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Wait To Win:
"With your soul."
Pastor John R. Wiuff
July 25, 2010
First Church of God, Medford, Oregon
www.fcog.us
"With your soul."
Pastor John R. Wiuff
July 25, 2010
First Church of God, Medford, Oregon
www.fcog.us
Do you hate to wait? Have you ever waited on something important or unimportant and wonder how long this is going take?
Even the Saints in Heaven who have gone before us don't like to wait! Did you know that? Listen to this…
10. They cried out in a loud voice, "Holy and true Master, how long before you judge and take revenge on those living on earth who shed our blood?" 11. Each of the souls was given a white robe. They were told to rest (wait) a little longer until all their coworkers, the other Christians, would be killed as they had been killed.
Even the Saints in Heaven who have gone before us don't like to wait! Did you know that? Listen to this…
10. They cried out in a loud voice, "Holy and true Master, how long before you judge and take revenge on those living on earth who shed our blood?" 11. Each of the souls was given a white robe. They were told to rest (wait) a little longer until all their coworkers, the other Christians, would be killed as they had been killed.
Revelation 6:9-11 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
Really it is not what we are waiting for that bothers us, it's just that we have to wait, and technology is not improving our expectations. The average time that someone spends on a web page is sixty seconds. If a person stays more than five minutes they are considered loitering.
The truth is that we will not wait for anything. We demand that our time not be wasted by waiting. We use every moment of our day to do something that is interesting, especially youth!
Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted. And that does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cellphones.
And because so many of them are multitasking - say, surfing the Internet while listening to music - they pack on average nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours.
The truth is that we will not wait for anything. We demand that our time not be wasted by waiting. We use every moment of our day to do something that is interesting, especially youth!
Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted. And that does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cellphones.
And because so many of them are multitasking - say, surfing the Internet while listening to music - they pack on average nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours.
If Your Kids Are Awake,
They're Probably Online
By TAMAR LEWIN
Published: January 20, 2010
They're Probably Online
By TAMAR LEWIN
Published: January 20, 2010
This shocked researches because last year the announced that this same group had maxed out the number of hours they had available to them for such activity and it could not go up, but here we are with nearly every waking hour spent texting, surfing and being amused by electronics.
What is so wrong with that? Isn't this just a more connected and interacting generation that keeps in touch with the world in fast and amazing ways that was not possible before?
While we are taking in more information and connecting with more people than ever before from every source around the world, we are now seeing a generation more out of touch with a sense of self and independence. Along with this comes less of an ability to understand and discern the presence of God in this world as they pay attention to the glory of humanity.
In this fast paced world we believe we can not sit still or we will be left behind by others who are leaping ahead and networking faster than we can think. So when we are forced to sit and wait at work or school we don't wait, but grab our electronic devices.
Today we are going to start a new sermon series on how to turn your waiting into winning with God's grace. Rather than turn to our I-phones, I-pads and other devices we are going to learn to turn to God and wait upon Him. There is no monthly fee's for the connection and no dead zones. He is completely mobile and no one has a better network than God.
The first step is to ask you to turn off everything electronic you carried into this service this morning. Whenever you wait on God you want to connect to Him and all that stuff we carry around will interfere with your reception. The more you learn to wait on God rather than turn to your electronics the more you will discover who you really are and the purpose for your existence on this earth. So if you haven't done this yet, turn it all off right now.
Now the other great danger is that as you shut off your devices, you also are shutting down physically and mentally. Physically if we don't have music or video going on in the back ground we start disengaging and falling asleep because we are exhausted from the pace we have been living. Mentally we are so use to repeating and recirculating what others are saying that we have a blank screen for a mind. For some people it is like the blue screen of death when a computer crashes.
I know this may be scary for some of us but we are about to enter into God's waiting room and wait upon Him. Now as we do so He has provided some reading material like you might find in a doctors office, but this material is not about fashion, money, or celebrities. This is about you and your connection with God.
Let's read it together. You will find it in Psalms 62 in your Bibles, somewhere near the center of the book. This is a Psalm of King David who was a pioneer in waiting upon the Lord.
Psalm 62 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
For the choir director; according to Jeduthun; a psalm by David.
1. My soul waits calmly for God alone.
My salvation comes from him.
2. He alone is my rock and my savior-my stronghold.
I cannot be severely shaken.
