Waiting on God’s Timing, Part 1 – Charles F. Stanley
Waiting on God’s Timing, Part 1
God loves us and desires to meet the needs of our lives. He promises to answer our prayers, but not always according to our timing or method. Dr. Stanley reminds us that waiting on the Lord is a vital principle for every Christian. God, above all others, knows when the timing is right for His perfect plan to go into action. After all, He knows our lives from beginning to end, so He knows exactly where we are at this moment.
Dear Lord,
Today…….I am asking all my prayer warriors to say a prayer that may help others. So many people are hurting right now. Many are struggling with finances and need jobs. Some are facing foreclosure and don’t even know how they are going to make it from week to week..
Many are lonely. . Many are heartbroken. . Many are facing sickness and health is fading. . Some are dealing with difficult family members. Many have lost HOPE.. Tonight, let us put our prayers and faith together decree and declare breakthrough over our families. Financial miracles WILL take place. Jobs WILL be found. Our Bodies WILL be made whole & sickness WILL flee. Marriages and relationships WILL be restored. Family members WILL find Jesus. Heartbreaks WILL be healed. JOY WILL be restored and HOPE WILL be found. In Jesus Name. Amen!!!!!! Keep God First…….
Listen now to this message from Charles F. Stanley, “Waiting on God’s Timing, Part 1”:
Do you feel connected to God?
Do you have an awareness of what He wants you to do in your life?
A rich connection to Him will energize you for the day ahead.
It will add meaning to your work and help you understand why sometimes you have to wait on certain things.
So let’s discover how to improve our connection to God as we learn the benefits of His perfect timing.
Next on in touch. Part one of waiting on God’s timing.
I was thinking the other day of all the principles I have ever studied and learned in the word of God, which one stands about which one stands above all the rest.
Well, that was hard for me to figure, but it didn’t take me long to figure out that one of those.
It always comes close to the top. If not the top is this simple principle of waiting upon God.
It’s not the easiest one by a long shot.
But timing with God is everything and timing.
If you look around, for example, every sport, timing is everything, whether it’s a long pass to a runner, a fast ball to a batter, whether you’re flying a plane?
Are you in love with someone?
And you want to tell them or you are negotiating some deal, timing is everything.
And oftentimes we overlook the idea that the same is true in our relationship to God.
It’s not that we have to have a timing issue to get saved.
It’s the fact that once you trust him as your personal savior, he begins to unfold his plan for your life and he doesn’t say well, now you just do whatever you wanna do and I’ll be with you.
That’s not the way he operates. God has a plan for your life. That plan is fantastic.
It’s perfect and it’s perfectly suited for you.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, what’s going on in your life to reject that plan is to reject the best in your life.
You reject his plan. You will never your life as he intended it.
You’ll never have what God intended you to have. You’ll never quite know where you are in life.
If you reject his plan and his timing and his timing and his plan go together because his plan is crystal clear and he reveals it to us a step at a time.
And I think about how many people never even consider the fact that God has a plan for their life.
They go to school, they get an education, they choose uh some area of life to work in, to labor in and then they head out with all their plans without ever stopping to think.
Oh God, why did you create me? What was your purpose? What was your plan?
And therefore, where am I at this point in that plan?
And to ignore God’s plan and to ignore his timing in living out that plan is a disaster.
And everywhere you turn you find people who are miserable, unhappy.
They can’t tell you how often times that’s why they get on drugs and alcohol and all the rest.
They’re trying to figure it out in life. They’ve tried all the finances and that didn’t work.
They’ve tried the sex that didn’t work. They tried all kind of relationships and that didn’t work.
And the business world and the success that goes with all of that and some other is a big empty void and no matter what they do, they can’t fill it up.
You see God’s plan and listen, God’s plan cannot be filled with any home made ideas.
His plan is the best. It brings him glory and honor and it is fulfilling to you and me.
In that plan, there’s timing and when I think about the timing of God, it is a very, very vital and important point in our life and in our relationship to Him.
So I want you to turn in a few moments to the Psalms and a particular one.
And I want you to see uh how often David, for example, talked about God’s timing and living according to his time and his schedule.
And if I should ask you today, whose schedule do you live by? You’d probably say well by my own.
And, uh, well, your schedule, what is, where, where is God in all that?
Do you ever stop to ask him? Lord, what do you think? What do you want?
And when you get up in the morning and you get yourself dressed and you get your automobile or whatever you do to, to get to work?
Do you ever stop to ask him what his plan is for the day?
Do you ever stop to ask him the question? What would you have me to do here and there?
You know, it’s all laid out before you as far as your job and when you’re off that job and you head home, do you ever ask God Lord, what would you have, how would you have me to spend this evening?
How do, how do you wanna work in my life today?
So let me say in the beginning and I will say it again and again, the wisest thing you can do to start every day listening carefully is to get connected with Almighty God.
You say, well, I’m a Christian. I’m already connected. Well, to some degree.
Yes, you are, you are in your relationship. But what about in your intimacy?
What about in your emotions? What about in your lifestyle?
And so often people get up, they get themselves dressed and they take off and never say anything to God until they get in the traffic.
It gets, it all bogged down. They can’t even see the end of it and it’s already passed that time.
I’ve been to work. And then what happens first connection. That is not what God intended.
His intention was that when you awaken in the morning, you get connected.
It’s not how I get connected. You just start talking to him, father. Thank you for a good night’s rest.
You know what lies ahead of me today. I wanna walk in your timing. I know your timing is best.
They’ll let me get ahead. They’ll let me linger behind. They let me step out of your will.
Let me walk wisely today in your will so that when the day is over, I’ll be able to look back and thank you for all that you’ve done.
People live disconnected until something happens that grabs them that, that somehow they have to turn to God.
That’s not living a Godly life, that’s not a Christian life, that’s a desperate kind of life.
So I want you to listen carefully because timing is very important with God in relationship to your life presently and future and your relationships to each other.
And with the things that you purchase places you go, timing is very important.
So I want you to turn if you will to the 27th psalm and I want us to read beginning in verse uh 11 of this 27th Psalm David is speaking, he says, teach me your way.
Oh Lord and lead me in a level path because of my foes do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries for false witnesses have risen against me and such as breathe out violence.
Listen to what he says. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living in.
Wait for the Lord be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes. Wait for the Lord.
Now, what in the world does he mean by waiting on the Lord?
Does that mean that uh you are to wait for every single decision and make uh uh some request that he give you direction?
Or is there something easier about it than that waiting on the Lord is a vital principle to every single Christian.
We all have decisions to make. We all have opportunities that we face.
If you live your life by simply moving on, taking advantage of the opportunity as you would think.
And never even considering the fact that God has a will and a perfect plan and that also he not only has a plan, but he has timing in that plan.
There’s some things he’s provided for you that are not available to you yet, but it’s in his plan.
There’s some things that he has that’s available now.
And there are some issues in life from which you and I have to back off and say, ok, God, give me direction, give me wisdom.
How do I respond to this? God’s timing is absolutely basic and essential.
So when you think about your life and how you live it, it’s absolutely essential that you and I walk in the will of God.
And in order for us to walk in the will of God, I must walk according to his timing, not mine.
Because so many things we think are here now for me.
And if I don’t get, there must be something wrong.
But oftentimes God delays what we think we need and watch this in order to give us something better than we planned.
So if I’m always grabbing for it, now, I may miss God’s very, very best.
So I think about David and how he learned because most all the verses that I wanna give you, David wrote them.
And uh if you’ll recall that Samuel, the prophet met his family and said to his father, one of your sons.
I came to an aunt as the king of Israel.
And so, you know, they started from the eldest one and they couldn’t find none of them were it.
And so finally, he said, well, my, my other son, uh Dave, he’s out with the sheep, he said, bring him in.
And so he anointed David the king of Israel when he was 16 years of age now you say?
Well, fantastic. Mm mm mm mm.
