The Apostle Paul calls us Jars of Clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). As followers of Jesus we must allow the Word of God to fill us with it's message of Truth and Grace. In this way, we become a "vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21).

Monday, April 3, 2017

Waiting on the Lord - April 2, 2017 sermon


By Pastor Greg

A kindergarten student needed help with his boots, so his teacher bent over to help.  Oddly, they were very difficult to get on the boy’s feet.  She worked up a sweat.  Just as the second boot slid into place, they boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet." She looked and, sure enough, they were.  It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on.  She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.  He then announced, "These aren't my boots."
She bit her tongue and once again struggled to help him pull the boots off.  He then said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear them."
She didn't know if she should laugh or cry. Still, she mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again. Prepared to send the boy outdoors, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?" He said, "I stuffed them in the toes of my boots..."

Don’t patient people like that amaze you?  How do they stay so calm? They seem to have an inner strength that enables them to wait patiently for other people … and to wait for the Lord. 
Now that’s an interesting topic; waiting for the Lord.  Ask your friends how easy it is for them to wait on the Lord.  Ask yourself that question.  How anxious do you get when the Lord makes you wait?  Would you even wait on God?  Or would you do like Abraham and Sarah and try to solve the problem on your own (see Genesis 16:2).
Waiting is difficult, especially waiting on God.  But those who wait will receive the strength they need … just like Mary Magdalene.
(John 20:1-18) Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.
11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”  16 “Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).  17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message. [1]
Doesn’t it seem a bit odd that Peter and John would simply go back home at this point?  John doesn’t say they went back home to tell the remaining disciples what they had learned.  He simply says they went home while pointing out that Mary Magdalene stayed behind.  And he does this to draw our attention to the one who waited; to the one whose grief was turned to joy.
Did you happen to notice Mary’s grief?  As Peter and John brushed past her, she stood there weeping (verse 11), still thinking that the body of Jesus had been moved.  However, as the tears dripped from her face, she saw the risen Lord.  In her moment of grief, she saw her Savior.  Because she waited, her sorrow was turned to joy.  And I can’t help but wonder if Peter and John could have witnessed this if they had simply waited.  It seems that they walked away a bit too early.
Have you ever walked away too early?  Did you give up on God just a moment too soon?  What if you were one tear away from your grief being turned to joy?  What if you were one last heartbreak away from having your prayer answered?  What if you are giving up on God too soon?
Many people have a big problem waiting for the Lord.  Many are impatient; expecting God to answer prayers yesterday.  Is that you?  Do you cry out like King David, “How long must I endure this?” (Psalm 119:84).  But what if waiting is exactly what the Lord wants you to do?
A long time ago, Isaiah reminded Israel that “Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary[2] (Isaiah 40:31).  There’s that word again.  “Wait” says Isaiah, and he seems to imply that waiting gives us strength.  However, there are far too many people whose strength is not renewed because they will not wait.
What does it mean to “wait on the Lord?”  It means we trust His Love and we trust His promises.  When we remain steadfast in spite of circumstances, our faith is strengthened and our commitment to the Lord grows stronger.  How would we grow in our faith if the Lord gave us everything we asked for right away?  How would we become stronger if God never placed us in circumstances that try our faith?  Truly, our commitment to God is tested when He turns to us and says “not yet;” when He asks us to wait.  And when we wait patiently for the Lord to show up amid our problems, we confess that we trust His promises and His character.  Waiting demonstrates trust.
At the end of some national tragedy in ancient Israel, the Psalmist reminded the people that, 20 We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone[3] (Psalm 33:20-22).  Like Mary, perhaps many people of Israel stood by and wept; were about to give up hope.  But then, at just the right moment, God showed up … and the people rejoiced.  Likewise, at just the right moment, Jesus appeared to Mary, and she rejoiced.  I believe the same thing continues to happen today.  As we weep and worry; as we grow faint because of our problems, at just the right moment, the Lord will step in and make things right.
We just need to learn to wait for that moment.


[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Jn 20:1–18). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Is 40:31). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Ps 33:20–22). Carol Stream, IL.

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