Wait Training

♪ I'm sure you've seen and seen on me That she was running deep But love was built on cowardly So hard to see I'm free But I can't hear you I'm less than deadly Standing in your victory Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood I'm as good as you Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood All because of you Oh hallelujah I'm free Now what I have done Is what you've done for me You painted all upon that tree Oh hallelujah I'm free Your love has overcome Turned me into a grave I'm standing in your victory Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood I'm as good as you

Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood All because of you Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood I'm as good as you Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood All because of you Oh hallelujah You took away my shame And you nailed it to the cross I'll be running from the grave Hallelujah, here I come Cause you took away my shame And you nailed it to the cross I'll be running, I'll be free Hallelujah, here I come Let's sing it out Cause you took away my shame And you nailed it to the cross I'll be running from the grave Hallelujah, here I come Cause you took away my shame And you nailed it to the cross I'll be running, I'll be free Hallelujah, here I come

Hallelujah, here I come Hallelujah, here I come Hallelujah, here I come Hallelujah, here I come Halle, halle, hallelujah Halle, halle, hallelujah Halle, halle, hallelujah Halle, halle, hallelujah Halle, halle, hallelujah Sing it out, I've been washed in the water I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood I'm as good as new O hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood O me was I me O hallelujah We thank you, God We thank you, God, that there's nobody like you That you have taken our shame, God You've taken our sins And you put it on the cross We're just here to praise you today, God And lift up our worship There is one on the throne Jesus, holy He is worthy of praise Honor and glory There is one on the throne

Jesus, holy He is worthy of praise Honor and glory ♪ And worthy is the Lamb who was slain and seated on the throne ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ And the elders' creatures bowed, giving praise to Him and Him alone ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ There is one on the throne, and Jesus is holy ♪ ♪ And He is worthy of praise, honor, and glory ♪ ♪ And worthy is the Lamb who was slain and seated on the throne ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ And the elders' creatures bowed, giving praise to Him and Him alone ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ And worthy is the Lamb who was slain and seated on the throne ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ And the elders' creatures bowed, giving praise to Him and Him alone ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ This song depicts the story of this image of God sitting on a throne. It speaks to His sovereignty. It speaks to how worthy He is of that place, because He is. Because He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, so worthy God. But what I love about God's character is while He sits on a throne, He invites us to come before Him, into His presence, into His throne room. And then it's just like, hey, you can leave your mess right here at my feet. What a testament to His goodness. I'm going to invite our prayer team to come forward. And maybe you're here today, and you've been walking around with a mess. You've been walking around with a burden. You've been carrying something that God has invited you into His throne room and said, Come, my child. Stand before me. Leave this at my feet.

It is in better hands in my hands than it is in yours. I'd invite you to come forward. Our prayer team would love to pray with you. They'd love to stand in the gap with you. They'd love to leave this burden at God's feet with you. Maybe you're here today, and you are carrying a burden, but you don't even have the words to say it. They've got the words for you. They'd love to stand there. Don't worry about the people next to you. You can tap them on the shoulder. We'll make room for you to come forward. But maybe you're here, and there's nothing specific really weighing on you. The gift of this community that God has blessed us with is that we get to carry each other's burdens of prayer. So I'm going to pray for a handful of prayer requests that you guys trust us with, representative of the many. If you're comfortable, would you just extend a hand in agreement as we pray for and with each other? God, we're so grateful that you are a God still worthy of our praise. You are a God worthy of your seat on the throne. You are a God so worthy of all things, and yet you still welcome us into your presence. You still say, hey, I want to carry your burdens. I want to carry your troubles. I am the God who can heal all things. So God, we come before you giving you praise and honor, but also leaving our burdens at your feet. We come alongside Thomas right now, Lord, a child born too early who has a long road ahead of him. But God, you knit that child together in his mother's womb. You have a plan for that child. And so we pray right now in the name of Jesus that you would breathe new, fresh air into his lungs, God, that you would strengthen his bones, Lord, that you would continue to build his body up in a way that he would be so set up on a path that you have for him, God,

