Guest Speaker Mary Jean Powers takes us back to a time of intense anticipation, to the epoch preceding Jesus' arrival when Israel's hope for the Messiah flickered in the darkness of political strife and occupation. We weave through history, uncovering the Israelites' steadfast observance of God's law and their fervent musings over John the Baptist's role in God's master plan. Ponder with us the extraordinary timing of the Roman occupation and how it set the stage for the incarnation of Christ, as Paul describes in Galatians, "when the time had fully come." It's a narrative that not only recounts the chronicles of yesteryears but also invigorates our current walk of faith, reminding us that divine timing is impeccable and always worth the wait.
This sermon was recorded at a Sunday morning gathering at Church of the Lookout in Longmont, Colorado.
Speaker — Mary Jean Powers
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Guest Speaker Mary Jean Powers takes us back to a time of intense anticipation, to the epoch preceding Jesus' arrival when Israel's hope for the Messiah flickered in the darkness of political strife and occupation. We weave through history, uncovering the Israelites' steadfast observance of God's law and their fervent musings over John the Baptist's role in God's master plan. Ponder with us the extraordinary timing of the Roman occupation and how it set the stage for the incarnation of Christ, as Paul describes in Galatians, "when the time had fully come." It's a narrative that not only recounts the chronicles of yesteryears but also invigorates our current walk of faith, reminding us that divine timing is impeccable and always worth the wait.
This sermon was recorded at a Sunday morning gathering at Church of the Lookout in Longmont, Colorado.
Speaker — Mary Jean Powers
Visit Our Website — https://thelookout.church
Take Your Next Step--- https://thelookout.church/connect
Connect with Us --- https://thelookout.church/new
Give to Support the Ministry --- https://thelookout.church/give
Visit our website
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Welcome to the Lookout Weekly Podcast. Church of the Lookout is in Boulder, Colorado, and our vision is Jesus abiding in His presence, growing in His family and living on His mission to transform the world with awe-inspiring love. Visit us online at thelookoutchurch.
Speaker 2:Good morning. I like you people, you've got nice faces. Just stare for a second. The lighting is kind of weird, but if you show me your teeth it'll reflect off of anybody's teeth Nobody, a couple of you there. There, a couple of things before we get started this morning.
Speaker 2:I have an announcement to make too. So I think there's a slide for this April 6th what's that? Two weeks from yesterday, I think. Did I get that right? Yeah, we're doing another quarterly weekend in the Word and that's where we get to hang out with Jesus in His Word for about three hours together. And the topic we're doing this time is called based on a thing called simply the story, and I've got to tell you a little bit of background with this because it's it's really cool what God did.
Speaker 2:So I don't know if you know, a great percentage of pastors in Africa are actually illiterate. They don't know how to read at all. So that's kind of tricky for to be a Bible teacher for your congregation, right, and not know how to read. So there was a. The most what's a good word? The most tried and true Bible study method is called the inductive method, where you look at it very, look at the word, very, very objectively with the Holy Spirit and discern, basically by looking at the facts and the figures, who wrote the book, when did they write it, what was going on in the world at that time, things like that.
Speaker 2:So a woman in Southern Cal created a Bible study method called the oral Bible inductive method and it's specifically for illiterate people to study the Bible and it's through the process of storytelling because usually cultures that tend to be less literate are story-based cultures. So they, they all of their history, everything is passed on through story and they're great listeners, really good thinkers, so good question askers. So she created this method and they get this. They right away opened five seminaries, three-year seminaries, to reach these pastors. So they come for I think it's once a month for three years and listen, if we had an opportunity like this man, it'd be so cool. They go through literally every single story and narrative in the Bible in those three years. Everyone through the telling of the story, the asking of questions, the retelling of the story and then learning how to tell the story. And it is amazing. I've taught this method all over the world, quite literally. I've taught it many, many times, and this is the most engaging, the most thought-provoking and inspiring because Holy Spirit comes when we ask Him to.
