Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20250326 - 5 Reasons To Wait On The Lord - Psalm 40:1-5
Transcript
- 0:05Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
- 0:08Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
- 0:12resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
- 0:15into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
- 0:20dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
- 0:24Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
- 0:30What an honour and a privilege it is to be able to share the
- 0:34Word tonight and to just share with you what God has impressed
- 0:37upon my heart. And I do believe it is a word
- 0:41from the Lord. And so my hope and my prayer
- 0:44tonight is that you are encouraged, you're edified in
- 0:48the Lord, that you would not leave this place the same, but
- 0:53that you would be changed, that you would take the word of the
- 0:57Lord and you would apply it to your life and allow the Lord to
- 1:01convict the things that he needs to convict in your life and, and
- 1:06apply his word to your life. I know it's probably a shock
- 1:10seeing me come up here. And yeah, despite the many
- 1:15similarities, and I'm not Pastor Ed, God made me just a little
- 1:19bit shorter. And when when I first met Pastor
- 1:26Ed, he pulls out his phone and he shows me a picture of him in
- 1:29Colorado Avalanche gear. And I'm like, OK, yeah, this is
- 1:33a pastor. I can now I have this level of
- 1:36trust I can now get behind. I can sit under his leadership
- 1:40and gain wisdom from. But I'm just so thankful to be
- 1:44to call this church my home church and Jodie and myself.
- 1:50I just love Calvary, my kiddos love love children's ministry
- 1:55with Pastor Andy and Lauren. And I'm just so grateful for all
- 2:00the servants there as well who love on my kiddos.
- 2:04And I just can't say enough about the good things that God
- 2:07is doing in this church, in our lives, in my family's life.
- 2:13And so we're going to be in the book of Psalms tonight.
- 2:17So if you want to open up your your Bible there Psalms chapter
- 2:2140 verses one through 5 and we'll go ahead and pray and then
- 2:30jump into the word here. Lord, we're just so thankful,
- 2:33God, for your faithfulness in our lives.
- 2:37Lord, Lord, would you remind us, Lord, of, of the ways we can
- 2:40wait upon you, Lord, to be patient, Lord, to not do things
- 2:45on our own wisdom, on our own understanding, but that we would
- 2:49lean into you, God, that we would pursue the things that you
- 2:54would have for us, Lord, that your will would be done in our
- 2:57life and not our own. God, help us not to take things
- 3:01into our own hands and, and on our own strength, but help us to
- 3:05lean upon you, God and your strength, because we know that
- 3:09when we're weak, you are strong, Lord.
- 3:11And so and so we ask Lord, by your Holy Spirit that you speak
- 3:15to us tonight, God, that you are able to convict us of the things
- 3:21that we need to get rid of in our lives, Lord, so that we can
- 3:26draw closer to you in Jesus name, Amen.
- 3:31All right, so Psalms chapter 40 verses one through 5.
- 3:36It says I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me
- 3:41and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a
- 3:44horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a
- 3:49rock and established my steps. He has put a new song in my
- 3:54mouth. Praise to our God.
- 3:57Many will see it in fear and will trust in the Lord.
- 4:01Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust and does not
- 4:05respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
- 4:09Many, O Lord my God, are your wonderful works which you have
- 4:14done, and your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to you in
- 4:17order. If I would declare and speak of
- 4:20them, they are more than can be numbered.
- 4:24Amen. There are many instances in the
- 4:27Bible that point to men and women of faith that waited
- 4:32patiently on the Lord Abraham and Sarah.
- 4:35Let's take Abraham and Sarah. Their patience led to them being
- 4:42blessed with the son named Isaac, and they waited many,
- 4:47many years and Abraham became the father of many nations, and
- 4:52God had made a covenant with him.
- 4:55And then we have Hannah who waited on God and never gave up
- 4:58hope that God would bless her with a child.
- 5:02And she eventually gave birth to Samuel who became a great
- 5:07prophet. Job also lost absolutely
- 5:11everything, but he stayed faithful to God.
- 5:14He endured, he never turned his back on the Lord, and God
- 5:19blessed him with twice as much as he had before.
- 5:22And we have also Noah who waited trusted on the Lord.
