When God Says Wait – Dr. Charles Stanley

when I think about all the lessons I've learned throughout all the years the most important principle I've ever learned is this one obey God leave all the consequences to him but there's a second principle though I think it's so very important and that is wait upon God for his timing wait upon God for his timing his timing is very very important and so often we think well if I know what God wants me to do that's all that matters no I also need to know when he wants me to do it or how he wants me to do it so when I think about these passages and I think about all the opportunities we have and whatever God calls us to do you can never go wrong wedding for God's timing but it requires something it requires it would be patient because God doesn't always tell us immediately when he wants us to do a certain thing sometimes it's this time that yours buy and when we step ahead of him we get ourselves in trouble so timing is very important with God because what he wants to accomplish is usually more than what we have in mind so when I think about this I came to this verse in the twenty-seventh song which means wait for the Lord be strong and let your heart take courage yes wait for the Lord that is don't hurry but wait for him waiting for him is a difficult thing especially when I want something now or when I think it's necessary to have it now and God doesn't think the same way wait for the Lord be strong let your heart take courage yes wait for the Lord so I think about two times in my life where this principle was very important and when I think about them I think about how absolutely easy simple and true it is yet oftentimes it's not so simple and so easy and the first one I remember when I had wrecked my automobile that he hit me from behind and knocked me about 30 feet down the street and I remember being in the car and he got spoke to my heart don't buy a car I thought well that's strange I'm not anything bad buying a car but y'all knew I would be thinking about it and so I waited in the way didn't waited and I thought okay god I'm gonna do what you say and I'm just gonna trust and so I finally thought well I've got to do something so I went to this dealer and I set in this particular car I'd chosen I waited and I prayed and talked to God about it and then I got him left then I went back and I sat in it and I fumbled around like you doing checking everything out to see how it all works and it's like God said to me do you want this do you want my best I saw God I want your best he said well don't buy this car so when the salesman walked up and said what he hit me I said you probably won't quite understand what I'm thinking but I'm not gonna buy this car and so it was probably a few months later I'm going with the friend of mine to a meeting and he says when are you gonna buy yourself a car I said well I've just been waiting for God to show me he said well what kind of would you buy if you were gonna buy one I didn't even think I said well if I just had my choice I'd buy one like this and three days later I got a check in the mail to buy that car now it was a whole lot better than the one I was looking at you know whole lot more expensive and then of course I I don't always do the right thing sometime and when I first came to Atlanta I would live with a friend of mine that three months because couldn't find a house and so finally after looking and looking and looking I said okay we'll take this one but I said now one thing I want to be sure I put in the contract there's no water in the basements in a water in the basement not No Deal well when I went home I thought well Lord I didn't do what you said there I stepped ahead of you that night it came this horrible torrential rainstorm but a foot of water in the basement and saved me the very same day that it rained I found the house that we moved into brand-new house yards timing isn't good it's perfect because he knows all the details he knows past present future he knows what we need what we want what's the wisest thing to do you can never go wrong waiting upon God's timing so when you think about decisions that you make and decisions that you're faced with ask yourself the question am i in the hurry am i waiting on God's timing and I talk to people oftentimes who are making big decisions who tell me why they've got to do something right now and I'm always willing to say do you as God told you this is the right time well I don't always hear from God Oh sir well if you haven't heard from him you better listen because God has a right time and a wrong time the scripture says in this 27th Psalm wait for the Lord listen to this be strong and let your heart take courage yes wait for the Lord that thought in verse he repeats it wait for the Lord be strong and let your heart take courage why do you say that because oftentimes it takes courage to wait but listen when the Spirit of God saves you the Spirit of God inhabited your life he was there for a number of reasons one of which was to give instruction to give direction for your life because God knows none so sufficiently than ourselves to always make wise decisions and so we have the Holy Spirit to caution us to quicken our spirit to do the right thing always willing and ready to show us the right thing to do so when he says be strong let your heart take courage wait for the Lord sometimes it takes courage and sometimes we have to be strong to say no not right now so what I want to talk about is this simple subject when God says wait when God says wait in your life what do you do do you pray and say well Lord thank you for that but I think I've got this all figured out now Lord know when God says wait that's exactly what he means whatever the issue is you wait till God gives you direction somebody says well now I don't know that I always hear God watch this carefully you listen and say Amen that's why you need to learn to listen to God when you don't have