Transcription
[Music] Praise the Lord and God bless you once again. Welcome to another exciting episode of Doers of the Word Ministries broadcast on the marketplace network. My name is Bishop Reginald Given. I am the senior pastor of the Word of Truth Community Worship Center in the city of Belfflower, California. Our mailing address is 75 West 342 East 342 in the city of Paris, California 92571. Amen.
We are delighted to be able to come to you today with another word that I believe will encourage your hearts and be a blessing to you. We would ask also that praying that the Lord would lay upon your heart to partner with us and help us to defay the cost of our broadcast by sending in an offering to our zel down at the bottom 5626079112. Anything that you send in will be greatly appreciated. Amen.
We're going to go directly into our message today. Let us bow our heads and pray. Gracious heavenly father, thank you once again for another opportunity to share the message of the gospel with your people. I pray dear God that you would touch their hearts, that you'll prepare their hearts to receive the engrafted word of God. Give us, Lord, not just to be hearers of your word, but to be doers as well. Father, I pray that you'll anoint my delivery, Father, that as I give this word, Lord, that your people will be edified, that they will be exhorted, that they will be encouraged, and above all all else, Lord, that you will be glorified. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
The title of my message this day is simply entitled The Weight of Waiting. Weight. We ei a i t i n g. There is a four-letter word in the English vocabulary that is thrown at us all the time, practically every day. It's the kind of word that literally makes you cringe pretty much every time you hear it. Every time we hear this word, I guarantee you it's not the word that most of us really want to hear. The reason why is because it interferes with our happiness. It interferes with our joy and it slows down our ability to enjoy the things that this life has to offer. But unfortunately, it is something that we all have to deal with, whether we want to deal with it or not. And most of the time, it is usually when we would rather not deal with it. That four-letter word is the word wait. W AI T. Wait.
You know what weight means, right? It has a number of connotations. It means being forced to stay in a place of expectation. And that can really wear on you sometimes, you know, to be relegated to a place, sometimes an isolated place where all of your energies and all of your hopes and dreams must be put on hold for another time. And the only thing that is left for you to do, the only option that you have left is to wait. Even though you know it's coming. I I I know Christmas is coming. I know the paycheck's coming. You know, I I know things are are going to happen. And still all you can do is wait.
I have a saying that goes like this. Life is good when you have options. You see, when you have options, you can still do whatever it is you want to do. Now, you just may have to do it a different way, but it still works for you. But when you have no other recourse and there are no more options, then the only thing you can do is wait. I've heard people say, "I've been waiting for this day all my life." I've heard people say, "I'll be glad when this baby finally gets here because I've been waiting for a very long time." I've heard people say, "I hate waiting for the test results from my doctor." You see, sometimes waiting involves you pausing your life so that others can catch up.
This applies to some parents. You know, they they do it all the time while raising children. Their dreams and sometimes their careers are put on hold until they can get their children to a point where they can become independent productive citizens in society. You know, sometimes waiting involves you remaining temporarily neglected, temporarily overlooked and virtually unrealized. Sometimes waiting involves you being held back while others go on before you. And you know, some of the most dreaded places in the world to go to are places like the DMV, the bank, grocery store, doctor's office. How about the courthouse? Because nine times out of 10 when you go to places like these, chances are you are going to have to wait. And it's usually when there's a whole lot of other things that you could be doing during that time. The weight of waiting.
You see, waiting often produces a wide range of emotions which are often times negative because all they do is weigh you down. Emotions like anxiety, emotions like frustration, impatience, and here's here's here's our favorite. How about stress?
There's a story in the Bible about a man by the name of Job. Job is the only man in the Bible whose first attribute was that he was a perfect and an upright man who feared God and he hated evil. And whether he realized it or not, it was who he was that made him a target for the devil. Don't you know that just being a child of God, just just being a Christian alone can automatically get you natural as well as spiritual enemies. Jesus said to follow me. He said there would be a cost involved. And this is why he's told us we must count up the cost. In Matthew chapter 10 verse 22, he said, "And if you follow me, you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." But he said, "He that endureth to the end shall be saved."
Tell your neighbor, hang on in there. And that generally means wait. Now to add to some of the other attributes that Job had, he had most of the things that most of what you and I wish we had. He was well-respected. He was admired. He was revered. He was the greatest man in all of the East. And on top of all of that, Job was a rich man.
Go with me to Job 1:6-12. And let's let's read the story. Job 1 beginning at verse 6. It says, "Now there was a day when the sons of men came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan came also among them." And the Lord said unto Satan, "Whence cometh thou? Or where have you been? Or or what are you doing here?" Then Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." And the Lord said unto Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God and hates evil." And Satan gave God this answer. He said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?"
When I read that, the Holy Spirit made me pause and he said, "I have called you to live holy, Bishop Given. I have called you to live a life before the people that will please me." And so, as I share this message with you, I'm going to share it out, share that same thing to you. Does the life you live get the devil's attention? Think about it. Does the life that you live cause the devil to stop and take notice of you? The answer to that question is that it should because when the light shines in a dark and dying world, it dispels the darkness that is in it. And darkness in a spiritual sense belongs to and it comes from the devil. And listen, if you mess with what belongs to the devil, the devil is going to mess with you. So, does the life you live get the devil's attention? Or does every time the devil see you, does he do what Dion Warwick suggests and simply just walks on by?
