The Act of Waiting Isaiah 30:18, NIV “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Introduction Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Act of Waiting”. The place where I used to live as a child was called Jin-jang (Camp market). It was called Jin-jang because there was a military camp with quite a number of soldiers stationed there during the Japanese occupation. Every week a market was held. Whenever my mother was away at the market, my brothers and I used to wait at home for her. Sometimes she would go from Jin-jang to Eun-Yang town to do her grocery shopping so we would be left waiting at home very long. She would leave our home very early in the morning and come back home very late at night. My brothers, sisters, and I missed her very much on those days. We longingly waited for her, often saying: “Maybe our mother is far away across Eun-Yang stream!” It seemed to us that we waited for her for ages. Then she would come near to our house and we would recognize her by her walk and excitedly say to each other, “Here comes our Mom!” Even now I can visualize in my mind how she walked. How tedious it sounded! We would feel sad because of her absence and lament: “When will our mom come? When will she come? We can see flies buzzing around but we cannot know the time when our Mom will return. At last there she comes!” How joyful we were when we saw her coming! Decades have passed and I am now a pastor. I am waiting again. This time I am not waiting for my mother but for my Lord Jesus. I have not been waiting one or two or three days but everyday I am expecting Jesus to come. We all spend time waiting in this world. Maybe waiting is one of the most important processes of life. God is the master of our lives. God does not follow our ways; we must follow God in His ways. Many people pray that Jesus would follow them wherever they go. That is a wrong prayer. “My God, I look to you and wait here. Lead me, please.” Wherever He may go we will follow Him. Therefore it is good to always remain still, waiting and longing patiently for God. 1. To receive vision and dreams The Apostle Paul was a great believer. He was filled with the grace of God. He had great passion and enthusiasm. For such a man of passion waiting time must have seemed like wasted time. He wanted to accomplish his plans as soon as possible. But God did not want him to go ahead of His set time. Acts 16:6-10 says, “…, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.” God said, “Don’t go over there. My set time for Asia has not yet come.” Paul did not want to wait. He wanted to go ahead but God kept him back by His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us in believing in Jesus, living a life of faith, doing God’s work; in fact He leads us in everything all the time. In whatever you do, you should empty your mind and fill it with a clear blue print from God. “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained”. Without vision we don’t know where to go. With a vision and a dream in our hearts, we have focus and energy for the drive. Without them, our minds are empty and without focus. Paul began without a dream from God. Then in Troas the Spirit of Jesus blocked Paul’s way and made him wait for a vision. We may most certainly become anxious during the waiting; but like Paul, who received a vision of a man in Macedonia, we too must learn to wait. Paul was told to go to Macedonia and was able to go with a conviction in his heart. Any dreams, big or small, given by the Holy Spirit will come true. It was He who put those dream in our hearts and it will be the Holy Spirit who will hold onto our lives until He fulfills them. Please put your hand on the chest. What kind of dream do you have in your heart? Even the seemingly small dreams that you have will lead you to your future; but if you do not have any dream, then you will surely perish. People without a dream are unrestrained. If we have a dream, there will be a tomorrow for us. We are marching forward into tomorrow because of the hope of seeing our dreams fulfilled. Whether we have a dream or not in our hearts is a serious issue. Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Until we receive a dream from God we must keep waiting patiently. If we start something without a holy dream, the difficulties we face along the way will cause us to stumble and fall. But no matter what happens, no matter what circumstances we face, no matter if the whole world changes; if we have a dream from God in our hearts we don’t have to fear because God is with us. Habakkuk 2:1-3 says, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the LORD replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.’” The people of Israel had to wait. God went first and showed them the way they should go. And God will most certainly instruct you in His appointed time. That is why we should wait for Him. We should not come together to make a plan for ourselves. 2. To set our lives straight We should not only wait to receive a dream from God, but we should also wait to set our lives straight before Him. Repentance is one of the most essential things in Christianity. We need to repent every day. Just like we wash our faces and hands we need to cleanse ourselves through repentance. Day by day and with each passing moment we need His cleansing grace. Nobody is 100% clean. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” If we hide our sins we cannot find mercy but if we repent and return to Jesus He will have compassion on us. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” Why do we need to wait on God to set our lives straight before Him? We wait on Him because it takes time to cleanse ourselves. In the process of coming to church and waiting before the Cross, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and reveals to us our new identity in Christ. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” We may say before God, “I have to know I have become a whole new person, that indeed the old has gone and I will never be the same.” It is through the process of waiting on God that we begin to realize our real identity in Christ. As we wait before the cross we see ourselves, as in a mirror, across from the character of Jesus. Then we are able to declare at last, “It is through the precious blood of Jesus that I am forgiven. Now I am righteous. I am sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit.” “By Jesus’ wounds I am healed. I have received the blessings of Abraham. I have received resurrection and eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. This is who I really am. This is my true identity. Oh, Lord! I realize who I am. I am in you. This is who I am. Therefore I may begin.” When we know who we truly are in Christ Jesus, we can start a new life without fear. Lamentations 3:26 says, “it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” We wait expecting the salvation of God and the cleansing of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Today people are too busy. They eat quickly, work quickly, sleep quickly, talk quickly and finally they die quickly. They must slow down. Psalm 123:1-2 says, “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.” As the eyes of a servant looks to the hand of his master; we too wait upon God, and as we wait He will pour His grace and power upon us. If a man prays only a short time and then says: “God is not taking care of me. I can no longer wait. I will do things by myself.” This man will find himself deserted. We must receive the strength of God to do the work God sets before us. David confessed in Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” A Christian who is mature in faith will patiently wait for God. He does not give up his waiting after a short time. He waits over and over again until the Lord appears. Gary Thomas argued that in the early church “patience and waiting” were the certificate of discipleship of Christ. Thomas said to be called by God means to receive orders to wait for Him. He further explained that in the early church God’s servant was identified as a man who waited on God. The servant of God does not move even one step without an order from God. He waits until His master commands. These days many people become masters of their own lives. They do not wait but try to drive according to their own will. This causes major problems. Once again our hearts must be completely broken to hear the voice of God. God’s promise to us will be fulfilled and we must wait expecting His set time. Our attitude should be as follows as found in 2Peter 3:9. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” We easily get discouraged and say, “God does not answer me. Why does His answer come so slowly?” But God has His plan. He will do all things in His time. We need to keep silent and wait to see His coming and then be prepared to receive Him. In the meantime we need to renew our mind in Christ, keep our dream in our hearts and wait in faith believing. 3. To obey the absolute sovereignty of God To wait for God means to obey His absolute sovereignty. Usually low position people spend much time waiting for high position people. A servant cannot do according to his own will. He must wait for the orders of his master. Many times people try to walk equally with God, or worse still, ahead of God. They don’t want to wait for God but go ahead of Him because they question His sovereignty. The people who built the tower of Babel were such people who challenged God’s sovereignty. After the flood, the descendants of Noah became nations and said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” God was not happy with them. He came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. He then confused and scattered their language into many languages. That is why this tower is called Babel. They could no longer accomplish their plans. They were people who did not want to wait on God. After the flood, the clans of Noah’s sons were told to go forward over the face of the whole earth. They disagreed with God’s plan and set their own goal. They followed their hero Nimrod and built a city with a high tower to try to reach God’s throne. They erroneously thought, “Now if a flood comes again, we will be fine. Let us gather together for we are the center of the world.” But their plan was destined to fail. God rebukes the arrogant. He rejects proud mockers. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 14:29 also says, “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth…” Therefore we should humble ourselves before God. As we wait for His guidance we should let our words be few. To obey the absolute sovereignty of God we need to wait quietly and remember His repeated grace to us. We should want for the will of God first before relying on our own thoughts and strength. When we wait for God we show that we trust in Him. God will then cause us to understand His absolute sovereignty. Then we can obey His will. When we acknowledge God’s Lordship; He will lead us so that all things will go well with our souls and bodies. He will lead us into a full abundance of life. The fundamental power through which we can live blessed lives is in God. Until God returns to us and leads us we have to wait quietly. We have no need of being hasty. Pastor D. L. Moody was a famous Revivalist in the States. One day one of his church members invited him to conduct a service at a huge brewing factory he was about to open. Many pastors and elders in the area were also invited. This man asked many pastors to pray for his business. At a certain point in the service, every pastor except Moody prayed for the prosperity of his factory. When it was D.L. Moody’s turn, he prayed: “Father God! Today we have a worship service in this brewery. Tomorrow is its opening day. But I pray please close this brewery.” Everybody was embarrassed but Moody continued his prayer: “If this brewery produces alcohols many people, especially teenagers will get drunk and fall into corruption. They will lose their minds in drunkenness. Please touch this man’s heart and change his mind. Let him not open this brewery tomorrow. In Jesus’ Name, I