Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
September 26, 2010 - W1039

Today’s sermon is about reasons for waiting. How many of you hate to wait? I do at times. People have said that we are the microwave generation, which means that we don’t wait; we just get what we want instantly. For example, when you are hungry, you put your food in the microwave oven and it will be warm in a minute. We go to the drive-through to order food instead of going inside. We can download songs and music from iTunes and it will be ready to play in seconds so that we don’t even need to go to the store nowadays. We are a generation used to getting what we want right now, and that is how we have become a people that hate to wait. One time I went to a grocery store, and watched which line seemed to go faster and so I picked that line. A new cashier opened up so I switched to that new shorter line immediately. I constantly watched to see if I was moving forward faster than those who were waiting in other lines. It was like I was racing to get out faster than the others! When we drive, we also watch see which lane has fewer cars and switch to that lane so as to get to our destinations faster!

During our life time, we will spend about 2 years waiting in lines at a bus stop, a bank, etc; you will spend 3 years waiting in line for a new iPhone if you like gadgets; there will be 4 months being put on hold waiting over the phone; husbands will have 4 months of waiting for the wife to get ready; travelers will spend around 6 months waiting at the airport. Generally, there will also be 2 months waiting for the computer to boot up, 2 months for waiting at the traffic lights, 2 months waiting for the bathroom, 1 year being sick waiting for recovery, and 20 years waiting for the morning! So approximately there are about 24 years in a life time that are used up just waiting around!

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Is. 40:31) Maybe God has a reason for us to wait and there is an assignment attached to the waiting that we need to do. Waiting is not a waste of time. If we don’t understand this, we will end up grumbling and being angry during our wait, and fail the assignment God has given us to do while we wait. We will be looking into 3 teachers today from the Bible to learn about their lessons and the reasons for waiting. They are Moses, Naaman the Leper, and Peter.

Let’s look at our first teacher - Moses. Moses and the Israelites left Egypt and then waited 40 years in the wilderness to get into the Promised Land. The Israelites grumbled constantly during the wait. God took them out of Egypt instantly but made them wait for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. There was a reason. God was doing something in their hearts. Instead of taking them through the shortest route, God led them through the longest route because God used the wait to strengthen their hearts!

1. God uses the wait to STRENGTHEN our hearts.

You might be between jobs now, or being put on hold in a marriage. You might be waiting for something now and it seems like the waiting time is a waste, but it is not a waste because there is a reason to wait because God is using that wait to strengthen your hearts now. As the Bible said, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, even though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Ex. 13:17) God took them through the longer route instead because their hearts were not ready. There would be tests like wars thrust upon the Israelites in the future and they would not be ready if they had taken the shortest route to reach the Promised Land. Therefore, God used the wait to strengthen them so that they would be ready for wars or any other future trials.

God wants us to wait at times so that we are ready for the trials in our future. Without the wait, when the trials come, which could be unemployment, financial issues or sickness, our hearts will wither. That’s why God takes us through a time of waiting to strengthen our hearts. It is written, “I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.” (Ex. 23:30) God inches us out little by little. When I was a kid at school, I was trained to run a race. I needed to wear a vest that had a cord tied to it. So when I ran, I was being held back by the cord. The coach would release the cord only little by little so that I could have certain muscles to be trained and built for the race. Without that training, my muscles would not have been strong enough to stand a real race, and I would not have developed the stamina and strength that I needed to run a race. There are times God puts a vest on you, and lets you out little by little, to build you the strengths and character you need for your future. If you don’t want to wait, and do it your own way, you will mess up what God has designed to be wonderful. However, if you do it God’s way, He will give you strength and character for the wonderfulness He has prepared for you.

During the time of waiting, there are some tendencies that will surface. The first one is grumbling. We tend to grumble about our boss at work, grumble about us not being recognized at work, or not having a raise in our salary. And the second tendency is losing focus. We lose focus of us being Christian after the grumbling; then we forget about why God put us in the situation and forget to be God’s salt and light. The third tendency is to quit. We would just quit the situation because we are tired of waiting and our hearts wither. And the last is settling for less, and missing out on the wonderfulness God has for us in our future. But that is also why God put us into waiting periods - to resolve these tendencies that we have in our hearts.

