Spent (Part B)

Waiting without alternatives is often God's solution that's the answer right there. God just tell me I'm telling you I need you to wait.

I needed to take this I mean you can do this. I believe the value of waiting. Why do I believe there is value in waiting while I am hurting because the Bible teaches. That's why believe instead of us. I believe in the Lord. I believe in his word okay.

You have to also believe this is what Job said not take good and bad from he knows what he's doing. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick is currently teaching in the book of Isaiah. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching today.

Pastor Rick will conclude his study called spent as he teaches through Isaiah chapter 40. This is what it takes.

I need strength to restrain myself to keep from interfering with God and making things worse. I need spiritual strength to hold natural strength in its place strength sufficient to enable men to wait for God is what what is that strength what is that strength that allows me to wait for God walls. The short answer, of course, would be faith built on truth, but that's not the whole answer. This got to be more love. It is my love for God, which requires that I receive his love, not in theory I like I like that.

God says he loves me but I really believe it to. I love him back. The psalmist wrote Yahweh preserves all who love him so I got a problem with that promise is written again, it must be balanced. The Scripture must be balanced as we go through this life trusting God as the Savior that he says he is that his eternity is bigger then the finite right now. I struggle with this to you know Solomon wrote in much wisdom there is grief.

The more you learn about the Bible, the tougher it can be because you're looking for these things to to take place in your life and they're not unfolding as you anticipated them what the Lord would show up with on a CD with the sword in his hand and slay the opposition does not always do it just like that and hours of darkness love still brings light. It is why Paul and Silas were singing songs while they were hurting.

Having been caned, it helps us to know God's word addresses even in the darkest hours. God's word addresses our soul, our deep needs and Psalm 73. The psalmist just couldn't he just you know the rich.

They just get away with murder their kids do better than my kids. They care nothing about all the rich. But the rich that he had in mind you he just lamenting before God. How unfair it is for. Then he writes this he says when I thought how to understand this. It was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end.

Well, there's been times that I come into the sanctuary of God and I've understood therein, and I still feel prepared, but I know I know God.

I know he's invested in me his love in this care that I love him and I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stick with him no matter what, so to wait to wait it to does not insist that we do nothing, just sit down like in all the proverbial bump on a log.

We do sit, but we do something in the meantime, the very act of waiting spends physical, mental and emotional spiritual energy, but it is to be used because the cause is worthwhile and that's another part of it. Love makes the object worthwhile. God is worthwhile to me as we were suffering for second Corinthians chapter 12 again Paul saying to the Corinthians.

The church that he started his church that had a large contingent or large enough continuum of those who turned on him. He says I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls.

Though the more abundantly. I love you, the less I am love.

That's the treatment he got for loving making the work real, keeping it real while we wait, it counts it matters, it's a valid concern is my serving God and being spent and exhausted and out of resources. Is it worth it you who are sure you will serve in the children's ministry used to come and clean the church you will serve in any capacity for God when you don't feel like serving anymore when you don't feel appreciated.

You've got ask yourself, is it worth it to you is worth it to God. Galatians 411 pulses. I am afraid for you Les, I have labored for you in vain. His concern is I don't want to do things for nothing. I need things to be useful in my life. I'm not built to where I can't reason I have built where I do reason I do think things through and I need to know what I am doing is not for nothing. Well, at some point the logic and reason begin to become obscure and we then have to default to faith because that faith is not in man that faith is real.

When we came to Christ because we met Christ. We know he is real, that allows us to move on Isaiah 49 verse four. Speaking of the servant of God, the Messiah. Then I said, and this is just drawing us into the dynamics of logic and reason and concern, and value all bundled into this.

Then I said, I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain. Yet surely my just reward is with Yahweh in my work with my God, oh God's going to reward those who wait for God is going to build them up. We accept this by faith on the cross. Christ knew this wasn't the whole story. He knew this was the will of God and was sent so senseless he committed no crime. He helped people and this is what he got in return to belong to something meaningful is inspiring to belong to something meaningless is disheartening to think that you're serving and it's wasted. To think that you're beginning on pulses.

