Sermons
Willing To Wait
WILLING TO WAIT
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / September 24, 2017
“Good things come to those who WAIT.”
We’ve all heard this old saying from the time of our weaning.
Instant gratification seldom ever builds a strong character.
As children we’re raised by loving parents who frequently remind us that we have to “wait for it” (whatever it might be).
Jill Duncan Woods (Gumby) and her husband, Brian, have three adorable young girls: Bella, Brilea & Bobbie.
The youngest, whose name I cannot recall, wanted to come be a camper at last summer’s Camp 2:52 ever so badly.
The two oldest girls are wonderful campers (almost ideal) and the youngest “can’t wait”.
Last summer, I was inclined to grant her a waiver (she’s not yet headed into the 3rd grader), and allow her to attend.
But her parents insisted that she wait - - and you have to respect their willingness (and wisdom) in making her wait.
There is something very valuable about the process of learning to wait.
The evidence is all around us, in our lives and in the lives of others:
we know that waiting is sometimes necessary and quite often very important in shaping our character.
Yet, for many of us - - we find ourselves UNWILLING TO WAIT.
Or, at best, we find ourselves dreading to wait.
What we learn in life, from the days of our youth, we also learn in Scripture.
In Scripture this “waiting” is not just for the kiddos, it is also for us adults and those who are spiritually mature.
We hear this exhortation to WAIT frequently in the Psalms.
25:3 / None who wait will be ashamed
33:20 / Our soul waits for Thee
62:5 / My soul, wait in silence for God
69:3 & 6 / I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait for my God
May those who wait for Thee not be ashamed…O Lord God of hosts…
Zephaniah 3:8 / ‘Wait for Me’, declares the Lord
Micah 7:7 / As for me, I will wait for the God of my salvation
Lamentations 3:26 / It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord
We also hear this admonition often in the writings of the prophet Isaiah.
8:17 / I will wait for the Lord
29:23b / Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame
64:4 / From of old they have not heard not perceived by ear, neither has they eye
seen a God besides Thee, who acts in behalf of all the ones who waits for Him.
40:31 / Those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with
wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
This is a teaching from Scripture that nails me (humbles me) repeatedly.
I’m not real good at waiting and I suspect that I am not alone in this regard.
When my dog Bodie earns (wants) a treat, I give it to him without haste.
Jeannie also gives him treats, but she makes him wait - - with her, he has to sit and calm down before he gets his treat.
I’m trying to get better.
Both of our cars have 100,000+ miles, one is a 2007 and one is a 2011.
I’ve learned that you can’t get ahead financially if you trade in your vehicle every two years.
Actually, I have done quite well on this “holding on to a vehicle” for most of my adult life, with only a few exceptions.
Recently, I didn’t mow the grass for about ten or eleven days.
When Jeannie sets out to do some remodeling, it takes time. I want it done tomorrow - - or better yet, yesterday.
The Bible is filled with waiting.
After all that the disciples had been through with Jesus for 3+ years, the book of Acts opens with a resurrected Jesus about to ascend, telling them: don’t leave Jerusalem, but to WAIT for what the Father had promised. (Acts 1:4).
The twelve apostles and other disciples of Jesus found themselves waiting throughout those three and a half years.
After His crucifixion they waited three (long) days for His resurrection.
And now, after His ascension, they find themselves waiting again.
In the Old Testament there are so many stories of WAITING that if we mentioned them all we’d be here all day.
In ancient days, they waited for the flood in the days during which Noah constructed the ark (1Pet.3:20).
Abraham and Sarah waited (not so patiently) for the birth of a son. Isaac arrived when Abraham was 100 (Gen.16-21).
Rebekah hastily plotted with her son Jacob to secure His father’s blessing. It resulted in Jacob living in exile for 20 years.
Jacob worked and waited for seven years to marry Rachel, but he was given Leah by deception.
And thus he worked another seven years to finally marry his beloved Rachel (Gen.29).
Wrongfully imprisoned, Joseph waited two long years until the cupbearer mentioned him to Pharaoh (Gen.41:1).
