Daring Faith: Daring To Wait On God with Rick Warren

this weekend I'm at Saddleback Corona where we're installing as I said Rob Fults and his wife Dana Rob will be the new pastor at Saddleback Corona because Pastor Dave Williamson is going to be moving over to help us start the 10 new peace centers now if you take out your message notes inside your program we're in part 10 of daring faith the key to miracles and I want us to look at daring to wait on God a few things make us more irritated than having to wait would you agree with that we don't like to wait waiting in traffic does anybody actually like traffic yeah waiting in a waiting room waiting in a line at Disneyland waiting we don't like wait and technology which is speeded up everything in our world has made us much more accustomed to things fast and so technology has actually made us more impatient far more impatient and say a farmer of a hundred years ago and yet weeding is an important part of life it's important part of character development there's some things that we only learn in waiting that we learn no other way would you agree that every child has to learn the difference between no and not yet they're not the same thing are they but an immature child doesn't know the difference between oh and not yet our inability to wait is the cause of so many problems in our lives we get in a hurry our inability to delay gratification it is the cause of all debt it's the cause of all debt the inability to wait until you can afford it you buy it on credit you get in debt it's why America is in debt so many social problems even diseases come from our inability to delay sexual gratification until marriage and so many other problems really come from this issue I want it I want it and I want it now causes broken hearts have you ever been in a hurry when God wasn't that's the most frustrating of all when you're in God's waiting room you can rush your kids but you can't rush God and that's frustrating some of you right now are waiting on God you're in God's waiting them you're waiting for God to open the door you're waiting for God to give you a job opportunity you're waiting on God for an answer to prayer you're waiting for clarification you're waiting for new direction you're waiting for God to remove a pain or heal a relationship and you go I don't get this I've prayed and nothing's happening and there is a delay remember no is not not yet why does God delay things when clearly he could answer every prayer instantly well if you had every prayer answered you'd be a selfish little brat because you treat God like a vending machine gotta need this Pollak trigger boom I got it instantly and God sometimes has to work on you before he works on the solution the Bible says that Ecclesiastes 3:11 there at the top of your outline God does everything just right and on time but people can never completely understand what he's doing well duh if you did understand everything God was doing you'd be God God is God and I'm not and so I don't understand what is just right and I don't always understand what's on time so today I want us to look at what do you do when you have to wait on God daring to wait on God I want to ask two questions what do I need to remember when I'm in the waiting room of life and what do I need to do when I'm in the waiting room of life because this is an element of daring faith waiting is as much faith as taking the initiative waiting can be as much of a matter of trust as it is taking a risk or any of the other things we've looked at over the last 10 weeks what do you need to remember while you're waiting on God need to do let's look at these first let me give you five things you need to remember and you're gonna need these so write them down when you have asked God for something and it hasn't come yet and you're in that delay period where you haven't seen the answer to your prayer what do you do you remember five things number one remember there's a natural delay between planting and harvesting and we talked about this in the message on the laws of sowing and reaping there's a natural delay between planting and harvesting when I have a garden and when I plant seeds I plant a seed I don't go out the next day to expect to see full grown tomatoes when I plant a carrot seeds I don't expect to go out the next day see if carrots there's always a delay between planting and harvesting there's always a delay between sowing and reaping the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3 there is a time for everything and there is a season for every activity under heaven there is a time to plant and there is a time to harvest there is a time to scatter and there is a time to gather this is simply talking about seasons you always get the results of what you plant in life in another season not in the same season you don't plant and harvest in the same season many of you have planted seeds in in daring faith financial seeds seeds of service seeds of sacrifice you're not going to have the harvest immediately you just need to understand that it comes but it comes in another season write this down I reap in a different season than i sow and during that season of waiting you wait quietly you wait expectantly you wait patiently in faith I remember that there's a natural delay between planting and harvest so when I put in a request it's not going to be instantly fulfilled there is always a delay number 2 second thing I need to remember is that there is an unseen battle going on there is an unseen battle going on there is a spiritual warfare going on in a realm that we don't even understand we don't see it we don't feel it but in the cosmic heavenlies there is a spiritual war in other dimensions between good and evil between god and satan between angels and demons and the fact is you're caught right in