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God Heard Your Prayer, But Here's Why You're Still Waiting — Transcript

by Pastor Rick · 8,757 words · 1,286 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Have you ever been in a hurry when God
0:01wasn't? Some of you right now are
0:04waiting on God. You're in God's waiting
0:06room. You're waiting for God to open a
0:08door. You're waiting for God to give you
0:10a job opportunity. You're waiting on God
0:12for an answer to prayer. You're waiting
0:14for clarification. You're waiting for
0:16new direction. You're waiting for God to
0:19remove a pain or heal a relationship.
0:22And you go, "I don't get this. I've
0:24prayed and nothing's happening and there
0:26is a delay."
0:28Why does God delay things when clearly
0:31he could answer every prayer instantly?
0:33Well, if you had every prayer answered,
0:35you'd be a selfish little brat because
0:37you treat God like a vending machine.
0:39God and he just pull the trigger, boom,
0:40I got it instantly.
0:43And God sometimes has to work on you
0:45before he works on the solution.
0:48The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11
0:50there at the top of your outline, God
0:52does everything just right and on time.
0:56But people can never completely
0:58understand what he's doing. Well, duh.
1:02If you did understand everything God was
1:04doing, you'd be God. God is God and I'm
1:07not. And so, I don't understand what is
1:10just right. And I don't always
1:11understand what's on time. So, today I
1:14want us to look at what do you do when
1:17you have to wait on God? Daring to wait
1:18on God. I want to ask two questions.
1:21What do I need to remember when I'm in
1:23the waiting room of life? And what do I
1:26need to do when I'm in the waiting room
1:29of life? Because this is an element of
1:31daring faith. Waiting is as much faith
1:35as taking initiative. Waiting can be as
1:39much of a matter of trust as it is
1:42taking a risk or any of the other things
1:45we've looked at over the last 10 weeks.
1:48What do you need to remember while
1:50you're waiting on God? And what do you
1:51need to do? Let's look at these. First,
1:52let me give you five things you need to
1:54remember. And you're going to need
1:56these, so write them down. When you have
1:59asked God for something and it hasn't
2:01come yet and you're in that delay period
2:04where you haven't seen the answer to
2:06your prayer, what do you do? You
2:08remember five things. Number one,
2:10remember there's a natural delay
2:13between planting and harvesting.
2:16And we talked about this in the message
2:18on the laws of sewing and reaping.
2:21There's a natural delay between planting
2:23and harvesting. When I I I have a garden
2:27and I when I plant seeds, I plant a
2:29seed. I don't go out the next day to
2:30expect to see full-grown tomatoes.
2:33When I plant uh uh carrot seeds, I don't
2:36expect to go out the next day to see
2:37carrots. There's always a delay between
2:40planting and harvesting. There's always
2:43a delay between sewing and reaping. The
2:47Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a
2:50time for everything and there is a
2:52season for every activity under heaven.
2:55There is a time to plant and there is a
2:57time to harvest. There is a time to
2:59scatter and there is a time to gather.
3:03This is simply talking about seasons.
3:05You always get the results of what you
3:07plant in life in another season, not in
3:10the same season. You don't plant and
3:12harvest in the same season.
3:15Many of you have planted seeds in in
3:18daring faith, financial seeds, seeds of
3:22service, seeds of sacrifice. You're not
3:24going to have the harvest immediately.
3:26You just need to understand that it
3:27comes, but it comes in another season.
3:30Write this down. I reap in a different
3:32season than I sow. And during that
3:35season of waiting, you wait quietly. You
3:38wait expectantly. Uh you wait um
3:42patiently in faith. I remember that
3:45there's a natural delay between planting
3:46and harvest. So when I put in a request,
3:49it's not going to be instantly
3:50fulfilled. There is always a delay.
3:53Number two, second thing I need to
3:55remember is that there is an unseen
3:57battle going on.
3:59There is an unseen battle going on.
4:01There is a spiritual warfare going on in
4:04a realm that we don't even understand.
4:06We don't see it. We don't feel it. But
4:09in the cosmic heavenlies, there is a
4:12spiritual war in other dimensions
4:14between good and evil, between God and
4:17Satan, between angels and demons. And
4:19the fact is, you're caught right in the
4:20middle. And if you're a child of God,
4:23Satan hates you and he wants to mess you
4:25up. The Bible tells us in Ephesians
4:286:12, we're not struggling and fighting
4:30against human beings, but against evil
4:33spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.
4:37the rulers and the authorities and the
4:39powers of darkness. Now, what happens,
4:42what I'm say, what this verse is saying
4:43is that when you send up a prayer,
4:46there's often a battle on how that's
4:47going to be answered. And Satan starts
4:50throwing while you're waiting, while
4:51you're in the waiting room, he starts
4:53throwing darts at you. The dart of
4:55doubt, the dart of discouragement, the
4:58dart of disappointment, the dart of
5:01delay, the dart of depression. And he
5:03starts throwing these darts at you. and
5:05he says, "We shouldn't we should be
5:07aware that he's going to try to try to
5:09get you down." Now, the truth is we
5:11don't really know this much. And the
5:13Bible doesn't even tell us that much
5:15about the spiritual warfare that's going
5:17on behind your prayers,
5:20but we do get a glimpse of it in one
5:23book of the Bible. It's in the book of
5:25Daniel. You may have never even seen
5:26this passage in Daniel, but it's the one
5:28time in the Bible. It shows the
5:30spiritual warfare going on behind the
5:33answer to the prayers that you have
5:35prayed and the things that you're
5:36trusting God for in your life. Let me
5:38read it to you. It's here on the screen.
5:40Daniel chapter 10 says this. Daniel had
5:42a vision and he had a vision of an angel
5:46come to him. And the angel says to
5:48Daniel in this vision, "Daniel,
5:50God loves you deeply." And he loves you
5:53deeply, too. And God has heard your
5:56prayers since the very first day you
5:59humbled yourself. And let me just say
6:00this, when you pray a prayer, God heard
6:02the very first one. It's not like he
6:04wasn't listening until number 95.
6:07God has heard every prayer. He heard
6:09your prayer from the very first moment.