I love you Wichita love me back. He could've said this is this is not what he continued to love them. He continued to invest in them.

He continued to hurt and to reach out to them because the spirit led him to do that the spirit in other words it Paul I brought you the current. I strengthened you in Corinth when your life was in jeopardy.

I brought two people in your life at a critical point to keep you alive. I invested in these people through you. This is my church. You are my servant, I need you to fight for this one and that is what he did, he did the same thing with the Galatians they went behind Paul and tried to undo all the preaching he didn't posit this this is a fight that I must answer any rights to us.

The Galatian letter and just the six chapters, he covers all that needs to be covered, but in the middle of that he says to the believer, you who are spiritual restore such a one, because that's what we need from each other to not just from God.

When God restores us when God bills us up again when God renews our strength very often.

He uses people to do it.

Being a hermit is not part of Christianity being isolated is not part of Christianity. We are to go into all the world and preach the gospel, and wherever you find yourself is all the world where there are others to reach to belong to something if I'm going to drive-in waiting. May I somehow make it count and not just have suffering. I don't want to just suffer and it doesn't count.

I want suffer all, but if I am going to make it build up the kingdom. Sometimes in life we find our backs against the wall were trapped.

Have you ever felt trapped as a Christian, where it seems that God won't help you can help yourself and is nobody else that can help you trapped your back is up against the wall. God bills that is already explained time and time again I see it all, why are you saying to me that I don't care I do care some known enemy or enemies stalking us over a long period of time. Meanwhile, we wait on the Lord by faith in love. What good is trying to wait by faith. If you have not love, have to again. You have to love God, you gotta get past thinking that if he doesn't help you somehow doesn't love you God loves you and drew you to him. When you are full of sin without repentance without Christ. He still loves you and he still called upon you, waiting without alternatives becomes part of God's solution I should repeat that waiting without alternatives is often God's solution that's the answer right there.

God just tell me I'm telling you I need you to wait I need you to take this. I need you can do this. I believe the value of waiting. Why do I believe there is value in waiting while I am hurting because the Bible teaches that that's why believe instead of us.

I believe in the Lord.

I believe in his word okay. You have to also believe this is what Job said to not take good and bad from the Lord. He knows what he's doing. Job did not understand what was all about. We do when we read the book of Job he finds out much later. If it is useful to God than will be to his people.

It will be to his cause I make no guarantee, apart from Scripture and you should not. It is to the law and to the prophets. That's when we turn precept upon precept don't think I came to destroy the law but to fulfill the law. Word of God living and powerful God breed. It is a big deal.

Without it, you're doomed.

Even Abraham got the word of God, not in printed form, but focal God spoke to Abraham he spoke to other prophets, other people of God.

He spoke to Hagar. I make no guarantee, apart from Scripture when we come to Christ.

Unusual categories of joy and sorrow emerged is that not true categories of sorrow and joy that you did not know before Christ. Now you come in contact with you, almost, you know, apart from Christ are almost free spirit you make up your own rules you make up your own God and you just sort of danced along until you die and are charged when you come to Christ, everything changes. The lights turn on. Now everything is filtered through his word through his son. Failure to obey failure to be ferried to overcome failure to realize failure to indoor now these things are big is before you could evade them with greater ease. These can cause me to wonder if my waiting is punishment if I'm not as obedient as I should be in my therefore suffering for that disobedience, though my heart wants to obey, though I would give almost anything to just be that obedient servant, but I cannot be that person. So when I suffer now what happens while the accuser of the brother's brother and Satan himself comes along and begins to accuse yet that's what you're getting it. That's why you have to wake me up to show up as you guilty. It is a flawed logic and it is a lie is a flawed logic because I could then say Satan. If God was punishing me for doing some for failing some commandment he should be all over you see the logic behind that we have to learn God's undeserved kindness, we have to understand that God is so ready to forgive and love on his people not excuse wrong, not dismiss it as being soak is no big deal. Sin is sin across the death of his son a cost of suffering and harm to countless multitudes of human beings and animals alike.

