Word of Life Christian Church • April 2014

April 2014

Word of Life | The Waiting Room

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Contents

Waiting in the Waiting Room

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Wait.

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Pastor G’s Growth Garden

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Words of Life from Pastor G

Hanging On By A Thread

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A Woman of Virtue

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Christian Education

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7 Reasons Why God Makes Us Wait

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Waiting on the Lord

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Word of Life Christian Church George Wilkinson, Pastor 460 W. Atherton Rd. Flint, MI 48507 (810) 232-5944

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www.thewordisalive.org

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Words of Life from Pastor G

H

ave you ever had to wait in an offi ce for a Doctor? It is one of the most diffi cult things to do because the Doctor has a report about your health. It seems as though Doctors are never on-time. However, there is a spiritual Doctor offi ce, the Great Physician -in His offi ce you are being processed properly, positioned for success, and you are always a priority. While you wait you are being blessed and developed for His purpose!

We all want good things to happen in our lives, but too often we want it now...not later. When it doesn’t happen that way, we are tempted to ask, “When, God, when?”

Most of us need to grow in the area of trusting God instead of focusing on the “when” question. If you’re missing joy and peace, you’re not trusting God. If your mind feels worn out all the time, you’re not trusting God. God wants us to live by discernment, revelation knowledge, not head knowledge. It’s diffi cult to exercise discernment if you’re always trying to fi gure out everything. But when you’re willing to say, “God, I can’t fi gure this out, so I’m going to trust You to give me revelation that will set me free,” then you can be comfortable in spite of not knowing. Trusting God often requires not knowing how God is going to accomplish what needs to be done and not knowing when He will do it. God uses times of waiting to stretch our faith in Him and to bring about change and growth in our lives.

God gives us hopes and dreams for certain things to happen in our lives, but He doesn’t always allow us to

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see the exact timing of His plan. Although frustrating, not knowing the exact timing is often what keeps us focused. There are times when we might give up if we knew how long it was going to take, but when we accept God’s timing, we can learn to live in hope and enjoy our lives while we wait in God’s waiting room.

The book of Exodus chapter 13 tells us that God led the Israelites the longer, harder way on their journey to the Promised Land because He knew they were not yet ready to receive their residency. There had to be time for their training, and they had to go through some very trying trusting trials. They wasted a lot of time

wondering about God’s timing, but God never failed to take care of them and show them what He wanted them to do. The same is true in our lives. God will place you in the waiting room to develop you and prepare you for your promised future.

The waiting room can be diffi cult. However, when you realize God is working in you to prepare you for something meaningful and impactful waiting becomes a welcomed burden of the personal development process.

Waiting patiently in God’s waiting room always results in positive productive results.

This month we will learn to wait and get in position for the assignments of The Lord.

Be Blessed,

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wait.

by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried; Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”

Wait? you say wait?” my indignant reply.

Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?

I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign, Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:

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I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, As my Master replied again, “Wait.”

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting for what?

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . . and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me. You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint.

You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair; You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.

You’d not know the joy of resting in Me When darkness and silence are all you can see.

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You’d never experience the fullness of love When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start, But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of my comfort late into the night, The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask From an infi nite God who makes what you have last.

You’d never know, should your pain quickly fl ee, What it means that My grace is suffi cient for thee.

Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true, But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.

And though oft My answers seem terribly late, My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait.

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God Acts on Our Behalf KEY PASSAGE: Isaiah 64:1-4 Ι SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE: Philippians 4:6-7 | Psalm 25:3; 27:14; 37:7, 34

The excerpts below are from Charles Stanley’s Life Principles. You will be blessed as you capture the nuggets from this quick but eff ective teaching relative to being in the Waiting Room of the Lord. To read this in its entirety please go to thewordisalive.org.

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SUMMARY: Waiting is uncomfortable. Most of us hate lines, stoplights, and other delays. We want what we want—and we want it now.