pray.” After Pastor Moody prayed one by one everyone left the party because they began to feel uneasy. The atmosphere chilled. The party was over. People avoided looking at each other, saying to each other that it would have been better if they would not have come. They all left the party. That night the brewery owner could not sleep at all. At dawn he prayed before God and tried to understand the will of God. He waited. He realized that he had built the brewery first and was now waiting on God’s blessing. What do you think God said to this man? This man was touched by God in huge waves of conviction. He made up his mind not to open his brewery because he had heard God’s voice telling him not to. He could feel the conviction of God very clearly in his heart. The next day he donated the building to Pastor Moody, saying: “Please, use the building for your church.” The once targeted brewery became a theological seminary, and in season many pastors and missionaries graduated from there. History records that these pastors and missionaries devoted themselves to the great revival of Christianity after all. An earthly brewery turned into a heavenly brewery! This is what God can do when we wait for Him. Great change is waiting for us. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” It is God who determines our destinies, so it is good to give heed to the word of God first. If we ignore listening carefully to His word and go ahead of God, we can only expect wounds and damages. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. They are absolutely different. That is why we should pray and look to God in waiting. We are those who wait for God. Let us not be in a hurry. 4. To prove the sincerity of faith The reason why we should wait is to prove the sincerity of our faith. The one who believes can wait to the end. If someone does not believe in genuine faith, he will give up waiting. At the age of 85 God promised Abraham a son. Abraham waited another 15 more years before God fulfilled His promise to him. Abraham did not give up but completely believed God’s word to him. Then at the age of 100 Isaac was born to Abraham at last. Hebrews 6:13-15 says, “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.’ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” Do not be disappointed when God’s promise is not yet fulfilled to you. God tests us to see how long we will wait on Him. Joseph waited for 13 years. God put dreams in Joseph’s heart but he had to spend 13 years in Egypt as a slave. After all his waiting, with toils and suffering, God made Joseph the prime minister of the whole nation of Egypt. One can only imagine Joseph’s sadness in his heavy season of waiting. Psalm 105:17-19 says, “and he sent a man before them- Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.” Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” To fulfill His will, God made Joseph go through 13 years of waiting as a slave and prisoner. He waited until the word of the Lord proved him true. The Bible shows us one common factor of men of faith. They were all proved in the crucible of waiting. They all endured till faith came to pass. If we have true faith, no matter what circumstances we are in, we should wait until God proves us true. We should not try to solve problem by our own strength but rather set our thoughts on God’s will. He is trying me of His good will and pleasure, and I must wait. That is the right attitude. In His time, He will show me His will. Conclusion The act of waiting is necessary in every aspect of our lives. Christians must most especially learn to wait on God. Let us read together today’s scripture, Isaiah 30:18, “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Waiting time is blessing time. God Himself waits to give us His grace. God has set a time to wait. He waits for us because he has compassion on us. Until our faith is proven, our God patiently waits for us. Modern civilization emphasizes speed. People have developed fast vehicles. They prefer faster trains, faster subways, and faster cars. Internet speed gets faster and faster every day. People cannot wait for slow networks. They even want to treat diseases as fast as possible by taking injections or special medicine. They want to make a fortune in one fell swoop. People in our modern society regard the process of waiting as outdated. They do not want to wait or endure trials to bear fruit. Howard Whitman argues, “Life is waiting.” Life itself is waiting. Little children wait until they can ride a bicycle. Teenagers wait until they acquire their driver’s licenses to drive cars. Medical school students wait until they obtain their medical licenses. Newly married couples wait until they buy their first house. There is an art to waiting. Things cannot come to us at once. There is a season of waiting in all aspects of life. Living is waiting. Believing is waiting in prayer. Christians need to wait to get to know the will of God so they can follow it. Jesus said, “He who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Therefore do not get discouraged if you face unexpected difficulties. God is testing us whether we are willing to wait for Him. Why is He concerned for us? He bought us with the precious blood of Jesus. You are most precious to God. God knows your every sigh in each and every temptation and trial you face; and He intimately knows who you are. God’s will be done in you. Let us learn to wait on God! Let us pray together. Our Father in heaven! We sometimes get discouraged when we face difficulties in our lives. Nobody knows that I cry alone in agony. I feel like I am perishing all alone. But through trials You are testing me. It is You who lets me wait, grow, and become a humble person before You. A humble person can serve the Lord. It is only You who has put this holy dream in my heart. Lord, cause us to obey the absolute sovereignty of God. During waiting times you challenge us. Waiting is necessary in a life of faith. Let us not be in a hurry but wait for You who in turn waits patiently for us. In Jesus’ Name we pray. 12