The worst time of his life began to happen because for the next 14 years, he ran from the sword of Saul.
Saul did his best to try to kill him.
And so Samuel, the prophet had made a prophecy, but he didn’t say now he’s gonna be king immediately.
God’s timing was perfect. And it’s interesting what happened in that time, David served Saul.
And um even though Saul tried his best to kill him all that time and um 14 years went by and what was David doing in 14 years?
I probably wondering, well, Lord, uh when is this gonna take place and probably ask that a lot of times because he spent most of all of that time running and hiding from Saul.
But when the time came, he anointed him the king of Israel and he is, for example, Jerusalem is, is the, is the city of David.
It’s David above everybody else in the nation of Israel. God had a plan. It was a perfect plan.
He executed this plan but not on someone else’s schedule. His timing was perfect.
And so God has a plan for your life and that doesn’t mean that what’s in that plan is yours today?
It is yours when God gets you ready and what was God doing to David in all those years?
Getting him ready? Teaching him how to suffer, teaching him how to forgive, teaching him to be wise, teaching him to be loving, teaching him to be respectful of the king who tried to kill him twice.
He could have taken Saul’s life. He didn’t do it somehow he knew in his heart.
That wasn’t God’s timing. And oftentimes we make mistakes because we don’t stop to consider what’s the will of a father?
What does he want to accomplish in my life? Why, why am I suffering through all of this?
Why am I hurting at this point in my life?
God, you promised me something better than that, not recognizing that suffering, hurting, pain, loss, disappointment, despair.
Uh All the things that we go through.
Some are all a part of what it’s a part of God’s plan to work into our lives, the qualities and the characteristics He wants us to have in order to accomplish the plan he has for us.
And so all those years, for 14 years, he ran trying to survive and how many times he must have said, but I, I was anointed king.
What’s all this about? So watch this waiting upon the Lord is not an easy thing.
And sometimes when people, most of the time I’m afraid, people say I’ve waited and waited and waited and God uh uh I don’t see anything going on.
So I think I’ll do this. It’s a disaster. Watch this. His plan is perfect.
His timing is perfect. He knows when you and I are ready but whatever he has for us and wise men and women wait for God to reveal his timing and his plan.
Now, waiting on God is not what most people think. It doesn’t mean that you just do nothing.
God may have you very, very active in what you’re doing or where you’re doing it or with whom you’re doing it.
That’s the only part of the plan waiting does not mean that you’re doing nothing.
It doesn’t mean that you are just moving along and just waiting on God waiting on God.
No, it’s, it’s sort of an active stillness.
I’m doing what God has called me to do up to this point. And I’m waiting for him quietly.
I’m waiting for him for the next step and God does not want us doing nothing.
He wants us to be productive all the days of our life.
But there are times when He has a turn in our life, a change in our life.
And for the moment we think of what’s going on, we may, I’ll be a little bit confused and he understands that.
But if I’m wise enough to wait for clear direction, then I will accomplish what God wants me to accomplish and we’ll be able to have whatever God has in store for us.
And I think there’s so many people who are suffering because they got ahead of God.
Oh, they just cut him out of the life altogether.
They said Well, you know what I used to believe in, answered prayer and I thought my, you know, I heard people say, wait on the Lord and I waited and waiting, waiting, nothing happened.
Well, the reason nothing happened is because you were waiting in a rebellious attitude. Whether it wasn’t your timing.
Timing with God is very important. Listen, only He knows when you’re ready for certain things in your life.
Only He knows when you can handle certain blessings in your life.
Only He knows the dangers out there that you face and He knows where you’re strong and He knows where you’re weak.
And oftentimes he’s saying not now, not now, not now because He sees that area of your life that to have it now would be a disaster.
You won’t be able to handle it.
Pride will destroy you, jealousy or whatever it may be that He has something view that’s in the middle of real strife.
He has to get you ready for that. Many people walking in the will of God are suffering.
Many people walking in the will of God are not suffering.
He listen, he chooses for each of us what he knows we personally need at that particular point in our life.
So we have a choice. I can decide.
I’m waiting, not waiting and long and step out of God’s will and do it my way.
There is no way to win. Listen to me, there is, there is no way to win.
There is no way to have real peace and happiness and joy in your life when you’re out of the will of God, and when we don’t get it, when we want it, and we are unwilling to wait as the scripture encourages us to do, then we wonder, for example, what’s going on.
So waiting is purposeful. Waiting has a sense of direction and a sense of expectancy.
God, I’m willing to do whatever you want me to do in my life. What’s next?
And there are many people who would ask Lord, what, what, what is your, what is your purpose in my life?
He doesn’t keep secrets. He’s willing to show us if we’re willing to listen carefully, watch this.
He knows when you’re willing to accept his answers.
He knows if He told you ahead of time, you couldn’t have it if he said to you.
Now, 10 years from now, here’s what I’m gonna tell.
I’m not waiting 10 years for anything even though it would be the most awesome thing you could possibly discover.
So the question is this, are you walking in the will of God as best?
You know how if God has not done something in your life that you wanted, expected, anticipated, dreamed of?
Is there a reason? Is it because you have decided to do it your way?
If there’s some need in your life?
Is it because you’ve not allowed God to provide that need the way he intended when he intended.
And so you decided you do it yourself.
God loves his Children and he wants the best for us.
And sometimes that best does not come quickly, but it comes.
Now, the frequency of this admonition in scripture is awesome.
So I’m gonna uh give you a few passages here and I want you to turn first of all to the 25th psalm.
Look here for just a moment.
And the reason I wanna give you these is because if you’re wise, you will write them down and you’ll play them back to yourself.
That is God. What are you saying to me? Look in this um 25th song to you.
Oh Lord, I lift up my soul. Oh my God and your and you, I trust.
Do not let me be ashamed. Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed.
None of those who wait for you will be ashamed. Look at that. That is you won’t be disappointed.
You won’t be ashamed if you wait upon the Lord.
So if somebody says, so what are you, what are you waiting for?
And if you said, well, I’m waiting for God’s direction. Here’s what they’ll say if they’re sort of half ungodly.
Well, how do you know when you have it? Who do you think you are?
You don’t have to answer that question.
You’re a follower of Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit who will give you direction and guidance for your life and every single decision that you have to face, then I want you to look if you will at the uh 37th psalm.
And uh in this, look at this passage, there are uh three verses here and in the seventh verse, or if you look, if you want the first verse, he says, do not fret three times in that passage, he says, do not fret.
And then beginning in the seventh verse, he says, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.
That is not easy to do. And you see, he follows that immediate with, do not fret again.
And uh verse eight, do not fret.
And if you’ll turn to the uh ninth verse for evil doers who will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
Listen, God is watching over you. God’s hand is covering you.
And if you and I are willing to walk in his way, his will and his timing, he will provide everything we need and the things that our family needs or our Children need.
And when we are walking in, his will listen, we are the most recipient at that moment of his plans and that which he has in store for us.
Look at another verse there. If you look at the 34th verse uh of that 37 psalm, wait for the Lord and keep his way.
That is obey him and sometimes he doesn’t show us his plan quickly in life.
And there are many people who say, well, you know, at this point in my life, I’m 60 or 65.
I don’t know that God’s ever had a plan for my life. Yes, he has.
You say, well, suppose I miss it. Get back in as well. In other words, watch this.
You listen and say, amen. There’s always a secondary when people go through years of their life and they don’t need, nobody’s ever told them, God had a plan for their life and they get at that years and years and years go by and all of a sudden they realize God had a plan for my life.
I must have missed it. Watch this when He knows where you are and why you miss that plan.
God is will watch this. He’s willing to show you his secondary plan because for example, you grew up in a family, nobody was saved.
Nobody talked to you about Jesus. And so years went by, you never even thought about it.
You thought you were sufficient doing what you were doing. And all of a sudden you get saved.
God opens your eyes. He shows you He has a will for your life.
Well, does have a, does God have a will for your life after 65? Yes.
