Waiting on God in 2020

Vision 2020

Great vacation with the kids.

Good to be back and excited about what 2020 has in store. Although I did not intend to begin our new sermon series of Vision 2020 until next week, it is hard on the 1st Sunday of the New Year to resist.

I was praying and thinking about the message today. 1st Sunday’s after the New Year are often focused on resolutions and challenges. I’m all for it. Set SMART goals. Believe that change is possible. There are tons of helps out there for you…

What I was thinking about was that we have just spent 4 weeks preparing for the Advent of Christ. Then we celebrated the coming of Christ at Christmas. He has come! He has provided all the blessings of salvation; specifically, forgiveness, eternal life, hope, love, joy, and peace.

Our lives are series of rest, storms, and recovery. 2019 may have been a difficult season for you. 2020 may be a difficult season for you. However, Christ is a constant reality! He has come and our tomorrows are defined by that realization. The question becomes, “Since He has come, will I allow Him to rule my life and, thus, bring the Spirit of God into my personal life, family life, and public life.”

As we enter a new year or perhaps a new chapter of our lives, it is important to understand that the Jesus we have celebrated at Christmas is very much alive and stands with us in this New Year wanting to do some amazing things with us and through us.

is a proclamation of the fact that the Lord is very much alive and powerful:

Isaiah 40:28–29 NIV

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Jesus didn’t stay in the manger. Many people who celebrated Christmas are content to pay their respects to Jesus in the manger but don’t see Jesus as the bright future of today. They are missing out on the relationship with the Son of God and Son of man that you and I are enjoying today. We are unique as we look into 2020 and open ourselves to all the possibilities available to us in Jesus Christ.

(NIV) Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

29He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Jesus didn’t stay in the manger. Many people who celebrated Christmas are content to pay their respects to Jesus in the manger but don’t see Jesus as the bright future of today. They are missing out on the relationship with the Son of God and Son of man that you and I are enjoying today. We are unique as we look into 2020 and open ourselves to all the possibilities available to us in Jesus Christ.

As the New Year approached, I kept asking the Lord, “What can I do this year to see You do amazing things in my life and in the church at Grace Chapel?” His response to me was “wait on Me”. It can be found in verse 31.

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

(NKJV) But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Waiting may seem counter intuitive at the beginning of the New Year. We think we ought to be making resolutions – dieting, making budgets, running, joining charitable groups, whatever….just doing something. So, when we hear the word wait it doesn’t seem to compute.

When I first heard the Spirit speak this to me, I knew that the Lord wants me to be listening more intently to His Spirit and responding in obedience. My brain thinks, “Well, that’s good but while I’m sitting around waiting, what is not going to be accomplished?” I didn’t understand what the Spirit means by wait.

Wait (qavah) (from a root meaning twisting or winding a cord) means to wait for, to hope for, to look eagerly for; to lie in wait for; linger for, to expect. The basic idea is to wait for or look for with eager expectation.

I find a number of interesting things in this definition: first, the root carries a significance of twisting or winding cord; secondly, it means to hope; thirdly, it means to expect (or trust); and, finally, it’s primary meaning is to wait.

Although my message this morning focuses on the action of waiting, remember that the strength and power of God precedes it and the promise of renewed strength follows it.

Before we go on to some of the simpler understandings of waiting on the Lord, I want to deal with the word’s root connotation. We saw that it carries the meaning of a twisting or winding a cord. Why would we twist or wind a cord? Answer…for strength.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 NIV

12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiates 4:12

2 days ago, 750 soldiers of the 82ND Airborne loaded up and headed to Iraq. Do you think they are unprepared? NO! CENTCOM has been watching the entire Middle East. The soldiers have been training. While their unit has been waiting, they have been twisting and winding their cords. They know how to communicate, lay down sectors of fire, identify the enemy, use their weapons and tools, defend their position, and destroy the enemy.

