The Power of Waiting -- Bishop Dale C. Bronner
Transcript
00:00 This is Bishop Dale Broder. Thank you so much for joining our YouTube channel today.
00:04 If this is a blessing to you, I want to encourage you to like it and then click
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00:19 if you're in the metro Atlanta area on a Sunday, check out one of our exhilarating
00:23 services at 830 a.m., 11 a.m. or 6 o'clock p.m. Our scriptural text today comes from
00:32 the final verse of a familiar passage of Scripture, Psalm 27, where you'll notice
00:38 there these words, "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen
00:46 your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord." We're talking today from the subject "The
00:55 Power of Waiting." The power, the power of waiting. Waiting is a part of God's
01:04 process and if you try to avert the process you're going to get in trouble.
01:10 It's like breaking a leg and then trying to get up and walk on the leg before
01:15 you've given it time to heal. You're going to injure it further because you
01:20 couldn't wait. And sometimes when you try to move too quickly you end up causing a
01:27 deeper delay. So this is the difference between a shortcut and a detour. The
01:35 detour gets you there safely, the shortcut gets you there fast but
01:40 unsafely. So if you take a shortcut you're liable to jump over something and
01:46 you can end up breaking your leg and sometimes the shortest cut ends up being
01:50 the longest route. If your integrity comes under question where you see that
01:55 you have an opportunity to be able to get some money and because you feel in
01:59 your mind the devil start telling you that they ain't paying you what you're
02:01 worth anyway. Well that may not be true but you don't have the authority to just
02:06 take it because that's, that's called stealing. Now they may be doing wrong but
02:10 you let God deal with them. The Bible says God has said vengeance is mine I
02:15 will repay says the Lord. So just be faithful, be faithful during that time
02:20 because the devil will always show you shortcuts to be able to get to where God
02:25 has destined you to be. That's always a temptation is to rush to try to get
02:30 somewhere. And I want you to understand that as a, as the waiting, the power of
02:35 waiting is a transformational process. I want you to think about what happens
02:40 when a, a caterpillar spins out of its own mouth its cocoon. Which is to say to
02:52 us that the words that come out of your mouth create the environment in which
02:58 your transformation will take place. And if you try to break out of the cocoon
03:04 too rapidly you'll be deformed for the rest of your life. So stay in the
03:10 transformation chamber until the time that you should come forth, until the
03:17 fullness of time, in the fullness of time. That, that is letting patience have her
03:24 perfect work. So there is a power in waiting and I want you to understand
03:29 very clearly waiting is, it's, it's a time to do a few things. Waiting is a time to
03:36 become. Waiting is a time to evolve. Waiting is a time to develop. Waiting is
03:44 a time to learn. Waiting is a time to grow. So you're not just doing nothing
03:50 while you're waiting, you are becoming, you are evolving, you are developing, you are
03:54 learning, you're growing, you're healing, you're maturing, you're gaining
03:58 perspective, you're growing in wisdom, you're being educated, your discernment
04:03 is being sharpened. There are so many different things that start happen,
04:06 happening while you're waiting. That's why you can't rush that process. You can't
04:11 rush maturity. You can't rush healing. You know I find so many people, it's
04:19 intriguing to me today that sometimes you ask young people what they want to
04:23 be and the common response among them is I want to be famous. TikTok famous. They
04:34 want to be famous, Instagram famous. They want to be famous, YouTube famous. They
04:39 want famous to come in a moment, in just a moment. They want to do something
04:43 crazy, get a lot of attention, get a whole lot, but you know what, that's a flash in
04:46 the pan. Fame comes in a moment, but greatness only comes over time. Anybody
04:52 who's great never became great overnight. When you are great, you have stood the
04:58 test of time. You've gone through hell and high water. You've gone through
05:02 brokenness and had to mend back together. Fame is just a flash in the pan
05:06 because you might be the hot click and they might have viewed you a whole lot
05:11 today, but tomorrow they're gonna be viewing somebody else. That's not
05:14 greatness, that's just fame. Fame comes in a moment. Fame should never be your goal,
05:21 but we ought to have something on the inside of us that's calling greatness
05:25 out of us and Jesus gave us a key. He said if you want to be the greatest in
05:29 the kingdom, become the servant of all. We call that servant leadership and I know
05:37 that people are wondering because you know there are some people that come
05:40 into their, into their greatness, into their purpose, into their, into their
05:46 wealthy place really early in life and other people get there late. Well the
05:53 important thing is that you get there. You know you can have the same
05:57 destination and you can get off at different exits to be able to get there
06:01 and some people come the street way, they go the scenic route, but there are some
06:06 things along the scenic route that you must understand that God has purposed
06:10 certain things on the scenic route because maybe he's put the people that
06:14 you're supposed to minister to or the people that's supposed to minister to
06:17 you on the scenic route. Maybe that's why you had to get off at another exit and
06:22 go the street way because there was somebody that you were supposed to meet
06:26 or somebody who was supposed to meet you. So God has a, he has a plan and so don't