He has a will for your life from the beginning to the end. He knows your past.
He knows why you’re where you are and he’s willing, listen, he’s going to pick you up right where you are, forgive you for the wasted time that you’ve wasted.
He knows why you did. Maybe it’s on purpose. Maybe it’s not on purpose.
He’ll take you right where you are and he’ll give you a whole new beginning.
That’s what grace is all about. Somebody says, do we have a second chance?
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, I mean, praise God. He doesn’t just cut us off because we missed it somewhere.
But many people never catch on that. God has a plan and timing with Him is very, very important.
So if you look in the 40th psalm now and um just uh the first verse of this 40th psalm, I want you to notice what he says.
He says, I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined to me and heard my cry and then he talks about how God brought him up waiting upon him.
Lord, what do I do next? He is? Listen, God doesn’t have secrets to keep from us.
He’s willing to show us if we’re willing to listen how very important that is.
And then if you were looking uh Isaiah 64 4, which I think is um Isaiah 64 4, which is one of the most important verses in the word of God when it comes to this, living your life out, no matter how old you are, how young you are here.
It is 64th chapter and the fourth verse listen for from days of old, they have not heard or perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you who acts in behalf of the one who waits for him.
Listen to that when you and I living in our life and trying to make decisions in our life.
And God shows us something. And uh you say, well, uh is this for me?
Now, sometimes you’ll know that it’s not for now, but God, God makes you a particular promise.
So he shows you what he has and he says, He acts in behalf of those who wait for him.
Now, think about this for a moment, no matter what you’re facing in life, what you need in life, what you desire in life or the difficulties.
Think about this whole idea. He says that He acts, this is the omniscient omnipotent.
I’m the present sovereign God of the universe who says He acts He takes action in your behalf.
He acts in your behalf. He acts in the life of those who wait for Him who seek his guidance and his direction.
And if I’m waiting upon the Lord, it means that I’m acknowledging his lordship.
It means that I am is seeking his guidance and his direction and he says He acts on our behalf.
Let me ask you a question who can do for you, what God can do?
Nobody and it listen, whatever you’re facing in life. Think about this.
You have almighty God acting, working sovereignly in your behalf to get you in His will that you follow Him.
And God is good to us.
And one of the reasons some people say, well, God has been good to me.
Well, have you allowed Him to be good? Have you decide to live your life your way?
You’re gonna have it your way And then you wonder, well, you say I’m as good as other people.
This has nothing to do with being good.
It has to do with being obedient and o obedience says, God, I’m willing to have it.
I’m gonna, I’m willing to do it your way. You have it your way in my life.
God, I’m gonna trust you. And when I’m not willing to trust him, then I’m not gonna walk in his way, then I’m gonna miss God’s best in my life, whatever that might be.
So, the key key question comes is this, that is why does God require us to wait for Him?
That is ours of our heart, our petition to all the things He’s, he has uh promised.
Why do I have to wait?
The wedding is very important with him and to receive his clear direction for our life is one thing.
It may be that God has something fantastic, maybe next month, next year or whatever it might be, but not today.
And it’s when I I’ve gotta have it today and when I can’t wait, watch this.
Oh, but suppose I lose it. Let me ask you a question.
Can you lose anything that God has a circle around? Put your name on it? No, you can’t lose anything.
And oftentimes people get married early in life because they think, or, or sometime in life you said I can’t lose this one.
Listen, if that person is not of God, you better lose it.
And so we don’t have to worry about, listen, you don’t have to worry about losing anything that God has for you.
If you will obey Him, walk in his way and his timing, when the time comes, you’ll have it.
And so I must have clear direction. And uh three times in 119th psalm, look there for a moment.
119th psalm. Uh David talks about this whole idea of waiting.
And um let’s start with uh verse uh 74 verse 74 says, may those who fear you see me and be glad because I wait for your word and what?
He’s just not waiting. He says, I’m waiting for God to speak. I’m waiting for clear direction.
And I wonder how many times you face decisions in your life that you honestly go to the father and ask him to give you direction and you wait till he answers that.
You said, why does he answer it suddenly? Well, maybe because there’s something in life.
He, he needs to clear up first.
It may be that uh uh for what he has in store, he can’t tell you that right now.
But the issue is, am I willing to be obedient to him when I don’t see my way clear because I’m trusting him to give guidance and direction.
And no, look, I will be there at the right time if I obey him, I’m not gonna lose anything that he’s put a circle around with my name on it because he loves us.
He doesn’t come up short. We have distorted ideas about God or suppose he does this and suppose he doesn’t remember this.
He’s a God of absolute love. He is a God of discipline because he loves us.
Every single thing he does is an act of love in our behalf.
But if you get up every morning as I said before and just take off and never give him a thought till some trouble comes, or somebody ask you some questions that you can’t answer.
And all of a sudden you’re thinking about, well, God, what’s the answer to that?
That is, that’s not a relationship with God. That’s not the God we’re talking about here.
And then look in verse 81 for a moment. My soul languish is for your salvation.
I will wait for your word.
And when I, when I see, see how many times He says, I’ll wait for your word.
I wait for your word. I wait for your word. What is He saying? I’m waiting for direction.
I’m waiting for God to speak to me, to show me what to do next.
If you do not open the word of God and you don’t, you don’t read the word of God and you don’t give him any time in your life, they’re gonna be consequences.
Let’s turn to the 106 psalm and I, I trust you’ll turn to this now because this is very, very important because it is a perfect example of what happens to people who decided they’re not gonna wait for the Lord and just gonna have it their way.
And so David is rehearsing a little bit of how God blessed the nation of Israel.
And then what they did beginning in verse six, we have sinned like our fathers. We have committed iniquity.
We behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders.
They did not remember your abundant kindness but rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless, he saved them for the sake of his name that he might make his power knownn.
Thus, he rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up. He led them through the deeps as through the wilderness.
So he saved them from the hand of one who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
The waters covered their adversaries, not one of them was left, then they believed his words.
And they sang his praise. Hallelujah. That’s what God was doing.
And then what, they quickly forgot his words. They did not wait for the council.
Look at that, they did not wait for his counsel.
Didn’t wait for God but craved intensely the wilderness and tempted God in the desert.
So he gave them their request, but he sent a wasting disease among them.
That’s a passage you ought to mark because that’s the principle of God.
Look how you bless them and bless them and bless them.
Instead of waiting for the next step of what he wanted them to do.
They decided they’d do it themselves and they turned away from him and look what happened. Yeah.
The delay that God works in their life as far as giving us, uh, whatever it is or showing us God’s in the process of doing something in our life.
What day in your life is God not working. He keeps your heart beating.
But he’s also listen, you have the Holy Spirit living within you. He’s the compass. He’s the God.
He’s the director. He, he’s the one who has all the information that you and I need to live a Godly life every day and deliver it obediently.
So if our goal in life is what it is with God to be conformed to the likeness of his son, to walk in his way to do His will, because the truth is we should so live every day that people who meet us, listen, people who meet, you should meet Jesus.
It doesn’t mean you look like Him.
It doesn’t mean any of that, but it means the spirit within you is the spirit of Jesus Christ.
And he will do all kind of things in your life that you can never imagine if you just allow him the privilege of living in you, his life, living it through you on his timing, on his schedule, not someone else’s schedule.
So he says, clear direction is very important.
Now, secondly, when I think about uh why God requires us to wait, the second reason is to keep us in step with his timing.
There is no way for me to out guess God.
Well, here’s what I’m gonna do and I think it’ll all turn out, right?
No, I may make specific requests to God and have assurance that He will do it.
But then I also have to leave the schedule to Him.
People say, well, I prayed and asked God to do this. And so, and I got a confirmation.
He was gonna do it and they expect God to do it right.
Then it may be listen, it may be that what you’ve asked him is right in the sin of God’s will.
But you have to also give Him the privilege to give to you what you’ve asked for when He knows you’re ready and sometimes you’re not ready.
