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I have
called this discussion, the art of waiting on the Lord. But I could have
used the term, the process of waiting on the Lord, or how we go about
waging on the Lord. But instead I use the art of waiting on the Lord.
Nevertheless, both terms are basically the same, how we go about waging
on the Lord. The Scripture plainly tells us that"they that wait upon the
Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not get weary, they shall walk and not faint."(1) So
clearly the Scripture indicates that there is a process that people of
God must utilize in dealing with God. That process is to wait on the Lord.
God is not
in a hurry to do anything, nor will situations get out of his control
if he doesn't hurry up and do a particular thing that human beings think
God should do. God has eternity, and even beyond that if such is necessary,
to complete his will, for he inhabits all eternity and he plainly says
this," I am God. There is no other God beside me. Neither is there any
other god beside me, and there is no other God with me.! God himself stretched
out the heavens by himself and created the night and made darkness. He
didn't need any help from Angels, and certainly he needed no help from
man.(2) when Hannah, the mother of Samuel, was praying for a son, God
gave her a prophecy and the prophecy is this:" I am God! I kill and I
make a live; I make some rich, and I make some poor." Surely God does
all things according to the counsel of his own will.
God tasked
Isaiah, the prophet to speak the words," they wait on the Lord shall renew
their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles..." Furthermore,
he told Isaiah to"wait on the Lord, wait I say on the Lord!
Waiting on
the Lord however is not an easy task. Especially for Americans. We are
accustomed to getting what we want instantly. And we're not given to the
virtue of waiting. But certainly when it comes to the things of God, the
servants of God know by the word of God that waiting is a part of faith.
And since it is a part of faith, we must perfect the art of waiting on
the Lord
However,
waiting not only becomes a problem for modern mankind but waiting becomes
a problem for all of mankind. This is because mankind is a creature of
a moment! We're here today, and gone today, much like the day moth.(3)
but in spite of the shortness of our lives, 70 years, that is a drop in
the bucket, if that, in comparison to eternity. And since God inhabits
eternity the Scripture says "a day when the Lord is as 1000 years, and
1000 years is as a day." Since these are God's measurements, in contrasts
to man's measurements, we must learn to measure ourselves based upon God's
measurements.(4) indeed he said," your ways are not my ways neither are
your thoughts Mike Goff's; as high is a heaven from the earth so are your
ways my ways and your thoughts from my thoughts." Since that is the measurement
that we are informed it is God's measurement we must learn the art of
waiting to implore a God's measurements
Although
God's measurements are painful to mankind while here in the now those
measurements will not be painful in the hereafter. And it is the hereafter
that we are concerned with. If we do not build our hopes on things eternal,
the hereafter, we will not have any hope at all but as long as there is
hope, hope make is not ashamed, and we wait for that great day and that
great appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!
I am aware,
that many people have lost their faith, as they have attempted to wait
on the Lord. Yet Jesus said," he that endures until the end, shall be
saved!" It is the in game that the Saints of the living God must consider.
Yes there are tribulations down here," man born of a woman is of a few
days and full of trouble"the Scripture says.The God of all grace and glory,
who has called us iunto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus rthat we have
we have suffered a while,make you perfect,establish, strengthen and settle
you. (5) this is a hope that we hold to as we cling to God's unchanging
hand.
But as we
hold onto me to God's unchanging hand it will not be a task that is easy.
We will be tested on every side; my family, my friends, my loved ones,
by those whom we don't know and have no relationship with. But this is
the fight we are tasked with. In order to continue in his word, we must
wait on the Lord, and that waiting
can be very
painful many times. This is not new but the Saints of the living God,
regardless of what dispensation wherein; we must patiently wait on the
Lord but be assured, that they've who wait on the Lord will not be ashamed.
Remember, we unbuilt upon the apostles and prophets, and Jesus Christ
is the chief cornerstone. The apostles as well as the prophets experience
the waiting process. Not everything they asked of the Lord was done immediately.
Many things were done immediately, but not all things were done immediately.
And for those that were not done immediately, the prophets waited patiently
on the Lord. Are we willing to wait patiently upon the Lord?
Have we set
our minds ready to wait on the Lord? Remember he said when you wait, be
of good courage. We should not wait complaining, questioning God about
why we must wait when he has all power. If he said wait, and he did say
wait, let us just simply wait! And in due time we will see the fullness
of God's promises./
In Eliah
was a man of like passion as we, but things got a little rough for him.
