Waiting Here For You

Recap the Waiting

Waiting is not wasted- Louie Giglio’s reflection on waiting on page 23

Waiting is not a negative

We are waiting for the suddenly when Christ returns- generational waiting

2. If we are truly waiting on God, we won’t miss anything- Randy’s thought

In the waiting we can become distracted, so that we miss the deer walking through the shooting lane, we miss what God is doing along the way to the “suddenly” moment

Reminds me of a country song the Thomas Rhett sings- “Sixteen” follows a 15 year old boy who can’t wait to 16 so he can drive, and then 18, and then 21 and now he’s 25 laughing about all the things that they cared about move on to at 16.

Let’s not miss the lessons that God is teaching us, the character he is building in us, the parts of us that he molding and shaping along the path of waiting

3. God waits with us- Bob’s thoughts

Likened God’s waiting with us to a Teddy bear with a voice recorded message reminding us that he is right here holding us

He waits with us in grief

He waits with us on our life journeys- parenting being one of those.

4. God is waiting for you

This is a truth that has already been mentioned, In week one and in week two I believe Randy asked this question. Most of the time we come at waiting from our perspective-we are waiting on God. But could it be that God is waiting on us.

Indeed he is. He is waiting here for us.

Waiting Here for You

Luke 2:8–20 NIV

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

“They found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was...” waiting there for them

John 20:11–16 NIV

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

“At this she turned around and saw Jesus...” waiting there for her

John 21:1–12 NIV

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

He was waiting there on the shore to have breakfast with them

He is waiting where you are

Jesus is not waiting off in a place where he can’t be found. He is waiting where you are.

In the manger

In the garden

On the shore

We see this most prominently in the proclamation first coming to the Shepherds- shepherds cared for the sheep that were sacrificed at the church, so to speak, but that was a place they couldn't go

Read Louie Giglio’s reflections on page 127

Jesus is not waiting in hiding- he is where you are- he was born that all might have access to himself- the gift- its the gospel

Do you know what you are waiting for?

What you are waiting for is something more that you can imagine.

If you get everything you have been waiting for and miss Jesus you’ve missed the very thing your soul is waiting for

You know how the best gifts and gift givers are those who give you the gift that you didn’t know you even needed

God is the ultimate gift giver- Jesus was the gift that no one knew they needed- sure they knew they were waiting on a Messiah, that they needed/longed for a Messiah to save them, but they didn’t expect the messiah to be born in a barn, and the salvation he brought was the salvation they were expecting- the salvation of their souls.

Do not miss Jesus, he is waiting “here” for you

In Isaiah 55 we are offered this invitation to come

Isaiah 55:1–6 NIV

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

I have said before and I believe it to be true- you won’t find this in the Bible anywhere its just my observation of people- that in the Christmas season that hearts no matter what we are going through are a little bit softer, we are a little kinder to each other,

Could it be that Jesus is just a bit closer- seek him while he may be found

Do not mistake the waiting as a negative- 2 Peter 3:8-9

2 Peter 3:8–9 NIV

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

His waiting is his grace to you and me- not wanting anyone to perish

Come and find and receive the gift that your soul has been waiting for, the gift you didn’t know you were waiting for or needed

He is here waiting for you, come and see

Author Unknown As told by Paul Harvey

The Man and the Birds

The man I’m going to tell you about was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe in all of that incarnation stuff that the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story, about God coming to Earth as a man.

He told his wife I’m truly sorry to distress you, but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve. He said he would feel like a hypocrite and that he would much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. So he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then he went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper.

Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another ... and then another. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against the living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled outside miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter they had tried to fly through his large landscape window. That is what had been making the sound.

Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures just lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter. All he would have to do is to direct the birds into the shelter.

Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes and he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light so the birds would know the way in. But the birds did not come in.

So, he figured that food would entice them. He hurried back to the house and fetched some bread crumbs. He sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail of bread crumbs to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs.

The birds continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them but could not. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction ... every direction except into the warm lighted barn.

And that’s when he realized they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

He thought to himself, if only I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe warm ... to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see ... and hear ... and understand.

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind.

He stood there listening to the bells, Adeste Fidelis, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.

And he sank to his knees in the snow ...