And I remember I’ll never forget if I, what’s a good example to me.
I remember Andy, when he’s just a little boy, he saw my pocket knife and he was really impressed and he wanted one.
I said, I’ll give you one.
So he thought it, we ought to go to the store, you know, right next to this afternoon to get one.
I said, no, you have to get ready to have a pocket knife or why is that?
I said, because you can hurt yourself. And I showed him a few things.
I said, suppose you were to cut yourself.
Suppose you in your room, for example, by yourself and, and you had it open and you stumbled and fell and suppose it hit you somewhere.
You just started bleeding and bleeding and scared to death.
Oh, well, he finally sort of caught on and it was a little time before we had a pocket knife.
You know what? Sometimes you’re not not able to handle the thing that God wants us to have until He knows we’re ready.
When I insist on having what I want, when I want it.
Then what I’m saying is God, you’re a wonderful guy, but you’re not very good on timing somewhere.
You miss it. Why can’t I have it? Now?
We have a whole generation of people who are living in the, now. They know nothing about waiting.
And if you’ll think about every time we come up with some new gadget, what does it do.
It saves time every time you tell me you can have this now that now this, now that now this now and you know, life can’t get but so fast you have automobiles, 100 and 20 miles an hour on this.
For what reason? Only to kill yourself and somebody else. God.
God is in no hurry and don’t forget that he’s not in a hurry.
You know why, you know why he’s not in a hurry.
He already sees the end and he knows you have time and tell us when you get ready, you have this and when you get ready, you have that God’s timing is perfect because he doesn’t make any mistakes.
You know what? He created time and placed us in this capsule of time.
And so we live it out and he has the best for us if we’re willing to do it his way.
And sometimes, uh he waits to give us what we ask for because He test our faith if you.
And so I would ask you when you ask the Lord did, do you pray in faith?
Trusting him to do what he says? He’ll do well, yes and no.
And oftentimes we don’t trust him.
And so he delays certain blessings because he wants us to trust, watch this.
He wants us to trust him that if he said he would do it, he would do it.
Now, if the only way for me to believe that is. He promised it. Well, let me see it.
If I can’t see it. I don’t have it. Yes. Listen, we all have blessings from God.
He’s promised us we haven’t seen him yet and some people will never see them because they live disobediently before God.
They either can’t wait. They’re gonna do it that way and they never even consider asking God anything.
I think about uh, some people with a great potential, they rush out, create potential that rush out and the this that and the other never stop to ask God and they just dwindle by the wayside.
They have awesome potential, but they’re not willing to seek the mind of God to know Lord what and when and how and then this waiting process sometimes is a season for strengthening our faith.
But, and, and, and I, I think about what, what strengthens my faith. Having to wait.
You see, we are interested in self gratification and we want it right now.
God says, no, oftentimes this is not the time for it.
And the waiting period with God is often motivated by a desire to sift down motives for our desires.
Why, why do I want that? Why do you want that position? Why are you asking God for that?
He sifts their motives and have you not agreed at some points in life?
He said, Lord, I know, ask if that forget that prayer. Uh that, that’s, that was selfish. That was lust.
That was this, that was, that, that was not your will and purpose for my life.
And so God delays uh his way because he wants to bring us around to his viewpoint.
What is he up to in our life? Now? How are we to wait for God’s timing?
This is how most people wait impatiently. I want it now nervously. Oh, supposed to lose it. Complaining.
Well, why can’t, why can’t things work out for me? Questioning God? Am I? Am I?
Am I sure I heard you right. Frustrated, irritated, miserably trying to manipulate God. That’s the way they wait.
And that is not how God wants us to wait.
So how should we wait now, put all these scriptures on the screens so you won’t have to look them up.
How should we wait? We should wait patiently and the scriptures up here under that rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.
We are to wait quietly. Psalm 62 1 and five. My soul waits quietly for God only.
I’m trusting him. I’m waiting upon him.
We had to wait, trusting rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fred.
We had to wait expectantly. Psalm 27 13.
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord having to wait.
We ought to wait steadfastly in Psalm 27. We to wait steadfastly and courageously wait for the Lord.
Be strong and let your heart take courage.
And then we had to wait, standing on God’s word and listen. Look at this verse.
We had to wait, standing on God’s word. I’ll wait for the Lord.
My soldiers wait and in His word, I hope now watch this.
You will not wait for God.
If this book is closed in your life, you’re just naturally gonna make decisions.
I can handle this. I can handle that.
And the truth is none of us can handle much in the society in which we live.
He says, I wait standing up on the word of God.
And so what does that mean that I’m in the word?
And I’m listening to what God says, I’m committed to being obedient to him and by His grace and strength and power, I will wait for his timing knowing that his timing is always best in my life.
So look at your life and ask yourself the question, Lord God, have I missed it?
Remember you people say, well, does God give us a second chance?
God gives us and listen, I’ve had a lot more than two chances.
And so have you, we, we, we’ve all made mistakes, but here’s what he’s simply saying to us.
He says, you’re standing on the word. What happens.
God is continued reminding us that we’re to be obedient to him.
Now, listen, the wisest thing you can do. And I said, I’ve already said this once.
So I said again on purpose, the wisest thing you can do is make a decision from this point on.
Here’s how I’m gonna begin my day. I’m gonna, I’m gonna connect before I get out of bed. Lord.
I thank you that you have a plan for my life today.
I thank you, Lord, that uh your timing is perfect.
I thank you that you bring into my life, whatever you need to bring, you’ll protect me, you’ll guide me, you’ll lead me.
If I go through any kind of suffering and hurt and disappointment and know all the rest, I’ll trust you to bring me through that.
But Lord, I want to thank you that today. I’m gonna walk obediently before you.
I’m gonna trust the Holy Spirit to do the speaking in me, to give me guidance and direction and give me your timing, whatever you have for me, I’m available to wait.
I know that waiting will grow me up, strengthen me, prepare me for what you have.
I want to thank you for this day and Lord let my life be fruitful all day long.
You begin the day that way and all of a sudden your days on the cloudiest day you’ve ever seen son’s gonna be brilliant.
You know why? Because you are connected with the father and he will answer every single prayer that I mentioned in all of that.
It’s his timing, it’s his way, it’s his plan. So I’d simply ask you a question.
Have you lived this part of your life without Christ? Many of you have.
And so if you have, what’s your future plan? Keep living this way without Christ in your life?
If so, here’s what you’re saying, God, my creator sustainer provider. I don’t need you.
I can handle it. How foolish you’re saying I’m gonna live out my life.
You don’t know how long you live, I’m gonna live out my life.
And one of these days I think I’ve been better than other folks.
So you’re gonna take me to heaven, forget that you’ll be terribly disappointed forever.
That’s not the way life is. This is life.
God created you and he’s made it possible for the death of His son of the cross to pay your sin that in full.
He is willing to forgive your sins to cleanse you.
He is willing to wipe all the past out.
He’s willing to take your mistakes and your faults and the things that you look at in your life that don’t belong there.
He’s willing to forgive you, wipe them away and give you a brand new beginning.
This is why Paul said, if any person be in Christ that is related to him, all things have passed away, behold, all that.
All things have become new. You can begin life again, right where you are.
You say, well, I’m 70 years of age, it’s time to get started because the time is running out.
You say, well, God take me at 70. He’ll take you any time.
You genuinely confess your dependence upon Him, your acknowledgement of Him, the death of his son of the cross paying for your sin debt.
He’ll take you you. So I don’t have much time left, right?
Therefore, make every day count because the world would say you’re on borrowed time. Watch this.
You’re on borrowed time where you borrow it from.
There’s no such thing as more time you’re on God’s grace time.
He’s willing to forgive you, cleanse you and give you a new beginning.
It won’t last long, but you’ll have a new beginning.
Listen, if you’ve messed it up this long, at least end, right? Amen.
At least end, right with Jesus Christ in your life.
