Wait, I Say, Wait

Gal 5: 22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

2 Pet 3:8-10a - But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 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. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;

As we continue in our series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we come to the one you’ve all been waiting for,

we’ve talked about love,

we’ve told you about joy and

we’ve spoken to you about peace.

But this one right here is one I’m sure everyone is clamoring for. It’s time to talk about longsuffering. Come on y’all, give it up for longsuffering! No?

Well the title of today’s message is, Wait! I Say Wait.

Long-suffering or patience as it is sometimes translated, is the ability to wait without becoming hasty or impetuous.

In this fast paced, hurry up, microwave society we live in, waiting is not high on our lists. We are bombarded with commercials and ads and billboards not only telling us what things we should get, they tell us how we can get them, and how fast they’ll give them to us.

It’s my money and I want it now! For those with a structured settled. The money is yours, but you don’t like the way it’s being doled out to you; the word budget is a curse word to you and rather than wait for your monthly payment to come, you’ll surrender a large portion, any where from 9% to 18% or more of what’s yours to someone else, so you can have it now.

We want instant gratification, so we settle.

We want what we can’t afford, so we Charge It! on credit cards.

We want a mate, and rather than wait on the one God has for us, we accept the one with the big car, the one who is pleasing to our eyes. But then we discover, they can’t provide for us financially because their car payment is so high. We find out, even though they are pleasing to look upon, they have a cruel, mean and selfish spirit.

We don’t want to wait on God, to fix what’s wrong in our lives.

We’re not willing to stay on the potter’s wheel until He’s molded us into the vessel he wants us to be for his use.

We don’t want to allow God to get rid of all the impurities in us by placing us in the refiner's fire.

We won’t sit still so God can knock off the rough edges, tame our tongues, change our attitudes, clean up our hearts and set us on a path of righteousness.

We just don’t want to wait on God.

What we must consider

when we pray,

when we’re asking God to move on our behalf,

when we’re begging him to fix a situation in our lives,

when we’re looking for answers or maybe just one answer,

when we’re wanting him to fix our marriage, save our children, heal our bodies, grow our church,

whatever it is you’ve been petitioning God for, what you must remember is this…the Apostle Peter tells us, beloved, sweetheart, dear, love, you choose your preferred term of endearment, be not ignorant of this one thing, another translation says you must not forget this one thing dear friends...

What’s that Peter?

Don’t forget that one day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

God’s timing is not ours.

What you must remember is that when you consider eternity, the life we spend here, is but a vapor. It’s barely a blip on the time continuum.

So what are you saying preacher?

I’m saying, what we go through in this life, while you will have trials, you will have tribulations, Paul told us so in Romans, it’s nothing compared to the glory you’ll experience in the next life, in your eternal life, in the one that really counts.

That’s not to say the one you have here doesn’t matter, because the way you live the one here, the choices you make in this life, will determine what the next one will look like.

But as you go through this one, as you live out each day

Sometimes, you’ll have to wait.

Sometimes you’ll have to endure heartache.

Sometimes you’ll experience hurt.

Sometimes you’ll feel helpless and hopeless.

Sometimes you’ll feel like God is not listening, like he’s abandoned you, like he’s left you to go through all on your own. But nothing could be further from the truth.

An answer delayed is not necessarily a no from God, He may just still be working some things off and out of you.

Sometimes you just have to wait on God.

He may be fixing some things in you so when the mate he has for you comes you’re already whole and you won’t be looking for someone to complete you.

Sometimes you just gotta wait.

He may be keeping you on the potter’s wheel a little bit longer, giving you a few more turns so you’re able to fully receive what he has for you. He’s making sure there’s no thin spots so you won’t crack under the pressure of what he’s about to place in you.

Sometimes you just have to wait.

He may be keeping you in the fire just a little bit longer so the evil thoughts, the jealousy, the gossip, the malice you sometimes feel are burned away.

Sometimes you just gotta wait.