anything that's pressing you don't start like this you learn to listen to him when you don't have a big issue in life when there's no pressure you make it a habit to listen to him with little things in life things that are not so crucial at that particular point learning to listen to God and waiting on his timing I believe is the second most important principle in the word we're now talking about whether we believe in God now we talk about Christians we're talking about waiting upon God till we have a clear direction as to what to do because we have the promise of God's Word he will give us direction it's not a matter of trying to find it is there any place in the world I've got where we have direction sure many places he promises to give us direction he promises to answer our prayer and so when I look at this verse wait for the Lord be strong and let your heart take courage yes wait for the Lord in that verse is a warning listen be strong and let your heart take courage wait why does he say be strong because he knows that at some points and sometimes in life it's very difficult to have to wait especially when everybody around you is telling you or why not now this is a good time it's a good time of the year this is a great time not whether you have the money or not not whether you've had found the will of God or not listen if we are going to practice the best principles one of those principles is simply this that is wait upon the Lord be strong he says wait upon the Lord so ask yourself the question are you one of those person who's got to have everything now if you are you gonna get in trouble when God says we're to wait upon him watch this is what he's doing he's saying I because I love you with all my omniscience knowing all about past present future what's the best for you now will be best for you tomorrow you wait until I give you direction then you'll have absolute clear perfect direction that's what to do it'll prove better for you now it'll prove better for you for the future but wait till I give you clear direction somebody says well but how am I gonna be sure I'm listening to God watch this carefully you learn to listen to him when you don't have any pressure I've said it before you learn to listen to him when you don't have any pressure learn to listen to him when when it's something simple Lord would you have me to do this and so so let's think about it for just a moment well what are the requirements for waiting upon God because there are requirements well the first one is this and that is I have to trust him if I'm gonna wait upon God I've gotta trust them because my waiting is saying I'm trusting you God that your timing is better than mine you know what I do not know your time is always right and so I'm gonna trust you and I'm gonna wait till you give me permission to go there I'll do this I have that ababa Ella it isn't that God's trended the promise of anything he only wants what is best for us so it takes faith and what I mean by better simple this am I willing to trust God for his timing before I make a decision you say well how do you will you know God's timing he will show you what does he say ask and it should be given you seek and you should find knocking that she'll be open to you that is God is willing to show you the truth if you're willing to ask him now if you're living in sin disobedience to God you probably not gonna hear him because you can't hear and because you don't think they wanna hear but I'm talking about people who really truly want to do the right thing you want what's best for you for your family decisions that you have to make it takes faith to wait upon God because trusting him doesn't mean I'm gonna get what I want when I want it trusting him says I believe that when the timing is right God will provide what I'm asking him for so would you say that you have the faith to wait upon God when you come to a decision in your life a major decision it takes faith to wait because we think well if I don't get it now what I won't get it if I don't do it now it won't be done let me ask you a question is there anything too hard for God no can't God control any and every circumstance yes if God tells you to wait do you think that something's gonna slip out from under God's care know if we'll stop and think the power of God the wisdom of God the love of God the knowledge of God we're not going to miss anything we ought to have but waiting upon God if God doesn't provide something that you've asked for and you are trusting him it's because you either don't need it because it's not good for you it's not the right timing it all boils down to this do I trust him or do I not it takes faith to wait for God something and I just gave you an example the first time I didn't wait about the wrong hell but thank God I got he delivered me from that and I assure you I've never repeated that mistake again secondly he gave me enough wisdom to wait and I got another mobile I never would have purchased his timing is always perfect so ask yourself the question do I have the faith to wait a second thing that is required of us and that is simply patience in the 37th psalm listen this three times the 37th psalm he says beginning in verse one do not fret 2nd times he says rest of the Lord wait patient for him do not fret third time do not fret three times in that Psalm he says don't pray that is don't allow yourself to be they get anxious about something when you can ask God about it now if I should ask you do you believe God loves you you would say yes what would you include in love wouldn't you include good advice good guidance provision help strength energy what when you include those things and God's guidance and love for you yes you would if you believe that God is who he says he is you can believe that God will show you the right time to do anything in everything the right time to make a purchase the right time to go yonder the right time to do this the right time to have this