Wait For The Lord! - Elder Lanny

Pastor is relaxing. The elders are not. Right?

I'm here kicking and stammering not to be here.

But I'm here. Let's open with a word of prayer.

Father, we ask this morning that as we present

your word, that it would penetrate our hearts,

that it might be exactly what you want for someone

here today. We just give you praise, honor, and

glory for everything that will be accomplished

here. In your precious name, I ask it. Amen.

I could barely wait 15 seconds to pray, but I

was trying to teach you something. We live in

such a fast -paced society today that we can't

even take 15 seconds just to rest. And just to

wait on God. If I waited 30 seconds, people would

have been peaking. Is he sleeping up there? We

live in such a fast -paced society, and it's

creeped into the church. We need to take time

to wait on God. Get all the business and all

the distractions away. The passage of scripture

that I picked today was Psalm 130, verse 5. It

Psalms 130:5

says, I wait for the Lord. My soul waits. And

in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for

the Lord more than the watchman waits for the

morning of Israel. Put your trust in him. Shane

and Shane have a popular song which I love. It

goes like this. I will wait for you. Out of the

depths I cry to you. In darkest places I will

call. Incline your ear to me anew and hear my

cry for mercy, Lord. Yea, I will wait for you.

I will wait for you. I will wait for you. On

your word I will rely, and I will wait for you.

Surely I will wait for you till my soul is satisfied.

So put your hope in God alone through the storm

and through the night. I will wait for you. Surely

I will wait for you. Kind of seems like the topic

of that song is waiting on God. Psalm 130 was

penned because the Israelites were waiting for

forgiveness from God. They were waiting for him

to come and redeem them. I think there's also

more of that for us too, because in the same

way, we need to wait for God. We have been partially

redeemed. We have had our sins forgiven, but

we still live in this cruel, sinful world. And

we're waiting for the final redemption, where

he will come back and our bodies will be changed

like him. And so we have kind of the same struggles

as Israel had had, waiting. for God to act, waiting

for God to come and redeem us. But there's our

hope that he will, yes. He promises he will.

Right now, though, in this temporary state of

redemption, we struggle with physical problems,

we struggle with financial problems, we struggle

with family problems, we struggle with a world

that is totally chaotic. If you just watch the

news yesterday, California is erupting. We have

over and over again things that are saying to

us, When, Lord? How long must we wait for this?

I'm ready to go home. I'm 74. I've seen as much

of this world as I want to see. I want to see

the other side. But I can't wait. But he tells

me to wait. Lanny, just wait. It's coming. My

word is true. It is coming. In looking up this

scripture, verse 5, Matthew Henry's commentary

has five points about this scripture. From him

I expect relief. and comfort. That's a gimme.

We can't expect relief from God. Believe it will

come, longing until it does come, patiently awaiting

while there's a delay, and resolve to look for

relief in no other place. God is the only place

where we can get relief if we wait on Him. But

many times we jump ahead and try to circumvent

God because we're tired of waiting. But I prayed

for this for five years, Lord. I'm tired of waiting.

I think I can get it over here. No. God said,

wait. I hear you. I've already answered you.

It just hasn't happened yet. It's coming. Trust

me. We get in trouble when we look for an answer

somewhere else than besides God. The last phrase

has to do with the watchman waiting for the morning

relief. The watchman on the wall. wasn't just

sleeping there. He was watching all night for

making sure that the city was protected. But

it was not easy. He couldn't doze off. He couldn't

think of something else. He had to constantly

watch for any danger that was coming. But when

the morning came, then came his relief because

someone was coming to take his responsibility.

And what a relief it was. Our morning is coming.

One day, the clouds will break, the trumpet will

sound, and our relief will be there. And we'll

say, what? It really wasn't that long that I

had to wait, was it? It was just like what this

Paul said, a blinking of the eye, and we're home.

But it's a struggle. It's a struggle for us to

wait. But we need to wait, and our relief will

come. I wish I was an expository teacher, but

I'm not. The pastor is. Owen is. I don't have

the theological knowledge. I'm sorry, but I don't.

But God has always made me a topical teacher.

And if that's what he wants, that's what I give

him, okay? When I did junior church, sometimes

Sue would get anxious because she'd say, I have

to make a craft that matches the sermon. What

are you teaching about? I said, I'm not teaching

about anything. I'm waiting for God to tell me

what to teach. Little did I know when I was preparing

this, that's what I was doing all those years.