6:10The angel said, "God loves you deeply
6:12and he heard your prayer since the very
6:14first day you humbled yourself." And he
6:15says,"I the, the angel have come in
6:18answer to your prayer." But now here's
6:20the interesting part. The evil angel
6:23prince of this kingdom opposed and
6:26blocked me for 21 days. He said, "Your
6:30prayer hadn't been answered for 21
6:31days." Said, "I was opposed in this
6:34spiritual battle." So Michael, one of
6:36the archangels, intervene to fight for
6:39me because I had been blocked from
6:42coming to you with the answer. Is that
6:44the wildest verse you've ever seen?
6:48There is a dimension beyond your prayers
6:50that we don't and we don't even have any
6:52more than that in scripture about it.
6:55But the Bible tells us that Daniel had a
6:57prayer. It wasn't answered. It wasn't
6:59answered. Once answered, he's starting
7:00to get discouraged. The angel shows up
7:02says, "I'm here to get the answer. We
7:03heard it from day one, but we've been in
7:05a battle over this." And it was such an
7:07intense battle that Michael Archangel
7:09had to come down and help me with this
7:10battle so I can come and tell you the
7:12answer's on its way.
7:14I don't know any more about it than
7:16that. I just know that this is not as
7:19simple as you think it is. So, I want
7:22you to write this on your outline. A
7:24delay is not a denial.
7:27A delay is not a denial. When a a an
7:31answer to prayer is delayed, it doesn't
7:33mean it's not going to be answered.
7:35There may be some kind of spiritual
7:36warfare going on behind it, and you got
7:39to keep praying. A delay is not a
7:43denial. Number three, the third thing we
7:45remember the first that there's a
7:47natural delay between planting and
7:48harvesting. That there's a spiritual
7:50delay because of the spiritual warfare
7:52that's going on. Number three, there's
7:54another reason for delay and it's this.
7:56Remember, God is preparing me for a
7:58blessing. God is preparing me for his
8:02blessing. When you have an idea and you
8:04ask God to do something in your life,
8:06God usually has a bigger idea and
8:08usually has a better idea. And he's
8:10going to have to prepare you to get you
8:11ready for a bigger and better answer to
8:14your prayer. And he usually has to take
8:17some time getting you ready, preparing
8:19you. And the first thing God wants to do
8:21before he answers your prayer for a job,
8:24for a mate, for for a child, to get
8:27married, what whatever your prayer
8:29request is, he first he wants to get you
8:31ready because God's more interested in
8:33changing your character than he is in
8:36answering your prayer. because your
8:38character is what you're going to take
8:39to heaven. And here's what the Bible
8:41says in First Peter chapter 1. There's
8:44wonderful joy ahead. That's that's the
8:47inevitable answers to our prayers. Even
8:49though it is necessary for you to endure
8:53many trials for a while, and this
8:56includes the delays, these troubles,
8:59circle this, test your faith.
9:03The troubles you're going through right
9:04now, this is a test. They test your
9:06faith. so that it is strong and pure,
9:08just as fire tests and purifies gold.
9:11And your faith is far more precious to
9:14God than mere gold. Some of you are
9:17going through the fire right now. Keep
9:20going.
9:22What do you do when you're going through
9:24hell? You keep going.
9:27You don't want to stay there. You keep
9:29walking. When you're going through the
9:31fire, you keep going. He says, "These
9:34troubles are there to test your faith."
9:36You might write this down. Waiting is
9:38always a test.
9:41When you're praying for something in
9:43your life and it hasn't happened and
9:45you're in that delay, you're in that
9:46time zone, you're in that season between
9:49harvest and and sewing.
9:52Waiting is always a test. It tests your
9:55character. It tests your trust. It tests
9:58your faith. It tests your endurance. It
10:01tests all kinds of things in your life.
10:03Waiting is a test. In fact, Paul
10:07compares waiting in life, waiting on
10:09God. When you really want something, it
10:11hasn't happened yet. Paul compares it to
10:14being pregnant. In Romans chapter 8,
10:18he's got a great analogy here. I love it
10:20in the message paraphrase. Romans
10:218:24-28, Paul says this, "Waiting does
10:26not diminish us."
10:28It doesn't diminish us any more than
10:30waiting diminishes a pregnant mother.
10:34We are enlarged in the waiting.
10:39What we don't see is what is enlarging
10:42us.
10:44But the longer we wait, the larger we
10:46become. Just like a pregnant woman, the
10:49longer we wait, the larger we become and
10:52the more joyful our expectancy.
10:56Meanwhile, when we get tired in the
10:58waiting, God's spirit is right alongside
11:01helping us. And if we don't know how or
11:04what to pray, it doesn't matter cuz he,
11:07the Holy Spirit, prays in us and for us.
11:10And he knows far better than we know our
11:12he knows us far better than we know
11:13ourselves. And he knows our pregnant
11:15condition.
11:17And that's why we can be so sure that
11:20every [clears throat]
11:21detail in our lives of love for God is
11:26working into something good. That's a
11:29powerful passage. Now, he's saying here
11:32that it's just like being pregnant. It's
11:36just like being expectant.
11:39Now, in an expectancy,
11:42they don't call it expecting for
11:43nothing, do they? Because when a woman
11:47has a a baby, she's expecting that baby.
11:50And he says, "This is what it's like to
11:52wait on God. You know it's coming. You
11:55know it's going to happen.
11:57But this is what you got to do. You got
12:00to wait." Number four, the fourth thing
12:03to remember. I need to remember when I'm
12:05in the waiting zone that I'm in good
12:07company.
12:09I'm in good company while I'm waiting.
12:14Millions of saints before you have sat
12:17in God's waiting room. You're not alone.
12:20In fact, if you're in the waiting room
12:21right now, you're waiting on a job,
12:22you're waiting on an answer, you're
12:24waiting on a prayer, there are a lot of
12:25other people sitting around you right
12:26now who are in that same situation.
12:29Millions of saints have sat in God's
12:31waiting room. You're in good company.
