Romans 8:24,25 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Wait for it. I find it ironic that you see these words all over the internet, on Facebook, Instagram, wherever. Apparently, people want to watch several minutes of a video before you see the good part or the funny part. Well, when I see the Wait For It warnings I just scroll by. I’m not going to wait for it. Sometimes, you can see the time on the video. If it’s over a minute and it says Wait For It, forget it. I don’t have time to waste waiting around watching some dumb video. Now I tell you this to demonstrate to you that waiting is an investment of our time and our interest. And the object to which we wait will determine if that investment will have a return, or will simply be a waste of our time. Waiting is something you can quantify. Waiting is not just lounging around doing nothing. Waiting is doing something, investing something, and expecting something. When we are told to Wait For It, there is something expected of us. If waiting was doing nothing, then where’s the expectation.
You know in your bible, the word wait is used dozen and dozens of times before the book of Job; the first five books of the Bible, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, The Kings, The Chronicles… and almost every time it is used, it used in conjunction with the concept of lying in wait. So it’s a term of war, a term of battle; to lie in wait. Someone who was lying in wait had set themselves in array against an enemy unbeknownst to the enemy. They were hidden, and what was planned was a surprise attack, an ambush, an overwhelming force against an unprepared enemy. So the word wait carries with it the sense of being prepared for action, the sense of preying and stalking. Someone who lied in wait planted themselves along the path that who they were lying in wait for was coming down. They knew the path of who they were waiting for. And there they hid themselves and waited for them to come upon them. There was no randomness to this. I’m no fisherman, but correct me if I’m wrong. A real fisherman is going to try to go where the fish are. Amen? How much time and money are you going to invest just haphazardly randomly throwing your line out there? You’ll go to place where you know the fish are gonna go. And there, you will lie in wait for the fish. There you will invest your time, your effort, your money, and you’ll Wait For It! And there you will prepare yourself, prepare your tools, and Wait For It.
So waiting, even though it sounds mundane and boring, waiting is by instinct very taxing. That’s why we don’t want to do it. Time is precious. And if something is not worth investing time, we’re not going to wait for it. So I don’t think waiting is something to just gloss over. In the context, waiting is the life of the Christian. Waiting is what we do between getting saved and eternity. Waiting on the Lord Jesus Christ and the day of redemption is walking after the Spirit. Waiting is minding the things of the Spirit. Waiting is having the Spirit of Christ. (Galatians 5:5) “For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Waiting is being filled with the Holy Ghost. Waiting is through the Spirit, mortifying the deeds of the flesh. Waiting is what saved folk do. But who wants to wait, amen? Nobody is going to wait unless it’s worth waiting for.
I want to say today that God is worth waiting for. After all, he waited for us didn’t he? The song says, “He stood at my heart’s door ’mid sunshine and rain, And patiently waited an entrance to gain.” I want to say God is worth waiting for. Paul said, “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” And that’s a period at the end of that verse. And I want to change it to a question mark today, and ask you, “Do we with patience wait for it?” Are you waiting on God? Are you actively waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body?
Are you we doing what Titus 2:13 says, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Now how do you know if you’re really waiting? Well you should be doing what Titus 2:11 and 12 says, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” Is that what we’re doing? If you’re not doing these first things: denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world… If you’re not doing these first things, I doubt seriously that you’re doing the latter thing: looking for that blessed hope, and glorious appearing of the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. Are we waiting on God? After all, he’s waited for you; Just like Isaac lifted up his eyes across those fields and waited for Rebekah; just like Jacob waited fourteen years for Rachel; just like the Father, while the prodigal son was out in sin and was afar off, the Father waited. God is worth waiting for. How long did he wait for you, Sister ______? How long did he wait for you, Brother ______? He didn’t have to wait, but he did. He waited for you and me because he’s good. Romans 2:4 “(Or) despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” He waited on us. We ought to wait on him.
(Isaiah 30:18) And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
Are you waiting for him? Paul said, “Do we with patience wait for it.” I’m asking you today, are you waiting on God?
Why?
Now why should we wait on God?
#1 Because He waited for us.