Not stepping ahead of him, but waiting for him

to tell me something. What do you want the kids

to hear this week? Sometimes it would come on

Monday. Sometimes Tuesday. Sometimes Wednesday.

Sometimes it would come on Saturday. And then

I really got anxious and said, Lord, I'm going

to stand up there and go, boo. I got 40 kids.

I got to have something to say. And then it would

come. Just like that. He was teaching me to wait.

Because I had nothing important to say. But he

had something very important to say. Well, when

the pastor said, will you fill in one week? I

said, okay. Nothing came. Nothing came. And we

go out on Sunday to spend some of our kids' inheritance.

We don't want them to get too much money. So

we go to Texas Roadhouse or Carrabba's and we're

sitting there and the waiter comes up before

we even sat down and he says, My name is such

and such. What would you like to drink? And he

brings the rolls and he goes back. And before

we know it, the appetizer is there. And before

we know it, he's there with the food. And then

he sees my Coke is empty. He comes and gives

me another Coke. He brings more rolls. He brings

some water. And we're sitting there. He brings

the bag. And I see you have leftovers. You're

going to take it home. And the light bulb went

off. Waiting on God. He wants us to wait on him.

Just like this guy. He probably was an angel

sent by God. So I go home. I got it now, Sue.

I know what we're going to talk about. So I get

out my Vines Expository Dictionary and I look

up wait. Well, thank you, Lord. He threw me a

curveball. There was nothing there about waiting

on God. It was on waiting on God. Sounds the

same, but totally different. God doesn't need

us to wait on him. He's got everything. He doesn't

need us, but he needs us to wait on him by simply

just waiting on him. And I had looked up, and

my mind was flushing all these verses, like the

song, Cups of Cool Water, given in Jesus' name,

will bring a great reward. And when have you

seen me hungry? When have you seen me thirsty?

If you've done the least of me's, you've done

it to me. And all this kept flowing, but that's

not what he wanted. That's what I was going to

teach about. He wanted me to teach about being

still and just waiting on him to tell me what

he had to tell me. The problem today, is not

only people have trouble waiting, churches have

trouble waiting. How do we get people in the

church? Well, Sue will attest to this, I get

angry, really angry. I drove by a church in Route

309 last fall and it said, the sermon topics

for the month of November will be the lyrics

of Taylor Swift's songs. How? Can a pastor get

up on a Sunday morning and spend an entire month

talking about the sermons of Taylor Swift's songs?

What about talking about God? Yeah, it might

bring teenage girls into the church for a month,

and then they're gone. They don't need to hear

about Taylor Swift. She's living with some guy

down in Florida. Right? What an example. A church

in Wallaport. I cut it out so you can see it.

This is the Leah Valley Gazette. Monthly food

truck extravaganza. Well, let's see. Gumpy's

barbecue is coming. And the next Sunday on the

grill to go is coming. And buns to go is coming.

And slide by me is coming. And oh, I have to

go. Vince's cheesesteaks is coming. These are

churches. Where do they come up with this stuff?

That same church in Wallaport twice had Elvis

Presley in... impersonator there. This is how

we bring people into church. What happened to

praying on our hands and knees and saying, Lord,

we wait on you. Bring people here that are hungry

for the word of God. Our society has creeped

into the church. When we worshiped that reader

at Methodist Church, they came to me and another

lady and said, we would like to have a children's

church ministry. I said, how many kids do you

have? Two. Well, it was one for me and one for

the lady that was helping me. One for each of

us. And they said, how do you intend to get kids

here? I said, Georgia, what do you think? She

said, what do you think? Pray. We waited on God.

If you want this program to work, then bring

us kids. We're not going to have ice cream. We're

not going to have other things that will bring

kids in. We're going to pray that you bring the

kids here that want to hear the word of God and

bring the parents with them. When I left there,

we had 42 kids. No gimmicks, no food trucks,

no ice cream cones. The Word of God. We've lost

that people. We've lost waiting on God to see

what He can do. Where's the miracle God that

we used to hear about? He hasn't changed, but

we've changed. And it's sad. It's really sad

that we've come to this point. And then they

wonder why churches are empty. Empty because

we've lost the first love. And that is waiting

on God to see what he has to do for us. I didn't

want you people to get Greek withdrawal. Because

the pastor feeds us all the time with these big

Greek words. In your bulletin, you will find

eight big Greek words. I am not going to pronounce

them. You want to take a stab at it, go ahead.