- 5:28He built the ark to to the T and every instruction that God gave
- 5:33him, he waited for the flood to come and his waiting provided
- 5:38salvation to him and his family. But of course, the perfect
- 5:44example that we find in Scripture is our Lord and Savior
- 5:47Jesus Christ himself, who waited 30 years to begin his ministry
- 5:53here on earth and patiently endured the cross and
- 5:57unimaginable torture until his dying breath.
- 6:02In this Psalm, it depicts God rescuing David from certain
- 6:06danger that seemed as if there was no way out.
- 6:11Most likely here he's in exile in the wilderness.
- 6:15And yet we see this unwavering faith in David, and it also
- 6:23shows his allegiance and trust in the Lord.
- 6:26And it truly hints at him being a man after God's own heart.
- 6:31And so I ask you today, have you had moments in life where it
- 6:35seemed impossible to overcome, where you have no answers, where
- 6:39you have no hope, no faith, no guidance, nowhere to turn but be
- 6:45comforted because we all, we've all gone through that.
- 6:48And we know that the testing of our faith produces patience, as
- 6:54James 1-3 would remind us. And so if there's any word that
- 6:58speaks to you tonight, let it be this.
- 7:01Do not waver in your faith in the Lord.
- 7:04No matter the circumstances of life that come your way, know
- 7:09that the Lord hears you. Know that he sees you in every
- 7:13season of life. And so as we go back to verse
- 7:17one here, each verse has a point.
- 7:20And so if you're taking notes, the title of this message is
- 7:24Five Reasons we should wait upon the Lord, 5 Reasons We Should
- 7:30Wait upon the Lord. And the first point here in
- 7:35verse one is as we wait, we find there is purpose in patience.
- 7:43As we wait on the Lord, we find there is purpose in patience.
- 7:48Let's go ahead and read one verse one again.
- 7:50I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined to me and heard
- 7:55my cry. This waiting is the idea of
- 8:01continuous waiting that we're excuse me, that we're waiting in
- 8:06the waiting. We're we're not getting tired
- 8:09midway through and just giving up and doing things on our own
- 8:12ability, on our own understanding, but we're making
- 8:17up our mind to solely trust in the Lord.
- 8:21And perhaps you're sitting here and, and you might say, well,
- 8:24what's the purpose in waiting? Like, why would I put myself in
- 8:27all that pain and angst when I can just go about my life and
- 8:32figure it out for myself and this type of worldly mentality
- 8:36that I got myself into this mess and I can get myself out.
- 8:43And how many have heard that one before?
- 8:45It's, it's that notion that you can take care of things, you can
- 8:49take care of business. You don't need anybody else.
- 8:52You, you have the ability to do it on your own strength, but
- 8:57you're burdened by that. And or you can explain away why
- 9:03you're impatient. Like, well, it's because maybe
- 9:07it just runs in my family and we're all like this.
- 9:09And so that's just the way we are.
- 9:12Or I'm just a perfectionist. And so I like things a certain
- 9:17way. I do things a certain way.
- 9:19It's just who I am. But you can explain away forever
- 9:23why you are the way you are, why we are the way we are.
- 9:27But we all know we live in this fallen, sinful world.
- 9:31We want things done our own way, on our own terms, in our own
- 9:36timing. But that's not the will of the
- 9:39Lord for you. The the Lord would want you to
- 9:42depend on him. He wouldn't want you to do it on
- 9:45your own strength and your own ability.
- 9:50And so we do need to put our full faith and trust in him.
- 9:55Don't feed your flesh with self righteousness and and self
- 9:59dependency because it's a trap from the enemy.
- 10:03And you know, essentially what you're saying is my way is
- 10:09better then God's way. Of course you wouldn't say that
- 10:13out loud, right? Like you wouldn't, you wouldn't
- 10:15naturally say that. But that's what's happening when
- 10:18you dismiss God and take things into your own hands because
- 10:23you're impatient. And so here's why you should
- 10:27wait on the Lord. It produces a genuine, genuine
- 10:30dependency on Him. It helps get your eyes off the
- 10:34circumstance and back on Him where it belongs.
