Waiting for God's Appointed Time - Genesis Part 39

Where are all waiting in line at the DMV waiting in line at the grocery store waiting in traffic on the Beltway waiting for your boss to make a decision waiting for a representative to finally pick up the telephone. I hate waiting anytime, anywhere for anything. I can't stand the waiting and you guys like me yeah well this is what were going to talk about today as we returned to our study the book of Genesis were going to talk about waiting for not talk about waiting at the DMV here waiting on the Beltway were going to talk about waiting on the Lord in our life and so are you ready to do this job okay our passages Genesis chapter 18, book 4 we did again a little bit of review would be in order last week. If you remember in Genesis 18 we saw the three men came to visit Abraham when he was living in. He brought and as we discovered last week in our passage to these men were angels in human form, who then went on from there meeting with Abraham down to Sodom and Gomorrah will talk more about that in the weeks to come. The third man was actually the living God himself in a theophany of the often is just a fancy theological words for an appearance of God himself in human form and exactly why did God come to visit Abraham Willie came to announce Sarah's impending pregnancy.

Genesis 18 verse 10 and the Lord said to Abraham I will surely return to you at this time next year, and behold, Sarah your wife will have a song. But if you were here last week. You remember that there was a problem. Verse 11. Now Abraham and Sarah were all advanced today. Abraham was 100 years old. Sarah was 90, and the Bible says it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. In other words, Sarah was no longer ovulating. According to Romans four, verse 19. Sarah's womb of was dead, making this pregnancy impossible by every natural law known to man. Okay, so that's where we been let's pick up now.

Genesis chapter 18 verse 12 here we go now when Sarah heard this he savored one when churches can be pregnant. She laughed saying after I have become so old.

Shall I have this pleasure, my Lord, that is Abraham being old also. The Lord said to Abraham.

Why did Sarah laugh saying indeed. Shall I have a child when I'm old is anything too hard for the Lord God went on to say at the appointed time next year I will return to you and Sarah will have a song and this is precisely what happened. Genesis 21 verse one of the Lord remembered Sarah just to see if said Eddie did for Sarah.

Just as he promised, and so Sarah conceived of and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the appointed time. Jost as God has said that Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Now there was a critical phrase that was used two times by the Bible in the passage we just looked at and I hope you picked up on it. If the phrase at the appointed time and this is what we want to talk about today so let's go back a little bit in the book of Genesis and let's do some remembering okay let's remember that for 25 years God had been promising Abraham that his wife Sarah would have a song. The first promise God made Abraham came in Genesis chapter 12 when he was 75 years old. Verse one now the Lord said to Abraham, go forth from your country and your relatives in your father's house to the land. I'll show you and I will make you a great nation. So Abraham went forth as the Lord had commanded, and Abraham was 75 years old when he left, and Abraham took Sarah and they came to the land of Canaan.

Then the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to your descendents I will give this layer brings the point is in order for Abraham to become verse one. A great nation. In order for the promised land. Verse seven to be given to his descendents. Obviously, Abraham and Sarah had to have a son now God repeated this promise about Abraham and Sarah having a son in the next chapter. Genesis 13 verse 14 then the Lord took Abraham and said to him, lift up your eyes and look north, south, east and west all the land you see, God said to him I will give you and your what your descendents forever and I will make your descendents like the dust of the earth. God says so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth. Only then could your descendents be counted once again you going to have descendents you got.

I have a son. God repeated this promise 1/3 time in Genesis chapter 15 verse one then the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision, saying, do not fear Abraham for I am your shield and your very great reward. But Abraham said, oh, sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless in the air of my estate is my servant Ellie has her of Damascus.

Now, as you may recall when we were studying in Genesis 15, I told you about the archaeological excavations at a town named newsy. It's a town from Abraham's time and here at newsy archaeologists discovered thousands of clay tablets that detail for us.

The social costs comes up in the ancient near East. If 2100 BC at the time that the Bible says Abraham lived one of these customs was that if you were childless you were allowed to adopt. If you would and appoint one of your household servants as your air which is exactly what Abraham is talking about here in Genesis 15 when he says my servant Ellie Esser is my air. The point is that once again we find Abraham's actions as described in the Bible aligning perfectly with the customs of the ancient near East that archaeologists have discovered from Abraham's time or as we like to say your claim Bible church.

