God's Timing | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

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Charks family, how you guys doing?

You guys doing good?

It is so good to see you all.

Thank you all so much for joining us today.

We're so, so glad uh that you are here with us.

Um, before I jump into today's message, I have two things I want to do.

First thing I want to do is I want to honor um some dear friends who are in the house with me uh today.

Somebody that's been walking this faith specifically in the context of celebration for well over uh a decade.

And that's Pastor John Wyatt and Kerry and his family.

They're here with us from Jacksonville.

So, so John, can you wave a hand?

Stand up, let them see you.

He's a six foot twelve dude in the back, you can't miss him.

Um but I remember when Megan and I first started going to celebration in Jacksonville, at the time, neither one of us were on staff, and I just remember um we would go to the Saturday night service and he would sit in the aisle across and he would just be filled with so much joy.

And I'm like, man, there's something about that guy.

I never thought that we would be doing ministry together all these years later.

I love you and your family, brother.

Thank you so much for being an inspiration to me and my family.

Um, the other thing I want to hit on before we jump into uh today's message is as Sean was talking, we we have a great community of people who really do have a heart for generosity.

And what we've seen God do in our community is how we're able to respond to needs.

And so one of the precious family in our churches came to us, and I know our legacy will lock arms with them, but they said, hey, we want to be a blessing to anyone in our community that may be struggling with providing um Christmas for their families, um, whether that's a Christmas meal, maybe it's some gifts for the kids.

We know that this season isn't about that, but we also recognize it's an opportunity for us to demonstrate the love and generosity of Christ.

So so if that's you, if you find that this is a season that's a little bit more challenging for you and and and you're wrestling with how you can provide a Christmas experience for your family, we we have church members who would love to come alongside and just be a support to you.

So if that's you, I want you to go ahead and um text a number gift to our our number that's on the screen, and and someone's gonna respond to you and begin to put some things in place again to provide uh an amazing Christmas experience for you, your family, a meal, and maybe some gifts for the kids.

Can we get a good amen to that church family?

Amen, amen, amen.

Okay, now um we want to shift into our message for today.

We're we're so, so excited about the season and the series that we're in.

Every year, um, we we approach this time of year with a with a singular focus, and that's Advent, kind of pulling from the tradition of Advent, but kind of modernizing it for our context.

But but what Advent means, it's a mean that means coming or arrival.

And what it meant in the traditions of our of our church and and of church communities that have come years and years before us, it's a it's an intentional time for us to be filled with anticipation and expectation.

It's a time of of hope and joy and love and and peace, these themes that we typically see around the Christmas season.

So we lean heavily into this time as a moment for us to pause and to reflect and and to and to embody the ultimate message of Advent fueling hope for all of us.

Last week we we approached the Advent season with talking about God's promises.

Um, and if you didn't get a chance to check out last week's message, I want to encourage you to go and check it out because again, I think all of us have heard the concept of God's promises.

We've all heard the words of God's promises, but we had an opportunity to unpack what that means and and how we respond in those moments.

Today we want to continue in the conversation and we want to engage the same passages um that we read uh last week.

So if you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me in Isaiah chapter number nine, and we're gonna read a passage there at verse number six, and then we're gonna skip over to Luke chapter number one.

Um if you don't have a Bible at all, um, we would love to gift one to you because I truly believe that the word of God has the ability to change um our lives.

But I also recognize that we we live in a different age and time, um, and so you may have a Bible that's on your phone, a Bible lap, and that's perfectly fine as well.

Um the translation of the Bible I'm going to be reading from is is CSB.

So if you want to switch to that in your digital device, um, but if you don't have any of those, it's gonna come up in the Bible in the sky.

And and what I want us to do as we're reading through this, I don't necessarily want you to yell and project, but I do think that there's power in us reading God's word together.

So as I'm reading through this, I want you to just read along um with me so that we can be proclaiming God's word together as a community.

Starting here at Isaiah chapter number nine, verse number six, it's it says this.

You guys ready?

Okay, here we go.

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us.

Let's pause there.

Somebody say to us.

Say it again, to us.

Remember that.

A son will be given to us, and now we're gonna pick up here, and the government will be on his shoulders, his name will be wonderful, counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace.