the middle and if you're a child of God Satan hates you and he wants to mess you up the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6 verse 12 we're not struggling and fighting against human beings but against evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm the rulers and the authorities and the powers of darkness now what happens what I'm saying what this verses say is that when you send up a prayer there's often a battle on how that's going to be answered and Satan starts throwing while you're waiting while you're in the waiting room he starts throwing darts at you the dart of doubt the dart of discouragement the dart of disappointment the dart of delay the dart of depression and he starts throwing these darts at you and he says we shouldn't we should be aware that he's going to try to try to get you down now the truth is we don't really know this much and the Bible is even tell us that much about the spiritual warfare that's going on behind your prayers but we do get a glimpse of it in one book of the Bible it's in the Book of Daniel you may have never even seen this passage in Daniel but it's the one time in the Bible it shows the spiritual warfare going on behind the answer to the prayers that you have prayed and the things that you're trusting God for in your life let me read it to you here on the screen Daniel chapter 10 says this Daniel had a vision and he had a vision of an angel come to him and the angel says to Daniel in this vision Daniel God loves you deeply and he loves you deeply too and God has heard your prayers since the very first day you humbled yourself and let me just say this when you pray a prayer God heard the very first one it's not like he wasn't listening until number 95 God has heard every prayer he heard your prayer from the very first moment angel said God loves you deeply and he heard your prayer since the very first day you humbled yourself and he says I the angel have come an answer to your prayer but now here's the interesting part the evil angel prince of this kingdom opposed and blocked me for 21 days he said your prayer hadn't been answered for 21 days said I was opposed in this spiritual battle so Michael one of the Archangels intervened to fight for me because I had been blocked from coming to you with the answer is that the wildest verse you've ever seen there is a dimension beyond your prayers that we don't need and we don't even have any more than that in scripture about it but the Bible tells us that Daniel at a prayer it wasn't answered it wasn't answered once answered he's starting to get discouraged the angel shows up says I'm here to get the answer we heard it from day one but we've been in a battle over this and it's such an intense battle that Michael Archangel had to come down and help me with this battle so I come and tell you the answers on its way I don't know any more about it than that I just know that this is not as simple as you think it is so I want you to write this on your outline a delay is not a denial a delay is not a denial when an answer to prayer is delayed it doesn't mean it's not going to be answered there may be some kind of spiritual warfare going on behind it and you got to keep praying a delay is not a denial number three the third thing we remember the first that there's a natural delay between planning and harvesting that there's a spiritual delay because of the spiritual warfare that's going on number three there's another reason for delay and it's this remember God is preparing me for a blessing God is preparing me for his blessing when you have an idea and you ask God to do something in your life God usually has a bigger idea and usually has a better idea and he's going to have to prepare you to get you ready for a bigger and better answer to your prayer and he usually has to take some time getting you ready preparing you and the first thing God wants to do before he answers your prayer for a job for a mate for a child to get married whatever your aunt prayer request is he first he wants to get you ready because God's more interested in changing your character than he is in answering your prayer because your characters what you're going to take to heaven and here's what the Bible says in first Peter chapter 1 there's wonderful joy ahead that's the inevitable answers to our prayers even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while and this includes the delays these troubles circle this test your faith the troubles you're going through right now this is a test they test your faith so that it is strong and pure just as fire tests and purifies gold and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold some of you are going through the fire right now keep going what do you do when you're going through hell you keep going you don't want to stay there you keep walking when you're going through the fire you keep going he says these troubles are there to test your faith you might write this down waiting is always a test when you're praying for something in your life and it hasn't happened and you're in that delay you're in that time zone you're in that season between harvest and and sowing waiting is always a test it tests your character it tests your trust to test your faith it tests your endurance it tests all kinds of things in your life waiting is a test in fact Paul compares waiting in life waiting on God when you really want something it hasn't happened yet Paul compares it to being pregnant in Romans chapter 8 we've got a great analogy here I love it in the message paraphrase Romans 8:24 228 Paul says this waiting does not diminish us it doesn't diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother we are enlarged in the waiting what we don't see is what is enlarging this but the longer we wait the larger we become just like a pregnant