that you would give him a strength of a thousand eagles, God. We pray for the peace and comfort over mom and dad right now as they are so worried for their child. But God, you have him. You hold him. You love him. We're so grateful for what you're going to do in his life. We come before you for a man, Lord, who has a diagnosis that doctors don't even know what to do next. This cancer is so rare. They don't understand it. They don't have a plan. But God, you know. You are not a God of chaos. You are a God of understanding. You are a God of knowledge. You are a God of wisdom. So we pray your knowledge and wisdom over those doctors. We pray your knowledge and wisdom over her treatment plan, God. We pray your hand over her body, God, that you would work a miracle in her body, that there would be no more cancer, God. We praise you because you will do such things, Lord. We come before you for Nate, Lord, who is just diagnosed with heart failure, Lord. But you have a plan for him. You are not done with him, Lord. So we pray for wisdom over those doctors. We pray for healing over his body, God. We pray for those who are worried about him, Lord, that they would put their eyes on you, Jesus. We pray that in all of these things, in all the healing we believe that you're going to do, that you would get the glory in all those things. that for the people in this room right now, Lord. For the burdens we are carrying, Lord,

we pray that they would leave it at your feet, God. That they would experience the hope that you can provide. They would experience the comfort that you can provide. They would experience the provision that you can bring into their lives, God. That they would no longer be weary and heavy burdened by the things of this world, but they would instead turn their eyes to you, believing that you want to comfort us, believing that you want to show up in our gaps, Lord. We thank you so much. You are so worthy of our praise, God. No matter what happens, you are so worthy because of your character, because who you are, because you are loved. And so we give you praise today. It's a great way to pray. Amen and thank you, God. ♪ We crown you king of glory ♪ ♪ We crown you king of glory ♪ ♪ We crown you king of glory ♪ ♪ We crown you Lord of all ♪ ♪ We crown you king of glory ♪ ♪ We crown you king of glory ♪ ♪ We crown you king of glory ♪ ♪ We crown you Lord of all ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain and seated on the throne ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ Let the earth's worst creatures bow ♪ ♪ Give you praise for living in the Lord ♪

♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ Let the elders creatures bow ♪ ♪ Give you praise to him and him alone ♪ ♪ There's no one like our God ♪ ♪ There's no one like the Lord ♪ ♪ The Lord is my shepherd and he is everything I need ♪ ♪ So I will not worry, I will not fear the enemy ♪ ♪ He said that he loves me, he said that he's with me even ♪ ♪ I'll walk through the valley of shadow and death and still ♪ ♪ He has good plans, he has good plans for me ♪ ♪ He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ So I will take heart in deserts and gardens ♪ ♪ He has good plans, he has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If you know my Father, you know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ No weapon formed against me will hurt you ♪ ♪ The Lord is my Savior, so why should I doubt my victory? ♪ ♪ Why would I question the running of stamina? ♪ ♪ He quiets the waters, he quiets the stormy skies ♪ ♪ So what could be better than walking with him when I believe? ♪ ♪ He has good plans, he has good plans for me ♪ ♪ So I will take heart in deserts and gardens ♪ ♪ He has good plans, he has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ He has good plans for me, so I will take heart in deserts and gardens ♪ ♪ He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans, He has good plans ♪

♪ We submit to your plans, we submit to your plans ♪ ♪ We submit to your plans, we submit to your plans ♪ ♪ Surely, your goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ Fear will not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪ ♪ Surely, your goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ Fear will not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪ ♪ Surely, your goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ Fear will not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪ ♪ Surely, your goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ Fear will not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ He has good plans for me, so I will take heart and desert and garden ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans, good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans, good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans, good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans, good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans, good plans for me ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ Thank you, Father, that your plans for us are good plans. Plans to prosper us, not to harm us. Plans to give us hope in the future. Thank you, Jesus, for coming and bringing salvation, for dying for us, for being raised for us, for living for us. Thank you, Spirit of God, for speaking to us, for guiding us, to showing us all that we need to know about Jesus, about how to live for Him. We give you praise because you're worthy. We ask you now to speak to us, Father, through your book, by your Spirit.