He had a marvelous victory on Mount caramel, and there he had killed 450
Bles prophets at the behest of God. But, Jezebel was not pleased with
what he was doing and threatened to kill him as he had killed the prophets
by next day. Yes, Elijah was a man of like passion. When he got the word
from Jezebel that he would be killed the next day, as he had killed the
prophets of they'Ball, Elijah became afraid and started running for his
life! As he ran for his life, he talked to God and said "God, they had
killed all of your pr prophets, and I'm the only one left, and they seek
my life." But the word of God came to Elijah saying," I had 7,000 prophets
that have not bowed their knees to Baal." (6)
An old blue
Elijah was afraid, God comforted him and fed and sustained him. This is
often the plight of many of God's people, not just Elijah. The apostle
Paul was pressed beyond measure, even to despair of his own life as he
waited on God. Again, the Scripture says wait on the Lord and be of good
courage and he shall strengthen thine heart. Weight I say on the Lord
David was
the king of Israel and he too was press beyond measure. So press was David,
Betty said I had to encourage myself when there was no in courage meant
to be found elsewhere. These are times that try God's peoples strength
and endurance. God has placed us not in the Sprint, but on a marathon
race. And he has said plainly," he that endures until the end shall be
saved." If you cannot endure until the end, remember he said, he that
endures until the en Shelby say.
It is one
thing, the be born again, and it is another to continue with soul would
until the end. This is the present curse of many church members today.
They cannot continue in God's word. Yet Jesus said," if you continue in
my word then the are you my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free" many who were once saved, baptized
in Jesus name, filled with the Holy Ghost, made a profession for Christ's,
that is to live for him, doing all that he said do until they die, have
lost their first love and their second left, and had taken on the love
of this world and its pleasures. These are ministers, these are deacons,
these are church members, these are bishops, and many others who claim
to be the people of God. And today, they are saying we rich and increased
with goods and have need of nothing. And they know not that they are naked,
they are undone, the elevating and have lost the love of God in them.
That which once was in them the love of God, as their deep is no longer
beep. Instead, they have substituted a love of money for the love of Go
And many
of them are justifying their carnality and claiming it is not carnality
at all but it is what God intended for them to have in this present world
now! That, of course, is a deviation from the faith. And this deviation
from the faith is so widespread and pervasive that whole church organizations
have gone after the love of money. They had ceased to wait on the Lord
They say
as Rev.Ike said," I want all of mine now, I'm not waiting for pie in the
sky or for the hereafter, I want it now." And this is the ethos of today.
It is an ethos that has nothing to do with the word of God, and everything
to do with flesh! Surely God said in his holy word of this travesty that
is going to befall the church. In the book of Revelation's Jesus had John
to write to the o the church and said this," I will kill Jezebel's children
with death!" And all the old Jezebel's children are being killed with
death, they do not understand that their dead in trespasses and send.
For to be carnally minded is "death" but to be spiritually minded is life
and peace in the Holy Ghost. Since so many have gone away from God, although
they are still claiming to be the servants of God, they are indeed dead
in trespasses and sins and are unaware of their deadness. This is because,
their minds have become reprobated and they do not even know their undone
condition.
God's people,
in large part, do not know that they had fallen from grace! Many have
taken on the law instead of grace, and this is at the behest of ministers
who have seduced them into falling from grace. Study if you will, the
prophecy of all in acts 20: pallbearer gives two prophecies. One is our
grievous rules show coming in the midst of the people and shall destroy
and shall destroy the flock and the second prophecy is the one that is
most devastating:" and of yourselves shall men arise speaking perverse
things and draw the flock unto themselves." This is the devastating situation
that is transpiring among God's people today. And Jude said that men of
old, ungodly men, preordained to their ungodly behavior will come, destroying
the people of God. The tragedy is that the people of God do not recognize
that they have been destroyed, and most of them today are being led by
ministers when not ministers of God.
Most of the
people in the churches today or following ministers who prophesied deceits
as Eziel says, the people come to me as if they are my people, and they
see it and hear me, but it is to them as a very pleasant song that one
plays on an instrument skillfully, but they will not do what I say! Others
have turned their ears away from the truth, and turn them unto fables
so that they will no longer hear the word of the Lord, but they will now
subscribed to and do the works of the devil as pronounced by false prophets.
Ezekiel said," the prophets prophesy deceits the priests rule by their
means, and the people love to have itself!" . When the ministers divine
deceits and prophesy lies the people love the habit so because that gives
them justification for sin.\
And justification
for Sam means that the people will not have to continue in God's word.
They use the ministers, who are not God's ministers at all, as models
for their sin.
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1) Isa. 40:31/8:17/
2.) Isa.
45:6-8
3) The day Moth lives from sun up to sun down and it dies. That is the
plight of man, so humans are in a hurry because life is very short in
the space of etermity.
4.)As God
measures time, a day is as a 1000 tears and a 1000 years are as a day.
This is because God inhabit at time and space. Sucj notions are often
beyond our conprehension. Still these realities are within the realm of
God anf his minthu power, which is passed our understanding.
5.)1 Pet.
5:10
6.) 1 Kings
19:18
(I
will continue this message next time)
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