woman the longer we wait the larger we become and the more joyful our expectancy meanwhile when we get tired in the waiting God spirit is right alongside helping us and if we don't know how or what to pray it doesn't matter cuz he the Holy Spirit prays in us and for us and he knows far better than we know our better than we know ourselves he knows her pregnant condition and that's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is working into something good that's a powerful passage now he's saying here that it's just like being pregnant it's just like being expectant now in an expectancy but they don't call it expecting for nothing do they because when a woman has a baby she's expecting that baby and he says this is what it's like to wait on God you know it's coming you know it's gonna happen but this is what you've got to do you got to wait number four the fourth thing to remember I need to remember when I'm in the waiting zone that I'm in good company I'm in good company while I'm waiting millions of Saints before you have sat in God's waiting room you're not alone in fact if you're in the waiting room right now you're waiting on a job you're waiting on an answer you're waiting on a prayer there are a lot of other people sitting around here right now who are in that same situation millions of saints have sat in God's waiting room you're in good company Hebrews 11 verse 2 says this people who lived in the past became famous because of their faith and every one of those people had to wait think about Hannah who had to wait years to have the baby that she was praying that God would give her think about Joseph who God gave him a dream of being a ruler and he had that vision from a very young childhood age and he ends up being put in prison for 14 years for a crime he did not commit falsely accused of rape and he spends 14 years in the prison and dungeon in Egypt waiting God knew exactly where he was he is preparing Moses waits 40 years in the wilderness to know his purpose in life to know his next assignment to know what he's supposed to do with his life Abraham waits a hundred years before he has Isaac his first child through Sarah the promise job got it promised in me years before he waits he's a hundred years old Noah had to wait a hundred and twenty years before it rained you think you're in a waiting period how'd you like to wait 120 years and the whole time you're building an ark and everybody's come and say what's an ark that it's a big boat why because it's gonna rain what's rain I said it never rained up to that point can you imagine building the ark in your front yard and how your kids your teenage kids are all embarrassed my dad's a nut you know how long has he been working on the bows 120 years why cuz it's gonna flood what's a flood God waited thousands of years before sending the Messiah we get in a hurry God is not in a hurry look at this verse on the screen Hebrews 6 says after waiting patiently Abraham received what was promised but the weeding is essential to faith number 5 the fifth thing to remember I remember there's a time delay between planting and harvesting I remember that there's a spiritual battle going on I remember that God is preparing me for the answer I remember that I'm in good company while I'm waiting in number five I remember that God always keeps his promises that's what you need to remember when you're waiting on God because unlike other people you can count on God to come through you can count on God to come through because over these seven thousand promises in the that he has made he's staked his reputation so what'd you do in the waiting room is you don't focus on what you can't do I don't have the money I don't have the talent I don't have the connections I don't have the opportunity you don't focus on what you don't have you focus on what God does have what God can do and one of the ways you focus on what God can do is through the promises of God promises can help you focus on God and his unlimited abilities instead of you and your limited abilities the Bible says anything is possible if you have faith a backup to verse 3 says this on the screen God says at the time I have decided my words will come true you can trust what I say about the future it may take a long time but keep on waiting it will happen some of you need to write that verse down on a card and put it up on your refrigerator God says my word will come true you can trust that if I say it it's going to happen it may take a long time but keep on waiting it will happen I remember the 13-year battle for land in this church and the church we started praying for land the first day we started the church and we prayed we looked at hundreds of pieces over the next 13 years and we had one failure after another and one failure after another one - and that piece fell through and that deal fell through and that deal fell through and that deal fell through and a lot of people got discouraged a lot of people thought well we're never going to get land but I never felt that way why because I knew that a delay was not a denial this piece of land here in Lake Forest was not even on the map when Saddleback Church started because there was no such thing as the city of Santa Margarita and there was no such thing as the city of Foothill Ranch and nobody's even mapped or partitioned this piece off there was no Portola Parkway el Torro Road was a two-lane road there was no toll road it was no man's land nobody even knew it but God before the foundation of the earth had planned where Saddleback Church would have its first campus he knew and it was just a matter of time and all of those things where we had the delays and the denials and the dead ends and all those things where we had one defeat after another God was working on us and I had said all along God's