The children of Israel waited in Egypt as slaves for 400 years until God lea them to the promised land (Acts 7:6).
At the age of 40, after striking down a cruel taskmaster, Moses fled into the wilderness to avoid Pharaoh’s wrath (Ex.2).
Then he waited in the desert for another 40 years before God spoke to Him via the burning bush (Ex.3:2 & Acts 7:30).
Finally He led the children of Israel to the promised land - - a trek which, likewise, took forty years.
On and on we could go.
God the Father had Jesus wait until he was thirty to begin His public ministry.
At age 12, Jesus was already showing signs of being precocious (Lk.2:41-51).
If ever a case could have made to justify a “boy King”, it was Jesus, but God decided to have Him wait (Heb.5:8)
Waiting can sometimes be a PAINFUL. Waiting can also be A TEST of our faith in God.
Some are waiting for a mate … Some are waiting for the arrival of a newborn child …
Some are waiting for the kids to grow up … Some are waiting for a better job or a promotion and/or a raise in pay …
Some are waiting for retirement … Some are waiting to recover from an illness or a death that is drawing near.
I find myself waiting for our church to explode. Not in a bad way, but in a good way - - to witness the church
grow in a substantial way and to observe our sanctuary becoming filled to capacity with eager worshippers.
We waited patiently in the Opera House for 16 years for a church building. If I could speak candidly,
I sometimes struggle with the thought that it might take another 16 (or more) before we expand.
We need classroom space. We need a baptistery. We need a fellowship hall.
If it takes another 16 years, I will be 75, if the Lord wills that I live that long.
In moments when I’m thinking more soberly and more Biblically, I hear God saying, “So what!”.
We are not the first to ponder out loud, How long, O Lord?
(cf. Ps.13:1 & 74:10; Jer.12:4; Hab.1:2; Zech.1:12 and Rev.6:10)
There’s a tension that exist between “what we want right now” and “what God chooses to give and when”.
In our zeal for the things of God we don’t always take too kindly to His apparent slowness.
When Leonardo da Vinci was painting “The Last Supper” it took him forever.
Observers were critical of the long periods of time when he would just sit in the cloister and meditate.
His reply: “When I pause the longest, I make the most telling strokes.” Da Vinci has learned the value of WAITING.
A eager-beaver missionary once boasted that he intentionally had deprived himself a vacation for nine years.
In his tenth year he required a sick leave that lasted for ten months.
He learned the hard way that WAITING (taking some time off every year) has its virtues.
With all that Jesus had to accomplish, we repeatedly hear Him telling His disciples to,
come away and rest a while (Mk.6:31).
It is this periodical pulling aside that often keeps us from permanently falling apart.
We live in an age of speed. We eat fast food … we prefer quick fixes … and we’re ever vigilant for shortcuts.
Not all things can be done in a hurry. Really good fruit requires age to ripen.
Someone has opined that America is a “civilized madhouse” - - we need fewer sports cars and more rocking chairs.
Jesus once told a parable of two builders (Mt.6:24f) - -
One made a very poor choice, taking the quicker and easier path - - He built on the sand.
The other made a much wiser choice, taking the longer and more difficult path - - He built on the rock.
May God grant us the patience to be willing to wait.
I love that old song, “I want to be a worker for the Lord”.
I want to be active and industrious, but I also know the story of the tortoise and the hare - -
that old fable that has the ring of truth and the scent of Divine Scripture.
Back to where we began. While it is not an actual Bible verse, the truth contained in this quote is thoroughly Scriptural:
Good things (God’s things) come to those who wait.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We hear Your voice pronouncing a woe upon those who at ease in Zion.
We long to be zealous for good deeds and we abhor the thought of being lazy Christians.
Yet, Father, we also know that our walk with Christ requires great patience, perseverance, and a willingness to wait.
Help us to set aside our man-made timetables and simply determine to live each day as it comes to us by Your grace.
Help us to trust You preeminently and to rejoice in the realization that we live each day under Your watchful eye - - basking in the resounding message of the Holy Scriptures - - the knowledge that Our Father Knows Best.
Through Christ, the paragon of steadfast obedience, we pray. Amen.