That’s the kind of awesome God. He is.
But you say, well, I’m just 25. What then?
I hope you’ve listened to everything you’ve heard because you desperate need it.
This is a wicked, vile, sinful, corrupt world everywhere you turn, it’s all there. Who is your protector?
There is only one that’s almighty God and he’s there for us.
If we’ll trust Him, father, how grateful we are that you love us, we can’t even begin to express it.
But I pray that every person who hears this message and every person seated here would stop and give some serious thought about how they’re living their life, what their plans are and how involved you are in their plans and whether it’s your plan or their plan and be willing to make whatever changes are necessary in order to live out the life at its best with you.
And we pray this in Jesus name. Hey, man.
Do you have an awareness of what He wants you to do in your life?
A rich connection to Him will energize you for the day ahead.
It will add meaning to your work and help you understand why sometimes you have to wait on certain things.
So let’s discover how to improve our connection to God as we learn the benefits of His perfect timing.
Next on in touch. Part one of waiting on God’s timing.
I was thinking the other day of all the principles I have ever studied and learned in the word of God, which one stands about which one stands above all the rest.
Well, that was hard for me to figure, but it didn’t take me long to figure out that one of those.
It always comes close to the top. If not the top is this simple principle of waiting upon God.
It’s not the easiest one by a long shot.
But timing with God is everything and timing.
If you look around, for example, every sport, timing is everything, whether it’s a long pass to a runner, a fast ball to a batter, whether you’re flying a plane?
Are you in love with someone?
And you want to tell them or you are negotiating some deal, timing is everything.
And oftentimes we overlook the idea that the same is true in our relationship to God.
It’s not that we have to have a timing issue to get saved.
It’s the fact that once you trust him as your personal savior, he begins to unfold his plan for your life and he doesn’t say well, now you just do whatever you wanna do and I’ll be with you.
That’s not the way he operates. God has a plan for your life. That plan is fantastic.
It’s perfect and it’s perfectly suited for you.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, what’s going on in your life to reject that plan is to reject the best in your life.
You reject his plan. You will never your life as he intended it.
You’ll never have what God intended you to have. You’ll never quite know where you are in life.
If you reject his plan and his timing and his timing and his plan go together because his plan is crystal clear and he reveals it to us a step at a time.
And I think about how many people never even consider the fact that God has a plan for their life.
They go to school, they get an education, they choose uh some area of life to work in, to labor in and then they head out with all their plans without ever stopping to think.
Oh God, why did you create me? What was your purpose? What was your plan?
And therefore, where am I at this point in that plan?
And to ignore God’s plan and to ignore his timing in living out that plan is a disaster.
And everywhere you turn you find people who are miserable, unhappy.
They can’t tell you how often times that’s why they get on drugs and alcohol and all the rest.
They’re trying to figure it out in life. They’ve tried all the finances and that didn’t work.
They’ve tried the sex that didn’t work. They tried all kind of relationships and that didn’t work.
And the business world and the success that goes with all of that and some other is a big empty void and no matter what they do, they can’t fill it up.
You see God’s plan and listen, God’s plan cannot be filled with any home made ideas.
His plan is the best. It brings him glory and honor and it is fulfilling to you and me.
In that plan, there’s timing and when I think about the timing of God, it is a very, very vital and important point in our life and in our relationship to Him.
So I want you to turn in a few moments to the Psalms and a particular one.
And I want you to see uh how often David, for example, talked about God’s timing and living according to his time and his schedule.
And if I should ask you today, whose schedule do you live by? You’d probably say well by my own.
And, uh, well, your schedule, what is, where, where is God in all that?
Do you ever stop to ask him? Lord, what do you think? What do you want?
And when you get up in the morning and you get yourself dressed and you get your automobile or whatever you do to, to get to work?
Do you ever stop to ask him what his plan is for the day?
Do you ever stop to ask him the question? What would you have me to do here and there?
You know, it’s all laid out before you as far as your job and when you’re off that job and you head home, do you ever ask God Lord, what would you have, how would you have me to spend this evening?
How do, how do you wanna work in my life today?
So let me say in the beginning and I will say it again and again, the wisest thing you can do to start every day listening carefully is to get connected with Almighty God.
You say, well, I’m a Christian. I’m already connected. Well, to some degree.
Yes, you are, you are in your relationship. But what about in your intimacy?
What about in your emotions? What about in your lifestyle?
And so often people get up, they get themselves dressed and they take off and never say anything to God until they get in the traffic.
It gets, it all bogged down. They can’t even see the end of it and it’s already passed that time.
I’ve been to work. And then what happens first connection. That is not what God intended.
His intention was that when you awaken in the morning, you get connected.
It’s not how I get connected. You just start talking to him, father. Thank you for a good night’s rest.
You know what lies ahead of me today. I wanna walk in your timing. I know your timing is best.
They’ll let me get ahead. They’ll let me linger behind. They let me step out of your will.
Let me walk wisely today in your will so that when the day is over, I’ll be able to look back and thank you for all that you’ve done.
People live disconnected until something happens that grabs them that, that somehow they have to turn to God.
That’s not living a Godly life, that’s not a Christian life, that’s a desperate kind of life.
So I want you to listen carefully because timing is very important with God in relationship to your life presently and future and your relationships to each other.
And with the things that you purchase places you go, timing is very important.
So I want you to turn if you will to the 27th psalm and I want us to read beginning in verse uh 11 of this 27th Psalm David is speaking, he says, teach me your way.
Oh Lord and lead me in a level path because of my foes do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries for false witnesses have risen against me and such as breathe out violence.
Listen to what he says. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living in.
Wait for the Lord be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes. Wait for the Lord.
Now, what in the world does he mean by waiting on the Lord?
Does that mean that uh you are to wait for every single decision and make uh uh some request that he give you direction?
Or is there something easier about it than that waiting on the Lord is a vital principle to every single Christian.
We all have decisions to make. We all have opportunities that we face.
If you live your life by simply moving on, taking advantage of the opportunity as you would think.
And never even considering the fact that God has a will and a perfect plan and that also he not only has a plan, but he has timing in that plan.
There’s some things he’s provided for you that are not available to you yet, but it’s in his plan.
There’s some things that he has that’s available now.
And there are some issues in life from which you and I have to back off and say, ok, God, give me direction, give me wisdom.
How do I respond to this? God’s timing is absolutely basic and essential.
So when you think about your life and how you live it, it’s absolutely essential that you and I walk in the will of God.
And in order for us to walk in the will of God, I must walk according to his timing, not mine.
Because so many things we think are here now for me.
And if I don’t get, there must be something wrong.
But oftentimes God delays what we think we need and watch this in order to give us something better than we planned.
So if I’m always grabbing for it, now, I may miss God’s very, very best.
So I think about David and how he learned because most all the verses that I wanna give you, David wrote them.
And uh if you’ll recall that Samuel, the prophet met his family and said to his father, one of your sons.
I came to an aunt as the king of Israel.
And so, you know, they started from the eldest one and they couldn’t find none of them were it.
And so finally, he said, well, my, my other son, uh Dave, he’s out with the sheep, he said, bring him in.
And so he anointed David the king of Israel when he was 16 years of age now you say?
Well, fantastic. Mm mm mm mm.
The worst time of his life began to happen because for the next 14 years, he ran from the sword of Saul.
Saul did his best to try to kill him.
And so Samuel, the prophet had made a prophecy, but he didn’t say now he’s gonna be king immediately.
God’s timing was perfect. And it’s interesting what happened in that time, David served Saul.
And um even though Saul tried his best to kill him all that time and um 14 years went by and what was David doing in 14 years?
I probably wondering, well, Lord, uh when is this gonna take place and probably ask that a lot of times because he spent most of all of that time running and hiding from Saul.
But when the time came, he anointed him the king of Israel and he is, for example, Jerusalem is, is the, is the city of David.
It’s David above everybody else in the nation of Israel. God had a plan. It was a perfect plan.