12:32Hebrews 11:2 says this, "People who
12:36lived in the past became famous because
12:40of their faith. And every one of those
12:43people had to wait. Think about Hannah
12:47who had to wait years to have the baby
12:50that she was praying that God would give
12:51her. Think about Joseph who God gave him
12:54a dream of being a a ruler and he had
12:58that vision from a very young childhood
13:00age and he ends up being put in prison
13:02for 14 years for a crime he did not
13:05commit, falsely accused of rape. And he
13:09spends 14 years in a prison and dungeon
13:11in Egypt waiting. God knew exactly where
13:15he was. He was preparing him. Moses
13:18waits 40 years in the wilderness to know
13:22his purpose in life, to know his next
13:24assignment, to know what he's supposed
13:26to do with his life. Abraham waits a
13:30hundred years
13:32before he has Isaac, his first child,
13:35through Sarah, the promised child. God
13:38had promised him years before. He waits.
13:40He's 100 years old. Noah had to wait 120
13:43years before it rained.
13:47You think you you're in a waiting
13:49period? How'd you like to wait 120
13:51years?
13:54And the whole time you're building an
13:55ark and everybody's coming say, "What's
13:57an arc?" Said it's a big boat. Why? Cuz
13:59it's going to rain. What's rain?
14:03I said it never rained up to that point.
14:05Can you imagine building a ark in your
14:06front yard and how your kids, your
14:09teenage kids are all embarrassed? My
14:10dad's a nut. You know, how long's you
14:12been working on the boat? 120 years.
14:15Why? Cuz it's going to flood. What's a
14:16flood?
14:19God waited thousands of years before
14:22sending the Messiah. We get in a hurry.
14:25God is not in a hurry. Look at this
14:28verse on the screen. Hebrews 6 says,
14:30"After waiting patiently, Abraham
14:32received what was promised. But the
14:35waiting is essential to faith." Number
14:38five, the fifth thing to remember. I
14:40remember there's a time delay between
14:42planting and harvesting. I remember that
14:44there's a spiritual battle going on. I
14:46remember that God is preparing me for
14:47the answer. I remember that I'm in good
14:50company while I'm waiting. And number
14:51five, I remember that God always keeps
14:54his promises.
14:56That's what you need to remember when
14:59you're waiting on God. Because unlike
15:01other people, you can count on God to
15:04come through.
15:05You can count on God to come through
15:07because over these 7,000 promises in the
15:09Bible that he has made, he's staked his
15:13reputation on. So what you do in the
15:15waiting room is you don't focus on what
15:18you can't do. I don't have the money. I
15:20don't have the talent. I don't have the
15:21connections. I don't have the
15:23opportunity. You don't focus on what you
15:25don't have. You focus on what God does
15:28have, what God can do. And one of the
15:31ways you focus on what God can do is
15:33through the promises of God. Promises
15:35can help you focus on God and his
15:37unlimited abilities instead of you and
15:39your limited abilities. The Bible says,
15:42"Anything is possible if you have
15:44faith." Habach 2:3
15:47says this on the screen. God says, "At
15:50the time I have decided,
15:53my words will come true."
15:58You can trust what I say about the
16:00future. It may take a long time,
16:05but keep on waiting. It will happen.
16:10Some of you need to write that verse
16:11down on a card and put it up on your
16:13refrigerator. God says, "My word will
16:16come true. You can trust that if I say
16:17it, it's going to happen. It may take a
16:20long time, but keep on waiting. It will
16:22happen.
16:25I remember the 13-year battle for land
16:28in this church. And the church, we
16:30started praying for land the first day
16:32we started the church. And we prayed and
16:34we looked at hundreds of pieces over the
16:36next 13 years. And we had one failure
16:39after another and one failure after
16:40another and one fail and that piece fell
16:42through and that deal fell through and
16:43that deal fell through and that deal
16:45fell through. And a lot of people got
16:48discouraged and a lot of people thought,
16:50well, we're never going to get land. But
16:52I never felt that way. Why? Because I
16:54knew that a delay was not a denial.
16:58This piece of land here in Lake Forest
17:00was not even on the map when Saddleback
17:02Church started because there was no such
17:05thing as the city of Santa Margarita.
17:06And there was no such thing as the city
17:08of Foothill Ranch. And nobody had even
17:10mapped or partitioned this piece off.
17:12There was no Portola Parkway. El Toro
17:14Road was a two-lane road. There was no
17:16toll road. It it was in no man's land.
17:19Nobody even knew it. But God before the
17:22foundation of the earth had planned
17:24where Saddleback Church would have its
17:25first campus.
17:26>> Amen.
17:27>> He knew. And it was just a matter of
17:30time.
17:32And all of those things where we had the
17:34delays and the denials and the dead ends
17:36and all those things where we had one
17:37defeat after another, God was working on
17:40us. And I had said all along, God's much
17:43more interested in building disciples
17:45than he is in building buildings. And so
17:47we went from one service to two to three
17:49to four to five to six. And I kept
17:52going, God, anytime now. You know, just
17:55soon not have to do 100 services a
17:57weekend.
18:00God knew and his timing is perfect. He's
18:02never early. He's never late. At the
18:04time I decided my words will come true.
18:06You can trust what I say. It will be a
18:09fact. It may take a long time. Now,
18:11there over 7,000 promises in the Bible.
18:14When you're in the waiting room, that's
18:16a good time to memorize scripture.
18:19If you're in a waiting room right now,
18:21you're waiting on what's next, Lord.
18:23You're waiting on a new job. You're
18:24waiting on a new an answer to prayer.
18:26You're waiting on a doctor's report. Now
18:28is the time to memorize scripture.
18:32That's what you remember. What do you
18:34do?
18:36That's what you remember in the waiting
18:37room. There are four things to do. Write
18:39these down. Four things to do in the
18:42waiting room. And just for fun, I put
18:44them in an acrostic just cuz I know
18:46you'd expect me to do that.
18:49So, w ai T. Wait. Four things you need
18:54to do when you're in the waiting room of
18:56life. The W stands for this.
18:59Write down the lessons I'm learning.