- 10:39It helps you understand that your ways are not perfect and
- 10:44His ways are higher than yours. In fact, the Word would tell us
- 10:48that He is the way. He is the way, the truth and the
- 10:53life. So anything outside of that is
- 10:56false hope and an imperfect way. So we must ask ourselves another
- 11:03question here. Why would we bother trying to
- 11:06fix something ourselves imperfectly when we have a
- 11:11perfect God who knows it all and wants the best for you?
- 11:16Of course we know the answer to that.
- 11:18Like in our in our minds, we can rationalize through that and
- 11:22say, of course, yeah, why would I?
- 11:24Why would I do that? Like I wouldn't want to do that.
- 11:27I wouldn't want to rely on my imperfect way of doing things
- 11:30when I know I serve a holy imperfect God, but not only is
- 11:37God perfect and that he knows all and to beginning beginning
- 11:42to end, but he also wants the best for you.
- 11:46Jeremiah 2911. It tells us for I know the
- 11:51thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord.
- 11:54Thoughts of peace. This is my favorite verse by the
- 11:56way, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and
- 12:01a hope. So be be encouraged tonight.
- 12:07Be encouraged family, that God sees you, he hears you that he's
- 12:11not only perfect, but he cares about you.
- 12:13He cares about your well, well-being.
- 12:15He wants the best for you and God hears your cry.
- 12:19So stay faithful and unmoving in your faith.
- 12:23Let's exercise patience and long-suffering, which is the
- 12:27fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 522 through 25.
- 12:33And so if you have the Spirit of God living inside of you, let's
- 12:36exercise patience. Let's trust in the Lord.
- 12:41Let's be grounded and confident in the Lord for everything that
- 12:46you face in life. And while you wait, you begin to
- 12:49find your place in Christ. And it helps remind you that He
- 12:54is God and you are not. And thank God we are not
- 12:59Hebrews. If you want to turn there with
- 13:01me, Hebrews 6 verses 9 through 15, and also Hebrews 10 verse
- 13:1236. Hebrews 69 through 15, and then
- 13:17hold your place there. And then also Hebrews 1036 And
- 13:26it says, But beloved, we are confident of better things
- 13:31concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we
- 13:36speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget
- 13:40your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward His
- 13:44name, and that you have ministered to the Saints, and do
- 13:48minister. And we desire that each one of
- 13:51you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until
- 13:57the end. And I'm going to pause here
- 14:00because verse 1213 on I want you to highlight circle, underline
- 14:11this verse here that you do not become, what does your Bible
- 14:16say? Sluggish, that you do not become
- 14:20sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience
- 14:25inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to
- 14:29Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater.
- 14:32Remember we talking about God. His ways are higher.
- 14:36He is greater. He could swear by no one
- 14:40greater. So he swore by himself saying,
- 14:42surely blessing, I will bless you and multiplying I will
- 14:46multiply you. And so after he had patiently
- 14:51endured meaning Abraham, he obtained the promise and then
- 14:56Hebrews 1036 for you have need of endurance.
- 15:01The Bible would tell us you need endurance.
- 15:04You need to be patient. The the word of the Lord would
- 15:06tell you tonight you have need of endurance so that after you
- 15:11have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
- 15:16And so it is by our faith and patience we inherit the promises
- 15:21of God. It's not by being lazy and
- 15:24lackadaisical in your faith, right?
- 15:27Because we know that faith requires action.
- 15:32Faith without works. James 218 would say.
- 15:38Faith without works is what family dead.
- 15:41It's dead. It's meaningless to have faith
- 15:45without works. Both faith and patience work
- 15:48together hand in hand. While faith is about believing
- 15:52in something without seeing it, patience is the ability to wait
- 15:57calmly for that belief to manifest.
- 16:01They both. They're both needed and both
- 16:04important if you're going to see purpose in your patience.
- 16:10The Hebrew word of four, waited is Kava, which does not mean
- 16:16passively waiting, but it's waiting with hope and
- 16:19expectation. It's it's expecting God to come
- 16:24through on your behalf. You're anticipating God to come
- 16:29through to, to move in your life, to have His hand upon your
- 16:34life to come and rescue you and deliver you.
- 16:38Just like we see here with David, God delivered him.
- 16:43And so that brings us to point #2 here.
- 16:48As we wait, we find there is God's action in our agony, God's
- 16:55action in our agony, or you can say God's rescue or God's
- 17:00deliverance from our agony. And so we reread verse two.
