“Dedication, the Patience for His Timing.”

The Destiny Principle (Spiritual Marker # 4)

Romans 8:22-25, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.(v. 23)  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (v. 24) For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? (v. 25)  But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently.”

A man was visiting a local department store with his wife. They had just purchased a piece of luggage and a cooler. As he was waiting for his wife to finish the rest of her shopping he dragged the luggage and cooler around with him to the shoe department. A clerk asked if he could be of assistance.
“No, thank you," Ed replied. “I’m just waiting for my wife."
At that point, a man behind him said, "I’m waiting for my wife, too, but I never thought of bringing a lunch and an overnight bag with me."

We have phrases like, "Just in the nick of time," or "Down to the wire,"

How would you like to spend 2 years making phone calls to people who aren't home? Sound absurd? According to one time management study, that's how much time the average person spends trying to return calls to people who never seem to be in. Yes, it's true. In a lifetime the average American will spend:

Six months sitting at stoplights. Eight months opening junk mail. One year looking for misplaced objects 2 years unsuccessfully returning phone calls. 4 years doing housework. 5 years waiting in line. 6 years eating.

A man’s car stalled at a traffic signal just as the light turned green. All of his efforts to get his car started were failing. A chorus of honks filled the air as the other drivers became impatient with this delay. The man finally walked back to one of those cars that was honking, and told the driver, “I am sorry that my car just will not start. Is it possible for you to get in my car and try and start it for me? and in the mean time, I will do your honking.”

America is the only country with a landmark called, “Rushmore!”

Patience. Are you short of it? Have you ever left a restaurant because the food was taking too long?

Have you ever skipped a page while reading to your child?
Have you ever found yourself short of time and end up putting on your make-up or neck-tie as you drive to work. If you do both of those, then you’ve got a different sort of problem.

While at a wedding reception, have you ever thought of creative ways to cut in line to get some food quicker?

Have you ever cut through a gas station to make a right turn because you didn’t want to wait for the light to turn green?

Have you ever wondered, “How long is Pastor Randy going to preach, today?”

Four Principles about God’s Timing

1) Who God calls, He prepares.

Isaiah 40:31 “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.”

A young man, a Christian, went to an older believer to ask for prayer. "Will you please pray that I may be more patient?" he asked. The aged saint agreed. They knelt together and the man began to pray, "Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; send this young man...." At that point the young Christian blurted out, "No, no, I didn’t ask you to pray for tribulation. I wanted you to pray for patience." "Ah," responded the wise Christian, "it’s through tribulation that we learn patience."   

The aspects of ‘waiting on the Lord.”

(a) Patiently allowing the timing of God to unfold.

(b) Attentively listening to the voice of God and actively serving Him.

2) What God starts, He finishes.

Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Don’t get ahead of God. He knows what He is doing.

We’ve got to do our part.

Our part is making the right decisions at the right time.

There was a man who prided himself on being exceedingly punctual. He followed a very precise routine every morning. His alarm went off at 6:30 AM. He rose briskly, shaved, showered, ate his breakfast, brushed his teeth, picked up his briefcase, got into his car, rode the ferry across to the downtown business area, got off the ferry, walked smartly to his building, marched to the elevator, rode to the seventeenth floor, hung up his coat, opened his briefcase, spread his papers out on his desk, and sat down in his chair at precisely 8:00 AM. Not 8:01 AM, not even 7:59. Always at 8:00 AM.
He followed this same routine without variation for eight years, until one morning his alarm did not go off, and he overslept fifteen minutes. When he did awake, he was panic-stricken. He rushed through the shower, nicked himself when he shaved, gulped down his breakfast, only half-way brushed his teeth, grabbed up his briefcase, jumped into his car, sped to the ferry landing, jumped out of his car, and looked for the ferry.
There it was, out in the water a few feet from the dock. He said to himself, "I think that I can make it," and he ran down the dock towards the ferry at full speed. Reaching the edge of the pier he made an enormous leap out over the water and miraculously landed with a loud thud on the deck of the ferry. The captain rushed down to make sure he was alright.
The captain said, "Man, that was a tremendous leap, but if you would have just waited another minute, we would have reached the dock, and you could have walked on."

Timing has lots to do with the will of God.

