1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,880 Flute duet. They are flautists. Don't you like that word? Flautist? Just say that once. 2 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:16,400 It'll make you feel better. I don't usually take attendance in worship, but I wonder if 3 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:23,120 Velma Ellsworth is here this morning. Is Velma here? Well, you won't tell her, of course, 4 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:32,280 that I mentioned this, will you? But Thursday was her 97th birthday. She is the senior member 5 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:39,360 of our congregation and lives at the Presbyterian Homes. We're just delighted for her. She's 6 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:44,120 a sweet lady. Praise for us. She's not able to be out too often, but she thought she might 7 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:55,040 make it today. She's been recovering from a broken hip. Among the modern New Age inventions 8 00:00:55,040 --> 00:01:02,280 that you and I live with every day are answering machines. We neither have an answering machine 9 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:08,000 nor a microwave oven, which makes our children convinced that we are the only family in America 10 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:18,920 so disadvantaged. But I call many homes and often get answering machines. I heard about 11 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,420 some answering machine statements that I'd like to share with you this morning. One machine 12 00:01:23,420 --> 00:01:31,760 said, Hi, John's answering machine is broken. This is his refrigerator. Please speak very 13 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:40,280 slowly and I'll stick your message to myself with one of these magnets. Another one I like 14 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:47,280 says, This is not an answering machine. This is a telepathic thought recording device. 15 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:52,420 After the tone, think about your name, your reason for calling, and a number where I can 16 00:01:52,420 --> 00:02:00,080 reach you, and I'll think about returning your call. That was a little long for me, frankly. 17 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,760 I like this is a little shorter, a little more to the point. Hi, I'm probably home. 18 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:18,680 I'm just avoiding someone I don't like. Leave me a message if I don't call. It's you. I 19 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,720 don't know about you, but sometimes listening to the long statements on the answering machines 20 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:30,320 and usually a verse of Star Spangled Banner and then beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. You 21 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,080 feel like you could apply for Social Security while you're waiting to leave your message. 22 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:42,480 Of all the things that I enjoy doing, waiting is not one of them. You can ask my wife. If 23 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:47,680 I go to the store and stand in a line, it is the line that will have the most problems 24 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:53,240 at the cash register. Someone's check will not go through. There will be a problem with 25 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:58,360 the credit card. The price won't be on the item. So I'll switch to the next line, and 26 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:04,760 the problem switches to the next line. Do you have the same experience? We don't like 27 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:09,440 to wait. We don't like to wait on our computers to download things off the internet. We don't 28 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:16,240 like to wait for our computers to even turn on. We are a busy people. We don't like to 29 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:24,640 wait, and yet waiting seems to be one of God's favorite means to teach us lessons. 30 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:35,720 Paul waited for two years in a jail in Caesarea for his legal seedings to proceed. Two years 31 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:42,240 of the Apostles' life in jail. The Apostles waited in Jerusalem for the coming of the 32 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:51,200 Holy Spirit. As a teenager, David was anointed by Samuel to succeed Saul as the king, but 33 00:03:51,200 --> 00:04:01,320 he waited until he was thirty before it happened. Moses shepherded sheep for forty years, and 34 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:09,400 then at eighty was called to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. The desert was his 35 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:18,160 waiting room. Joseph, the man that we're studying in Genesis, learned at seventeen that he would 36 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:23,480 be a powerful ruler, that even his own family would bow down to him, but he spent the next 37 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:32,720 thirteen years after that in slavery and in prison before being exalted to that high position. 38 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:39,000 I want to talk today about God's waiting room. As we turn together to Genesis chapter 39 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:47,000 forty and then move into chapter forty-one as well. God's waiting room is where He prepares 40 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:57,560 His servants for greater things. God's waiting room is where He prepares you for greater 41 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:06,700 things ahead. For some, the waiting room is an upper room. For others, it's a wilderness 42 00:05:06,700 --> 00:05:17,400 or a prison cell. What is God's waiting room in your life? Maybe it's a hospital room. 43 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:25,640 Maybe it's that dead-end job that you're enduring. Or perhaps it's a classroom or an unemployment 44 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:34,360 line. For someone here this morning, God's waiting room is waiting for that child to 45 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:41,400 be born that you've longed for. For someone else, God's waiting room is waiting to see 46 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:49,800 if the chemotherapy is going to work. God has all kinds of waiting rooms. Inevitably, 47 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:59,520 they are there to prepare us for greater things ahead. From the experience of Joseph, there 48 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:08,800 are three encouragements I want us to note for those who wait in God's waiting room. 49 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:17,680 The first encouragement