1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,160 Hebrews chapter 6 verses 13 through 18. 2 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:18,840 The last section of Hebrews that we looked at was a really heavy section of Scripture. 3 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:24,840 But the author of Hebrews is moving on from that warning of telling the people, hey, don't 4 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,300 give up on your faith in Jesus Christ. 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:30,120 But he's really telling them to hold strong. 6 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,600 That's what we saw at the last of that last section we looked at a few weeks ago. 7 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:34,600 I know it's been a while. 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,500 We had Gideon speak here and we had some Easter sermons. 9 00:00:38,500 --> 00:00:40,600 But he gave them a warning. 10 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:42,240 Don't turn from Jesus Christ. 11 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:47,880 And he's telling them to stay strong in the faith, to persevere in the faith. 12 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:53,520 And in helping them to stay strong in their faith in Jesus Christ, he gives them an example 13 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:54,520 to go by. 14 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:55,800 He says, look, don't give up. 15 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:01,200 Don't give up in the midst of difficulties, but learn from the example of Abraham. 16 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:10,600 And that's what we're going to look at this morning in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 13. 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:17,360 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore 18 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:24,240 by himself, I will indeed bless you and I will greatly multiply you. 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:30,000 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. 20 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,640 For men swear by something greater than themselves. 21 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,920 And for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. 22 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:43,080 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of 23 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,920 the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath. 24 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:52,440 So that through two unchangeable things, in which is it impossible for God to lie, we 25 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:58,440 who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before 26 00:01:58,440 --> 00:01:59,440 us. 27 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:00,440 Let's pray. 28 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,440 Father God, we come to you today and we need your word, dear Lord. 29 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:04,440 We need your strength. 30 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,760 We need you to just to be with us, God. 31 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:07,760 Life is difficult. 32 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,080 There are good days and there are bad days. 33 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,020 And dear Lord, we want to wait on you. 34 00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:18,280 And so help us, dear Lord, to just be strong in our faith, to not be discouraged by whatever 35 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,760 it is that we may be up against today. 36 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,680 And in these few minutes, God, that your Holy Spirit would speak to each one of us, God, 37 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,960 that you would free us from distractions and worries of the world, that you just would 38 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:34,560 kind of grab a hold of our minds and our ears and our hearts for these few minutes. 39 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,200 I pray, God, that you would hide me behind the cross, that you would help me to preach 40 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,440 and teach in a way that brings glory to you. 41 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:45,440 I pray that you take away any fear, any pride, and I pray that every word that is spoken 42 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:46,920 today is from you, dear Lord. 43 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:51,720 So let your Spirit and let your Word do the work in our life today. 44 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,720 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 45 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,200 Amen. 46 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:01,340 We often see, especially in the book of Hebrews and really in the New Testament a lot, it's 47 00:03:01,340 --> 00:03:04,240 not uncommon to see Abraham mentioned. 48 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:05,680 And for good reason. 49 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,300 Everything really began with Abraham. 50 00:03:08,300 --> 00:03:13,440 This promise that God made to Abraham all these years before, God said, look, Abraham, 51 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:14,760 I am going to bless you. 52 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:20,360 You need to leave your land, go to a land I'm going to show you, and I'm going to bless 53 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:21,360 you. 54 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:22,800 I'm going to bless you greatly. 55 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:28,120 You're going to have a son, and there is going to be a whole world that is ultimately going 56 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,420 to be blessed through what I'm going to do for you. 57 00:03:31,420 --> 00:03:37,040 And so Abraham's a pretty important figure for the promise that God made to him, but 58 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,200 also because Abraham was before the law. 59 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:45,280 And so many times the people that Jesus was encountering and the early church was encountering 60 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:50,960 and even here in the book of Hebrews, a big problem was so many times people were caught 61 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:56,320 up on the law of Moses and things of Moses and wanting to live by the law. 62 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,360 But hey, wait a minute, Abraham came before the law. 63 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:00,920 And look at Abraham. 64 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:02,880 He was righteous. 