06:31 rush God. Don't, don't, don't, don't get impatient with God and say you know Lord
06:35 I'm gonna take matters into my own hand. That's what Abraham did and when he did
06:38 that he produced an Ishmael. When you take shortcuts, wildness comes out of it
06:44 and the problem with wildness is that you can't control wildness. You can't
06:49 control its mouth. It'll say things to you that it shouldn't say. You can't
06:53 control wildness and I know that if some of you all had to go back and do some
06:57 things again, you choose differently. But here, here's what I want you to
07:02 understand is what's happening while you're waiting is that the weight of
07:07 your calling, the weight of your assignment determines the weight of
07:12 your calling or your assignment. You want you to understand that? The weight of it,
07:17 the heaviness, the gravitas of your calling or your assignment determines
07:22 the weight of your calling or assignment. So how heavy it is, how big it is, how
07:31 massive it is determines the longevity of it, the endurance process to getting
07:39 it to happen. It takes a 757 longer on the runway to get off the ground and to
07:47 become airborne than a little two propeller plane. They can just
07:52 they can just take a little football field, you can just zip off. But the bigger
07:58 the plane, the longer the runway. And sometimes what God is doing in your life
08:02 is something that is so massive. It is something that will have such
08:09 impact, such weight, such gravitas to it that God needs a long runway in order to
08:16 get this thing safely off the ground. You understand what I mean? That this is not
08:20 an overnight flash in the pan kind of thing. I mean if I were really
08:24 trying to do something, you know, let's say if this is a two-pound weight, you
08:29 can't really measure the weight of something by what it is for you to
08:32 hold it in your hand right now. Because if you take two pounds and hold it for
08:37 two hours, this little two-pound weight of your little arm will start shaking. I
08:42 mean you can be empty-handed and just try holding your arms up to the Lord in
08:47 worship. And I mean when sometimes if a song gets too long, I mean I'm
08:55 feeling my shoulders getting tired. And I never will forget I was with my
09:02 wife down at a Maryland Hickey meeting and the Spirit of God, when God baptized
09:07 her, my wife was in her early 20s, and the worship experience of God, the
09:14 anointing came into the place. We were at the Hyatt Regency downtown and God
09:20 gave my wife a baptism experience in him. And I watched this girl stand up and
09:25 hold her arms up in worship to God. It was about an hour. I mean I had sat down,
09:31 both of my arms were down in my lap. Yeah, I mean you needed Holy Ghost power to be
09:35 able to do that. So you see, you can't measure, and so you're looking
09:40 at somebody and you look at what they've got in their hand and you say,
09:44 "Oh, that lightweight." No, no, no, you don't know how long they've been carrying it.
09:48 You don't know how long that child has been a burden on their heart. You
09:53 don't know how long they've been praying over that crazy spouse and their mouth.
09:55 You really don't know about Bebe's kids and how long
10:01 they've been dealing with this issue and this drama. How long the sickness has
10:04 been affecting them and how long they've had to press that way to even go even
10:09 when they didn't feel like going. You don't really know. It's not just two
10:13 pounds. The pound, the weight of it is determined by the W-A-I-T of it. The W-E-I-G-H-T
10:20 is determined by the W-A-I-T of it, and so that's why you can never just judge
10:26 that just by looking at it. And you know what? Jesus let us know that we're gonna
10:35 have to suffer persecution just like he did. He armed his disciples with that
10:39 knowledge to let them know that because they were going to be a major impact in
10:43 the world and the W-E-I-G-H-T of their ministry was going to be massive, he was
10:50 letting them know you're getting ready to go through a lot of attack, a lot of
10:53 attack. And he let them know that. If you'll notice in Luke chapter 21 verse
10:57 10 through 13, Jesus was warning them. He said that damnation will rise against
11:01 nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be great earthquakes in
11:05 various places and famines and pestilences and there will be fearful
11:09 sights and great signs from heaven. And notice he says, "But before all these
11:14 things they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to
11:18 the synagogues and prisons and you will be brought before kings and rulers for
11:22 my name's sake, but it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony." God
11:27 says, "Listen, I'm getting ready to work something all of the hell that they're
11:30 putting you through. I got a testimony in it. The testimony means I'm gonna get
11:35 I'm gonna get you out of this. I'm gonna deliver you. I'm gonna heal you. I'm
11:39 gonna restore you. I'm gonna set you free. What they try to do to you." He says
11:43 there's some tribulation, some scary stuff is getting ready to come up on the
11:46 earth, but I want you to notice what Jesus said. He was, he went through a
11:50 whole lot of things. He even talked about them attacking Israel. And he says, "You
11:55 better know that when you see that the armies of the nations of the world
11:58 coming against Israel," he said, "you better know the end is clear. It's near."
12:03 He said it's near, but I want you to say in the midst of Jesus saying that in
12:06 Luke chapter 21, notice what he said in verse 19. He said this, "In patience
12:12 possess ye your souls." In patience possess ye your souls. In patience possess ye
12:21 your souls. Most people that end up losing their mind lose their mind
12:27 because they try to do things too fast. They want it to happen just like that.