Speaker 2:You know, holy Spirit comes and he starts to open our eyes, to see God's heart that motivated this to be in His Word. We start to see the backstory of this thing and see, you know, luke, chapter 6, verses 43 to 45, there's a really cool little story. It's a little three-verse story and it's talking about trees Good trees bear good fruit, bad trees bear bad fruit, right, because of the root system. And then the last verse, 45, in Luke chapter 6, ends with out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. And I submit to you this morning that this, oh there it goes. This is the overflow of God's heart speaking to us.
Speaker 2:We don't read about him, we come here and listen to him, and this thing called prayer is we talk to him about what he just said. Is that, are you okay? So, so, as these pastors learn 75, did you know that 75% of the Bible is either story or narrative, and about 15% is poetry and 10% is exposition or theology? 75% because God knows that everybody loves a good story, right? And so we have these Bible schools that are happening, these seminaries for pastors that are happening, that by the time they finish, in three years, they can remember, tell and draw out with you, lead you through, facilitate for you the process of learning why God wanted that in the Bible to begin with, and all without being able to read. Pretty amazing, huh. So anyway, that, compiled with another method called word by heart, is what we're going to do on Saturday morning, april 6th, from 9 to 12, here together, and I'm gonna facilitate the workshop for us and we're gonna just focus on one story. But, man, I just about bet money on it. You're gonna like it, you're really gonna like it. So please come, I think we'll have a good time. Got it Okay? I did my announcement, ta-da. So now we're gonna talk today about waiting. How many of you? That's just your favorite thing you love. You love waiting in light, the red lights, the trains, especially if you're from Longland, don't you love those trains? You love to just sit there and miss your next appointment. Waiting in doctors' offices, waiting to hear news from a doctor yeah, waiting, waiting, waiting for somebody to show up and they don't. Waiting your favorite thing. Let's see those hands fly into the air.
Speaker 2:Have you noticed walking with Jesus. Have you noticed that he always has us in one kind of waiting room or another all the time? I've got a hunch that the reason for that is because there's something of his presence to be found, to be discovered, to be engaged when we're waiting. That can't happen any other way. There's something really forgive me for using this word, but very special to his heart when we are in a waiting room, because he gets to be with us in a way that develops trust. It just blesses him and it gets us close. It just draws us close when we're waiting. And so I don't know sanctified manipulation, you could call it that. God somehow or other keeps us in a waiting room all the time, saying, yeah, you just need to sit on this one. And the bottom line question is do you trust me?
Speaker 2:And so this morning we're gonna talk about waiting. All right, we're all stuck there, you are waiting on something right now. So it's gonna be relevant to all of us. It certainly is to me. We are waiting for his timing and he's never late. Feels like it. Anybody agree with that. One Feels like it sometimes, but he's not late. We are waiting for his timing, but we're also waiting on him and when we wait on him we express our trust. So there's waiting for him, there's waiting on him and we're gonna see in Scripture this morning where waiting on him is an act of hospitality on our part, and it's gonna hopefully shift our thinking a little bit here. So let's get into this. We're gonna also track through the Easter story here.
Speaker 2:So Israel had been waiting, as Piper alluded to earlier, had been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years, during the time between the Testaments. There was about 400 years between the Testaments and during that time Israel's hopes had been raised like crazy, their spiritual hopes for the Messiah, because they had almost a hundred years of independence and, other than that, they had always been occupied by somebody. So they had this independence and they thought, oh, because we're independent, this could be the time that Messiah is gonna be coming. They had waited for hundreds of years. This could be the time, and they were on the edge of their chairs for this. Their spiritual awareness had been heightened. They were on the edge of their seats with expectancy.
Speaker 2:Henry Nowan once said of biblical waiting. There's a quote if we wait in the conviction that a seed has been planted and that something has already begun and that's the way Israel felt. It changes the way we wait. Active waiting implies being fully present to the moment, with a conviction that something is happening where we are and that we want to be present to it. A waiting person is someone who is present to the moment, believing that this moment is the moment. That's biblical waiting, and that's exactly how Israel felt during this time. This could be the moment, this could be it. Israel had been waiting actively. They had been keeping the law of God. They were expecting it, they were looking for the Messiah, even asked John the Baptist when he showed up the first prophet in 400 years, are you the one who is to come? They wanted to know, they wanted to engage with that. But Rome had invaded little Israel and they didn't stand a chance. By the time Jesus finally came, rome had been occupying Israel for about 65 years and Israel was sick of it. They wanted it over. There was no freedom in sight. They just waited.