Our heavenly Father has created our spiritual lives to function diff erently. In order to grow as believers, you and I must learn to wait on Him. When we surrender to His timing, the Father can do mighty things in us and for us. Always remember that God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. In other words, we must allow His schedule—not our own agendas—to guide our lives. Then we can experience His very best.

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SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES What is God’s role in our waiting?

The Father is involved as we rest in Him. His job is to give us clear direction—in other words, to reveal His will. The Lord also guides our choices and protects the outcomes of our obedience. When we obey Him, we are shielded from all kinds of negative situations and circumstances, many of which we may never realize. As we wait, the Lord heals, comforts, teaches, and empowers us. He encourages us, answers our prayers, and gives us peace (Phil. 4:6-7). We may rest, but God continues to work.

What does it mean to wait on the Lord?

To rest in the Lord requires patience, which is simply the will to wait. You and I must also listen for further instructions instead of rushing ahead with our solutions or agendas. Waiting requires us to calmly accept what the Lord is doing in our lives. We have to trust Him to fulfi ll His will for us. Some may have to surrender what seem like immediate needs and resist the temptation to set their own timelines. However, waiting on Him doesn’t mean we take a fatalistic attitude. It’s purposeful anticipation that God will accomplish what He has promised.

The Psalms speak of waiting on God. Depending on the Father instead of taking action can be diffi cult. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage.” When you and I obey Him, we never have to worry about what others think of us. Reliance on God protects us from experiencing shame (Ps. 25:3). Notice that resting in the Lord is not passive, but active—you and I are commanded to wait patiently for Him (Ps. 37:7). As a result of faithfully surrendering to His timing, we can expect His very best. The Living Bible puts it this way:“Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along His pathway, and in due season He will honor you with every blessing” (Ps. 37:34).

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THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILING TO WAIT

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You and I will be disappointed. Regardless of how wonderful your plans seen in comparison with anticipating God’s best, disobeying Him ultimately leads to disappointment

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We will step outside of the Lord’s will. By manipulating circumstances instead of depending on God, we fi nd ourselves in a dangerous place outside His perfect plan for our lives.

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God can’t give us His best. Why would anyone want the Father’s second choice for his or her life?

Yet that’s exactly what you and I get when we fail to wait on Him.

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We bring hurt, pressure, and suff ering on ourselves. Although following God’s will is no guarantee that everything will go smoothly, resisting Him always has negative consequences.

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Others are hurt. Disobeying the Lord usually results in harm to others. Selfi shness, addictions, and outright rebellion aff ect those around us.

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I

saiah 40:31 But, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Don’t you just love this verse? I love this verse; the issue is living this verse vs loving this verse.

Who wants to wait? Who likes to wait? We live in a microwave society with instant gratifi cation where we use drive through lanes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have a diffi cult time waiting 15 minutes in line to make a purchase. We tap our foot and shift from side to side, until we ask if there is any other staff to check us out.

Even if there are, we all have to wait anyway.

What is wait? The literal defi nition is to stay in place until an expected event happens, until someone arrives, or until it is your turn to do something. But the figurative or symbolic defi nition is to wait, to hope, and to expect.

We have relationship problems, marital problems, divorce problems, fidelity problems, fornication problems, adultery problems, honesty problems, keeping your promises problems, job problems, unemployment problems, financial problems, children problems (minor and adult children), we have health problems and care of elderly parent problems, the list is endless. But God says to wait. What does that feel like, usually unhappiness, what does that look like, usually frustration and why can’t we get it right? There are two types of waiting, waiting in faith and waiting in self. The first option the best choice, the second option is the option most often used. We have the Frank Sinatra’s I did it my way attitude. We “end up with a mess and wonder “how did I get here”. We let the enemy convince us that we can make this choice (whatever your choice is). And make it we do, and mess up we do. Because there is no other way especially for a child of God, than the way of Jesus. Did He not say I am the way, the truth and the light?

the Lord are believers who remained faithful to God. The context is strength. The strength of an eagle’s wings (to soar above), the strength to run and not get weary (not :red), the strength to walk not get faint (endure). It is all about strength and movement.