particular job God's timing is always perfect do I believe that he has our best interest at heart if I believe that I'm gonna wait but watch this somebody says I don't have any time to waste you never waste time waiting on God never you'll always find out that his timing is always the right time so it takes faith but secondly it takes patience for example David was a teenager King David was a teenager probably when Samuel the Prophet anointed him to be king of Israel he was somewhere probably 17 18 19 years of age well when do you think he became King you would have thought this is that this is it over 12 years later God fulfilled a promise God's timing is perfect the question is watches am I willing to trust him for his timing or insist on my time do I really and truly believe that my patience is a gift from God then when God says not yet that God is looking out for me not doing something against me it takes faith it takes patience it takes courage and I love one of my favorite verses in the Bible is in this first chapter Joshua listen to God said to him no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life just as I've been with Moses I'll be with you I will not fail you or forsake you wonderful promise then he says in verse 9 one of my favorite verses he says how I not commanded you be strong and courageous do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go and so if I'm gonna trust him I've got to trust this time it takes courage let's say no the two offers for example I remember on one occasion somebody wanted to give me a very very valuable piece of property and build me a house at no cost in a wonderful place I thought it was a great idea I did and so we said about he he just said here's the architect and you know just design it just design it the way you want it and here's where we're gonna put it which was on a beautiful island and so naturally I thought well Lord you just blessing me and then when I got to pray in that's not what I got now I got real encouragement from the person who wanted to do it and encouragement by the architect naturally and so the Lord and I had to talk about it and I wanted to know well why not why not and the Lord reminded me that's not the right question the right question is if it's my will and this is not of me it's not my will it looks right it's free but it's not my will and so you must say no well then I had to deal with that how do I tell my friend that I cannot accept something so valuable and beautiful and desires and when I finally did naturally he did not understand I saw the only thing I can tell you is this when God tells me not to do something I've made enough mistakes in life to know he means exactly what he says and I cannot require of God to tell me why sometimes he'll tell you why sometimes he won't it was probably about six months later that I realized why now did I covet it doll during that time no I didn't I knew very clearly that God was saying to me no this is not my will it looks like my will but it's not this is why listening to God is so very important and it's why it takes faith patience and courage to wait upon him till we know his will many things look like the will of God because oftentimes it looks like God just being good to you in other words I couldn't think of any reason not to accept something that was so desirous but finally the Lord showed me I didn't have to understand why all I had to understand this what I was going to be obedient or not and I think about so many people get in trouble because they tried to reason with God no no where do I find in the Bible it says I am to obey God on the basis of the following reasons no I'm to obey Him because he's got that so that's the only reason I need when God says no and you have to be careful when God says no that you don't say ok now why not God we all think that but before you truck watch this before you try to talk God into something ask yourself the question suppose I do this anyway you can't fathom all the difficulties and the hardships and the trials and the problems and the costs and everything else that will come as a result of a deliberate disobedience to Almighty God now think about all the people who get excited about a challenge am I'm getting married if you ask them did you pray about it well I talk to God about it that's not the issue of issues did you ask God was this his will well I mean everything looks so good you can't go by looks you can't go by anything but the voice of God this is why you have to learn to listen to him and make a choice watch this make a choice in life before the pressure in other words is it is it the pattern of your life to listen to God before you make decisions there's some decisions that are irrevocable once you make it you've made it some decisions you can't change you have to live with them I think about all the people who get married and never and never ask God and no other than 30 days they made a mistake I think some of the some of the most desperate weeping I've ever witness of people who made that mistake and they've come back to me and said I didn't listen to you I should have but I did not something new you were telling me the truth but I just figured somehow it would all work out watch this you can't work out disobedience to God it doesn't work God's not watch this God's timing is perfect it's perfect it may appear to be late but it's perfect timing because God knows all of the avenues that affect us it takes faith it takes patience it takes courage it takes determination to obey God takes determination sometimes because of all of the things that other people think and what they say and maybe their influence in your life and all the rest it takes determination to wait why are you gonna wait this this is a chance of a lifetime why are you gonna wait watch this carefully you say what do you keep saying watch this carefully because I want you to watch it carefully because it's so very important things may look