Speaker 2:Do you remember what Paul said in Galatians? The wording? It couldn't be more perfect. It's chapter four, verses four and five, but gotta love that word. But when the time had fully come, god sent a son, born of a woman born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that we, you and I, might receive full rights of sonship. Seriously, it doesn't get a whole lot better than that right. But what's the key? When the time had fully come. When the time had fully come, there's timing is everything, isn't it? In so many scenarios in our lives, timing is everything, but God's timing it's gotta be right. So, with Israel, when everything was in its place before Jesus could come and establish a new covenant with the people he had created, the timing had to be right. But his kingdom is an internal kingdom. He came to be king of our hearts. He came to be king of our bodies. You ever thought about that? Making Jesus king of your body? He came to be king of our souls and our spirits, of our intellect. He came to be king of our emotions and king of our decision making. An internal kingdom is the one he came to establish and they were waiting for a militaristic king to come set him free from Rome. Waiting for the wrong thing. You ever felt like you were waiting for the wrong thing, Maybe after the fact, maybe. Remember, during the sermon on the mount, when Jesus raised the bar for righteousness. Remember that Tricky Jesus. He was always messing with us. It's like what Bill Johnson says In one name for God that we don't talk about very often is Jehovah's sneaky. He pulls one over on us every time, and now he's raising the bar for righteousness. In essence, he was saying you guys, you can't be righteous by just following the rules, by just changing your behavior. You've heard the rules, you know the rules and you've broken the rules already. He wants your heart, not just behavior. Have you ever noticed with your kids some of your parents that if you have your kids' behavior but you don't have their heart, you haven't won a whole lot of points. But if you have their heart, you're going to get their behavior. Yeah, same with God. Same. He wants our hearts. Israel was focusing on behavior, and they had been for 400 years Get it right, that word of righteousness Right. Their focus was get it right, and Jesus was saying, yeah, but I came for righteousness. One is relational heart, the other's behavior external. So righteousness comes by faith in the one who wants your heart, not just your behavior. Israel, however, was looking for a Messiah to be a militaristic king, one who would deliver them from Roman occupation, and that's the kind of king they were waiting for, they were ready, they were watching, they were anticipating, but they did not have eyes to see or anticipation for a king of peace, a king of the heart. Do you remember in John, chapter one, john said verses 10 and 11, he said Jesus, he was in the world and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to his own and his own did not receive him Key word receive. We're going to look at that in just a second. So remember that one. He came and they said, yeah, we don't know you. And they had been looking for 400 years, they didn't recognize him. I wonder if that happens with us sometimes. You think he comes, we don't recognize him. Simeon, on the other hand, was waiting for, watching for the right thing. Remember Simeon? Do you know the story? Simeon? You guys remember him? Yeah. Luke, chapter two listen to these verses I think they're up here on the screen Now. There was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous Key word and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah Reached by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, simeon took him in his arms and praised God. The Greek word here for waiting waiting for the consolation of Israel the Greek word in this passage means he was waiting to receive the consolation. You know what consolation? It means comfort. He was waiting to receive the comfort for Israel. Waiting to receive, not just observe, receive. There's a second definition for this word. He was waiting to give admittance to, kind of like a doorkeeper. Simeon was like a doorkeeper. He was opening the door to admit, admit, admit the king of Israel, who was to be the comforter, and don't. We need comfort when we're waiting. This is really keyed wording here. When we're waiting, we need comfort. The third definition for this phrase waiting for the consolation of Israel was he was waiting, Simeon was to be hospitable to the comforter, the consolation of Israel, to be hospitable to. This weekend, this week, I have had a house guest, a missionary from Mexico. I have a lot of house guests, pastors and missionaries that come to my house for debriefing and stuff, and this woman from Mexico came. You know you'll be happy to hear. I changed the sheets for her and her bedroom. I was hospitable. Yeah, there's a little basket with her favorite snacks in there. I did nice stuff. She's an artist. I had some art stuff in there. It was ready. It was