Now, skipping over to Luke chapter number one, we're gonna pick up at verse number 26.

Um, we have a couple of verses that I want to read, and then we're gonna get into prayer and see what God wants to speak to us today.

So, starting at verse number 26, let's read this together.

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary, and the angel came to her and said, Greetings, favored woman, the Lord is with you.

But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.

Then the angel told her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Now listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.

Mary asked the angel, How can this be since I have had sexual relations with a man?

The angel replied to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore, the one to be born will be called the Son of God.

And consider your relative Elizabeth.

Even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless.

For nothing will be impossible with God.

Let's repeat that again.

Let's say it with conviction.

For nothing will be impossible with God.

Let's do it one more time with all the faith that we have inside of us.

For nothing will be impossible for God.

See, I am the Lord's servant, Mary said.

May it happen to me as you have said, then the angel left her.

When we look at God's word and we see the idea that is introduced in Isaiah chapter number nine about this Messiah that's going to come and the government's going to be on his shoulders, and then we skip over to Luke chapter number one.

We have the privilege of time, we have the privilege of resources, we have the privilege of perspective that sometimes can cause us to lose what really was going on.

So let me bring you into it.

From the time that those words were uttered and Isaiah and written down and internalized and processed through the Jewish community at that time, and then their fulfillment in Luke chapter number one, over 400 years have passed.

We did all of that in five minutes, but there was a 400-year gap.

And and I suspect for the people then, hearing about a Messiah that's going to bring redemption and restoration was very encouraging.

But year number one, okay, year number two, next generation, next year, I suppose at some point your hope can begin to deflate.

I think the same thing can happen to us when there seems to be a discrepancy between what we know God is saying and what we are experiencing.

So today I want to talk about what we do in that gap.

And if we're taking notes, and of course, here at Celebration Orlando, we take notes because I truly believe that when you take notes, it's a fast pass into heaven.

Um, there's no scripture for it, but I believe it, and I'm gonna keep saying it until otherwise.

I want you to write down this message title, God's Timing.

Let's pray and let's see what it is that God wants to speak to us today.

Lord, we thank you so much for the gift of time, and we thank you for how you invite us to be a part of the most beautiful story that has ever been told.

We're part of the story.

Our faithfulness, our partnership, our obedience.

It's all part of a bigger narrative, and it's all happening on your timetable.

So, Lord, I just ask over the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you, open ears to hear you, and open hearts to receive what it is you want to do in us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen and amen.

Um earlier this year, um, first and foremost, my wife and I, we we have been together for uh 29 years.

Come on.

29 years, and she has been blessed to be with me for those 29 years.

You started this, you started this when you were up here earlier.

Um, but in that 29 years, we we have been through so much and so many highs and and and so many lows, but but God has been faithful.

So so earlier this year, um I watched her when she was on her iPad and I couldn't take it any longer.

She had like this old, like almost 10-year-old iPad.

It still had to fingerprint technology and tech.

I was like, hey, in this household, as for me in my house, we get upgrades.

So I made the decision that I was gonna upgrade her iPad.

And so I went through the process of ordering it, and then it brought me to the screen where it gave me this option.

This is, hey, do you want to pick it up or do you want to have it delivered?

Now, ordinarily, I'm a pick it up type of dude because just the way that my patience is wired, when I see the money leave my account, I need to see something in my hand.

I'm leaving here with something.

Like that's kind of the way that I have been conditioned to function.

But in this case, I was like, man, I don't feel like driving across town.

I don't want to go through the traffic.

They say they're gonna have it here the next day.

Cool, I'll just have them ship it.

It'll be here by noon, it'll be great.

So I prepare Megas like, hey, tomorrow we're gonna have um a package delivered.

You're getting upgraded, girl, because you have an amazing husband that loves you, and I've seen you painstakingly suffering through that old technology that I just can't tolerate anymore.

Truth of the matter is I was making an upgrade, and there's no way I could buy me a new iPad and not get her one, but that's a different conversation.

So I said, hey, so you're you're getting an upgrade.

We were all excited, she was excited about it.

And and so the next day I look at the tracking number, I hit the button, and and then I notice that it says that the package is in Tennessee.