is this, that while you are waiting, God is working. While you 50 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:24,040 are waiting, God is working. I want you to notice how God worked in Joseph's experience 51 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:29,740 as he waited. To do that, we're going to back up just one verse in the chapter 39 of 52 00:06:29,740 --> 00:06:35,960 Genesis where it says, the chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge 53 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:44,240 because the Lord was with him, with Joseph. And whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper. 54 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:52,380 In the first place, for Joseph, God positioned him for what was coming. For Joseph, what 55 00:06:52,380 --> 00:07:02,280 that position entailed was jail, and then responsibility in the jail. God positioned 56 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:14,660 Joseph strategically and then made him wait. Then I noticed that for Joseph, he provided 57 00:07:14,660 --> 00:07:22,160 the means for his future. In other words, God let it be known that Joseph could interpret 58 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:28,720 dreams because while Joseph was there in that prison, there were two other prisoners who 59 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:37,320 joined him. One was the cup bearer for Pharaoh and the other was the baker for the palace. 60 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:42,200 Now what they had done, we're not told, but they were both cast into the prison and they 61 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:49,320 got to know Joseph. And it says in verse 4 of chapter 40 that they were in confinement 62 00:07:49,320 --> 00:08:00,040 for some time. And then one night something happened. Both of these men had a dream. And 63 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:08,520 they came to Joseph the next morning and they asked him if he could interpret the dreams. 64 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:15,720 He said to them, do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please. So the chief 65 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:23,560 cup bearer of Pharaoh told about his dream of a vine. And this vine had three branches 66 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:30,880 and as it was budding, its blossoms came out and the clusters produced ripe grapes. And 67 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:38,480 he said in this dream he had in his hand Pharaoh's cup and so he took the grapes and he squeezed 68 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:47,960 them and put the wine in the cup and put the cup into Pharaoh's hand. That was his dream. 69 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:56,200 And Joseph said, this is the interpretation. The three branches, he says, are three days. 70 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:00,400 Within three more days, verse 13, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to 71 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:06,480 your office. And you will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand according to your former custom 72 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:14,680 when you were his cup bearer. Now this cup bearer was a wine taster. He was responsible 73 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:20,240 to be sure that the wine that Pharaoh had was good wine and was not poisoned. He had 74 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:27,720 to be very trusted. He could be involved in no plots of intrigue within the palace. After 75 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:37,360 he interpreted the dream, Joseph said to this man, verse 14, only keep me in mind when it 76 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:44,320 goes well with you and please do me a kindness by remembering me to Pharaoh and get me out 77 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:51,200 of this house. For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews and even here 78 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:59,720 I have done nothing that they should have put me into this dungeon. And so Joseph asked 79 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:06,240 the man to remember him to Pharaoh. Now did Pharaoh know Joseph? It's possible. He was 80 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:13,560 the chief servant in the household of Pharaoh's trusted bodyguard, the head of his secret 81 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:20,560 service. So it's possible that he had met Joseph. But even if not, Joseph is convinced 82 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:26,640 that Pharaoh will be able to help him. And so he asks the cup bearer, when this happens, 83 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:35,000 remember me to your boss. Well then the chief baker of the household of Pharaoh stepped 84 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:41,760 forward and asked for the interpretation of his dream. And Joseph, and his dream was that 85 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:50,040 of three baskets of white bread. He says that they were on his head and the top basket, 86 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,880 and the top basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh and the birds were 87 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:59,560 eating them out of the basket on my head. And Joseph said, well here's the interpretation 88 00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:06,160 of your dream, verse 19, within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you 89 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:14,920 and will hang you on the tree and the birds will eat your flesh off of you. Now you have 90 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:22,440 to commend Joseph for being willing to give the good news as well as the bad. Well verse 91 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:29,440 20 says, thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he threw a party. 