19:02This is extremely important to the
19:05building of your faith. When you're in
19:07the waiting room, the first thing you do
19:09is write down the lessons that you are
19:13learning because waiting is always the
19:16season to listen. And waiting is always
19:18the season to learn. And when you're
19:21listening and learning, then you need to
19:24write it down. God has some things he
19:27wants to teach you before he answers
19:31your prayer. God has some things he
19:33wants you to learn before that seed that
19:36you're planting in daring faith sprouts.
19:40He wants to teach you some things. God
19:42is more interested in your character
19:44than your comfort. But you will forget
19:47the lessons that you learn in the
19:49waiting rooms of life if you don't write
19:52them down. And you know what happens
19:53when you don't write them down? you
19:55forget him. And what what happens when
19:56you forget him? He has to take you
19:58through it again.
20:00That's no fun. That's unnecessary pain.
20:04Some of you have been through the same
20:05pain eight or nine times. Why don't you
20:08write down the lessons this time so you
20:11don't have to go through it for the 92nd
20:13time?
20:17You know, Moses led the children out of
20:20Egypt across the wilderness to the
20:23promised land. It should have only taken
20:25you can walk that distance easily in a
20:27few weeks even with a large crowd. It
20:30took them 40 years.
20:33What in the world were they doing for 40
20:36years walking around in a circle? God
20:39was giving them one test after another
20:41saying, "Will you trust me?" There are
20:43seven tests. And every time they'd fail
20:44a test, he'd say, "Another lap around
20:46the wilderness."
20:50And in that wilderness,
20:53they were not there by accident. Waiting
20:56in the wilderness has a purpose.
21:00Some of you are in the wilderness right
21:01now. I want you to write this down. The
21:04way to the promised land is through the
21:07wilderness.
21:08You can't get to the promised land
21:11without going through the desert.
21:15And you've got to go through that
21:16waiting period. You've got to go through
21:18that desert. You got to go through that
21:20dry spell. You've got to go through that
21:22wilderness, waiting in the wilderness
21:26for a purpose. The way to the promised
21:28land is in through the wilderness. And
21:32the lessons that you're learning in the
21:33wilderness, please write them down.
21:36The Bible tells this to Moses. Numbers
21:3932 3:2.
21:42At the Lord's direction, Moses, notice
21:45God commanded him to do this. Moses kept
21:48a written record of their progress.
21:53Are you keeping a written record of your
21:55progress in the Christian life? Are you
21:58are you writing anything down? Keep a
22:00journal while you're waiting. And here's
22:01what you do. You say, "Now, I'm not
22:02talking about a journal is different
22:04than a diary. A diary is about what you
22:07do. Today, I had a mocha frappuccino.
22:11Nobody cares."
22:14A journal, you don't write down what you
22:16do. A journal is anytime you learn
22:18something, you write that down. You
22:20write down the lesson. A diary is for
22:23events. A journal is for lessons.
22:28I have always learned in the waiting
22:30periods of life that little lessons lead
22:33to big successes.
22:36Some of the tiniest lessons I've learned
22:38in dry periods, in depressing periods,
22:41in discouraging periods are the keys to
22:44big successes in my life. Little lessons
22:48lead to big successes. So you write them
22:51down. Deuteronomy 11:2 says this,
22:53"Remember what you have learned about
22:55the Lord through your experiences with
22:59him." As I said, if you don't remember,
23:02God has to take you there again. And
23:04that's painful.
23:07Now, here's a good prayer to pray. Look
23:09up here on the screen. Psalm 119:33 is a
23:12good prayer to pray when you're in the
23:13wilderness. God, teach me the lessons
23:15for living so that I can stay the
23:18course. So, I don't wander around. Teach
23:21me the lessons for living so I can get
23:23through this with the minimum amount of
23:25time. I don't want to be here for 40
23:27years. I don't want to be going in
23:30circles. Teach me the lessons for life
23:32so I can stay the course. When you're in
23:33the waiting period, you're between jobs,
23:36you're between goals, you're you don't
23:38know what's next, you say, "Teach me,
23:41Lord. I want to learn the lessons."
23:43That's the W. Write down the lessons
23:46that I'm learning. The A in weight
23:49stands for this. This is really
23:51important. Act as though I already have
23:55it.
23:57Act as though I already have it. This is
24:00called faith. And when you have
24:04deposited a seed, a seed of finances
24:07like many have done with daring faith, a
24:09seed of talent in service, a seed of
24:12energy, a seed of reputation, when you
24:14when you've had a need and you planted a
24:16seed, what you do while you're waiting
24:18for that seed to grow is you act as
24:21though you already have it. This is
24:24faith. Now, we typically when we're in
24:28the waiting rooms in the wildernesses of
24:29life, you know what we do? We don't do
24:31that. What we do is we wonder and we
24:35worry and we whine.
24:37That's what we do in the waiting room's
24:39life. First we wonder why Lord why?
24:45We wonder and then we worry HOW LORD HOW
24:51how are you going to do this? And then
24:53we whine when Lord when
24:57are you going to answer my prayer? So
25:00instead of wondering and worrying and
25:02whining, you need to learn to act as if
25:05you've already got it.
25:08You act in faith. Here's how Jesus puts
25:10it. Mark 11:4,
25:13Jesus said, "I tell you, whenever
25:17whatever you ask for in prayer, believe
25:21that you have received it and it will be
25:26yours." Now, I want you to pay attention
25:28to this verse. Believe that you have
25:30received it and it will be yours. Do you
25:34notice the change in tense there?
25:36>> Yeah.
25:37>> Believe that you have received it.
25:39That's past tense.
25:42Past tense. Believe that you have
25:44received it. And then he says, "And it
25:46will be yours." That's future tense.
25:50What in the world is Jesus saying?
25:52Believe that I've already got it in
25:54order to get it. That's exactly what
25:56he's saying. You said, 'Hang on here,
25:59Rick. Are you telling me I got to
26:00believe something is so even though it
26:02isn't so in order that it becomes so?
26:05Yep. That's called faith. When you thank
26:09God after you get the answer to your
26:10prayer, that's called gratitude. When
26:12you thank God before you get the answer
26:14to your prayer, that's called faith.