65 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:04,520 And why was he righteous? 66 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:06,520 Not because he followed any kind of law. 67 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:08,700 The law was a long way off. 68 00:04:08,700 --> 00:04:16,000 But the thing that we celebrate Abraham for is that Abraham had great faith. 69 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,560 He had faith in God, that God had made a promise to him. 70 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:26,280 Now when God made this promise that he was going to bless Abraham, we see in Romans chapter 71 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:30,280 8 that Abraham, he thought, well, this is kind of a crazy thing. 72 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:33,480 It says in Romans chapter 8, he says, I was as good as dead. 73 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:35,120 I was 100 years old. 74 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,720 He says Sarah's womb was dead, is what we see in Romans chapter 8. 75 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:46,200 And even though Abraham knew that it seemed impossible that he and Sarah would bear a 76 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,720 child, it says that he did not waver in his faith. 77 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:57,320 He did not waver in unbelief, but yet he believed God's promises. 78 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,800 God is a God who keeps his promises to us. 79 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:06,600 God is a God who told Abraham, indeed, I will bless you, and he did. 80 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:08,480 But it took a long time. 81 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,520 It took a whole long time. 82 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:12,600 It took years and years and years. 83 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,800 And even when it seemed unlikely, even when it seemed that maybe God had forgot or maybe 84 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:23,200 God wasn't able or maybe God wasn't going to keep his promises, after years had gone 85 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:25,240 by, what does it say of Abraham? 86 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:29,320 It said that he waited patiently. 87 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,640 He waited patiently. 88 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:36,780 Now the Bible is full of a lot of hard things that it calls us to, but one of the things 89 00:05:36,780 --> 00:05:42,600 that God's word calls us to is to wait patiently. 90 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:48,200 I suspect that that may be harder for our culture today than it has ever been. 91 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,660 Attention span in our world and our culture today is shorter than ever. 92 00:05:52,660 --> 00:05:54,640 We don't have much of a attention span. 93 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:55,640 We don't like to wait. 94 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:57,160 Now I'm preaching to myself here. 95 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:58,520 I don't like to wait. 96 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:00,000 I like for stuff to get done. 97 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,000 When I want something to get done, when I'm ready to do something, when I'm ready to get 98 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:04,480 something I want, I want to get it. 99 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:05,480 I don't want to wait. 100 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:06,720 I want to do it. 101 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:11,480 We just planted 170 shrub bushes in our yard this week. 102 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:15,480 This last couple of days, Michelle has worked me and fished to death. 103 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:16,880 But we got it done. 104 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:17,880 We got it done. 105 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:18,880 We got some more to plant. 106 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,440 If anybody wants to volunteer to help your neighbor and love your neighbor as yourself, 107 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:23,960 you can come on over. 108 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,200 But look, they're about this tall, and they're about this wide. 109 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:32,280 But we planted them because we want them to be a privacy fence around our whole yard there. 110 00:06:32,280 --> 00:06:35,680 Well, there ain't much privacy there now, unless you an aunt. 111 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,000 An aunt couldn't see around it. 112 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:38,440 Other than that, it's easy to see around. 113 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,280 I want them to be 12 foot tall. 114 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:43,400 I would like them to be 12 foot tall by the end of the week. 115 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,620 But they're not going to be. 116 00:06:45,620 --> 00:06:48,720 They're going to be the same height they are now. 117 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,960 But over time, they're going to get to be the height that we want and the width that 118 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:52,960 we want. 119 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,100 But until then, I have to wait patiently. 120 00:06:56,100 --> 00:06:59,580 There's no way I can make those things grow faster. 121 00:06:59,580 --> 00:07:02,120 But that's a hard thing for us in life. 122 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:03,120 We don't like to wait. 123 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,040 We go somewhere to eat dinner. 124 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:06,840 We go up there and say there's a party of four. 125 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:08,800 And they say, well, it's going to be 30 minutes. 126 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,480 And we say, I ain't going to wait. 127 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,040 And then we get in the car, and we drive 15 minutes somewhere else. 128 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,320 And we wait 20 minutes at the place we just drove through. 129 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:22,120 And so instead of waiting 30 minutes, now we've waited 50 minutes because we can't wait. 130 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:26,320 And oftentimes, when we can't wait, we end up causing ourselves more trouble than we 131 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,000 had at the beginning. 