Draw us to yourself. Teach us all that you want us to know today. It's our prayer in Christ. Amen. Thanks, Church. Please be seated. Okay, how many are not real sure what time it really is? It's kind of a weird Sunday, isn't it? I mean, I like at the end of the day when we've got more sunlight, but this losing an hour in the middle of the night thing, it's like whack. I stayed up last night to watch and see if it really happens. It really does. At 2 a.m., they skipped 2 o'clock. If anybody ever tells you something happened at 2 o'clock a.m. on time change, no, it didn't. There is no 2 o'clock. It's 3 o'clock. It's crazy how it works. Two pieces of good news. I'm Dan Sutherland, one of the pastors and teachers here. Pastor Eric is back next week. Yay. Yay. Saw him this week. He's pumped. He's excited. He's energized. It'll be a great series. He'll kick off next weekend.

Secondly, some of you are asking already, what's up with the red, orange markers on the outsides of the buildings? When you leave, you can notice them. And what's up with the yellow ones going down the backside? We are marking out where the corners of the expansion are going to be. We hope there'll be something happening in the next couple of months, but that's the marker. We're gonna kick that wall out that way and kick this wall out this way, and this room will be about twice as many seats as it is now. Then we're gonna add kids' space going back down each side and behind. That's what the markers are out there. And we're gonna cover the whole thing and encase it in air condition, even the patio. It's gonna be pretty sweet. The whole point is to make room for those thousand people that you're praying for, those thousand names that you put on the wall, 200 plus of whom have already come to faith in Christ and been baptized. Pretty awesome. Thanks for being part of that. It's going to be a great journey. Yeah, go God. Today's lesson, let me introduce it this way. I hate waiting. I mean, I hate it. I hate waiting in lines. I hate waiting in traffic.

I hate waiting on doctors. I hate waiting on God. I'll be honest about it. I mean, there are moments where my prayer is, hey, God, any time now would be great. I don't wait well. Any of the rest of you in that category? Good. I'm glad to know I'm not by myself. We're gonna do a lesson today about waiting. It's a stand-alone teaching between the series we just finished, the one Pastor Eric will start next week. But as much as I struggle to wait, I figure a bunch of us probably do, and the Scripture speaks very clearly to it. Write this, first blank in your notes. God uses times of waiting to train us. He has purpose in our waiting. He wants to teach us. He wants to stretch us. He wants to develop us. He wants to make us more like his son, Jesus. So, our title today is Wait Training, not W-E-I-G-H-T. I know nothing about that. This is wait training, W-A-I-T. How do we wait? And how do we wait well? Write this in your notes. It's kind of a premise for today's teaching. Time spent waiting on God is never wasted. See, that's what bugs me about waiting.

If I'm waiting in traffic, I'm thinking, why can't these people get out of my way? I have things to do, places to go. I'm wasting time. If I'm waiting on the doctor, there are times I want to just look at him and say, is your time more important than my time? I feel like I'm wasting time. But when you're waiting on God, that is never wasted time. I want you to think with me for a minute about the automobile you learned to drive on. Everybody got it in your head? Now, I'm not talking about your favorite one. I'm talking about the first one. The one you learned to drive on. It might be my favorite. I learned to drive on that. That's a 1957 Ford F100. Not a 150, a 100. And the transmission was called three on the tree because it had a gear shift that came into the steering column, reverse was straight up, first was straight down, second was up and over, and third was all the way down. And I loved it. My favorite thing to do in that truck, wish I still had it, was to ride the brakes and the gas. at the same time. All the things you can do when you're on the brakes and the gas. I mean, you come to a stoplight and you're not, you're already got it down in first gear and you're not waiting for the light to change. You know, you've got it ready to go, the clutch in slightly, your foot on the brake, but