26:17When you act as though you've already
26:19got it,
26:21then you'll get it. That's faith.
26:24Believe that you have received it. Past
26:26tense. and it will be yours present in.
26:30Let's go back to the pregnant woman.
26:32Every pregnant woman does this. What
26:34I've just talked about, she carries
26:36inside her body the promise of a baby.
26:42And she's getting bigger and bigger and
26:44bigger. And even though she can't see
26:47that baby, she's never seen that baby,
26:50she knows it's there. She's confident
26:53that it's there. And she can feel that
26:55baby there. So, even though she's never
26:58seen the baby, she starts preparing in
27:01advance for the baby's arrival
27:05in faith. And first, she starts eating
27:08differently. She starts taking better
27:10care of her body. She starts sleeping
27:12differently. She starts going out and
27:13buying maternity clothes cuz she knows
27:15she's going to get bigger. She starts
27:17stocking a nursery.
27:19They have showers. She gets clothes. She
27:22gets diapers. She gets all the
27:24paraphernalia, the changing tables and
27:26the rocking cribs and all of the all the
27:28kinds of stuff. And she's doing that in
27:31faith. They don't call it expecting for
27:34nothing.
27:36She's expecting a baby. She hadn't seen
27:39that baby,
27:41but she's acting as though it's already
27:43here. She doesn't want to wait and for
27:45the baby to be born and then go, hm, I
27:47probably ought to have some clothes for
27:49this little dikeke. I probably ought to
27:51have some diapers, maybe some bottles,
27:53maybe maybe even a place for the baby to
27:55sleep. No, those things are already done
27:58in advance. She's preparing in faith
28:01because she's expecting.
28:05And she knows that that baby is coming.
28:08It's just a matter of time.
28:12And I once asked Kay when she was
28:15pregnant and one of our kids what it
28:17felt like in the last trimester. She
28:19said, "It's like you're at the top of
28:21Space Mountain and the only way out is
28:23down.
28:25You know, you're going to go through
28:26that. There's no way out. It's not like,
28:29"I think I'll go back to the ticket and
28:31ask for a refund." No, you're going
28:34through the ride.
28:36And so, she she hasn't seen that baby,
28:39but she's expecting it. She's believing
28:41it in faith. And she'll wait as long as
28:44it takes until the child is delivered.
28:49She acts as though she's already got it.
28:52She starts preparing for that baby.
28:54[snorts] Now, let's just take this in a
28:55real practical way. Let's say some of
28:57you are out of work right now and you're
29:00you're you're looking for a job and
29:02you're you're waiting for a job and
29:04you're maybe you're waiting on God to
29:07get a job and you've been praying, "God,
29:10I need a really good job." Okay,
29:12question. If you had a job, how would
29:16you act?
29:19start acting in that way right now.
29:22First place, if you had a job, would you
29:25uh lay around all day in your pajamas
29:26and not take a shower? No.
29:30If you actually had a job, you would set
29:32an alarm and you would get up and you'd
29:35get ready and you'd put on work clothes
29:37and you get then that's what you need to
29:39be doing right now.
29:42You need to start acting like you've got
29:44the job.
29:46You don't wait till you get the job to
29:48act like you got job. There's no faith
29:49in that. You act in advance. You believe
29:52a thing is so even though it isn't so
29:53that it becomes so
29:57and you do it now. And you set the alarm
30:00and you get the clothes and and and
30:02whatever you need to do. I want you to
30:03write this down. Waiting is not
30:05passivity.
30:07Waiting is not passivity. You do all you
30:09can to get ready.
30:11There is a difference between passively
30:14waiting in fear
30:17and apathy and expectantly waiting in
30:20faith where you take action. You get
30:24prepared and you act as though you
30:26already have it. [clears throat] God
30:28does this.
30:30Do do you know that that God goes to
30:33Abraham
30:3525 years before he has a son and changes
30:37his name? He says, "Your name's Abram,
30:40and I'm going to change it to Abraham."
30:42And Abraham says, "What's that mean?"
30:43Abraham means father of many nations. So
30:47for 25 years, Abraham, Abram changes his
30:51name and he's called Abraham. How do you
30:52like this? He walks into a bar. What's
30:54your name? Father of many nations. Oh,
30:56great. How many kids you got? None. How
30:59old are you? 100. Hm.
31:03Interesting. How'd you like to live with
31:05that? Look at this verse on the screen.
31:08The Bible says in Romans 4:17, "God
31:11calls things that are not as though they
31:15were." And that's called faith.
31:19Everything God created, he spoke into
31:21existence. He calls things that are not
31:24as though they were. And he
31:25says,"Abraham, you're the father of
31:27great nation." He hadn't had any kids
31:29yet. He's speaking it into existence. He
31:32says to to to Gideon, "You're a mighty
31:34man of valor." That was the last thing
31:36Gideon was. He was a weakling and a
31:39coward. He says to Peter, "You are a
31:42rock." Peter was Mr. Impulsive, Mr. Foot
31:44and mouth. He was anything but a rock.
31:48God speaks it into existence. And he
31:51says, "You do it the same way." He says,
31:55"Like I've made you a father of many
31:57nations." All right. Act as I already
32:00have got it. The I and wait is the third
32:02key you do while you're waiting on God.
32:04this imitate the habits that grow strong
32:08faith. I need to imitate the habits
32:11particularly of people of strong faith.
32:14You can imitate people of strong faith
32:16and look at the habits that they do.
32:18Find their skills, find their patterns,
32:21find their habits and follow that.
32:23Imitate that to grow strong in your
32:25faith. In other words, use the time
32:27while you're waiting to develop personal
32:30maturity. Let me show you some verses. 1
32:33Peter 1 6 and 7. We do not want you to
32:37become lazy,
32:40but to imitate those
32:43who through faith,
32:46daring faith and patience, that's
32:48waiting, through faith and waiting,
32:51through faith and patience, who through
32:53faith and patience inherit what has been
32:56promised. He says, "That's the kind of
32:57people you ought to be imitating when
32:59you're in the waiting room. We don't
33:00want you to be lazy. Don't sit around
33:02passively doing nothing. He says,
33:04"Imitate those who through faith and
33:06patience inherit have inherited what God
33:08has promised." Paul says it like this in
33:10Philippians 4:9. Keep on putting into
33:13practice all that you learned from me
33:16and heard from me and saw me doing.