132 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:29,280 We don't like to wait. 133 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,880 Whenever I order something online, if there's one day shipping available, if it's something 134 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:34,440 I really want, I'll get to one day. 135 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:35,840 I want it the next day. 136 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,680 How could I wait two days for this cable I need to plug my TV into? 137 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:41,400 I mean, it's impossible. 138 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:43,640 You can't wait two days for that. 139 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:45,760 So we don't like to wait. 140 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,080 We don't like to wait for the simple things. 141 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,400 We certainly don't like to wait for the serious things. 142 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:52,880 Waiting is hard. 143 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,920 Waiting is hard when you're single and you're waiting on a spouse and you're praying and 144 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,600 you're saying, God, I want somebody. 145 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:00,600 And we want them now. 146 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:01,600 We don't want to wait. 147 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,840 We don't want to wait till we're 30, till we're 42, or 52, or 60. 148 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:06,440 We want to get married now. 149 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,820 We want a relationship now. 150 00:08:08,820 --> 00:08:12,440 We don't want to wait when there's sickness in our family, when there's somebody that 151 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,200 we love that's sick. 152 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:15,520 We don't want to wait. 153 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,720 We don't want to wait for the doctor to tell us what to do. 154 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:18,760 We want to do something now. 155 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:19,760 The doctor says you're sick. 156 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:20,760 Well, what do we do, doctor? 157 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,720 Well, the doctor says you're going to have to get some tests done. 158 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:24,960 Well, when can we get them done? 159 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,280 Well, the quickest we can get you in is a month. 160 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:28,280 We don't want to wait a month. 161 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:29,280 We want to get it done. 162 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,800 We don't like to wait. 163 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:33,840 We don't like to wait on things. 164 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,480 We want things to be done quickly because that's the right way to do them and that's 165 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:39,880 a good way to do them. 166 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:45,600 It's good when it's quick and that's the way that we think, but that's not the way 167 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:47,480 that God thinks. 168 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:48,920 That's not the way that God works. 169 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:53,680 Now, sometimes God may work quick and God can work as quick or as slowly as he wants 170 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:54,680 to. 171 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:58,720 You know, we read God's word and we see these things and we see promises that God makes 172 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:05,520 on one page and we flip the page of the Bible and the promises has come to fruition, but 173 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:10,840 that one or two page flips we make may have taken 20, 30, 40 years, hundreds of years 174 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:15,240 sometimes we see in scriptures for God's promises. 175 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:20,120 And so we need to learn from Abraham that in the midst of our trials, in the midst of 176 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:27,080 our struggles, that God has not forgotten us, that God is capable of doing what he says 177 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,040 that he can do, that God is with us. 178 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,640 He has not left us or forsaken us. 179 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:34,600 Now, we're not like Abraham today. 180 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:39,080 I'm going to say most of us aren't like Abraham in the sense that God has appeared to us and 181 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,600 said specifically, this is what I'm going to do for you. 182 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:46,600 Maybe God's spoken to you in some way through his word or through prayer or whatever it 183 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:47,600 may be. 184 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,640 Maybe the Holy Spirit's spoken to you in some way, but probably not in the same way that 185 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,800 he's spoken to Abraham. 186 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:58,960 So maybe we don't have a specific promise like Abraham had, but certainly we have promises 187 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:04,360 in the word of God that God has made to his people, that God has promised he will not 188 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,240 leave us or forsake us. 189 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,240 We see that in Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 8. 190 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:14,240 He tells us people way back then, I will not leave you or forsake you. 191 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:18,320 And by the time we get to the end of the book of Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5, the author 192 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:23,720 of Hebrews recalls that scripture to tell his audience, God will not leave you or forsake 193 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:24,720 you. 194 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,020 God is a God who keeps his promises. 195 00:10:27,020 --> 00:10:28,200 What are his promises to us? 196 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,600 Well, the Bible is full of promises to us, but maybe we just need to look at a few today. 