you've also already pushing the gas pedal because all you got to do is let off the brake. It goes. I learned that you can do slide turns with a 57 truck if you ride the brakes and the gas. I had no problem with the gears. My problem was the pedals. I love going a hundred miles an hour with my hair on fire and that's how a lot of us live. We're on the brakes and the gas at the same time. Because God loves us, because he knows us, because he wants the best for us, he will teach us to wait. Especially when we have no sense of patience, no sense of pacing, no sense of balance, no sense of waiting. God says, I'm gonna teach you to wait. I love the 23rd Psalm. I learned it in the King James Version in kindergarten as a kid. First two verses, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, listen, he makes me lie down in green pastures. Emphasis on makes. He makes me lie down. Why does God make us lie down? Why does God make us wait? Because we're not bright enough to do it on our own. Left to our own devices, we're on the brakes and the gas. We're going and blowing all the time. He makes me lie down, he makes me rest, he makes me be still. How can I learn to wait? Here's our focus verse for today. It's in Isaiah 40 verse 31. They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not faint. God is going to teach us to wait. Some of you, like me, you're in a time of waiting right now. How do we wait well? How do we wait with hope and expectation? Three truths that help me wait on God. Three things we can expect God to do straight out of that verse. Number one, expect to grow stronger as you wait. First thing Scripture promises here is that when we wait, those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. There are times when God slows us down because we're worn out. There are times when he makes us take a rest because we have no strength and no energy left. Scripture makes this clear. Look at Psalm 27. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage. He will strengthen your heart. My kids and my grandkids continue to be some of my greatest teachers. I'm not surprised. The older I get, the more I learn from people much younger than me. My son played every sport known to mankind as he grew up here in South Florida, but he always wanted to play tackle football. Flag

football he played, he wasn't happy about it. Dad, I want to hit someone. I want to hit. I want to tackle. He's got his first shot in fifth grade. Not because Pioneer Middle School had a fifth grade team, but because Cooper City Optimist had a tackle football team by weight. And the smallest group, the first weight, was under 95 pounds. Now in fifth grade, my son was a little chubby. He had ever been a 95 pounds. And he said, I'm gonna play dad. I'm gonna play. He's all excited. Here's the catch. Because it's by weight, he's playing against seventh and eighth graders who also weigh 95 or under. Have you noticed the coordination difference? In a fifth grader just about to hit puberty, and an eighth grader well into it, he didn't play much. And I was afraid he'd be discouraged. At the end of the season, I sit down with him. I said, son, how you feeling about it? Dad, I love football. I'm just not sure I'm ready yet. I said, exactly. Let me make you a prediction, buddy. Weight. You weight three or four years, you're going to get Bigger you're gonna get stronger. You're gonna own this sport Four years later. He's now in ninth grade Cooper City High School. He's gained 14 inches in height He's now 6-1. He has gained a hundred and ten pounds of muscle He's weighing 205. He starts for the JV. They move him to the varsity He's playing starting middle linebacker and starting fullback and he's in on special teams There were games where he never got off the field He set the high school deadlift record as a freshman in high school Now, what's the point at fifth grade? He had the heart But he didn't have the strength but when he waits four years, he's got the heart and And The strength sometimes God is letting us wait to gain strength It's not just strength of soul. That's true as well. It's strength of mind. It's strength of body It's rest that we desperately need sometimes you have to wait To grow stronger turn to your neighbor say you need to wait Baby, go ahead

Call him, baby It's okay Yeah Maybe that's one for you. Maybe not. Here's the second one expect to soar higher as you wait This verse says you will soar Higher as you wait now check this out. This is so Picturesque those who wait for the Lord shall mount up with wings like eagles now I just love it when the scripture uses a metaphor that is backed up by science and that is the case when it talks about Eagles eagles are among the strongest and most patient flyers Among all birds they wait for hours Most of the time when you see an eagle, he's actually in the top of the trees or in the nest Waiting and they wait for early to mid afternoon when the hot air Begins to rise as the Sun heats the air it Rises and eagles don't gain height by flapping their wings. They gain height by soaring They open the biggest wingspan known in among all birds and they circle and If they stay with that hot current they continue to rise they soar like Eagles, did you know they have the ability to avoid? storms You'll rarely see an eagle in a storm. They sense when it's coming and they soar Above it that'll preach They get above the storm Pilots report seeing eagles no other birds at altitudes of 10,000 feet They don't get there by flapping their wings if you see an eagle flapping its wings It's only to move from one nest to another or looking for an air current from one to another They climb not by flapping but by soaring Now what is the point?