much more interested in building disciples than he is in building buildings so we went from one service to two - three - four - five - six I don't keep going God any time now you know just soon not have to do 100 services a weekend God knew and his timings perfect he's never early he's never late at the time I decided my words will come true you can trust what I say it will be a fact it may take a long time now they're over 7,000 promises in the Bible when you're in the waiting room that's a good time to memorize Scripture if you're in a waiting room right now you're waiting on what's next Lord you're waiting on a new job you're waiting on a new an answer to prayer you're waiting on a doctor's report now's the time to memorize Scripture that's what you remember what do you do that's what you remember in the waiting room there are four things to do write these down four things to do in the waiting room and just for fun I put them in an acrostic just because I know you'd expect me to do that so W AIT wait four things you need to do when you're in the waiting room of life the W stands for this write down the lessons I'm learning this is extremely important to the building of your faith when you're in the waiting room the first thing you do is write down the lessons that you are learning because waiting is always the season to listen and waiting is always the season to learn and when you're listening and learning then you need to write it down God has some things he wants to teach you before he answered your prayer God has some things he wants you to learn before that seed that you're planning and daring faith sprouts he wants to teach you some things God is more interested in your character than your comfort but you will forget the lessons that you learn in the waiting rooms of life if you don't write them down and you know what happens when you don't write them down you forget them and what happens when you forget him he has to take you through it again that's no fun that's unnecessary pain some of you have been through the same pain eight or nine times why don't you write down the lessons this time so you don't have to go through it for the 90 second time you know Moses led the children out of Egypt across the wilderness to the promised land it should have only taken you can walk that distance easily in a few weeks even with a large crowd it took him 40 years what in the world were they doing for 40 years walking around in a circle God was giving him one test after another thing will you trust me there are seven tests and every time they fail a test he'd say another lap around the wilderness and in that wilderness they were not there by accident waiting in the wilderness has a purpose some of you are in the wilderness right now I want you to write this down the way to the promised land is through the wilderness you can't get to the promised land without going through the desert and you've got to go through that waiting period you've got to go through that desert you've got to go through that dry spell you've got to go through that wilderness waiting in the wilderness for a purpose the weight of the promised land is in through the wilderness and the lessons that you're learning the will is please write them down the Bible tells us to Moses numbers 33 verse 2 at the Lord's direction Moses knows God commanded him to do this Moses kept a written record of their progress are you keeping a written record of your progress in the Christian life are you are you writing anything now keep a journal while you're waiting and here's what do you do you say now I'm not talking about a journal is different than a diary a diary is about what you do today I had a mocha frappuccino nobody cares a journal you don't write down what you do a journalist any time you learn something you write that down you write down the lesson a diary is for events a journal is for lessons I have always learned in the waiting periods of life that little lessons lead to big successes some of the tiniest lessons I've learned in dry periods in depressing periods in discouraging periods are the keys to big successes in my life little lessons lead to big successes so you write them down Deuteronomy 11 verse 2 says this remember what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him as I said if you don't remember God has to take you there again and that's painful now here's a good prayer to pray look up here on the screen psalm 119 33 is good prayer to pray when you're in the wilderness God teach me the lessons for living so that I can stay the course so I don't wander around teach me the lessons for living so I can get through this with the minimum amount of time I don't want to be here for 40 years I don't want to be going in circles teach me the lessons for life so I can stay the course when you're in the waiting period you're between jobs you're between goals you're but you don't know what's next you say teach me Lord I want to learn the lessons that's the dub you write down the lessons that I'm learning the a and weight stands for this this is really important act as though I already have it act as though I already have it this is called faith and when you have deposited a seed a seed of finances like many have done with during faith a seed of talent and service a seed of energy a seed of reputation when you when you've had a need and you planted a seed what you do while you're waiting for that seed to grow is you act as though you already have it this is faith now we typically when we're in the waiting rooms and the wildernesses of life you know what we do we don't do that what we do is we wonder and we worry and we whine that's what we do in the waiting rooms like first we wonder why Lord why we wonder and then we worry how Lord how how are you going to do this and then we whine when