(NIV) Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

2 days ago, 750 soldiers of the 82ND Airborne loaded up and headed to Iraq. Do you think they are unprepared? NO! CENTCOM has been watching the entire Middle East. The soldiers have been training. While their unit has been waiting, they have been twisting and winding their cords. They know how to communicate, lay down sectors of fire, identify the enemy, use their weapons and tools, defend their position, and destroy the enemy.

When God speaks to us about waiting, hoping, or trusting, in the background remember that there is always strengthening being accomplished!

Because the Hebrew word qavah can mean several different things, translations of the Bible can show different words. Check out the NIV:

Isaiah 40:31 NIV

31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Context: Living in captivity

(NIV) but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Context: Living in captivity

Among Isaiah’s original readers those who hope in the Lord were believers who remained faithful to God. They were the ones who would be restored. For his readers in captivity Isaiah was probably speaking of a national refreshing when the captives would be released and would return to their land. Even though in captivity they were weary the Lord would help them endure and soar … like eagles, to be uplifted emotionally and spiritually.[1]

The mistake that some make when they think about an all-powerful God is that He is removed from them. We feel that our worlds move and shake without God thinking about them. He is too big to care about little ‘ole me. You couldn’t be further from the truth! God was concerned about the captivity of Israel and had a plan to bring them back to their homes. Hoping in God realizes that God knows, God cares, and God has a plan for you even if you are in ‘captivity’.

One Bible scholar suggests that ‘hoping in the Lord’ “point(s) to a maintained relationship. Renew, from a basic meaning ‘to change’ (√ḥālap), comes to mean ‘to put on afresh’: here, ‘keep putting on fresh strength’. It is a different strength, as if people become eagles, a strength brought about by transformation; it is divine strength, a strength like the Lord’s own that does not weary or faint (28e). Run, the exceptional demands of life; walk, the ordinary daily grind.[2]

Always remember that ‘Hope’ implies ‘Expect’.

“Wait on the Lord”, the Hebrew word qavah, also means to trust on Him. Check out the NLT:

Isaiah 40:31 NLT

31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

I said just a few minutes ago that we make a mistake when we think an all-powerful God is too far removed from them to care. The right thing to understand “is that he is too great to fail (28); there is no point at which things ‘get on top of’ him. But vs 29–31 make the big transition from power exercised to power imparted, to be experienced through the faith expressed in the word hope (or ‘wait’; cf. on 25:9). So the final reminder of human frailty (30) is forward looking; it clears the way for trust … transcending of natural resources. The phrase renew their strength (31) is (lit.) ‘change strength’, as one might change into fresh clothes or exchange an old thing for a new. It may be significant that the three final metaphors speak of overcoming one natural impossibility and two natural weaknesses, ending on the note of steady progress.[3]

(NLT) But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

I said just a few minutes ago that we make a mistake when we think an all-powerful God is too far removed from them to care. The right thing to understand “is that he is too great to fail (28); there is no point at which things ‘get on top of’ him. But vs 29–31 make the big transition from power exercised to power imparted, to be experienced through the faith expressed in the word hope (or ‘wait’; cf. on 25:9). So the final reminder of human frailty (30) is forward looking; it clears the way for trust … transcending of natural resources. The phrase renew their strength (31) is (lit.) ‘change strength’, as one might change into fresh clothes or exchange an old thing for a new. It may be significant that the three final metaphors speak of overcoming one natural impossibility and two natural weaknesses, ending on the note of steady progress.[3]

Annie Johnson Flint didn’t seem like a woman who would inspire others to trust in God. She was dealt a bad hand from birth. She began life without her biological parents. After grade school she became a teacher, but severe arthritis crippled her legs only two years afterwards. She spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair living at Clifton Springs Sanitorium. It was there that she began to write songs and poetry. Knowing her story makes the following poem even more significant:

The Red Sea Place Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life, Where, in spite of all you can do, There is no way out, there is no way back, There is no other way but through?

Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene Till the night of your fear is gone; He will send the wind, He will heap the floods, When He says to your soul, "Go on." --Annie Johnson Flint

What do we do when we come to the “Red Sea Place” in our lives? Surrender? No! Collapse into the fetal position and cry? No! We wait expectantly for the Red Sea to open up and become a dry highway for us to be saved and a graveyard for the enemy to be destroyed!

We’ve discussed the significance of ‘active waiting’, hope, and trust; so, now let’s move on to the simplest understanding of qavah, ‘to wait’. Many of us can quote “But those who wait upon the Lord…” We are familiar with the KJV. The Message translation paints a great picture of the meaning:

Isaiah 40:30–31 The Message

30 For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. 31 But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

“Getting fresh strength”, “Spead(ing) their wings and soaring”, and running without tiring are all amazing promises!

(The Message) For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. 31But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

“Getting fresh strength”, “Spead(ing) their wings and soaring”, and running without tiring are all amazing promises!

The theme of ‘waiting’ on the Lord runs throughout the Old and New Testaments:

Psalm 27:14 NIV

14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 37:34 NIV

34 Hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

(NIV) Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 130:5–6 NIV

5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

(NIV) Hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

In the Septuagint (the earliest Greek translation of the Bible) the Hebrew qavah is used in New Testament showing a continual relationship of patiently remaining or abiding. is an example. In a parable Jesus tells the story of a persistent widow and an unjust judge. She continued to present her plea to the judge who eventually granted her justice. Here are the last comments by Jesus in that parable:

(NIV) I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.

Luke 18:6–8 NIV

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

6I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

In the Septuagint (the earliest Greek translation of the Bible) the Hebrew qavah is used in New Testament showing a continual relationship of patiently remaining or abiding. is an example. In a parable Jesus tells the story of a persistent widow and an unjust judge. She continued to present her plea to the judge who eventually granted her justice. Here are the last comments by Jesus in that parable:

Will we wait? One final verse from the New Testament to illustrate the power of waiting:

Luke 18:6-8

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NIV

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

(NIV) And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So, now for a practical challenge for each of us as we begin 2020. Wait on the Lord.

Will we wait? One final verse from the New Testament to illustrate the power of waiting:

(NIV) Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

So, now for a practical challenge for each of us as we begin 2020. Wait on the Lord.

While I was watching the New Year’s celebration in Times Square I caught part of the explanation of why there is a ball in Times Square and where the idea came from and the reason it existed.

The actual notion of a ball "dropping" to signal the passage of time dates back long before New Year's Eve was ever celebrated in Times Square. The first "time-ball" was installed atop England's Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one o'clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).

Around 150 public time-balls are believed to have been installed around the world after the success at Greenwich, though few survive and still work. The tradition is carried on today in places like the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, where a time-ball descends from a flagpole at noon each day - and of course, once a year in Times Square, where it marks the stroke of midnight not for a few ships' captains, but for over one billion people watching worldwide.

We’ve probably always heard of Greenwich Mean Time which is the starting point for our measurement of daily time. It was interesting to learn that the time throughout the world was synchronized to a ball sliding down a pole in Greenwich, England. The ship’s captain would synchronize his chronometer and sail throughout the world.

Jesus is the source of life. We need to synchronize with Jesus – to RECALIBRATE. I challenge each of you to Wait on Jesus in 2020 by seeking Him through prayer, fasting, getting one on one with God. Unplug from things that suck out your energy and distract. Praise and worship God.

As a church we are deliberately RECALIBRATING to know Jesus more and to believe for more than we could ever imagine in 2020.

[1] Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1093). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 283). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

[3] Kidner, F. D. (1994). Isaiah. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 656). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

Waiting on God in 2020

2020

Focus:

📷2019 2020

The Lord Jesus Christ is Very Much Alive and Powerful

The Power of Waiting on God

The Power of Waiting on God

Don’t Confuse ‘Waiting’ with ‘Passivity’

Base Your Hope in Jesus in 2020

Trust in Jesus in 2020

Wait on Jesus in 2020

Recalibrate