I only know Latin. Because being in Plains, everything

was in Latin, so that's the only language I know.

And at 74, I'm not going to start learning Hebrew

or Aramaic or Greek, okay? But if you look at

these words, and I'll tell you something, I've

read my Bible many times. We miss so much. We

read it, but we don't study it. I'm guilty. John

always says, forgive us where we fall so short,

and we all fall short. I've read some of these

passages so many times that I missed the point

that these passages were trying to make. Pastry

is right. When you look at the original, the

way it was written, it just pops out at you.

It means so much more than what the translation

is. So we're going to look at these eight. I

think we'll have time to do these eight. And

each and every one, there'll be a specific point

that that word wait means, and they're all different.

As I looked at these, I considered four things.

Every one of these, where God says wait, it has

to do with our relationship with him. We can

wait if we have a good relationship with him.

We can wait if we have a good belief in him.

No wavering. What God says is the way it is.

If our attitude toward Him doesn't change just

because of our circumstances, we can wait on

Him. And if we truly trust Him, we can wait on

Him. So as you look at these, in your mind, try

to think of those four things. Because in each

and every one, all these are prevalent. Our relationship,

our belief, our attitude, and our trust in Him.

I found out that waiting on Him isn't an exercise

in patience. Well, if I wait long enough, He'll

answer me. If I just tough it out enough to show

him I'm a real Christian, then he'll answer me.

It's not about patience. It's not about what

we're going through. It's about depending on

him, trusting him. And it's all about him. It's

not about us. Whatever we're going through, when

it comes to an end and we get relief, like the

watchman, we realize it wasn't about us. It was

about God. showing us who he was, how he cared

for us, how he took us through this. And at the

end, we'll say, forgive me, Lord. I was so concerned

with my problems, so concerned with my illness,

so concerned with my financial problems, so concerned

with what's going on in my life, my family's

life, that I really forgot about you. That's

what it's about. It's total surrender. Don't

do a thing except wait on him, and he will tell

you what it's all about. We look at the first

one here. Again, one word in three different

places. It shows weight. It shows weight in expectation.

And it shows an orderly weight with a purpose.

So weight used three times and has three separate

meanings. The first one here is Acts 17, verse

Acts 17:16

16. When Paul was waiting for them, he was waiting

for Timothy and Silas to come down with him in

Athens. He was greatly distressed to see the

city was full of idols. But while he waited,

he was not idle. So he was waiting, but he wasn't

just sitting around twiddling his thumbs. He

was busy. What was he doing? He was observing

everything around him to the point of being totally

distressed at the idol worshipped. Was that God's

purpose in having him wait? Probably. Slow it

down, Paul. Don't just run in there like a bull

in a china shop. Take a look around you and see

what's happening here. See the depravity of the

people and then act. Tell them the truth. And

another thing I think I shared there with Jody

in the office, when someone confronted someone,

what did they need? Two or three witnesses. Why

did he wait? Because Timothy and Silas were coming

to be with him. They would go with him to be

witnesses. And now three people declaring to

you that what you are doing is totally absurd.

I will tell you who you should be worshipping.

That's a side note. The second one here, wait

in expectation. John 5, 1 -8. John 5, 1 -8. The

cripple of 38 years was at the pool of Bethesda.

Here a great number of paralyzed people used

to lie, waiting for the water to be disturbed

by an angel. It was said that an angel at certain

times would come down and disturb the water,

and the first one in would get healed from whatever

circumstance they were dealing with. While he

waited for the expected, He missed what he was

expecting, a healing. Jesus was standing right

beside of him. He missed it. He was so consumed

with expecting something, waiting for it, that

he missed the Messiah right next to him. Do we

do that? Do we get so concerned waiting for something

that the answer is right in front of us? If we

just open our eyes, it's there. God has given

us an answer, but no, that can't be the answer.

No, I think it's going to be this way. Some of

you are... remarriage dedication, 50 years. And

I said, when I met Sue, I hadn't dated anybody

in 20 years. I'd never gone on a date. I just

figured I'd pray God would bring me somebody.

But six months later, nothing had happened yet.

