Waiting on God

2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NLT).
“May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.”
We (the people who lead and work in this thing strongly desire and daily pray that you will gain a “full understanding and expression of:
1. the Love of God
2. the patient endurance that comes from Christ

In talking about love, this defines it:
I Corinthians 13:4-7
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
this is the love of God – we experience this through relationship with him and by giving this love through our “mess” of life.

I want to focus on the second thing:
- the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

Let’s take a minute with this term: patient endurance. This term covers a lot of ground. I can think of two ways this term affects me:
1. Instant gratification
2. Waiting on something over time

Instant gratification is basically the definition of culture –
- fast food – automatic doors – internet

Think about your last time on Google – did it take more than 1.2 seconds to get your search results? Did you get frustrated? Do you remember what life was like without search engines?

OK – how about cell phones? More than 5x a day I will call someone and leave a message – I just call again? Again because I want them on the phone NOW – and if no conversation is needed I just text. Do you remember life without a cell phone?

OK – how about the remote control, DVR, TIVO – do you remember how long it used to take to see a movie or VHS after it came out in the theatre? Turn around time is like 4 months now.

Instant gratification is a huge part of life for us here in the U.S. – now, let me read this story – read Genesis 15:1-7;16; Genesis 17:1-13;
Genesis 21:1-6 (MSG)

Abram promise/covenant made: 75 years old
Ishmael born: 84 years old
Isaac born: 99 years old

24-25 years went by until Abraham had a son – we don’t wait this well
– we create Ishmael.

Ishmael – wild bucking bronco, fights with everyone.

When we decide to take life and not wait on God – we produce an Ishmael.

Waiting overtime isn’t what we (or even Abraham) do best – we make things happen.

But as we wait – God is actually doing things in us – he is changing us and getting us ready for the promise – for the Isaac.

(Abram) Abraham –
Genesis 17 - God changed Abram’s name – new identity covenant sign – circumcision – a mark.

God marks you – your obedience.

Genesis 18-19 – God visited Abraham – confirmed the covenant – God destroyed Sodom and spared Lot.

Genesis 20 – Abraham lied to Abimelech out of fear – God taught Abraham courage.

While we WAIT – we grow – we experience – we get prepared for the promise. We get our identity we get marked by God – we change.

We can’t instantly change – it takes time. This whole process is the definition of 2 Thessalonians 3:5.
“May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.”
“the patient endurance that comes from Christ”

My question is how many “Ishmaels” have been created? How many times do we try and do God’s work for him because we don’t wait on him?
- Relationships (divorce – bad unions)
- Money (debt)
- Career (limbs – we settle instead of actively waiting)
- Sexual fulfillment (pre-marital sex, eroticism)
- Self Pride (always having to do better – not paying your dues)

If you can’t wait – you have a very common problem – you have become your own god – you are the biggest thing in your world – this is our culture – we try and curve it by celebrity good deeds – but the problem is – failure to submit – failure to wait.

What has God promised? What Ishmaels are here tonight? Why keep them around. Israel was promised freedom/prosperity – 400 years later they got it.

Close with a reading of Joshua 21:43-45 (NLT).

“So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD helped them conquer all their enemies. Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.”

intimacy with creation

We have this desire to connect with something. Last week, we defined intimacy with I Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT).
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” I Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
Love and intimacy according to this is different from our culture’s point of view. We then talked about developing intimacy with God –
Now we are going to dive into the conversation of intimacy with creation: romancing a person. Can you take your thoughts back to elementary school for a school for a minute – like esp. to Valentine’s Day?