He may have you sitting a little longer so he can smooth out the rough areas you have, so when he places you before kings, queens, presidents, and CEOs you’ll know how to represent yourself and the Kingdom well.

Sometimes you just gotta wait.

When we think of longsuffering, when we think of patience, we look at it as if it’s a negative thing.

I’m not saying it will be easy, I’m not saying it will be enjoyable, but what I will tell you, is this…It will be worth it. How can I be so sure?

Because in our text, verse 9 tells us, “The Lord is not slack [he’s not slow] concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;

You see people will sometimes think, that because they don’t see God respond immediately he must be too busy, or not paying attention or doesn’t care, or doesn’t hear us, or is not responsive to our wants or needs. But nothing could be further from the truth. You can’t use man’s standard to measure God.

Why not? Because in Isaiah 55 we read, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Sometimes you just gotta wait on God.

No, “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, that all should come to repentance.”

We are all God’s children, and his desire is that none be lost. Even the worst can come home and God will receive them with open arms.

There’s a song that says,

It is no secret, what God can do, what he’s done for others, he’ll do for you, with arms wide open, he’ll pardon you, it is no secret what God can do.

God is patient with us, he shows us grace and mercy. He gives us chance, after chance, after chance to turn around, to come to him, to leave the life we were born into. The one of sin and destruction and death. He has provided a way out and it has a name, Jesus.

But here’s the thing; so often we think when we’re going through something we’re the only ones. We think we’re all alone and that no one else in the history of the world is, has, or will go through what we’re going through.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that what you’ve been through is not terrible. I’m not saying that your circumstance is not awful. I’m not saying that what’s happened or happening to you is fair.

What I am saying is this. There is nothing new under the sun. You are not the first person who has experienced what you’re experiencing and you won’t be the last. What I’m saying is, you are not alone, if you don’t want to be. I’ll also tell you this, you don’t have to stay where you are.

But before we talk about how to get out, I know there is someone under the sound of my voice saying, yeah preacher but you don’t know what I been through, you weren’t there, you don’t understand. And you would be right, but I know someone who does know, who was there and who does understand.

So let me share with you the stories of some folks who knew what it was to be longsuffering.

The children of Israel knew what is was to be longsuffering. They wandered in the desert for 40-years before receiving the promised land. They grumbled, wept and rebelled, longing for their previous life of slavery rather than trusting Moses to lead them out of the wilderness.

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Abraham and Sarah knew what is was to be longsuffering, They waited 25 years for the promised son, Isaac.

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Jacob and Rebecca knew what is was to be longsuffering.

Jacob worked 14 years for Rebecca

Rebecca waited 14 years for Jacob

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Joseph knew what is was to be longsuffering. He had a dream that his brothers would bow before him and it was 13 years before it came to pass. But before that, his own brothers threw him into a pit, sold him into slavery, he was falsely accused of rape and thrown into jail. He interpreted the kings dreams and asked for the cup bearer to remind the king about him, he didn’t, so he spent another two years in prison for something he didn’t do. All of that before his dream came to pass.

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Noah knew what it was to be longsuffering. God told Noah to build a boat because he was going to make it rain and flood the earth, killing everything and everybody. It had never rained, but Noah began building. People laughed at him, Noah kept building. People mocked him, Noah kept building. People ridiculed him, Noah kept building. Noah built the ark for 120 years and Noah and his family lived.

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King David knew what it was to be longsuffering. When Samuel went to Jesse’s house to anoint the new king God had chosen, Jesse had all his sons come before Samuel, all except one. David’s own daddy overlooked him when it came to having an honor bestowed. He left him out in the field tending to the sheep. His earthly daddy didn’t think he was worthy, but his heavenly Father said we’ll wait, we won’t sit down until he gets here.

David was anointed king by Samuel, but even though he was anointed, it was almost 15 years before it came to pass.

God may give you a position, but you might have to wait before you fulfil the role.

For those of you who believe God has called you to pastor, while that may be true, it is not necessarily true that you will pastor where you are. Don’t go in there and try to tell the current pastor God has called to pastor the church your in.

