Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the importance of waiting on God, urging the congregation to cultivate a posture of stillness and silence in His presence. He highlights that true waiting is not about presenting our agendas to God but about allowing Him to speak and reveal Himself to us. Through various scriptures, he illustrates that waiting is an expression of love for God and a necessary discipline for spiritual growth. The sermon calls for a collective commitment to waiting on the Lord, encouraging families to engage in this practice together. Ultimately, Beach Jr. reassures that in waiting, we will experience God's grace and revelation in profound ways.

Very simply, and ask Him, in believing Him, to work this. If nothing else is said this morning, if just the next minute is communicated by God to everyone here, in His own way, in His own time, that will be enough. It really will. Let's pray. Father, we love You. And Lord, we're asking You, I am asking You, Lord, and I know hearts are knit in this, because this is Your heart, I am asking You, Lord, to do a dig amongst Your people. A dig in the sense that You are going to open the ears of Your people. I'm not speaking about an archaeological dig, but I'm speaking about a dig, Lord, that is revealed in Your Word and save You. Do this work. There will be no hearing. There will be no receiving. There will be no life. There will be no change. So I ask You, Lord Jesus, I ask You, Lord, simply, to perform a dig in the hearing of Your people, each and every one, in Your own way and in Your own time. Let them know the excavation work of God. Let them know the digging of God, because save that dig come to You. You will never hear the Word of God. And the Lord wants to speak to us today. He wants to speak to every one of us. So Lord, as You work, and only You can do this, I ask You, I ask You, Lord, perform Your Word. Dig into every ear. I thank You for this. I thank You, Lord. Amen. Let me start by reading a couple of passages that are probably pretty much familiar to most of you here. Some of them may well be some of your favorite passages. So I'd like to read in Psalm 91, at the end of the psalm, the last three verses. And if you would turn there, I really believe it's important that the Scriptures are in your hands. I believe it's very important that you're seeing what you're reading. Like Phil said, the Word is something that, the Word grows on you. And to see it, and to read it, and to see it and read it over and over again, there is really something the Lord can do. He can indeed make Himself very real to us. Okay, Psalm 91, beginning at verse 14. There's a particular word I want you to hear. There's one word that's going to stand out in each of these little passages, and it's very important for us this morning. Because the Lord has already made it known in His Word just how important it is. Okay? Because He hath set His love upon me, therefore will I deliver Him. I will set Him on high because He hath known my name. He shall call upon me and I will answer Him. I will be with Him in trouble. I will deliver Him and honor Him. With long life will I satisfy Him and show Him my salvation. Proverbs chapter 8. Beginning at verse 17. Proverbs chapter 8 at verse 17. The Lord is speaking. The eternal Word of God is speaking. And He's saying, I love them that love Me. And those that seek Me early shall find Me. Verse 20. I lead in the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of judgment. That I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance. And I will fill their treasuries. Verse 33. Hear instruction and be wise and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors. For whoso findeth life. Pardon me. For whoso findeth Me, findeth life. And shall bring forth or obtain favor of the Lord. The other one is very familiar in John's Gospel. At John 14 verse 21. Many of you have that in your hearts. That's a good verse to have there. John 14 and 21. He that hath My commandments and keepeth them. He it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father. And I, and in the Greek this is very strong. A very strong word. It's the word ego in the Greek. And Jesus is saying, and I, even Myself will love him. And will manifest Myself to him. Or I will love him and make Myself known to him. Or I will love him and reveal Myself to him. Or I will love him and make Myself real to him. Okay. Now there was a word that occurred. That was probably the hallmark word in that passage, in those several passages. Is there anyone here who can tell me what that one word was? Yes, son. Love. Thanks. Thank you. Love. Keep that word love in your hat then. We're going to come back to it in a minute. Okay. I want to speak to you this morning about what the Lord has to say about waiting on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord. I didn't say, I didn't say praying. I didn't say setting forth your agenda before the Lord. I didn't say saying, Lord, I have some refinements on your plan. Will you listen up? I said, waiting on the Lord. Let's hear what God has to say about this. Simply waiting upon the Lord. There