I said, how bad am I? You can't find somebody

for me. You know? But I was picturing, as I prayed,

that this blonde, blue -eyed girl would come

around the corner and drop a package, and I would

go and pick up the package and be her hero. And

we lived happily ever after. He dumped Sue right

on my lap, and I didn't recognize her. She was

the one. One that hated sports, hated people

that played sports, hated the outdoors. Everything

I loved, she hated. But God dumped her right

in front of me. I was expecting it, but when

it was right there, I missed it. His answer for

me, 52 years. She still hates sports. But it

was God's answer. I was expecting, but I was

expecting too much. But he knew exactly what

I should be waiting for. Okay? And the third

one there. Orderly wait. A lot of times we have

chaotic wait. This is orderly wait. 1 Corinthians

11 .33. The proper attitude when you come together

at the Lord's Supper, which includes a meal,

when you come together, wait for each other.

If you're hungry, eat at home. Remember while

you're gathering together, fellowship with your

brothers and sisters, fellowship with God. Just

a common sense of the word wait. Wait. Don't

rush ahead of other people. Don't gorge yourself

with all the food while somebody else doesn't

get it. So again, a third, one word. has three

different meanings in the original. We miss all

this. We just run over the scriptures and we

miss the importance of why God put a specific

word there for us to learn, for us to grow. Number

two. This one has, again, three meanings. The

same word, but three meanings. Can't wait. Eagerly

expect. Looking constantly for. The scripture

references here are Romans 8, 19, the creation.

The creation waits in eager expectation for the

sons of God to be revealed. Creation has been,

and I put this in as the edge of their seats,

just waiting for God to come back to take his

children home. How do we know this? When Jesus

came into Jerusalem, He said, if they stop praising

me, the rocks will cry out because they know

who I am. They've been waiting for me to come

all this time, and they will cry out if you don't

praise me. Creation has been waiting. It can't

wait for the curse to be removed. The second

reason there, eagerly expecting, Romans 8, 22

and 23. We know that the whole creation has been

groaning as the pains of childbirth right up

to the present time. not only so that we ourselves,

who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, the firstfruits

for our redemption, Christ saving us, we grow

inward, though, and eagerly await to be adopted

as his children. We have been redeemed, but partially.

When he comes back, we will be redeemed fully

and be just like him. And creation, again, waits

for that total moment. They are eagerly expecting

Christ to come back. Are we eagerly expecting

Christ to come back? A lot of days I run out

and don't even give a thought to God. Should

I not be eagerly expecting that this might be

the day that I look up and the clouds break?

That I hear a trumpet? It should be. Forgive

us when we fall so short, John says. And lastly,

Romans 8, 25, looking constantly for. The same

word wait means looking constantly for. But if

we hope for what we do not yet have, but wait

patiently for it, looking for it, looking up

every day for the clouds to break. I see God

in every one of these. As I said, all the things

I see, our belief in him, I see his trust in

him, who he is, it's all there, our relationship

with him. And if our relationship is right with

him, then everything falls in place. And waiting

on him is not difficult. A woman who I worked

with, She called me one night at 9 o 'clock,

and she knows I love nature, I love anything

dealing with, and she said, you have to go out,

the northern lights are here. I saw them 15 years

ago. I'd been waiting for 15 years to see them

again. It was gorgeous. Of course, Sue didn't

see them. It was 3 in the morning, I was going

down to check a propane heater in the greenhouse,

and I went out, it was gorgeous, and I ran upstairs

and said, you've got to come down here and see

what I see. Oh, no. I said, but you don't see

this in your lifetime. Okay. I went out, and

it was gorgeous. The entire mountain from the

Lehigh Gap all the way out as far as I could

see was green with red waves coming in. It only

lasted about two minutes, and it was gone. Why

did I run out there? Because a lady I trusted,

and she said, come see this. And I went out and

waited. And then after an hour, I figured, you

know, I've got bears around here. Pretty stupid

out here. You know, I could be eaten by a bear

and shoot me in the house while I get mauled

out here. But the thing is, she shared this with

me because she was excited about it too and wanted

me to know about it. And all I had to do was

go out and wait. And maybe I would see it, and

maybe I wouldn't. But I trusted her word. Do

we trust God with the word when he says, I want

you to see something? Okay. I will wait. Show

me something, Lord. We don't. We're so impatient.

She then sent me, really she rubbed it in. She

sent me a picture on her phone. It was gorgeous.

It had moved from Kenton over to Beltsville Lake

in Carbon County. And it gleaned off the water.

I still have it on my phone. It was gorgeous.