12:31 It's too much too quick and it can break you. Too much sorrow too quickly can snap
12:38 you. Too much grief, too much trauma within a short period of time can break
12:44 you. It's too much too quick and that's why he said, "In patience possess ye your
12:49 soul." You can put more on you than you can bear. Not God, you can put more on your
12:55 plea. Juggling too many things. He said, "In patience you possess your soul." I'm
13:01 able to keep my peace of mind because I'm like, "You know what Lord? That'll be
13:05 there when I wake up." I'm not, you know, you're the one who never slumbers nor
13:09 sleep. I need some sleep. In patience you possess your soul and that's why you
13:16 have to have people in your life. You'll really know that you have met the right
13:21 one when you're going through pressure and that person has the ability to calm
13:26 the beast in you. They know how to calm you down. They know how to tame you. They
13:31 know how to tame you. I want you to take a look at this little video. Take a look.
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14:42 - So when people start getting on your nerve,
14:46 you better, I mean, get you a dog, get you a goldfish,
14:49 I mean, a parakeet or something, you know.
14:53 You need something that will take your mind
14:55 off of all of that stuff out there
14:57 and bring you back in the moment.
14:59 Just to forget about that because you're stressing
15:01 about something in another time zone, in another place,
15:05 and you're bringing it into your now
15:06 and you're losing your cool.
15:08 He says, if you chill out, in patience,
15:12 you'll possess your soul.
15:13 You need something that brings you back into the moment.
15:18 That just brings, it recalibrates your emotions,
15:23 your balance, your equilibrium.
15:27 It brings you back in the moment.
15:29 In patience, possess ye your soul.
15:34 When a child has a tantrum, don't give them what they want
15:37 until they stop the tantrum.
15:38 I do not respond to this kind of behavior.
15:42 My wife and my children, they know I have a motto.
15:47 I said, I don't negotiate with terrorists.
15:49 (congregation laughing)
15:52 And when you stop that,
15:55 and my mother-in-law taught us how to, you know,
15:58 get children out of this, you know, tantrum.
16:01 One of my children fell out on the floor
16:04 and today she's out of town speaking,
16:07 bringing the word of the Lord.
16:08 But she fell out on the floor one day
16:12 and had a tantrum on us.
16:15 And my mother-in-law had told us,
16:16 she says when that happens,
16:17 she just says politely get a glass of water
16:19 and flash it in the child's face.
16:21 (congregation laughing)
16:25 And I tell you, we got the water and psh.
16:28 (congregation laughing)
16:30 She responded like she was drowning,
16:32 but I tell you, it snapped her out of that tantrum.
16:35 We never had a problem with that again.
16:37 You just sometimes need something
16:41 that brings you back in the moment.
16:44 Touch somebody, tell them,
16:45 "Patience, possess your soul."
16:46 Slow down, slow down, slow down.
16:51 Yes, something good happens to you as you wait.
16:58 I love the promise of 1 Peter 5, in verse 10.
17:02 Notice what he said, that in his kindness,
17:04 God called you to share in his eternal glory
17:07 by means of Christ Jesus.
17:09 So after, after, not before, not while,
17:13 but after you have suffered a little while,
17:17 he will restore, he will support,
17:20 he will strengthen you,
17:22 and he will place you on a firm foundation.
17:26 Oh, glory.
17:27 You ought to tell somebody, "I'm on my way back,
17:29 "I'm on my way back, I'm on my way back."
17:32 He will restore you, he'll support you,
17:35 he will establish you, he'll strengthen you,
17:38 and he will place you on a firm foundation.
17:42 I'm on my way back, I'm on my way back.
17:45 I want you to realize that while you're waiting,
17:52 the Bible says, "Wait on the Lord, and be of good courage."
17:57 Waiting on is not passive, it is active.
18:01 Waiting for is passive.
18:03 You're waiting on God, you're twiddling your thumb
18:05 'cause you're waiting on him to do it.
18:07 And you know time passes by much slower
18:10 when you're waiting for somebody to come,
18:12 to pick you up.
18:13 It's just, oh my goodness, oh.
18:15 It's just like, oh my God,
18:17 it's two more minutes and they're still not here.
18:19 And it really makes the time slow down.
18:22 But when you busy yourself with something,
18:25 so when you wait on the Lord,
18:26 that's what a server does in a restaurant.
18:29 They are waiting on you, they are serving while you wait.
18:33 They are serving while you wait.
18:35 While you're waiting on God, keep serving.
18:37 Keep serving, it's the best thing that you can do
18:39 to keep your mind off of the stress,
18:41 to keep you thankful to God
18:43 and to be able to bless other people
18:45 even while you're going through.
18:46 Wait on the Lord, keep on serving while you're going through.
18:50 I know you got issues, I know you got needs.
18:52 You know, you have to understand,
18:53 I realize that every time that I go to a place
18:56 and I'm being served, that server that's coming out,
18:58 they've got issues, relational issues.
19:00 They've got financial issues, they've got health issues.
19:02 They've got something that they're dealing with.
19:04 But they are serving while I wait.
19:07 Wait on the Lord, serve him while you wait.
19:10 Serve him, serve him.
19:12 Is there anything else that I can get for you, Lord?
19:14 Lord, can I be a blessing to someone else?
19:15 Make me a blessing, even though I don't have everything
19:18 that I feel like I need, but God, you put a gift in me.
19:21 You gave me a gift, God, to be able to encourage others
19:23 while I'm going through.
19:24 And I may not, I need a word right now,
19:26 but God gives you a word.