Now I'm thinking to myself, like, I know they're not gonna fly this thing over here on a private plane, so it should have already at least been in the general Central Florida region.

I I give it a couple more hours and I see that there's not been any updates on said package.

So now I'm like, okay, well, let me call in because we're gonna be leaving here soon, and and I don't want to leave the package sitting outside.

I don't even know if they'll do that.

I mean, we've all seen the memes of like these pirate, these porch pirates, and and I got the ring app, and I don't want to put my freedom in jeopardy because you came to my front yard and stole something from me, and now I gotta lay hands on you, not prayer.

Anyway, so so I said, we're gonna be home to make sure that we get said package.

I called them up, I'm like, hey, I noticed that there has not been any progress on the package, and they said to me, Hey, we're so sorry there was a storm that hit in that region.

All flights have been grounded, and we don't know when the package is going to get out.

And I was like, okay, I understand that.

Well, here's what I want to do.

I'll just uh cancel it, I'll just go in a store and pick it up.

Now, to me, that would have been a very simple solution.

Hey, you're not gonna get it here, I'll just go pick it up instead.

And they're like, no, no, no, Keith.

They didn't even say Mr.

Pittman.

I'm sorry, Keith, it doesn't work that way.

I'm like, Keith, it's supposed to be Mr.

Pittman, much money I'm spending.

Anyway, um I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way.

Like right now, it's in the system, and so we're unable to cancel the order, you're unable to go to the store and pick it up.

You're gonna just have to wait.

Now, now for me, I don't have any issue with waiting.

Well, that's not true.

I'm on a platform.

Okay, I I don't have an issue with waiting for things that make sense to wait for.

I get that.

But when when I have to wait for something and it seems like the solution is right in front of me, that gets a little bit more frustrating.

Because I'm thinking to myself, if if patience is a gas tank, I don't want to spend my fuel on something that has a very easy solution.

Why why am I wasting my patience on something that's a simple solution?

What I am looking to purchase is right in the store, and if I would have clicked a different button, I would be enjoying this iPad right now.

But because I didn't, I have to wait.

I think sometimes in our lives, we are conditioned to be people that in theory know how to wait for the right things.

But the challenge becomes when I have to wait for something that I already have a solution for.

When I have a different idea of how it can look out, that's when the frustration begins to hit.

And I suspect for some of us, we not only feel that in our lives, but I would even suspect to say that that even can transfer to our relationship with God.

Because if I can be honest with you, there are times when I'm praying and I'll say to God, like, listen, I know that you are sovereign.

I know that you know the end from the beginning.

I know that you are the creator of heaven and earth.

Lord, I know that you are Alpha and Omega, but I got some suggestions.

Where's the suggestion box at?

Because when I look at some parts of my life, I'm thinking to myself, Lord, if we could just move these things in place, I would be in a much better place.

You will probably get a better servant if I can be honest with you.

Lord, you want me to worship you, right?

You you want me to have joy, you you want me to have peace.

Why aren't these things working out?

The solution that I'm looking for is right in front of me.

Why do I have to wait?

But but I've learned it's in those moments of waiting that it's possible that God is developing and preparing me for something much bigger than I could ever ask or think.

I think that sometimes for us, because we look at the world through our finite lens, that we don't see a bigger picture.

But God is often saying to you, if I give this to you now, you don't have the character to sustain it.

If I give it to you now, you don't have the discipline to sustain it.

If I give this to you now, you're not healthy enough that it won't destroy you.

So in this season, I'm developing something in you, and you're gonna have to trust me even in the waiting.

Waiting can be a little bit frustrating, but I believe that when we begin to be people that cultivate and recognize God's timing, it could actually be a transformational thing that all of us can experience.

Can we get a good amen to that?

So so after walking with God for many decades and continuing to wrestle with this, I want to share some principles with you that I hope can be a blessing to you because I know that as I preach this, I'm preaching to myself.

Maybe you're in a season of waiting.

Maybe there's a gap between a promise and the fulfillment of it.

But I have these principles that while not exhaustive, I hope that they can serve as a foundation that can encourage you in this season.

