In these last number of weeks we have
examined the theme If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Out of
the Boat. This has been the theme of our studies together on Sunday
morning, and many of you have been studying the curriculum in your small
groups throughout the week. Our text has been Matthew 14:22-33 where
Jesus is walking on the water to the disciples and Peter responds in faith
to His command to come to Him on the water.
We began our study by looking at the whole idea of
faith. We celebrated the fact that it is not a great faith that is needed
as much as a faith in a great God. We worship a miracle-working God – Our
God is able. I love this verse in Ephesians 3:20 – “God is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” When God calls us to
get out of our boat, it is not the greatness of our faith that makes a
difference, it is the greatness of our God – we need only trust Him and
Him alone.
We then studied the wonderful truth that God is a
generous God and He has given us gifts to use for the furthering of His
Kingdom. To some He has given many – to some a few – the quantity doesn’t
matter, what matters is that we are willing to respond in faith and give
back to God in service the gifts that He has given to us. When God calls
us to get out of the boat we need to know that indeed God has equipped us
for the task He calls us to do.
In the third week we asked the question, “How do I
know God’s voice?” We examined the different ways that God speaks to us
and affirms His calling to us. When God calls us to get out of our boat
we can discern God’s voice. He does not play games with us – His voice is
clear and discernable, through His Word, through the mind He has given us,
His Spirit at work in us, through prayer, and through the church.
In the final weeks we thought about fear and
failure. We discovered that we have nothing to fear while we walk with
God. Truly, “he who is in you is greater than the one who is in the
world.” (1 John 4:4) We have nothing to fear. As we fix our eyes on
Jesus we can get out of the boat and attempt great things for God.
And last week we examined the whole idea of failure.
When we get out of our boat we will fail, we will make mistakes, but the
good news is that God is able to use our failures. He is able to teach us
through them, He is able to transform our failures, and we need to rest
assured that our failures are not fatal.
This week we come to our final study and I want us to
think this morning of waiting on God.
John Ortberg in his book gives us this scenario:
“Let’s say that you decide to get out of the boat. You trust God. You
take a step of faith.” He gives us some examples – perhaps:
* you courageously choose to leave a comfortable job
to devote yourself to God’s calling; OR
* you will use a gift you believe God has given you
even though you are scared to death; OR
* you will take relational risks even though you hate
rejection; OR
* you will go back to school even though people tell
you it makes no sense financially;
* you decide to trust God and get out of the boat.
What happens next? “Well,” says Ortberg, “maybe you
will experience a tremendous, nonstop rush of excitement. Maybe there
will be an immediate confirmation of your decision – circumstances will
click, every risk will pay off, your efforts will be crowned with success,
your spiritual life will thrive, your faith will double, and your friends
will marvel, all in the space of a short period of time.
“Maybe. But not always. For good reasons God does
not always move at our frantic pace. We are too often double espresso
followers of a decaf Sovereign. Richard Mouw writes that the book that is
most needed in our day would be called Your God is Too Fast.”1
So as we think about getting out of our boat and
walking on water in faith in Jesus Christ, we need to understand that
sometimes he calls us to “wait”. We see this evidenced in Scripture –
think of the early disciples. Turn in your Bibles to Luke 24:37. Here in
the closing chapter in the gospel of Luke we are told of the resurrection
of our Lord. He appears to the disciples – at verse 37: “They were
startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them why
are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands
and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have
flesh and bones, as you see I have.” And then to prove His bodily
resurrection He eats a nice fish dinner with them.
Then at verse 45 we read, “Then he opened their
minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is
what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the
third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his
name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these
things.”
To me that sounds like a very clear call to the
disciples to get out of their proverbial boat. Go in faith into a hostile
world and testify to the reality of the risen Lord.
And you can imagine the disciples perhaps at this
point. Understand – this is not in Scripture, this is just my imagination
– you can imagine the disciples saying to one another, “Let’s go – let’s
get preaching. Let’s get going – we’ve got to start in Jerusalem and then
go to all nations, we had better get going.”
But then we have verse 49 – Jesus says, “I am
going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until
you have been clothed with power from on high.” In other words,
“wait”.