- 17:06He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry
- 17:11clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my steps.
- 17:17So this is a picture, right, of a slimy, muddy pit that is
- 17:23impossible to get out of. No matter how much you climb,
- 17:26you're going to slide right back down.
- 17:28It's that sense of a slimy muddy pit that you can't get out by
- 17:33yourself. And your muddy pit tonight might
- 17:38be depression, it might be anxiety, might be fear.
- 17:47Your muddy pit might be you just make bad decisions that get you
- 17:51into that pit. You're making bad decisions.
- 17:55Or maybe it's the decisions of others that got you into that
- 17:59pit. But no matter what it is, I know
- 18:03that God uses that to show Himself powerful in your life to
- 18:08rescue you. To show that He is a merciful
- 18:11God who loves you and cares for you and wants you to lean into
- 18:18Him and draw closer to Him and depend on Him.
- 18:23God may even prefer that you're in the pit because before you
- 18:26were in the pit, you were stubborn, focused on self doing
- 18:31things in the flesh and in your own ability.
- 18:34And God wants to show himself powerful in your life, but he
- 18:38can't do that if you won't allow him to do that.
- 18:42And so before we establish this point a little more, we have
- 18:47another question to ask ourselves.
- 18:50Is there ever a time that God is not working in your life?
- 18:57Are there moments of doubt that God is actually in the midst of
- 19:01your trial and circumstance? If you're unsure of that answer?
- 19:06And we should clear that up before we can appreciate the God
- 19:11that we serve today. That the same God that delivered
- 19:15David out of the pit, out of that miry clay, is the same God
- 19:19that we serve today. And so please turn with me.
- 19:23Let's go to the first John chapter 5, verses 14 through 15.
- 19:32First John chapter 5, verses 14 through 15.
- 19:40And it says, now this is the confidence that we have in him
- 19:46that if we ask anything according to our will, oh wait,
- 19:51no, it doesn't say that if we ask anything according to His
- 19:55will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us,
- 20:00whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have
- 20:05asked of Him. And so, based on that truth,
- 20:09find a way to have peace, knowing that God is inclining
- 20:13His ear to you in your consistent waiting.
- 20:17Don't believe for a moment that the waiting is worthless, that
- 20:21you're waiting doesn't have purpose, because in the waiting
- 20:25you will find purpose, you will find God's rescue and
- 20:28deliverance in your life. God is working out all things
- 20:33for the good of those who are, who love Him and are called
- 20:38according to His purposes. All would remind us in Romans
- 20:42God is for you and not against you.
- 20:45He's not brought you this far to leave you and so don't doubt the
- 20:49God that we serve today family, don't give up on the promise
- 20:54because you'll find that God is working in the midst of
- 20:58adversity. You'll find that God is not a
- 21:00man that he should lie, but a perfect God who inclines his ear
- 21:05to our agony. And you'll find not only will he
- 21:08rescue you, but this verse says, and established my feet upon a
- 21:13rock and established my steps. So not only will he rescue you,
- 21:19but he he doesn't just leave you there.
- 21:22He will. He is a God of follow through
- 21:26and he will establish you again and he'll make your path
- 21:29straight again. And it reminds me of raising my
- 21:33kiddos and 1st teaching them how to walk.
- 21:37And so, you know, I grabbed MY2 fingers, I let them, you know,
- 21:41grab on. I let them get their footing and
- 21:44and balance their steps. And that's how I picture God
- 21:49with us is that in the, in those moments, he's the God is trying
- 21:54to teach us how to walk closely with him, teaching us how to be
- 21:59patient, waiting for his guidance, waiting for him to
- 22:04pick us up and and help us walk in the way that we should go.
- 22:09That's my picture of, of how loving our God is that he is
- 22:14patient with us. And so it makes me want to be
- 22:19patient with with the Lord because it's not in our own
- 22:23timing. It's not on our own
- 22:25understanding, but it's seeking the will of God in our life and
- 22:30and being OK with knowing that he is God and he is sovereign.
- 22:36He's above it all. He knows it all.
- 22:39So I know that there are times in life that seem impossible.
