The Promise: Wait and See!

In January 1991 the Middle East was in crisis--so what is new? Is this Egypt thing "the end"? What do God's people do?
Here is a sermon God gave me then-- it seems to fit "now"...

January 27, 1991
Isaiah 40:28-31

A PROMISE OF GOD'S STRENGTH

Introduction

There is no question but that these are days of stress all over
the civilized world. The events in the Middle East are brought into
our living rooms and our minds, and they are sobering, to say the
least.

Yesterday the Patriot Ledger said that people of faith
everywhere are turning to prayer: some for guidance, some for solace,
some for God's intervention. I would hope that we would be people of
prayer.

The question is: Where do God's people have any advantage over
people who profess no faith at all? What difference does faith make?

Faith does indeed make a difference! I am sure that you are
already finding this out. Perhaps you don't even need to be told that.
But I find that it helps me to be reminded of God's great promises.
Times of stress, whatever the reason, are good times to return to
favorite treasures, to the passages of scripture that have 'come
through' with assurance over and over again.

One such passage that we can claim together is Isaiah 40, and
especially that last paragraph which says, in part:

" . . .they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength . . ."

I. ISAIAH IS A PROPHET OF GREAT HOPE

[Isaiah is also a great Messianic prophet, and is
sometimes called "the Fifth Evangelist" (along with
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, because we Christians can
see so much of Jesus in his writings.]

A. Some "key words" that open Isaiah's message as we read are
words like "expectancy" and "hope" and "peace." Isaiah lived in
expectancy for a long time, through many difficult times. But Isaiah
was "forward looking." He believed that God was in charge, and that He
was in charge of the future. Isaiah is the one who told us that
Messiah would be called "Prince of Peace."

B. The heart of Isaiah's message is the fact that God works not only
on a cosmic scale, but personally. God was interested in kings and
nations, and Isaiah observed roles and rituals of religious ceremony
along with his fellow priests and prophets. But the message came in a
PERSONAL way to Isaiah himself. Isaiah felt his own personal
uncleanness before the holiness of God as well as that of his
people. Isaiah experienced personal cleansing and empowering. The
message that God gave him interfaced with his own family situation.

And-- Messiah would be a PERSON! Not just the nation of Israel,
but a Suffering Servant, a man among men and women!

Majestic and meek. Baptized - and a baptizer with
fire! Life-bringer who came to die! This personal
Savior would be called by the names of deity: WISDOM
POWER IMMANUEL! God with us!

C. Isaiah tells us in this passage that the reality of God's gifts
of HOPE and STRENGTH and PEACE are personally available, held out to
those who will 'WAIT UPON THE LORD!'

Wait upon the Lord!

II. WHAT IS THIS 'WAITING UPON THE LORD'??

A. "Waiting" would seem to imply something like 'killing time;' like
reading old magazines in a doctor's waiting room somewhere while the
appointments are an hour behind schedule.

Or, waiting might seem simply to let the years go by until God's
time gets right, and a certain day or hour appears and God says, "Now
you've waited long enough!"

But "wait" here has a personal aspect. It doesn't simply mean
letting time pass, but means waiting in expectancy, or looking to God
in trust as we watch to see how God will answer our prayer.

And no one, in any age, ever really waits on God in vain! No
one ever comes in trust and obedience that does not somehow find that
God is IN the prayer, that God is BEHIND the prayer-- and that,
ultimately, God is HEARING the prayer. [I certainly do not minimize
the mystery of prayer. I do not dispute the fact of genuine struggle
and even travail in prayer. But God does hear and answer prayer!]

B. But what, then, does this waiting mean?

1. Waiting on God indicates a sense of DEPENDENCY. Being
dependant somehow goes against our All-American western culture
Protestant work-ethic positive self-image self-confident way of life
and living.

[There ARE benefits to a healthy self-image which I do not deny.
There is enormous worth in looking at a task and thinking "I CAN!"]

But in matters of eternity and life and death "I CAN!" somehow
fades away into the realization that among the spinning galaxies of
ultimate reality there are many things which "I CAN NOT!"

[In "skits" of Bible stories which we used at a recent
pastors' retreat one mini-drama had to do with the
centurion who came and asked Jesus to heal his servant.
The man who represented the centurion was deeply moved,
even to tears. Later he said, "I realized that in
temporal things I had great authority: 'I say to
one, "Come!" and he comes, etc.' But in the things which
really mattered (i.e., the life and death of the beloved
servant) I was totally helpless, dependant on Jesus."]

Waiting on God is saying to God: We can't do it unless and until
YOU do it!

C. So waiting on God is not so much TIME as it is ATTITUDE. It is
listening for God. It is seeking to give God our attention. It is
being ready for communication from the Master. [It is perhaps like a
little dog trotting along, always looking back, always looking up to
make sure the master or mistress is coming along, and everything is
all right.]

And as we wait, we will hear God! As we wait the things will
happen that would NOT have happened if we had not waited! Isaiah
makes it clear that the benefits of waiting on God are in the HERE AND
NOW!

THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH!

[But we are NOT little dogs trotting along, looking up to the
Master's face. We are PEOPLE, living in a tremendously complex world
situation. We have tremendously complex lives to lead. Is there any
practical guidance for waiting on God?

III. GIVING GOD OUR ATTENTION

A. We can pray DELIBERATELY to be filled with God's Spirit.
William Barclay says:

"The only way to receive the Spirit is to silently and
prayerfully WAIT upon the Spirit."

A helpful verse to me is Luke 11:13. Jesus says that if we ask
the Father He is more anxious to empower us with the Spirit than we
are to give things to our own children! But we need to ASK!

Barclay goes on: "In a church life in which the church
is increasingly organized, and in which strenuous
activity is the key-note, and in which ACTION is valued
above all things it is hard to find time for that
apparent doing nothing which means everything."

B. But can we be even more PRACTICAL? More SPECIFIC? How shall we
pray in such a way that we can renew our strength? [I have FOUR
suggestions:]

1. By praying HONESTLY. God will only receive as much of our
lives as we are willing to give freely to Him. This God who could
easily overwhelm us never pushes His way in past locked doors! If you
need His help in areas of your life make certain that you have made
Him welcome in EVERY area. [sin / confession / open-ness]

2. By praying REGULARLY. Prayer life is not so much a series of
major repairs and overhauls as it is keeping a schedule of daily
maintenance. Fifteen minutes a day is better than two or three hours
every other week!

3. By praying CORPORATELY. Worship together with the Body of
Christ is an essential part of waiting on the Lord. Worship is much
more than just a convenient time for religious people to get together
to hear a common word. The CHURCH has power as it joins in prayer
together. "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together" is the
word of God (Hebrews 10:24.)

Finally,

4. By praying TOGETHER. Not just in the assembly of the Body,
but in the daily traffic of life and living, Christians must learn to
pray with each other, and pray for each other.

We need to reach out and ask for help. We need to say, "Let's
pray!" If it seems like a weakness, it is only admitting before God
that He alone is our strength! There is strength and power in weaving
the potency of prayer into the daily conversation of our living.

Conclusion

William Barclay again:
"God will 'do it again;' that is, renew and revive,
both for us individually, and for the church, if we
remember that He asks nothing but our attention, and if
we learn to wait INTENSELY upon Him."

Prayer:

Lord, We confess freely our need of Your strength. We believe that
You are as good as Your word. Help us to wait in simple faith and
trust- to give You our full attention. Help us to hear Your Word of
power. Amen