33:19That's called imitation.
33:21So when you're going through a period of
33:26waiting, you should look around and find
33:28a stronger Christian, a godly woman or a
33:32godly man and and see what they're doing
33:35and imitate their faith. The Bible talks
33:38about this multiple times. Talks about
33:40in Hebrews 13:7 and other places.
33:44Imitate their faith. We all learn best
33:47by models. That's why, you know, during
33:50Daring Faith, I've been giving you
33:51testimonies. I mean, even today, I
33:53passed out a another sheet that you can
33:55pick up on the way going out and one of
33:57the pages is just a list of testimonies.
34:00Why? Because we grow in faith by reading
34:02the faith of others. You don't grow in
34:04faith by not hearing about other
34:06people's faith.
34:08But you do grow in faith when you read
34:10about other people's faith. And that's
34:12why we've been every week we've been
34:13giving you testimonies because the Bible
34:15says imitate the faith of those who've
34:18grown strong in the faith. Keep on
34:20putting into practice. Now I want you to
34:22write this down. This is very important.
34:23Don't get anything else. Get this one.
34:25When you're in the waiting room of life,
34:27don't put my life on hold.
34:30Please write that down. Don't put my
34:33life on hold while I'm waiting for my
34:37big break in Hollywood.
34:40While I'm waiting for my ship to come
34:42in, while I'm waiting for an answer to
34:47prayer, while I'm waiting for
34:50the girl or the man of my dreams to show
34:53up,
34:54don't put your life on hold. Waiting is
34:58not inactivity. It is not idleness. It
35:00is not laziness. It is not passivity. It
35:04is not apathy.
35:06Waiting is the time to develop habits
35:10and skills that you're going to use
35:12later on. Say it again. Waiting is the
35:15time you develop the habits and the
35:17skills that you're going to use later
35:18on. Many of you know the story about my
35:22year of depression. 1980 we started the
35:24church. At the end of 1980, I stood up
35:27to speak and I passed out while I was
35:28preaching. Fainted flat out. And I went
35:32through 1981. I was depressed the whole
35:34year.
35:36And uh I uh you know my goal was not oh
35:39God build a great church. It was oh God
35:41get me through Sunday. Can I put one
35:42foot in front of the others? I'd go and
35:43I'd preach a service and I go home and
35:45get in bed.
35:47In that entire year of darkness and
35:49depression, God taught me habits and
35:52skills that prepared me to handle
35:54enormous amounts of stress that I would
35:58have never had if I hadn't gone through
36:00that waiting period. And I learned in
36:03that year of down and discouragement and
36:06waiting to juggle more balls than you
36:08can possibly think of.
36:11And God was putting skills and habits in
36:14my life during the downtime. If you're
36:17going to lose, you want to lose in
36:18preeason, not at the Super Bowl.
36:22It's okay to have some early losses in
36:24life because that's when you can learn.
36:28Don't put your life on hold. Instead,
36:30imitate the habits that grow strong
36:33faith. What are those habits? Ah, I'm
36:35glad you asked. Let me give you five.
36:38The Bible says there are five things you
36:40should keep on doing. Keep on, keep on,
36:43keep on, keep on. And that means even in
36:45the wilderness, even in the waiting
36:46period, you need to keep on doing these
36:48things. Number one, keep on praying.
36:51When you're in the waiting room, keep on
36:54praying. Matthew 7:7 says, "Keep on
36:56asking and you will be given what you
37:00ask for. Keep on looking and you will
37:02find. Keep on knocking and the door will
37:04be open." That's actually the correct
37:06Greek because it's a participle. It's a
37:08continuation. It's a continuing uh uh
37:12verb that says, "Keep on doing it. Keep
37:14on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on
37:16knocking and you will get your answer.
37:17Keep on praying." Number two, keep on
37:19serving.
37:22Never be lazy in your work, but serve
37:25the Lord enthusiastically.
37:27This sharpens your skill. You know, most
37:30of you guys know I I train pastors, and
37:33I I meet a lot of young pastors who they
37:36don't want to do the menial things in
37:38ministry, and they don't want to serve
37:40God in a small way. They only want to
37:42serve God in a big way.
37:45Well, you don't get to serve God in a
37:46big way unless you've served God in a
37:49small way first. If you're faithful in
37:51little things, then you'll be faithful
37:52in much. And and and and they want to
37:55say, I've had guys tell me this,
37:57actually use this phrase, I want a
38:00significant ministry. And I said, here's
38:02what you do. Forget having a significant
38:04ministry, going to a significant
38:06ministry. Just make your ministry
38:08significant.
38:10Don't look for a significant ministry in
38:12life. Make your ministry significant.
38:15There are no great ways to serve God.
38:18There are only small ways to serve God
38:21done with a great heart. And that's true
38:24greatness.
38:26A and so you serve God with a great
38:28heart and you make the ministry service
38:31successful.
38:33Why do I say keep on serving? Because
38:36that's another meaning of the word wait.
38:40Wait doesn't just mean expect something
38:43to happen that hasn't happened yet. Wait
38:46also means to serve. Have you ever had a
38:50waiter at your table?
38:54Why do they call that guy the waiter?
38:55You're the one who's waiting.
38:59You're waiting on the food. Okay, you're
39:03waiting on him, not he's waiting on you.
39:05Well, it's two different meanings.
39:07When you say, "I'm waiting for something
39:09to happen." That's what you're doing.
39:11But wait also means to serve. And that's
39:14why servers are called waiters. And
39:18ladies in waiting are women who serve
39:22the queen. Because the word wait doesn't
39:25just mean to expect. It also means to
39:27serve. And when you're in the waiting
39:29room in life, that's a good time to
39:31practice serving.
39:33To find a ministry and just get
39:34involved. Don't sit around doing
39:36nothing, waiting for your ship to come
39:38in. Get out there and just start
39:41serving.