exactly right but something deep down inside of you who is the Holy Spirit is cautioning you and watch this carefully if you don't obey the heating of the Holy Spirit he doesn't get louder and louder and louder he comes on loud to begin with but because of your disobedience you hear him less and unless finally you don't hear they you have to determine you have to determine to wait for God especially when you've got lots of pressure on you you have to determine the way to plan together everybody has an opinion about something so think about it it takes faith patience courage determination and then it takes strength no not moving until God says move not making a choice until God says make a choice it takes strength and so we go to the scripture and who is the source of our strength Almighty God Lord of this is not your will give me the strength to say no and Lord give me the desire of my heart for you and for obedience so strong I don't want to do anything that brings about disobedience in my life it takes strength to say no and especially if somebody is saying all come on come on come on come on it's gonna be okay and let me tell you what's gonna be okay nobody can change the mind of God by telling you it's gonna be okay and this is why you have to be careful it's easy to listen to loud voices rather than the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit he's not gonna shout unless it's so very important that God is not gonna put up with it and the other rules with his sovereign care and comes down so strong no and God knows how to do that so let's go over them again it takes faith patience courage determination strength and then the last one it takes is endurance you just have to hang in there and listen to people tell you why you should listen to people tell you why you should not endure that is you endure suggestions their influence their testimony or whatever it might be but you have to decide if you're gonna be obedient to God or not waiting upon the Lord is a lesson we learn and having heard this sermon I pray to Almighty God you did not walk out of here and forget what you've heard if you do you're going to get in trouble the world's full of trouble the world's full of offers people full of suggestions of how you ought to live your life and what you ought to know what you should not do there's only one ultimate supreme voice that you listen to in that's God if I'm going to wait upon him and listen to him it takes faith patience courage determination strength and endurance that means I'm willing to hang in there God with you no matter what until you show me what to do obey God leave all the consequences to him but a way to fund the Lord until you know that you have heard what he requires from you God's not gonna tell you to do anything sinful disobedient out of the will of God this is why we talk about walking in the will of God because it's the safe place the best place the wisest place the happiest place it's the most successful place you can be is walking in the will of God will you miss some things in life only those things that will not get for you obey God you'll have what God knows is good for you so you have to decide you don't listen to him I'll listen to somebody else listening to God and walking on his schedule making decisions based on his guidance the direction in your life is the only way to live so just think about your life for a moment is it your habit before you make decisions to ask God or have you come to the conclusion saying well listen after 50 or 60 years I'll always make the right decision I wouldn't say that I wouldn't say forget to pray after all that mm-hmm let me tell you something we're living in a world of sin disobedience and rebellion toward God so we have life in the world the way of life for believers is to obey God to listen to him and to walk in his way and watch him work amen now if you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior all this is foreign to you I understand that so the most important decision you need to make in your life is to surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ confessing and repenting of your sins surrendering your life to Him then you can hear him and you're going to realize that God has something to you you never dreamed of he has the best for you if he will surrender your life to Him and begin to trust them follow him obey Him your life's gonna change it's gonna change for the better and I trust that whatever you doing wherever you are right at this moment you will stop when this service is over and you will ask God to cleanse your heart forgive your sin surrender your life to Him and begin the most awesome journey you could possibly imagine walking with the Living God who has promised to provide your needs give you direction and give you an excitement of our life you will never never experience until you've surrendered your life to Him and that's my prayer for you father we love you and praise you that you love us enough to stop us dead in our tracks when you know him one of the was right you know who's listening to this message right now who's in the process of making a decision maybe it's a decision that has long-range consequences father I pray that you'll speak to them clearly impress their heart move their mind will an emotion to do the right thing and to realize they can trust you God that you are trustworthy I pray your Holy Spirit will speak to every single person who listens to this message the Lord impressed their heart to trust you and watch you work in the most awesome fashion always feel their good and I pray this in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: In Touch Ministries

Views: 713,513

Keywords: Charles F. Stanley, Charles Stanley, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries, Preaching, Bible teaching, Dr. Stanley, Intouch ministries, intouch

Id: gygGZkMykRE

Length: 32min 0sec (1920 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 10 2020