Bible and turn with me to the
book of Psalms chapter 27. Psalms 27. I'd like to look at verse 14
for just a minute. Psalm 27 14. If there's ever
a verse all of us need to continually hear and have taught us afresh. It's this. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall
strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Now, waiting is something that
just does not come naturally. We all need to be taught to wait
on the Lord. This is the answer to every trial,
every question. What's the right thing to do?
Here's the right thing to do. Wait on the Lord. Now here's what we're doing right
now. to ourselves. What does the Scriptures,
what does the Word of God teach? What does that mean? What does
it mean? We'd like to know that answer. If that's the admonition of the
Lord, wait on me. Lord, would you tell me something
about that? The word wait interpreted means
to bind together, to expect, to look patiently to. So to wait
upon the Lord can be summed up right here. Believe Him. Trust Him. Look to Him. Now there's three things that
I want to just very quickly mention concerning waiting on the Lord.
Number one, this must be the continual position of a believer. There is no time when a believer
is not admonished to wait on the Lord. Secondly, this is the
believer's only support. We don't have anything else.
Is he going to do all things after the counsel of his own
will? Yes. Is he going to do it in his timing?
Yes. What is the admonition? Wait
on the Lord. And then thirdly, this is truly
a believer's reward. This is a reward to be able to
wait on the Lord. Now first, waiting on the Lord
must be the continual position of a believer. If there's going
to be any peace, if there's going to be any assurance, comfort,
if there's going to be any. And we're in the midst of trials
and tribulations and turmoil. And there's something all the
time, there's always something going on. Jeremiah said, Jeremiah
10, 23, Oh Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself.
It's not in man that walketh to direct his steps. We're dependent. We're dependent on the Lord.
That's the way it is. He's the potter, we're the clay.
He's the shepherd, we're the sheep. That's the way it is. It's not going to change. We're
born with a heart that is convinced that we can. But by the grace
of God, we're taught. No, we can't. The Lord said, John 15, 5, I
am the vine, you're the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him bringeth forth much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. Now think about that. Without
me, you can do nothing. We think we can. We can handle
it. We can do something. We can do something. No, you
can't. Wait on the Lord. Because we
don't know the end from the beginning. We don't. We don't work all things
after the counsel of our own will. We can't. So here's the
right thing to do. Wait on the Lord. Was this not
the way that we were first converted? Waiting on Him. Before, what
were we doing? We were thinking that we were
handling it. We were doing all things like
those physicians, those many physicians. That woman suffered
all those many years. But, you know, the Lord brought
us to the end of ourselves. And we were made by the grace
of God to wait on Him and trust Him. Lord, You say, come unto
Me. I'll give you rest. To wait on
the Lord is to believe Him. We just believe God. We rest
in Him. Colossians 2.6, as you therefore
receive Christ Jesus the Lord, well, let's just walk in Him
that way. We have progressed no further than when we first
believed. God's people, as I said earlier,
do grow in grace, but they don't grow any other way except trust
in the Lord. Believe in the Lord. Waiting
on the Lord is active. By nature, man thinks that waiting
means that we do nothing. That's not what waiting on the
Lord is. We're active in our waiting. We know that His counsel is going
to stand. The counsel of the Lord standeth
forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations. But
as we wait by faith, now listen, Here's waiting on the Lord. We
knock, and we seek, and we ask, and we wait. And He said, you
knock, it's going to be open. You seek, you're going to find.
You ask, and it will be given to you. When? When it pleases
God. Let me tell you three things
that I bring up all the time. The best advice that I could
give myself from the scriptures on waiting on the Lord. Listen,
here's waiting on the Lord. The continual hearing of the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The continual hearing of the
gospel Faith cometh by hearing. You know the worst thing I can
do for myself? Absence myself from hearing the gospel preached.
That's the worst thing I can do for myself. Not be there when
God's people are meeting and hearing the gospel preached.