lord when are you going to answer my prayer so instead of wondering and worrying and whining you need to learn to act as if you've already got it you act in faith here's how Jesus puts it mark chapter 11 verse 24 Jesus said I tell you whenever whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours now I want you to pay attention to this verse believe that you have received it and it will be yours do you notice a change in tense there believe that you have received it that's past tense past tense believe that you have received it and then he says and it will be yours that's future tense what in the world is Jesus saying believe that I've already got it in order to get it that's exactly what he's saying is it hang on here Rick are you telling me I got to believe something is so even though it isn't so in order that it becomes so yep that's called faith when you thank God after you get the answer your prayer that's called gratitude when you thank God before you get the answered your prayer that's called faith when you act as though you've already got it then you'll get it that's faith believe that you have received it past tense and it will be yours president let's go back to the pregnant woman every pregnant woman does this what I just talked about she carries inside her body the promise of a baby and she's getting bigger and bigger and bigger and even though she can't see that baby she's never seen that baby she knows it's there she's confident that it's there and she can feel that baby there so even though she's never seen the baby she starts preparing in advance for the baby's arrival in faith and first she starts eating differently she starts taking better care of her body she starts sleeping differently she starts going out and buying maternity clothes because you know she's gonna get bigger she starts stocking a nursery they have showers she gets clothes she gets diapers she gets all the paraphernalia the changing tables and the rocking cribs and all of the all kinds of stuff and she's doing that in faith they don't call it expecting for nothing she's expecting a baby she hadn't seen that baby but she's acting as though it's already here she doesn't want to wait and for the baby to be born and they go hmm I probably ought to have some clothes for this little tyke I probably ought to have some diapers maybe some bottles maybe maybe even a place for the baby to sleep no those things are already done in advance she's preparing in faith because she's expecting and she knows that that baby is coming it's just a matter of time and I want to ask Kay when she was pregnant with one of our kids what it felt like in the last trimester she said it like you're at the top of Space Mountain and the only way out is down you know you're going to go through that there's no way out it's not like I think I'll go back to the ticket and ask for a refund no you're going through the ride and so she she hasn't seen that baby but she's expecting it she's believing it in faith and she'll wait as long as it takes until the child is delivered she acts as though she's already got it she starts preparing for that baby now let's just take this in a real practical way let's say some of you are out of work right now and you're you're you're looking for a job and you're you're waiting for a job and you're maybe you're waiting on God to get a job and you've been praying God I need a really good job okay question if you had a job how would you act start acting in that way right now first place if you had a job would you lay around all day in your pajamas and not take a shower no if you actually had a job you would set alarm and you would get up and you'd get ready and you'd put on work clothes and you then that's what you need to be doing right now you need to start acting like you've got the job you don't wait till you get the job to act like got job there's no faith on that you act in advance you believe a thing is so even though it isn't so that it becomes so and you do it now when you set the alarm and you get to close in and whatever you need to do well I want you to write this down waiting is not passivity waiting is not passivity you do all you can to get ready there is a difference between passively waiting in fear and apathy and expectantly waiting in faith where you take action you get prepared and you act as though you already have it God does this do you know that that God goes to a for him 25 years before he has a son and changes his name he says your name's Abram and I'm gonna change it to Abraham and Abraham says what's that mean Abraham means father of many nations so for 25 years Abraham Abram changes his name and he's called Abraham how do you like this he walks into a bar what's your name father of many nations oh great how many kids you got none how old are you a hundred hmm interesting how'd you like to live with that look at this first on the screen the Bible says in Romans 4:17 God calls things that are not as though they were and that's called faith everything God created he spoke into existence he calls things that are not as though they were and he says Abraham you're the father of great nation he hadn't had any kids yet he's speaking it into existence he says that to Gideon you're a mighty man of Valor that was the last thing Gideon was he was a weakling and a coward he says to Peter you are a rock peter was mr. impulsive mr. foot-in-mouth he was anything but a rock God speaks it into existence and he says you do it the same way he says like I've made you a father of many nations all right act as I already have got it the eye and wait is the third key you do while you're waiting on God assist imitate the habits that grow strong faith I need to imitate the habits particularly of people of strong faith you can imitate people of strong faith and look