Here's the first thing that I want you to consider writing down silence isn't absence.

The thing about the Advent season is as we shared, there is a 400-year gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

And I can imagine that maybe for some of the people of faith back then, that that silence seemed like it was God's absence.

That 400-year gap is referred to as the inter-testamental period.

And ultimately, what happens in the Old Testament, the ending of the chronology of the Old Testament, it pretty much ends with Nehemiah and Ezra, where they they've been they've been returning from Babylon, they're beginning to re-engage their culture, they're beginning to build things up.

But the last prophetic voice of the Old Testament was a prophet named Malachi.

Here's why this is so significant.

In the Old Testament days, they did not have the Holy Spirit inside of every believer in the same way that we do.

They didn't have access to scriptures and iPads and the ability to download apps.

So for them, when they were looking to hear from God, God would use prophets.

And these prophets would show up, and they were literally speaking from the throne of grace.

They would speak with correction, they would speak with vision, they would speak with next steps.

Whenever a prophet showed up, you knew that you were hearing a word from God.

Now imagine after Malachi's ministry is done, there's no new prophet that has come on the scene.

There's no one speaking and saying, Thus saith the Lord.

There's no one giving you any instructions on what you're supposed to do next.

So I can imagine for those people, they're thinking to themselves, God is silent.

Where is he?

Megan and I, we went to a play last year.

Um we went to go and see Beauty and the Beast.

Now, I'm not typically uh a musical type of guy, but but after I saw Hamilton, I'm like, hey, maybe I am set up for this.

Come on.

Alexander Hamilton.

I'm not gonna throw away my shot.

Are you kidding me?

Like, I was immersed in it.

It could be because it was hip-hop and that's my culture, but but nonetheless, I'm like, hey, Megan, we're gonna become a musical family.

And so what do you do after you see Alexander Hamilton?

You go and see Beauty the Beast.

You gotta balance it out a little bit.

So we went to go see Beauty and the Beast, and and and as we're taking it all in, it was incredible.

As I'm watching sonically, as they're bringing us on a journey, I'm watching the actors, it was all amazing.

And then there was this one scene where they were all singing in unison, it was really powerful, and after they bellow the last note, the room goes dark, the curtains drop, and then you hear a voice that comes on and say, now we're gonna enter into a 30-minute intermission.

Feel free to go out, get some refreshments, talk about the show, come back in 30 minutes, and we're gonna proceed with the next act.

So I'm sitting there because this was like my first time going to something in person, and I'm fascinated at intermissions.

I'm familiar with the concept of it.

In the intermission, yes, we were talking about what we had just experienced, but I'm also looking at the operations and I can see between the cracks and the curtain that the team was in the back and they were setting the stage for the next act.

So even though there was no activity, even though, from my perspective, it was silence, but behind the scenes, there were people that were putting things in place for what was going to happen next.

Musically, what we often see is that there are intentional moments of silence that are interjected to give us an opportunity to pause and to process it.

In fact, when we look into the book of Psalms, we see over 70 times a word that is mentioned, and that word is selah.

Somebody say selah.

Selah is literally a word that is meant to be connected to the words before and after it, but in essence, what it truly means is the peace.

Just stand still, let that settle for a moment.

Don't move past this moment.

So typically what would happen is whenever a passage of scripture was read and selah came after it, it was meant to say, hey, pause.

Don't go past that.

Let that get deep into your soul before you move on to the next part.

So let me give you a couple of passages of scripture where Selah comes up.

Psalm number three, it says this, but you, Lord, are my shield around me, my glory in the one who lifts my head.

Selah.

Don't push, don't rush past that.

Slow down.

Let that let that marinate in your soul before you get past it.

We see another one here in Psalm number 46.

It says, God is my refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in the times of trouble.

I will not be afraid.

Selah.

Sometimes we can see these passages of scripture and we move on to the next verse, but but the instructions of the word of God are saying, Hey, let that settle in your spirit, let that marinate before you move on.

Let this be a moment of silence where you can reflect on what you just heard.

Or Psalm 62, verse number five, it says, For my hope comes from him.

He is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold.

I will not be shaken.

God is our refuge.

Selah.

