Waiting… Part 2
April 26, 2020

Good morning and welcome to Cross Creek Community Community Church.

Last week I messed up with our Facebook Live video.
We ended up having two videos for the one message: Part I and Part II.
The message, in two parts, from God’s word, last week, was about… Waiting.

God’s people, throughout the ages, have had to practice a lot of waiting.
We looked at the book of Genesis from the Bible and the story of Abram who became Abraham, last week, and his story of waiting.
He would end up waiting a very long time. His wife, Sarah, too.

As we struggle with waiting for the coronavirus restrictions to be lifted, it’s encouraging to know we’re not alone. We’re not the first to wait. And we won’t be the last.

Unlike Abraham and Sarah, however, and the birth of their baby, I don’t think we’ll have to wait 25 years for the restrictions to be lifted.
Unlike the people of God, Abraham’s descendants and the promised land, I don’t think we’ll have to wait 500 years.

But, meanwhile, we are still… waiting.
So today’s message is entitled, “Waiting… Part 2.”

It occurred to me not too long ago that the sound of the word “wait” (spell it out) is the same as the word “weight.” (spell it out).
Of course they sound alike. But when we wait, (first word) especially for a long time,
it feels like we are carrying a weight. (Second word)
The longer we wait, the heavier it gets.

Today I hope we can release the “weight” of the “wait” to our Heavenly Father, and be refreshed by His Holy Spirit, as we take this journey together, with Jesus.

As I was thinking about, praying, studying and researching this message, the thought occurred to me that there are people who understand what confined waiting is all about, a whole lot more than we do.

People who are incarcerated in prisons right now can’t even leave their cells!
And the people in nursing homes right now can’t even leave their rooms!
So I’d like to begin this sacred time together this morning in prayer for these two people groups, together.
Won’t you join me in prayer? [Pray… For prisoners… for residents of nursing homes… other groups too we may not be remembering… of course safety/protection for all essential workers… and divine protection and health for all who watch this video too.]

Please take some time to make a call, or send a card, to someone in a nursing home, or prison. If you need some ideas on how to follow up on this good work, please contact us through our website: crosscreekcommunitychurch.org.

Meanwhile, as we wait, what does our attitude look like?
Are we complaining and irritable and biting off everyone’s head off around us? Do we commiserate about what we don’t have, or what we can’t do… blah… blah.. blah?

Or, are we waiting patiently, and biting our own tongue, instead of someone else’s head off, to keep silent when we’re tempted to complain? (These are analogies, of course. Please don’t bite your own tongue or attempt to bite anyone’s head off…)

Paul wrote to the church in Philippi about not complaining.
In Philippians 2:14 he writes, “Do all things without grumbling or arguing.” (NIV)

The original language says “murmurings and disputings.”
In other words, this is a good time for some self- or Holy Spirit- examination.
“Lord, have I been complaining? Have I been arguing? Am I murmuring? Disputing?Bring it to mind if I don’t recall. And then help me apologize if needed to another, or others. And help me to apologize to You. And help me, Lord, not to go there again.
May Your strength be made perfect in my weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9,10.)

Deep breathe. Ah… that feels good, doesn’t it?

Let’s go a step further and pray, along with the Psalmist from 141:3
“Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil…”
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Don’t we feel better already? And we haven’t even gotten to the main message yet!
It all ties together.
As we endure, or perhaps experience is a better word, this time of waiting, perhaps we are like a piece of clay being shaped. (Jeremiah 18) Silver being refined. (Isaiah 48)
The Bible is full of analogies of God’s great work in us when we go through trying times. And also the need for correction and realignment. (Amos 7)

Paul said in Philippians chapter 2, when he wrote about not grumbling, this is so that we may become “blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then,” he says, “you will shine among them like stars in the universe.” (2:15) I love that phrase. Have you ever seen stars really shining? Perhaps out in a remote area. And in cold, crisp air. They sparkle and shine and are mesmerizing! God’s handiwork on display.