I want to say with me when I say three here we go one to three more they dig out of the ground the more the Bible proves to be right. Verse four then the word of the Lord came to Abraham and said this man Ellie Esser will not be your heir son who will come from your own body. He will be your heir and the Lord took Abraham and said look up at the stars and count them if you can so shall your descendents be okay so far so good right right. Abraham has three different promises from God that he and Sarah are going to have a son. But when we get to Genesis chapter 16 Abraham is 86 years old.

It's been 11 years that have gone by and Abraham and Sarah still don't have a son. Chapter 16 verse one.

Now Sarah, Abraham's wife had borne him no children.

But she had an Egyptian handmade named Hagar so Sarah said to Abraham, the Lord is kept me from having children go sleep with my handmaiden.

Perhaps I can build a family through her once again. We know from the tablets at newsy that this kind of surrogate motherhood was a socially acceptable and legal, custom, in the days of Abraham, and so Abraham did Sarah ask him to do and he had a son by Hagar, whom he named Ishmael but my friends as Genesis 16 says Abraham was 86 years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. But this was not the son that God was talking about at all the sum that God was talking about he still made Abraham and Sarah way. Another court teen years for that son.

Which brings us back to Genesis 18 where we started today.

Verse 14 God says that the appointed time next year I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.

And so Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham and his old age. At the appointed time. Just as God had said, and Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Now that the stars were to go in our passage for today because it's time for us to ask our most important question in all of you out there on the Internet and everybody here at Tysons. We know what this question is so are we ready, okay, ready by ready here we go. Come on now want to go through a house. We did is told of the greatest Eagle lawn. Alright, so what I mean.

Abraham and Sarah, and 25 years is 100 years old and blog a blog blah blah blah. What difference does any of that day to me today in my life. Well, let's talk about that.

The question we have the answer today is this why did God make Abraham and Sarah wait so long 25 years before giving them. Isaac and the answer is because God had say it with me and appointed time for Sarah's pregnancy and for Isaac's birth, my friends, God has an appointed time for everything. We can always figured out. We don't always understand what he's up to. We can always trace what's going on but I'm telling you God has an appointed time for every single thing when I think of this. I think of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In John chapter 11 member Mary and Martha were his sister's, and they lived in Bethany John chapter 11 verse three so the sisters Mary Martha sent word to Jesus saying Lazarus, the one you love is sick now. Jesus didn't love Mary and Martha, and Lazarus. Yeah, that's when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. Finally, the Bible says upon their arrival in Bethany meeting Jesus and the disciples they discovered that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days then Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have God now what's Martha saying to Jesus what you saying to him is Lord you were late. You didn't get here on time when we really needed to hear you weren't here and you messed everything up because you didn't do what I wanted you to do when I needed you to do it. You were late late late not gotta tell you, Martha is not the only person who's had this problem.

I have this problem.

I don't care what the situation is in life doesn't matter. I always know what I want God to do and I always know how I want God to do it and I always know when I want God to do with, which is right now. What you see, God had an appointed time for showing up and raising Lazarus from the dead and God had an appointed time for Sarah's pregnancy and friend.

God has an appointed time for every detail of my life and every detail of your life.

Isaiah 55 verse eight God says, my thoughts are not your thoughts, either my ways your ways, and may I add, neither is my timing your timing, says the Lord.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts are that your thoughts, and my timing higher and better than your timing. Another way to say this is to say that God's perfect plan for our life has a perfect timing that comes with it and therefore if we want to see God's richest blessings on our lives. We must be willing look here to wait, not only on God's will for our life, but also on God's timing for our life.

I want to repeat that you'll get anything else today you get this, that God's perfect plan for our lives has a perfect timing that comes with it. And therefore if we want God's richest blessings, not enough just to wait on God's will, we have to also wait on God's time. This is why David said Psalm 27 verse 14 wait on the Lord, the strong let your heart take courage, may I remind you, waiting on the Lord is not a position of weakness. The position of strength.

Yes, wait on the Lord. Psalm 37 verse seven.

Rest in the Lord and wait. What's the next word patiently for him. Now this is not a word were good at. None of us you're not good at waiting patiently.