3. How long will all of you attack a person?
How long will you try to murder him,
as though he were a leaning wall or a sagging fence?
4. They plan to force him out of his high position.
They are happy to lie.
They bless with their mouths,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah
5. Wait calmly for God alone, my soul,
because my hope comes from him.
6. He alone is my rock and my savior-my stronghold.
I cannot be shaken.
What is so wrong with that? Isn't this just a more connected and interacting generation that keeps in touch with the world in fast and amazing ways that was not possible before?
While we are taking in more information and connecting with more people than ever before from every source around the world, we are now seeing a generation more out of touch with a sense of self and independence. Along with this comes less of an ability to understand and discern the presence of God in this world as they pay attention to the glory of humanity.
In this fast paced world we believe we can not sit still or we will be left behind by others who are leaping ahead and networking faster than we can think. So when we are forced to sit and wait at work or school we don't wait, but grab our electronic devices.
Today we are going to start a new sermon series on how to turn your waiting into winning with God's grace. Rather than turn to our I-phones, I-pads and other devices we are going to learn to turn to God and wait upon Him. There is no monthly fee's for the connection and no dead zones. He is completely mobile and no one has a better network than God.
The first step is to ask you to turn off everything electronic you carried into this service this morning. Whenever you wait on God you want to connect to Him and all that stuff we carry around will interfere with your reception. The more you learn to wait on God rather than turn to your electronics the more you will discover who you really are and the purpose for your existence on this earth. So if you haven't done this yet, turn it all off right now.
Now the other great danger is that as you shut off your devices, you also are shutting down physically and mentally. Physically if we don't have music or video going on in the back ground we start disengaging and falling asleep because we are exhausted from the pace we have been living. Mentally we are so use to repeating and recirculating what others are saying that we have a blank screen for a mind. For some people it is like the blue screen of death when a computer crashes.
I know this may be scary for some of us but we are about to enter into God's waiting room and wait upon Him. Now as we do so He has provided some reading material like you might find in a doctors office, but this material is not about fashion, money, or celebrities. This is about you and your connection with God.
Let's read it together. You will find it in Psalms 62 in your Bibles, somewhere near the center of the book. This is a Psalm of King David who was a pioneer in waiting upon the Lord.
Psalm 62 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
For the choir director; according to Jeduthun; a psalm by David.
1. My soul waits calmly for God alone.
My salvation comes from him.
2. He alone is my rock and my savior-my stronghold.
I cannot be severely shaken.
3. How long will all of you attack a person?
How long will you try to murder him,
as though he were a leaning wall or a sagging fence?
4. They plan to force him out of his high position.
They are happy to lie.
They bless with their mouths,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah
5. Wait calmly for God alone, my soul,
because my hope comes from him.
6. He alone is my rock and my savior-my stronghold.
I cannot be shaken.
Psalm 62 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
Now some of us may be agitated whenever we are unplugged and cut off from our network. I want to encourage you to remain calm, it's going to be alright. If people call they will leave a message and if they write it will be their to be read later. We turned them off because we don't need to answer their calls or read their messages right away. We can wait, on God, and be calm.
How can we be so calm? One of the reasons David gives us is this: our hope is in God, not the next message or the other person. One of the reasons we talk, surf the web and network with others is because we are looking for something in someone. We want to find a way of being strong and stable in scary moments of our lives. We want reassurance from our tweet friends and advice from our facebook friends.
In this waiting room as we read the material God has provided we discover these words: "HE ALONE IS MY ROCK AND MY SAVIOR." Now repeat those words with me twice. Do you understand what they mean? There is no article, text, or friend in the world that will give you more hope and stability than God if you can connect with Him. The first step is to believe these words and to trust them. That is why we turn everything else off and repeat these words.
David wrote them down after repeating them over and over to himself reminding himself constantly how God ONLY, ALONE…was his steady rock and sure salvation. When his father-in-law tried to kill him he said, "God alone is my rick and my savior." When he was exiled form his home and lived in caves and the wilderness he kept saying these words, "God alone is my rick and my savior." When he fought giants, armies and his own passions He said these words out loud: "God alone is my rock and my savior."
When we wait on God we must remind ourselves again and again the reason we are waiting for God is because He is the only solution and the best choice we can make for all the issues in our lives. We might be tempted not to wait on God, to find another way, or just take care of it ourselves, but in the end waiting on God is always the best choice. So let's encourage each other to stay in God's waiting room and wait on Him by saying it one more time: "God alone is my rock and my savior."