We, too, are His handiwork. Are we shining right now? As people grow increasingly restless with wanting to be allowed to come and go as they please, and come and go where they please, are we patiently waiting without complaining, and shining in this present darkness? Do people look at our lives and see peace and light and hope in the midst of confusion and darkness and despair?

Are we continuing to be purveyors of hope? We are “Easter people.” People who understand who is really in control of it all. People who know where they’re going no matter what our outcome may be.

Peter wrote in his first letter, chapter 3, to “always be prepared to answer for the hope you have.” (3:15) We need to be people of God who shine like stars, as we patiently wait, and demonstrate continued hope and trust in the Savior to whom we belong.

We do this without complaining. And we do it with gratitude.
We don’t complain about what we do not have. We are grateful for what we do have.

I invite you today to check the attitude of your heart. You, and everyone around you, will feel much better if your heart is filled with good things which then flow out of your mouth. Luke 6:45 says “from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
What’s the condition of your heart today? How’s your heart condition?

We work hard to eat healthy, get enough rest, and exercise to have a healthy heart.
But do we work just as hard on our spiritual life? On strengthening our heart with the word of God? Do we give ourselves a healthy diet of prayer and Bible study? Conversation with our Creator?

The heart belief underlying all the uncertainty, fear and confusion surrounding us, which will bring us the greatest health, is that we believe God is Sovereign.

He is the supreme ruler. His is the ultimate power.
He is “Large and in charge.”
We trust in Him no matter what, because we believe He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you’re struggling with doubt about that, ask Him to help you. He will.

If all that’s true, you may be thinking, then why does He allow something like this coronavirus pandemic to even occur? Why didn’t He put a stop to it right away?

The answer is that disease and death and all the rest are not from HIm.
In the Garden of Eden, His original prototype for life, there were no pandemics.
There was no death.
There were no illnesses, rapes, murders, and all the rest of the bad and sad and painful things that hurt so much.

In fact, James, (one of the brothers of Jesus), tells us in 1:17 that “every good and perfect gift is from above. Let’s look at verses 16 & 17:
“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadow.”
The “Father of Lights.” And we’re to “shine like stars in the universe!” That makes sense, doesn’t it? We’re His offspring! And He’s a loving Heavenly Father.
He’s someone we can trust and on whom we can count.

But then what happened in the Garden of Eden?
Quite simply, sin entered in. And our original ancestors chose sin.

They did the one thing God asked them not to do, for their own sake.
They ate from the wrong tree.
Because of the free will God gave us, He didn’t and doesn’t want us to be a bunch of robots just following Him because we’re told to.
Like any good parent, He yearns for us to be in relationship with Him because we believe in Him, and love Him, and trust Him. Because we want to, not because we have to!

So He gave them free will. They could choose either to believe in and be in relationship with Him, or not. They could choose to be obedient and not eat from the wrong tree, or not.

{Altar call …}
Have you been blaming everything on God? Have you been hanging on to anger towards Him? Perhaps blaming Him for someone’s death… or the way your own life has turned out differently than you thought it would?

Are you still living in the past? Seeking your life among the dead? Are the things that haunt you - the mistakes of your past and the losses you’ve endured - binding your heart so that you feel dead in many ways, inside, too?

If you feel like you don’t know what to do to make it right, if you feel lost and alone, or afraid, you’re not alone.

We’ve all been afraid. And sometimes angry at God too. (He’s big enough to handle our anger BTW. Story of woman pulling into driveway yelling at Him…)

Perhaps you’re simply looking for someone to save you. A savior. Perhaps that’s what you need.
Perhaps that’s what we’ve all needed.
Perhaps we’ve all needed to be saved from the endless tragedies that life throws at us.
Perhaps we all need a savior to rescue us from scary pandemics, not enough to eat, not having a job, hardship and death.

Is it really as simple as just asking Jesus into our hearts?
Sometimes, our broken hearts?
Sometimes, we wonder, would He even want a heart like this one?
The answer is yes. He takes us just the way we are. There is nothing we’ve done He can’t forgive.