Write this in if I do life on my own I Only have my strength You ever feel like you're flapping and you're flapping hard I mean you're trying to gain ground You're trying to do your marriage on your own or you're trying to raise your kids on your own Are you trying to manage your career on your own and you're working? You kind of look like a turkey flopping around but you're working You're trying Eagles don't soar by flapping They soar by catching God's current By catching the hot air as it rises if I do life on my own I have only my strength, but when I wait on God to lead me I Have his strength. I catch his wind I Soar to however high he wants me to go he becomes the wind beneath my wings He takes me to places. I cannot go on my own when we wait we can expect To grow stronger when we wait we can expect God's getting us ready to soar Higher number three when we wait we can expect to be protected Love this one Love this one because I need all the protection I can get Look at the last part of the verse those who wait for the Lord shall run and not be weary they is she'll walk and not faint. Now this is describing the two big struggles of life. There are moments in life where you gotta sprint, you gotta run, it's go time, you gotta go, go, go. The problem is it wears you out fast. We get weary, but scripture says if you've been resting, if you've been still, if you've been waiting on God,

you can run further before you get weary. But look at the last part, they will walk and not faint. First read that, I think, why don't faint when I walk? Well, it depends on what you're carrying while you walk. Depends on what you're dealing with as you walk. I have a poster that was in my office for years. I think it's somewhere in my attic now. I need to go find it. And it's a closeup shot of a man scaling a mountain. And he's got one foot stretched out in front of the other and he's leaning into the mountain. And the caption on the bottom reads, it's not always the mountain you climb that gets you, sometimes it's the rock in your shoe. The mountain, that's the weary part, the run part. God gives us strength for that. But the rock in your shoe, that's the walk and not faint part. I am married to a very wise woman. The only poor decision I've seen my wife make in 50 years of marriage is she married me. And I'm grateful for that. Wise lady, here's one of her sayings. I don't quote her often, I wrote it in for you. The challenge in life that it is just so daily. That's the challenge. The challenge in life is it's just daily. I mean, you get up, you get ready, you work, you come home, you do it all again. Rinse and repeat.

You get up, you get ready, you put in your day. You come home, rinse, repeat, over and over and over. And sometimes it's just the dailiness, it's the little aggravations. It's the person in your family that you say, really, God? Or it's the neighbor that you say, can't you move them somewhere else? Or it's the person at work, it's just the aggravation, the rock in your shoe. Or it's the habits you're trying to kick. Or the addiction you're trying to overcome. There's a daily rock in my shoe. And I'm tired of it. And it makes me wanna stop. It makes me wanna quit. When we wait, God protects us from that part of life. Write this in. Waiting on God protects us from burnout. You know why God shuts us down from time to time? Sometimes with health, sometimes with a job change, sometimes with a circumstance change. So he just shuts us down. He sees us going and going, climbing the mountain, dealing with the daily grind. And he knows we're on our way to burnout. He will protect us. How big a deal is regular rest to God? Have you ever thought about this? Never forget the first time as a new Christ follower, I was actually reading the scripture

and paying attention to it. And I read through Exodus 20, where it gives the 10 commandments. And I'm pretty impressed as I read the list. First one is God is God, don't let anybody else be God. I got that one. That makes sense, that's pretty big. Second one is don't have any idols. That makes sense. Don't worship something that's not God. God's God, don't worship anything else. Then it says no adultery, yeah. I don't think my future wife would go along with that. That's probably a good plan. Don't steal from others, that sounds like a good one. Don't covet what everybody else has, I get that. Don't lie, yeah. And then it throws this one in. Take a day off every week. I'm going, really God, that made your top 10? I mean, I kind of get that the others are a big deal, but seriously? Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy? You need a day of worship and rest? That's on your top 10. That's on his top 10. Because when we work and work and work and keep climbing the mountain and keep dealing with the daily grind and keep trying to get the rock out of our shoe