He executed this plan but not on someone else’s schedule. His timing was perfect.
And so God has a plan for your life and that doesn’t mean that what’s in that plan is yours today?
It is yours when God gets you ready and what was God doing to David in all those years?
Getting him ready? Teaching him how to suffer, teaching him how to forgive, teaching him to be wise, teaching him to be loving, teaching him to be respectful of the king who tried to kill him twice.
He could have taken Saul’s life. He didn’t do it somehow he knew in his heart.
That wasn’t God’s timing. And oftentimes we make mistakes because we don’t stop to consider what’s the will of a father?
What does he want to accomplish in my life? Why, why am I suffering through all of this?
Why am I hurting at this point in my life?
God, you promised me something better than that, not recognizing that suffering, hurting, pain, loss, disappointment, despair.
Uh All the things that we go through.
Some are all a part of what it’s a part of God’s plan to work into our lives, the qualities and the characteristics He wants us to have in order to accomplish the plan he has for us.
And so all those years, for 14 years, he ran trying to survive and how many times he must have said, but I, I was anointed king.
What’s all this about? So watch this waiting upon the Lord is not an easy thing.
And sometimes when people, most of the time I’m afraid, people say I’ve waited and waited and waited and God uh uh I don’t see anything going on.
So I think I’ll do this. It’s a disaster. Watch this. His plan is perfect.
His timing is perfect. He knows when you and I are ready but whatever he has for us and wise men and women wait for God to reveal his timing and his plan.
Now, waiting on God is not what most people think. It doesn’t mean that you just do nothing.
God may have you very, very active in what you’re doing or where you’re doing it or with whom you’re doing it.
That’s the only part of the plan waiting does not mean that you’re doing nothing.
It doesn’t mean that you are just moving along and just waiting on God waiting on God.
No, it’s, it’s sort of an active stillness.
I’m doing what God has called me to do up to this point. And I’m waiting for him quietly.
I’m waiting for him for the next step and God does not want us doing nothing.
He wants us to be productive all the days of our life.
But there are times when He has a turn in our life, a change in our life.
And for the moment we think of what’s going on, we may, I’ll be a little bit confused and he understands that.
But if I’m wise enough to wait for clear direction, then I will accomplish what God wants me to accomplish and we’ll be able to have whatever God has in store for us.
And I think there’s so many people who are suffering because they got ahead of God.
Oh, they just cut him out of the life altogether.
They said Well, you know what I used to believe in, answered prayer and I thought my, you know, I heard people say, wait on the Lord and I waited and waiting, waiting, nothing happened.
Well, the reason nothing happened is because you were waiting in a rebellious attitude. Whether it wasn’t your timing.
Timing with God is very important. Listen, only He knows when you’re ready for certain things in your life.
Only He knows when you can handle certain blessings in your life.
Only He knows the dangers out there that you face and He knows where you’re strong and He knows where you’re weak.
And oftentimes he’s saying not now, not now, not now because He sees that area of your life that to have it now would be a disaster.
You won’t be able to handle it.
Pride will destroy you, jealousy or whatever it may be that He has something view that’s in the middle of real strife.
He has to get you ready for that. Many people walking in the will of God are suffering.
Many people walking in the will of God are not suffering.
He listen, he chooses for each of us what he knows we personally need at that particular point in our life.
So we have a choice. I can decide.
I’m waiting, not waiting and long and step out of God’s will and do it my way.
There is no way to win. Listen to me, there is, there is no way to win.
There is no way to have real peace and happiness and joy in your life when you’re out of the will of God, and when we don’t get it, when we want it, and we are unwilling to wait as the scripture encourages us to do, then we wonder, for example, what’s going on.
So waiting is purposeful. Waiting has a sense of direction and a sense of expectancy.
God, I’m willing to do whatever you want me to do in my life. What’s next?
And there are many people who would ask Lord, what, what, what is your, what is your purpose in my life?
He doesn’t keep secrets. He’s willing to show us if we’re willing to listen carefully, watch this.
He knows when you’re willing to accept his answers.
He knows if He told you ahead of time, you couldn’t have it if he said to you.
Now, 10 years from now, here’s what I’m gonna tell.
I’m not waiting 10 years for anything even though it would be the most awesome thing you could possibly discover.
So the question is this, are you walking in the will of God as best?
You know how if God has not done something in your life that you wanted, expected, anticipated, dreamed of?
Is there a reason? Is it because you have decided to do it your way?
If there’s some need in your life?
Is it because you’ve not allowed God to provide that need the way he intended when he intended.
And so you decided you do it yourself.
God loves his Children and he wants the best for us.
And sometimes that best does not come quickly, but it comes.
Now, the frequency of this admonition in scripture is awesome.
So I’m gonna uh give you a few passages here and I want you to turn first of all to the 25th psalm.
Look here for just a moment.
And the reason I wanna give you these is because if you’re wise, you will write them down and you’ll play them back to yourself.
That is God. What are you saying to me? Look in this um 25th song to you.
Oh Lord, I lift up my soul. Oh my God and your and you, I trust.
Do not let me be ashamed. Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed.
None of those who wait for you will be ashamed. Look at that. That is you won’t be disappointed.
You won’t be ashamed if you wait upon the Lord.
So if somebody says, so what are you, what are you waiting for?
And if you said, well, I’m waiting for God’s direction. Here’s what they’ll say if they’re sort of half ungodly.
Well, how do you know when you have it? Who do you think you are?
You don’t have to answer that question.
You’re a follower of Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit who will give you direction and guidance for your life and every single decision that you have to face, then I want you to look if you will at the uh 37th psalm.
And uh in this, look at this passage, there are uh three verses here and in the seventh verse, or if you look, if you want the first verse, he says, do not fret three times in that passage, he says, do not fret.
And then beginning in the seventh verse, he says, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.
That is not easy to do. And you see, he follows that immediate with, do not fret again.
And uh verse eight, do not fret.
And if you’ll turn to the uh ninth verse for evil doers who will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
Listen, God is watching over you. God’s hand is covering you.
And if you and I are willing to walk in his way, his will and his timing, he will provide everything we need and the things that our family needs or our Children need.
And when we are walking in, his will listen, we are the most recipient at that moment of his plans and that which he has in store for us.
Look at another verse there. If you look at the 34th verse uh of that 37 psalm, wait for the Lord and keep his way.
That is obey him and sometimes he doesn’t show us his plan quickly in life.
And there are many people who say, well, you know, at this point in my life, I’m 60 or 65.
I don’t know that God’s ever had a plan for my life. Yes, he has.
You say, well, suppose I miss it. Get back in as well. In other words, watch this.
You listen and say, amen. There’s always a secondary when people go through years of their life and they don’t need, nobody’s ever told them, God had a plan for their life and they get at that years and years and years go by and all of a sudden they realize God had a plan for my life.
I must have missed it. Watch this when He knows where you are and why you miss that plan.
God is will watch this. He’s willing to show you his secondary plan because for example, you grew up in a family, nobody was saved.
Nobody talked to you about Jesus. And so years went by, you never even thought about it.
You thought you were sufficient doing what you were doing. And all of a sudden you get saved.
God opens your eyes. He shows you He has a will for your life.
Well, does have a, does God have a will for your life after 65? Yes.
He has a will for your life from the beginning to the end. He knows your past.
He knows why you’re where you are and he’s willing, listen, he’s going to pick you up right where you are, forgive you for the wasted time that you’ve wasted.
He knows why you did. Maybe it’s on purpose. Maybe it’s not on purpose.
He’ll take you right where you are and he’ll give you a whole new beginning.
That’s what grace is all about. Somebody says, do we have a second chance?
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, I mean, praise God. He doesn’t just cut us off because we missed it somewhere.
But many people never catch on that. God has a plan and timing with Him is very, very important.
So if you look in the 40th psalm now and um just uh the first verse of this 40th psalm, I want you to notice what he says.