are many verses here, and I'm just going to go through the scripture. I want to set forth, first of all, that this word appears in scripture. That is something in God's heart. Then I'd like to set forth that the Son of God himself made it a habit to wait. That the scriptures collaborate that he indeed was one who waited upon the Lord. And then if I could, I would like to come back to that word love that I mentioned. Because the revelation of scripture, as you know, brother Alan, is progressive. And the Lord hides things even from us. But as our ears are dug and as he opens them up, does he not gladly make them known? Does he not gladly make himself real to us? He does. In Psalm 25, there's just a couple of verses there. I just want to look there because the word wait occurs. We'd like to just see it, see it with our eye, see what the Lord is saying. I'm not going to go into great context. I'm simply going to sit and let the Lord, let the Lord and let his word stand. Let them speak. Psalm 25 begins unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul? Oh, my God, I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed. Down at verse five, this precious brother praying the King David. And I suspect the greater King had very much to say here too. Who made it a habit to pray these words. Lead me in thy truth and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 37. And we're just going to go right through, right through the scripture. Psalm 37 reads at verse 7. Rest in the Lord. That means to, that means to be silent to the Lord. That means to be mute, mute in his presence. And, and wait patiently for him. Over in Psalm 40 verse 1. The psalmist began that psalm by saying, I waited patiently for the Lord. In Hebrew, he really said, in waiting, I waited for the Lord. He's saying the same thing here. He's saying, wait patiently or in waiting, wait, wait for him. Wait for him. Psalm 40 at verse 1. Again, I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. Psalm 62. We're going to move a little more quickly. Psalm 60, 62. The very first verse reads in the King James. It reads like this. Truly, my soul waiteth upon God from him cometh my salvation. It really is rendered this way in the, in the original language. Only my soul is silent upon God. Now, I do not understand all that said in this one word silent. And I certainly don't understand the depth of being silent upon God. But the psalmist has been led by the spirit of God to write this word. Only my soul is silent upon God from him cometh my salvation. He only my rock and my salvation, my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. And he comes down to verse 5. After he has already set forth the fact that he is in the throes of spiritual conflict and struggle. Enemies around. Great conflict. And he encourages himself by saying these words. My soul. Wait. Val. Only. Upon. God. Wait. Val. Only. Upon. God. For my expectation. Is from him. Now we've seen the word wait about 8 or 10 times. We have barely scratched the surface. Of scripture concerning this. We need to see that the Lord himself is one who waits. Turn to Isaiah chapter 30. I believe it's 33. I'm not sure 30. No. Chapter 30. Verse 18. Listen to the Lord. Listen to the Lord, please. Isaiah is saying, and therefore, will the Lord wait. That he may be gracious unto you. Therefore, will he be exalted that he may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed. Listen to this. Blessed are all they. That. Wait. For him. There's no one here. That can outweigh. God. You can't outweigh him. He's a long suffering. Father. He's very, very. Pitiful. To those that fear him. He is. Very faithful. He desires. And he will wait. And wait. And wait. I thank him for this. I thank him from the depths of my heart. Because he's. He's been very long suffering. And kind to me. And. I don't know how he could ever thank him enough. I'll tell you what. Can we just stop a minute and thank him? Can we? Father, we thank you for your long suffering. We thank you that you love us. We want to thank you for your faithfulness. And we're glad that you're waiting. I'm grateful, Lord, that you're waiting. And I thank you for the word you're saying right now. Blessed are all they that wait. For him. Thank you, Lord. Come back into Isaiah chapter eight. Just roll back about 20 pages, I guess. I said before that the Lord himself was one who waited. Waited upon father. Made it a point to wait. It was a habit of his life. And we have testimony in the scripture that this is true. I'm going to pick it up at verse 13. Or I think I'll just pick it up at verse 11. Remember, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. When you hear the prophet speak, he's not speaking anything other than what's in the heart of the living God. And so he says here at verse 11. And listen carefully. And that's why you have to read this slowly. You have to put your eye to it. And you have to put your ear to it. And you have to believe that God will actually open up the eyes of your heart. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people saying, say you not a confederacy to all to to whom this people shall say a confederacy. Neither fear you their fear nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself. Let him be your fear. And let him be your dread. Listen to the promise. And he shall be for a sanctuary. Go over to verse very quick. I'm just going to turn the page to verse 16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. Here is what the Lord is saying. Listen, and I will wait upon the Lord. That hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Over in Micah, chapter seven and chapter seven, Michael was a prophet who was a contemporary of Isaiah's. He came a couple of years later, but they were contemporaries. They spoke a similar message to God's people. The Bible says in many, many places, at least five or six that in the in the in the mouth of two or more witnesses, the word of God is established. Do can we have establishment? Can we find it here in verse seven? Micah speaking, he says, therefore, I will look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Both men spoke the same word in a different place. A different time, but to God's people, these were men who waited upon the Lord. These were men who made it a point to wait. The scriptures say that it is a good thing for a young man to both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. That's found in lamentations, that's at the end of Jeremiah, those five chapters that come at the end of Jeremiah. And there is such hope in that little section of scripture in the midst of great travesty and humiliation that's come to God's people. We're living in a day now where travesty and humiliation are going to be our lot and there'll be no other hope in no other place. And you will not find it by running and racing and planning and scheming and and and doing things. God is not looking for anyone to do today, but he is looking for those who would become who would simply become whatever he has purposed for them. It is a good thing for a young man to both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Habakkuk two, chapter five. You all know most of you are familiar acquainted with this passage. Lord, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Habakkuk two. The prophet says, 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. And the Lord answered me and said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables. Write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that read it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it because it will surely come. It will not tarry. The vision for you and I is none other than the Lord Jesus himself. He is the vision. He is the one. Who desires with a deep desire. To make himself known. In the song of Solomon, there's a little phrase in chapter two that says. The desire of the beloved. The one who's loved of God. God causes her to say, let me see thy countenance. Which is to say, let me see the thing seen. Let me see the thing seen. Habakkuk is speaking to us a word that God would have us wait. Because Jesus will not tarry. Because Jesus will surely come. Paul said, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Is this not true? Paul said, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. The heavenly vision of Paul is the it occurring eight or nine times here in Habakkuk 2.5. Jesus is the vision. Jesus is the one who wants to make himself known. So Jesus will say things over and over again in scripture. And you'll find this out as you read scripture. You'll find out again and again. As you hear him say something over and over again. He will build on that little bit of word that you heard the first time. So when it says something like this. I waited patiently for the Lord. When you read it again three months from now. I waited patiently for the Lord. Something will begin to happen. I waited patiently for the Lord. It is good for a young man to both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. In waiting, I waited. Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for him. Though the vision tarry, wait for it. It shall not tarry. It shall surely come. Wait, I say, upon the Lord. The Lord Jesus is saying over and over again through this little word. Wait, wait, wait. Listen. Isaiah would go on to say toward the end of his chapter. Listen to this. Listen. E'er hath not heard, nor e'er perceived, nor hath I seen the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. The verse can be rendered this way. E'er hath not heard, nor perceived, I have not seen a God like thee who does or who performs for that one who waits for him. E'er hath not heard, nor perceived, nor hath I seen a God like thee who does for the one who waits for him. Now at the beginning I said something about let me introduce this little word with several passages from Scripture where the hallmark of each was the word love. The Spirit of God has taken this idea of wait. And he has continually reverberated it through the word. He has made it known. It's there. We cannot deny it. The Scripture says from the prophet, their strength is to sit still. The Scripture says from the prophet, in returning and rest is your strength. The Scripture