a place prepared. Have you, in the waiting process, prepared him room? Are you preparing, with hospitality, for the coming of the thing you're waiting for, for the coming of him, because it's relational, it's internal. It's him we're really waiting for, right, not the thing or the other person. It's him for Emmanuel, the one who would be with us there. Jesus told his disciples wait for the comfort or the Holy Spirit, the one who would not just be with us, like Jesus had been with us, but be in us and he's not going anywhere God's personal presence within us through the comforting Holy Spirit. Question for you today are you waiting to be hospitable to God's personal presence within you? Have you prepared him room? You change the sheets, you put flowers out, a welcome card. You prepared him room. Are you aware that he is waiting for you to host him his presence, consciously aware that the kingdom of God is within you? Wow, so let's go back to the story of Jesus. In God Jesus' ministry, there was confusion about his identity right. Was he the promised Messiah? Was he a prophet sent from God? Was he John the Baptist, raised from the dead after they beheaded him? Some of their confusion, though, was due to false expectations. They were looking for, waiting for the wrong thing. They were waiting for someone who had bring deliverance from Rome. He came to deliver them from shame and unforgiveness and jealousy and fear. To deliver them, free them from things they were enslaved to. Matters of the heart, all matters of the heart. They were looking for the wrong thing. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for Jesus to do something already? Are you waiting for him for his behavior or for him to reveal his heart that will enable you to trust him? Through the waiting process, you know, little by little, the disciples' eyes were being open to the truth that Jesus was indeed their Messiah. It did not come quickly. They were still hoping that he would overthrow Rome. Who wouldn't right? Everybody wanted that, but their hearts burned within them because Jesus was waiting for them. Jesus was waiting for them to give him their hearts. It seemed like everybody was waiting on Jesus for something. His enemies were waiting for him to commit some violation of the law so that they could accuse him openly. They were waiting to find just the right time to throw him off a cliff or to kill him. But remember what Scripture said a few times. It said his time had not yet come right. The disciples, on the other hand, they kept waiting for Jesus to reveal his power, like come on, get on with it already, show them who you really are. But the crowds, they didn't care about timing. It was like we want to make you king and we want that now because you're feeding us. It wasn't a waiting game for them. They wanted him to reveal now, on the Sunday we call Palm Sunday, the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The crowd shouted Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna literally means save now. Not just save, not just salvation. Save now. It was now. Listen to this, because we're going to practice here in a second and you're going to play with me because you're nice. So this was more than a cry of acclamation. It was a plea from an oppressed people to their savior for deliverance. It was far more than acclamation like, yay, jesus, it was way more than that. Okay, so you're ready to play with me. You're going to do this right. You're not going to make me do this by myself and we'll embrace awkward together. Can we do that? Yeah, okay, all 10 of you. Okay, that's what we're going to do. We're going to read this, hosanna. Well, where'd it go? Come back, hosanna, to the son of David. Blessed is he who has come in the name of the Lord Hosanna, in the highest. I want you to read it. We're all going to do it collectively at the same time. Read it in an acclamation way.
Speaker 2:In a yeah. If you want to get out your palm wrench thing and do that, that's fine. But read it in a just acclamation way. That tone of voice, that volume put yourself in the story. You ready to do that. If you need to stand up, you just feel free. Here we go. One, two, three.
Speaker 3:Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Hosanna in the highest. Now, change that and make it a plea. Make it a plea from an oppressed people to their savior for deliverance. That tone of voice, that volume, that inflection, change it up. Got it. Here we go One, two, three.
Speaker 3:Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Hosanna in the highest. You see the change. You see the change. It was dramatic, wasn't it? Especially from Michael. That's because he's just being very oppressed this morning that he's here and not somewhere else. I'm kidding Michael, that was an inside joke. There's a difference. This was not just acclamation there was some of that but primarily this was a plea from oppressed people. We want to be saved now, and it was intense.
Speaker 2:On that Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem. On what? What was he writing? A donkey.