We see over and over again these instances of scripture where a powerful statement about God and also his reassurance for us is introduced to us, and then after it it's saying, Let that settle.

Let that merit in your soul.

Let's slow down.

We're not going to say anything afterward.

We want to make sure that you get that deep in your soul before you take another step.

Embracing Selah encourages us as believers to slow down, to meditate, and to respond to God's revelation through thoughtful worship and obedience.

But I know that the tension that we can feel is that in those moments of Selah, that God is not present.

But I'm here to encourage you that silence is an absence.

One of my favorite moments of the embodiment of Selah in action is actually found in Revelation chapter 8, verse number one.

Revelation 8 · chapter mention

What the Bible tells us is that the seal was given to the Lamb that sits upon a throne.

And the Bible says that when he cracked the seal, there was a silence in heaven for about 30 minutes.

Heaven was silent, but I assure you that God was present.

Why would God bring heaven to silence?

First and foremost, I want you to recognize that heaven has never been a place that has been silent.

We have to understand that from the moment that God created the varying worship angels, that worship has always been.

A part of the background music of heaven.

So I know that for us, and some of us have temperaments where we say, Hey, I worship God with my hands and my hands in my pocket.

I'm a little bit more reflective, and I respect that.

But I think that you should probably prepare for what you're going to be doing in heaven.

So this is why we lift our hands, this is why we lift our voices, because heaven has never been a silent place.

Because when you see the king of glory come in, you can't help but to say, Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

It just comes out of us.

So to think that God's very presence compels angels to worship, but when he cracks the seal, he says, Shh, I don't want to hear another word.

Why would God cause heaven to become silent?

Well, when you read the subsequent scriptures, it's because he began to put things in place that ultimately led to all of mankind's redemption.

I have learned in the symphony of life that silence is the symphony of heaven, of redemption.

That silence is the symphony of salvation, and that God will often use silence as the precursor of him putting things in place and allowing salvation to come forth.

In that intertestamental period that was met with silence, God was actually setting the stage for what he was about to do next.

In that 400 years, the Greek language became the prominent language in that era.

Now, what that is so significant is because so when the gospel was preached, everybody understood a measure of Greek.

So that way when the preachers began to preach God's word through Greek, everyone understood it.

God was putting a common language in place so they can handle the ministry that he was about to do.

Another thing that God was putting in place was transport.

Until the Roman government came in control, there was no safe way to get from one region to the next without being harmed or even getting there at all.

But when Rome took over power, though they were oppressive, they also created roads, they created transport, and it made ways for people to get from one destination to the next safely.

Do you know who was able to use those very same roads so that when the gospel was being preached, it was able to hit every region, go to Jerusalem and Samaria and all the ends of the earth, the people of the disciples of God.

So God was able to utilize the very system that the world created to allow the gospel to go even further, faster.

In that 400 years of silence, synagogues were birthed, which were small little hubs and small communities.

And when Jesus came on the scene, those were the very places that he would preach from that then brought transformation, and then it would hit those very same roads that allowed the gospel to spread quicker than it ever could have been in any other time.

What I want you to recognize is that silence is an absence, that God is up to something.

That even in those moments of silence, maybe God is setting the stage for what he's about to do next in your life.

Silence is an absence.

The second thing I want you to recognize is that delayed doesn't mean denied.

Delayed doesn't mean denied.

When we think about this Advent season and recognizing the amount of time that it took, delayed doesn't mean denied, but if we can be honest with ourselves, waiting is incredibly difficult.

Especially in a world that seems to have everything at our finger point.

Think about it.

We live in a world of instant gratification and we all benefit from it in some way.

Think about the reality that a streaming service can allow you to binge watch an entire season of a show in one sitting.

And I throw no shade on that because I just did it this past weekend.

We we have places that we can shop from that they they promise same day delivery.

We we can post something on in on Instagram and get instant validation that can help fuel this unhealthy dopamine addiction that we can have when people like and leave a comment on it and it makes us feel more validated.

We live in a world of of instant gratification, but it does come at a cost.

Because what it can often foster is impatience and anxiety and uh and a and a shallow sense of what satisfaction really is.

That the constant need for quick results can lead us to feeling restless and unable to endure delays without being frustrated.