He says, I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined to me and heard my cry and then he talks about how God brought him up waiting upon him.
Lord, what do I do next? He is? Listen, God doesn’t have secrets to keep from us.
He’s willing to show us if we’re willing to listen how very important that is.
And then if you were looking uh Isaiah 64 4, which I think is um Isaiah 64 4, which is one of the most important verses in the word of God when it comes to this, living your life out, no matter how old you are, how young you are here.
It is 64th chapter and the fourth verse listen for from days of old, they have not heard or perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you who acts in behalf of the one who waits for him.
Listen to that when you and I living in our life and trying to make decisions in our life.
And God shows us something. And uh you say, well, uh is this for me?
Now, sometimes you’ll know that it’s not for now, but God, God makes you a particular promise.
So he shows you what he has and he says, He acts in behalf of those who wait for him.
Now, think about this for a moment, no matter what you’re facing in life, what you need in life, what you desire in life or the difficulties.
Think about this whole idea. He says that He acts, this is the omniscient omnipotent.
I’m the present sovereign God of the universe who says He acts He takes action in your behalf.
He acts in your behalf. He acts in the life of those who wait for Him who seek his guidance and his direction.
And if I’m waiting upon the Lord, it means that I’m acknowledging his lordship.
It means that I am is seeking his guidance and his direction and he says He acts on our behalf.
Let me ask you a question who can do for you, what God can do?
Nobody and it listen, whatever you’re facing in life. Think about this.
You have almighty God acting, working sovereignly in your behalf to get you in His will that you follow Him.
And God is good to us.
And one of the reasons some people say, well, God has been good to me.
Well, have you allowed Him to be good? Have you decide to live your life your way?
You’re gonna have it your way And then you wonder, well, you say I’m as good as other people.
This has nothing to do with being good.
It has to do with being obedient and o obedience says, God, I’m willing to have it.
I’m gonna, I’m willing to do it your way. You have it your way in my life.
God, I’m gonna trust you. And when I’m not willing to trust him, then I’m not gonna walk in his way, then I’m gonna miss God’s best in my life, whatever that might be.
So, the key key question comes is this, that is why does God require us to wait for Him?
That is ours of our heart, our petition to all the things He’s, he has uh promised.
Why do I have to wait?
The wedding is very important with him and to receive his clear direction for our life is one thing.
It may be that God has something fantastic, maybe next month, next year or whatever it might be, but not today.
And it’s when I I’ve gotta have it today and when I can’t wait, watch this.
Oh, but suppose I lose it. Let me ask you a question.
Can you lose anything that God has a circle around? Put your name on it? No, you can’t lose anything.
And oftentimes people get married early in life because they think, or, or sometime in life you said I can’t lose this one.
Listen, if that person is not of God, you better lose it.
And so we don’t have to worry about, listen, you don’t have to worry about losing anything that God has for you.
If you will obey Him, walk in his way and his timing, when the time comes, you’ll have it.
And so I must have clear direction. And uh three times in 119th psalm, look there for a moment.
119th psalm. Uh David talks about this whole idea of waiting.
And um let’s start with uh verse uh 74 verse 74 says, may those who fear you see me and be glad because I wait for your word and what?
He’s just not waiting. He says, I’m waiting for God to speak. I’m waiting for clear direction.
And I wonder how many times you face decisions in your life that you honestly go to the father and ask him to give you direction and you wait till he answers that.
You said, why does he answer it suddenly? Well, maybe because there’s something in life.
He, he needs to clear up first.
It may be that uh uh for what he has in store, he can’t tell you that right now.
But the issue is, am I willing to be obedient to him when I don’t see my way clear because I’m trusting him to give guidance and direction.
And no, look, I will be there at the right time if I obey him, I’m not gonna lose anything that he’s put a circle around with my name on it because he loves us.
He doesn’t come up short. We have distorted ideas about God or suppose he does this and suppose he doesn’t remember this.
He’s a God of absolute love. He is a God of discipline because he loves us.
Every single thing he does is an act of love in our behalf.
But if you get up every morning as I said before and just take off and never give him a thought till some trouble comes, or somebody ask you some questions that you can’t answer.
And all of a sudden you’re thinking about, well, God, what’s the answer to that?
That is, that’s not a relationship with God. That’s not the God we’re talking about here.
And then look in verse 81 for a moment. My soul languish is for your salvation.
I will wait for your word.
And when I, when I see, see how many times He says, I’ll wait for your word.
I wait for your word. I wait for your word. What is He saying? I’m waiting for direction.
I’m waiting for God to speak to me, to show me what to do next.
If you do not open the word of God and you don’t, you don’t read the word of God and you don’t give him any time in your life, they’re gonna be consequences.
Let’s turn to the 106 psalm and I, I trust you’ll turn to this now because this is very, very important because it is a perfect example of what happens to people who decided they’re not gonna wait for the Lord and just gonna have it their way.
And so David is rehearsing a little bit of how God blessed the nation of Israel.
And then what they did beginning in verse six, we have sinned like our fathers. We have committed iniquity.
We behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders.
They did not remember your abundant kindness but rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless, he saved them for the sake of his name that he might make his power knownn.
Thus, he rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up. He led them through the deeps as through the wilderness.
So he saved them from the hand of one who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
The waters covered their adversaries, not one of them was left, then they believed his words.
And they sang his praise. Hallelujah. That’s what God was doing.
And then what, they quickly forgot his words. They did not wait for the council.
Look at that, they did not wait for his counsel.
Didn’t wait for God but craved intensely the wilderness and tempted God in the desert.
So he gave them their request, but he sent a wasting disease among them.
That’s a passage you ought to mark because that’s the principle of God.
Look how you bless them and bless them and bless them.
Instead of waiting for the next step of what he wanted them to do.
They decided they’d do it themselves and they turned away from him and look what happened. Yeah.
The delay that God works in their life as far as giving us, uh, whatever it is or showing us God’s in the process of doing something in our life.
What day in your life is God not working. He keeps your heart beating.
But he’s also listen, you have the Holy Spirit living within you. He’s the compass. He’s the God.
He’s the director. He, he’s the one who has all the information that you and I need to live a Godly life every day and deliver it obediently.
So if our goal in life is what it is with God to be conformed to the likeness of his son, to walk in his way to do His will, because the truth is we should so live every day that people who meet us, listen, people who meet, you should meet Jesus.
It doesn’t mean you look like Him.
It doesn’t mean any of that, but it means the spirit within you is the spirit of Jesus Christ.
And he will do all kind of things in your life that you can never imagine if you just allow him the privilege of living in you, his life, living it through you on his timing, on his schedule, not someone else’s schedule.
So he says, clear direction is very important.
Now, secondly, when I think about uh why God requires us to wait, the second reason is to keep us in step with his timing.
There is no way for me to out guess God.
Well, here’s what I’m gonna do and I think it’ll all turn out, right?
No, I may make specific requests to God and have assurance that He will do it.
But then I also have to leave the schedule to Him.
People say, well, I prayed and asked God to do this. And so, and I got a confirmation.
He was gonna do it and they expect God to do it right.
Then it may be listen, it may be that what you’ve asked him is right in the sin of God’s will.
But you have to also give Him the privilege to give to you what you’ve asked for when He knows you’re ready and sometimes you’re not ready.
And I remember I’ll never forget if I, what’s a good example to me.
I remember Andy, when he’s just a little boy, he saw my pocket knife and he was really impressed and he wanted one.
I said, I’ll give you one.
So he thought it, we ought to go to the store, you know, right next to this afternoon to get one.
I said, no, you have to get ready to have a pocket knife or why is that?
I said, because you can hurt yourself. And I showed him a few things.
I said, suppose you were to cut yourself.
Suppose you in your room, for example, by yourself and, and you had it open and you stumbled and fell and suppose it hit you somewhere.
You just started bleeding and bleeding and scared to death.
Oh, well, he finally sort of caught on and it was a little time before we had a pocket knife.