We ought to wait on God because he waited on us. The bible says, in Matthew 7:12 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” God was patient with us, we ought to be patient with him. On top of that, in the future, if we want God to be patient with us, in the future, we ought to be patient with him, now in this present time. God was patient with us before we were saved. God is patient with us now. We want God to be patient with us in the future. The least we could do is be patient with him, amen?
We ought to remember 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The Lord is not slack. So there ain’t no reason for us to be getting impatient. Instead, we should do like Paul said, “Do we with patience wait for it.”
#2 Because we need His strength
Why do we need to wait on God? Because we need His strength. (Psalms 27:14) Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. We need HIS strength. Not our own. The arm of flesh will fail you. What did King Hezekiah say when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against him? Sennacherib? Seneh/Cherub? Now we know that Cherub is an angel. And Seneh? You all remember Jonathan when he and his armor bearer went up against the Philistines by themselves. They came up between to big rocks that had names, Bozez and Seneh. Well Seneh meant “crag, or sharp thorn” So Seneh/Cherub sounds like the angel with the thorns or the horns, amen? Sound like the devil to me, amen? What did King Hezekiah say when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against him? (2 Chronicles 32:8) With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles.
Brethren, we need HIS strength. When we go up to do battle against the devil, and the world, and the flesh, we better wait on him because our strength isn’t gonna cut it. We need His strength. (Psalms 59:9) Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence. I don’t know what you’re going through, but we need His strength. And if you don’t have it, you better wait for it. (2 Cor 12:9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. That what we need. We need the power of Christ. Oh, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. I’d rather wait for the power. He told those disciples to wait, amen?
(Acts 1:4) And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
(Luke 24:49) And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
What would have happened if they didn’t wait for the power? What would have happened if they didn’t wait for the power, and went into all world, and preached the gospel, and taught all nations, and baptized them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. What would have happened if they did all that without the power of God? What would have happened if they didn’t wait on God. Oh, We need to wait on God because we need His strength, his power.
What happened when Abraham and Sarah tried to do God’s will in their own strength? What happened when Abraham and Sarah didn’t wait on the God? Yeah, they messed it all up. Sarah knew she hadn’t the strength to have a child. Bible said they were old and well stricken in age. She knew her body couldn’t do handles it. So Sarah laughed at God. She shoulda waited instead. The bible says, (Isaiah 40:31) 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.
#3 Because we don’t want to be ashamed
Okay, #3 has got three verses:
(Psalms 25:3) Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
(Psalms 69:6) Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
(Isaiah 49:23) And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
(Ecclesiastes 4;12) … A threefold cord is not quickly broken. They shall not be ashamed. They shall not be ashamed. They shall not be ashamed. If we wait on thee. If we wait on God.
This has two meanings, two applications. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed. That means that we won’t be disappointed. That means you won’t be disappointed with His outcome. And if you are disappointed, maybe the outcome hasn’t come out yet. Maybe you need to just wait a little longer, amen? I’m just saying the bible says, For they SHALL NOT be ashamed that wait for me. (Isaiah 49:23) I mean do we believe the bible? That means they won’t be disappointed. Remember Mary and Lazarus? Lazarus had died while they were waiting for Jesus. And Mary was disappointed. She said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” She was disappointed. But see, the outcome hadn’t come out yet. She wasn’t disappointed when it did though. When Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” No. Mary was not ashamed. Maybe, like Mary, you just need to wait a little longer, amen? Or maybe (and I’m not trying to be ugly) you were waiting for your outcome, and not the Lord’s outcome. I’m just saying For they SHALL NOT be ashamed that wait for me. (Psalms 52:9) I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints. If we’re truly waiting on the Lord, and God does it, we won’t be ashamed. We won’t be disappointed. (Ecclesiastes 3:14) I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. You won’t be disappointed waiting on God.
Like I said, there’s two applications, though. That can mean WE won’t be disappointed. But, it can also mean that HE won’t be disappointed. (1 John 2:28) And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. We’re talking about not being ashamed at the judgment seat of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
(1 Corinthians 3:10-15) According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
We better wait on the Lord, or we will be ashamed before him at his coming. Let me say this: If you’re ashamed now, it’s gonna be worst at the judgement seat. Like I said, if we’re gonna be doing Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Then we better take heed to Titus 2:11 and 12 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” How are we gonna do that?