Second Corinthians 12 and he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in weakness. A pocket of said I like that but is not enough doesn't say that he says therefore therefore because of the kindness of God on my life. Most gladly I will rather boast of my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

While I've been to that place.

I preach that the power of Christ may rest upon me and been in some situation where I can feel the power of Christ by faith. I know it's there.

And hell, hates it without inspired strength we declined. We deteriorate, we fall apart. Now, back to that roller coaster ride of faith. It does its divine work when Job was at one minute saying God is attacking me and at the other minute saying I know my Redeemer lives. That's the roller coaster. One minute is low, the next minute he's hiding this faith. Satan fears that roller coaster in us. Satan is afraid when you are up one moment down. The next moment why because it prevailed with Job, Job, was that way and he won. Satan hasn't forgotten it proves doing more than just I dread this phrase when someone says I'm hanging in there. I want to hang in there makes me feel like I'm on a cliff and if I can stop hanging.

I plunge I don't want I don't.

I mean I understand it, and I know you say to Michael that it would for me. I I've never liked it and I'm not going to like. I don't want to hang. I don't know what an angel to show up to how you doing on hanging in there even if I can say the same thing a different way I'll take that I'm fighting and struggling, I'm struggling to trust God.

I'm struggling to feel comfortable in my faith but I am struggling. Nonetheless, I am still kicking mailman chapter 1 Yahweh as good a stronghold in the day of trouble and he knows those who trust in him can be condemning commit not. He knows those trusting in him who trust in him and I'm not trusting in him right now and yet I'm talking to him asking, I must still be trusting the definitions begin to move a little bit do they say something about definitions discount off target with your off topic but still very important. Yet all dictionary and you find words that are now obsolete.

When you get to heaven there going to be words that are obsolete to be gone.

Sorrow suffering, jealousy, envy, covetousness, meanness, murder on that's the God we serve and he says those things happen to them.

These things will happen to you. You will be in heaven. He said it to the thief on the cross and says it to you and me today. You will be with me in Paris. That man just got the time can take you up to date.

Our date is to be announced. In most cases, so take that up and down movement that roller coaster away and what you have. If you take that up and down movement away what you have.

You have a flat line. That's what you have no more waves of faith to register that you're still in it.

Satan hates our faith and he hates that we fight from faith. Philippians 4 Paul said, rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice.

Notice the emphasis and the always he says it twice. Rejoice in the Lord. Again I say rejoice. What why would he have to say it like what his nieces say have a nice day because the language that he is using here has life to give it its definition is saying don't back down. Keep moving. God will renew your strength right now you feel that you're at the end of yourself you you're flying on on fumes which are flying.

It is not to the Christian's credit that we should be weak.

No one's wake somewhat.

I sure hope I'm a weakling today and so Paul says. Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might and I would add to that today. If you are not cornered of your back is not against the wall.

Be strong as you going to need that strength. If you do get cornered. We should learn how to wait.

We must learn to fly off the fumes that I mentioned, if it comes to that, because Christ is worthy God is not only worthy because he is sovereign but he is worthy because he loves us. He is worthy because he cares will I serve God even if I don't think he cares you can come to that God is too great to not care. That's what the Bible tells us God is too great to not care if that were the so when they were doing what they were doing what became the Tower of Babel.

God would just let him get away with what he said.

Now we have to go down and take care of this. Because if we don't will be no end to the evil that they're doing and that's where we coming with technology. At some point God is going to say okay this is enough before they start really getting some crazy things going I God is actually puzzled by our doubting his care. We read this in Isaiah 40 if you still have your Bible verse 27 of Isaiah 40. Why do you say the point. My way is hidden from Yahweh in my just claim is passed over by my God, have you not known, have you not heard the everlasting God, Yahweh, the creator of the ends of the earth either faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might he increases strength. I remember the ministry of Isaiah was in the shadow of the Assyrian Empire that conquered almost everything except Jerusalem and so wasn't though the prophet was had days of peace and his wonderful outside and going out to the garden when the praying of the rights of prophecy for future generations. He wrote these things again in hard times. Some of the kings that he served under wicked men, and the factor history says that he was himself martyred by the King Manasseh duty is the pathway to glory. It is been said and there's a lot of truth in that it's okay to have a surge of faith to rally faith. It is encouraging in your worry weakest times all of a sudden you get the surge of faith.