at the habits that they do find their skills find their patterns find their habits and follow that imitate that to grow strong in your faith in other words use the time while you're waiting to develop personal maturity let me show you some verses first Peter 1 6 and 7 we do not want you to become lazy but to imitate those who through faith daring faith and patience that's waiting through faith and waiting through faith and patience who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised he says that's the kind of people you ought to be imitating when you're in the waiting room we don't want you to be lazy don't sit around passively doing nothing he says imitate those who through faith and patience inherit inherited what God has promised Paul says it like this if Libyans 4:9 keep on putting into practice all that you learn from me and heard from me and saw me doing that's called imitation so when you're going through a period of a weeding you should look around and find a stronger Christian a godly woman or a godly man and and see what they're doing and imitate their faith the Bible talks about this multiple times talked about in Hebrews 13 verse 7 and other places imitate their faith we all learn best by models that's why you know during daring faith I've been giving you testimonies I mean even today I passed out another sheet that you can pick up on the way going out and one of the pages is just a list of testimonies why because we grow in faith by reading the faith of others you don't grow in faith by not hearing about other people's faith but you do grow on faith when you read about other people's faith and that's why we've been every week we've been giving you testimonies because the Bible says imitate the faith of those who've grown strong in the faith keep on putting into practice well now I want you to write this down that's very important don't get anything else get this one when you're in the waiting room of life don't put my life on hold please write that down don't put my life on hold while I'm waiting for my big break in Hollywood while I'm waiting for my ship to come in while I'm waiting for an answer to prayer while I'm waiting for the girl of the man of my dreams to show up don't put your life on home waiting is not inactivity it is not idleness it is not laziness it is not passivity it is not apathy waiting is the time to develop habits and skills that you're going to use later on say it again waiting is the time you develop the habits and the skills that you're going to use later on many of you know the story about my year of depression 1980 we started the church at the end of 1980 I stood up to speak and I passed out while his preaching fainted flatout and I went through 1981 I was depressed the whole year and I you know my goal was not oh god build a great church it was oh god get me through Sunday can I put one foot in front of the others I'd go and I'd preach a service and I go and get in bed in that entire year of darkness and depression God taught me habits and skills that prepared me to handle enormous amounts of stress that I would have never had if I hadn't gone through that waiting period and I learned in that year of down and discouragement and waiting to juggle more balls than you could possibly think of and God was putting skills and habits in my life during the downtime if you're going to lose you want to lose in pre-season not at the Super Bowl it's okay to have some early losses in life because that's when you can't learn don't put your life on hold instead imitate the habits that grow strong faith what are those habits I'm glad you asked let me give you five the Bible says there are five things you should keep on doing keep on keep on keep on keep on and that means even in the wilderness even in the waiting period you need to keep on doing these things number one keep on praying when you're in the waiting room keep on praying Matthew 7:7 says keep on asking and you will be given what you asked for keep on looking and you will find keep on knocking and the door will be open that's actually the correct Greek because it's a participle it's a continuation it's a continuing a verb that says keep on doing it keep on asking keep on seeking keep on knocking and you will get your answer keep on praying number two keep on serving never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically this sharpens your skill you know most you guys know I train pastors and I I meet a lot of young pastors who they don't want to do the menial things in ministry and they don't want to serve God in a small way they only want to serve God in a big way well you don't get to serve God in a big way unless you've served God in a small way first if you're faithful in little things then you'll be faithful and much and and and they want to say I've had guys tell me this actually use this phrase I want a significant ministry and I said here's what you do forget having a significant ministry going to significant ministry just make your ministry significant don't look for a significant ministry in life make your ministry significant there are no great ways to serve God there are only small ways to serve God done with a great heart and that's true greatness and so you serve God with a great heart and you make the ministry service successful why do I say keep on serving because that's another meaning of the word wait wait doesn't just mean expect something to happen that hasn't happened yet wait also means to serve have you ever had a waiter at your table why do they call that guy the waiter you're the one who's waiting you're waiting on the food okay you're waiting on him not he's waiting on you well two different meanings when you say I'm waiting for something to happen that's what you're doing but weight also means to serve and that's why