Reasons for Waiting - Lesson 2

http://raine-growthjournal.blogspot.com/2010/10/reasons-for-waiting.html
The wait has its OWN assignment

Our 2nd teacher - Naaman the Leper.
He was the captain of the army in Aram. Aram was allied with Israel at that time.
Naaman had leprosy and couldn’t find any way to be healed. His wife had an Israelite servant and this servant suggested that he see Elisha, a prophet of the Israelites, for healing. So Naaman took ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold as gifts to see Elisha for healing.
Elisha asked Naaman to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River and he would then be healed. Naaman became furious because he wanted Elisha to heal him instantly instead. But the servants who went with Naaman asked Naaman if he would have climbed the mountain if Elisha said that was the way to be healed. And Naaman said yes. So the servants showed Naaman that dipping seven times in the Jordan River was a lot easier, and convinced him to follow Elisha’s instruction. So Naaman agreed and went to Jordan and dipped himself for seven “boring” times. And something must have happened during the wait while Naaman was dipping himself in the Jordan River seven times.

2. God uses the wait to REFINE our hearts.

“Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” (2 Kin. 5:10)

Naaman might still have been grumbling when he dipped himself in the river the first and second times. But as he dipped himself further and got closer to the seventh time, his heart was being refined and humbled, and began to feel sorry for his earlier grumbling.
How many times have you experienced God putting you aside to wait? You might first grumble, but God will speak to you. Then your heart changes and you will just want to serve God regardless.

The scripture also said, “So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan … and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.” (2 Kin. 5:14)
Naaman was healed after his heart had been refined. There are times in our life that seem so boring, and you get angry and cry out to God. But God will refine your hearts and you will learn to be still with the wait. You will be fine even if a raise has not come yet, a promotion at work has not happened, or a resolution has not occurred. Healing starts while your hearts are being refined like Naaman.

The heart change often comes first - then the healing begins.

Reasons for Waiting

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Is. 40:31)

Reasons for waiting. I hate to wait?

People have said that we are the microwave generation, which means that we don’t wait; we just get what we want instantly. For example:

• when you are hungry, you put your food in the microwave oven and it will be warm in a minute.
• We go to the drive-through to order food instead of going inside.
• We can download songs and music from iTunes and it will be ready to play in seconds so that we don’t even need to go to the store nowadays.
• When we drive, we also watch see which lane has fewer cars and switch to that lane so as to get to our destinations faster!

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Is. 40:31)
Maybe God has a reason for us to wait and there is an assignment attached to the waiting that we need to do. Waiting is not a waste of time. If we don’t understand this, we will end up grumbling and being angry during our wait, and fail the assignment God has given us to do while we wait.

3 teachers from the Bible : Moses, Naaman the Leper, and Peter.

we learn from them the lessons and the reasons for waiting.

1st teacher - Moses.

Moses and the Israelites left Egypt and then waited 40 years in the wilderness to get into the Promised Land. The Israelites grumbled constantly during the wait. God took them out of Egypt instantly but made them wait for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. There was a reason. God was doing something in their hearts. Instead of taking them through the shortest route, God led them through the longest route because God used the wait to strengthen their hearts!

God uses the wait to STRENGTHEN our hearts.

We might be between jobs now or being put on hold in a relationship :( We might be waiting for something now and it seems like the waiting time is a waste, but it is not a waste because there is a reason to wait because God is using that wait to strengthen our hearts now.

As the Bible said, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, even though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Ex. 13:17) God took them through the longer route instead because their hearts were not ready. There would be tests like wars thrust upon the Israelites in the future and they would not be ready if they had taken the shortest route to reach the Promised Land. Therefore, God used the wait to strengthen them so that they would be ready for wars or any other future trials.

During the time of waiting, there are some tendencies that will surface. The first one is grumbling. We tend to grumble about our boss at work, grumble about us not being recognized at work, or not having a raise in our salary. And the second tendency is losing focus. We lose focus of us being Christian after the grumbling; then we forget about why God put us in the situation and forget to be God’s salt and light. The third tendency is to quit. We would just quit the situation because we are tired of waiting and our hearts wither. And the last is settling for less, and missing out on the wonderfulness God has for us in our future. But that is also why God put us into waiting periods - to resolve these tendencies that we have in our hearts.