Verse number 10. Satan continues to answer God. Hast not thou made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he has on every side that thou hast blessed the works of his hands and his substance is increased in the land. In other words, does not the angels of the Lord encamp around about them that fear thee, and you deliver them? But the devil pressed the issue and said, "But put forth your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." And the Lord said unto Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only upon himself put not forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
Now, isn't it funny how things can happen to you and nobody stopped to get your permission to see if it was okay? Isn't it funny how life can be going along just fine and then the next thing you know, all literal hell can break loose? Well, guess what? It happened to Job. All of his sheep, all of his camels, all of his oxmen, all of his asses, and the majority of his servants were taken from him on the same day. So there goes all of his possessions, there goes all of his livelihood and his ability to even earn it back. And then all 10 of his children were killed. He only had 10. So all of his children were killed on the same day, all at the same time. Now there's no telling what our response would have been if all this would have happened to us.
But let's look at Job's response in Job 1:20-22. Notice what he said. Then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground. Now notice in those days tearing the garments and shaving or pulling off the hair of the head, throwing dust or ashes in on on your head in the air, falling on the ground. All of those were all acts by which grief was expressed. Job did all of that. Tell your neighbor, Job felt all of that. He felt all of that. Job felt all the bitterness of anguish that when he was told that. And in addition to the loss of all of his property, he was deprived of his 10 children by a violent death. And had he not felt this most tragic grief, then he would have been deemed unworthy to be called a man. Job felt all of that. But in the midst of his horrible grief, Job, instead of being angry with God, instead of him shaking his fist at God, instead of him falling out with God, guess what the Bible says? Job worshiped God.
Verse 21. And Job said, "Naked came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither." The Lord God gave. And the Lord God taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. What a response. Powerful.
I heard a man say this one time. I believe it was Fred Price. He said, "Every word of God is a statement of truth, but not every word of God is truly stated." In other words, Job's attitude was this. I had no earthly possessions when I came into the world, and I cannot have less going out of it. Job thought that it was God who took all this from him. That's truly stated, but but it wasn't God. It was the devil attacking him under God's supervision. Every word of God is truly stated. But not every word of God is a statement of truth. The Lord God give, the Lord God taketh away. It wasn't God that was taken away from Job. The devil was at work.
Job went on to say, he said, "Whatever I have, the Lord gave it to me as it was his free gift, and he also has the right to resume it whenever he pleases. And I owe him nothing but gratitude for the time he has permitted me to enjoy his gifts." Now, you got to agree with me on this one. Job was a remarkable man. Because he determined that seeing I have lost my temporal goods and all my domestic comforts, may God alone be all my portion. Now in the Vulgate Bible, in the Septuagent, and in the Coverdale Bible, it's added in that the Lord has done as he has pleased. That this was what Job expressed. The Lord has done what he has pleased. But in verse 22, notice it says, "In all of this," in all that I've just covered is pertaining to all of this. In all of this, Job sinned not, nor did he charge God foolishly. He did not give way to any action or any passion or expression that would be offensive to his maker. He did not charge God with acting unkindly towards him, but felt as perfectly satisfied with the privation which the hand of God had occasioned as he was with the affluence and health which that same hand had bestowed. This is the transaction that gave the strong and vivid coloring to the character of Job in this and in this alone. He was a pattern of patience and resignation.
But that's not all. Satan, seeing that it did not phase Job the way he intended it to, went back to God to petition God for more leeway against Job. And once again, without Job's permission, God permitted it to be so. Let's read that. Job chapter 2:5-6. Satan said, "Put forth thine hand now again." It doesn't say again, but let me read it. Put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face. And the Lord said unto Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but save his life. You can't kill him, but whatever you got in mind, let's see what happens." So, on top of everything else that he had already experienced, Job is now afflicted with boils from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. Now, on top of everything else, now his wife can't stand the sight of him and urges him to just curse God and die. And on top of everything else, then his three closest friends come along and they accuse Job of something that he was not guilty of. Listen, Job was placed in waiting and the weight, the pressure of waiting was wearing on the man. This is a man who was once in a position where he waited on nothing. But the good thing about Job, a praise God, the good thing about Job, unlike some of us, he knew how to wait.
In Job 14:14, he asked a question and he said, "If a man die, shall he live again all the days of my appointed time?" In other words, between the day I was born and between the day I will die, all the days of my appointed time, I will wait till my change comes. Let that sink in. This has definite implications of what we understand to be the resurrection. Of course, when Job uses the terminology, I will wait, the word wait in the Hebrew language is the word Yasaw. Yasaw. It means I will trust.
And in Psalm 25:5, it says, "Lead me in thy truth and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. I trust in you, oh God. From the rising of the sun till the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised." But you know, sometimes sometimes the weight of waiting can cause some folks to faint. In Psalm 27:3 and 14, the psalmist said, "I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord, not when I die, but in the land of the living." Verse 14, he admonishes, "Wait on the Lord. Trust on the Lord." He says, "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say on the Lord."