I'm not good at waiting patiently and I'll tell you why because patients is simply not part of our human sinful flesh. It just isn't. But for those who wait on the Lord. Look at the wonderful promise God gives us. Isaiah 49 verse 23 those he says who wait on me shall never be put to shame. While you been a believer in Jesus, 42 years and all of that time. I have never, to the best of my recollection, had a single fellow believer ever walk up to me and accuse God of being early you have anybody accuse God being early no, not by the same token, God is never late.

Although I've had a lot of believers walk up and accuse him of that and I've accuse him of that myself friends.

God is never early and God is never late. God is always right on schedule of his schedule, and God is always right on time. His time when I think of this. I think Moses and the Israelites trapped at the Red Sea with Pharaoh's chariots, swooping down on them and with their backs to the water and I can't help but think that Moses watching this unfold, must've turned and looked up to heaven. Instead, God your legs but you know what, by the time the Red Sea.

It opened in the Red Sea.

It shot in the Israelites were safely on the other side. Moses realized, however, the God was a lady God was right on schedule and then I think of David running from Saul and hiding in caves for seven years. Even after he been anointed by Samuel as the king and live in like a criminal and I'm sure there were days in those cold damp caves that night were David would look up and say God your leg about this king thing I do you know your late, but you know what when Saul died in battle without David lifting a pinky to be a part of that, thus enabling David to consolidate his kingship over Israel without a nasty Civil War. David learned the God is right on schedule just like you said, then I think of Ruth and Naomi coming back to Bethlehem is poor widows. They were so poor that they had to go out and pick up food off the ground in order to eat and survive and I'm sure there was many a night for them. Sitting hungry around the fire with a set God, your late but Boaz showed up right on schedule for, oh yes he rode into that field and he saw a Ruth and he was right on time.

What about Daniel getting tossed into the lions den by King Darius and they rolled the stone over the over the door and they left them there all night for dead. And so there you sit in this lions them.

Looking at these lions face-to-face eyeball the highball don't you think Daniel might've looked up and said it Lord you lay, but after God sent his angel and shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel walked out the next morning, safe and sound. What it Daniel learned the God was right on schedule now why we stop talking about Daniel and Naomi and Ruth and Moses talk about you and me, because as followers of Christ we all struggle with this very same conflict between God's timing and are timing. Many of us plan to be married at this point in our life but in God's timing were not, and many of us plan to have that new job or that new promotion. By this point in our life but in God's timing.

We don't many of us to plan to be financially secure at this point in our life but in God's timing were not many of us have plan to have children running around our home. By this point in our lives, but in God's timing. We don't many of us have plan to go to a certain college or to go to a certain medical school or go to a certain graduate school or to be farther along in our career than we are. But in God's timing will you know now as followers of Jesus when we do with this. Well friends, here's what we do with it. We apply biblical truth to it. That's what we do in the biblical truth we apply is Proverbs 16 verse nine. The Bible says the mind of man plans his way to be married and have children only be here and I have this job. I would be over here matters. Fine the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and you see true men and women of God. They believe this verse true men and women of God believe that God has better ways of getting us where we need to be when we need to be there. How we need to get there than we could ever dream up or plan for ourselves and therefore true men and women of God have no problem waiting on the Lord, even if it's months even if it's years because they know going to miss this that not only is God's plan for their life perfect, but also God's timing for their life is perfect just like it was for Abraham and Sarah and Moses and David and Daniel, and Ruth and Naomi and Mary and Martha, and Lazarus. It will be for you and it just before we close. There's one last part of this truth its colossal piece of this true that we need to make sure we don't miss and that is listen when God made all these people in the Bible waits on him. Folks, it wasn't because he forgot about it wasn't because he didn't care about. To the contrary, it was because he was putting everything in place so he could do for them.

Ephesians 320 exceedingly abundantly beyond what they could ask or even imagine it was because he wanted to put everything in place so he could do for them.

Jeremiah 33 three great and mighty things that they knew not.

And by the same token, my friends, if God is asking you is a follower of Jesus here today. The way right now on him for something for car for a house for a husband for wife for job for Deal to come through for trial to come to Christ, but would for whatever it is it doesn't matter he's asking you to wait. I want you to remember. He is not forgotten about you, even if you been waiting a long time.

