The Discipline of Waiting

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The Discipline of Waiting

• Luke 221-38

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The Pattern of Waiting

• It is a clear pattern in Scripture
• We see it in the lives of Gods great followers
• He has chosen it as part of the way He relates to
  us

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The Pattern of Waiting

• Abraham - waited 25 years before God fulfilled
  His promise to him
• Joseph - He had to wait 12 years, much of it in
  prison, until God fulfilled His word to Him
• Israel - Had to wait 400 years to inherit the
  Promise Land (Gen. 1516)

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The Pattern of Waiting

• Saul - told to wait 7 days and failed
• David - had to wait several years to come to the
  throne God promised him
• Children of Israel - had to walk around Jericho
  for seven days before the wall fell

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The Pattern of Waiting

• The prophets and Old Testament saints died
  waiting in hope for the Messiah to come (Heb.
  1113)
• Jesus in His incarnation had to wait for the
  proper time to fulfill His mission (John 77-8)

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The Pattern of Waiting

• The creation and believers are waiting for the
  new creation to come
• Romans 822-25
• Multiplies others in the Bible and church history

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The Pattern of Waiting

• Patterns often point to that which is important
• A pattern alerts us to look for something bigger
  than the pattern that is significant

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The Purpose of Waiting

• It is not random
• Sometimes the purpose is singular
• Sometimes it is multi-purpose

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The Purpose of Waiting

• Test Faith
• Simeon and Anna faithfully went about their tasks
  while waiting
• They Trusted They Remained Obedient

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The Purpose of Waiting

• Test Faith - God values our trust in Him
• He has built it into the very economy of His
  relationship with us. When we fail to trust all
  havoc breaks loose (Genesis 36-7)
• There is no One greater and wiser than God
  Himself. To fail to call us to trust would be a
  failure on His part to desire our best

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The Purpose of Waiting

• To Purify Us
• Waiting forces us to sort out what is important
  and to see where our loyalty lies
• 2 Peter 39-12

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The Purpose of Waiting

• To Protest Us
• Sometimes we need to be made to wait to avoid
  rash steps
• Acts 1929-31

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The Purpose of Waiting

• To Shape Events For Our Greatest Benefit
• God had been active and waiting much longer than
  Simeon and Anna
• Galatians 44 (Pax Romana Lex Romana Roman
  Roads)

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The Prize of Waiting

• Good things come to those who wait
• We participate in His work
• We rejoice in His victory