- 22:43We learn as Christ followers to come alongside one another and
- 22:47encourage each other when we're in a pit, when we're in that
- 22:53muddy, miry clay. And I'm so thankful for a family
- 23:00of believers that were able to encourage one another and lift
- 23:05each other up. And I remember a time in my life
- 23:09where I really was at my lowest point in life where I just did
- 23:14not seem, it didn't seem like there was a way out.
- 23:19But I knew that God had a plan and a purpose.
- 23:22He had a calling on my life that he was helping me see that I
- 23:29have a standing with him, that he hadn't forgotten me.
- 23:33And all it did was propel me to just praise Him in that moment
- 23:38when when I cried out to the Lord and I knew that His
- 23:42presence was there and that He was lifting me up out of that
- 23:46miry clay. All I could do is just stretch
- 23:48out my hands up to heaven and and praise Him and thank Him for
- 23:52all that He has done, for the good things that He has done in
- 23:55my life, because He is a good Father.
- 23:59And so that brings us to point #3 that as we wait, we find
- 24:04there is praise in His presence. Praise in His presence.
- 24:11Going back to verse 3, Psalm 40, verse three, He has put a new
- 24:18song in my mouth. Praise to our God.
- 24:22Many will see it and fear and will trust in the Lord.
- 24:28David was the youngest son of Jesse.
- 24:30But if you're a young person here today, let no man despise
- 24:35your youth. The Word would say but be an
- 24:38example to the believers in Word, in conduct and love and
- 24:43spirit and faith and in purity. See, David was flawed just like
- 24:48you and me. He had many flaws, but he had a
- 24:53repentant heart before the Lord and he was called a man after
- 24:56God's own heart. So let your your light shine
- 25:00before men, that it brings honor and glory to our God.
- 25:04David also played the harp and he sang and danced before the
- 25:08Lord unashamedly. And so let your praise be that
- 25:13way. Let God put a new song in your
- 25:16mouth that it doesn't matter if you make a joyful noise, but God
- 25:20deserves your praise. He deserves to be magnified.
- 25:25He is worthy of your praise. And the reason why I love to
- 25:29play the piano and sing is because I can't help but praise
- 25:33in His presence for the good things that God has done in my
- 25:37life. How He has rescued me time and
- 25:39time again. How He's been there faithfully
- 25:42walking side by side with me. And so doesn't He deserve your
- 25:47praise? If you think back to all the
- 25:49times that God has been faithful in your life, how He has brought
- 25:54people into your life to encourage you, how He has lifted
- 25:57you up, how you've cried out to Him.
- 26:00And He has been a God so faithful to hear you, to hear
- 26:04your cry. He deserves our praise and
- 26:07worship. And don't you know that your
- 26:10praise brings others to Christ? You never know who's observing
- 26:15your life and wondering why you're so different, why it is
- 26:20that you seem to be set apart. And they see the fruit that
- 26:24comes from your life. And the only thing to point it
- 26:29to is someone higher, something greater that is not of this
- 26:34world. And it helps them to look up and
- 26:36put their faith and trust in the Lord.
- 26:39And so don't shy away from praising the Lord when He is
- 26:42lifting you up out of that miry clay.
- 26:44And when you're in the valley, praise Him because it matters.
- 26:49Your praise matters. When you're on the mountaintop,
- 26:52praise Him, it matters. Amen be a walking, living,
- 26:57breathing testimony of the goodness of God that points to
- 27:02his authority and power and dominion.
- 27:07I know we live in a world that is so fast-paced, the busyness
- 27:12of life and and everything is always in a hurry and just never
- 27:16satisfied. But if if we won't stop to
- 27:20praise or we won't stop to praise if we're too caught up in
- 27:25the busyness of life, if we're hyper focused on our own agenda,
- 27:30our own lifestyle, our own way of doing things time and time
- 27:35again, day in, day out. And it becomes a habit.
- 27:39And then you forget to praise in the moments that God has even
- 27:43shown his faithfulness and, and he has rescued you and been
- 27:48there with you. And but you're so busy, busy
- 27:51with life, busy with the things of life that you don't stop to
- 27:55wait to be patient on the Lord, to be in his presence, to be
- 28:01fully present with him, to, to be able to lift up your hands
- 28:07and thank him for all the good things that he's done in your
- 28:11life. So slow down.
