This sermon emphasizes the importance of not wasting life, urging young people to stay in the Word of God, walk in the Spirit, trust God, and guard their hearts. It highlights the revelation of dependence on God in weakness and the need for the fullness of the Holy Spirit through faith. The speaker discusses the slowness of God's ways, the need to wait on God, and the dangers of impatience and seeking worldly strategies over divine timing.

If you take your Bibles and open them, please, to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 11. Just a couple of things that I want to share in passing before we begin this morning. First of all, I really encourage you, because I know predominantly the church here is made up of probably 30-year-olds and under, but I want to encourage you young people, don't waste your life. I mean, that sounds like a monotonous phrase, doesn't it, in the light of Piper's book and emphasis, don't waste your life. But please, I tell you, I was sitting where you were in like the twinkling of an eye just yesterday, and just how quickly your life just passes in a flash. So, avail yourself to every moment. I mean, stay in the Word of God. Force-feed, as we mentioned to a couple people in the last few days, well, what happens when I don't desire the Bible? Force-feed yourself the Word of God. You go through the discipline of that, and the Holy Spirit will begin to give you the desire again. But walk in the Spirit. Keep yourself pure. Trust God. Guard your mind and heart from anything that would undermine your walk with God. Don't waste your life. Don't waste your life. It will pass so quickly. The other thing is just to kind of complement what Brother Kevin mentioned a few moments ago, in our weakness is where our dependence upon Him is revealed, where we feel our dependence, when we recognize our weakness. And the fullness of the Holy Spirit is as much a work of grace as believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation is a work of grace. You got to understand that, because the thing is, when people think of the fullness of the Spirit, this is a poor analogy. They think of a cup that needs to be emptied before it can be filled. No, friend, I have no ability to empty the cup until I am filled. So, I'm not obtaining the fullness of the Spirit through my merits, through my performance. I come to Him, and I ask in faith, fill me with the Holy Spirit. And by grace, He fills me. And then He shows me things in my life that are impediments in my walk in the Spirit. Okay? So, if you take the idea that I've got to empty myself, then you have a tendency to go on a witch hunt, and it will lead to self-criticism and self-condemnation. And really, you can never come to a point where you feel like you're qualified to be filled. So, that's why we need the fullness of the Holy Spirit, is so that we can see things in our life that are impediments to spiritual progress. And here's the thing about being filled with the Spirit. He does not say, fill yourself. You know, the Greek word there is in the passive tense. Now, passive tense does not mean passivity. Okay? So, you say, well, what is my part? Your part is to have a disposition of humility and dependence, and you ask very simply in faith for His fullness. That's very important. Your part is to simply ask in faith. Passive tense means that we're being acted upon. Now, think about the Greek word for a minute. Passive tense implies my neediness, that I can't do it. It's a natural implication out of that. That because I'm being acted upon, I'm not doing the filling, but He is filling me, controlling me with the grace of His power. Then, because it's in the passive tense, He is doing the work on me. Therefore, what naturally flows out of that is the implication that I need Him. I need Him to even be filled with the Spirit. You see that? That's extremely important, because what'll happen is even when it comes to spirit-filled life, you'll put yourself in bondage that it's all dependent on me. And here's the promise. If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the Heavenly Father keep on giving without measure the fullness of the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? So, what's our part? Ask. But here's the second word. Ask now. When He said, Be filled with the Spirit, it presupposes that we ask now. Don't wait till you batter yourself. Don't wait until you empty the cup. Bad theology. Ask now, and He will fill you now. And by the way, the greatest evidence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit is not speaking in tongues. It's the character of Jesus manifested in the fruit, not the fruits, but the fruit of the Spirit. In other words, you don't have three or four of the fruit of the Spirit and not have the others. You have all of them. It's fruit of the Spirit. When you're filled, being controlled, and your thoughts are being governed by Him. But utter dependence on Him. Well, I hope that'll be an encouragement to you. I want you to look with me, if you would, here in Romans chapter number 11. Romans 11, and just a few verses here that we'll look at in this first message today. Look at verse number 33. It's like a glorious benediction of the Apostle. And he says, Oh, oh, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. I heard a man one time, the title of his message was, Oh. And he went to the scripture and talked about this glorious word of all and wonder and praise. Oh. And then he went through church history and how many people prayed and then they're preaching. It was just an exclamation. Oh. And then he talked about what they were just caught up in all with the Lord about the Paulson. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has become his counselor or who has first given to him and it shall be repaid to him for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. I'm in notice verse 36. He is the one that initiates all things. He is the one that perpetuates all things. And he is the one that ultimately consummates all things for his glory. Amen and amen. Well, I want to speak to you this morning on something that once again is profoundly practical, something I hope will be an encouragement to your heart. I want to address the subject of the slowness of God's ways, the slowness of God's ways. Notice once again, all the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways, his ways past finding out. What does this mean? Well, it's very important that we understand the slowness of God's ways. Al Barnes makes this passing comment on this particular thought principle. He said the word rendered ways properly denotes a path or a road on which one travels. He said applying to God, it denotes his mode or manner of doing things. The order of his divine providence. Now, here's the thing. Paul says his ways are past finding out. Have you ever noticed that most of the time God never does the same thing the same way? I mean, it's like he just sometimes baffles us, you know, because he's going to go a different way, and sometimes our tendency is we ask in faith and we anticipate God doing for us what we ask of him the way he has done it in the past. And that's the thing that makes God so unique, so gloriously unique, is that many times he will do the same thing for us, but he's going to do it in a different way. His paths are untraceable. They're unpredictable. Now, here's the application. Let me just share an introductory thought. I believe that many of the problems that we face today can be traced to our shallow understanding of the character and ways of God. We could avoid, think about it, we could avoid a tremendous amount of anxiety and confusion if we would only possess a greater knowledge of our Heavenly Father. You remember in the prophecy of Daniel, Daniel 11 in verse 32, he tells us there that the people that know their God shall be strong and do mighty feats, do exploits, as one translation reads. The people that know their God, intimately know their God. One aspect of his ways that the present-day church has failed to see is how slow God moves in carrying out his plan. Think about it. The lack of understanding of how slow God moves lies at the heart of many frustrated believers and exasperated ministers. For example, the modern-day seeker-sensitive movement has gained a large following because so many ministers have grown weary of waiting on God to send revival and spiritual awakening. In their impatience to see the Lord work, they have employed the secular strategies of the world to grow their church. By the way, I'm six foot seven inches tall. I'm a pretty tall guy, a pretty big guy. If I start running, and I don't run as fast as I used to, but if I start running and I run my head into that wall over there, it's not going to grow, it's going to swell. And a lot of people today, because they're increasing their numbers, they think God is adding to the church when all it's doing is the churches are swelling. That the very character of the church is characterized more by the character of goats than sheep. And this is a product of failing to wait on God because they do not understand that most of the time God moves very slowly. They believe that the declining attendance and decreased financial income are signs of an absence of divine blessing. But that is not always true. Friend, if you measure the success of the church by nickels and noses, the Mormons and the Catholics have got us all beats. You never measure success by buildings, budgets, and baptisms. Rather, the grace of God actively at work in the people of God and in the corporate body of his church. Listen to the words of Maurice Roberts, former editor of Banner of Truth Magazine. I noticed you have a book of his over here and wonderful, wonderful devotional thoughts in his three-part series on the God of Wonders. But listen to what he says. If God sometimes appears to us to work too slowly, we must call to our attention the fact that his word never alters. The old-fashioned gospel is never out of date. It is still the only message that will change man's heart and lift him to heaven. Listen, he says to preach the word fully and faithfully is the greatest service that we can render to God in this life. Now, listen to this wisdom. It is no proof that God is not blessing us that we may not at this hour be seeing great revivals or witnessing great numbers of conversions. There are days in the history of the church that we have to preach the word not only in season but also out of season. Christ, listen, will not blame us for preaching faithfully in a dark hour in which there are few conversions, but he will blame us if we mix error with the gospel on the pretext that it will be more successful if we do so. So what does the modern church do? They tweak the gospel. They water it down. They want to alter it. They want to change it. And that's the worst thing to do. And we wonder why we're not seeing genuine conversions today. About many years ago in my early pilgrimage of my Christian life, I was attending a school that, and listen to his own mastery, stands or falls. But the emphasis was if things are not happening in your ministry, if things are not