And so twice in 74 years I've seen it. Can't

wait to see what it looks like in heaven. Wow,

it's going to be really beautiful up there. The

third one, to wait with a favorable reception.

This one, I've read this scripture so many times

and missed it. See if you missed it too. To wait

with a favorable reception. Mark 15, 43. Joseph

of Arimathea, a prominent member of the council,

who is himself waiting for the kingdom of God.

Here's the key. Went boldly to Pilate and asked

for Jesus' body. Joseph still had a favorable

outlook of the kingdom of God coming, even though

he had seen Jesus beaten, crucified, dead, and

buried. It did not deter him. I want to take

care of Jesus' body because he's coming back

for me. A favorable outlook, even though it looked

so dim. So dire. When someone gets that announcement

that they have cancer, that's dire. There's been

a lot of improvements. But when you hear that

word, it's dire. God says, I have a favorable

outcome for you. That outcome might be a healing.

That outcome might be a permanent healing. You

just have to wait to see what my plans are for

you. And either way, If you know Christ, you

win. You either can praise him and say, it wasn't

about me. I went through this for five years

so I could praise God. And many cancer patients,

when they get the healing, they praise God. And

they thank him for a second chance at life. And

when the healing is permanent and they're taken

home, I pray that the family praises God. My

spouse is now out of misery. God has healed them.

One day I will see them again. It's all a matter

of our relationship with God, our belief in God,

our attitude for God, and our trust in God. It's

all there. Just waiting for us like a present

at Christmas that we open up. The second one

here, having to do with waiting with a favorable

reception, Luke 2, 25. Simeon was waiting at

a temple court. The Spirit had told him that

he would see the Messiah before he died. He went

with a favorable outlook every Sabbath, every

day, one year, two years. We don't know. It doesn't

say. But every time he went to the temple, he

went with a favorable outlook, waiting for what

God would tell him would happen. And he saw the

Messiah. Did he think it would be a baby? I don't

know. But the minute he saw the Messiah, he said,

Now your servant can die. I've seen what you

have promised me. He didn't say, why did you

make me wait so long? You know, I've been here

20 years waiting for this. No. He simply acknowledged

it was all you, God. He told me to wait until

I would see it. And now I've seen it. I've been

blessed among all people that I have been the

one to see this and recognize that the Messiah

is here. Again, his attitude toward God. Number

four. Waiting and expecting without any doubt,

I have read this scripture over and over again

and missed it every time. Acts chapter 10, verse

Acts 10:24

24. Everybody's familiar with the story? Cornelius

is told by God to send for Peter. He's over in

Joppa. He should send somebody to bring Peter

back and he's going to tell him all about him

and about the Messiah. Verse 24 says, The following

day Peter arrived at Caesarea. Cornelius was

expecting him, okay? He was expecting him. But

something interesting happened here, which I

missed all these years. He had called together

his relatives and close friends. Verse 27, talking

with him, Peter went inside and found a large

gathering of people. Now, somewhere in my Bible,

it doesn't say that Cornelius got a text from

the people he sent there. And it said, gather

everybody around because Jesus, he's coming.

He's coming to tell you. It wasn't an email.

He simply waited, expecting, without any doubt,

so that he had called all his friends. Someone's

coming. Peter's coming to tell us all about God

and explain everything to us. Peter got there,

and a large gathering of people were there. Without

a doubt, he waited. He saw what many of us would

not see. Well, maybe if I should call somebody.

I wouldn't want Peter to get here and only have

me and two other people here. Right? Sometimes

we pray for something and, well, I think maybe

they'll show up. Or do we prepare for a whole

bunch of people showing up? Because we think

God is this big and God is that big. Okay? Waiting

without any doubt that what God says will happen.

God says, Peter's going to come to you. He's

going to tell you all about me. So you better

get ready. Better get some people here. Number

five, to wait for something intently and abide

while you're waiting. This one comes from 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1:10

1, verse 10. This is to the church of Thessalonica.

They tell us how you turn to God from idols to

serve the living and true God. And verse 10,

how you wait for his son from heaven when we

raise from the dead Jesus, who rescues us from

the coming wrath. They were waiting for Jesus

to come back, but they weren't just mulling around.