19:28 And I'm telling you, the stuff that God has produced in you
19:31 is not for you, it's through you.
19:33 So you'll be able to bless somebody else's socks off
19:36 and have to go home and suck your thumb
19:38 and cry yourself to sleep.
19:40 But serve while you wait, serve while you wait,
19:43 serve while you wait.
19:44 You know why?
19:46 Because you're qualifying yourself for promotion.
19:49 God does not commit himself,
19:50 I want you to hear me very carefully.
19:52 God does not commit himself to talent.
19:55 There are tons of talented people
19:57 whose lives are washed up on the shore.
20:00 He does not commit himself to talent, nor skill,
20:03 nor expertise, nor popularity.
20:07 God commits himself to one thing, faithfulness.
20:10 Faithfulness, faithfulness.
20:13 The question is not are you talented, are you faithful?
20:17 Not can you sing, can you play, can you dance,
20:19 can you write, are you faithful, are you faithful?
20:23 Look at Luke chapter 16, verse 10 through 12.
20:26 If you are faithful, just as Jesus talking,
20:30 Jesus says that if you are faithful in little things,
20:33 you will be faithful in large ones.
20:34 But if you are dishonest in little things,
20:37 You won't be honest with greater responsibilities.
20:39 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, he said, if you can't handle money,
20:44 who will trust you with true riches of heaven?
20:47 And if you're not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things
20:52 of your own?
20:53 Here, here's a simple principle about that is how you do anything is how you do everything.
21:00 How you do anything is how you do everything.
21:03 How you do anything is how you do everything.
21:06 You see, so you, you have to be faithful in the little things, but you know why?
21:11 Because you're in training for reigning.
21:15 You're in training to be, you have to be in training to be able to reign as a king.
21:20 Somebody has got to teach you.
21:22 Somebody has got to teach you.
21:23 You're in training for reigning.
21:25 You're in training for reigning.
21:27 You're in training for reigning.
21:29 God's taking you the scenic route to develop you slowly for a purpose.
21:34 When you learn slowly, I mean, the quicker you learn, the quicker you forget.
21:40 The slower you learn, the longer you keep it.
21:49 And so when you learn slow, you, you actually end up learning fast.
21:57 Don't ever be apologetic about being a slow learner.
22:01 We don't forget it's that we didn't get.
22:06 If you got it, I don't know people unless they have an actual mental disorder, dementia
22:12 and Alzheimer's.
22:14 Most people who don't have those kinds of conditions never forget their name because
22:19 they got it.
22:21 So they know it and they don't forget it because they know it.
22:26 When you walk through an experience and you know, when you learn lessons the hard way,
22:29 you don't forget those lessons.
22:32 You know, if you've taken some wooden nickels from people and people say, yeah, my man,
22:35 I'm going to pay you back when you've gone down that road, you got that lesson.
22:41 You don't forget that you carry that with you a long, long time.
22:45 So you have to realize that that's, that's why slow success builds your character.
22:53 Quick success builds your ego.
22:55 So the faster that it happens for you, the more egotistical you become and the more you
22:59 start smelling yourself and thinking that it was you instead of giving glory to God.
23:03 Say, Lord, this is, I see your hand on my life.
23:06 I was a wreck.
23:07 I was a mess, God.
23:08 I couldn't, I was, I was nothing, I'm nothing without you.
23:11 And you acknowledge Him and realize this, that failure is not the opposite of success.
23:17 Failure is a part of success.
23:19 Failure is a part of success.
23:25 It's a part of it.
23:26 And I want you to realize that difficult days create our most impacting, defining moments.
23:33 Difficult days create our most impacting and defining moments, not easy days, difficult
23:42 days create our most impacting and defining moments of your life.
23:50 When God gets ready to really imprint something on your soul, don't expect for it to be a
23:54 beautiful sunny day.
23:56 You know, the sunny days are dime a dozen, but the ones that, that where the clouds are
23:59 gray and dark and there's storm coming out of that, or you, you'd never forget that.
24:05 I remember the ice storm of 1973.
24:06 See, I don't remember just a beautiful sunny day, but I remember the storms.
24:11 You remember something, an unusual storm that blows and the damage that happens as a result
24:15 of that.
24:16 So the things that really define your life are those train wreck experiences where God
24:22 is reshaping you and remaking you.
24:23 He's putting you back on the potter's wheel.
24:26 God knows exactly what he's doing and he is pacing you to be able to safely handle the
24:33 blessing that he's about to bring you into.
24:37 And see, one of the great follies of youth is that we try to do too much too quickly.
24:43 And what ends up happening, we get old too quick and wise too late.
24:48 It's a trick.
24:49 It's really a trick.
24:50 And you've heard just the simple old wisdom, start small and work your way up.
24:55 Take baby steps and then you'll, then you'll get there.
24:58 You have to crawl before you walk and just keep it simple and just put one foot in front
25:03 of the other.
25:05 But in life, it's not that the events get easier as you get older, it's that you get
25:11 wiser and you get stronger.
25:13 I mean, when you work out in the gym, if you've been lifting a certain weight, it'll feel
25:19 like the weight has gotten easier now.
25:21 The weight has not gotten easier.
25:23 It's the same.