And in case we missed it, Luke continues to write a
second book and it is called the book of Acts and he records this event
again, at chapter 1 verse 4, “On one occasion, while he was eating with
them, he gave them this command: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait
for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”
Again, wait.
Why do you think Jesus asked His disciples to wait?
Why didn’t He pour out His Spirit upon them right then and there? Why
does our Lord sometimes call us to wait? he’s given us the call to get out
of the boat. We’ve heard His voice, we know He’s equipped us, but then
sometimes He calls us to wait. Why?
This morning I want us to think of four reasons why
God asks us to wait and 2 errors to avoid when waiting on God.
The first reason God wants us to wait is so that we
can listen. We need to define waiting as it described for us in
Scripture, because I believe that waiting in Scripture is different than
what we believe waiting to be in our modern world. In our modern world we
see waiting as a waste of time – a time in which we could be doing
something productive and useful.
So Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “How much of human life
is lost in waiting.” I hate waiting in traffic. My father would be
furious if he was made to wait at the doctors office. After all he had
things to do and people to see.
But in Scripture, waiting is never described as doing
nothing. But at the same time it is not scurrying around trying to
accomplish everything. Notice in our text in Acts 1, the disciples are
told by Jesus to wait – and what does that look like? Look at verse 14 –
the disciples “all joined together constantly in prayer…”
This is how waiting is described for us in
Scripture. And this is how the people of God are to wait on God. They
are to depend on Him in prayer. This is not a waste of time, this is not
doing nothing – it is being in constant communication with our Lord.
There is an old story I love to tell about the city
of Chicago. It seems that some bureaucrats got together and decided that
they would like to connect Chicago City Hall and the State of Illinois
Center in downtown Chicago with an underground pedestrian tunnel.
The plan seemed straightforward enough. The city was
to start at one end and the state of Illinois was to start at the other
end. All they had to do was meet in the middle. Well, the trouble was,
they didn’t. After four years of construction work and almost 700,000
dollars in expense the city built its half of the one hundred foot tunnel
eight inches higher than the state’s half and three inches to the right.
Now it doesn’t sound like much, but as a result of this error the tax
payers had to pay and extra 240,000 dollars!
Now if there was an annual prize for understatement I
think that it should go to the city’s first deputy commissioner of the
Department of Public Works. This is what he said in a press release:
“This has not been one of our better projects. I would say that there were
communication breakdowns between our two sets of architects.”
It’s a great story because it serves as a warning to
all those who have given over the building plans of their life to the
chief architect – Jesus our Lord. It is a warning that tells us that we
are to be in constant communication with our Lord as we think about
getting out of our boat.
That’s why we have this forty days of prayer. Some
would say, “We have the vision to be a multigenerational church that
reaches out to a new generation – why not just go for it?”
It’s not that simple. We want to be in constant
communication with our Lord. We want to check our motives, we want to
check our goals. We want to be sure that He is glorified in this and that
is done by waiting on Him in prayer. That’s why we hope you are praying
with us as a leadership team. We need you to be waiting on God in prayer
- talking to God about this vision and listening to God about this vision
so that He will be glorified and His will will be done.
And for you personally it’s important that as God
calls you to get out of your boat, you need to be constantly waiting on
Him in prayer, opening up that channel of communication so that you know
for sure the direction He is calling. So in Scripture waiting is never
described as doing nothing, but at the same time it is not scurrying
around trying to accomplish everything.
The second reason God calls to wait – is that in
waiting we demonstrate our dependence, our faith in Him. As I read
Scripture waiting is not a waste of time, nor is it fatalistic
resignation. “I’m waiting for God, whatever will happen, will happen.”
When Scripture speaks about waiting on God – the
emphasis is on trust, confidence. Isaiah 40:31 - “Those who wait for
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.”
Psalm 40:1: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and
heard my cry.”
In the early 1950s Samuel Beckett wrote a play
entitled Waiting for Godot. The play takes place over two days and
it follows the life of two men who are waiting expectantly for someone
named Godot to arrive. Godot never shows up. The two men occupy
themselves – they eat, sleep, talk, argue, sing, play games, exercise,
swap hats – anything to hold the terrible silence at bay.
Some critics have suggested that this two-act play is
a commentary on Christianity. Is this the way it is for the Christian?