197 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:37,280 Some of these that I think we can hold on to, and one of those is that God will not 198 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,240 leave you or forsake you. 199 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,760 Wherever you are today, whatever pain you're in, whatever struggle you're in, whatever 200 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:49,680 you're going through is tough as it may be, and you say, God, where are you? 201 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:50,680 God do you even care? 202 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:51,680 God, are you listening? 203 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:53,200 God, are you going to act? 204 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,280 God, what are you doing? 205 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,720 God has not left us or forsaken us. 206 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:04,800 And in those times, perhaps we simply need to wait patiently. 207 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:11,160 And that is a hard thing to do for us to wait, but yet that's what scripture calls us to. 208 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:16,680 And perhaps we need to be reminded as we wait patiently on God that God has not forgotten 209 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:21,000 us, that God has not left us, that God has not forsaken us. 210 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:26,280 Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 says, and my God will supply all your needs according to 211 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,160 his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 212 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:33,760 There's another good promise in the word of God that God will supply our needs. 213 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:38,920 Now, sometimes our definition of what our needs are may differ from what God's definition 214 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:39,920 is. 215 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,480 Sometimes there are a lot of things that we think that we need, but ultimately when it 216 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:49,360 comes down to it, whatever it is that we need to be sustained and to make it in life, God 217 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:51,080 will provide it. 218 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,720 Maybe not in the abundance that we wish we had it, maybe not in the way that we would 219 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,840 like to see it, but God will provide for his people. 220 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:05,080 God's word promises that he will not let us go without, that he will take care of us, 221 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,280 that he will meet our needs. 222 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:12,920 And sometimes maybe just barely, but God is faithful to do what he says he's going to 223 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:13,920 do. 224 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,720 When God promises us things, God will hold on to those promises and we need to hold on 225 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:20,840 to the promises of God. 226 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:25,240 First John chapter 1 verse 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to 227 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:31,080 forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all righteousness. 228 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:36,320 That's the most beautiful promise in all of scripture, that God promises us that if we 229 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:42,160 put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we will be forgiven of our sins, not because 230 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:47,480 we deserve it, but because God loves us and because Jesus Christ gave his life on the 231 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:49,160 cross for us. 232 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:53,920 And God's word promises us, we don't have to doubt this, we don't have to question this, 233 00:12:53,920 --> 00:13:00,000 but we can know for certain that there is salvation for us when we put our faith and 234 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,320 trust in Jesus Christ. 235 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:06,120 That is the greatest promise that we see in God's word, that we see what Jesus Christ 236 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:10,640 has done and there's a promise of something better for us than what this world has to 237 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:11,640 offer. 238 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:12,640 Praise the Lord. 239 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,280 If there is no other promise that we can look forward to in our walk in this world, in our 240 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:22,420 struggles in this world, in our pains in this world, we can look forward to the promise 241 00:13:22,420 --> 00:13:26,600 that one day we will be with the Lord. 242 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,860 And some of you today may be saying, I wish that day would come. 243 00:13:29,860 --> 00:13:34,080 Come Lord Jesus, either come take me home or come back and take us all home. 244 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:39,320 There's some of us today who are ready to go, but we don't go on our time, we go on 245 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,120 God's time. 246 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:46,200 And so until God's time comes for us, there's only one thing we can do. 247 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,240 We can wait patiently. 248 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,440 That's a hard thing to do. 249 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:58,120 But anytime that we wait on God, we will never be disappointed when God shows up. 250 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:02,920 We'll never be disappointed because God works all things together for the good of those 251 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:03,960 who love the Lord. 252 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,320 We see that in the book of Romans. 253 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:11,040 That's a hard verse to reconcile sometimes with the things that we see in our life and 254 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,320 the things that we suffer and the things that we see in our world. 255 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:19,160 And we see that verse and we say, how in the world, God, have you worked this situation 256 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,760 in my life for good? 257 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:28,400 You see, oftentimes what God is working on is so big, we can't even fathom. 