Waiting on the Lord
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Announcements
Announcements
On break the next two weeks
Summer Camp
Introduction
Introduction
Tonight, I’ll be wrapping up our series on what comes next after High School
I opened it up talking about the will of God
Not in our circumstances but in our character
And the last 2 weeks you heard from all of us
How that looks like
For us called to vocational ministry
And for those of us who aren’t
And tonight I want to talk about waiting on the Lord
Because often we find ourselves in the in between
On a biblical level—in the already/not yet kingdom
But also in our life circumstances
Not quite satisfied—longing for what is coming next
Seniors waiting to start college
We are people who are constantly waiting for the next thing
Waiting to get to High School
Waiting to get your first phone
Waiting to get your drivers license
Waiting to graduate
Waiting to graduate college
Waiting to get married
Waiting to start your career
Waiting for a promotion
Waiting to start your family
Waiting to go on vacations
Waiting to retire
Waiting to have grandchildren
There always seems to be something more on the other side of where we are at now
But today we are going to talk about what it means to wait on the Lord
These words are found all throughout scripture
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Wait for the Lord.
31 but those who trust in [wait on] the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the person who seeks him.
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait
and put my hope in his word.
So tonight I want to ask the following questions:
What are we waiting for?
What does it mean to wait on the Lord?
What does this mean to us?
Before we talk about waiting on the Lord, we have to ask the question:
What are we waiting for?
What are we waiting for?
Personally, I think the word ‘waiting’ is a very weak word
Waiting is typically a passive thing in our day and age
Waiting in line at Disneyland
Waiting in an online queue to buy concert tickets
Waiting for someone who’s running late
Whatever it is—we usually distract ourselves while waiting
Even if its in a short line at the grocery store—most people pull out their phones until the waiting is over
So when I ask: What are you waiting for?
Its not just: What is going to happen inevitably as time passes
I think a better word for waiting in this aspect is speaking of it in terms of longing and desire
So the question really is: What do you long for? What do you desire deep down?
Because we all have answers to this question
God has created us as creatures of desire
We are filled with hope and longing
We have a God-shaped hole in our hearts
And we try to fill it — thats what we all do
What happens if you try to fill an infinite hole?
You’ll never stop
And the reason we are talking about this now—is for wisdom’s sake
Im sure even now and definitely after high school you’ll be tempted to fill in this hole with all sorts of stuff
From stuff we would know and label as bad:
Excessive partying and sleeping around
But also stuff we look up to and idolize:
Hard work, success, family, ministry
We are each longing to find the thing that will fill us up
But none of these things will ever satisfy us
They will leave us longing for more
Desiring more
WAITING for more
And most humans are caught up in this perpetual cycle of waiting — waiting for the thing that will finally satisfy them once and for all
And most of us know the answer to all of this longing is God (we’ll get to that in a second)
But we have to ask… is there any of this longing in my life?
What circumstances are we just waiting for change in?
What people are we just waiting to change?
What dreams or hopes are we waiting to come to fulfillment?
Before we talk about what it means to wait on the Lord, we have to know what is currently taking that spot in our hearts
And these longing aren’t bad—but they become bad when they take their place above God
Keller: Good Thing vs Ultimate Thing
God has created us with many longings—but only one will be able to fill us up
Seek First the Kingdom and all these other things will be added unto you
What does it mean to wait on the Lord
What does it mean to wait on the Lord
In short: Waiting on the Lord means desiring God above all else
More than any change in our circumstance or dream coming true—We long for God to be present
It means that there is a desire for God to be present and at work in every circumstance
Waiting on the Lord isn’t just twiddling our thumbs until God does something big
It is actively seeking the living God
And this is its similarity with ‘the will of God’
The circumstances don’t matter as much as the internal character
Waiting on the Lord isn’t just waiting for him to DO this or that
Waiting for him to zap and change our circumstances
But it is fostering a deep longing for God in our lives and in the lives of those around us
Its God filling that God-sized hole—over and over again
We need more of God—We desire more of God
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.
We aren’t waiting on anything else… We have all we need
But we continue to seek Jesus
I want to help us to see things a bit differently tonight
When we think of ‘Waiting on the Lord’ often we think of:
Struggle
But I think waiting on the Lord is actually a state of peace
I’m waiting on the Lord
It is a state of confident expectation
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait
and put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord.
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with him is redemption in abundance.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Like a watchman waits for morning
They know it is coming
They are looking for the slightest glimmer of the sun
But all of this is pretty abstract—how do we actually do this in our lives?
I think it is an almost impossible thing to drum up
We begin desiring and longing for God—by acknowledging that he desires and longs for us
18 Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a just God.
All who wait patiently for him are happy.
We want more of God because he wants more of us
We can’t just white knuckle—desire more of God
We have to be overcome with his love and desire for us
He is the initiator
What does this mean to us?
What does this mean to us?
Jesus 30 years
4 From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened to,
no eye has seen any God except you
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.