Speaker 2:In those days, there were two ways that a king would come into a city. Two ways, one of two. There weren't options. One of two ways a king would come into a city On a horse, in anger and war, with the intent of taking the city, or on a donkey, coming in peace and with humility. Jesus came on a donkey. They were waiting for the wrong thing. He came into his own and his own didn't receive. They didn't even recognize him.
Speaker 2:Then, when the time had reached its fulfillment, they crucified Jesus and all the hopes and the dreams, all the disciples' joy and anticipation was shattered. The waiting was over, but their hope was gone. Now, on our side of the empty tomb, we view the Friday, we call good, with great expectancy and anticipation of the resurrection. But the disciples had no such view. It was not a good day for them. They were devastated. All of heaven wept at the suffering of the Alpha and the Omega. All of heaven waited as Jesus descended into hell. Heaven waited to see Jesus defeat death and hell. Heaven waited for the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit to shoot through that dead body of Jesus and breathe the life of God into him once again.
Speaker 2:In Luke, chapter 24, jesus had told his disciples that he would have to suffer and die and after that they must wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. But that was incomprehensible to them at that time. They waited, they waited, but they didn't get it. They didn't see it. On this side of the resurrection we see it clearly. For the disciples, friday to Sunday felt like eternity. It went by so slowly. It must have hopelessly, restlessly. What do we do now? Their whole future was unknown to them. They were not anticipating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I mean, they were together, right, they were grieving, deep grief together, but definitely not waiting on Jesus to walk through the door. But he did. The final words of Jesus on the cross had been it is finished. And that's exactly how the disciples felt it's finished, it's over.
Speaker 2:But I want us to look at that phrase it is finished in ancient Greek, because there were three ways that this word was used. The specific phrase it is finished. There were three ways it was used in this time frame. You're really going to like this. The first way was in a court of law, when the judge slams the gavel and he says not guilty, it's finished, good news. The second way this phrase it is finished was used was after a battle, a conqueror's cry we triumphed, we won, it's over, it's finished. The third way the same phrase, same exact phrase was used during this time was at the bank. It's the stamp your debt is paid in full. That was the cry it is finished. That was the cry You're not guilty, you've triumphed, it's over and your debt has been paid in full. Now that's worth waiting for.
Speaker 2:So we've been talking about all kinds of waiting. Priscilla Scheyer says now, listen carefully to this. I'm going to have you repeat it with me after I read it once. The value we place on an object or person dictates the amount of time we are willing to wait on them. Let's read it together. The value we place on an object or person dictates the amount of time we are willing to wait on them. So what's the value we place on Jesus' words, on Jesus' life, resurrection, life that will dictate how much we're willing to wait for him and his timing and on him being hospitable to him, no matter what, no matter for how long. Being hospitable, actual waiting is very active. It's edge of your seat kind of expectancy. There's a definition, a biblical definition, for hope.
Speaker 2:I think we in our culture tend to think of hope as wishful thinking. You know, I hope somebody buys me a new car for Christmas, something like that. But this is biblical hope. This is God's definition of hope. Look at this joyful and confident expectancy in the goodness of God. That's what active waiting looks like hope, joyful and confident expectancy in the goodness of God. So you know, a lot of times we have this kind of attitude yeah, I expect God to do something. I do no, really my theology sound. I expect that he's good, he sees me most days, he likes me. I think, yeah, I expect God to do something. It's cool. That is not biblical hope. That's nowhere near biblical hope.
Speaker 2:Biblical hope is edge of your seat, christmas morning coming down the stairs, expectancy what's he gonna do? Where is he? He's good. I know he likes me, I know he's for me, I know he's not against me, I know he's in me. And the kingdom is coming, man, the kingdom is coming, I know it, I know it, I know it, I know it. That's biblical hope, that's active waiting, but Jehovah's sneaky.
Speaker 2:Remember, when it comes to waiting, more often than not, the things we want God to do quickly, he does slowly, and the things we want God to do slowly, he goes. Let's just run with this. I'm not ready. And so we get down to the question that we started with Do you trust him? I'm going to read a series of questions. They're going to come up here later, but right now I'm just going to read the questions and then I'm going to read a thing, a reading called Do you Trust Him, and I want you to listen to it through the filter of these questions, through the filter of these questions. So here are the questions you're going to keep in mind while I do this reading.