Are we merely amusing ourselves with silly little games waiting for our
God who will never show up?
No. For our God has spoken and His Word can be
trusted. Our God has arrived in the person of Jesus Christ and has made
Himself known. And He continues to make Himself known to us through His
Holy Spirit who lives in you.
Listen, if you have His call to get out of your boat
and He calls you to wait, you can do so with full confidence that He can
be trusted. He never disappoints and is always faithful, His promises are
sure. So in Scripture we see that waiting on God is not this panicky
worry – “I wonder if everything will turn out?” – it is a confident trust
that the one who we follow is faithful who can be trusted.
The third reason God calls us to wait is because as
we wait, there are lessons to be learned.
Consider the disciples in Acts 1. They have been
called to get out of their proverbial boat and do a great work for God –
be the Lord’s witnesses to the ends of the earth. And you will notice
that in our text they commit two errors that need to be corrected, and
these errors are corrected as they wait.
Their first error is hinted at in verse 6. Here we
see the disciples asking the Lord, “Are you at this time going to
restore the kingdom to Israel?” They are saying, “Okay Lord is this
the end? Now that you are risen from the dead is the final and full rule
of God going to come?”
Jesus has to correct them and He says – “No, that’s
not what’s going to happen, you are going to receive power” he says in
verse 8 “and you are going to be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.”
He says before the kingdom of God comes fully and finally the church has a
role to play. The disciples have a lesson to learn. Their wills and
understanding had to be aligned with the Lord’s.
Their second error is mentioned in verse 10 – they
stand looking up into the sky where Jesus has just ascended. The whole
event suggests that the disciples are waiting for something more – perhaps
another appearance of Jesus. Maybe an encore. We’re not sure, but you
can picture them just standing there looking up into the sky.
Suddenly, the text says at verse 10, two men dressed
in white – a common description of angels in the New Testament (See Luke
24:4; Acts 10:30) - come to them and say, “What are you doing staring off
into space?” Again they are being corrected.
“Why are you looking into the sky? Don’t worry,” the
angels say, “Jesus is going to come again.” And they imply, “In the
meantime you know what you have to do.”
Again, they needed to be corrected. Don’t stand here
looking for something else – it’s done. And they needed to be affirmed
– verse 11 – “This Jesus,” they say, “will come back in the same way you
have seen him go into heaven.” He is coming again.
This whole idea of correction and affirmation is
often the purpose of waiting. As we connect with God in prayer and trust
in Him and have confidence in Him, He is able to correct us, affirm us
and prepare us for the work He has called us to do.
The fourth reason that God often calls us to wait is
to allow time for God to arrange circumstances. As we read through
Scripture we discover that God is never in a hurry. His timing is perfect
and His people often have to wait for God’s perfect timing and
circumstances to be arranged.
Do you know in Galatians 4:4 we read, “When the
time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to
redeem those under law.”
When the time had fully time. It was the
right time – all circumstances were right – when all of history was right
– God sent His Son.
Think of all the time that the people of God had to
wait – so that circumstances could be right – so that history could be
right for the coming of the Messiah.
We travel all the way back to the book of Genesis
3:15 where we read the first messianic promise given to us by God who says
to the devil, “You will strike his heel,” (that is, you will injure
him) “but he will crush your head.” (that is, he will destroy you).
It is the first promise we are given of a messiah and God said this to
Eve. You will give birth to a son and he will crush the head of the
devil.
In Genesis 4 we see that Eve gives birth to a son and
names him Cain. She says, “With the help of the Lord I have brought
forth a man.” You can almost hear Eve say in her heart, “Ta da! Here
is the one God promised us the day he kicked us out of the garden of
Eden. At last the one who crush the head of the evil one.”But then we
watch this little boy grow up and we see that Cain is the first murderer.
That isn’t what God promised.
And as we read through Scripture we see
generations come and generations go - still no offspring to crush His
head. Centuries come and centuries go. Millenniums come and millenniums
go - at least 4,000 years pass by when finally there was a cry in a
stable in Bethlehem – He would crush the head of the serpent. But it took
4,000 years at least. It’s a long time to wait, isn’t it?
But it was the right time. And as we look at history
we have to say – it was the right time. The Roman empire had brought peace
to the world and a great system of transportation, a common language,
enabling the gospel to spread to the far reaches of civilization.