And bam – he’s gonna get rejected. But that attraction – if you’ve ever felt that attraction for anyone, then you have this built in desire to connect with a part of creation – basically, you want a husband/wife/romance/intimacy – Sure, sometimes we juts get lonely – but the attraction is mormal – we are designed to connect intimately with Creation (people), and we ch-ch-choose our intimate relationship.
There is bumpy ride on the way to getting into that relationship – because if we are still going to use scripture as our definition for intimacy – we have some things to hurdle on the way to making that decision; we have several cultural options to weigh:
1. Pornography (dangers that imprint the mind – sight driven) - it is so much easier to have a one-sided relationship - - it masks your intimacy (picture, video, web) – access is no prob – but it really leads to self love – solo sex - feeds the desire for sexual release and can mask fulfillment
Hold this up to I Corinthians 13:4-7
• Not jealous
• Never rude or boastful
• No self-seeking motives
• Not demanding to have him/or her way
• Not irritable
• Doesn’t remember your faults or stupid mistakes
• Always truthful
• Protects you, trusts you, always hopes for your good, and perseveres through conflicts with you
Of course, pornography can keep most of these in tact – it’s not reality! It’s total fantasy – plus, it has no way to love you other than its product.
2. Same Sex Relationships
- This is difficult – because sexually, our culture is accepting of a relationship like this – it’s encouraged even – so when we hold this beside I Corinthians 13 – it seems like it could work. It seems as though it is even validated. But then you have to ask the question of scriptural morality – the question of truth – read verse 6 – when the truth wins out – so what is the truth regarding same sex intimacy regarding the marriage covenant of God (Genesis – one man, one woman) – what doe we really want at this point? To self indulge here would be sin – their intimacy, sexual intimacy; the erotic sexual behavior. Now, you can have intimacy with someone of the same sex, but scripture is clear as to the sin of same sex eroticism.
If a person has a desire for same sex eroticism – then that, according to scripture (Leviticus, Romans, I Corinthians), is sin. However, being intimate with someone doesn’t have to embody that sexual component. But, unless you are called to celibacy, I don’t believe an intimate romantic relationship can be void of that “consummate” act. And the good thing is that this act of sexual fulfillment is fully realized within the context of marriage.
3. Emotional Dependence
We have this stigma in our relationships that tells us our intimate relationships can fulfill our every intimate need. Jerry Maguire quote: You Complete Me
This evokes an “awww” from us, but at its core, I can’t believe this. It may sounds harsh, but my wife doesn’t complete me – I love her, but without her I would still survive. Without my intimacy with God – my existence would be futile. Intimacy with Him – that completes me – that creates me in the first place.
Intimacy – it’s not a place we arrive to, but a lifestyle we practice and strive to realize – most of the time, with a lot of error.
Hold your romantic/intimate relationships up to the mirror of I Corinthians 13:4-7.
• Not jealous
• Never rude or boastful
• No self-seeking motives
• Not demanding to have him/or her way
• Not irritable
• Doesn’t remember your faults or stupid mistakes
• Always truthful
• Protects you, trusts you, always hopes for your good, and perseveres through conflicts with you

intimacy with God

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. I Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
Have you ever been loved like this by anyone? This is how God (Paul) defines love. Can you imagine someone…
- Meeting needs with patience? Kindness?
• Not being jealous
• Never boasting and not prideful
• How about someone who doesn’t have self-seeking motives? Or someone who isn’t rude?
• Not demanding to have him/or her way?
• Doesn’t get very irritated
• Doesn’t remember your faults or stupid mistakes
• How about if they refused to be deceitful, and were always truthful with you?
• What if this person protected you, trusted you, always hoped for your good, and persevered through conflicts with you?
According to I Corinthians, this is love. And according to I John 4:8, God is love.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. I John 4:8
This is a snapshot of God’s absolute love. The Greek word for this is agape: not seeking for anything – unconditional love.
Eros: friendship but seeking for something (Freud)
I think it is difficult for us to accept God sometimes because we can’t really relate to this kind of love.


Remember the scene in Anchorman where Ron and his buddies sing "Afternoon Delight"? There ya go – Our culture’s definition for love/intimacy – sex. I mean, it doesn’t come as a shock, right? Intimacy = sex. That’s how you get close to someone, right? If you look up intimacy on Google you get definitions for sexual relationships first and foremost – well, actually the first thing is a bra ad for a new line of Intimacy Bras – “the perfect fit” – and then it goes to sex.
So, I think the problem here is obvious – I Corinthians and Ron Burgandy don’t really make sense when put together – see, here’s the problem with Ron’s definition of love/intimacy: it doesn’t last very long. It’s very instant. In fact, sex itself can’t satisfy the whole person – it definitely affects physical and even mental things – but what about emotions and spiritual and social areas of life – if there is an effect it is very short lived. Also, if we define intimacy with sex then we have a huge problem when it comes to a relationship with God – no, intimacy must be different – maybe that’s why having a relationship with Him is so difficult for us sometimes – we keep seeing what we can get out of it (eros) than just love without agenda (agape).
The beauty of all this, however, is that God fills our eros desire with His agape love.
Intimate love is illustrated beautifully in this clop: Cinderella Man clip. Now, let’s get very practical here: How do I develop intimacy with Him? He already loves me like this – how do I work at loving Him?
1. Be vulnerable when you pray and worship
• He knows you already – so when you talk to Him be real
• Allow your heart to catch up with your actions (obey and serve you song – Mike Rakes)
• He will reveal himself
2. Get to know Him by reading His ridiculously long love
• Notes on windshield as a teen
• Long notes from a girl – letters from Shauna/Cards
• God wants you to know all about Him
•
3. Live life in the fear of God
• Live in submission
• Live in the resting hands of God