- 28:15Don't be so busy in life. Wait upon the Lord, Don't have
- 28:22this agenda of your own will all the time, but we need to believe
- 28:29that God is in our midst and acknowledge Him and know when
- 28:33He's in the room. Which brings us to point #4
- 28:37here. If you're still taking notes as
- 28:40we wait, we find there is blessing and belief.
- 28:45There's blessing and belief. Psalm 40 going back to verse 4.
- 28:53Here is where we get this point. Blessed is the man who makes the
- 28:58Lord his trust and does not respect the proud, nor such as
- 29:03turn aside to lies. And so when we trust and believe
- 29:07in God, there's blessing associated with that.
- 29:14But how can we fully put our faith and trust in the Lord and
- 29:17have this unwavering faith like David did and countless others
- 29:22in the Bible? Abraham, he trusted in God so
- 29:26much so that he was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,
- 29:32he trusted in the Lord. He had this unwavering faith in
- 29:36the Lord and we know he was blessed and went on to be the
- 29:40father of many nations. But one way we can be sure to
- 29:43trust and believe in the Lord is because of this word right here.
- 29:48Covenant, God's irrevocable promises to us.
- 29:54You can be sure that when God makes a promise that He'll keep
- 29:58it. All throughout Scripture we see
- 30:02the promises of God being fulfilled in the lives of
- 30:05ordinary men and women like you and me.
- 30:10God promised Noah to never flood the earth again.
- 30:13We have the Abrahamic covenant. He promised Abraham to be the
- 30:16father of many nations. We have the Mosaic covenant
- 30:20where God promises to make Israel a holy nation and a
- 30:25Kingdom of priests. We also have the Davidic
- 30:28covenant where David's descendants would lead to Jesus
- 30:31Christ and his Kingdom would never end.
- 30:35But he also made a covenant with you, with you and me, if you
- 30:42want to turn with me to Hebrews 8 verses 10 through 13, Hebrews
- 30:49810 through 13, and also Hebrews 911 through 15.
- 30:55So if you want to turn to both of those and and we'll read them
- 31:03with this understanding that God's promises are sure they're
- 31:08steady. He has made a covenant with us.
- 31:12Hebrews 810 through 13 For this is the covenant that I will make
- 31:18with the House of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I
- 31:23will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts,
- 31:28and I will be their God and they shall be my people.
- 31:32None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother,
- 31:36saying, Know the Lord. For all shall know me from the
- 31:40least of them to the greatest of them.
- 31:43For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins
- 31:47and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more.
- 31:51In that he says, a new covenant. He has made the first obsolete.
- 31:58Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to
- 32:02vanish away. And Hebrews 9/11/15 But Christ
- 32:09came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater
- 32:15and more perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of
- 32:21this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, but
- 32:25with His own blood. He entered the most Holy place
- 32:29once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
- 32:34For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer
- 32:38sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of
- 32:42the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
- 32:49the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
- 32:55cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living
- 33:00God. And for this reason He is the
- 33:03mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the
- 33:08redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that
- 33:14those who are called may receive the promise of the internal
- 33:18eternal inheritance. So God promises salvation and
- 33:24eternal life to all who would believe in the Lord Jesus and
- 33:29His death, burial and resurrection and call on His
- 33:33name. Considering his track record,
- 33:36wouldn't you agree that we serve such an awesome God?
- 33:39How sweet it is to trust in the Lord and how simple it is to
- 33:44accept the free gift of salvation by believing in him,
- 33:48by serving Him with your life. There's blessing in belief.
- 33:54And so I grew up in the church and when I was in my teens, I
- 33:57remember kneeling at the altar every single Sunday just wanting
- 34:04more of the Lord in my life and, and what he would have for me
- 34:09and, and how he was directing me and I was just seeking him and
- 34:14wanting to feel his presence every step of my life.
- 34:18And then I had a mother and father who prayed for me,
- 34:21believing that God had a purpose and a calling on my life.
- 34:25And I know that's not everyone's story, but all it takes is
- 34:29believing in the finished work of the cross, whether that
- 34:33starts today or you have already made that resolve in your heart
- 34:37to believe that Jesus died and rose again and have a personal
- 34:41relationship with you. See the blessings of God in in
- 34:46your life as you continue to put your full trust and faith in Him
- 34:51alone. He blesses you but don't put
- 34:55your faith in man because man is going to disappoint you every
- 34:59single time. If you put your faith and trust
- 35:03in man, it needs to be on the Lord.