and we never stop, we burn out. There's a saying that says exhaustion makes fools out of all of us. Yes, it does. You get exhausted, you make decisions you wouldn't make. You get exhausted, you fall to temptations you wouldn't. You say things you wouldn't say, you act in ways you wouldn't act, but you're so worn out because you haven't rested, you haven't waited. You can't remember the last time that you let up and took a day off. God is big on this. He is so big on it. Look at what Ezekiel says. God says this, I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord. Please don't miss that verse. If you and I don't learn to wait, if we don't learn to rest, if we don't learn to lie down, God will make us lie down. I can write the book on this. God has to have a two-by-four to get my attention, he'll use one. If God's got to pause my health for him to get my attention, he'll do it. If God's got to give me a crisis so big I have to stop, he'll allow it. Why? Because he cares more about my character than he does about my comfort. He wants me to learn to wait. How many of you have raised a preschooler's hands and lived to tell about it? Yeah. Do you remember what it was like to try to get a preschooler to take a nap? You remember? I don't think my daughter ever took a nap. She's 40.

I don't know if she has yet, but I can remember laying down with her because that was the only shot I had, and I'd fall asleep, and she'd crawl out of the bed and play. A preschooler doesn't know they need a nap. They don't know the afternoon's going to be rough if they don't get a nap. They don't know that bedtime's going to be rough if they don't get a nap. Mama knows, daddy knows, they don't know. Write this in, God is willing to make us lie down or slow down to avoid burnout. I have seen him do it in my life over and over and over again because I ride the gas and the brakes. I believe you go 100 miles an hour with your hair on fire. I get the nine commandments, that 10th one on rest being in there, I still don't fully understand. We have to be willing to wait. Check out these words from Jesus. This is in the message paraphrase. I love it for this particular passage. Are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me, and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me. Work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Did you catch that phrase? Wow. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't let anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.

Be company with me, and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. Write that phrase in. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. God has a rhythm. Work and then rest. Run and then rest. Walk with the daily grind and then rest. Work for God. Wait on God. There is this balance. It is a rhythm, an unforced rhythm of grace. One of the mistakes I made parenting was I was not present for the first 18 months of our son's life. I wasn't there. I was working for Sheridan Hills Baptist Church in Hollywood just down the road here. I was the youth pastor, the college pastor, and I was in charge of planting new churches. We had a gym on the church property that was open six nights a week. So I'd go into the office about 7.30 in the morning to get my youth and college stuff done knowing that I needed to stay to keep the gym open that night. I'd come home at 9.30 or 10. So I'd go in before my son was up, and I'd come home after he'd already been put to bed. For the first 18 months of my son's life, I saw him on Sunday afternoons. And I remember realizing. I am missing the most important thing, and I said, God, this has to change, and it changed. I'm grateful to tell you I didn't miss another month of my son's life, and I'm grateful to tell you I didn't miss any months of my daughter's life. But to those of you who tend to be workaholics, to those of you who tend to go 100 miles an hour

with your hair on fire, particularly to those of you who are primary wage earners, taking care of your family depends on you hustling and getting after it. Please listen closely. There's not enough money in the world to be worth 65 or 70 hours of your week, no. Because at that many hours, you are ignoring your family. At that many hours, God is going to shut you down and help you wait. At that many hours, he's gonna say, you need a nap. You need a timeout. I'm gonna put you in a waiting period. He'll do it. Been there, had it done to me. I don't wanna go back. I don't want to go back because I want to live in God's pace. Write this in. God has a pace for you that will not wear you out. Exhaustion is not how he wants to describe his kids. We do not honor God with exhaustion. We honor God when we're rested, when we have waited. But it's not just about waiting and being still. It's also about attitude. I remember the first new car that our family got. It was in the mid-60s. It was a 1964 or five, I'm not sure of the year, Chevy Impala station wagon, powder blue. Had that strange tailgate that swung out,

that back door. It's the first car I had ever seen with seatbelts. Now, I'm dating myself here. Seatbelts were not required in all American cars until 1968. That Ford truck I showed you earlier, can't spell seatbelt. Weren't any seatbelts in it? And the way families traveled back then is the youngest child would generally stand in the middle of the bench front seat with a hand on daddy's shoulder and a hand on mama's shoulder. Can you say dense? This is what we did. We didn't think about seatbelts. We didn't think about child safety. And in my family, when we got the new Impala, we had traveled for years in a 1956 Buick that we still had, wish I still had it. And we rode in that car. There were certain seating arrangements. My mom was in the passenger's seat up front. My dad drove. The youngest child that was capable of standing stood on the bench seat between them. We traveled for hours like this. I was in one seat in the back against one door, my brother Nick in the other, and my sister, a baby strapped into something,