A rope is made up of many strands and so is our relationship with God. The more “strands” that we weave into our relationship with God, the more strength He gives to us. Let’s look at some more strands that make up this rope.

• Keep your focus on God. Hebrews 12:3 • Study the Bible daily. Psalm 119:11, 2Timothy 2:15” • Pray daily. 1 Thessalonians 5:17”

• A8end church regularly. Hebrews 10:25” • Learn from Christian friends. Proverbs 13:20” • Tell others about your faith in Jesus Christ. Mark 16:15” So let’s think about wait with the symbolic defi nition and interpretation in mind.

-‐Marlene R. Smith

They that have all aspects of their lives intertwined and bound together with the Lord, like threads are twisted into a rope, shall exchange their meager strength for the strength of the rope, they shall rise up to meet challenges as if they had powerful wings like an eagle, they shall run through life and not be weary, they shall walk through problems and not faint.

-Marlene Smith

An interesting aspect of Isaiah 40:31 is those who hope (expect) in

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After high school, she attended Michigan State University, where she received a Bachelors and Masters degree and became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Sonya also attended Oakland University where she obtained an E.S (educational specialist degree in leadership).

Sonya currently works as an elementary school principal in Grand Blanc while pursuing her PHD. Although the dynamics of teaching strategies and student learning styles are often times highly debated and can vary from student to student, throughout her years of service as an educator and administrator, she has been successful in helping students reach their full potential by putting into practice the following four principles: Personalization - Sonya believes we must know our students as learners and respect who they are and where they come from; their experiences matter.

Plan for Every Student - Sonya believes we must evaluate each student’s readiness for learning and involve the teachers, parents, and students in plans to help them succeed.

Set Outrageous Expectations - Sonya believes we must encourage our students to think big, believe big, and big things will happen. We must stretch their minds to help them see what’s possible.

Reward Based Learning - Sonya believes we must offer relevant methods of reward while our students are developing and growing. This serves to increase engagement and success.

Throughout Mason Elementary, the building she is responsible for, she strives to incorporate these principles in her day to day activities with the teachers and the students.

Not only is Sonya an awesome educator, she is also a wife and a mother; two roles she takes very seriously. While attending college she met her sweetheart, her lover, her friend and husband Christopher James, Sr. In August of 2014, these April 2014

love birds will celebrate 23 years of marriage. Her plans after college were to work in Flint for two years and then go back to Detroit to make an impact in her hometown. It just so happened that this Detroit girl married a Flintstone and Sonya and Chris spent many years working for the Flint Community Schools. They have two and a half children; Christopher James Jr., who attends the University of Michigan, Taylor who attends the University of Toledo, and their dog Chanel.

Sonya has many accomplishments on her resume and is currently nominated to be the Educator of the Year by the Grand Blanc Chamber of Commerce but none of these things mean as much to her as being a wife and a mother.

Proverbs 31 says, the heart of her husband does safely trust in her and her children arise up and call her blessed. It is this love that has made it challenging for her to have both of her babies away in college. It’s like Christmas to her heart no matter what the season or occasion when her babies come home. Sonya says, “It makes no difference how old they are, they will allows be my babies.” She prepares a feast of all their favorite things and cherishes each moment she gets to spend with them before they go back to school.

Her favorite family event is when the four of them go on vacation together.

Sonya is a charter member of Word of Life Christian Church and was instrumental in locating the building in which our first five years of worship services were held. She sings in the choir, is the lead person of the finance ministry and the board of trustees. She is also on the Betty WilkinsonGalloway Scholarship Committee. Withholding Nothing is her favorite song as she serves faithfully in any capacity that Pastor Wilkinson needs her.

The plethora of meaningful life experiences, trials, and challenges have taught her that she could never repay God for all He has done for her and her family. However, that won’t stop her from trying and serving Him with a sincere heart and definitive desire to live a life of virtue and honor for Him.