39:43Number three, keep on praying, keep on
39:45serving. Number three, this is in the
39:46scripture, keep on going to small group.
39:49Keep on going to small group.
39:53Hebrews 10:25 says this, don't give up
39:56your habit. Notice small group is a
39:58habit. Don't give up your habit of
40:00meeting with other believers.
40:03Instead, keep on encouraging each other.
40:07Some of you got in a daring faith small
40:10group and you did it for all six, seven
40:12weeks and now you go, "Okay, well that
40:15was good. Now I'm going to just drop out
40:16of group." That's dumb. Keep on going to
40:19small group. If you want to change
40:21groups, fine. You don't like the people
40:22you're in, I give you permission to
40:24change.
40:25Okay? Just say, "I need a different
40:27night."
40:33Fine.
40:35you know, are you you know, I'll go
40:37start a new group, whatever. Like that
40:38you you know, it's like if you're in a
40:40group and you didn't really like it,
40:41it's like, well, it's like a doctor. You
40:43don't like your doctor, you say, I'm
40:44never going to go to another doctor. No,
40:45you just find another one. You go to a
40:48restaurant, you have a bad meal. I I'm
40:49going to give up eating.
40:52That's stupid. No, you just go to
40:54another restaurant. If your if your
40:57group didn't meet your needs,
40:58congratulations. You learned some love
41:01to love people. Maybe it were difficult
41:03for you to love. Get in another group.
41:06But whatever you do, keep on going small
41:07group. Don't give up the habit. Keep on.
41:10Number four, keep on sewing.
41:14Ecclesiastes 11:6 says this, "Keep on
41:16sewing your seed, for you never know
41:20which ones will grow. Perhaps they all
41:22will." And you've sewn a seed in daring
41:26faith. But daring faith is actually
41:28going to start now for the next three
41:29years. And we're going to be sewing for
41:31the next three years.
41:32Keep on sewing your seed. You never know
41:35which one will grow. Perhaps they all
41:36will. And then number five, keep on
41:38believing.
41:40Keep on believing.
41:42The Bible says you must keep on
41:44believing the things you have been
41:46taught.
41:48You know they are true. The point is
41:51stay active. You The big point I'm
41:54trying to make is that waiting is not
41:56passivity. God cannot steer a parked
42:00car.
42:02I'm waiting, God. Well, turn on the
42:05ignition
42:06and just start driving. Where? Anywhere.
42:10God can direct a car that's moving. He
42:12cannot direct a car that's stalled.
42:17Get involved in a ministry. Get involved
42:19in service. Get involved in a small
42:21group. Do the things that you know you
42:23could be doing, developing skills and
42:25habits now to prepare so that when that
42:28baby arrives, you're not caught off
42:30guard. The delivery is a joy.
42:34Write down the lessons. Act as though I
42:36already have it. Imitate the habits to
42:39grow strong faith. And the T we learn
42:41from scripture in the waiting rooms of
42:44life is to trust God instead of
42:47panicking.
42:49Trust God instead of panicking. Now,
42:53there's a couple facts that you can
42:55trust about God. One, God is never in a
42:57hurry. You can know that for sure. And
43:00number two, God is never late. You can
43:03know that for sure. God's timing is
43:06always perfect.
43:09Now, what happens in those times where
43:12it appears that God is late?
43:16In the times where it appears God is
43:18late, God is getting you ready for a
43:21miracle. I could give you so many
43:23examples of this in scripture. For
43:25instance, Mary and Martha in the Bible
43:28had a brother named Lazarus. Lazarus was
43:31one of Jesus best friends. Lazarus got
43:34deathly sick and he lived in a city
43:38called Bethany. Bethany was just a few
43:40miles from where Jesus was, maybe 3,
43:42four miles. It's just out of town, out
43:45of Jerusalem.
43:47And they sent word to Jesus,
43:50"Jesus, can you come over to our house
43:52in Bethany? Your best friend Lazarus is
43:55sick.
43:56He's deathly ill. And it takes Jesus
44:00three days to go about five miles.
44:06What's going on here?
44:09When Jesus finally gets there, he could
44:11have easily got there in a in an hour or
44:14two. It takes him 3 days to go a few
44:17miles to see his best friend who's
44:19dying. And when he gets there, they say,
44:22"Too late, Jesus. He's already dead.
44:24We've wrapped him up and we've buried
44:26him in a tomb.
44:29You're too late. Sorry, you're a little
44:31late. You missed the timing on your best
44:34friend."
44:35Well, Jesus wasn't late because Jesus
44:38had already in his mind what he was
44:39going to do. His goal was not to heal
44:42Lazarus. His goal was to raise him from
44:44the dead. His goal was not to just make
44:48him well. His goal was to do a miracle
44:51of astronomical proportions. Sometimes
44:55God lets a situation get so bad
44:59only a miracle will do.
45:02Don't give up your faith. Hold on. Hang
45:07on. Do the things I've just taught you
45:09how to do
45:11because you're getting ready for a
45:12miracle.
45:14Jesus walks up the tomb, says, "Roll the
45:16stone away." They roll the stone away
45:19and he says, "Uh, Lazarus, come forth."
45:22Now, I'm glad he said, "Lazar," because
45:24if he just said, "Come forth," every
45:25dead person in saring is going to come
45:27out at that point. But he calls him by
45:29name, Lazarus, come forth. He comes out,
45:32and it's interesting when he walks up to
45:33the tomb, he says, "Father,"
45:36they overheard him praying this.
45:37"Father, I thank you that you've already
45:39heard me.
45:42Father, I thank you that you've already
45:44heard me. And I'm even saying this just
45:46for the people around me. He already
45:49knew what he's going to do. God already
45:51knows what he's going to do in your life
45:53next month, next year, and next decade.
45:56And his plan for you is good.
45:59And you need to trust him. And you need
46:01to relax. And when you're in the waiting
46:03room, you need to just say, "Okay, he's
46:06not early. He's not late. He's always on
46:08time. and I will trust God and I will do
46:12these things. I'll write down the
46:13lessons and I'll act as though it's
46:14already happened and I'm going to uh
46:16keep on doing the habits. I'll keep on
46:18sewing and I'll keep on sharing and I'll
46:21keep on serving and I'll keep on
46:23believing. I'll keep on going to small
46:24group and I'll keep on praying
46:27because God's timing is perfect. He's
46:30not too late. I'll close with this. Many
46:34years ago in my backyard, I planted
46:36bamboo around our pool area.