25:24 You've gotten stronger.
25:25 You see, God's building strength in us.
25:28 So if you go in and do the same thing every day, you don't even realize that strength
25:32 is happening until one day you go in and what you started off struggling, shaking to lift,
25:38 now you can pump it.
25:39 I mean, you just, you start with that.
25:41 You start with that.
25:42 It's not that the weight got lighter, you got stronger.
25:46 And so that's what God does over time.
25:48 He's strengthening us.
25:50 And I want you to realize that the bigger the birth, the longer the gestational period.
25:55 The bigger the birth, the longer the gestational period.
25:59 So when God gets ready to birth something big through you, take your time.
26:03 Take your time.
26:05 Take your time.
26:06 Do you know that the entire life cycle of a mosquito from an egg into a full grown adult
26:12 is eight to 10 days?
26:15 You can go from an egg to an adult in eight to 10 days if you're a mosquito.
26:20 But an elephant, big mama elephant be pregnant for two years, two years.
26:28 But when she have a baby, her baby can come back and walk.
26:34 She just push him out and the baby, he's a little clumsy, but isn't he cute?
26:42 He's a little clumsy, but he's a little clumsy, but he's a little clumsy.
26:46 But it takes two years.
26:49 A mosquito, eight to 10 days, full adult in eight to 10 days from an egg to a full adult,
26:56 eight to 10 days.
26:58 An elephant, two years to have one baby, two years pregnant for two years.
27:05 Can you imagine ladies having to go through two summers being pregnant?
27:12 But the bigger the blessing that you carry, the bigger the burden that you carry, the
27:19 bigger the blessing that you birth.
27:21 The bigger the burden that you carry, the bigger the blessing that you birth.
27:27 And so it's interesting.
27:30 Apple trees take anywhere two to three years up to about six years in order to produce
27:35 their first apple.
27:37 And the question is, do you want a mosquito blessing or do you want an elephant blessing?
27:43 That's the real question.
27:45 You know, we see things and we get time perspectives out of context because you read the whole
27:51 story in one chapter and you assume that it happened in a flash of time.
27:55 You realize that when God spoke to Noah, for Noah to build the ark and all of that, you
27:59 know how long that process took?
28:02 120 years, 120 years.
28:06 And God told him to do something that he had never seen done before.
28:10 He says build an ark because I'm going to send rain on the earth.
28:13 It's going to rain.
28:14 But the problem was it had never rained before.
28:17 The Bible says back in Genesis that the Lord watered the earth through a mist that came
28:22 up from the ground.
28:23 It had never come from the sky down to the ground.
28:26 So whenever God wanted to water the earth, he brought the mist up from the ground.
28:30 So God was now promising to Noah to do something that he had never seen done.
28:34 And he said, I want you to build something to prepare for a paradigm that you have never
28:38 seen before.
28:39 God says, I'm getting ready to disrupt things.
28:42 I'm going to do something you haven't seen before.
28:44 But it took 120 years to do it.
28:47 Can you imagine that Daniel waited all night in a lion's den facing a scary situation of
28:52 something that could have awakened and consumed him?
28:55 Could he use it as a pillar and all of them slept all night?
28:58 Have you thought about the fact that Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for their promised
29:02 child Isaac to be born?
29:04 You realize that young Joseph, who was falsely accused, sat in prison for a minimum of 13
29:10 years?
29:11 It was so long that, I mean, he'd had no facial hair when he went in.
29:15 He was a young teenager.
29:16 When he came out, he had a full beard and his brothers came to see him.
29:19 He didn't — they didn't even recognize him.
29:20 He had learned another language and he talked to them through an interpreter.
29:23 They had no idea that that was their brother.
29:26 That much time had passed, but he waited, but it was worth the wait because he was made
29:30 second in command under Pharaoh himself.
29:34 You know, when Moses was called of God, he waited on the backside of the desert.
29:40 You know how long?
29:41 40 years.
29:42 Can you imagine?
29:43 40 years and didn't hear a word from God.
29:46 40 years just waiting.
29:50 But I'm telling you, the W-E-I-G-H-T of your ministry will determine the W-A-I-T.
29:57 He had to W-A-I-T a long time because he had something that he was carrying, the deliverance
30:02 of over 2 million people.
30:04 It was a weighty, it was a weighty assignment.
30:07 He waited 40 years.
30:09 There are some things, some lights that don't turn on until you get 40.
30:14 There are some things that you just don't see at 19.
30:17 But when you've been around 40, God says, "I got some things I need to show you."
30:20 And when I show you, I need you to have an understanding of what's going on.
30:23 You know, can you imagine how many times Paul was in prison?
30:27 How he wrote so many chapters of this Bible from the prison?
30:31 You know, when Paul was saying, "Rejoice in the Lord and be glad," he was writing from
30:35 a prison cell.
30:36 He was in a little 6x6 prison cell, writing to people, encouraging other people to be
30:42 joyful in the Lord.
30:44 And he's in jail as he wrote so much of the Scriptures while he was incarcerated.
30:49 And have you thought about the fact that Jesus, though He knew who His Father was, and He
30:56 knew that He was gifted, and He knew He had an assignment to be able to help people.