92 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:33,400 And he lifted up the head of the chief cup bearer and the head of the chief baker among 93 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:38,400 his servants. He restored the cup bearer to his office and put the cup into Pharaoh's 94 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:43,600 hands. He put the cup into Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker just as Joseph 95 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:50,520 had interpreted to them. And so these dreams were interpreted and they came true. You see 96 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:58,160 God provided the means for Joseph's future. He did not know that yet. We know that because 97 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:09,200 we know the story. But Joseph was waiting and these events simply happened to him. But 98 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:18,280 this was the key to his future. It gave Joseph a reputation as a dream interpreter. The third 99 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:26,720 thing that God did while Joseph waited was to prompt the circumstance of his promotion 100 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:34,880 because God then gave dreams to Pharaoh, two of them. He fell asleep one night and he dreamed 101 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:42,400 that out of the Nile River there came up seven cows that were sleek and fat, it says in chapter 102 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:48,280 41. And they grazed upon the grass there, but then seven other cows came up after them. 103 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:55,560 They were ugly and gaunt. And they stood by the first cows on the bank of the Nile and 104 00:12:55,560 --> 00:13:04,560 then ate up the fat cows. Well Joseph, or rather the Pharaoh, woke up. But then went 105 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:10,560 back to sleep and he had a second dream which God gave to him. There were seven ears of 106 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:17,360 grain that came up on a single stock and these ears were plump and good, it says. But then 107 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:23,080 there were seven ears that were thin and scorched by the east wind that sprouted up after them 108 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:31,520 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. And Pharaoh woke again, perhaps 109 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:38,040 in a sweat. It was a dream. He wondered about its meaning. And so on the next morning he 110 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:45,680 called his wise men together, but there was not one of them who could interpret the dream. 111 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:50,980 And then says the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh saying, I would make mention today 112 00:13:50,980 --> 00:13:56,440 of mine own offenses. Pharaoh was furious with me and he recounts what had happened 113 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:03,920 to him and to the baker. And he says in verse 12, now a Hebrew youth was with us there in 114 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:09,880 the prison, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard and we related them to him and he 115 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:15,160 interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream 116 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:21,640 and it came about that just as he interpreted for us so it happened. He restored me and 117 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:30,360 in my office he hanged him. And so Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph and he was hurriedly 118 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:39,360 brought, he was cleaned up and taken into Pharaoh's presence. And Pharaoh had a dream, 119 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:45,200 had Joseph rather interpret his dreams for him. So here's my point that while Joseph 120 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:53,880 was waiting, God was at work. God strategically placed him in the jail and gave him authority. 121 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:59,080 It so happened then that two of Pharaoh's officials were placed in the jail too. They 122 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:05,360 obviously got to know Joseph who was in charge of everything. They had dreams that God gave 123 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:12,800 to them. Joseph interpreted the dreams, what happened came about. Some time later Pharaoh 124 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:22,320 had dreams and likewise he wanted interpretations. And Joseph's reputation came to the mind again 125 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:29,840 of this cup bearer and Joseph came to the attention of Pharaoh. 126 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:37,680 You see in all of these events God is at work. Joseph didn't realize that. He did not understand 127 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:45,200 the narrative occurring around him any more than you understand the narrative of your 128 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:53,320 life today in God's waiting room. But the thing that I want to write upon your heart 129 00:15:53,320 --> 00:16:05,440 as an encouragement is this, while you are waiting, God is working. Count on it. 130 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:09,320 Now there's a second encouragement that I see as I look at this text about Joseph and 131 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:18,840 it's this, that God appoints the time and the way for your advance. God appoints the 132 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:25,680 time and the way for your advance out of your waiting room. Now as I think about that there 133 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:31,840 are two expectations that you ought to have in light of that truth. We see these in Joseph's 134 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:38,000 story. The first expectation is this, that God's timing will likely be different than 135 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:47,360 yours. You see Joseph thought he had it all worked out. He thought he knew the time and 136 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:53,040 that was when the cup bearer was going to go back into Pharaoh's presence and so he 137 00:16:53,040 --> 00:17:00,160 asked the cup bearer to remember him to Pharaoh. But it says in verse 23 of chapter 40, the 138 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:11,080 cup bearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him. Joseph had the time all figured out, 139 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:21,600 but it wasn't God's time. When you are in the pain of waiting and waiting and waiting 140 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:27,360 and you think you have the timing worked out and it doesn't work, the disappointment can 141 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:37,320 be severe. And you are tempted to ask yourself, well what is going on in my life? And where 142 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:49,680 is God anyway? Maybe Joseph asked that question. We're not told that he did. But God's timing 143 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:54,560 will likely be different than your timing. Just keep that in mind. You have to expect 144 00:17:54,560 --> 00:18:01,120 that. By the way, let me throw this in. It's free. You don't have to pay for it. Don't 145 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:10,560 do to somebody else what the cup bearer did to Joseph. Okay? If somebody comes to you 146 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:22,720 and needs