258 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,500 As humans, we can only see very little. 259 00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:36,360 We can only see what's right there before us. 260 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,720 We can't fathom things that many moves ahead. 261 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,200 We're playing checkers and God's playing chess. 262 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,040 He's seeing moves ahead that we can't even imagine. 263 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:49,960 And so we sit here today and probably every one of you, you've got something going on 264 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:54,280 in your life, either in the past or in the present, and it's hard and it's painful. 265 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,800 And you say, how can any good come from this? 266 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:03,200 Well, I don't know how good comes from the things that God does, but I know it ultimately 267 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,200 will. 268 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:08,760 I know that God works all things out for the good. 269 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,920 And perhaps today you say, man, God, I wish you'd help me to see that good. 270 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:13,960 God, I want to see that good today. 271 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:17,160 And God, I've been in this mess for weeks, for months, for years. 272 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:18,160 I've been in this struggle. 273 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:19,160 I've been in this pain. 274 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:20,160 I've been in this sorrow. 275 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,520 And God, I don't see the good yet, but God, I want to see the good. 276 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,440 God, when am I going to see the good? 277 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,400 And what does God's word tell us? 278 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:36,000 It tells us to wait patiently, to trust in the Lord. 279 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,880 Proverbs chapter three, verse five, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not 280 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,840 rely on your own understanding. 281 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:47,400 Man I lived on that verse for years of my life. 282 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:48,880 I just, I lived on it. 283 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:54,280 I set up camp on it because so many times we go through things in our life that we just 284 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,420 don't think we can make it and we don't see how God's at work. 285 00:15:58,420 --> 00:16:02,880 How can God be at work when everything around me is falling apart? 286 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:03,880 Is God there? 287 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:05,160 Does God care? 288 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:06,480 Yes, he does. 289 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:12,360 But God does not work on our times and so many times we see as in the story of Abraham. 290 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,480 It took years from the time that Abraham got the promise. 291 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:22,200 It took 25 years before he finally had a son and Abraham in the meantime tried to take 292 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,380 care of the promise himself, but it didn't work. 293 00:16:25,380 --> 00:16:29,880 When we get impatient and we try to take care of things on our own, it don't work out right. 294 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:34,440 We have to sit back and be reminded God's way is better. 295 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,140 God's promises are better. 296 00:16:36,140 --> 00:16:41,120 And when God comes through on his promises, oh what a blessing that is. 297 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,560 When we see the good that comes from the bad, oh what a blessing that is. 298 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,320 And some of you can give a testimony of that today, I guarantee you. 299 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,400 There are probably some of you in this room that you have been through some things in 300 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,960 your life and you thought I'll never make it through. 301 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,080 There will never be any good that comes through it, but I bet you some of you today could 302 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,520 say, but let me tell you how God worked. 303 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,980 Let me tell you how God worked in the midst of everything crumbling and falling apart. 304 00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:11,240 Let me tell you how God was building something more beautiful than I could ever imagine. 305 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:13,120 So God doesn't work on our time today. 306 00:17:13,120 --> 00:17:14,440 I know this is a hard message. 307 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,000 I wish I could tell you today that God was going to make your problem better and bless 308 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:23,280 you and give you everything that you wanted and make all things just perfect for you today. 309 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:31,320 I wish I could say that, but I know the reality is that many times in God's word, his people 310 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:33,360 must wait. 311 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:34,480 They must trust in him. 312 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:35,480 They must seek him. 313 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:36,800 They must call out to him. 314 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:38,400 They must wait on him. 315 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:44,600 One of my favorite stories in all of scripture is the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. 316 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,280 Maybe you've read that story. 317 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:47,520 Joseph's brothers, they didn't like him. 318 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,040 They sold him into slavery and he went to work for a guy. 319 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:52,040 Somebody lied on him. 320 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:53,040 He got put in prison. 