Waiting...

Christmas Program Service

No one likes to wait.

A few weeks ago, my family went out to eat after the Sunday morning service as we do most Sundays. We decided on a place and my wife and I went ahead of the group to get a table. We went up to the stewardess and said how many were coming. She told us it would be around 15-20 minutes. No problem. So we waited and waited and waited. Finally, around 45 minutes later we were finally seated. 20 minutes later we got our drinks. 15 minutes after that we ordered. 10 minutes after that we got our appetizers. 25 minutes after that we finally got our food. We finally finished lunch at around 3:30.

My family and I, we had a choice in that moment. We were in a period of waiting. Would we grow bitter and angry? Would we get impatient with the waitress?

Or would we use that extra time to grow closer as a family. Would we use that time to talk to one another? To hear one another. To just spend the time in one another’s company. To fellowship and better one another. We had a choice to make in the midst of the waiting.

Here at C1NAZ, during this Advent season, we have been going through a series called What are you waiting for? Throughout this series we are looking at Christmas passages in fresh ways and each passage reveal someone who is waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.

Last week, we talked about the prophet Micah. We talked about how before Jesus came, the Jews were in a dark part of their history and God had not spoken in hundreds of years. They were waiting for a Messiah to come. They were waiting for a Savior that would come and rule and reign and finally set things right and fulfill God’s promise.

That brings us to where we are today. The Jews are still in waiting. They have been waiting for a Messiah for hundreds of years and many had lost hope and thought the promises were untrue. But some of them are still faithfully following old Jewish customs.

We’re going to be looking in Luke 1. Here we find a man name Zachariah. He and his wife, Elizabeth have been trying to have children, but Elizabeth could not conceive and they were both very old. So, they had lost all hope.

But, Zachariah is a priest and he must still have a glimmer of faith because he continues to go into the temple to light incense to the God who has been silent for so long.

And it is while he is in the temple that an angel comes to him. Luke 1:11

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”

Zachariah is amazed by what the angel is saying but he is in disbelief. He had been met with so many unfulfilled promises that he’s became discouraged. He says, verse 18:

“How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

The angel’s message is met with disbelief from Zachariah. So the angel says that he will be struck deaf and dumb until the child is born.

You see, Zachariah had been waiting. He and his wife had been waiting a long time to conceive but have been unable to. Nothing had happened. Zachariah, along with the rest of the Jews, had been awaiting a Messiah. A Savior that would come to lift them out of their troubles and hardships. But no Savior had come.

This waiting changed Zachariah. Waiting on God to act had caused Zachariah to grow calloused and bitter. His faith had dwindled. He was just going through the motions in the temple, lighting incense to his God, but disbelief began to fill his mind.

Waiting on God had changed Zachariah, but it wasn’t for the better.

The same thing can happen to us. While we are waiting it can be so easy to become discouraged. It can be easy to lose faith in God when He is silent. We too can grow calloused and bitter. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Fast forward nine months later. Just as the angel said, Zachariah’s wife had become pregnant and gave birth to the boy. The whole town gathered around to see the miraculous birth. The people there said the boy must be named after his father, Zachariah, as tradition demanded, but Elizabeth, remembering what the angel had said, refused. “He is to be named John.”

She can’t be serious. The people looked to Zachariah. They made hand motions and asked him what to name the child. Zachariah grabbed a tablet and inscribed on it, “His name is John.”

Instantly, his mouth was opened. He was able to speak once more. His first words were praise to God. Verse 68:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.”

You see, once again Zachariah was waiting upon God. He waited for nine months for God to fulfill his promise and to give him a child. He waited for nine months in silence.

And again, the waiting changed Zachariah. His hope and faith were renewed. What had been doubt and unbelief and what had been discouragement, was now renewed into faith.

While he waited on God his faith exploded. Do you hear the finality in what Zachariah wrote? His name IS John. He is following the will of God despite what others said. Despite their disagreement. That takes big faith. A faith that was grown through the waiting. He is no longer bitter but instead praises God for his goodness and his faithfulness. Waiting on God had changed Zachariah. He knew that God was alive and working in his life, despite his waiting.

After my wife Annie and I got engaged in our junior year of college. It wasn’t until the beginning of our senior year that we began to plan what our life would look like after we graduated. We began to think about all the things that we would need to have set after we were married. We have to find a job for me and we have to find a job for her. We have to find an apartment. You know all these things you think about that you need.

But we had no idea what life after graduation looked like. So we began to pray and with that prayer came waiting. So for almost a whole year we prayed and prayed and waited and waited and still didn’t hear anything from God about what he’d have us to do after we graduated.

Waiting wasn’t easy. Especially when we were two or three months from the wedding and we still didn’t know where we’d be living or where we’d be working. The temptation was to work it all out on our own. To try and rush God and chose our path on our own. But Annie and I kept praying and kept waiting. We didn’t get discouraged. Even when it seemed like the clock was ticking.

It was after months and months of prayer that a door finally opened for us to move here and for me to work as Pastor to Daycare Families and Staff. We felt that that was what God wanted us to do. But we soon realized that even though one part of our prayer was answered, we were met with more waiting. We didn’t have an apartment. Annie didn’t have a job. But after that, door after door opened. Annie got a position as the second grade teacher at CCS. We were able to move into an apartment right by the church. God’s timing was perfect all along the way.

We had a choice to make, be discouraged or allow God to strengthen our faith. I can tell you right now that through that waiting, Annie and my faith grew. We saw God work in amazing ways. Our faith was renewed throughout the whole process because we serve a faithful God who doesn’t waste our waiting. He will use it to grow our faith.

So, we are each waiting for something. What are you waiting for? But maybe more importantly, how are you waiting?

You have a choice to make. Will you grow bitter and inpatient? Will you grow angry at God? Will you allow the waiting to diminish your faith? Will you be discouraged and disheartened? Will you allow your faith to dwindle?

Or will you allow your faith to grow in the waiting? Will you allow God to you use you even while you wait? Will you allow yourself to be renewed by God’s Holy Spirit? Will you continue to praise God even in the waiting?

We each have that choice to make.

This Christmas season, we remember that Jesus came as baby in a manger. Because he came, and died on the cross for our sins, we can have a relationship with him. His timing is perfect and He will supply all we need. He is with us even in our waiting, providing us with strength and growing our faith.

Isaiah 40:31:

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.

(Prayer):

Before the program, I just want to remind you that we’re here to serve you as a church. If you need anything feel free to call upon us and we would love to support you in any way that we can. We feel that all of you are a part of our C1NAZ family. We pray for you and were just so glad that you’re here. We would love to get to know you more and serve you in anything you might need. You can find our contact info in the bulletin, on our website, or out in the foyer.

Again, we’re so glad that you’re here.

Well, it is that time. I see the kids out side. Can we give them a hand while they walk out? Aren’t we proud of our kids?