Because when I don't hear, I miss the God-ordained means of God-granting
faith. Faith cometh and cometh. Well, I got enough last week. I told you about the air that
I breathed last week. I sure did appreciate it, but
it's gone. Faith cometh. Here's something
else. Search the Scriptures daily. like those in Berea. They were
more noble than those in Thessalonica. I need to be reminded of that. When do you read? Whenever it's
a good time. Whatever's good for you. I think
just starting the day and ending the day is good advice, but I'll
leave that up to you. the Scriptures daily and find
out if what I'm saying is so. If what I'm saying is so, then
I'm going to tell you something, we're all to believe it. Find something that I'm saying
that's not so, come tell me. I'd love to hear it because I
owe you an apology if I've said something that wasn't so. But
if I said something that was so, we're obligated to believe
it. And thirdly, on waiting on the
Lord meet with the Lord in prayer,
and when you pray, enter into your closet. When's a good time? I'll leave that up to you. When
you pray, that's what the Lord said. He didn't say a time. When you pray. And He said, and
when you pray, don't be as the hypocrites are. They love to
be seen of men. That's what makes it so hard
for you men that are asked to open or close and read scriptures. You know, that's hard. That's
a struggle. It is for me. Because everybody's
listening. Man, I'm telling you, when you
meet with the Lord in secret, you just tell Him some things. There's some things that I'll
say and ask the Lord I'd never say in front of you. Never. Never. But waiting on the Lord. Hear
the Gospel. Hear the Gospel preached. Seek
the Lord in the Scriptures daily. See if these things are so. And
meet with the Lord in prayer. And God Almighty has promised,
you knock, you seek, you ask, and you will receive. David said
in Psalm 25, 5, lead me in thy truth and teach me. For Thou
art the God of my salvation, on Thee do I wait all the day. The older I get, the more I realize I really am, I'm going to have
to stand before God. I'm going to have to stand before
God. And the books are going to be
opened in the book. Oh, that I might be found in
the book. Lord, let me walk as one that adorns the gospel, the
doctrine that you've taught me. Let me walk like a believer.
I want to treat you like a believer treats a believer. That's what
I want to do. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the
Lord and He will not leave us destitute. My soul, Psalm 62
5, wait thou only upon God for my expectation, for my salvation,
what that is, is from Him. Wait on the Lord for deliverance
from the trials of this life. Proverbs 20, 22. Say not thou
I will recompense evil. Don't do that. Boy, we're tempted. We're tempted. Say not thou I
will recompense evil. What am I to do? Wait on the Lord. And He shall
save thee. That's a word of comfort in here.
Secondly, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. There's the
admonition. And here's the promise. And He
shall strengthen thee. This is our only support. This
is all the support we've got. Now how can I be of courage when
I feel, as Isaiah, I feel, you that know him, do you feel this
way too? You ever feel just so helpless? Yeah, but you don't know what
I'm going through. You don't realize the pressure. You don't
realize, you just don't realize, you just don't know. You just
don't realize what I'm going through. You ever feel, listen
to what? Isaiah said, Isaiah 38, 14. He
said, I did mourn as a dove. Mine eyes fail from looking upward. Oh Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. Lord, ease
me. Have you ever just felt, Lord,
I'm just beaten down. It just seems like every time
I turn around, there's something else. There's a new Something. There's another phone call. Something
else that I hear that I wish I hadn't heard. Lord, I'm oppressed. Undertake for me. Wait on the
Lord and be of good courage. But how can I be of good courage? It's not in my ability, I realize
that. But I can, by the grace of God,
remember what the Lord has promised Lord, You said, You will never
leave me and You'll never forsake me. Listen to Deuteronomy 31.6,
Be strong and of good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them.
For the Lord thy God, it is He that doth go with thee. He will
not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Man, I need to hear that. I need
to be taught that again. What have you got, Marvin? I've
got His Word. That's all I've got. I don't
see any strength in me, I can tell you that. I get my feelings
hurt. Be of good courage. Be of good
courage. We've got the enemies of the
flesh. I've got Satan, I've got the world, sin that dwells within. But the Lord has promised. He's
promised me. The armor that He's given us. Our loins are girt about with
the truth of the Gospel. The truth of who He is and who
we are, what He's done, and where He is now interceding for us. He's praying. Mark, He told Peter,
Satan hath desired to have you and sift you as wheat. And obviously the Lord was going
to allow him to do it. Because He said, but I've prayed
for you that your faith fail not. Man, it's painful. It's painful isn't it? Be of good courage. We've got
the breastplate of His righteousness. Righteousness that has been imputed,
not earned. Aren't you thankful? Feet that
are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, whereby
we stand and walk. declare the truth of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the shield of faith. When Satan's fiery darts are
hurled and we're fearful and depressed and weary and find
ourselves questioning our safety, he said, be of good courage.
Take the helmet of salvation that protects us from the lies
of Satan spews out to this world trying to carry away the bride
and then praying without ceasing. Our weapon of offense, the Word
of God. The Lord said, so shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto
me void. It shall accomplish that which I please. It shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sin it. He directs His Word,
orders His Word for His people, for their good, for their encouragement.
