUNT UP FORM THE DEPTHS OF THEIR, GRIEFS, DIFFICULTIES AND ADVERSITIES. THEY WILL NOT STUMBLE FALLING TO THE GROUND, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO STRENGTH, BUT RATHER WITH THE EASE OF AN EAGLE THEY WILL SOAR ON HIGH ABOVE THE THUNDER AND THE CLOUDS OF LIFE...
THEY WILL RUN AND NOT BE WEARY -- WALK AND NOT GROW FAINT
"WHEN I HEARD THIS MESSAGE, I FELT WEAK FROM FEAR, AND MY LIPS QUIVERED. MY BONES SEEMED TO MELT, AND I STUMBLED AROUND. BUT I WILL PATIENTLY WAIT. SOMEDAY THOSE VICIOUS ENEMIES WILL BE STRUCK BY DISASTER.
"FIG TREES MAY NO LONGER BLOOM, OR VINEYARDS PRODUCE GRAPES; THE OLIVE TREE MAY BE FRUITLESS, AND HARVEST TIME A FAILURE, SHEEP PENS MAY BE EMPTY, AND CATTLE STALLS VACANT - BUT I WILL STILL CELEBRATE BECAUSE THE LORD SAVES ME.
"THE LORD GIVES ME STRENGTH. HE MAKES MY FEET AS SURE AS THOSE OF A DEER, AND HE HELPS ME STAND ON THE MOUNTAINS.."
CONCLUSION
I WANT TO CONCLUDE OUR TIME TODAY WITH 2 EXHORTATIONS...
#1, DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH DOWN HERE
THERE WILL NEVER BE A DAY WHEN YOU TURN ON THE NEWS AND THE NEWS ANCHOR SAYS THAT THERE IS NO BAD NEWS TODAY. IT’S JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
THERE IS NEVER GOING TO BE A DAY WHEN YOU GO TO WORK AND EVERYONE IS HAPPY, SINGING, ALL GETTING ALONE...
THERE IS NEVER GOING TO BE A TIME WHEN THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO TENSION IN ANY CHURCH OR COMPETITION IN ANY GROUP OR RESENTMENT IN ANY HEART. THAT DAY WON’T HAPPEN HERE!
THERE WILL NEVER BE A DAY WHEN YOU WILL SERVE UNDER A PERFECT GOVERNMENT OR ELECT A PERFECT PRESIDENT...
THERE WILL NEVER BE A TIME WHEN THE WORLD IS NOT A PLACE OF CHAOS AND SOCIAL DEPRAVITY.. THAT’S JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN HERE!
TRAFFIC JAMS ARE STILL GOING TO CONTINUE -- HAIR IS GOING TO KEEP FALLING OUT AND WAISTS ARE TO KEEP GETTING BIGGER...
AND YOU’RE GOING TO KEEP SINNING -- YOUR GOING TO MAKE MISTAKES.... LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS A BIT, OKAY?
BECAUSE YOU SEE UNLESS YOU CAN COME TO GRIPS WITH AN HONEST APPRAISAL OF THIS WORLD YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISAPPOINTED AND EVERYDAY WILL DISAPPOINT YOU...
AND YOU WILL ALWAYS EXPECT THAT MARRIAGE TO BRING YOU HAPPINESS, THAT JOB TO BRING YOU HAPPINESS, THAT CHURCH TO BRING YOU HAPPINESS, THAT VACATION TO BRING YOU HAPPINESS AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISAPPOINTED...
AND YOU WILL BE ON A CONSTAT ROLLER COASTER RIDE... UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN... AND WITH TIME YOU GET ANGRY AT THIS SPIRIT OF DISCONTENTMENT. I AM CONVINCED THAT DEPRESSION IS SOME SORT OF REPRESSED ANGER THAT GETS DEEPER AND DEEPER UNTIL FINALLY YOUR ANGRY AT GOD, AT SELF, AT FAMILY AT THE GOVERNMENT AND YOU JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE..
AND ALL THE WHILE GOD IS SAYING, "I NEVER SAID IT WAS GOING TO BE EASY DOWN THERE... WHEN I WAS THERE MYSELF I WEPT A FEW TIMES AND I HAD A FEW SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AND I HAD TO TEAR UP A TEMPLE OR 2 IN MY FRUSTRATION..."
YOU SEE IT’S JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN HERE FOLKS...
NOW DOES THAT MEAN YOU SHOULD WALK AROUND PALE, WITH ASHES, GLOOMY...? NO! NO! A THOUSAND TIMES NO!
BECAUSE IF ANYONE HAS A REASON FOR JOY YOU DO... IF ANYONE HAS A REASON FOR HOPE YOU DO, IF ANYONE HAS A BOAT TO TAKE THEM ACROSS THE ANGRY SEA OF THIS WORLD -- YOU ARE STANDING ON THE BEACH AND YOU CAN SEE IT COMING...
IF ANYONE HAS A REASON FOR JOY YOU DO... YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT BAD IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO NOT KNOW HIM...
LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS DOWN HERE....
YOU’LL BE EASIER TO LIVE WITH IF YOU DO AND YOU’LL FIND LIFE EASIER TO LIVE IF YOU DO....
NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO LOWER OUR EXPECTATIONS HERE...
BUT MY 2ND EXHORTATION TO YOU TODAY IS TO
#2 FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION THERE.....
THOUGHTS OF YOUR FUTURE IN HEAVEN MUST CONSUME YOU, DRIVE YOU....
YOU KNOW HOW YOU ARE WHEN YOU ARE ABOUT TO GO ON VACATION >> CAN WAIT >>> YOU SEE IT, YOU IMAGINE IT..
THAT NEEDS TO BE YOUR APPROACH TO HEAVEN....
THINK ABOUT HEAVEN, DREAM ABOUT HEAVEN, LONG FOR HEAVEN -- LET HEAVEN OCCUPY YOUR MIND AND YOUR HEART... BECOME A HEAVEN THINKER...
BE FOCUSED ON IT...
AND FOR HEAVENS SAKE, DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES TO GET THERE...
GOUGE OUT YOUR EYE, CUT OFF YOUR HAND, AND FEEL YOUR EAR WITH WAX SO YOU WILL NOT HEAR THE CALL OF THE TEMPTER AND TEMPTRESS...
FRIENDS THE SECOND YOU GET THERE YOU WILL NOT REGENT FOR A MOMENT WHAT YOU HAD TO ENDURE OR GIVE UP TO GET THERE... YOU WON’T SAY I WISH I HAD MORE FUN ON EARTH...BUT RATHER I CAN’T BELIEVE I WAS EVER ATTRACTED TO ANYTHING ON EARTH....
LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS HERE
FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION THERE...
THOSE WHO WAIT UPON THE LORD, WILL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH, THEY WILL SOAR ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES.. THEY WILL RUN AND NOT BE WEARY, THEY WILL WALK AND NOT BE FAINT..""