- 35:06And this verse also says do not respect the proud or believe the
- 35:11lies that man puts here to worship false idols and false
- 35:15teaching. You really start going down a
- 35:18slippery slide there when you start listening to all of the
- 35:21voices that are trying to gain your attention in this world.
- 35:25And so if you start listening to everything that tickles your
- 35:30ears, it's a it's a very slippery slope that you're going
- 35:35down, going down into that muddy, slimy pit of him hiery
- 35:40clay. And so there are voices of truth
- 35:45also with A twist. And so we have to have
- 35:49discernment in our lives to see the truth from the lies and
- 35:55always coming back to the word of the Lord and see how God will
- 35:59start to reveal things to you that seem foggy.
- 36:03And don't get me wrong, God has used many men and women to bring
- 36:08forth his truth and to lead others into truth into his truth
- 36:14and, and sort out things in in the Bible that maybe seem foggy
- 36:19to you. And there are gifted people such
- 36:23as our our pastor, who is gifted in teaching these things and,
- 36:27and being able to address it with such clarity.
- 36:32And so maybe start asking God for wisdom and understanding so
- 36:38that it can become clear to you what His will is for your life.
- 36:42And, and see the blessings that follow that point #5 and this is
- 36:49going to be our last point here is when we wait, we find there
- 36:54is wonder in his works. Verse 5 says many, Oh Lord my
- 37:00God, are your wonderful works which you have done, and your
- 37:04thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to you in order, if I
- 37:08would declare and speak of them. There are more than can be
- 37:11numbered. God reminds us here that His
- 37:14thoughts towards us are too many to be counted.
- 37:17And don't you love a God that is mindful of us, that He knows you
- 37:21better than you know yourself, and He knew you before you were
- 37:24born, that you were fearfully and wonderfully made?
- 37:28Psalm 139 would tell us this helps us stand in wonder of who
- 37:34our God truly is and His heart towards us, A God who loves and
- 37:38cares for you. Bible says to cast all your
- 37:41cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you.
- 37:44And it's in that waiting we find wonder in His works, that when
- 37:50we get our eyes on Him and His Word, we're reminded of the
- 37:55extensive work that He did to create you and create this world
- 37:59that you live in as well. He is Jehovah Jireh, your
- 38:03provider. He's Jehovah Nisi, your banner
- 38:07of protection, and Emmanuel, God with us, that Jesus himself
- 38:13didn't come and pay the ultimate, or Jesus himself would
- 38:18come and pay the ultimate price for your sin and my sin.
- 38:23And there is wonder in his works.
- 38:26Consider the heavens as they declare the glory of God, and
- 38:29the firmament shows his handiwork.
- 38:32Consider the lilies, how they grow and are adorned, or the
- 38:36Ravens who don't have to sow or reap, and God takes care of
- 38:41them. And how much more of value are
- 38:43you to God then all of that? Doesn't it make you wonder and
- 38:49just stand in and wonder and awe of the kind of God that you
- 38:53serve? That he would create billions of
- 38:56stars, but knowing that his thoughts are more than that,
- 39:02exponentially more than that? A God who calms the sea with his
- 39:06voice, but cares more about calming the storm inside of you.
- 39:13And so imagine with me, if you would like, are we able to live
- 39:17off seeing the wonder working power of God in the lives of
- 39:22other people? Can we really sustain this
- 39:26healthy reliance on the Lord when we just take things into
- 39:30our own hands all the time? We aren't able to enjoy what the
- 39:35Lord is willing to do on our behalf when we feel like we need
- 39:39to do things on our own all the time.
- 39:42You miss out on the wonder of His works when we start to just
- 39:48do things on our own ability and our own understanding and God
- 39:54just doesn't stop at good thoughts about you.
- 39:57He wants to be involved in and show his wonder working power in
- 40:01your life. He longs to communion with you.
- 40:04He desires to have that close and intimate relationship with
- 40:08you. I'm not willing to just sit on
- 40:13the sidelines and and see. And, and just think of what
- 40:18could be or think of what how God could have came through in
- 40:23my life or what God could have done in my life or how God could
- 40:27have shown up. But when I allow my flesh to get
- 40:32in the way of that, it, that's what I'm doing.