your help, by the grace of God help them. Don't forget them. W.S. Griffith Thomas 147 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:29,360 writes, God is never before his time, but he is never behind. The clock of divine providence 148 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:38,400 keeps strict time and has never been known to vary in one direction or the other. Joseph 149 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:47,320 thought he had the time all worked out, but God's time was two years yet down the road. 150 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:57,600 Two full years. Verse 1, chapter 41. Now it happened at the end of two full years that 151 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:05,760 Pharaoh had a dream. This is God's time. Now we read over that two years. How long is two 152 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:19,120 years? If you're in a waiting room, two years can be eternity. Joseph was in jail. 153 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:26,800 These may have been the two longest years of his life. The waiting room that you're 154 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:36,760 in today may seem like the longest period of your life too. Don't despair. You need 155 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:44,360 to expect that God's timing will likely be different than yours. There's a second expectation 156 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:50,320 that you need to keep in mind, and that is that God's way will surely be better than 157 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:59,080 yours. Have you ever been saved from what you prayed for? Has God ever spared you from 158 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:06,360 what you thought was the best, what you wanted? He has me, and I'm grateful for it. I wasn't 159 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:15,640 at the time, but I am now with hindsight. God did an extraordinary thing here. God's 160 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:23,160 way was far better than Joseph could have planned out. His ability was recognized in 161 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:31,520 the court. He gave his interpretation to Pharaoh. Pharaoh's dream involved an interpretation 162 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:38,520 in which there would be seven years of plenty in Egypt and then seven years of famine. And 163 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:46,120 after giving the interpretation to Pharaoh, Joseph goes on to give him a plan. In verse 164 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:52,560 33 he says, Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the 165 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:59,160 land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and 166 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:07,400 let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. 167 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:13,320 Joseph's plan is, Pharaoh, you need to increase taxes by 20 percent. Thankfully there wasn't 168 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:22,040 a congress in that day. It would never have gotten through. But Pharaoh took this advice. 169 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:27,040 He says, Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the 170 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:31,600 grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh's authority, and let them guard it, and let 171 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:36,960 the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur 172 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:43,480 in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish during the famine. 173 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:50,240 Well Pharaoh liked the idea, and he said to his servants, Can we find a man like this, 174 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:58,960 in whom is a divine spirit? Or perhaps better it reads, in whom is the spirit of God? And 175 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:05,560 so he said to Joseph, Since God has informed you of all of this, there is no one so discerning 176 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:13,120 and wise as you are. Look at the extraordinary thing that God did. Not only did he bring 177 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:20,500 Joseph to the attention of Pharaoh, he gives to Pharaoh discernment to see the ability 178 00:22:20,500 --> 00:22:27,900 of this young man who is now 30 years of age. And so Pharaoh appoints him basically as vice 179 00:22:27,900 --> 00:22:35,720 Pharaoh. He gives him authority over all of the land of Egypt, verses 40 through 44, to 180 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:42,240 carry out this plan that Joseph himself has suggested. And beyond that it says in verse 181 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:57,480 45 that Pharaoh gave to Joseph a wife, and then two sons. The first son's name was Manasseh, 182 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:06,600 and the second son's name was Ephraim. The name Manasseh means forgotten, or perhaps 183 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:17,080 better forgiven. The name Manasseh, or excuse me Ephraim means fruitfulness. Isn't that 184 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:26,240 interesting? The first son was given the name forgotten or forgiven. As Joseph reflected 185 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:34,160 upon what had happened earlier in his life. And then as he counted what was happening 186 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:40,920 now he named his second son fruitfulness. I think we see a lesson here, and it's this, 187 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:54,760 that fruitfulness always follows forgiveness. Fruitfulness always follows forgiveness. Joseph 188 00:23:54,760 --> 00:24:00,160 thought he had the way worked out so that he could escape God's waiting room. But it 189 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:07,480 wasn't God's time, and it wasn't God's way. God had another time, and God had a better 190 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:15,720 way. And it involved exaltation for Joseph beyond what he ever could have imagined. And 191 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:23,560 so my exhortation to you and to myself is this, let's be patient with God's timing, 192 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:31,320 and let's trust in God's way. A third encouragement now for those in God's 193 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:40,880 waiting room. We see it in verses 46 to 57 of chapter 41. God's waiting room brings greater 194 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:49,720 blessing. Joseph managed the national resources to save Egypt from the ruin of the seven years 195 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:56,880 of famine. But so great was the abundance that they were able also to sell food to other 196 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:04,720 nations who also were passing through famine. You see the blessing of Joseph's interpretation, 197 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:13,040 his suggestion, and his administration went far beyond just Egypt. It reached into the 198 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:22,560 surrounding nations as well. God had something more in mind, however, than just this. For 199 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:29,360 there is an incredible turn in the plot of Joseph's life just at this point that involves 200 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:35,360 his father and his brothers. And we see that hinted at beginning in verse 1 of chapter 201 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:45,120 32. Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt. And we pick up the story later regarding 202 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:52,480 what's going to happen. But my point is this, that God's waiting room brings greater blessings. 203 00:25:52,480 --> 00:26:01,120 You and I cannot possibly foresee how our experience of waiting will fit into God's 204 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:11,560 larger purposes. We cannot foresee how what God is doing in us in the waiting room and 205 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:19,880 through it will touch the lives of people we could never expect, but count on it. If 206 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:24,960 you're in the waiting room of God today, God's waiting room is going to bring you greater 207 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:34,800 blessing in the end. Be encouraged by that. You never know what is in store around the 208 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:43,640 next corner of your journey. God knows, but you don't. Around the corner of your life 209 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:52,760 there may be a waiting room, or maybe the way out of one. But know this, write it upon 210 00:26:52,760 --> 00:27:02,360 your heart that God's waiting room prepares you for His further purpose. And be encouraged 211 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:09,600 by that. Now I want us to close this morning by looking at a New Testament text that touches 212 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:16,440 upon this theme just from a different angle. And that is in the book of Hebrews, the twelfth 213 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:27,960 chapter. The writer of this New Testament book is concerned about Jewish believers who 214 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:36,640 were being tempted to turn back to their old ways, to their old faith by the trouble they 215 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:46,000 were passing through. The writer of Hebrews calls it God's discipline. I'm going to begin 216 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:56,920 reading in verse 7 where it says, It is for discipline that you endure. Perhaps a better 217 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:08,440 way to have written that is as the NIV does, endure hardship as discipline. You see, these 218 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:17,200 believers in the first century were, as it were, in a waiting room also. They had trusted 219 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:25,320 the Savior, but that trusting the Savior had brought to them only pressure and persecution. 220 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:33,200 What was God doing? The writer of Hebrews calls it discipline or chastisement. And he 221 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:43,400 says to them in the first place, endure the waiting room. Endure the discipline. You see, 222 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:55,320 the waiting room almost always involves some sort of suffering. We suffer at some level 223 00:28:55,320 --> 00:29:03,320 of our lives in the waiting room. And so to those who are suffering, to those who are 224 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:13,620 in a waiting room, the writer says endure it. The word endure is interpreted this way 225 00:29:13,620 --> 00:29:19,900 to us in the linguistic key to the Greek New Testament. It says, It is the Spirit which 226 00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:28,640 can bear things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope. It is not the Spirit 227 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:35,200 which sits statically enduring one place, but the Spirit which bears things because 228 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:46,400 it knows that these things are leading to a goal of glory. 229 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:53,800 You there in your waiting room, I want to exhort you as does the writer of the book 230 00:29:53,800 --> 00:30:05,720 of Hebrews, endure the waiting room. Not with resignation, but with hope that what you are 231 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:15,560 experiencing in your waiting room is going to lead you to glory. Endure the discipline. 232 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:28,440 The word discipline here is a word that means child training. It means character development. 233 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,560 And he goes on to say in the text that you should endure because God is treating you 234 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:40,080 as children. It is evidence, in fact, he says, of His love for you and that you belong to 235 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:47,520 Him. He acknowledges that waiting rooms may not be pleasant for the moment, but they are 236 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:54,880 geared for the development of our character, for our holiness, which he says will be evidenced 237 00:30:54,880 --> 00:31:03,080 in our lives in righteousness that brings peace. And so he says endure it. 238 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:09,480 And the second thing that he says in our waiting room, verses 12 and 13 is renew your strength. 239 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:16,720 The way he puts it is strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble. 240 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:24,520 You get the picture of someone who is just like this. You know they are just worn out 241 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:35,440 as we all get in our waiting rooms. We just feel like collapsing. We can't take it anymore. 242 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:43,840 And what he says is strengthen those hands and those knees. Renew your strength in the 243 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:56,640 waiting room. Be strong in the Lord. Jeff Kemp was an NFL quarterback for 11 years. 