We wait on the Lord. We're running a race. We've got
to fight. We're fighting. And all the while,
we're remembering, be of good courage. Whenever the next thing
hits, Lord, would you bring back to my memory, Lord, your promise,
your word. I'm just a weak beggar that knows
that I can't supply for myself. Paul says, therefore I take pleasure
in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
distresses, for Christ's sake. But when I am weak, then I am
strong. Listen to this. Wait on the Lord,
be of good courage. He shall strengthen thine heart. You mean to tell me that I am
strong when I realize how weak and frail and needy I am? You mean, that's when I'm strong? I was always told, be bold as
a lion. Nothing affects me. You can't
get me. That ain't the way it is with
me. That's not the way it is with me. I'm a frail creature. And I hurt. And I'm fearful. And I'm fearful. You mean to
tell me that strength is when I realize how weak I really am? Yeah. There's your strength. There's your strength. My grace,
he told Paul, the apostle, when Paul asked him three times, he
had a thorn in the flesh, and I've told you before, I don't
know whether the wording says He asked over and over thrice,
I besought the Lord, whether it says over and over and over
or three times. It doesn't matter. But here was
the answer. My grace is sufficient for thee,
for my strength, His strength, is made perfect, mature, in the
weakness of His people. God's strength and grace to His
people is never more glorified or appreciated than when His
people are made to see their weakness and their inability.
It doesn't just thrill your heart when, oh, you see something,
you know something's going on, and you're just so torn up about
it. You're just, oh, Lord, please
help me. Lord, please, please have mercy. Lord, please. And then God takes
it away. Why did I doubt? Why? His strength to stand. My strength is made perfect in
weakness. His strength to stand is our
surety and representative before God. I can't do that. What can I do? How can His strength
as our federal head who lived for us, established righteousness
for us before God and His perfect obedience to God's law, His strength
is made perfect in our weakness. His strength in being made sin
and suffered the indescribable justice and judgment and wrath
of God that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. How could I have done that for
myself? I can't do that. Paul says, most gladly therefore,
will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. Yeah, we're beggars. Beggars that have been made to
admit in our heart our true need of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
who shall, according to his word, supply all my need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Let me ask you this as
I wind this up. How can I be assured that he
will supply? How can I be assured that He
will answer for me? A creature of the dust, one unworthy,
like that woman with the issue of blood that came in the press
behind, fearful. I'd rather you not notice. I
really don't want to share with you my problem. That's what she's
saying. I've got a problem and I'd just rather it not be broadcast
if you don't mind. How can I be assured that I can
have a part in His promise. Psalm 138.2, when He said, He
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. He that cometh
to me. How many times, let me ask you
this, do we find ourselves time after time after time, Lord,
you said He that cometh. Lord, I come again this morning.
It's me. Lord, it's me again. Thank You that You promised me.
You said if I come to You, I come the only way I know how. Lord,
I don't even know how to come. I don't even know what to ask.
I'm just coming this morning. I'm just asking. Lord, hear my
prayer. Lord, how do I know that I have
the assurance that He hears? Psalm 138 to He has magnified
His Word above all His name. Magnified His Word. How can I
be assured that I have a part in that glorious promise? Whosoever
shall call upon the name, the character of the Lord shall be
saved. Not he that calls upon a Jesus
that has made salvation possible. He that calls on the name of
the Lord as He's revealed in these scriptures. He shall be
saved. He said in Isaiah 58 9, Thou
shalt call, and the Lord shall answer. Thou shalt cry, and He
shall say, Here I am. What assurance do we have when
we pray? He hears. Often, often I think,
when you pray, call upon your Father, and the
Father who heareth in secret." Now you know that's an assuring
word of promise. The Father who heareth in secret. You mean He hears me and this
one and this one and all? That's what He said. That's what He said. We have some confidence because
He said He'd hear. And when we call, He said, I'm
going to say to my people, Here I am. Lord, here I am. Lord, you mean to tell me you
would say something out of your word to the assurance of your
weak and beggarly children? Yeah. He who hears the cry of his people
is the one who placed the cry in their heart. Therefore, he
needs no instruction from us about our need But he said, I
will be inquired of. This is what I'm going to do
for you, but I will be inquired of. It shall come to pass that
before my people call, I will answer. And while they're yet
speaking, I will hear. Not only does he promise to answer
when we cry, he's promised to say, I'm here by you, hearing
in your presence, my sheep Hear my voice. I know them. They follow
me. Where two or three are gathered
together in my name, I am in the midst of you. Lastly, waiting
on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord. Searching
the scriptures. Seeking Him in prayer. Hearing His gospel preached. Let me tell you, waiting on the
Lord. Expecting that God's going to
do what He said He's going to do. And He's going to do it for
our good and His glory. Maybe not what we ask or what
we think or what we want, but what we need. That's what He
said. Waiting on the Lord is God's
evidence that He is our reward. That's what He told Abraham.
Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding
great reward. Isaiah 62.11, Behold, the Lord
hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
of Zion, Daughter of Zion, Behold, thy
Savior cometh. Behold, His reward is with Him. That is, life in Him who is our
reward. And His work, His work is before
Him. Behold, the Lord said, Revelation
22, 12, I come quickly, and my reward is with me. To give every
man according as his work shall be. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He shall
strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.