The Jewish people with their understanding of the Old
Testament, of its feasts and sacrifices and traditions had been dispersed
throughout the ancient world so that the gospel often found fertile soil
in which to be planted. It was a perfect time in history for the Messiah
to come.
Now when God calls you out of the boat and He asks
you to wait, He may not ask you to wait for centuries, but He may ask you
to wait for a time. And while you wait, you can rest assured that His
timing will be perfect. His timing will bring about His Kingdom values
and goals in the best possible way. Sometimes we need to wait to allow
for circumstances.
Well, I just want to give you 2 big mistakes that the
people of God often make when they wait on God.
First, we try to force God’s hand. We talked about
Abraham last week. But you know that when God took Abraham into the
promised land He said to him, “Look up at the stars, how many do you
see?” And Abraham looked up at the stars and said, “Lots.”
“How many grains of sand are along the sea shore?”
And Abraham probably said, “Tons”.
God said, Abraham you are 75 years of age, you are
married to your wife Sarah who is 65, you have no children but I’m going
to give you a son and from that son will come a nation as numerous as the
stars that you see in the sky and the grain of sands on the sea shore.
And that nation will bless the world and those who bless them will be
blessed and those who curse them will be cursed. And Abraham believed God
and it was credited to him as righteousness.
He was 75 and she was 65 – the Bible isn’t
particularly complimentary about them. It says twice – about him – “And
him as good as dead.” So he wasn’t a healthy 75 year old. And it says
about Sarah “She was worn out.”
And I can imagine Abraham coming into the house, as
good as dead, and Sarah lying there on the couch, all worn out and Abraham
comes in and says, “Sarah, God spoke to me today. He said He’s going to
give us a son.” And it says that Sarah believed him.
Wouldn’t you have expected that in nine months there
would be a baby? Three months go by, six months go by, Sarah how are you
doing? Putting on weight at all? Sick in the morning? No?
Three years go by, five years go by seven, 10 years
go by. Abraham is now 85 – even deader – she’s 75, presumably more worn
out. And there is no baby.
And Sarah brought up the subject, “Abraham did you
tell me that God told you that we were going to have a baby?” “Yes.”
“Are you sure it was God and not some burrito that
didn’t sit right?” “No, it wasn’t a burrito.”
“Well, where’s the baby??”
Whatever the facts, the promise has been ringing in
her ears for 10 years and still no baby.
So what do they do? They make the number one error
when waiting on God – they try to force God’s hand. Let’s try to help Him
out. Let’s do God’s will ourselves. And they suggest what they call
surrogate motherhood – they have a baby through the maid. Abraham lies
with Hagar and they produce Ishmael.
And what a mess that is. Sarah is jealous – she
makes it unbearable for Hagar and Ishmael to live under her roof and they
are banished. And for years and years and years because of Abraham’s
unwillingness to wait, the people of who come after Ishmael are a thorn in
Abraham’s side. (see Psalm 83:6)
This is why it is crucial for us to wait on God in
prayer, to be in constant communication with him, and to look to Him to
fulfill His promises.
The second error that we make is this – we don’t act
when God calls us to act. Again, I told you this story last week so I
won’t give you the details again, but remember how the Hebrews were
brought to the edge of the promised land? They were told by God to go in,
but they send in 12 spies and 10 of those spies tell them not to go in.
But 2 of the spies, Caleb and Joshua say yes, we can go in. We read in
Numbers 14 these words spoken by Caleb:
“The land we passed through and explored is
exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into
that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of
the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but
the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
But the people don’t listen and they refuse to go
into the land. As a result they wander the desert for 40 years.
My friends it is important to wait on God – but when
He says move, when He says get out of the boat, it’s time to get out of
the boat. When He says get out of the boat we have to trust that He has
arranged circumstances as He wants them.
When He says get out of the boat we have to trust
that He has taught us what we need to know for the road ahead. We have to
trust that His promises will come to be in our lives and He is able to do
what He wills in our lives.
My friends let us wait
on God with all prayer and trust, listening carefully to His voice so that
when He says get out of the boat, we are ready to get out of the boat and
do what He calls us to do.