321 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:54,040 He was in prison for a while. 322 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:55,440 Some people were supposed to help him out. 323 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:56,880 They didn't help him out. 324 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:01,920 Long story short, eventually this boy that was thrown into this hole ends up being second 325 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:06,920 in command in all of Egypt and saving his whole family as a result because when the 326 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:12,380 famine comes through, there is Joseph in Egypt and he had been put there by none other than 327 00:18:12,380 --> 00:18:14,640 God. 328 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:19,800 We read that story in 15 minutes in our Bible, but that's a story that took years and years 329 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:26,560 and years and years, probably about 20 years it took of Joseph's life. 330 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:32,120 Can you imagine even being thrown into a pit by your brothers waiting and waiting? 331 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:33,960 How long would he have to wait? 332 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:39,560 Only after waiting through that horror, he sold into slavery with a bunch of strangers 333 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:44,240 and he waits and he waits and he waits until he ends up in another household and things 334 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,160 begin to go well and then someone lies on him. 335 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,440 And then he's in prison and he's waiting and he's waiting and he's waiting on the people 336 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,240 that are supposed to put in a good word for him to help him get out. 337 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:58,840 And he waits and he waits and he waits. 338 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:04,400 But at the end of that story, we see that God worked all things together for the good 339 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,880 of those who love him. 340 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:14,320 So may it be today for us, perhaps there are some of us today who have been waiting and 341 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,680 waiting and waiting. 342 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:21,960 Well, I can't tell you how long you're going to have to wait today, but I can tell you 343 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,040 that God is good. 344 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:26,360 I can tell you today it may not seem like it. 345 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,360 You may tell me after church, you don't know what you're talking about. 346 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:30,600 You don't know what I've gone through. 347 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,240 I don't know what you've gone through, but I know that God is good. 348 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,720 I know that he has not forgotten you today. 349 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:41,560 I know that his promises are to give us something better if not in this life and the life to 350 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:47,240 come and he is a God who is worth trusting in because if we do not trust in God, then 351 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,520 in whom will we trust? 352 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,120 There is no other that we can trust. 353 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,400 There is no other that we can put our hope in. 354 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:59,240 There is no other who has promised to be with us and to give us grace and to give us strength 355 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,000 and to give us eternal life apart from God. 356 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:07,740 That's the only one we can trust in and he is the only one that we can wait on today. 357 00:20:07,740 --> 00:20:15,000 So we must be those in the midst of our trial who wait patiently on the Lord. 358 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,360 The audience in the book of Hebrews, they were getting ready to turn. 359 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:22,920 They wanted to give up on the Lord, but the author says, wait on the Lord. 360 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:28,400 In the midst of your conflict and your pain and your sorrow and your struggle, wait on 361 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:30,600 the Lord. 362 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:31,840 So it is for us today. 363 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:37,720 We must be those who wait on the Lord. 364 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:44,660 Lamentations chapter 3 verses 25 and 26 says, the Lord is good to those who wait for him, 365 00:20:44,660 --> 00:20:46,860 to the person who seeks him. 366 00:20:46,860 --> 00:20:52,240 It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord. 367 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:57,920 The Lord is good to those who wait on him. 368 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:03,960 Perhaps one way that God really begins to work in our life through waiting is that the 369 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:08,560 more we wait on him and the more we call out to him and the more that we seek him, the 370 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,200 more we trust him. 371 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,880 And maybe that's the greatest blessing of all. 372 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:18,440 Maybe the blessing that we are looking forward to, the thing that we want to see, maybe that's 373 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,100 not even going to be the way that God blesses us. 374 00:21:22,100 --> 00:21:24,640 Maybe the real blessing is in the wait. 375 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,840 Maybe the real blessing is when we genuinely seek God and begin to trust God. 376 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:34,680 And it's a beautiful thing and there's nothing more beautiful than when we really learn to 377 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:36,760 trust God. 378 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,280 Now we may all say that we trust God in here today, and I'm sure on some level you probably 379 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,080 do. 380 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,440 But I bet you there are some people in this room that have really learned to trust God. 381 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:53,760 And we only really learn to trust God when we go through the worst of the worst situations. 