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Hannah knew what it was to be longsuffering. Year after year she went to the temple with her husband and his other wife who had children while she was barren. And every year she got more and more depressed.

And then she laid it all out there, she bared her soul to the Lord, she didn’t care what anyone thought, she didn’t care how she looked, she had a need and she took it to God.

And he answered her prayer.

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Daniel fasted and prayed for an answer for 21 days. What are you willing to give up to get an answer to your prayer? How long are you willing to pray?

Oswald Chambers said: “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.”

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Sometimes it’s more about the level of your suffering, than the length of time. Job lost everything, all his children, his livestock, his servants…he lost everything, except, his faith.

What he went through, was approved by God. In fact, it wasn’t just approved, it was suggested by God.

Does God have enough confidence in you that you won’t turn your back on him when things get hard? Does he know you won’t curse him and die when the storms start raging in your life?

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The woman with the issue of blood knew what it was to be longsuffering. She suffered 12 years before she received her healing.

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And I’ve got just one more for you, Jesus, the Son of God, God himself, waited until he was 30 years old to begin his ministry.

God knew we’d need a Savior. From before the world began he knew we’d fall and the plan was already in place.

When Satan rebelled and a third of the angels rebelled with him, God wasn’t surprised, he didn’t say, “Oh snap, what are we going to do now?” The provision and plan were already in place.

It was going to take someone who knew no sin.

It was going to take someone who was perfect.

It was going to take someone who not only knew the heart of God, but who would follow his commands. All of them.

It was going to take someone who was obedient and always did what the Father said.

It was going to take someone, who was not just a part of God, he was God.

It was going to take someone who would be willing to lay down his life for a hard headed, stiff necked people.

It was going to take someone who could allow a person to get so close to him that he could betray him with a kiss.

It was going to take someone who could handle being mocked and scourged and whipped all night long, never saying a mumbling word.

It was going to take someone who would carry the cross he was to be crucified on.

It was going to take someone who would hang on an old rugged cross, a death reserved for the worst criminal.

It was going to take someone who could endure separation from the Father he had never been separated from before.

It was going to take someone who could bear the weight of the sins of the whole world, past, present and future.

It was going to take someone who knew all of that was going to happen, yet would come anyway.

It was going to take someone who would descend into the depths of hell, snatching the keys to death, hell, and the grave on his way out.

It was going to take someone who could lay down his life and pick it up again.

To the people it looked like he died.

To the people it looked like all hope was lost.

To the people it looked like their dream of having a king who would fight for them was over.

To the people it looked like the sun had set on the promise of a savior. But how many know things are not always as they appear.

It was going to take someone who could get up three days after they laid in the tomb.

It was going to take someone who could walk the Earth for 40 days after being given up for dead.

It was going to take someone who could ascend back to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.

It was going to take someone who would pray for you and for me.

It was going to take Jesus.

It was going to take Jesus, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of a virgin. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Do I have any whosoevers in the house? How about online? Any whosoevers out there?

God is the perfect model of longsuffering. He’s waiting on you. How long will you make him wait. Jesus has already done his part, it’s your turn.

Not to scare you into a decision but Peter has a warning in verse 10a But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night”.

I’m here to tell you today, no one knows the day nor the hour when the Son of Man shall appear, but what you need to know is this—he’s coming. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

That’s a promise, not just words in a book. God wants all his children to repent and come to know him. He wants all his children to live rich, full, and abundant lives; but sometimes you just gotta wait on your blessing. Wait on God to finish breaking, making, shaping and molding you into what and who he has designed you to be.

God is longsuffering, he is patiently waiting for you to come, to repent, to change, to live, to give. How are you doing in that area? Are you longsuffering or do you have some work to do?

When you see your brother or sister or even your child struggling with something, think of how God has struggled with you and adjust your response.

If you have not made the decision to make Jesus Lord of your life, there is no better day than today. He’s patiently waiting, don’t make him wait any longer. What does your eternity look like?