The truth is we know just how precarious our lives are at any one moment. We are like a leaning fence or wall that could be easily pushed over. Yet we can remain calm as people try because we know it is God that holds us up and won't let us fall. We know that only God can be trusted to build us up when everything else and everyone else is pulling us down.
7. My salvation and my glory depend on God.
God is the rock of my strength, my refuge.
8. Trust him at all times, you people.
Pour out your hearts in his presence.
God is our refuge.
Selah
9. Common people are only a whisper in the wind.
Important people are only a delusion.
When all of them are weighed on a scale, they amount to nothing.
They are less than a whisper in the wind.
10. Do not count on extortion to make you rich.
Do not hope to gain anything through robbery.
When riches increase, do not depend on them.
How can we be so calm? One of the reasons David gives us is this: our hope is in God, not the next message or the other person. One of the reasons we talk, surf the web and network with others is because we are looking for something in someone. We want to find a way of being strong and stable in scary moments of our lives. We want reassurance from our tweet friends and advice from our facebook friends.
In this waiting room as we read the material God has provided we discover these words: "HE ALONE IS MY ROCK AND MY SAVIOR." Now repeat those words with me twice. Do you understand what they mean? There is no article, text, or friend in the world that will give you more hope and stability than God if you can connect with Him. The first step is to believe these words and to trust them. That is why we turn everything else off and repeat these words.
David wrote them down after repeating them over and over to himself reminding himself constantly how God ONLY, ALONE…was his steady rock and sure salvation. When his father-in-law tried to kill him he said, "God alone is my rick and my savior." When he was exiled form his home and lived in caves and the wilderness he kept saying these words, "God alone is my rick and my savior." When he fought giants, armies and his own passions He said these words out loud: "God alone is my rock and my savior."
When we wait on God we must remind ourselves again and again the reason we are waiting for God is because He is the only solution and the best choice we can make for all the issues in our lives. We might be tempted not to wait on God, to find another way, or just take care of it ourselves, but in the end waiting on God is always the best choice. So let's encourage each other to stay in God's waiting room and wait on Him by saying it one more time: "God alone is my rock and my savior."
The truth is we know just how precarious our lives are at any one moment. We are like a leaning fence or wall that could be easily pushed over. Yet we can remain calm as people try because we know it is God that holds us up and won't let us fall. We know that only God can be trusted to build us up when everything else and everyone else is pulling us down.
7. My salvation and my glory depend on God.
God is the rock of my strength, my refuge.
8. Trust him at all times, you people.
Pour out your hearts in his presence.
God is our refuge.
Selah
9. Common people are only a whisper in the wind.
Important people are only a delusion.
When all of them are weighed on a scale, they amount to nothing.
They are less than a whisper in the wind.
10. Do not count on extortion to make you rich.
Do not hope to gain anything through robbery.
When riches increase, do not depend on them.
Psalm 62 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
We know why we are here. We keep making the choice to rely on God first and last and that is why we are waiting on Him. We recite the words and we believe them. Now what do we do while we wait on God?
First we recognize that we are waiting with Him in the room.
God's waiting room is not just outside his office door, watched over by a 'gate keeper' or in another part of the universe. When we wait on God He is right there with us. We wait not because He is busy and does not have time for us. We wait not because He doesn't know what to do and is trying to figure out what do with us. We wait because we need to be still and remember the hardest thing in the world to remember: "If things are going to work out for us, it is God that will work them out and the only credit we will get is that we waited on Him to do so."
That is why this waiting room, this church feels so awkward to so many people. We wait in His presence. There is this awkward silence while we wait. He is quiet and we are quiet. Nothing is said. Nothing happens. We can feel his presence, His full attention is on us, watching us, and not working on a problem some other place.
When we are in the presence of God waiting on Him, it feels very much like He is waiting on us. In fact it is very much like that annoying psychiatrist trick where they just sit and wait for us to talk with no clue or guidance form them. We just know that if we open our mouths stuff will come spilling out and we will say things we don't mean to say, revealing more than we want to reveal to anyone, especially to God.