244 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:02,080 He gave a speech at Hillsdale College a few months ago entitled Rules to Live by On and 245 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:11,080 Off the Playing Field. Jeff is now the leader of the Washington Family Council, the executive 246 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:17,080 director of it. He is a born again Christian. And as he spoke to this college campus, he 247 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:21,360 talked to them about what he had learned on the field. He doesn't talk too much about 248 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:27,360 God, but certainly Christian principles are throughout the speech. One of the things that 249 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:34,160 he talks about learning in those early years of his experience as a new quarterback in 250 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:42,160 the NFL is humility. He talks about finally being able to join the Los Angeles Rams in 251 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:52,080 1981 where he was designated as a fifth string quarterback. He was told that it was a 50 to 252 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:58,800 50 shot that he would even survive the training camp. 253 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:06,120 Rookies were ordered to be there a week early, and so he was. There were dozens of men, rookies, 254 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:12,440 who were competing just for the few slots that were open on the team. He says in the 255 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:18,160 speech, after two days a young boy approached me as I was walking off the field. He asked 256 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:23,680 if he could carry my helmet to the locker room. It was a long way, but I said, sure, 257 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:28,760 I think you can handle that. The next morning he showed up before practice and offered to 258 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:35,040 carry my helmet and shoulder pads. And he was there again after practice offering the 259 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,760 same service. So it went for the rest of the week. 260 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:44,080 On the last day as we were departing the field, my young assistant said, Jeff, can I ask you 261 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:53,160 a question? I thought for a moment, he says to myself, this is my first fan. He's going 262 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:59,760 to ask me for my autograph. He then inquired, Jeff, when do the good football players come 263 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:08,960 to camp? He says, right then and there I learned a lesson in humility from a seven-year-old 264 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:15,200 boy. And he goes on to recount how in various experiences with different teams, constantly 265 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:23,960 God was bringing him back to this character development of humility. He says, in 1986 266 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:31,240 I was traded to the 49ers and sent to San Francisco as a backup for Joe Montana. A backup. 267 00:34:31,240 --> 00:34:36,880 He's been in the NFL several years now. He's a backup for Joe Montana. While Montana was 268 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:41,960 sidelined with a back injury, I was called upon to take over the offense. We won against 269 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:48,400 the Saints, the Dolphins, the Colts, primarily because a young new player named Jerry Rice 270 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:54,180 reached the end zone with a number of my touchdown passes. As soon as Joe recovered, however, 271 00:34:54,180 --> 00:35:00,080 I was once again relegated to the bench. At about the same time, I received a fan letter 272 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:05,440 that read, Dear Jeff, as Joe Montana returns, you'll probably feel like you were shoveled 273 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:10,600 off to the side. Well, just remember, Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback to ever 274 00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:17,480 play the game. You should feel lucky to have even played on his team. Then he says, the 275 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:23,040 author went on in another paragraph to sing Joe Montana's praises and then closed with 276 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:36,280 this PS. You're not as bad as some people might say. He is waiting for the opportunity 277 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:41,320 to prove himself. He thinks he's done it and then back to the waiting room. What is God 278 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:48,920 doing in all of this? God is teaching him character. God is preparing him for the very 279 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:55,640 successful career he ultimately had before he retired. Friend, if you're in God's waiting 280 00:35:55,640 --> 00:36:07,480 room today, endure God's discipline and renew your strength, knowing that what God is doing 281 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:19,360 in your life is preparing you for greater things ahead. Let's pray. Father, I pray for 282 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:28,320 every one of us today who senses himself or herself to be in a waiting room of some sort. 283 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:38,640 We confess to you that we don't like to wait. It is against our nature, Lord, and we live 284 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:52,760 in a culture that does not value slowing down. Therefore, we often fret, and sometimes we 285 00:36:52,760 --> 00:37:01,080 get angry and we doubt. Forgive us. Today we would accept the exhortation of the writer 286 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:10,720 of Hebrews and determine in our hearts to endure your character development in our lives 287 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:18,240 and to strengthen ourselves in the promises of God. May we learn from the narrative of 288 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:25,160 Joseph's life today that you know what you are doing and that when you put us into a 289 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:33,360 waiting room it is always so that in the end you may bless us in some greater and perhaps 290 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:42,680 unexpected way. In Jesus' name I pray. Would you stand with me please with your head bowed 291 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:53,360 and sing this chorus. In his time he makes all things beautiful in his time. And then 292 00:37:53,360 --> 00:38:00,080 pray with me, Lord, please show me every day as you are teaching me your way that you do 293 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:13,600 just what you say in your time.