Subject - The Importance of Worshiping While We Wait
by Rick Welborne
Isaiah 45:1-3 (NKJV)
1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
Isaiah 40:25-31 (NLT)
25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
–Today I want to speak to you about worshiping in the waiting.
1. There is power in patient waiting as long as we worship.
–How many of you have ever heard the expression, “That person, that business, the mail service, whomever...they are as slow as Christmas” Fast food...sorry about your wait!!
–Waiting is probably one of the most difficult we humans do because we believe waiting is inactivity and it is wasting precious time. Waiting on the electricity.
Fulton J. Sheen - “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing". It waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”
–What a powerful statement...Patience (waiting) is power, as waiting on the perfect timing of God...for His plan to be laid out in the right way. And to worship during this time. Incredible!
–As we move closer to the Christmas season and as we consider all that Christ has done for us by coming and being born in the manger, we know He came to be Immanuel God with us!
–I am sure Simeon and Anna were just as human as we are when it comes to waiting and that there were times they wondered if they would see the coming Messiah in their lives.
–Both Simeon and Anna were waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel...They had waited for a lifetime for Him to come and now the promise is fulfilled.
Luke 2:25-31 (NLT)
25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him
26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,
28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared for all people.
25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him
26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,
28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared for all people.
Luke 2:36-38 (NLT)
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.
37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.
37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
–How many of you are waiting for your own Christmas story to be fulfilled...waiting for your loved one to be rescued, waiting for your body to be rescued from sickness or disease, waiting for your financial situation to turn around...waiting and waiting. Add to your waiting…worship!
2. Live righteously as you wait and worship.
Sarah Mally - “When you chose to follow the way of purity, did you expect it to be easy? When you decided to wait for the best, did you think that waiting would be fun? Did you think that your faith would not be tested? When you decided to take the narrow path, did no one warn you that difficulties, hardship, and tears would be part of the journey, and that you would often face rejection from others and be forced to walk alone? My daughter, that which you wait for the longest you treasure the most, and through much struggle the prize is won.”
–Waiting, in some ways, would be unbearable if we fail to learn the secret that Simeon and Anna learned as they waited for Christ to appear...they learned to worship in the waiting!
–As Simeon and Anna watched the oppression of Israel and there was the appearance that things were not going to get any better...they made a decision to worship until their rescuer showed up.
Key: Simeon was righteous and devout (God-fearing) and the Holy Spirit was upon Him
–Life Church, hear your pastor, if you are waiting for Jesus to come and rescue you or rescue your loved ones...make sure you put on the righteousness of God and be filled with Holy Spirit daily.
–Simeon: The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. God give us such worship that Holy Spirit speaks!!! Could He say that to us about Christ’s…
–Anna had known pain and loneliness...after just a few years of marriage her husband had died and she had lived as a widow to age 84...she found the key to her promise!
–She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She worshiped in the waiting and it made the waiting bearable.
–Unfortunately when we are young we do not have the life experience to know that things do not always go the way we expect and that waiting seems to be unfair and difficult.
–Young people, be willing to wait for God’s best, singles wait on God - there are some things that are worse than being single. All of us need to wait and to worship!!!
–What happened for Simeon and Anna as they worshiped and as they waited...Jesus showed up in their lives.
–Do you just suppose that we could receive our miracle if we learned that while we are waiting to worship God with all of hearts. Jesus might just show up for us!!!
3. Worship the Lord continually as you wait.
–We have covered this pretty extensively but I think it needs to be reiterated!!!
Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
–There will be times in the waiting that discouragement and doubt will try to jump on you. You must bless the Lord at all times...worship is not emotional...obedience!
–Sometimes we are hit with a storm, or a negative report, or sometimes even worse we get no word at all, and there is a tendency for our minds to wander and fear set in but I will bless the....
–Anna: She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
–Faith says God is worthy no matter what, and faith says giants fall by the power of God’s mighty hand...wait and worship continually! Pray without ceasing!
Psalm 27:1314 (NKJV)
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.
14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
–Pastor Rick, I would have lost heart but I didn’t...I kept my eyes on Jesus, I kept waiting on Him for my miracle, and I kept worshiping...my miracle is at the door!!!
–As you worship He will strengthen your heart and give you supernatural power...people will wonder what the source of your strength is...Our miracle was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger...His Name is Jesus and I worship Him!!!
Psalm 33:1822 (NKJV)
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.
Psalm 130:58 (NKJV)
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.
8 And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.
–You must establish in your heart, your mind, and your spirit that there is none other in whom can be your trust and where you can direct your worship!!
–He is the One Who is worthy of us waiting on and worshiping!!!
Isaiah 40:2531 (NKJV)
25 "To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God"?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Proverbs 8:3435 (NKJV)
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.