I still can't quite remember what it was, in the middle. Something we tied her in with, no seatbelts. But when we got this new car, we were so excited to go to church that Sunday and drive it for the first time. And my brother Mike climbed in, he's four. He's standing in the middle of the bench seat. And my dad looks at him and says, Mike, this car has seatbelts. You gotta sit down. I don't wanna sit down. Yeah, buddy, you gotta sit down. Nope, not gonna sit down. This goes on for a minute or two until my mom and dad force him to sit down. He's screaming. Put him in a seatbelt. He's screaming. And when he calms down a minute or two later, I will never forget what he said with a defiant voice. Daddy, I may be standing, excuse me, I may be sitting on the outside, but I'm standing on the inside. Defiance. That is not waiting. That is not waiting. If we wait with a. fist in our spirit. If we get seat belted in or put in a time out or forced to lie down with a no in our hearts, that's not waiting.

Write this in. Patience isn't the ability to wait. It's the ability to keep a good attitude while we wait. God, I don't know what you're doing, but I'm waiting. Please renew my strength. Please help me get ready to soar. Please protect me. I'll wait. Write this in your notes. The issue is not just how long can you wait. The issue is how well can you wait. They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles. They will run and not get weary. They will walk and never faint. Our worship team is going to come and lead us in a moment of worship. Here's what we're going to do today. Did it Thursday night. Did it at 830 this morning. I think we should do it again. If you're in a time of waiting right now and you're having a tough time, if you're having to lie down when you don't want to, if you're having to be still when you want to go, if God's got you on the brakes and you want to be on the gas, I'm going to invite you to just come and stand down front. Don't have to say anything or sign anything. I'm just going to invite you to come and I'm going to pray for you for patience as you wait because I'm the guy that's right there with you struggling.

I don't wait well. So would you stand to your feet? We're going to worship. And if you need prayer for the time of waiting, you're in. Just come stand for us. Come stand down in front. We'll make this edge of the stage an altar. Go ahead and come. Squeeze on up, guys. We're going to need the space. Thank you. Bless your brother. Thank you, man. Can y'all squeeze on in? We've got some more folks coming. Thank you. This is awesome. Look this way for just a minute. I'm proud of you for the courage you took to walk forward and say I don't wait well. I'm struggling. I get it. I'm standing there with you. But I'm going to pray and we're going to ask the Father to help us to learn to wait. And we're going to pray for strength. And we're going to pray for sorry. And we're going to pray for protection as we wait. Church, if you don't mind stretching a hand out toward these folks down here in front, just open your hands up just like you want to receive

patience from God. Let's pray together. Father, you say when we wait that you renew our strength. You say when we wait you get us ready to soar like an eagle. You say when we wait that you protect us from burnout. So, Father, you've got us in a waiting period. And honestly, we don't care for it. We don't like it. But, Lord, we trust you. But, Lord, we trust you. So help us be still. Help us lie down. Help us rest. Help us wait expectantly knowing that you're doing a work in us and that he, you, Jesus, who began a good work in us will be faithful to finish it if we wait. Bless these folks, Lord. Let them walk out here today ready to wait on you and ready to move forward. You say good. In Christ, who waited on us, we make this prayer. Amen. Let's give God a hand. Can we do that? Bless you guys. Find your way back to your seat. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ I'll be dwelling in the house of God, surely goodness and mercy will follow after me. Fear will not find me. I'll be dwelling in the house of God, surely goodness and mercy will follow after me. Fear will not find me. Yes, I'll be dwelling in the house of God. He has good plans. He has good plans for me. Though I will take heart, He doesn't ignore it. He has good plans. He has good plans for me. If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. Good plans, good plans. If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans.

Good plans, good plans. If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. Good plans, good plans. I know my Father. I know my Father has.