Speaker 2:Okay, here they are. What are you waiting for Jesus to do? What are you waiting for Him to show you? Are you waiting actively, like Simeon to receive, to admit, to be hospitable, to. Do you expect that God will be good on your behalf? Are you just hoping for your circumstances to change, or are you hoping in Him, in His character, in His unfailing love? Remember those two times in the Bible. One of them says those who hope in Him will never be disappointed, those who hope in Him will never be put to shame. Do you want answers more than you want Him? How can you wait on Him with love and honor and joy as you wait for Him to reveal Himself? So those are the questions I want you to keep in mind, or at least the idea of them, while I read this to you.
Speaker 2:He is unparalleled and unprecedented. He is the centerpiece of civilization. He is the superlative of all excellence. He is the sum of human greatness and the source of divine grace. His name is the only one able to save and His blood is the only power able to cleanse. His ear is open to the sinner's call. His hand is quick to lift the fallen soul. He is the eternal lover of us all, every one of us, and you can trust Him. He supplies mercy for the struggling soul. He sustains the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes with the wounded and the broken and he strengthens the weak and the weary. He guards and he guides the wanderer. He heals the sick and cleanses the leper. He delivers the captive and defends the helpless and he binds up the broken heart. And he is for you and you can trust Him.
Speaker 2:Jesus is the key to all knowledge. He is the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance and the pathway of peace. He is the roadway of righteousness and the highway of holiness. He is the gateway to glory and, yes, you can trust Him.
Speaker 2:Jesus is enough. He is the all-sufficient King, the King of the Jews, the King of Israel, the King of righteousness, the King of the ages. He's the King of heaven, the King of glory, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And again, you can trust Him and rejoice in this, my friend. He is a sovereign King. There is no gauge to measure His limitless love. There is no barrier to block His blessings outpoured. He is enduringly strong and entirely supreme. He is eternally steadfast and immortally faithful. He is imperially powerful and impartially merciful.
Speaker 2:He is Jesus, god's Son and you can trust Him. I wish I could more accurately describe Him to you, but he's indescribable, he's incomprehensible, he's invincible and he is irresistible. You can't outlive Him, you can't live without Him. The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found they couldn't stop Him. Parrot couldn't, pilate couldn't fault Him, herod couldn't kill Him, death couldn't conquer Him and the grave couldn't hold Him. He is the Alpha, he's the Omega, he's the first, he's the last, he is the God of the future and the God of the past, and we rise to speak His name again and again.
Speaker 2:He is Jesus, he is Jesus, he is for us and we can trust Him. So are you willing to wait Actively, with anticipation and joy, as you host His presence, his love, his kindness, keeping His nature and His character in mind, keeping it in your heart? So now we're going to give you some time to process through these questions by yourself a little more slowly. Piper's going to facilitate this for you. And first question is what are you waiting for Jesus to do? What are you waiting for Him to show you?
Speaker 4:Yeah, you can go ahead and start that. You know, one of the things that we, that this generation, we have all these gifts and this blessing of technology and all of the things that come with that that are good. There are good things with that, yes, but there is also a robbery that happens. We lose the ability and the fortitude, internal fortitude, to be a people who know how to wait. Now, when we're sitting in line, we pull our phone out and play some silly game. Right, it may not be taking all of the attention of my heart, but it keeps me from having to be totally still and losing that skill set as a generation.
Speaker 4:So this, what we're going to move into right now, is so important. It's a practice, it's a discipline that is so important, and it's literally just waiting on the Lord. It's holding these questions before Him and saying Jesus, what am I waiting for you to do? Because the truth is, I've been so distracted lately I don't even know what I'm waiting for anymore. The truth is, I've been so busy trying to accomplish everything that everybody else is waiting on me to do that I've forgotten that there are things I'm still waiting on before you or that maybe I should be waiting for. So this morning we're going to take some time and we're just going to quiet ourselves before the Lord, and we're going to not only ask ourselves these questions, but we're going to ask Holy Spirit, reveal my heart to me. You know my heart better than I know my own.