It only last for a little bit, but it's enough to carry you to the next time you get that surgeon have need for to you completely out of the problem, you look around you see all the things of God is brought your way put in your place and you say okay the Lord is working. Those are signs of his. His activity in his presence at this point in the sermon.

I can live you you Laura waiting and hurting, I can say don't worry, it'll be all right, but I have no right to say that to anybody when they're struggling instead we give the truth from Scripture that sets the proceeds taught free to serve. Don't know if were going to survive some stoning in life, but we can face those spellings as heroes. This is what preaching is for this is the stuff that comes across your mind from preaching that would otherwise not get there.

God has ordained this. This is not a man-made thing. Acts chapter 7 we have it illustrated for us and just like the Old Testament events happened for our strength so the New Testament events and they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin and when he had said this, he fell asleep is still ministering as he is dying. Instead of saying you know Lord in your hands I commit my spirit and that said he's quoting his lord from the cross. He also says don't charge them with this. That's grace and love. Spurgeon, Charles Burgess of the gospel which I preach to you is good to live upon and good to die upon you believe that his will be done. We say go look for feelings to stand in truth that's built by faith.

The human will is the throne of the soul. It is your will. That's where you are in the intellect and the emotions are to be subject to your will. But those subjects are fully capable of rebellion your intellect and your feelings can rebel against your will, and thus the fight of the spirit and the flesh is on. Spurgeon tells a story. Spurgeon tells a story of a man that was dying in his congregant not during the service attendee of his church, a member of his church and he went to visit the man as he was dying and the man you know Spurgeon is the pastor supposedly wants to see with the faces as primary that the doctors will do their thing. The pastor has to find out where is this person's faith and the man tells for Jesus 15 years ago, sir said he Spurgeon telling story one Thursday night I dropped into the tabernacle to hear you preach and blessed be the day I looked to Christ and found salvation. I have had plenty of ups and downs but Jesus has never left me, nor for sake of me and I am not going to think that he will do so now. His word stands fast forever. My strength is in God is the testimony of the righteous is the testimony built on the testimonies of Scripture. He never would've gotten to that place without the religious record that we hold so dear.

So I would say is we leave today remind us all to be kind because everyone you meet is facing some battle and if there at a time of peace in our lives will face one later. God does not want us to suffer but he wants us to be able to suffer and we trust him with that. We have to trust for those of you who reject Christ. There can be no happy ending for you.

You will go through your life suffering in your own strength.

The world has its own brand of facing trouble, but it is only good for one lifetime, and there are no second chances after that sinners may oppose God's ways, but they cannot oppose his wrath.

In so considering the things we've been talking about the offer. The believer, the unbeliever has a bigger problem is an unbeliever and to resolve that Christ makes the invitation.

I want as a believer of Jesus Christ the same defiant spirit exhibited by Habakkuk the prophet when he said this in Habakkuk 3. Though the fig tree may not blossom the fruit beyond the vines. The labor of the olive may fail in the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in Yahweh, I will joy in the God of my celebration. That is a defiant faith and that's what we should be shooting the moon. Thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study.

In God's word. If you've missed any part of this message or would like to explore more teachings you can hear them by going to cross reference radio.com Pastor Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville, Virginia. To learn more about this ministry. Visit our website cross reference radio.com again. That website is cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to our podcast by doing so you will be notified each new edition of cross reference radio that we upload. It's a great way to stay connected to God's word. Just search for cross reference radio in your favorite podcast. That's all for today.

Thanks for joining us here on the cross reference radio