Folks, when we are in God's waiting room, that is what He is waiting for. David lets us know that what we do after we know that He is our only hope is to trust Him with what we are really hiding from everyone else. David said…
Trust him at all times, you people. Pour out your hearts in his presence. God is our refuge. Selah
This is a very hard part about waiting on God. The hard part is to pour out our hearts in His presence. Just to tell Him our fears, our dreams, and our passions. We think He doesn't want to hear what we have to say to Him, but that is what He is waiting to receive. The truth is that we will keep waiting on Him without seeming much happen until we pour out our hearts to Him.
If you read some more of the book God has left in His waiting room you will see that He came to earth, wrapped in flesh making a house call in the person of His only Son, Jesus Christ. He walked up to waiting people and asked them what they wanted. Those who poured out their heart to Him received the gift of being heard…then their waiting came to an end. Healing came. Food fell from the sky. Eyes opened. Graves gave up their dead. Yet in every case the waiting people had to pour out their hearts to the Lord. That is the first step of trust. The waiting room of God is a safe place, a refuge for such a vulnerable moment. We know we need to do it and yet we fear what will happen. We know something will change, but we haven't decided if we fear the change more than the waiting for the change.
At the end of this service I want to give you a chance to pour out your heart to God when we sing the last song. We have alters up here that are padded and you can lean on them while you pray. It's a great place to pour out your heart to God. When we sing the last song you can do that. If you want someone to come pray with you just raise your hand when you are at the altar and the Pastor's here will find you and help you open up to a God who waits with a listening ear.
If you come, if you pour out your heart, you will know that you have trusted Him. You can trust Him. He is the only one, the only hope we have, our only rock on which we can build.
Then David ends with this wonderful expression:
11. God has spoken once.
I have heard it said twice:
"Power belongs to God.
12. Mercy belongs to you, O Lord.
You reward a person based on what he has done."
First we recognize that we are waiting with Him in the room.
God's waiting room is not just outside his office door, watched over by a 'gate keeper' or in another part of the universe. When we wait on God He is right there with us. We wait not because He is busy and does not have time for us. We wait not because He doesn't know what to do and is trying to figure out what do with us. We wait because we need to be still and remember the hardest thing in the world to remember: "If things are going to work out for us, it is God that will work them out and the only credit we will get is that we waited on Him to do so."
That is why this waiting room, this church feels so awkward to so many people. We wait in His presence. There is this awkward silence while we wait. He is quiet and we are quiet. Nothing is said. Nothing happens. We can feel his presence, His full attention is on us, watching us, and not working on a problem some other place.
When we are in the presence of God waiting on Him, it feels very much like He is waiting on us. In fact it is very much like that annoying psychiatrist trick where they just sit and wait for us to talk with no clue or guidance form them. We just know that if we open our mouths stuff will come spilling out and we will say things we don't mean to say, revealing more than we want to reveal to anyone, especially to God.
Folks, when we are in God's waiting room, that is what He is waiting for. David lets us know that what we do after we know that He is our only hope is to trust Him with what we are really hiding from everyone else. David said…
Trust him at all times, you people. Pour out your hearts in his presence. God is our refuge. Selah
This is a very hard part about waiting on God. The hard part is to pour out our hearts in His presence. Just to tell Him our fears, our dreams, and our passions. We think He doesn't want to hear what we have to say to Him, but that is what He is waiting to receive. The truth is that we will keep waiting on Him without seeming much happen until we pour out our hearts to Him.
If you read some more of the book God has left in His waiting room you will see that He came to earth, wrapped in flesh making a house call in the person of His only Son, Jesus Christ. He walked up to waiting people and asked them what they wanted. Those who poured out their heart to Him received the gift of being heard…then their waiting came to an end. Healing came. Food fell from the sky. Eyes opened. Graves gave up their dead. Yet in every case the waiting people had to pour out their hearts to the Lord. That is the first step of trust. The waiting room of God is a safe place, a refuge for such a vulnerable moment. We know we need to do it and yet we fear what will happen. We know something will change, but we haven't decided if we fear the change more than the waiting for the change.
At the end of this service I want to give you a chance to pour out your heart to God when we sing the last song. We have alters up here that are padded and you can lean on them while you pray. It's a great place to pour out your heart to God. When we sing the last song you can do that. If you want someone to come pray with you just raise your hand when you are at the altar and the Pastor's here will find you and help you open up to a God who waits with a listening ear.
If you come, if you pour out your heart, you will know that you have trusted Him. You can trust Him. He is the only one, the only hope we have, our only rock on which we can build.