Speaker 4:So, as we wait, pull out a piece of paper, pull out a journal if you don't already have it out and take some time and sit with the Lord and ask Him Lord, what am I waiting for you to do? And if it's, you already know what. It is great. Sit with Him and talk to Him about it. If you don't allow Him to reveal your heart, to reintroduce you to yourself, sometimes that is the greatest gift in a moment of waiting is God will go. Hey, remember who you are.
Speaker 4:Okay, so let's sit with the Lord. We're just going to give a few minutes and we'll go through the. We'll go through each question slowly and I'll come up and introduce the next question, but just sit with Him and ask this question of yourself and of Holy Spirit what are you waiting for Jesus to do? We're going to move on to the next question, but with every question that we have, feel free to stay present with the previous question, if you still need time there. The second question what are you waiting for him to show you? The next question are you waiting actively, like Simeon waited?
Speaker 3:The next question. Are you waiting for him to show you the next question are you waiting for him to show you?
Speaker 4:The next two questions I'm going to give you together, but take time with each one of them. The first one is do you expect that he will be good on your behalf? Do you expect that he will be good on your behalf? And the one after that. I'll give you a little bit more time for these two. Are you just hoping for your circumstances to change, or in him, in his character and his unfeeling love?
Speaker 3:The next question. Are you waiting for him to show you the next question? Are you waiting for him to show you the next question? Are you waiting for him to show you?
Speaker 4:The next question do you want answers more than you want him? The next question are you waiting for him to show you? The next question are you waiting for him to show you? And the final question how can you wait on him with love and honor and joy as you wait for him to reveal himself? How can you wait on him with love and honor and joy as you wait for him to reveal himself? How can you wait on him with love and honor and joy as you wait for him to reveal himself?
Speaker 4:With this question, he may be giving you ideas of things that you can, rhythms that you can create in your life that would give you opportunities to wait on him more intentionally. Maybe make a note of those. Ask him how he might invite you into waiting on him more intentionally. Give me just a couple more seconds to wrap up. All right, how was that Good? It's good to slow down, right? It's great to just sit for a minute and be reminded that we actually have things going on underneath that may not always surface because we don't make time for it, so it's good. Ask the Lord how to create rhythms where you can wait on him like that more often. It's such a sweet space when you find rhythms of waiting on the Lord, and this Friday noon to Saturday noon we will collectively, as one community, as a family, will be waiting on the Lord together. So find a time that you can come to the 24 hour prayer. It's a great way to celebrate Good Friday. From six o'clock to eight o'clock we're actually going to focus on the cross and communion and Jesus and who he is and all that he accomplished for us. We're going to celebrate Good Friday during that six o'clock to eight o'clock shift prayer shift. But we'll be praying into lots of different things, lots of different focuses throughout the whole 24 hours. So make sure you come. You can sign up let's throw that slide up there for him too. You can actually sign up to say, hey, I'm going to be present and I'll be there at this shift. That just gives us an idea of who's going to be around and who participated and they'll just give us a chance to know what's coming. Okay, so go ahead and go to that the church of the lookout slash events. Or you can text 24 prayer to the number on the screen and then that'll give you the sign up sheet and pick a sheet or pick a shift.
Speaker 4:I really encourage you guys, as one of your pastors in this community, find a time to be here, if you can. These times of waiting on the Lord by ourselves are sweet and beautiful and necessary, and the times of waiting on the Lord together, as a family, are also sweet and beautiful and necessary, and they serve two very different things. So let's come together. Let's do this together. Okay, yes, piper, I'm doing it. I'm signing up right now. Right, yeah, all of you busted your phones out. I saw it Just kidding. No, it's okay, awesome. Well, we love you guys. I'm going to invite the ministry teams forward, lay hands on you and pray for you. Look forward to seeing you guys this weekend at the 24 hour prayer and also Easter Sunday next Sunday. Woo, everybody's going to come with hats and dresses and suits. Yeah, no, we live in Boulder. Let's be honest. All right. Love you guys, have a really awesome week and we'll see you this weekend. And thank you, mary Jean Powers. What a good word.