- 40:36I'm, I'm not allowing God to to be God.
- 40:42And so as the worship team comes up and as we draw down here,
- 40:49just be reminded tonight that God hears you in the waiting
- 40:54that you might think God is silent, but He is ever present,
- 40:59always attentive and involved in every aspect of your life.
- 41:06We find in Genesis one that we were created in His image.
- 41:10We find in Jeremiah 29 shows us that the Lord has good thoughts
- 41:15about you to give you a hope and a future.
- 41:19So hear the word of the Lord tonight that you serve a God who
- 41:23is acutely aware of your need for Him.
- 41:26And as you wait on Him, allow Him to quiet your heart and mind
- 41:30so that your attention is solely on Him and not your
- 41:34circumstances. I just want to end with this
- 41:38verse found in Isaiah 4031 says, But those who wait on the Lord
- 41:44shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
- 41:49like eagles. They shall run and not be weary.
- 41:53They shall walk and not faint. So if you're here tonight and
- 41:59you don't have a personal relationship with God, I invite
- 42:04you to stand. If you are wondering how I can
- 42:12have this unwavering faith in the Lord in every circumstance
- 42:16of life, no matter if I'm in the valley or the mountaintop and
- 42:21you want to surrender your life to to Jesus Christ tonight,
- 42:25would you stand? The Word would say that today is
- 42:31the day of salvation. Don't wait for tomorrow because
- 42:36tomorrow is not promised to anybody.
- 42:42God desires to have this relationship with you, for you
- 42:47to surrender your life to Him, to not lean on your own
- 42:53understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will
- 42:57direct your path. He will be the light for you as
- 43:03you walk through this life. He'll be there side by side with
- 43:08you. He'll teach you how to walk in
- 43:11his ways, just as a father teaches his son or daughter to
- 43:17walk. So lean into him.
- 43:21And if there's anybody here tonight, maybe you're in a place
- 43:26where you did some self evaluation tonight and you would
- 43:29say, you know what? I, I am that person who who just
- 43:35always tends to take the burden on myself because I want to do
- 43:41things all the time. Like I have to be that person to
- 43:45always fix things in my own strength and my own ability.
- 43:48I see something and I have to immediately go and try to fix it
- 43:52on my own strength. If that's you tonight also,
- 43:58would you just raise, raise your hand because I want to pray for
- 44:01you. I want to pray.
- 44:03I don't know of anybody who hasn't at some point been in a
- 44:07situation where they take things into their own hands and it ends
- 44:11up being a mess because that's not God's will for your life.
- 44:17And maybe you're half and half, maybe half of the time you're
- 44:20trusting in the Lord, and the other half you're trying to do
- 44:23it on your own strength and your own ability.
- 44:26Whatever spectrum you're on tonight, I want to pray over
- 44:31you. And so, Lord, we do bring these
- 44:36things to your feet, Lord. Lord, that you would bring
- 44:42salvation to those who have decided in their heart to follow
- 44:47you, Lord, to follow after your way because you are the way, the
- 44:52truth and the life. There's no one else but you,
- 44:56Lord, that leads to salvation. So I pray over those who have
- 45:02made that commitment tonight, Lord, that they would solely
- 45:06trust in you, and that they would wait patiently on you and
- 45:09have this continuous waiting, awaiting in the waiting, in the
- 45:14waiting. And they would wait upon you
- 45:16without tire, without being weary that they would, they
- 45:25would exercise that fruit in their life, Lord.
- 45:30And I pray over those who struggle with doing things and
- 45:35handling things on their own all the time.
- 45:39Lord, would you remind them of who you are?
- 45:42God, would you remind them that they don't have to lean on their
- 45:46own strength and their own ability, that in their weakness
- 45:51you can be made strong. Lord, I pray over that tonight
- 45:57in Jesus name. We pray that you've been
- 45:59encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
- 46:02sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
- 46:05Call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223 to listen to this
- 46:15message in its integrity or to join us for our live stream
- 46:18services. Visit us online at Calvary Co
- 46:22dot church Oregon. Download our free Calvary Church
- 46:25app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
- 46:27this week.