Then David ends with this wonderful expression:
11. God has spoken once.
I have heard it said twice:
"Power belongs to God.
12. Mercy belongs to you, O Lord.
You reward a person based on what he has done."
Psalm 62 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
Power belongs to God.
Mercy belongs to God.
We are waiting on God because we know He is the only one who has what we need. He has shown His power in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They considered Jesus week so they crucified Him on the cross and laid Him in a guarded tomb. They saw Him as a leaning wall and pushed until he fell. They told lies and deceived and paid each other off to get done what needed to be done with this trouble maker. Yet God showed His power because Jesus poured out his heart to God in the garden late at night.
He invited his closest friends to keep watch and wait with Him but they shut down, turned off just like the electronics we turned off at the start of this message. They didn't pour out their hearts to God but one trusted the sword he brought with him and his own courage. He didn't realize that it is only God that we can trust, not ourselves. It is only Father God that is solid, and powerful in moments of danger. Swords and social networks will fail us every time.
Power belongs to God. When we pour out our heart to God in His waiting room, then we will realize that He can give mercy to anyone He chooses to give it to, including you. But first, he waits on us while we wait on Him.
In a moment I will pray, and some of you will reach for your electronics thinking that the service is over. The waiting is done. Yet there will be this one moment, an awkward moment while you wait for God and He waits for you. Many of us have already decided that if He doesn't do something we won't wait but leave this place and deal with life ourselves in our own way.
Let me suggest that in this moment, everything could change. Instead of giving up on waiting on God, why not do the next thing? Why not come and pour out your heart to God? Why not raise your hand so we can help you connect to the one who has the power and mercy you need? Why not make this what you do in your waking hours and your sleeping hours rather than connecting with the world 24/7 looking for something that is just an illusion and a breath? There is no power in electronics, or mercy. You will only find it in God's waiting room, here, now. Don't waste this moment. It's what you've been waiting for your entire life.
Psalm 130
A song for going up to worship.
1. O Lord, out of the depths I call to you.
2. O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be open to my pleas for mercy.
3. O Lord, who would be able to stand
if you kept a record of sins?
4. But with you there is forgiveness
so that you can be feared.
5. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and with hope I wait for his word.
6. My soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and with him there is unlimited forgiveness.
8. He will rescue Israel from all its sins.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations.
Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group
Mercy belongs to God.
We are waiting on God because we know He is the only one who has what we need. He has shown His power in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They considered Jesus week so they crucified Him on the cross and laid Him in a guarded tomb. They saw Him as a leaning wall and pushed until he fell. They told lies and deceived and paid each other off to get done what needed to be done with this trouble maker. Yet God showed His power because Jesus poured out his heart to God in the garden late at night.
He invited his closest friends to keep watch and wait with Him but they shut down, turned off just like the electronics we turned off at the start of this message. They didn't pour out their hearts to God but one trusted the sword he brought with him and his own courage. He didn't realize that it is only God that we can trust, not ourselves. It is only Father God that is solid, and powerful in moments of danger. Swords and social networks will fail us every time.
Power belongs to God. When we pour out our heart to God in His waiting room, then we will realize that He can give mercy to anyone He chooses to give it to, including you. But first, he waits on us while we wait on Him.
In a moment I will pray, and some of you will reach for your electronics thinking that the service is over. The waiting is done. Yet there will be this one moment, an awkward moment while you wait for God and He waits for you. Many of us have already decided that if He doesn't do something we won't wait but leave this place and deal with life ourselves in our own way.
Let me suggest that in this moment, everything could change. Instead of giving up on waiting on God, why not do the next thing? Why not come and pour out your heart to God? Why not raise your hand so we can help you connect to the one who has the power and mercy you need? Why not make this what you do in your waking hours and your sleeping hours rather than connecting with the world 24/7 looking for something that is just an illusion and a breath? There is no power in electronics, or mercy. You will only find it in God's waiting room, here, now. Don't waste this moment. It's what you've been waiting for your entire life.
Psalm 130
A song for going up to worship.
1. O Lord, out of the depths I call to you.
2. O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be open to my pleas for mercy.
3. O Lord, who would be able to stand
if you kept a record of sins?
4. But with you there is forgiveness
so that you can be feared.
5. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and with hope I wait for his word.
6. My soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and with him there is unlimited forgiveness.
8. He will rescue Israel from all its sins.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations.
Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group
