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SCRIPTURE Isa 40:31 JULY, 2015 But they that WAIT upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint . SUBJECT - WAIT ON THE LORD!!! The message for this month concerns a state of being that many of us that name the name of Christ, need to have, and that is the ability, when things seem to be going wrong, to, as the bible says, wait on the Lord to fix the problem. This is the first of 2 views of the word 'WAIT!' The other view will be addressed later. When we consider the word 'WAIT', it brings to mind the idea of choosing to refrain from doing something that needs to be done, for the purpose of making sure that the action that is finally taken will lead to the best result. You have no doubt heard the saying that haste, makes waste!! That carries with it the idea that doing some things without thinking about it first, could lead to a disastrous conclusion. There are times when haste is appropriate such as in a life and death, or safety issue. However, in this context we want to look at the benefits of 'WAITING.' Naturally, most people, when it comes to making decisions on things like what to eat, what clothes to wear, what time to go to work or an appointment, where to go for entertainment, or something like this will tend to not really give it a second thought. The reason being, there is no critical result that will lead to a person being injured or worse. Yet, there are times when 'waiting' is the best thing to do. When you go to buy a house, or car, or some other expensive item, it is best to shop around to make sure you get the best deal for your money. People have gone out a bought things without shopping around, and ended up paying more money than they had to. A male/female sees someone that looks attractive to them and they rush to get in a relationship/marriage, only to find out later that this person is an abuser, or worse, and if it is a female and she gets pregnant, the male abandons her and the child. I could go on and on, but you see what I am talking about. Life is full of situations and circumstances where people need to proceed with caution when facing them. However, even when all precautions are followed, and the 'waiting' has gone on for what seems like an eternity, and you have to make a decision, and it comes out wrong, then what?? The problem with us 'waiting' is that the vast majority of us, let me say, all of us have one problem, and that is, we can't see in to the future. When I say the vast majority, I am referring to those of us that don't have the spiritual insight, given by God, to let us hear and see what we need to do, and when to do it. The bible tells us that God is all knowing, and that He knows the beginning from the end. It also tells us that the control of everything is in His hand. Consequently, with that being the case, then why should I wear myself out, fretting about what should I do about any given situation, when I can go to the One that knows what I should do, and get His direction?? Most of us make hasty decisions because we want to get something done as quickly as possible. Some people have said we are a microwave society, meaning we want everything done 'right now!!' We have a lot to do, and not enough time to do it. So we rush everything. This type of mentality brings about situations like we see all around us. People stressed out, burdened down, can't eat, can't sleep, can't think right, don't want to get up in the morning, killing themselves and others, on all types of drugs to help them cope, losing their minds and a whole lot more. This is what trying to do something without God, can do for you. When it comes to choices about who we want to lead this nation, once again, we don't consider what God has to say about our circumstances because we don't want to take the time to read the bible to get a handle on what God likes and dislikes. We want someone to tell us, and usually they will skew the scriptures to get you to support their candidate[s] and the ideas that are what they want to see made in to law. Just because a man/woman is a minister in the Christian faith does not mean they are all-knowing and are telling you the Truth of God's Word. 2Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 2Cor 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. What each of us should be doing is taking time to study the bible for ourselves and asking the Lord to help us to see what we need to see so that we won't end up destroying ourselves. 2Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Only God, through the Holy Spirit can make things easy for us so that we can go on in victory, in every area where we are challenged. The second view of 'waiting', has to do with serving the Lord. The idea here is looking at the person that serves you your food in a dining establishment. He/she is known as a waiter/waitress. Their job is to ask you what you would like then bring it back to you when it has been prepared. The whole idea is one of catering to your desires. When one of them performs this job the way it should be done, you would be glad to give them a tip, because they did everything to your satisfaction. In fact, if they went over and above what was expected from them, you would probably give them an even bigger tip. Well, by the same token, if we consider Christ telling us what He wants from us, and we set about