During the wait, tendencies surface:

1. GRUMBLE

2. LOSE FOCUS

3. QUIT

4. SETTLE FOR LESS

We usually see the wait as a waste of time, and ask God to move things faster for us. But the waiting time is indeed not a waste as it has its own assignment from God! There is a reason to wait and it’s not an empty time. We have an assignment to do for God while waiting - to resolve our tendencies, and to build strengths and character in Him.

The wait has its OWN assignment.

Let’s move on to learn from our second teacher - Naaman the Leper. He was the captain of the army in Aram. Aram was allied with Israel at that time. Naaman had leprosy and couldn’t find any way to be healed. His wife had an Israelite servant and this servant suggested that he see Elisha, a prophet of the Israelites, for healing. So Naaman took ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold as gifts to see Elisha for healing. Elisha asked Naaman to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River and he would then be healed. Naaman became furious because he wanted Elisha to heal him instantly instead. But the servants who went with Naaman asked Naaman if he would have climbed the mountain if Elisha said that was the way to be healed. And Naaman said yes. So the servants showed Naaman that dipping seven times in the Jordan River was a lot easier, and convinced him to follow Elisha’s instruction. So Naaman agreed and went to Jordan and dipped himself for seven “boring” times. And something must have happened during the wait while Naaman was dipping himself in the Jordan River seven times.

2. God uses the wait to REFINE our hearts.

“Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” (2 Kin. 5:10) Naaman might still have been grumbling when he dipped himself in the river the first and second times. But as he dipped himself further and got closer to the seventh time, his heart was being refined and humbled, and began to feel sorry for his earlier grumbling. How many times have you experienced God putting you aside to wait? You might first grumble, but God will speak to you. Then your heart changes and you will just want to serve God regardless. The scripture also said, “So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan … and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.” (2 Kin. 5:14) Naaman was healed after his heart had been refined. There are times in our life that seem so boring, and you get angry and cry out to God. But God will refine your hearts and you will learn to be still with the wait. You will be fine even if a raise has not come yet, a promotion at work has not happened, or a resolution has not occurred. Healing starts while your hearts are being refined like Naaman. The heart change often comes first - then the healing begins.

Now let’s look at our third teacher - Peter. Peter is going to teach us how God uses the ingredients of the wait to produce a miracle.

3. God uses the INGREDIENTS of the wait to produce a miracle.

God is going to use the ingredients of the wait as the recipe of a miracle. God used the ingredients of the long route Israelites took before entering the promised lands. He uses our obedience, patience, a changed heart, the tears we shed, and the crying out to God to create a miracle. He never wastes our hurts and waiting.

“On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, ‘Get up quickly’ And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself and put on your sandals.’ And he did so. And he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me’.” (Acts 12:6-8)

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So we can see that the angel asked Peter to do the following, and Peter followed all of them.

• Get up quickly
• Gird yourself
• Put on your sandals
• Wrap your cloak
• Follow me

It is also written, “And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision, … When Peter came to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for sure the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me.” (Acts 12:9-11)

When we have heard about testimonies of miracles such as the blind can see, the sick ones get healed, we might think that miracles happened instantly. On the contrary, most of the miracles actually did not happen immediately. Miracles happen gradually and are in process like Peter’s situation. Peter didn’t know it was a miracle in motion while he was following the angel. Peter could have said no when the angel instructed him. If he had said no, the miracle wouldn’t have happened. But he obeyed God, and his obedience to the angel was used as part of the ingredients for the miracle of being rescued.

You might be in the middle of a miracle now and you don’t even know. If you are waiting now, sitting in a situation that is like a prison, remember that there is a reason for the wait. God might be refining you through your devotions, or any other areas in your heart. You might still have the tendencies to grumble, lose focus, quit or settle for less. But God is putting you in the wait to resolve these tendencies. He is strengthening and refining your heart. He will take all these ingredients of the wait to create a miracle for you and to prepare you for the wonderful future He had designed for you. He never wastes any wait.

Waiting is not easy, but there is a reason – it is to strengthen and refine our hearts. If you are upset while waiting, God will tell you not to be and He will refine you. He is not done with you. Let me encourage you to stay faithful in Him and follow Him, there is a reason for the wait.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is God doing in our hearts while we wait?

2. What are the tendencies we have during our wait?

3. What does God use to produce a miracle?

4. What is the ingredient God used from Peter to rescue him?

5. What assignment do you have in your wait right now?