46:39I'm kind of a student of bamboos. Some
46:41bamboos grow very very slow and some
46:44grow very fast and some grow slow slow
46:47and then fast. Here's how you take a how
46:50you grow a typical piece of bamboo. You
46:52cut a piece of bamboo off like this and
46:54you cut it in half and you stick it in
46:55the ground and you water it for a year
46:58and nothing happens.
47:00Nothing. And you water it for the second
47:03year, the bamboo, and nothing happens.
47:05and you water it for the third year and
47:07nothing happens. And you water it for
47:10the fourth and the fifth year and
47:12nothing happens. And you fertilize it
47:14and on the sixth year you water it and
47:16nothing happens. And on the seventh year
47:18it sprouts.
47:20But once it sprouts it takes off. Some
47:23bamboo can grow 1 meter or 3 feet in 24
47:27hours.
47:28Some bamboo can grow to 9 ft in about 4
47:32days.
47:33It just when it takes off, it takes off.
47:38I tell pastors, some of you were in
47:39bamboo churches
47:42[laughter]
47:43and you're in a little church and you've
47:44been watering it and watering it and
47:46watering it and watering and water and
47:48about year six, you say, "I give up.
47:49This isn't going to work." And you leave
47:51and the seventh guy comes in on the
47:53seventh year and it sprouts and he gets
47:54all the credit.
47:56But you did all the cultivating.
48:00Your life is like bamboo.
48:04And you may have been thinking, I have
48:05been working on this and working on this
48:08and working on this. And I have been I
48:11have been studying the Bible. I have
48:13been serving. I have been tithing. I
48:17have been believing. I have been
48:19planting seeds.
48:21You may be in year six.
48:25Don't give up. Because when that thing
48:27sprouts, it could grow nine feet in
48:29about three days and it just takes off
48:33and you go, "Whoa, what just happened?"
48:35God just did what he wanted to do. Last
48:37verse on the screen. Galatians 6:9. So
48:41let us not get tired of doing what is
48:45right.
48:47For after a while,
48:49at the right time, we will reap a
48:54harvest of blessing.
48:56But here's the condition. If we don't
48:59get discouraged and give up,
49:03I will not, as your pastor, let you give
49:06up.
49:09I will beat you.
49:16I'm just giving up. I'm giving up on God
49:18and I'm giving up on the Bible and I'm
49:19giving up a small group and I'm giving
49:20up a tither. Then I'm coming to your
49:22house and I'll take you. I say you are
49:25in year three of the bamboo story.
49:29You have no idea what you're going to I
49:31am so glad
49:34that in the darker days of my life I did
49:37not give up on God.
49:40But I'm even more glad
49:43I'm more glad that he didn't give up on
49:45me.
49:47He knew what he was going to do in my
49:50life and I didn't and I had no idea.
49:54But during the dark days, I was learning
49:56the skills and I kept on praying and I
49:59kept on giving and I kept on serving and
50:01I kept on believing and I kept on
50:03trusting and the bamboo sprouted. Psalm
50:0656:3.
50:09Even when I'm afraid,
50:12even when I'm afraid, I will trust you.
50:20That's daring faith.
50:23Even when I'm afraid, I will trust you.
50:27That's daring faith. Now, listen. Some
50:31of you think you've been waiting on God,
50:34and God is waiting on you.
50:38What you have been thinking is, I'm
50:40waiting on God. But what you're really
50:42thinking is, I'm waiting for the fear to
50:44go away and then I'll do it.
50:48I'm going to wait for the fear to go
50:50away and then I'll make this commitment.
50:52I'm going to wait for the fear to go
50:54away and then I'll do go after my dream.
50:56I'm going to wait for the fear to go
50:57away and then I'll I'll start tithing or
51:00give to daring faith. I'm going to wait
51:01this fear go away and then I'll whatever
51:04you got on your mind.
51:06Let me tell you a little secret. It's
51:08not going away.
51:10It's not going away. God's not going to
51:12take that fear away. The only way you
51:15get through that fear is you must move
51:17against it. You must move through it.
51:20You must move against it. You must do
51:22the thing you fear the most. It's not
51:24going to go away ever until you move
51:26against it. And you do the thing that
51:28you're anxious, you're scared, you're
51:30worried about doing. And you step out on
51:32faith. And when you jump out into the
51:34air, you're going to find you land safe
51:37in the arms of God.
51:39Let's bow our heads.
51:45Would you pray this prayer?
51:48Dear God, I realize that the waiting
51:51room I'm in, maybe you're waiting on me
51:53to demonstrate faith
51:58and I've been afraid
52:01to trust you. I've been afraid to commit
52:03to you. I've been afraid to step out in
52:06faith.
52:08And the waiting room is really one of my
52:10own making.
52:13And in some sense, I've put my life on
52:15hold because of the fear,
52:18but no more. Because I realize the fear
52:21is not going to go away by me just
52:24hoping it goes away.
52:27And so I commit myself unreservedly to
52:29you. And even when I am afraid, I will
52:33trust in you.
52:37And I'm going to keep on praying and
52:38keep on serving, keep on going to my
52:41small group, keep on sewing, keep on
52:43believing.
52:44I'm going to write down the lessons that
52:46I'm learning.
52:48I'm going to act as though I've already
52:50got that answer to prayer.
52:53And like the the expectant mother, I'm
52:55going to start preparing by learning the
52:56habits, learning the skills,
53:00and trusting you instead of panicking.
53:05If you've never opened your life to
53:06Jesus Christ, say, "Jesus Christ, please
53:08come into my life right now and make
53:10yourself real to me, I want to learn to
53:13love you and trust you.
53:17And I want to dare to wait on you and
53:20trust that your timing is perfect."
53:24And I ask this humbly in Jesus name.
53:28Amen.

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