It can erode our ability to appreciate the journey or recognize the value of preparation.

What we can recognize is that in these moments of waiting, we can feel as if things are losing their value and that it's not meant for us to have it at all.

But I want to encourage you that delayed does not mean denied.

Maybe there's something deeper that is going on.

Earlier this year, Megan and I we had the incredible privilege of officiating uh the wedding of an amazing couple here at our church over at Lou Gardens.

And I haven't spent much time there, but while we were there for that particular event, we walked the grounds a little bit and we came across uh the bamboos.

Now, I've seen bamboos on the news, I've seen it in different settings, but I never really took time to like immerse myself in it.

It's 2024, I figured this is a great time for me to become more cultured.

So I actually began to read the plaques and I learned that there are different types of bamboos.

It actually led me on this journey of learning more about it, and I was fascinated to learn the story of it.

Yes, we know its durability, we know about its longevity, but what I thought was so fascinating is actually for the particular breed that I was looking at, is what the growth process looks like.

This is what I found to be so interesting that that it's possible for a farmer to plant a seed of bamboo and for five years literally see nothing.

Five years.

Now, based off of the shortcuts that we can get off of TikTok and the way that we feel like there's a quick way to get results for everything, I can't imagine that if you plant something and you have to wait five years for its fulfillment, I would think that it's not working and I would just simply move on to the next crop.

I would dig it up and start all over again.

But in that five years, a very complex and durable root system is being developed beneath the surface, and we don't even know what's happening.

And then literally, what they say is, and then when it's time for it to finally break through the ground, within one week it can shoot up to 90 feet.

Imagine that.

Five years underground, and then in one week it can shoot up 90 feet.

There are some trees that never make it to that height.

But the beautiful thing is, it had to do a deep work beneath the surface to sustain what it was going to grow to become.

What I think can happen for some of us is that we don't recognize that the delay that is experiencing in our lives is maybe God doing a deeper work on the inside of us that can sustain the growth that he wants to bring to us later.

And when he brings it, it may become quicker than we ever can imagine.

But the important thing is for us not to uproot ourselves from the place that God told us to be faithful to.

Delayed doesn't mean denied.

There are going to be some times and some things in our lives that we have to recognize that the only remedy for this is waiting till God says so.

The Bible is filled with stories of profound promises and having to wait until they came to fulfillment.

Abraham and Sarah, they had to wait 25 years for the fulfillment and the birth of their son.

Joseph, the Bible tells us, was given a vision, a dream.

He shared it with his brothers.

His brothers couldn't handle it.

They sold him into slavery.

He was he was then sent away.

And then in that time, it took 22 years for the dream that God has shown Joseph to come to fruition.

22 long, hard years.

But when it came to fulfillment and you reverse engineer it, it's almost as if his brothers had to do what they did in order for the dream to be fulfilled.

What if your present pain is actually a part of the process of your preparation?

What if the current setback is actually a part of God's plan to help you to develop to what you're supposed to do?

The Bible tells us about the children of Israel, and they were they spent 400 years in bondage in Egypt.

And then when they were finally set free, they had a path that allowed them to get a fast track to the promised land.

But the Bible says that God led them to the Red Sea, that place where it didn't seem like there was any path forward.

Why would God not take the most direct route?

But when you examine God's word, the Lord says, if I would have led you the most direct route, the most convenient way, the quickest way, you would have actually had to go through the Philistines area.

And you guys coming out of slavery, you don't have the endurance, you don't have the durability, you don't even have the skill and technique to handle the fight that you would have had if you would have done it in your own strength.

So I'm going to intentionally delay the journey so that you can get in a position where you can handle the battle that's ahead.

What if the detour is actually a part of your development?

Because God is saying if you go the most direct way, you're going to face something that you may not come back from.

What if the delay is actually God's providence in our lives?

We have to learn how to trust God's timing.

And I know that for some of us, maybe we're waiting for a breakthrough, a breakthrough in our finances, a healing in our body, and in our minds, it seems as if it would be super simple if God just did it this way.

But the fact of the matter is, his ways are not our ways.

And while we may not be able to see further enough down the field to recognize all the things that God is working together, I do believe that God is for us.