says they that wait upon the Lord shall exchange strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not grow faint. And yet the Spirit of God will take this very quiet revelation of waiting upon the Lord and he'll bring us to first Corinthians chapter two. And he's going to do something. He's going to convict every single one of us in this room who's listening. It is intended. God has purposed it. God wants to show us something because we have no clue as to how vital this little word weight is. Listen to first Corinthians chapter two. Paul is citing the verse from Isaiah 64, and he changes it a little bit. But it's not Paul. It's the Spirit of God who's taking the word. He's brought it to Paul and Paul says this word. But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that that love him, that love him. This is not meant to bring any type of condemnation. I'm over 30 years with the Lord. I was 25 years and I knew nothing about this. I can honestly say, brother, I remember preaching a message on waiting on the Lord as a young pastor. And I had read some of Andrew Murray's books because he wrote a great book on that subject. Waiting on the Lord. And I remember starting out the message with Vim and Vinegar. And I said I use the Star Trek. Remember the Star Trek prologue? You know, the, you know, space, the final frontier. And I said, waiting the final frontier. I didn't know anything about waiting at the time, but there I was up there pontificating, not knowing one word about the subject, not even having an idea. And yet the Lord would say, but as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them. That love him. Now, I. Wanted to simply present the testimony of the Lord. I wanted to show forth that the Lord himself waited. And. I wanted to show you that. I've heard Brother Phil say that waiting on the Lord is a discipline, and I've heard others say that waiting on the Lord is indeed. An act of obedience, but there's more. To wait on the Lord. To wait on the Lord. Evidence is your love for him. It evidences our love for him. Now, I grant we're busy people and I grant we do have many things on our mind. But I just want to take a few minutes. I'm going to change the course of this thing. If you don't mind. I just want to take a few minutes. I guess I take this out of here somehow. I'm not technological. I can't even set an alarm. I asked the Lord yesterday about trying to make this thing neat, but not necessarily through my lips, but through the lips of others in the body. But before I do that, I just want to say, well, let's ask the question. What is it to wait on the Lord? What is it really to wait on the Lord? It's just that you wait on the Lord. You don't come and pray. You don't come and worship, and that's wonderful. Is it not to sing? But to wait on the Lord is to wait. The psalmist says, rest in the Lord. Be mute. Be still. Be silent. Wait patiently for him. Now, here's what will happen. If someone here has tried, but they can certainly testify to this, you've tried to wait on the Lord. You've seen this in Scripture, and God has even prompted you to wait. What will happen to you? You'll no sooner get into a posture, either a chair or maybe on your knees or perhaps on your bed, and you'll begin to wait for the Lord. And you'll try to close off the door, and you'll try to turn off the phone. And a rush of thoughts and the tyranny of the urgent will creep in. Oh, I forgot to do this. I need to do that. And you will be two or three minutes into your wait before you're overwhelmed by all kinds of thoughts and concerns and the kids and the job and the list goes on and on. Right? But the Lord would have us wait patiently. Don't try to wait for five minutes if you've never been able to wait for a moment. Should these thoughts come, simply ask the Lord for a scripture and just go into it and repeat the word. Many times as I wait upon the Lord, I simply run through all these scriptures I've just given with you and many, many more. And I use the word wait. I speak it back to the Father. Their strength indeed is to sit still in returning and rest is thy strength. Wait patiently for him. In waiting, I waited and I'll just continually bring this before the Lord and the Lord. And he can. He will. He'll bring you into a posture of waiting. You'll begin to wait on the Lord. Now, I know there are some here who are waiting on the Lord. I know there are some here who could probably give a far deeper, a richer testimony on what it is to wait on the Lord. I'm going to give some people some opportunity to wait, to share that, to share that so that we can all participate, so that the body can minister life to its parts, its members. And, you know, let me just share. I don't know if I should maybe wait for the others to share. Maybe I'll do that. I'll wait toward the end for this. But to wait on the Lord is to simply wait. There's no prayer. There's no agenda. There's no song. There have been times. In fact, you may have to. You may be on your knees reading the scripture in your devotional and the Lord might just prompt you to wait. And, you know, I know something. That word at that time