You know what? Sometimes you’re not not able to handle the thing that God wants us to have until He knows we’re ready.
When I insist on having what I want, when I want it.
Then what I’m saying is God, you’re a wonderful guy, but you’re not very good on timing somewhere.
You miss it. Why can’t I have it? Now?
We have a whole generation of people who are living in the, now. They know nothing about waiting.
And if you’ll think about every time we come up with some new gadget, what does it do.
It saves time every time you tell me you can have this now that now this, now that now this now and you know, life can’t get but so fast you have automobiles, 100 and 20 miles an hour on this.
For what reason? Only to kill yourself and somebody else. God.
God is in no hurry and don’t forget that he’s not in a hurry.
You know why, you know why he’s not in a hurry.
He already sees the end and he knows you have time and tell us when you get ready, you have this and when you get ready, you have that God’s timing is perfect because he doesn’t make any mistakes.
You know what? He created time and placed us in this capsule of time.
And so we live it out and he has the best for us if we’re willing to do it his way.
And sometimes, uh he waits to give us what we ask for because He test our faith if you.
And so I would ask you when you ask the Lord did, do you pray in faith?
Trusting him to do what he says? He’ll do well, yes and no.
And oftentimes we don’t trust him.
And so he delays certain blessings because he wants us to trust, watch this.
He wants us to trust him that if he said he would do it, he would do it.
Now, if the only way for me to believe that is. He promised it. Well, let me see it.
If I can’t see it. I don’t have it. Yes. Listen, we all have blessings from God.
He’s promised us we haven’t seen him yet and some people will never see them because they live disobediently before God.
They either can’t wait. They’re gonna do it that way and they never even consider asking God anything.
I think about uh, some people with a great potential, they rush out, create potential that rush out and the this that and the other never stop to ask God and they just dwindle by the wayside.
They have awesome potential, but they’re not willing to seek the mind of God to know Lord what and when and how and then this waiting process sometimes is a season for strengthening our faith.
But, and, and, and I, I think about what, what strengthens my faith. Having to wait.
You see, we are interested in self gratification and we want it right now.
God says, no, oftentimes this is not the time for it.
And the waiting period with God is often motivated by a desire to sift down motives for our desires.
Why, why do I want that? Why do you want that position? Why are you asking God for that?
He sifts their motives and have you not agreed at some points in life?
He said, Lord, I know, ask if that forget that prayer. Uh that, that’s, that was selfish. That was lust.
That was this, that was, that, that was not your will and purpose for my life.
And so God delays uh his way because he wants to bring us around to his viewpoint.
What is he up to in our life? Now? How are we to wait for God’s timing?
This is how most people wait impatiently. I want it now nervously. Oh, supposed to lose it. Complaining.
Well, why can’t, why can’t things work out for me? Questioning God? Am I? Am I?
Am I sure I heard you right. Frustrated, irritated, miserably trying to manipulate God. That’s the way they wait.
And that is not how God wants us to wait.
So how should we wait now, put all these scriptures on the screens so you won’t have to look them up.
How should we wait? We should wait patiently and the scriptures up here under that rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.
We are to wait quietly. Psalm 62 1 and five. My soul waits quietly for God only.
I’m trusting him. I’m waiting upon him.
We had to wait, trusting rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fred.
We had to wait expectantly. Psalm 27 13.
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord having to wait.
We ought to wait steadfastly in Psalm 27. We to wait steadfastly and courageously wait for the Lord.
Be strong and let your heart take courage.
And then we had to wait, standing on God’s word and listen. Look at this verse.
We had to wait, standing on God’s word. I’ll wait for the Lord.
My soldiers wait and in His word, I hope now watch this.
You will not wait for God.
If this book is closed in your life, you’re just naturally gonna make decisions.
I can handle this. I can handle that.
And the truth is none of us can handle much in the society in which we live.
He says, I wait standing up on the word of God.
And so what does that mean that I’m in the word?
And I’m listening to what God says, I’m committed to being obedient to him and by His grace and strength and power, I will wait for his timing knowing that his timing is always best in my life.
So look at your life and ask yourself the question, Lord God, have I missed it?
Remember you people say, well, does God give us a second chance?
God gives us and listen, I’ve had a lot more than two chances.
And so have you, we, we, we’ve all made mistakes, but here’s what he’s simply saying to us.
He says, you’re standing on the word. What happens.
God is continued reminding us that we’re to be obedient to him.
Now, listen, the wisest thing you can do. And I said, I’ve already said this once.
So I said again on purpose, the wisest thing you can do is make a decision from this point on.
Here’s how I’m gonna begin my day. I’m gonna, I’m gonna connect before I get out of bed. Lord.
I thank you that you have a plan for my life today.
I thank you, Lord, that uh your timing is perfect.
I thank you that you bring into my life, whatever you need to bring, you’ll protect me, you’ll guide me, you’ll lead me.
If I go through any kind of suffering and hurt and disappointment and know all the rest, I’ll trust you to bring me through that.
But Lord, I want to thank you that today. I’m gonna walk obediently before you.
I’m gonna trust the Holy Spirit to do the speaking in me, to give me guidance and direction and give me your timing, whatever you have for me, I’m available to wait.
I know that waiting will grow me up, strengthen me, prepare me for what you have.
I want to thank you for this day and Lord let my life be fruitful all day long.
You begin the day that way and all of a sudden your days on the cloudiest day you’ve ever seen son’s gonna be brilliant.
You know why? Because you are connected with the father and he will answer every single prayer that I mentioned in all of that.
It’s his timing, it’s his way, it’s his plan. So I’d simply ask you a question.
Have you lived this part of your life without Christ? Many of you have.
And so if you have, what’s your future plan? Keep living this way without Christ in your life?
If so, here’s what you’re saying, God, my creator sustainer provider. I don’t need you.
I can handle it. How foolish you’re saying I’m gonna live out my life.
You don’t know how long you live, I’m gonna live out my life.
And one of these days I think I’ve been better than other folks.
So you’re gonna take me to heaven, forget that you’ll be terribly disappointed forever.
That’s not the way life is. This is life.
God created you and he’s made it possible for the death of His son of the cross to pay your sin that in full.
He is willing to forgive your sins to cleanse you.
He is willing to wipe all the past out.
He’s willing to take your mistakes and your faults and the things that you look at in your life that don’t belong there.
He’s willing to forgive you, wipe them away and give you a brand new beginning.
This is why Paul said, if any person be in Christ that is related to him, all things have passed away, behold, all that.
All things have become new. You can begin life again, right where you are.
You say, well, I’m 70 years of age, it’s time to get started because the time is running out.
You say, well, God take me at 70. He’ll take you any time.
You genuinely confess your dependence upon Him, your acknowledgement of Him, the death of his son of the cross paying for your sin debt.
He’ll take you you. So I don’t have much time left, right?
Therefore, make every day count because the world would say you’re on borrowed time. Watch this.
You’re on borrowed time where you borrow it from.
There’s no such thing as more time you’re on God’s grace time.
He’s willing to forgive you, cleanse you and give you a new beginning.
It won’t last long, but you’ll have a new beginning.
Listen, if you’ve messed it up this long, at least end, right? Amen.
At least end, right with Jesus Christ in your life.
That’s the kind of awesome God. He is.
But you say, well, I’m just 25. What then?
I hope you’ve listened to everything you’ve heard because you desperate need it.
This is a wicked, vile, sinful, corrupt world everywhere you turn, it’s all there. Who is your protector?
There is only one that’s almighty God and he’s there for us.
If we’ll trust Him, father, how grateful we are that you love us, we can’t even begin to express it.
But I pray that every person who hears this message and every person seated here would stop and give some serious thought about how they’re living their life, what their plans are and how involved you are in their plans and whether it’s your plan or their plan and be willing to make whatever changes are necessary in order to live out the life at its best with you.
And we pray this in Jesus name. Hey, man.
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