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Christian Education April 2014

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Sunday sermons Wait for It! Wait Training Holding Patterns It’s worth the wait

Scriptures for April Psalms 27:14 Psalms 37:7-9 Acts 1:4 Luke 24:5-7 Psalms 130:5,6

Morning Manna Theme

Rise Up! Flatline living is inconsistent with a resurrected life in Christ!

Call-in Number (805) 399-1000 Access Code: 293922# Romans 6:5-11 Philippians 3:10 John 11:24-25 Acts 4:33

The Word

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.”

Habakkuk 2:1

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Our Corporate Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we come lifting your name and giving all praises and honor to you. We come stationed before you Lord, we are staying put, not moving, being still so that we may obtain a word from you. Father sometimes we’re distracted and get in a hurry wanting things to happen on our terms and at our own pace. Sometimes we can’t slow down long enough to tune into you. But Father right now we come with our whole hearts, minds, bodies, and souls totally focused and committed to doing your will. Please help us to be obedient, help us to wait quietly, to wait patiently, to wait expectantly; expecting to hear from you.

We know that waiting is a factor of faith and we diligently seek your will. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen!

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1.

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Because God Is a God of Grace

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Waiting builds patience and maturity in our lives

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Waiting builds and transforms our character

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Waiting builds anticipation

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So We Can Minister to Others

Waiting is one of God’s most powerful tools of grace. It’s important to realize in your ministry that God doesn’t just give us grace for the wait. The wait itself is a gift of grace. You see, waiting is not only about what you will receive at the end of the wait. Waiting is about what you will become as you wait.

Waiting builds trust and our dependence upon God

Trust in someone and complete reliance on that person is not an overnight thing. It takes a while to build up. It is in our most difficult times and our waiting that we experience God’s best, His goodness and His faithfulness towards us. We see God sticking closer than a brother or sister – when our back is up against the wall, when the battle and storms of life are raging, when the valley is dark and lonely, the process is somehow easier and in the end we are able to enjoy the promise of God.

In James 1:4 says, “but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Patience is the virtue that we all need in our lives to help us to wait and perfect in the small things in life before having the patience to wait on God for the bigger things. If we are faithful and patient in the little things, God’s promise to us is that He will make us ruler over great and mighty things.

Moses became a great leader in his time and God worked through him to bring about many miracles for the children of Israel. Of course he had to go through a long period of processing in the desert for 40 years before God came to him. So waiting has a way of humbling us and to carve off the rough edges of our lives so that the true Christlike character is revealed in us.

We often think that anticipating is frustrating, but the truth is that as we anticipate and wait to reach a goal, the more we will appreciate the achievement when we reach it. On the other hand, if we reach it too quickly, we’re in danger of being spoiled.

For the Increase of God’s Glory

Finally, we are called to wait because everything in life and ministry exists not for our comfort and ease but for God’s glory. The whole redemptive story is written for one purpose and one purpose alone: the glory of the king. Waiting means surrendering your glory. Waiting means submitting to his glory. Waiting means understanding that you were given life and breath for the glory of another. Waiting gives you opportunity to forsake the delusion of your own glory and rest in the God of awesome glory. Only when you do that will you find what you seek, and what you were meant to have: lasting identity, meaning, purpose, and peace in Christ. In this way waiting is much more than a burden for you to bear; it is a precious gift for you to receive with joy.

Waiting is central to any ministry activity. If you are truly committed to being part of what God is doing in the lives of others, you will be willing to wait. Personal heart and life change is seldom a sudden event. Usually it is a process. You and I do not determine when and how the winds of the Spirit will blow, and people do not often become what they need to become overnight. This means that in ministry we are called to have the same conversation again and again. We are called to pick that person up after each failure, to be willing to forgive and forbear, to remind him or her once more of God’s presence and grace, and to be willing to have our lives slowed down and complicated in the process. People of grace and love are always people who are willing to wait.