They were holy. They were righteous. They were

blameless. They were patiently expecting Christ

to come back as they waited. They didn't waver

in their belief whatsoever. We know he's coming

back. We know we need to live a godly life. We

know we need to be blameless in our walk before

him so that people might see us and might also

be tempted to just... It's a glimpse of what

we have. So they waited and patiently abided

in him. What's a song we all know? I've decided

to follow Jesus. I've decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back. No turning back. Though none

go with me, still I will follow. Though none

go with me, I will still abide in him to show

how important it is to me. We might even get

through these. Number six, to await an event.

Acts 1, chapter 4. We all know the story. On

one occasion while I was eating with them, he

gave them this command, do not leave Jerusalem,

but wait for the gift my father has promised

you. Because he said, my father will not leave

you alone. I am going. He will send a comforter

to be with you. He will teach you all the things

that I have taught you, bring to remembrance

all the things that I have taught you, but wait

for him to come. He didn't say how long they

should wait. He simply said, wait. I will send

a comforter to be with you. What would have happened

if they had got impatient and didn't wait and

tried to do it on their own strength? Would we

be here today? Would some message have gone out

all around the world if they had tried to do

it on their own strength? Well, God could have

fixed it because they were stupid. He could have

made it work. But how much better when they waited

on God and went out with power that they didn't

have before. Those that had ran and hid. Those

that said, I don't know this man. I never knew

him. With power they went on. I don't care what

you do to me. I'm going to preach the gospel.

You can throw me in jail. You can kill me. You

can do anything you want to. I now have power

from within. And I'm going to preach Christ.

And we're here today. because they had the ability

to wait for that Holy Spirit to come upon them,

to be a powerful witness. I have to share a story

about myself. As Paul Horry would say, the rest

of the story you'll get next week on Father's

Day. I was eight years old, and I played peanut

baseball at Victory Park, about three -quarters

of a mile away from our home in Slannington.

My dad always... Picked me up. Sometimes he couldn't

stay because my brother was sick. And I spent

time with him. But he told me this time he'd

be late. But I should wait for him. Well, I didn't

tell the coach. I want to be a big boy. So all

the kids went home. And the coach said, what

about you, Lanny? Is your dad coming for you

as usual? I said, no, I'm walking home tonight.

He said, well, you better go. It's getting dark.

I went down through the woods, made it through

that, crossed Main Street in Slatington. Didn't

really know where I was going. I knew there was

a street. That was North Street. Okay, I got

that. Went to another street. I didn't know that

one. But I got to Washington. I knew the president.

I knew that was the right street. And then I

got to Franklin Street. And there was a Golden

Sun chip factory at the back of our street. And

the wind came west to east, and the chip smell

always came out of Franklin Street to Main Street.

And once I smelled them chips, I knew I was going

home. I didn't know where, but I knew it was

somewhere down that street. And I saw that stone

wall, and I was so proud. I was such a big boy.

Until I marched up the stairs, and Mom said,

Where's your dad? And I said, I don't know. I

walked home. Yeah. Yeah, you will get the rest

of the story next week. I learned a lesson. When

my father says, wait, wait, you could save yourself

a lot of trouble, a lot of problems. But we're

so impatient. We try to do it on our own. No,

he didn't hit me. He was so big, he just talked

and I bawled. My sister was bawling because she

thought I was going to really get it. He said,

boy, you're going to get it when he gets home.

But there's another perfect story to this. It's

amazing what God did through that, me not waiting.

He taught me something years later in life. Taught

me who my Heavenly Father was. Lessons we learn

sometimes, sometimes through the hard experiences.

Number seven. To continue steadfastly, again,

another way of looking at the word wait. Luke

9, 51, as Jesus waited. As the time approached

for Jesus to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely

set out for Jerusalem. Jesus never wavered on

his mission. He knew what his mission was. It

was the cross. The disciples said, you can't

go to Jerusalem. They're going to do something

to you. I must go to Jerusalem. I will be turned

over to the Pharisees and the scribes. They will

beat me. They will crucify me. They will kill

me. He continually, steadfastly waited what God

wanted him to do. Matthew 16, 21 to 23. The disciples

are waiting to see when Jesus will usher in his

kingdom. Jesus began to explain to them what

will happen. They're anxious. We've been with

you for three and a half years. When is your

kingdom going to come? What does Peter say? I

won't let that happen. They won't take you. They

won't beat you. They won't kill you. And Jesus

says, get behind me, Satan. You just have to

wait and see my plan be played out. I know what's

going on. I know what's happening. And you're

not a part of it right now. Get on the program

and wait with me and see what is going to happen.