(Psalms 1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper…
I believe in the prosperity doctrine, amen? If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. You say, I don’t want a reward. I’ll just be happy to get there. Well if you do get there, you gonna want a reward when the time comes because you’re not gonna like what you get. The bible says, He shall suffer loss. He will be ashamed. Nope. I don’t want to be ashamed. That’s why I’m gonna wait on God.
Why are we gonna wait on God? Because He waited for us. Because we need His strength. Because we don’t want to be ashamed at his coming. That’s the why of waiting; reasons why we wait. There’s other reasons, but that’s all I’m covering right now. I want preach a little also about the how of waiting.
Other Why?s
- We will preserved (Psalms 25:21) Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
- We will be heirs (Psalms 37:9) For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
- We will be exalted (Psalms 37:34) Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
- We will be saved (Proverbs 20:22) Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
- Because he will hear me (Micah 7:7) Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
How?
How should we wait for God? In what manner do God’s people wait on the LORD. This is probably more where the rubber meets the road. But how do God’s people Wait For It?
#1 We wait all the day
First of all. Waiting for God is not a part-time job. Waiting on God is more of a way of life. It’s not a full-time job either where we go home at five and pick things up again the next day. No, it’s all the day. (Psalms 25:5) Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. All the day. All day long, we wait on God. Now like I said, waiting all day is not doing nothing all day. That’s where the term waiter or waitress comes from. Waiting is serving. You know how a waitress comes with the tea every 5 minutes, and asks, “Do you want some more tea?” Maybe we ought to pray to God like that? Lord, what wilt thou have me to. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do. David said, (Psalm 55:17) Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. That’s all the day.
And really, it’s not so much about quantity, but quality. But that doesn’t mean that “little is much when God is in it” What I’m saying is that quantity is quality, in this case. Listen, when you’ve been in the sun all day long, and sweat like a pig all day, and you’re tired, I guarantee you a sip of water isn’t gonna cut it. I don’t care how good that water is, it better if it’s a lot water; a great quantity, amen? It don’t have to be gourmet water, just bring it on. In fact, pour it all over me. I’ve always thought that a decent dad is better than no dad. Dueteronomy 6:5,6,7 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Whether you’re sitting down or walking around, it’s God, God, God. Whether you’re going to and getting out of bed, it’s God, God, God. It’s all thine hear; it’s all thy soul, it’s all thy might, and yes, it’s all your day. For thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. All the day. All the day. All the day. Salvation has an all day effect on saved folk.
(Hosea 12:6) Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually. Continually! That means all the day. Quantity is quality. What made the widow’s mite greater and better than the rich man’s abundance? Because it was all. It was everything she had. We oughta give God everything we got. From the second we wake up to the second we lay our heads down, everything one belongs to him. (Luke 9:62) And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Amen. That’s right mom. Everything second you got. That’s right dad. Everything. That’s right children. Everything we got. All that’s within me, let’s give it to him. Amen?
#2 We wait for all things
(Jeremiah 14:22) Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things. In an agrarian society where everthing was based on the crops, rain was everything. If there was no rain, everybody starved. So this is about sustenance, and the things we need. Food, rainment, shelter? And not just physically, but emotionally the things we need; spiritually the things we need. We’re a needy people, but God has made all these things. Therefore, we’ll wait on him to get them.
We wait for all things. There should be a conscience dependence on God for all things. And I want to say, especially the little things. Waiting on God for all the little things and praising Him when they come is good practice for the big things that we need that come up in our life. I’m not saying we shouldn’t wait on God for the big things. I’m just saying, I want to get to praising God, so I’m gonna find some of these little things to praise God about. Like when you pull up to Butter Churn on a packed Sunday afternoon and find the best, closest parking space open and waiting for you. Bless the Lord. That’s a little thing to praise God about. I need God for everything.