Maybe we feel worthless. Maybe we think He can’t possibly want us. He can’t possibly forgive us.
He’s always wanted us. He stands ready to forgive. But we have to ask.

So right now let’s just take a minute to pause. To quietly have a conversation with God. To ask His forgiveness for whatever we think might have separated us from Him,
or others. Then, if we haven’t already, let’s, yes, ask Jesus into our hearts.

Pause.

If you made this decision for the first time today, or just recommitted your life to Him, please let us know. Also, once we’re allowed on the beach in a group again, we’ll be doing ocean baptisms. If you’ve made the decision to believe in Jesus Christ, and want Him to be in charge of your life, and have never been baptized, let us know. We’ll follow up with you. We’ll instruct you. And we’ll welcome you to the family of God and to our church family too, with ocean baptism. And then we’ll celebrate!
It’s always a glorious moment in our lives.

When we belong to Jesus, we’re Overcomers.
We’ve spoken about that recently.
After the Last Supper and before His crucifixion, Jesus said to His followers (in John 16:33) “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Take heart! Buck up!
Jesus is the Ultimate Overcomer, and we belong to Him!

{Latest “EY” - Ernest and Young - commercial: “Adapt, Strategize, Overcome.”}

There will come a point when things will return to a new normal. This will probably happen sooner rather than later. Even though it may not feel like it right now.

We will probably be rushing around like chickens with our heads cut off, again, before we know it. Unless we determine not to live like that anymore.

In the meantime, I urge us all to embrace this time and take the opportunity to really and truly draw near to God. How to you get to know someone better? By talking with them. Really, truly sharing your heart, and listening. If you’re really brave enough, write down these words, “Lord, what words of encouragement do you have for me today?” Then write down what comes to mind...

James (4:8) promises us: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

I firmly believe God is not the author of bad things. But I also firmly believe He allows us to go through difficulties sometimes to help us develop and become more refined.
Like clay. Like silver.

Many of us have long appreciated Romans 5:3-5:
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

We are certainly persevering right now as we practice sheltering in place, quarantining,
and other restrictions. But through it, know that you are developing character.
And with this character, as Christians we do have great hope.

We become as we overcome.
As we wait, we become, as we overcome.

We don’t like to suffer, but we know God is using life’s difficulties to build our character.
The problems we are currently encountering are only developing our perseverance.
This, in turn, is strengthening our character, deepening our trust in God, and giving us greater confidence about the future.

We are growing in learning to trust an unknown future to a known God.
And now we get this unprecedented opportunity to get to know Him better.
Now’s our chance! Let’s take full advantage of this time of waiting to answer Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and spend some time together!

All four of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell the story of Jesus and His disciples miraculously feeding 5,000 men, (probably a total of over 15,000 people by the time you add the women and children), from five loaves and two fish.
With twelve basketfuls of leftovers, I might add.

But did you know that before this miracle happened, Jesus and His apostles “powered up” with time away and apart.

Beloved friends, family, and honored guests, this is the time to get “powered up.”
Get ready for how God is going to move through His people after we leave this unique time!
Before this miraculous feeding of the thousands, and after the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught, He told them to take some “down time.”

Jesus and His friends were probably grieving too. They had recently learned of John the Baptizer’s death. They had been busy with ministry. And they were about to be even busier. But first, Jesus said to them, these extremely important words from Mark 6:31 “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Come with Me - Jesus invites us to be with Him.
by yourselves - no one else. Just Him, and us. One on one.
to a quiet place - remove all distractions. That’s part of the beauty of this very strange time. Whether we like it or not, for a lot of us, a lot of distractions have been removed.

and get some rest. - it is in the presence of God that our souls find the deepest peace and truest rest.

The Divine Reset in which we currently find ourselves is the perfect time to do just that. Will you please make the time to meet with Jesus. By yourself. In a quiet place. And rest.

[Pray]

[Transition to the Colossians study and Wed. night online groups…]