We usually see the wait as a waste of time, and ask God to move things faster for us. But the waiting time is indeed not a waste as it has its own assignment from God! There is a reason to wait and it’s not an empty time. We have an assignment to do for God while waiting - to resolve our tendencies, and to build strengths and character in Him.

APPLICATION
God wants us to wait at times so that we are ready for the trials in our future. Without the wait, when the trials come, which could be unemployment, financial issues or sickness, our hearts will wither. That’s why God takes us through a time of waiting to strengthen our hearts.
Example: Running. Without training, my muscles would not have been strong enough to stand a real race, and I would not have developed the stamina and strength that I needed to run a race.

God put me to wait to give me strengths and character i need for my future. i will wait, and not do it my own way, for i will mess up what God has designed to be wonderful for me. i will plan and i will pray for guidance. but Thy will be done. i will not grumble or lose focus... i will not quit nor settle for less for i know God has the bestest of plan for me and my future

It is God's way or no way! He will give me strength and character for the wonderfulness He has prepared for me.
AMEN

Jesus changes water to wine

John 2: 1-11
Jesus Changes Water to Wine

This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

There was a wedding ceremony... and half way thru the wedding ceremony, the wine finished. So Jesus' mother told Jesus that the wine was finish...this being said, because his mother believed that Jesus can take care of the situation.

Jesus then ordered the servants to fill the jars with water from the stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing. (not even drinking water) then serve them to the master of the banquet!!!

Summary

1. As servant, we must trust our master, Jesus.
2. The servant knew it was only water (not even drinking water) but they did as Jesus told.

Application

1. if we pour water in the jar and serve...it will and definately be water
2. but if we put our water in the hands of Jesus Christ our Savior...He will at his time turn water into wine
3. today i had a heavy heart when i woke up...even when i was in the house of the Lord...i felt my heart very heavy. during the worship service every song sung touched me in so many ways...jz couldn keep my tears...
4. in You Lord i will trust... my every need you will supply.

Whatever plans I have in mind, Lord I surrender them to You. I will do the best I can but in the end, let Your will be done. Amen

Your prayers have an impact

Your prayers have an impact
by Rick Warren

1 John 5:15 (GNT)
"God hears us whenever we ask Him and we know also that He gives us what we ask from Him."
Prayer can do whatever God can do. His resources are available to you. Twenty times in the New Testament it says, "Ask."

Do you ever wonder if prayer really works? You're praying about something and Satan whispers to you, "This is a waste of time. Forget it! Who do you think you are? What do you think you're doing? God is not listening. Don't waste your time."

Prayer works because God is in control. The basis of all miracles is God's sovereignty. Why does He do one and not another? Because God is in control. We have to trust His wisdom and His goodness.

Ephesians 3:20 says
"God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes."(LB)

Prayer can do whatever God can do. His resources are available to you. Twenty times in the New Testament it says, "Ask." It's encouraging to know that things that are out of my control are not out of God's. I may not be able to change a situation but I can pray and God can change it.

I know exactly what some of you are thinking right now. "If I can pray and ask God to change things and if God is really in control of everything, why don't I get everything I pray for?" Good question.

Here are three reasons:

1. God is not a genie. You don't put in a prayer, rub a thing and get whatever you want. If every prayer were answered we'd be spoiled brats. Do you give your children everything they ask for? I hope not. You know what's best for them. You can see the bigger picture. If you can see the bigger picture for your kids, how much bigger is the picture God can see?


2. Sometimes Christians pray in conflict. You get two Christians praying at the Super Bowl for different teams. Who's God going to answer? Obviously, God can't answer every prayer at the same time.
   But I think the real reason is this:


3. God knows what's best and you don't. If you think you do, that is very presumptuous. First John 5:14 tells us, "We are sure that He (God) hears us if we ask Him for anything that's according to His will."(GNT) Look at the phrase "according to His will." The attitude of your prayer needs to be: "Lord, this is my prayer request, but Thy will be done." That's what Jesus prayed, "Lord if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless let Thy will..." (Luke 22:42).