30:59 And that's why, you remember when He was 12 years old, He was in there, you know, talking
31:04 with the rabbis and teachers of the law and amazing them.
31:08 He was 12 years old and His mama came back there and said, "You know, what are you doing,
31:11 boy?
31:12 Don't you know we're going on and you're back here?"
31:14 And He said, "Mama, I had to be about my father's business."
31:16 And He said, "Let me tell you something about your daddy."
31:19 But anyway, He didn't do that again.
31:21 He was 12 years old when that happened, and He didn't open His mouth in ministry for 18
31:28 more years.
31:29 He was 30 years old.
31:30 30, because in Jewish culture, you were not a man until you were 30.
31:34 It was—30 is the marker for manhood in the Jewish culture.
31:38 And so He waited until He was 30.
31:41 He was gifted, but He had to wait.
31:42 Can you imagine to be Jesus and have the gift and know who your daddy is, know your assignment,
31:47 your calling, and have to wait for 18 more years?
31:51 Now here's my question to you, that if Jesus had to wait, why do you think you can skip
31:56 this process?
31:57 I mean, if Jesus had to wait, why do you think that you can just skip it?
32:04 There are no shortcuts to sudden moments that we experience in our life.
32:10 Faith will always take you through incremental steps as opposed to immediate ascension.
32:17 It takes you through incremental steps.
32:21 And so this is the issue that we have as human beings.
32:24 It's one of our greatest weaknesses.
32:25 And so let me just share with you just a few ideas here of how should we wait, how should
32:32 we wait.
32:33 First, I would say that we should wait expectantly, expectantly.
32:38 You ought to be waiting on something.
32:40 You ought to have expectation.
32:41 You ought to have, every time you come to the house of God, you ought to expect God
32:45 to show up.
32:46 You ought to expect God to do something in you, to you, through you.
32:50 You ought to come with expectancy.
32:52 Notice James chapter 5, verse 7 and 8.
32:54 "Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return.
33:00 Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rain in the fall and in the spring.
33:06 They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen."
33:11 See, that's expectation.
33:12 They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.
33:15 You too must be patient.
33:17 Take courage for the coming of the Lord is near.
33:20 Expect it, expect it.
33:22 Wait expectantly to see whatever beauty can come out of the darkness, what beauty that
33:27 God can bring out of your failure, what beauty He can bring out of the ashes of what burned
33:32 to the ground in your life.
33:33 Wait expectantly to say, "God, I can't wait to see what you do in this new season of mine."
33:39 Just remember that stars do not shine without darkness.
33:46 Stars don't shine without darkness.
33:48 Don't curse the darkness.
33:49 Dr. Mays said, "Light a candle, light a candle."
33:53 And the beauty of the pristine snow is not to be enjoyed without the frigid temperatures
34:00 of winter.
34:01 It's the paradox of life that beauty exists in the midst of something that seems horrid.
34:11 Have you ever considered the fact that laughter is born out of tragedy?
34:17 Every comedy is a tragedy.
34:20 The best comedians are the ones whose lives have come out of tragedy.
34:26 And it hurts so bad that we have to find laughter as a medicine to anesthetize the pain of our
34:33 trauma.
34:34 Comedy is tragedy.
34:37 It's not funny while it happens, but you look back at the tragedy that happened.
34:42 You remember that time you fell and you were head first and then — but when you're falling,
34:47 it's not a funny deal.
34:51 Then you were pitiful, but when you look back and you can find something funny, that's comedy.
34:59 Comedy is birthed out of tragedy.
35:02 It's a star shining out of darkness.
35:07 It's the paradox of life.
35:10 So wait expectantly.
35:11 Secondly, wait industriously.
35:16 When a person is industrious, that means that they're willing to work.
35:19 They'll work, they will work.
35:21 Jesus told a parable about money.
35:26 He talked about ten miners.
35:27 A miner was a three-month salary, and he took ten people and he gave each of them different
35:34 miners according to their ability.
35:38 And you know what Jesus told them?
35:40 Jesus said, "I want you to occupy till I come."
35:43 The word "occupy" means to do business until I come.
35:47 To do business means to gain by trading.
35:50 You give them something, they'll give you something.
35:53 You fry them some chicken, they'll give you some money.
35:56 You entertain them, they'll give you some money.
35:59 You make a product, they'll give you some money.
36:01 You gain by trading.
36:03 Jesus said, "Occupy."
36:04 He said, "I'm giving you a three-month salary.
36:08 Do something with this.
36:09 Occupy till I come.
36:11 Occupy till I come."
36:12 Now, I want you to notice the story in Luke chapter 19, verse 11 through 13.
36:16 The crowd was listening to everything that Jesus said, and because he was nearing Jerusalem,
36:20 he told a story to correct the impression that the kingdom of God would be right away.
36:24 See, Jesus had to correct wrong theology, because everybody was looking that he's coming
36:29 back now.
36:30 He's coming to the kingdom.
36:31 He's coming right now.
36:32 He's coming right now.
36:33 And they weren't even going to work.
36:34 I mean, if he's coming tomorrow, I mean, why don't you go out and buy whatever you want
36:36 on credit?
36:37 Go ahead and get you a house that you know you can't afford.
36:43 I mean, if he's coming next month, if you knew that.