382 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:58,720 When our health is failing, when someone's health that we love is failing, when our marriages 383 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,440 are falling apart, when our jobs are falling apart, when our churches are falling apart, 384 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:08,700 when our nation is falling apart, when everything around us is falling apart and we begin to 385 00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:14,600 seek God and call out to God and trust God and we find the presence of God, what a beautiful 386 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,360 blessing that is. 387 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,680 Some of you have no doubt experienced that today. 388 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,200 You know what it means to really trust in God. 389 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:29,520 You've gotten to a place where you say, look, I know the goodness of God and I will trust. 390 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,180 Perhaps for others of us today, we're still in the midst of that struggle. 391 00:22:32,180 --> 00:22:33,240 We're still crying out. 392 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,360 We're still saying, God, I need some help. 393 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:40,520 And when we really crowd and trust and seek God, maybe it takes weeks or months and years, 394 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,880 but when we seek God with all our heart, we will find him. 395 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,560 And there is blessing in the waiting. 396 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:49,880 It may not seem like it. 397 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:54,960 It doesn't seem like it sometimes, but when we experience God, we say, man, God, it's 398 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:56,640 worth the wait. 399 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,360 Whether it took me weeks or months or years, God, it's worth the wait. 400 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:07,840 And so we have to be those today who wait patiently on the Lord. 401 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:14,880 Psalm 40 verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord and he turned to me and heard my 402 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,400 cry for help. 403 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,200 That's what we want, right? 404 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,880 We want God to hear our cry for help. 405 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:27,160 For some of us, that cry has been going on for days or months or weeks or years and we 406 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:31,560 continue to cry and we continue to cry and we continue to cry, but I'm telling you, when 407 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,160 God hears and he answers and you know that he's there and you feel his presence, what 408 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,800 a glorious day that will be. 409 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:40,920 And know that God has heard your prayers. 410 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:42,400 He has not forgotten you. 411 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:43,880 He has not abandoned you. 412 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,560 He has not forsaken you. 413 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:46,760 He has not left you. 414 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,800 He is with you and he'll give you the strength to get through. 415 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,360 He may not make all of your problems go away today. 416 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:54,360 Maybe he will. 417 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:55,360 Maybe he won't. 418 00:23:55,360 --> 00:24:01,080 But I can guarantee you his grace is sufficient for his power is perfected in weakness. 419 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,280 And in the midst of our weakness, we cry out to the Lord and we wait patiently because 420 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,320 who else can we wait on but the Lord? 421 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:15,000 One last scripture this morning, Psalm chapter 37 verse 7. 422 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,240 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. 423 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:26,120 Do not fret when people succeed in their ways when they carry out their wicked schemes. 424 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:31,800 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently. 425 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,160 There are a lot of hard commands that we see in scripture. 426 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,480 Love your neighbor as yourself is one of them. 427 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:39,400 But this is another hard one. 428 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,000 To wait patiently because we want to do it ourselves. 429 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,000 We want to make it better. 430 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,320 We want to say, okay, I got to do something. 431 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:46,320 I got to do something. 432 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:47,720 I can't just sit here and do nothing. 433 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,800 I can't just sit still and be quiet and do nothing. 434 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:50,800 I got to do something. 435 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:55,760 But yet that's not what God's word calls us to. 436 00:24:55,760 --> 00:25:03,240 There are some times that we simply must be still and be quiet and wait patiently on 437 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:04,840 the Lord. 438 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:06,240 God is good this morning. 439 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:07,240 Do not doubt that. 440 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,120 Do not forget that. 441 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:13,240 Trust in him and he will guide you along the right path. 442 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,440 Whatever you're going through, I don't know what it is. 443 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,360 It may be something super serious. 444 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:18,360 It may be hard. 445 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:20,240 I'm not pretending that it's not. 446 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:25,600 But I'm telling you that God is big and God is good and he is a God worth waiting on. 447 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:27,900 He is a God who keeps his promises. 