And if we can learn to trust him even in the delays, we can recognize that all things will come together.

Can we get a good amen for that?

Here's my third and final point.

I want us to go back into a brief moment of worship.

So I want us to prepare for this.

But here's the third and final point God is always on time.

This is something that I would hear my grandmother say.

This is something I would hear my mother say.

And I would often say to her, like, hey, I hear what you're saying, but respectfully, I disagree.

Because when I when I look at what on time means, we we live in a world, we live in a culture where on time means getting there early.

It means removing anxiety, it means removing stress, like let's get there at the proper time.

When whenever Megan and I go to the movies, there's a movie theater that we go to that they provide food for you, they they provide refreshments, and so they suggest that you get there 30 minutes early.

So you can order your food, they can bring in your food, you can you can engage in the movie trivia, you can see the previews, because why would you not go to the movies and and watch the previews and and then you can enjoy the movies like a whole experience?

So we always get there 30 minutes early.

But this one day we got there a little bit later than we had planned.

And so when we get there, I get there and we get there just as the movie's about to start.

Like we missed the previews, we we miss everything leading up to it.

We had to order our food using a flashlight, and I remember as I sat there, I was arms folded, I was so frustrated because we were late.

And we weren't late because of me.

I moved on from it.

There's forgiveness at the throne.

Um so we we missed so for the first 15 minutes of the movie, I'm sitting there and I'm thinking, like, man, we missed the previews, we didn't do all these other things.

But if I can be honest with you, I didn't purchase the ticket for those things.

I I purchased a ticket for the main event, but because I had these other expectations, I allowed what I didn't get to experience to rob me of what was happening right in front of me.

I I think what can happen with us is not only do we have a plan that we want to submit to God, we also want to quarterback exactly how he delivers it.

So even while we are experiencing the breakthrough that we are supposed to be experiencing, we're critiquing why did God do it the way he did it?

God, why didn't you bring it quicker?

Why did you do it that way?

Why do I gotta go to them?

Why do I gotta call them?

Like we become very critical and we're saying to ourselves, God, if you just would have done it my way, then I would be in a much better place.

But could it be possible that God sees something that we don't?

I've been encouraged by looking at God's word and seeing the different instances of when God showed up on what on the surface appears to be too late.

The Gospel of Mark, chapter number five, tells us about Jarius' daughter.

And what the Bible says is that when Jesus got there, that she had already died.

So they said, hey, don't even bother coming because she's already gone.

But but Jesus says she's she's not dead, she's asleep.

What do you do when God's diagnosis and your diagnosis don't match?

Whose word and whose report do you believe?

That Jesus stepped into that moment, and what seems as if it was too late, but because Jesus showed up, he was there right on time.

That the Bible also tells us about a story in the Gospel of Luke, chapter number seven, about a widowed woman, and she she had just lost her husband, and now her son had passed away.

And so they're literally on their way to go and bury this young man.

But look at Jesus showing up.

Now, if there's ever a time to say that you're getting there a little bit late, we're literally on the way to bury this young man.

We already have grieved, we already have picked out the plot, we're on the journey of burying this young man, and Jesus says, uh-uh, not so quick.

Get up and rise up.

It's not dead, it's only sleep.

Isn't it just like Jesus?

That when we have just begun to handle and process the loss, that he shows up and says, but it's not done.

The Bible also tells us about the story of Lazarus.

We're familiar with the story where where Mary and Martha reach out to Jesus, and not only does Jesus not respond immediately, he wakes intentionally.

So when he shows up, the brother has been dead for four days, literally decomposing in the tomb.

Certainly, yes, Jesus may be able to raise a girl from the dead who would just die.

She may not have really been dead.

Yes, he can raise up a young man who had passed away a few hours ago, that maybe he was just in the deep sleep.

But someone who was decaying in the grave, that's gotta be beyond Jesus' reach.

But you don't know the God that I serve.

Because Jesus says, I am here to fix the very thing that you define as broken.

Mary and Martha came to Jesus and said, Lord, if you just would have been here, I wouldn't be here.

But Jesus' response is, but I'm here right now, show me where you've laid them.