He is not insensitive to your needs.

Even if you been waiting a long time. He is making you wait for the very same reason he made all these other people way, namely so he can get every detail in perfect alignment to give you his deepest and his riches blessing so tall massive up. Don't mess it up by jumping in in the energy of the flesh and trying to tinker with it yourself if there was at me. Well friends here so often would God does is he gets us ready for something great that he's got plan you sensitive in your spirit. No you know what he's going to do you can feel it and then he says okay now I got you ready just stand still stay put. Don't do anything because I gotta go off over here and I got a bunch of the things I gotta line up and get all the clickers in a row and when I do I'll bring it all over and match it up with you and man, I'm telling you exceedingly abundantly beyond what you can ask or imagine. Just sit tight. I'll be back. Just like when Moses went to Mount Sinai. What did he tell the Israelites sit tight.

I'll be back but they didn't sit tight today.

No.

And we don't either. So off we get impatient in the flesh, and by the time God comes back with everything ready to go.

We built the golden calf in the energy of our own flesh and we compromised the blessing that he wants to give us folks don't do that if God tells you to sit tight. He knows where you and I are forgotten where we are. He's coming back.

Maybe a long time but that's not your call is on my call, and the people who enjoy the riches blessing of God are the ones who are willing to sit tight and wait if he says to wait as long as it takes. Look what God did for Abraham and Sarah and Ruth and Naomi and Daniel and David and Mary and Martha look what he did for them because they were willing away so long.

That's wonderful. But here's my last question, how do I know when God wants me to wait and how will I know when God wants me to act because sometimes God wants me to act right absolutely. So how I know the difference for simple folks you get on your knees you seek the face of Christ and you ask your you asking Lord dry weight, do I act I've been waiting a long time to time for me to act. You want to wait some more. He'll tell you it will tell you, so I'm not really sure my relationship with Jesus is quite that intimate that he will will whose fault is that not his.

Jesus said, you'll find me when you seek me with all your heart. If you have been doing that is not his problem. Start now you can on your face and asking Lord you want me to wait or you want me to actually he'll let you know. But I will say to you one piece of advice. If in doubt way.

If in doubt, like I never ever messed anything up. The Lord wanted to do for me by wait a little longer, but I sure have missed some stuff up by acting to wait now, let me say in closing waiting on the Lord I think is the most difficult spiritual discipline optimal. I could read my Bible. That's easy. I could have my quiet time.

It's easy I can pray that's easy.

I can memorize Scripture that's easy. I can even say yes.

It's not so easy for me. I mean, I may miss a meal but I never forget a meal. Is that what I'm saying if I missed it I missed it but I didn't forget it went by, but I can do that for waiting on the Lord is 1212 12 because it goes against everything in our flesh is not a part of our flesh, that this comes natural to we were impatient we are in pertinent and we are self-sufficient and that's what we gotta fight waiting on the Lord so floors asking you to wait on something. I don't care what it is, it takes the Holy Spirit giving us the power and the discipline to just simply say okay Lord self-control, spiritual self-control, I'm just waiting but I promise you this.

If you wait, when the Lord tells you the way when he comes back with everything lined up sheet you are going to be so glad you waited and you can go out there and the energy of the flesh and build the golden calf trust is why David said wait on the Lord strong to courage wait patiently on the Lord why because Isaiah 49 those who wait on me shall never petition us for what Jesus, thanks for talking to us today about something I certainly needed to hear Brendan. I have some areas in our life where we are and have been for months, even years asking you to do certain things that you just said no you way is hard, so hard not to get impatient not to act in the energy of the flesh, Lord, I thank you for reminding me today and I hope you've reminded all of us to the richest blessings of God are bestowed upon those who are willing to wait patiently when you tell us to, and so Lord, whether it's two months or whether it's 25 years. The matter give us that discipline by the power the Holy Spirit in our life. And I pray for many people here today who are also being told by you to wait for a husband for wife for house for job for a child to come to Christ. Whatever give us the discipline to wait by the power the spirit and the wisdom to do it to encourage our hearts today.

Lord, because waiting is hard remind us it'll be worth help us cling to you knowing that you haven't forgotten about us that you will be back and we can live for that and we pray these things in Jesus name what God's people say amen