448 00:25:27,900 --> 00:25:31,700 He kept his promises to Abraham and he keeps his promises to us. 449 00:25:31,700 --> 00:25:33,680 He will not leave us or forsake us. 450 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,080 He'll forgive our sins. 451 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:36,240 He'll give us grace. 452 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,040 He'll get us through the toughest days. 453 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:42,600 And one day God promises to take us home to be with him. 454 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,600 But until that day comes, we must be those who wait patiently on the Lord. 455 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:48,600 Let's pray. 456 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,280 God, I pray for these people today, dear Lord. 457 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:52,280 I pray for them, God. 458 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,800 I know that life is hard. 459 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,840 And I don't know everybody's struggle, but dear Lord, I know we all got a struggle of 460 00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:58,840 some sort. 461 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,560 And if we don't have one today, we will soon enough. 462 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:06,000 But God, whatever anybody's going through today, dear Lord, I pray that they would trust 463 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:07,920 you and seek you, dear Lord. 464 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,600 I know oftentimes we don't see good in what's around us. 465 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,240 We don't see how it could ever be good. 466 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:18,760 But you are a master, dear Lord, of taking what's bad and making it good. 467 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,000 But dear Lord, you do it in your time. 468 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,660 And maybe it takes years, dear Lord. 469 00:26:23,660 --> 00:26:28,360 So I pray that you help us today to be those who would wait patiently, dear Lord. 470 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:32,720 That if there are some here today that are struggling, that they would call out to you, 471 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:33,720 dear Lord. 472 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:34,720 That they would trust in you. 473 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:35,720 That they would seek you. 474 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:37,720 That they would today know that you're good. 475 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:39,200 That they would not question your goodness. 476 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,440 That they would not question your promises. 477 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,920 That they would not question whether you hear them or whether you care about them or whether 478 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:46,040 you're going to help them. 479 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,240 God, you are going to help them. 480 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:49,440 You do care about them. 481 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,480 You do hear them, dear Lord. 482 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,840 And I pray today that they would find grace in you. 483 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,200 I pray today that they would find strength in you, God. 484 00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,680 I pray that you just would be with them, dear Lord. 485 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:00,680 It's tough. 486 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:04,440 So I pray that you give them the strength that they can make it the next day and the 487 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,480 next day and the next day, dear Lord. 488 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:12,720 I pray, God, that you would help us to be those who wait patiently on you this morning. 489 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:18,040 Dear Lord, maybe there are some today that have never heard, have never put their faith 490 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:19,520 and trust in Jesus Christ. 491 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:24,440 God, maybe today they know the promise that there is salvation in no other than Jesus 492 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:25,440 Christ. 493 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:29,920 And if we are faithful to confess our sins, you are faithful to forgive us our sins, dear 494 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:31,400 Lord. 495 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:35,320 So I pray, dear Lord, that if there are some that do not know Jesus, that if you spoke 496 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,600 unto them today that they would repent, that they would ask you to forgive them, dear Lord, 497 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:44,480 that they would confess and that they would make Jesus the Lord of their life this morning. 498 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:50,160 God, maybe there are some here today and they're yours and they don't doubt you, dear Lord. 499 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,600 They don't question you, but they just don't see how things are going to work. 500 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:55,560 I pray, God, that you just give them peace. 501 00:27:55,560 --> 00:28:00,080 God, you don't show us how things are going to work, so you just have to give us the peace 502 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:05,480 and the grace to know that you are good and you're working things together for good. 503 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:10,520 God, I pray that you would help us today with this tough command that we see in scriptures, 504 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:12,960 to wait patiently on you. 505 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:17,880 God, for those who have been waiting for weeks or months or years even, I pray that you give 506 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:18,880 them strength. 507 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,800 And God, ever how long our wait is, I pray that we would never question you. 508 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:27,920 We had never doubt who you are, dear Lord, that our faith would be like that of Abraham, 509 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:32,200 that it would be unwavering to know that you are good. 510 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,240 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 511 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:59,040 Amen.