to do it, then He would be more than happy to give us a 'tip/blessing' for our service to Him. If you have ever worked as a waiter, you know that by most standards, the regular pay, is not that great. Consequently, any extra money given to you by a customer, would surely come in handy. So if you were prudent, you would be on your best behaviour to make sure everything was up to the satisfaction of your customer, so that you could get that tip. What a lot of these people want to happen is for some wealthy person to come in and sit in their section, so they can really pull out all the stops in their service to them, so that they may possibly get an even bigger tip. Well, once again, the Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. So, if any one has the ability to blow your mind with a big 'tip/blessing', He does. Yet, there doesn't seem to be all that much enthusiasm to serve Him. The reasons vary, but the main one has to do with what He wants us to do, goes against what we feel comfortable doing. Yet this is the One that is a waiter's dream customer. The One that could set them up with a tip that would last them for life. Who wouldn't want to serve someone like that?? I am not a waiter, but, if I knew there was someone like Him, dropping in to eating establishments, and I really needed a job, I would tear down the doors to get in there and get hired so that I could have a chance for Him to come in my section, and leave me a big tip. The neat thing is, I don't have to be a waiter/waitress. All I have to do, is serve Him right where I am. You know, 'right here, right now!!!' I don't have to go looking for a job for Him to tip me. All I have to do is be available, willing and able to give Him what He wants. Our motto should be, 'whatever you need me to do Lord, I will do!!' As I said earlier, most of us feel uncomfortable doing a lot of things that He wants us to do because they go against the grain, so to speak, as to how we feel about it. I have often asked people that claim they love the Lord so much how they can, in good conscience, choose to align themselves with people whose goal is to completely tear downanything that the Lord says is right, and build up those things that the Lord says is evil. As I was writing this message, for example, this nation's highest court ruled that same sex couples [homosexuals, and lesbians], have a right to marry. In other words, this nation, is well on its way to being destroyed because we have refused to recognize what marriage really is, in God's eyes, and elevated actions that God hates, above the marriage unit the way God wants it. And while I can see why the ungodly [those that are not saved] would rejoice in that decision, it is totally asinine for any Christian to support them in this decision. Now, I am fully aware that gays should be afforded certain things based on the idea that they are people and deserve to be treated like any one of us would like to be treated. But, to support them in their sin, only serves to further exacerbate a serious problem in this nation and that is, the more sin that we support, the worse things will get for all of us. Need I remind you of what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah??? Well, we have surpassed them in the wickedness that too many people that call themselves Christian, fully throw their support behind. These Christians have bought in to the Devil's lie, which states, God made them [gays], the way they are. If that was the case, which it is not, then they have no need to repent. God wants the Christian to serve Him by delivering the message of repentance to the sinner, so that they can be saved. If the Christian is delivering that message today, they will be called homophobe, bigot, and be accused of spreading a message of hate. So, what do a lot of them do??? They either shut up, or support them, so that they can be seen as showing the love of God/Christ. This virtually guarantees and ensures that they will end up in hell, and may very well be something that you will have to answer for in this life, as well as the next. Mind you, the Lord wants us to deliver the message of salvation through repentance. But that has become a dirty word, just like sin. We are so worried about what other people will think about us, that we forget the One whose opinion really matters, because He has all the tips/blessings lined up for us, but they are on hold because we are not doing our job. How did the court reach this decision?? Very simple, the ones that supported it, were fed a lie that was supported by their pastor, if they attended church, and as a result, see absolutely nothing wrong with their decision. When people want to consider who is and is not their friend, they need to take in to consideration who has their best interest at heart. If my going along with you is going to ensure your place in hell, then, I definitely am not the type of person you would want to consider a friend. That is what an enemy [Satan] wants it to be. If you will remember, Christ Himself warned us that, just as He was persecuted for what He said and did, we would suffer the same things as we carried out His commandment to preach the Gospel to the whole world. That includes all of it, not just the parts that we feel comfortable doing. So, there you have it. In closing, let me ask you this!! Are you serving the Lord, or Satan??? Think about it!! |