The wrong decision at the wrong time results in disaster.

   Giving a four year old a Mountain Dew Code Red Soda right before bedtime is the wrong decision at the wrong time.

The wrong decision at the right time results in a disagreement.

   Charging $ 1,000.00 on your Master Card to buy clothes at Foley’s Red Apple Sale is a wrong decision at the right time.

   When it comes to tithing, many believers use the excuse of “Well, it’s just not the right time.”  “I’ll start to tithe, when I get out of debt – when I get my promotion – when the new year comes – when I win the lottery.”  God says, “The time is now!” But many believers make the wrong decision at the right time and it results in disagreement. They are in disagreement with the will of God for their life.

The right decision at the wrong time results in disorder.

    Starting the Atkins diet on Christmas Eve is a right decision at the wrong time.

The right decision at the right time results in destiny!

    Today, God is calling you into a deeper relationship with Him. He wants you to walk through the door of His will, your destiny. Today, you have the opportunity to make the right decision at the right time, and it will result in destiny!

3) When God delays, He hasn’t forgotten

2 Peter 3:8, 9 “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (v. 9) The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise.”

We are like the man who approached God and asked Him, "Lord, up in heaven how much time is a million years?" "Well," God said, "a million years is but a second in heaven."  "Oh!" said the man, "and up in heaven how much money is a million dollars?" "Well," said God, "a million dollars is only a penny in heaven." "Great!" said the man. "God, give me one of your pennies." "All right," said the heavenly Father. "Just wait a second."   

4) How God leads, He blesses.

Galatians 4:4 “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son.”

(James 5:7) Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door."

We are given the example of a farmer – who waits for the early rains and the late rains. A farmer must be patient to wait for the seeds that he has sown to produce the crop that he desires.  Likewise, we are to wait for the seeds we have sown to produce the crop we desire.

Principle: The crop we desire will come into fruition if we sow the right seeds and wait on the Lord.

Does waiting on the Lord mean to sit around, kick back, take it easy and wait for a sign from heaven –or wait until we see everything we have desired to take place?

No. That’s passive Christianity.  A farmer gets busy – very busy – to cultivate the land, and then sow seeds, and then water the seeds, and in the middle of all that hard work, he is still patient enough to wait for the right results at the right time.  If he didn’t get busy, then he’d probably starve to death.  Also, in the middle of it all, there is something he cannot do – and that is: he cannot produce rain. He is totally dependent on God.  It’s kind of what I have mentioned time and time again from this pulpit: If you want to see great results in your life, it’s gonna take two things: (1) Your efforts, and (2) God’s anointing. You do your part, and God will do His part.

Misconception: Being patient is being passive.

So when you face a trial, the question you must ask yourself is: "Have I done all that God has required me to do? Have I done my part?"

And if you haven’t done your part, then maybe your trial is still not over – because God’s wants to rain down on you, but there’s nothing for Him to bless.

Some people have been going through a trial for five years, when it should have been over in two years, but since there was no seed, there was no growth, although there was some rain.

Verse 7 tells us to be patient until the Lord’s coming. But because of the context of this letter, I believe that may have a double meaning. (1) Be patient until the Lord’s second Coming. How many of you believe that the coming of the Lord is near. I believe it. (2) Secondly, when James says, ‘be patient until the Lord’s coming," I believe he could very well be referring to the Lord coming on the scene of your trial.

Because sometimes, the Lord stays at a short distance from us during our trial in order to test us. And when we get our act together and draw near to Him, then He draws near to us – and this may be referred to as the coming of the Lord.

Then he says, (v. 8) "Be patient and stand firm"  Stand firm means being active, not passive.  I ask you the question: "What are you doing to actively stand firm?" Do you make daily devotions and prayer a part of your daily life – or only when you get around to it? Do you know what your spiritual gifts are and are you actively using them for the kingdom of God? When was the last time you led someone to the Lord? Because every time you share your faith and share with others what the Lord has done for you, then you build up your own faith.

Then he presents a negative trap that we often fall into. Complaining. (v. 9) "Don’t grumble against each other . . . The Judge is standing at the door."  Watch what you say when you’re going through a trial.  God is at the door of your life, listening to every word you say.  If we would spend more time praising God, instead of complaining, then we would get out of our trial so much faster.