Yesterday, we were working hard mowing, and I was messed up (explain). And on the way home, I asked God to give me some relief because I needed to be awake and sober so I can study for this morning. On the way home, I could feel that relief come down. I got home, took some Excedrin, a hot shower, and I was feeling better. I didn’t even have to take a nap. I got to studying. I just had to lift up my hands and praise God. He’s made everthing. Therefore, I’m gonna wait on him for everything. When Franky brings me a Blueberry Bai drink. I’m gonna thank Frank, but I’m also gonna praise God (Psalms 104:27) These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. (Psalms 145:15) The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. We wait for all things. You say I need a job. Well God’s got the job. I need shoes. God’s got the shoes. I need food. Got definitely has the food. There ain’t anybody in here today that’s showing evidence that God hasn’t provided the food, amen? (Proverbs 28:25) …He that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. God is going to bring the meat in due season, amen?
#3 We wait with all readiness
Like I was saying earlier:
…the word wait is used dozen and dozens of times before the book of Job; the first five books of the Bible, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, The Kings, The Chronicles… and almost every time it is used, it used in conjunction with the concept of lying in wait. So it’s a term of war, a term of battle; to lie in wait. Someone who was lying in wait had set themselves in array against an enemy unbeknownst to the enemy. They were hidden, and what was planned was a surprise attack, an ambush, an overwhelming force against an unprepared enemy. So the word wait carries with it the sense of being prepared for action, the sense of preying and stalking. Someone who lied in wait planted themselves along the path that who they were lying in wait for was coming down. They knew the path of who they were waiting for. And there they hid themselves and waited for them to come upon them.
Do we know the paths that God takes. Do we follow after God so hard that we just know where he goes. (Psalms 123:2) Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. As the eyes of a servant. As the eyes of a maiden. We wait with all readiness. Like a servant. Can I say this. Waiting on God is a life of obedience, willing obedience to the will of God. We should plant ourselves along the paths of God and be ready to pounce and move at the commands of God, the will of God. When God tells us to jump, it’s not just “Yes sir.” It’s “How high to I jump Lord?” With all readiness like a servant, a GOOD servant. Let me ask you this: Are you a good worker? If you get don’t get it in your work life, you’ll never get it in the Christian life. (Examples)
(Luke 12:36) And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. I like that word immediately. Not when we feel like it. We ought to obey God whether we feel like it or not. Not when we’re good and ready, but immediately. Obedience is immediate action. We should always be ready to the will of God, to do what he commands us to do. The only way you’re gonna do that is if you’re waiting on the LORD with all readiness; if you’re ready, prepared, and waiting.
#4 We wait with all intensity
We wait all the day. We wait for all things. We wait with all readiness. And number four, we wait with all intensity. And I think this is really the heart of the message. Waiting on the Lord is a spiritual exercise. I’m still studying this all out, but I came across this verse, and I think it speaks volumes. (Psalms 130:5) I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Listen, our waiting on the Lord, comes from the inside. The Pslamist said my soul doth wait! (Romans 8:23) And not also they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. There should be something on the inside groaning and travailing and waiting for God. (Psalm 42:1) As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul panteth. There’s an intense expectation for God and the things of God.
(Psalms 62:5) My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. Only upon God! I’m not going to hold my breath for anybody else. Only upon God; intensely focused upon one person and that’s God. My expectation is from Him, not anybody else. If you put your expectation on anybody else, you’re gonna be disappointed. He said my soul; my inmost being. I’m waiting solely on God all the way to bottom of my soul I wait.
(Lamentations 3:25) The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. That intensity signifies an active pursuit of God. To wait for God means to seek him, to look for him, to follow him; with everything inside of you. it’s the soul that seeketh him. (Deuteronomy 4:29) But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. There should be an active pursuit of God.
(Isaiah 8:17) And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Maybe it seems sometimes that God has hidden his face from us at time. Maybe sometimes it’s hard to wait on God. (Psalms 69:3) I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. Sometimes we wait in tears. Maybe he just want you to put your heart and soul into this thing. He just wants all of you. I told my wife the other day he doesn’t want to change our circumstances, he just want us. You might ask what is it that God wants of me. Maybe he wants you to just want him; want him with all your soul. Are we really waiting on God?
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