I I wonder if there's nine moments in our lives that God shows up and he's saying, Are you willing to show me the things that you've buried that we're missing out on a resurrection journey because we believe that it's too late?

But the God that I serve was the one that says, Lazarus, come out.

And I believe that there's some things that maybe we've buried that we haven't been willing to deal with, that we've just handled and accepted as a loss.

That Jesus is saying, Are you willing to take me to the thing that you've given up on?

Because I got a word and I'm saying, Lazarus, come out.

I don't care how dead it is, it could have just died, it could have been dead for a couple of hours, it could be decomposing.

Nothing is too hard for the God that I serve.

He is able to resurrect all things.

Jesus always shows up on time.

Maybe for some of us, we're we're in a space right now where we're we're struggling.

There's some things that we're believing God for, there's some miracles that seem as if we're in an inner testamental period ourselves.

The word has been spoken, the Bible pages have been highlighted, but my situation hasn't changed.

And I'm getting to a point where I'm believing that God's absence means He's silent, that this delay means that it's denied, that maybe Jesus did get here too late.

Maybe some of that lands with you today.

And my response to that is if that's you, you're not here by mistake.

I wish I could tell you the timeline of your current situation.

I can't, but I can tell you about the architect who has all things in his control.

With every head bowed and every eye closed, if you're in here with us today, and that's you, there's something that you are believing God for.

I want you to boldly lift your hands up so I can include you in a prayer.

One, two, three.

I'm believing God for a breakthrough.

I'm believing God for a miracle, I'm believing God for transformation.

Hands up everywhere.

You can go ahead and put those hands down.

I want to ask another question, then we're gonna go into worship and just really give space for the Holy Spirit to speak to us.

If you're in here with us today and and maybe your next step is simply to say yes to Jesus.

That's the first miracle that you're away from him.

Maybe you say yes to Jesus in the past, but if you take inventory of your life right now, you know that you're away from God.

And the next step is simply to draw near to him so that he can draw near to you.

So if you're in here with us today and you know that today is the day of salvation, today is the day that I say yes.

On account of three, I just want you to boldly lift your hand up, saying yes to Jesus.

That's the first step to experiencing the breakthrough that he has for you.

One, two, saying yes to Jesus.

Three, hands up.

Amen.

Amen.

God bless you, amen, amen, God bless you, amen, amen.

Church, can we put our hands together and celebrate every person that is that is saying yes to Jesus for the first time?

Here's what I want to do.

I want us to stand on our feet.

The the worship team is going to lead us in a song that kind of pulls all this together.

And in this moment, I'm gonna pray over us, but I want us to lean in with expectation and anticipation and saying that God isn't done, that his timing is perfect, and he's working all things together for the good.

With every hand lifted up, Lord, we thank you so much for your faithfulness.

God, I know that waiting is not easy.

I know that being patient in moments where it seems like we shouldn't have to can be challenging.

But it could be possible that you are setting the stage for the next profound miracle in our lives.

So while we are in the waiting, we're participating.

While we're in the waiting, we're gonna worship.

While we're in the waiting, we're gonna trust you.

While we're in the waiting, we're gonna be faithful to the place that you've called us to be.

We will not uproot ourselves and miss out on the opportunity for us to sprout up over 90 feet overnight because you have been faithful and just.

Maybe you're working on our root system, maybe you're developing our character, maybe you're preparing us for something that is beyond all eyes can ask or think.

So, Holy Spirit, do a deep work on the inside of us, cultivate confidence and patience and peace and strength.

God, I pray over every one of these precious souls and people that are believing for a miracle in the name of Jesus.

I pray that they feel comforted where they are.

For people that are looking at barriers and things that seems as if it's going to be impossible.

That stone in front of Lazarus' graze seemed like it was impossible, but you said remove the stone.

So in the name of Jesus, I pray that every stone, every barrier be removed so that we can hear the spoken word of God as you're calling us out and allowing us to experience the break.

I command healing over bodies, I command for breakthrough, I command for restoration in the name of Jesus.

We declare the power of God over this community.

And while we're waiting, we trust you.

We're going to take courage because we know that even while we're in the waiting, you are with us.

In Jesus' name.

Let's worship together, church.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

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