servers are called waiters and ladies-in-waiting are women who serve the Queen because the word weight doesn't just mean to expect it also means to serve and when you're in the waiting room in life that's a good time to practice serving to find a ministry and just get involved don't sit around doing nothing waiting for your ship to come in get out there and just start serving number three keep on praying keep on serving number three this is in the scripture keep on going to small group keep on going to small group Hebrews 10:25 says this don't give up your habit notice small group is a habit don't give up your habit of meeting with other believers instead keep on encouraging each other some of you got in a daring faith small group and you did it for all six seven weeks and now you go okay well I that was good now I'm going to drop out a group that's dumb keep on going to small group if you want to change groups fine you don't like the people you're in I gave you permission to change okay just say I need a different night fine yeah are you know I'll go start a new group whatever like that you know it's like if you're in a group you didn't really like it's like well it's like a doctor you don't like your doctor so I'm never gonna go to another doctor now you just find another one you go to a restaurant you have a bad meal I'm gonna give up eating so that's stupid no you just go to another restaurant if you're if your group didn't meet your needs congratulations you learn some love to love people maybe it were difficult for you to love get in another group but whatever you do keep on going small group don't give up the habit keep on number four keep on sewing please gas teas 11:6 says this keep on sewing your seed for you never know which ones will grow perhaps they all will you've sown a seed in daring faith but daring faith is actually going to start now for the next three years we're going to be sewing for the next three years keep on sewing your seed you never know which one will grow perhaps they all will and then number five keep on believing keep on believing the Bible says you must keep on believing the things you have been taught you know they're true the point is stay active you do the big plan I'm trying to make is it waiting is not passivity God cannot steer a parked car I'm waiting God will turn on the ignition and just start driving where anywhere God can direct a car that's moving it cannot direct a car that's stalled get involved in the ministry get involved in service get involved a small group do the things that you know you could be doing developing skills and habits now to prepare so that when that baby arrives you're not caught off guard the delivery is a joy write down the lessons act as though I already have it imitate the habits a grow strong faith and the T we learn from scripture in the waiting rooms of life is to trust God instead of panicking trust God instead of panicking now there's a couple facts that you can trust about God one God is never in a hurry you can know that for sure and number two God is never late you can know that for sure God's timing is always perfect now what happens in those times where it appears that God is late in the times where it appears God is late God is getting you ready for a miracle I could give you so many examples this in Scripture for instance Mary and Martha in the Bible had a brother named Lazarus Lazarus was one of Jesus best friends Lazarus got deathly sick and he lived in a city called Bethany Bethany was just a few miles from where Jesus was maybe three four miles it's just out of town out of Jerusalem and they sent word to Jesus Jesus can you come over to our house in Bethany your best friend Lazarus is sick he's deathly ill and it takes Jesus three days to go about five miles what's going on here when Jesus finally gets there he could have easily got there in an hour or two it takes him three days to go a few miles to see his best friend who's dying and when he gets there they say too late Jesus he's already dead we've wrapped him up and we buried him in a tomb you're too late sorry you're a little late you missed the timing on your best friend well Jesus wasn't late because Jesus had already in his mind what he was gonna do he his goal was not to heal Lazarus his goal was to raise him from the dead his goal was not to just make him well his goal was to do a miracle of astronomical proportions sometimes God lets a situation get so bad only a miracle will do don't give up your faith hold on hang on do the things I've just taught you how to do because you're getting ready for a miracle Jesus walks up the tomb says roll the stone away there old stone away and he says Lazarus come forth now I'm glad he said Laszlo because if he just said come forth every dead person in searing reach going to come out at that point but he calls him by name Lazar come forward he comes out and it's interesting when he walks up to the tomb he says father they were overheard in praying this father I thank you that you've already heard me father I thank you that you've already heard me and I'm even saying this just for the people around me he already knew it is going to do God already knows what he's going to do in your life next month next year and next decade and it's planned for you as good and you need to trust him and you need to relax and when you're in the waiting room you need to just say okay he's not early he's not late he's always on time and I will trust God and I will do these things all right down the lessons that'll act as though it's already happened and I'm gonna keep on doing the habit so I'll keep on sewing and I'll keep on sharing and I'll keep on serving and I'll keep on believing I'll keep on going to small group and I'll keep on praying because God's timing is perfect he's not too late