36:46 He could give you 30 days.
36:47 Take a nice elaborate vacation.
36:50 Order room service all day every day.
36:55 So Jesus is telling them a story to correct the impression that the kingdom of God would
36:59 begin right away.
37:00 And he said to them, "A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king
37:04 and then returned.
37:06 And before he left, he called together 10 of his servants and divided among them 10
37:10 pounds of silver saying, 'Invest this for me while I'm gone, because we gain by trading.'"
37:16 We gain by trading.
37:18 Now, there's a man by the name of Ronald Wayne.
37:23 Some people don't know him and there's a reason that they don't know him.
37:27 But he was one of the co-founders of Apple along with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
37:33 Well, let me tell you what happened.
37:38 Ronald Wayne got impatient.
37:43 And so, back in the 1970s, late 1970s, he's a man, you know what, I mean, I know I'm one
37:49 of the co-founders of Apple here, but man, I need my money.
37:55 He sold his 10% stake in Apple back in the late 1970s.
38:02 Guess how much?
38:03 $800.
38:04 But, you know, when you're looking at bills, and you got some stock that said you own 10%
38:25 or something, somebody said, "I give you $800 for this now?"
38:29 You know, $800.
38:34 For 10% of Apple, today that stock would have been worth $200 billion.
38:44 Are you understanding the power of waiting now?
38:47 I just want to—he sold back then for $800.
38:52 Had he held on to it, he would have had $200 billion, but he had some bills to pay.
38:59 I understand.
39:00 I do understand.
39:02 But you've got to be able to have the big picture, the long view in mind, or else you'll
39:08 sell your birthright for a bowl of beans.
39:12 You've got to be able to see the big picture.
39:14 You've got to be able to see the big picture.
39:16 So while Noah waited for the rain, he wasn't just waiting, standing around saying, "You
39:21 know, Lord, when is rain going to happen?"
39:23 No, no, no, he was gathering up gopher wood, and he was taking specific measurements for
39:28 the ark.
39:29 And he told them, "I want you to make this X amount of feet long and some high."
39:35 You know, while Daniel was waiting, he remained faithful to God in prayer every day, still
39:40 praying several times a day and was unwavering in his faith.
39:45 And while Joseph was waiting, he was serving and using his gift in prison, even while he
39:49 waited those 13 years while he was in prison.
39:53 And do you know what the Lord told people, the children of Israel while they were under
40:00 Babylonian captivity in Jeremiah chapter 29?
40:02 We know the wonderful verse, "I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you
40:05 and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
40:08 Do you realize that that was spoken to Israel during the time that they were in exile, in
40:12 captivity by the Babylonians in a foreign country?
40:16 And God says, "I got a promise for you."
40:18 They were there for 70 years, 70, that's a whole lifetime.
40:23 But do you know what God told them while they were in Babylonia?
40:26 He says, "Don't stop your living."
40:28 He said, "Build houses, marry wives, and marry your — and have children, and get them married
40:34 off, and plant gardens."
40:36 He says, "Produce something, busy yourself, occupy until I come through for you.
40:42 Until I come through for you, do what you know to do.
40:46 Use what you got, start where you are and do all you can do.
40:51 Use what you — don't just stand around saying you're waiting for the Lord, wait on Him.
40:56 Serve while you wait.
40:58 Be building, taking measurements, start researching stuff on the internet, be working towards
41:03 your goal, something every day, every day, every day.
41:07 So you not only wait expectantly, you not only wait industriously, you have to also
41:14 lovingly and patiently wait.
41:18 You lovingly — you have to be lovingly patient while you wait.
41:21 How do you wait?
41:22 Lovingly patient.
41:24 Because after a while, the tempting feeling is that you've been forgotten.
41:30 If it takes a long time, if it takes you too long to have a child, if it takes you too
41:32 long to get married, you start feeling forgotten.
41:36 But God is faithful.
41:37 God is faithful.
41:38 Notice Hebrews chapter 6, verse 9 through 12.
41:41 But though we speak in this manner, we are persuaded of better things for you, things
41:46 that accompany salvation.
41:48 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and labor of love that you have shown
41:53 for His name.
41:54 And that's one of the things, you know, if you serve other people, you say, "Lord, I've
41:57 been helping everybody else, Lord, and I'm trying to struggle to get my needs met."
42:01 He says, "He's not unjust to forget your work and labor of love that you've shown for His
42:07 name in that you have ministered to the saints and continue ministering."
42:11 He says, "We desire that every one of you show the same diligence for the full assurance
42:16 of hope to the end so that you might not be lazy, but imitators of those who through faith
42:23 and patience, faith and patience, inherit the promises.
42:28 When you lovingly wait, you're also patient and kind."
42:33 There are people that wait, but they mean as a rattlesnake.
42:39 Patience is always kind.
42:41 First Corinthians 13, 4, "Love is patient and kind."
42:46 Love is patient and kind.
42:49 Love is patient and kind.
42:54 And then you finally, how do we wait?
42:57 We wait prayerfully.
42:59 We wait prayerfully because waiting time is praying time.
43:05 Waiting time is praying time.
43:08 First Thessalonians chapter 5 and 16 through 18, "Always be joyful."