You see, when Lazarus was sick, they called for Jesus. Jesus got the message and he still waited a couple of days. During the process, in the course of his waiting, Lazarus died and Jesus finally decided, "Okay, let's go and see about Lazarus." When he got there, Lazarus' sister met Jesus before he got to the house and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." I want to submit to you that aren't you glad that we serve a God who can be three days late and still on time? Don't ever think Don't ever think that it's over. It ain't over until God says that it's over.
In Psalm 59:9, because of his strength will I wait upon thee. Because of his strength, not yours, not mine. Because of his strength, will I wait on thee, for God is my defense. You see, when the weight of waiting starts to get you down, you got to learn how to call on the strength of the Lord. His strength will help you to bear up under whatever weight, what under burden it may be of waiting on the Lord.
And listen, while you're waiting and while you continue to trust God, don't be afraid to encourage yourself. I don't see there's anything wrong with talking to yourself. I talk to myself all the time because sometimes I need some expert opinion. Encourage yourself.
In Psalm 62 verse 5 and 7, notice what it says. My soul, the psalmist is speaking to himself. My soul, wait thou only upon God. For my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. You got to tell yourself that whenever the enemy comes your way. I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my strength and my God and my refuge is in God.
So as I close, I want to defer to one of my favorite scriptures and that's found in Isaiah 40:31. It says, "But they that wait, They that wait or trust upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall rise up. They shall mount up with the wings of eagles. They shall run and not be weary. And they shall walk and not faint." I love the fact that they allude to the eagle. The eagle is one of the most, if not the most majestic birds in the entire world. You see, when a storm arises, when the lightning begins to flash and the thunder begins to roll and the rains begin to fall, most birds will retreat to their nests and they spread their wings to cover their young. But this eagle, something about the eagle, he has this uncanny ability because the way he was built where he could set his wings back and he begins to flap and he catches the updraft and instead of retreating under the storm, he rises above the storm. You can check this out. You can Google it. He He has learned how to let the storm rage, but he has learned how to rise above the storm because be above every storm, there's the sunshine. So, you got to learn how to say to yourself, I don't care what's going on in my life, I'm rising above this storm.
The weight of waiting is often very unpleasant. But I just wanted to stop by today to let you know that God will give you the strength you need and he will do it today. He will help you to bear up under any weight that the devil tries to put on you. So as I end this message and I speak to the camera, those of you that are watching, is there anyone out there that needs some strength today? You may be bearing under the weight of waiting. God may have promised you something and you've been waiting for a long time. It reminds me of Abraham. God gave him a promise of a son. And Abraham waited for years, years, and years on the promise of the son. He even kind of slipped out of God's will there for a minute, but he got back in and he received the promise. After a long time, God called Moses to be a deliverer. But because of some slip ups of Moses, Moses was placed in a place of isolation where everybody else was getting paid attention except Moses on the back side of the mountain for 40 long years. The weight of waiting, I'm sure, wore on Moses, but he hung in there. And when God brought him out from behind the backside of the mountain, he exalted him and he used him for the purpose for which he ordained his life. God can do the same with you. He can do the same with me. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don't let the weight of waiting cause you to fall out with God. Trust him, love him, serve him, and allow him to work whatever it is he's working in your life. Allow him to do what he wants to do so that when your day does come, and trust me, it will because God said so. He said there is a season for everything under the heavens. There's a time for it. Your time may not be now. It may be next week, next month, next year. But listen, God is not unrighteous to forget your labor of love. If he said your day is going to come, trust and believe and hold on to God's unchanging hand. Your day will come.
We're going to stop right there. I I I just hope that something was said to you that will encourage you. Look at what Job went through. Devastated his life, but it didn't end his life. Job hung in there and he continued to trust God. And if you read the book of Job, if you get to the end, you'll find out that God gave Job double what was taken from him. A lot of times I hear preachers say he gave Job double for his trouble. And so I believe that God is going to do the same for us. He's He's just that kind of God. He loves us enough. He cares for us enough. and he always has the answer for what's going on in our lives. So trust him. Let him be your strength. Gird yourself up under the mighty strength of God. And I believe that you're going to be just fine.
I want to pray because I know there's people out there that need strength, that need healing, that need direction. They need a reestablishment of the course of direction for their life. God is the answer and he will direct your path. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for the power that is in your word. I thank you Lord that these things were written for our learning to help to give us hope to help, oh God, to strengthen us and encourage us as we endure the race you have set before us. Bless your people, God. Heal your people. Deliver your people. Set your people free. Give them strength in the place of weakness. Give them joy in the midst of sorrow. Put a smile on their face, Lord. Make every crooked place straight in their lives in the mighty name of Jesus. We thank you, Lord, for your healing. We thank you, Lord, for your restoration. We thank you, Lord, for your great power in our lives. We love you because you first loved us. And Lord, you forgave us of a multitude of sins. Thank you, Father, for who you are. and we will continue to trust you until as Job declared our change comes in Jesus name. Amen.
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