I close with this many years ago in my backyard I planted bamboos around our pool area I'm kind of a student of bamboos some bamboos grow very very slow and some grow very fast and some grow slow slow slow and then fast here's how you take it how you grow a typical piece of bamboo you cut a piece of bamboo off like this and you cut it in half and you stick it in the ground and you water it for a year and nothing happens nothing and you water it for the second year the bamboo and nothing happens and you water it for the third year and nothing happens and you water it for the fourth and the fifth year and thing happens and you fertilize it and on the sixth year you water and nothing happens and on the seventh year it sprouts but once it sprouts it takes off some bamboo can grow one meter or three feet in 24 hours some bamboo can grow to nine feet in about four days it's just when it takes off it takes off I tell pastors some of you were in bamboo churches and you're in little church and you've been watering it and watering it and watering it and watering it water about your six you say I give up this isn't going to work and you leave and the seventh guy comes in for the seventh year and it sprouts and he gets all the credit but you did all the cultivating your life is like bamboo and you may have been thinking I have been working on this and working on this and working on it and I have been I have been studying the Bible I have been serving I have been tithing I have been believing I have been planting seeds you may be in your six don't give up because when that thing sprouts it could grow 9 feet in about three days and it just takes off and you go whoa what just happened God just did what he wanted to do last verse on the screen Galatians 6:9 so let us not get tired of doing what is right for after a while at the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing but here's the condition if we don't get discouraged and give up I will not as your pastor let you give up I will beat you I'm just giving up I'm giving up on God I'm giving up on the Bible and I'm giving up a small group and I'm giving up a tighter then I'm coming to your house and I'll take you guys that you are in year three of the Bamboo story you have no idea what you're gonna I am so glad that in the darker days of my life I did not give up on God but I'm even more glad I'm more glad that he didn't give up on me he knew what he was gonna do in my life and I didn't and I had no idea but during the dark days I was learning the skills and I kept on praying and I kept on giving and I kept on serving and I kept on believing and I kept on trusting and the bamboo sprouted Psalm 56 3 even when I'm afraid even when I'm afraid I will trust you that's daring faith even when I'm afraid I will trust you that's daring faith now listen some of you think you've been waiting on God and God is waiting on you what you have been thinking is I'm waiting on God but what you're really thinking is I'm waiting for the fear to go away and then I'll do it I'm going to wait for the fear to go away and then I'll make this commitment I'm going to wait for the fear to go away and then I'll do go after my dream I'm going to wait for the fear to go away and then I'll start tithing or give the daring faith I'm gonna wait this fear go away and then I'll whatever you got on your mind let me tell you a little secret it's not going away it's not going away God's not gonna take that fear way the only way you get through that fear is you must move against it you must move through it you must move against it you must do the thing you fear the most many of you did it in the last 10 days you're scared to death to make a 36-month financial commitment and you did it you moved against your fear and you did it and God is smiling and he's pleased and you have not been waiting on God God has been waiting on you to demonstrate faith and you did you're never going to imagine what God is going to do it's not too late if you missed out on that and pick up a brochure information on your way going out it's not too late to join us thousands of people moved against their fear in the last 10 days it's not going to go away ever until you move against it and you do the thing that you're anxious you're scared you're worried about doing and you step out on faith and when you jump out into the air you're gonna find you land safe in the arms of God let's bow our heads would you pray this prayer dear God I realize that the waiting room I'm in maybe you're waiting on me to demonstrate faith and I've been afraid to trust you I've been afraid to commit to you I've been afraid to step out in faith and the waiting room is really one of my own making and in some sense I've put my life on hold because of the fear but no more because I realized the fear is not gonna go away by me just hoping it goes away and so I commit myself unreservedly to you and even when I am afraid I will trust in you and I'm gonna keep on praying and keep on serving keep on going to my small group keep on sewing keep on believing I'm gonna write down the lessons that I'm learning I'm gonna act as though I've already got that answer to prayer and like the the expectant mother I'm gonna start preparing by learning the habits learning the skills and trusting you instead of pen if you've never opened your life to Jesus Christ Jesus Christ please come into my life right now and make yourself real to me I want to learn to love you and trust you and I want to dare to wait on you and trust that your timing is perfect and I ask this humbly in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Saddleback Church

Views: 500,591

Rating: 4.8099885 out of 5

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Id: _9pVYqBUqjk

Length: 56min 45sec (3405 seconds)

Published: Wed May 27 2015