And number eight, the last one, to sit constantly

beside the Father or whatever He asks you to

sit beside. 1 Corinthians 9 .13, revised version.

Don't you know that those who work at the temple

get their food from the temple? And those who

wait at the altar share what is offered also.

Sometimes God just wants us to sit and wait.

I want to do something for you, Lord. But this

is what I want you to do. I just want you to

sit here and wait. I want you to be patient.

I want you to learn in me. You're also... doing

something by just sitting here waiting. Maybe

someone's come to your mind that you're supposed

to pray for. Or maybe someone's come to your

mind that you're supposed to go visit. Something

will come. You're serving me just by waiting.

Not everybody's called to be an elder. Not everybody's

called to be a teacher. There are people that

are serving every day that aren't getting their

recognition for what they do. What was his name?

That took care of the mousetraps. Jim Haney.

For years, he took care of the mousetraps in

the bottom of the church. Anybody knew that?

Well, you didn't see any little critters running

around the church, right? But he was the guy

that nobody knew went down and emptied the traps.

Those that wait at the altar are serving also,

right? I'm not any more important than anybody

sitting here. To God, everybody's important.

Whatever he's asked you to do, that's what you

do for him. And if it's something glamorous,

great. If not, to him it's glamorous. Well, he

wouldn't ask you to do it. I would rather not

be here. I'd rather be sitting down there somewhere.

And I'm kicking and stymoring and be up here.

Next week I'll do it again. Thanks to John. I

told him. He said, you owe me big time. And now

I've got to cover two weeks for the pastor too.

I'm on call this week and at the end of the month

I'm on call. Yeah, tell him. You better get out

of there. I've got to go on a sabbatical after

this. I'm worn out. There's just one thing I

want to show you here. I read the Daily Bread

every morning. I also read my most verse highest.

And I've got a third one I've got to read. I

don't know. But this was November of last year.

I trust in the Lord. My times are in His hands.

The first part has to do with some lady that

was having difficulties and problems and she

was so impatient not waiting for the Lord. But

the second part says, Noah too relied on God's

protection as he and his family waited in the

ark for nearly two months. See, when God tells

you to do something, he supplies you with everything.

This was from last year. It just popped in my

head. I think I read something last year about

this. And so he waited two months after the flood

subsided. After being cooped up for more than

ten months, he must have been eager to get out.

After all, water had dried up from the earth,

and the ground certainly was dry by now. But

Noah didn't just rely on what he saw. Instead,

he left the ark only when God told him to. He

trusted that God had good reason for his extended

wait. I went out of here, you know. We've been

in there how long? I look out there, it's dry.

What are you making me wait for? To trust him.

Your relationship, your attitude, your belief,

and your trust in God. And when God said go,

he went. And everything was good. I was blessed

by researching all this. I found out that I need

to ask forgiveness for the times when I open

up my Bible and don't really wait on God. Every

time we open our Bible, we should say, Lord,

what do you have me to learn today? Show me something.

I don't do that every day. But when you do it,

wow, the pages just pop off at you. It's like

just a breath of fresh air when he shows you

things that you looked at over and over, years

and years and years. I've been reading my Bible

since I've been 11, and I still learn stuff.

My aunt was 92 years old. She was a missionary

in Toledo, Ohio. Grace Gospel Mission for Kids.

She retired and came home to Wallaport. She called

us every Sunday and said, you've got to come

over tonight. I found a gem. I found a gem in

Exodus. I found a gem in Jeremiah. She was finding

Nugget Jet in the Bible after reading it for

92 years. She still was excited. She didn't say,

well, I'm going to die in a year or two. I guess

I read enough. No, she was waiting on God to

show her something else. God help us. I'm so

ashamed sometimes. He's there waiting for us

just to come and say, Father, I love you. Show

me something. Teach me to wait on you like I've

never waited on you before. And what a blessing

it will be when we do that. Let's close with

prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your

word. You've given it to us for a benefit, for

encouragement, for edification, for our substance

to make it through each and every day. Forgive

me, Father, for the times that I've read my Bible,

punched my card and said, I did it, and not really

knowing what I did, that you wanted to teach

me something. You wanted me to wait. to bow down

before you at your feet and learn from you. Again,

forgive us, Father, and help us to wait on you

more and more each and every day, to appreciate

you more and every day as the day draws closer

when one day we will hear the trumpet and get

to spend eternity with you. Praise, honor, and

glory to you this day, which you so richly deserve.

Amen.