God is perfect – we are not. Our relationship when it becomes intimate, will change:
• Our schedules
• Our priorities
• Our hearts
• Our love for others
• Who we are
• Makes us vulnerable
Having an intimate relationship as a long term thing – it’s very deep – and can, at times, be very uncomfortable because you can’t hide when you’re intimate. Do you REALLY want this with God?

Fear of God

Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. Jeremiah 5:22 (NIV)

The Fear of God has been described as several things:
• Deep reverence
• True horror filled emotion
• Obey or die (OT stories)

But, I feel, we have (in our culture) taken the Fear of God to a new level – to a goofy groovy kind of love. What I mean is that we see God not as something to be scared of – I mean, God isn’t here to scare us, right? He’s here to save, love and eat with us. God is love. I Corinthians 13 – the love chapter – I believe our culture has made God made out to be like a crazy grandpa – or like the “Wizard” on the Wizard of Oz.

We travel the “narrow” yellow brick road (gold) road to see Him – to ask for His help – we get to the city with big gates (heaven) where the gatekeeper is goofy – and we are blessed with an audience with the Wizard – all power – scary – big & terrifying – and behind a curtain – really a warm, old man pulling levers – this is our culture’s picture of God – not like the Old Testament
• Burning fire rain on a city
• Ordering death of the innocent because they are in the way
• Plaques in Egypt
• Sending His people to captivity to teach them a lesson

No, we like the NT God (or, at least the one in the Gospels)
• Who sends His son to take our punishment
• Who promises life
• Who seems to be more like “ The Wizard of Oz”

But God hasn’t changed – and we seem to miss that

Check out these verses:

• Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
• It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31 (KJV)
• Fear of the LORD leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm. Proverbs 19:23 (NLT)
• The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. Psalm 19:9 (NIV)
• You must try to appreciate both the kindness and the strict justice of God. Romans 11:22 (Phillips)
• Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin. By fearing the LORD, people avoid evil. Proverbs 16:6 (NLT)
• Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever."
Psalm 118:4 (NIV)
• Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Proverbs 34:9 (NLT)
• Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Proverbs 9:10 (NLT)

So what’s this “fear of the Lord”?
• Fear used in Jeremiah 5:22 (NIV) “Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. Jeremiah 5:22 (NIV) – the word used in Hebrew is yare (sounds like Yahweh or YHWH) it means reverent fear, terror, or dread.
• Fear used in Matthew 28:4 (NIV) “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men”.– the Greek word used is phobo – complete fear and terror.
Notice how these words evoke terror? There are several (about 40+) uses of this definition when telling about the fear of God.

So we are to do more than revere him – more than respect – an outright terror?

Why do we want to explain this away? I’ll tell you why – no one likes real fear. When you fear for your life it is uncomfortable – and we shouldn’t feel this way with God.

Jonathan Edwards: Sinners in the hands of an angry God
BAD THEOLOGY

Does our fear for God stem from a fear of disaster?
Does our fear for God stem from a fear of Hell?
Does our fear for God stem from a fear of separation?

No. Our fear of God stems from our complete giving to Him of our entire self.

When you really give yourself to God – it evokes fear. The statement “Lord, I give myself to you” is one of total abandonment. How scary is it to give control of yourself over? We can’t even give control of the remote half the time – bank account – job – education –

You were designed, as a Christ follower, for God’s spirit to transform you – Romans 12:1-2 - give it up – all.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12:1-2

You weren’t created to be busy with what you want and desire – but for God.

The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge” – Soloman

To place your life in His hands and to know that you will do what He wants –
• He will sanctify you
• He will cleanse you
• He will make you think differently
• He will cause you to cry for people
• He will make life different

Whatever it costs - that is scary. That yes, we get holiness and full life with Him – but He wants this life in us to “get there” so much He will do whatever it takes. That is scary – we are entering the fear of God, here.

Prayer
• Lose control to God
• Once I give it – I obey and do