APPLICATON:
Does God answer all prayers?

I believe that God does indeed answer every prayer. It may not be the answer we are looking for, but He does answer in His own way and in His own time. Often we become impatient and expect fast results. Sometimes it may take a lifetime to get an answer. Therefore, praying and patience must go hand in hand—praying on a regular basis teaches patience and strengthens faith in God, no matter who you think of as God " so let thy will be done"

I trust in the Lord

Psalm 4:5 (New International Version)
Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.


The first psalm taught us that God has a plan.
His plan calls for happiness's for each of our lives. Happiness requires a completeness of ones soul, of ones self. The completeness of ones self is accomplished by means of doctrine, by means of learning doctrine, by means of understanding doctrine and growing up and making truth the central foundation of your life.

Bible doctrine is the key to your life.

Psalm two taught us that man has a plan and that God has a plan.
Men plans will all fail. Gods plan will succeed. Gods plan began in eternity past when one member of the trinity was assigned the title, Son of God. The plan centers around that person, the Son, who was to accomplish an eternal destiny for all who believe in Him. Rejection or indifference toward Gods plan is arrogance.

The soul is eternal, therefore the reasonable person will plan for the long term of his life (eternity), and not just the short term (this present life).


The third psalm taught us that the world is an enemy.
The world does not care for your best interest. The world inundates each person with enticements and unfairness to distract you from God and Gods plan. It is easy to get caught up in the activities of ones life and forget or ignore God, but then the world surrounds you with an almost infinite variety of enemies, most of which you would never recognize as enemies, friendly such as they are. Your own attitude can be your worst enemy.


The fourth psalm teaches us to stand in awe of God, doctrine, and the spiritual life that He alone offers. Conform to His teaching and plan, and your life will be beyond better, and beyond anything that the world can offer.


Therefore, offer the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the Lord.

Our sacrifice comes in the form of a daily study for the purpose of learning and growing up in our spiritual life. Therefore today, our sacrifices in righteousness, means learning truth, or Gods word, in order to advance in our spiritual life, and bring ourselves into compliance with His will.

What you have not learned, you cannot know. What you do not know, then you cannot understand. Therefore, in order to come to an understanding and to wisdom, you must first learn, and to learn you must conduct yourself in a daily study of the scriptures

With study comes learning. With learning, comes understanding. With understanding comes trust. With trust comes faith. And the combination of all of these things brings Gods objective for you as stated in Psalm one, blessings.

Application
I want to know You more... i want to trust in You more...i will continue to learn and understand...trust and have faith in You my God

Deal With Your Anger

Deal With Your Anger - Now!
by Rick Warren

Ephesians 4:26 (NIV)
"Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."

When you get angry, deal with it immediately, so the devil doesn't get a foothold in your life.
The above verse should be taken literally. When you go to bed at night, make sure your conscious is clear and there's no disharmony.
Why? God knows how dangerous and destructive anger is to our bodies. The anger gets inside of you and starts to eat you up.

Have you ever heard anybody say, "That really burns me up!" They're speaking the truth. It literally does that. Scientists have proven that when a person gets angry there is a definite biochemical change in their body. When you get angry it attacks your adrenal glands and shoots out all kinds of things in your body. Your palms start sweating, your temperature is raised, your blood sugar increases, your heart beat elevates, you get nervous, you get primed for action.
All of this is pent up inside of you and God says, "Don't get that all built up in your life and then try to go to sleep with it. It will eat on you."

God is explaining this for your own good. When you hold on to your anger it has a damaging effect upon your health. You can't sleep. You get high blood pressure. You get depressed - you can get all kinds of different illnesses.

Anger is dangerous to our lives. It's dangerous to us physically. It's dangerous to us socially -- it ruins relationships, it destroys homes. It's dangerous to us spiritually -- it affects our relationship with God.

That's what Paul goes on to say in
Ephesians 4:27(NIV)
"And do not give the devil a foothold."

APPLICATION
When you get angry, deal with it immediately, so the devil doesn't get a foothold in your life.