43:12 Always, always be joyful because joy is a fruit of your spirit.
43:18 It's not based on what happens.
43:21 Never stop praying.
43:22 Never stop praying.
43:24 Never stop praying.
43:25 Pray without ceasing.
43:27 Be thankful in all circumstances.
43:29 It may not be good, but be thankful because in every situation there's something for which
43:33 you can be thankful because it could be worse.
43:37 For this is the will, this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
43:44 And I want to share with you Saint Ignatius' prayer.
43:48 It actually was originally found in France in a Boy Scouts manual.
43:56 It says, "Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous.
44:00 Teach me to serve as you deserve.
44:04 To give and not to count the cost.
44:06 To fight and not to heed the wounds.
44:09 To labor and not seek to rest.
44:11 To give of myself and not ask for a reward except the reward of knowing that I am doing
44:17 your will.
44:19 Amen."
44:21 The wait is never wasted.
44:25 After you have waited, the good news is that a new you emerges.
44:31 A new you emerges.
44:34 And while you wait, I want you to understand this clearly.
44:39 While you wait, there are some things that have to die in you and there are other things
44:45 that are born in you.
44:47 The waiting time is a critical time.
44:50 It is the best of time because something has to die in you and if something doesn't die,
44:56 the new thing can't be born.
44:57 You have to make room for it.
45:00 Something dies in you and something has to be born in you.
45:04 And I want you to know that in the waiting time, while your soul has been crushed, the
45:11 new you that emerges, a revival comes in your soul.
45:16 It may not be a revival for the whole world, but it's what I call personal revival.
45:22 Personal revival.
45:23 And Charles Finney, such an incredible prayer warrior, said that a revival is nothing else
45:31 than a new beginning of obedience to God.
45:36 A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God.
45:46 I want you to understand that God enters the journey of those who wait on Him.
45:52 Wait on the Lord.
45:54 Be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart.
45:59 There's a new courage.
46:00 There's an intestinal fortitude.
46:03 There is a resolve that God is with me, that God is in me, that God is for me, and that
46:10 things are working for my good.
46:13 That all things, all things, Romans 8:28, all things, no matter what has happened to
46:18 you, no matter what you have suffered and what you have lost and who has lied on you,
46:25 all things, all things, all the good things, the bad things, the positives, the negatives,
46:31 the ups and the downs, all things shall work together for the good of them that love God
46:37 and who are called according to His purpose.
46:41 God has something for you as you wait and He's making you better, better, better, better.
46:49 There's something that is emerging in you.
46:51 There's a new fire.
46:52 When you step out, you're going to be in better shape than you've ever been all of the days
46:57 of your life.
46:58 I mean a revival.
46:59 God says, I'm going to restore you.
47:00 I'm going to establish you.
47:01 I'm going to plant your feet.
47:02 I'm going to strengthen you.
47:03 This is a new season.
47:04 I heard God said that what's coming out, some of you all have felt that you've been killed.
47:20 People have killed your dreams, your ambition.
47:22 They have killed your self-esteem.
47:23 But I heard the Lord said that I am the God of resurrection.
47:33 I prophesied this to you in the name of Jesus.
47:37 You are the resurrected and the blood protected.
47:42 Hey, the resurrected and the blood protected.
47:46 The resurrected and the blood protected.
47:50 When you start being a soldier for Jesus, demons are coming after you.
47:55 You need the blood.
47:56 You need the blood.
47:57 You need the blood.
47:58 You need the blood.
47:59 The blood of Jesus.
48:00 The blood of Jesus covers you.
48:05 The blood of Jesus covers you.
48:06 When you are making an impact, the devil is going to try to clip your wings and hinder
48:11 you and discourage you and bring up your past against you.
48:16 Your God will never let your past erase your future.
48:20 He already knew about your past.
48:23 The only reason that he'll try to use your past is to fight your future.
48:27 He's never tried to work against your past.
48:29 He's trying to work against your future.
48:31 It's not where you've been.
48:32 It's where you're going.
48:33 But the power to propel you into where you're going is fueled by the pain of your past.
48:34 It's what I've come through.
48:35 It's what I've lived through.
48:36 It's what I've survived.
48:37 It's what I've dragged myself out of.
48:38 It's what he lifted me up out of the dunghill.
48:39 And he's planted my feet and given me a place.
48:40 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:41 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:42 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:43 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:44 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:45 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:46 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:47 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:48 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:49 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:50 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:51 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:52 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:53 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:54 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:55 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:56 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:57 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:58 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
48:59 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:00 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:01 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:02 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:03 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:04 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:05 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:06 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:27 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
49:48 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:17 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:18 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:19 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:20 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:21 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:22 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:23 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:24 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:25 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:26 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:27 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:28 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:29 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:30 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:31 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:32 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:33 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:34 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
50:35 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
51:00 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
51:26 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
51:55 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:02 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:03 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:04 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:05 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:06 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:07 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:08 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:09 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:10 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:11 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:12 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:13 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:14 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:15 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:16 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:17 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:18 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:19 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:26 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:35 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:42 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:49 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
52:58 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
53:04 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
53:10 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
53:17 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
53:22 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
53:27 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
53:32 I'm going to be a soldier for Jesus.
53:37 you do.