will be the preeminent thing to do. As wonderful as the word of God is, there will be a time where you will wait on God. And he has his reason. It's a good reason. Many reasons. They're perfect. See, let me tell you this. To wait on the Lord isn't any different than to do what Peter did. He walked on the word. Did he not? He walked on the water. Well, to wait on the Lord isn't any different than that. You walk on that word because God performs that word. He works that word in you. You might say, oh, no, I'm an anxious type. I could never get quiet. Oh, no. Therefore, will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you. Therefore, will the Lord be exalted that he may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait for him. And in prayer yesterday, the Lord said that I'm just going to be bold now. I'm going to speak boldly. I'm going to speak, and I hope the Lord will honor this. Colette, I have been asking the Lord deep in my heart that he would cause you to come into a depth of waiting that you've never known. And I believe he wants to do that. But if he's begun that, I would love you to come and share in a minute a little bit of what he's done in this area of waiting upon him. Spring, I believe you're a waiter on the Lord. I don't know why, but I believe you know something about what it is to wait on the Lord. And if you have anything you can add or anything that you can share or anything that might help someone who's struggling with what it is to even begin to wait. I'd love you to share that. Phil, I'd love you to share also. And if there's any others who want to augment or add to what it is to wait, please. The mic, please come and share. It's a wonderful thing to wait on the Lord. And some of these brethren will probably share just what some of that wonder is. And I'd like to add to that if I can. Okay? So, Colette, would you like to come? I don't really have to share other than, you know, I think, um, start saying, oh, I better go when I go wait with the kids. It's frivolous. It's not like I'm doing something, just like basic stuff like cooking meals and cleaning up messes and changing wet underwear and stuff like that. You know, he's such a God of kindness, you know, that in the midst of everything that has to get done, you know, in the midst of all that, that I thank the Lord. They didn't have, like, a trade with him. They had to be ready. I don't hear him saying, like, hey, don't trade for me. I live for me. I'm thankful that he has faith because I don't have much faith. You know, it's like, can a leopard change its spots? No, I can't change myself. This is my nature. It's wretched. But I know God can change me. And so I thank God for the faith that Carrie has. And just stand with Carrie and pray for me that I can learn the way I can. Thank you. Thanks, Colette. I just wanted to tell you, Colette, the Lord Jesus slept in alleys on garbage cans. He really wasn't concerned. He waited patiently for the Lord there. Spring, do you want to say anything? I agree with Colette. I think the Lord gave you a bit of a future vision here. I think he's busy working in our lives in that matter. I do remember one thing that when I was first saved, after Alan and I were together, we went to the fellowship he was going to, and the lady asked me to say something. And I remember saying something to this effect, when you see a need, meet it. And we went home, and he said to me, yo, this is, watch out here. That's not necessarily the way of the Lord. That could be my nature to act in this matter. And if anything, I think that's where the Lord is working in my life, thanks to my wonderful husband, is to be able to wait on the Lord and not just to act out of, if your nature is one of doing something right away, even if it's a good thing, it might not be what the Lord is doing. And I think that's the thing in all these years of children and schooling and all those things. The hardest thing for me is to sit and wait. I think maybe the Lord has brought out doubt this morning between Colette and I, is that it's so hard for us to wait, but that's His ultimate plan for us. Is there anyone who would like to share something about waiting on the Lord? Bill? I don't know that I need this. Leave it there. In the sense that waiting is trusting, is akin to trusting faith. I'm not saying we don't want to wait in that silence thing, but can we not be going through mentality or heart and strong and stable in Him as we still go through? That's basically what I'm saying. The more these scriptures really mean waiting in terms of silence and nothing. You're saying that waiting in motion is kind of like where it's at. Right, right. Okay. Let's listen to the word a couple of times. Okay, let's listen. But their strength is to sit still. They that wait upon the Lord shall exchange strength. It doesn't mean, it doesn't say they shall renew their strength. That's not it at all. That's the worst thing that could happen. But they that wait upon the Lord shall exchange strength. Later on in Isaiah, it says, it talks about what's there. Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times. Strength of salvations. The fear of the Lord, His treasure. They that wait upon the Lord shall exchange strength. They shall mount up with wings of eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not grow faint. Though the vision tarry, wait for it. It will not tarry. It will surely come. It is good for a young man to both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Let me give you this verse a little bit more deeper. It is good for a young man to both hope and quietly wait for the person and work. Even the Son of God. For the Savior and His salvation in our life in many varied ways. It is good for a young man to both hope and quietly wait for the salvation. The king, Bill, the king, David, in Psalm 128, I believe. He says, I quieted and behaved myself as a child that is weaned from its mother's breast. The picture is not necessarily of a child who comes into a place of acceptance because he is no longer going to be able to get to mother's breast. But rather, this is a king of Israel saying, I am reconciled to what God is doing in my life and everything. And I yield to that. And I bow myself to that. And I receive from the Lord. So the king says, I quieted and behaved myself as a child that is weaned from its mother's breast. Quiet, silence, waiting. The Lord would have us learn to wait. The Lord would teach us that in the waiting, many wonderful things happen. But let me just share some of these. When you wait upon the Lord and you begin to spend time in His presence, where you say nothing and your thoughts are all of a sudden just nullified. And that's hard, I'll confess. And I'm not the mother of seven and eight or nine children respectively. And I don't know what it's like to bear that weight and bear that concern. But the Lord is saying, in the waiting time, there is an exchange that happens. The exchange is something that is not natural. It's not understood with the natural mind. The Lord says and will say to you, He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my father. And I too will love him and will manifest myself to him. The Lord desires to make Himself known. He desires to come to one of us in a waiting posture. And He desires, first of all, to affirm love like we have never known. He desires to manifest Himself, the living Jesus, to our spirit. He can do so many things. In that place of waiting, in that place of quietness, in that place of loving and obedience to the Lord, He will quicken His Word. He will show Himself. He will call. And He will offer repentance and confession. But it will be in such a place of such perfect love and acceptance. And there will be such a forgiveness and healing that flows. It will be purely redemptive. The Lord wants to teach us what it is to wait. It will be not discipline only, not an act of obedience, more, much more, far more, evidencing our love for the Lord. We can profess to love Him. We might love Him. But do you know how much it is to love the Lord? Do you know how much the Lord longs for any one of us? Do you know that I read in Scripture recently, and I don't know if you've ever done this, Phil. I'm sure you have. You get something from the Lord and you forget to write it down. I've done it many times. But I read, I can only do it this way, and maybe some of the mothers can understand, and the fathers too. Picture a stretched out hand shot through with love, longing and desiring for someone. That's God. That's God. This is the living God for any one of us. He wants so much. He wants so much to bring any one of us into a fellowship, a communion, an intimacy. You know the Lord, Bill, can meet you many times in the course of a day if you'll hear His voice. You can stop, Colette, what you're doing, and you can go somewhere and say, girls, I need to be alone for a few minutes. But let the Lord lead you. The Lord can impress upon you as you wait upon Him to do something. You want to do something? Then let Him make it known what you're to do. You like doing something? You're one of these action-packed people? You're driven? You're self-propelled? Well, I'll tell you what. You're just quiet. And you say, Lord, the tyranny of the urgent has enslaved me. And now I ask you to make yourself known. I ask you to cause me to come into a deeper love of who you are. I want to love you. I want to fall in love with you all over again. I want to evidence my love by waiting. The treasure. The treasure. Remember? The Lord said, and I will cause those that love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their treasuries. When the Lord says, I will, watch out. Watch out. And He says, I will, many, many hundreds and hundreds of times in His revelation of Himself. It is good for a young man. Now, that man there is generic. A young woman. A young girl. To both hope and quietly wait for the person and his working in your life. For the salvation of the Lord. It is one thing to come and worship the Lord in the sanctuary corporately. It's one thing to pray in your chamber. It's one thing to serve another. It's quite another to have the Lord begin to direct. To direct your very life. Because He has so much that He wants to do. One of the