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Waiting on The Lord -Loretta Kenebrew-Cox

“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall” Isaiah 40:30-31 (KJV) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31 There is much in the Book of Isaiah that is prophetic in nature. God used Isaiah to speak much concerning the coming of Jesus, which was yet seven centuries in the future. Much of Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament showing how these words were fulfi lled in Christ. Jesus read from Isaiah in His hometown synagogue and announced the ancient words were being fulfi lled during His ministry. The Ethiopian treasurer was reading from Isaiah when Philip began from the Scripture and preached Jesus unto Him. But note the concept of waiting for the Lord in Isaiah 40:31. This is descriptive of what ought to be the focus and mindset of every Christian.

Patiently Waiting with Endurance The New Testament often urges Christians to be patient or longsuff ering. The idea is to have enduring faith even during diffi cult times.

A good example of this would be the coming persecution of Christians.

Jesus warned His disciples about. There would be great loss, and most of His disciples would live to see it all transpire. Jesus encouraged them to endure and promised, “By your endurance you will gain your lives. (Luke 21:19). It is not likely that the life that they would gain was necessarily their physical life here, but rather life everlasting.

We are also told that we need to endure if we are to receive the promises of God; “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

(Hebrews 10:36-39). We are also told that it is with endurance that we are to run our race (Hebrews 12:1-2). We are reminded of the patience of Job and the rewards that followed (James 5:7-11). We must live patiently by faith until He comes again. His coming is an ever present possibility!

The patience of a Christian, however, is diff erent from the patience of others: it is not as the world gives, but as the Lord gives.

First, it is not “waiting something out,” but “waiting for the Lord.” We live with a wonderful anticipation of seeing Him and being exalted by Him and sharing His glory (1 John 3:1-3). Neither is the motive of our waiting bound to some standard of earthly success. Its purpose is not earthly success, but to cause us to be faithful and pleasing to God rather than returning to our idols.

Patience is “waiting for the Lord.” By trusting the Lord, putting the future in his hands, expecting and anticipating God’s tomorrow and remaining faithful, we continue in our commitment to Christ. And, we grow stronger.

Opportunities to wait for the Lord When we are denied that which we want or think we need, it is time to “wait for the Lord”.

It is easy to become frustrated when things “don’t go our way.” People sometimes allow themselves to become cynical about life and its prospects, but not people with living faith. To turn from the Lord during such times is a mistake. To turn to Him is far better.

We recall how Israel’s hardships were multiplied when they complained in the wilderness and rebelled (Deuteronomy 8:2-5). They will ever serve as examples of what not to do when the day does not go quite right (1 Corinthians 10:1-12).

When we are affl icted and do not understand why, it is time to “wait for the Lord”. It is a fact of life. We may have to go through affl iction and we may be perplexed as to why. Job is used as an example of one who did (James 5:11). He puzzled over extreme hardships that came his way. He simply could not come up with anything that even resembled a good reason as to why the things he had faced had occurred.

The Psalmist once wrote of almost falling away as he contemplated that the wicked seemed to be doing so well while he was affl icted (Psalm 73:1-3). He had wondered if his faith had been in vain (vss.

12-14). But he remembered the end result of the wicked and resolved therefore to be faithful (16-18; 25-28).

When we are doing well, it is time to “wait for the Lord”.

There is the patience needed in the evil day, but there is also that which was needed by Elijah on the mountain. “He said, ‘I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’” (1 Kings 19:10). He had worked hard but had not seen the results he had desired from his good work. We need to persevere in doing good during such times. “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10).

The rewards of “waiting for the Lord” are many, both now and especially in the world to come. “For the one who sows to his own fl esh will from the fl esh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8).

Are you waiting for the Lord? There is both strength and peace in this approach to life. That is good for now. But in the end, when the kingdom is delivered up to the Father, that is when our reaping will reach wonderful heights far beyond present expectations. Hardly a day will go by when you will not be called upon in some way to wait for the Lord. But in the fi nal scheme of things, it will have been worth the wait.

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