October 4, 2009 sermon: “Why We Don’t Wait on the Lord”
Rev. James Meeks, founder/senior pastor, Salem Baptist Church of Chicago.
www.sbcoc.org
“Why We Don’t Wait on the Lord”
Acts 1:14-26
- This is the first mistake that Jesus’ disciples make after his death.
- Their hearts are in the right place. They don’t make it out of malice.
- If you make a mistake, make it with the right heart or right intentions.
- God can bless you if you do the wrong thing for the right reasons.
- Waiting on the Lord sounds easy but is real complex.
- One of the most difficult things on earth is to wait on the Lord. When you accept Jesus, you have everlasting life. But we don’t automatically learn to wait on God.
- Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait on God.
- The church was born in an atmosphere of prayer. He says our churches today are weaker because we don’t pray as individuals and corporately.
- What if we opened church with prayer and not singing?
- Jesus’ mother was there and his brothers. Jesus’ family was not members of his church when he was on earth. They were not following him around and a part of his ministry.
- The Bible says they even decided to do an intervention because of what he was preaching.
- if you know you’re in the will of God, keep doing what you do. Your family will catch up later.
- Peter stood up and suggested they elect someone to take Judas’ place, and narrowed it down to two, and it fell on Matthias.
- We need to be reminded that they are men and are not perfect.
- No one told them to replace Judas. You can’t say they were led by the Holy Spirit because there was none; they were waiting on the Holy Spirit. All Jesus told them to do was wait on him.
- Without the Holy Spirit, they were forced to pick someone – the next preacher – by casting lots, and not by the direction and authority of Jesus. In essence, they chose a disciple by rolling dice.
- If Jesus picked all of them, what made them think they needed his help?
- Then they picked a guy and we never heard from them.
- and Jesus already had in mind who was going to take Judas’ place, and that was Saul of Tarsus. We know him as Paul.
Why don’t we wait on God?
1. Because we think our timetable and God’s is the same.
- After we pray, we have a timetable for God to answer the prayer we just prayed.
- God has to do two things after you pray: He has to get the thing you prayed for ready for you and he has to get you ready for the thing you prayed for.
- He said Salem prayed for a church but it took them five years. He said all those years they were not ready to financially support the mortgage or light bill.
- Then he said they filled up a small church, but in the new church, it was barely filled. Just like if we live in an aprtment, and then move into a large place, we don’t have enough to fill it.
- Thank God he doesn’t give you immediately what you prayed for.
- People pray for a spouse and they are crazy themselves!
2. Waiting on God means letting go of control.
- We are literally control freaks. When we are waiting everything is out of our hands.
- We like our own money. We’ve had friends talk us into going dinner and you get there and they don’t show up.
- someone was supposed to pick you up at 7 and the show started at 7:30, and they call you to tell you at 7:20 to drive yourself.
- This is because we have been disappointed.
- we need to remember that God is not other people. God is incapable of not coming through.
- But also, you’re not in control of what you think you are.
3. We really think we know what’s best for us.
- We know that God knows what’s best for other people.
- Even when He told us and the Word told us, we still think we know what’s best.
- Look at tithing. The Word says one thing, but you don’t think anyone else knows.
- we think we know what’s best. Look at Abraham. God told him he was going to have a child, they had sex, and Sarah came to Abraham and said, “I think…” Those are the two worst words when God has already told you something.
- She said that “I think God wants you to sleep with Hagai.” And then the Arab people were born.
- Abraham and Sarah were supposed to wait on God, and they improvised. They decided that since God’s plan isn’t working His way, maybe it will work our way.
- If you think God’s way isn’t working out, why do you think your way will work?
- If you do your way over God’s way and it works, why will you trust Him next time?
- Only God knows the way for your life.
Waiting on God is a matter of faith because we know that God will come through. Look at Job. God gave him twice as much.
We are all going to have to take the class on waiting on the Lord.