joys that the Lord will probably bring to one of us. This hasn't happened to me. I don't know that much about this. But the Lord says this in His word. He says, a man hath joy by the answer of his mouth. And a word spoken in season. How good it is. And yet, if you look at the really true, what's there, what's in italics, what's really there. It says this. A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth. And a word spoken in his season. How good. This can happen. I want this to happen in my life. That the Lord might so teach me. You're active as a mom. And you're busy, Colette. Me, I was always a talker. My mother used to say to me when I was a little kid, Carrie, your mouth is your own worst enemy. And I got in more trouble with my mouth. And I'll tell you, I'm still on the learning curve. Because I didn't know the Lord as a kid. And then when I come to know the Lord, my mouth was even worse. And it's still worse. Because the scripture makes it very clear what's in my heart. That's how I needed a savior desperately. I need someone to guard my mouth. I need Psalm 38, the very first verse of Psalm 38, to be life in me. And it can happen as I wait upon the Lord. Because he's looking at the heart. He's looking at what's there. He's looking to see what is it exactly that this son or this daughter, my child, is after. See, we're after many, many things. But we don't realize that the Lord is after us. We don't realize that the Lord loves us. We don't realize that the Lord has a strong desire for any one of us at any given moment. Ear hath not heard nor perceived. Eye hath not seen a God like thee who doeth for him that waits for him. Ear hath not heard nor eye seen. How does Paul say this? Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Father, we ask you to do something that only you can do. We ask you to take this word, wait. We ask you to teach us what it means. We have our own ideas. We have our own interpretations. Most of the time, Lord, if not all the time, we are in the dark, and unless you give light, we'll never see. Unless you excavate our ears, we'll never hear. And like I've asked before, Lord, I ask again in a very confident way that you will begin an excavation that this little body and that your people heretofore have never known, that you will literally begin to just empty the hearing, clear out all the rock and dirt and debris, blockage and stoppage, and begin to literally whisper into the ear of your people and cause them to hear. Lord, I thank you. I thank you that you desire to do this. I thank you that you desire to so work in your people to quiet us down, to bring us into the behavior of a child reconciled to your perfect will. Father, thank you for your word. It's a beautiful word. The word is wait, brothers and sisters. It's not wait and. It's wait. And in the waiting, you wait. In waiting, I waited, said the Son of God. In waiting, I waited, said the King of Israel. I waited patiently for the Lord. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Amen. Amen. This is costly. Costly. Yeah. Costly. Thank you, Father. Father. Father, we're listening now. And we invite you to listen, everyone. Please listen to the Lord. Just listen. We invite you, Lord, to speak into our hearts and call us by this word to wait. Empower us with love. We want it to transcend discipline. We want it to transcend a rule. We want it to be the outbursting of love. Now, what our brother Bill said is true. There is a waiting in work. That is true. There is. However, we cannot substitute that for this word. Because while there is a waiting in work, and oh, God wants that in our lives. So that in the midst of our activity, there's a waiting posture in our heart. God wants that. And that needs to be developed. But that is not the call of his spirit this morning to us. The call of his spirit this morning is be still. Wait. Stop. Stop. Cessation from activity. So that's the call. We want to hear him speak to us. That's what we want. How many how many have sensed? Now, listen carefully, please. How many have sensed the Lord has said this to you in the past? And you let it slip. Hands up. You've let it slip. Look at that. Almost every hand. You've heard him say this. But just somehow the busyness of life. Okay. Guess what? He's calling again. And now he's saying. Take heed. Last. The word that you heard again. Slip. From you. If you hear him. Say yes, Lord. I would strongly recommend. That as families. Families. Husband and wives. You would meditate upon this word. And pray for one another. I believe that this word not only listen. I believe this word not only applies to us. As individuals where we go and we wait on the Lord. But I believe God is calling our families. To wait. There's too much. Too much. Activity. Busyness. God would want us. To learn. To wait. Be still. Be quiet. Rest. Now again, it's costly. It's costly. We have to make intelligent decisions. Intelligent decisions. In response to what God says. So that we can wait. On him. Father help us. Help us Lord. Open up the ears of our heart. Let us hear your call. We realize Lord that. In hearing your call. We have to pull together as families. And intelligently. Be not ignorant concerning the will of the Lord. You said in your word over and over again. We have to intelligently understand. What you're calling us to do. And in this context. Wait. And then we have to intelligently. Seek your heart. To know how to wait. When to wait. What is hindering our waiting on God. What's hindering our waiting on God. Father help us to hear you say. Enough of this. Enough of that. Help us to hear you say Lord. Now you don't need to be doing this. You could be waiting on me now. God calls our hearts to. To pin after you. Pin after you. Help us Lord. In this moment. We pray. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Yes Lord. Let's wait. Let's wait. On our God. Yes we do have to pray. We pray oh God. Deliver us from distractions and evil. Amen. Amen. Anyone else have something they want to. Share now. Along these lines here. This is truly the cry. Of God's spirit to all of his people. Wait. You know. This is it. This is why there's so much. The scripture says that we be no more. Children tossed to and fro. That's why. Childhood is perpetuated. In the church. Childhood. Is perpetuated in the church. Because. We fail to wait. And to be fed by him. To be fed by his word. This is a call to everyone. Not just preachers. This is a call. And I tell you. It's a corporate thing too. It's not just individual thing. Men. I say this. Work with your wives. But take the lead here. Guys listen carefully. Norman, Carrie, Bill, Alan. Work with your wives. Take the lead here. God will hold you accountable. He will. He'll hold. He'll hold you accountable. He wants. The direction of your life. And your family's life. To be rooted and grounded in his heart. Take the lead here. Because if you don't. You know what will happen. You and your family. Will get swept away. In the current. Remember that. Series we preached on a few months ago. The current of life. The current of life will. Will will. Just bring you right away. So this is really. An important. Word from the Lord's heart. And I encourage everyone. To earnestly ask God. Go to God. Ask him to teach you Lord. Teach me what it means to wait. Teach me what it means. I come to you as a child. Don't listen. God is saying don't. Don't neglect waiting on God. Make it part of your life. And I'll tell you the truth is. Love will do it. Love. Love. I don't have to. Struggle. Wanting to spend time with my wife. I love her. I love to spend time with her. It's not a discipline for me. Oh let me see. 15 minutes I got to spend time with Colette. I'm not going to do it. Any time before that. Because I've got to. Oh my goodness. That's scary to me. Put it on my schedule. I mean. I gravitate toward her. Because I love her. You understand. That's what our brother was. The word was saying here. It's love. Love and waiting. They go hand in hand. That's what he meant when he said. It's a discipline yes. But there's a higher realm. It's love. Don't you want to love him. And just spend time with him. Jesus here I am. I love you. I just wait on you. Just wait on you. Oh that's it. Go ahead hon. Amen. That's so true. Yes. Yes. It's just. Sing this song together. Okay. As we're preparing. To sing this song. Gary would you come. And just give your. Little announcement here. Gary has a special announcement. For everyone here this morning. And then afterwards. Let's just sing this song. And let him minister to us beloved. Yes. Oh yeah. Go ahead Gary. Just wanted I guess everyone knows. That Meg and I will be. Getting married October 20th. And we just wanted to extend. An open invitation to the church. To the adults. And older children. To attend the ceremony. Which will be at 130. At the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street. On October 20th. And if you have any questions. Just feel free to call me. Or ask. I guess we'll leave that up to the discretion. Of the parents. Or you can talk to me about it if you'd like. Just. So if you have children. And you're wondering what older means. Talk to Gary and Meg. Bill. This is basically. Really a prayer request. It can save me time calling everybody. And trying to rush it in. After the service here. But we're having in my family. I guess you could call it. A crisis intervention. On behalf of my brother. Concerned in his drinking. And it's going to happen. I believe this Tuesday. Maybe not but probably coming up this week. And I know that prayer. Is effective and can work. So just if I would appreciate. All the prayer that you can muster up. Over the situation. Let's just worship Jesus. Now. And let him minister to us in song. Okay. Abide in. Here I am longing. For you. Lead me to my. Need. Oh Jesus. More and more. Oh. Oh. All. Oh. Oh. Take. Oh. Come live with me, Lord Jesus, with me. Provide me to my need. May I know Jesus more and more. Come live with me, Lord Jesus, with me. All my life, take no love from me. Come live with me, Lord Jesus, with me. Come live with me, Lord Jesus, with me. Remember, beloved, this starts in the heart and it affects the home. Okay? It affects the home. It starts in the heart and then it affects the home.