happening in your church, you make them happen. You make them happen. You create excitement. You do whatever it takes to engender enthusiasm among the people in the work of God. And I believed that for so long. Now, please, once again, don't hear that and go to the other extreme and say, well, Brother Curran is advocating passivity. I'm not. But I'm saying, though, these guys take it to the second and third extreme, and they feel like that the arm of the flesh should be our dependence in engendering excitement to advance the kingdom of God. That's not what I'm talking about. You see in the message here for the next few moments, we will not be considering the design of God's ways, but rather the deliberation of God's ways. Have you ever considered this? Think with me for a moment. Have you ever considered why God seems to work in a sort of slow motion in carrying out his plan? For example, why did God wait 400 years to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian tyranny? 400 years. Why? What was his purpose, brethren, in being silent for 400 years between Malachi and the coming of Messiah? 400 silent years. Why did he not reward Noah for his faithful preaching that spanned over 120 years? I tell you this, you know, there was a preacher's fellowship one day. Somebody told me this, and some old, old saintly pastor, very seasoned pastor was there, and the men started humoring themselves because they were losing their family, you know, and they're not seeing much happen in the church. And one of the men spoke up and said, well, you know, Noah, he preached 120 years and never saw a soul saved. Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle. And the old seasoned pastor spoke up and said, well, I'll say one thing for old Noah, at least he got his family in the ark. That's more than most of us can say. Brethren, why did Christ require his disciples to tarry 10 days in the upper room before he fulfilled his promise to give them power? I mean, you would think it would have been instantaneous, but why did he require them to wait 10 days? And furthermore, why is God so slow in saving a child that you so earnestly pray for much of your adult life? What is the purpose of God? Well, let me begin by giving you just a few thoughts under this little subtitle. Why is God so slow in responding to our prayers? First of all, many times it's to enlarge our understanding of his character. It's to enlarge our understanding of his character. Did it ever occur to you that maybe the reason God does not respond and maybe the waiting period is prolonged many times is to show you. That God is sovereign and you are not, because this is a tendency of our flesh friend is we want to manipulate circumstances. We want to micromanage people. We want to do everything we can tweak this and alter that to make something happen. Because in the back of our mind, we say, yes, God is sovereign, but somehow God needs our help. So we're not content to wait. Ephesians chapter one, verse 11, he works all things after the counsel of his will. And I might add, not ours. Secondly, think about his love for a moment. Sometimes we ask very passionately, Lord, would you please do this? We earnestly seek his face for him to answer a prayer request. It seems biblically justified. And why is it that that God does not meet my need in this area? Because friends, sometimes he does it because he loves us. If he were to give you the monetary thing that you're asking for, he knows that that would be the worst thing for you. You say, what do you mean by that? Well, here's what Dwight L. Moody said. He said, I am glad that some of my most earnest prayers were never answered. You remember how many times in the gospels, you know, the disciples ask the Lord for something and the Lord says, you don't know what you're asking. You have no idea what you're asking. Like the people one time came to Ravenhill and said, we're praying for revival. We're asking God to pour out his spirit and revival. And Ravenhill said, do you know what you're asking? No. What do you mean? Well, you know, if revival comes, there's the potential of death to people that are not walking with God, like Ananias and Sapphira. Do we know what we're asking? Spurgeon said like this, he said, prayer can be denied in love and answered in wrath. Let that sink in. So he's teaching us his character by postponing perhaps certain things that he desires to answer, but it's just not the timing yet. He's wanting to do other things. He's wanting to perfect things, perhaps in our own life. Here's another reason why he's so slow in responding to our prayers, and that is to test our faith in his word. To test our faith in his word. Maurice Roberts once again said this in his book, The Great God of Wonders. Why is God so slow in working? Partly, no doubt, in order to try our obedience to his written word. Now, listen, you remember in 1st Samuel chapter 13, there's a story there of how Samuel has departed for a season, and he's told Saul, he said, I want you to wait, and when I come back, when I return, you'll be instructed as to what you should do. Well, here is Saul wringing his hands. He's very anxious. Fourth day, fifth day, the people are dispersed. They're scattered from him. He's lost control over the people. The sixth day comes and goes. The seventh day, still no Samuel. The sun is setting. And so what does Saul do? He offers a sacrifice unto the Lord, which was strictly forbidden. And here the smoke is ascending into the heavens, and suddenly who should crest the hill but there is Samuel. And Samuel says, what hast thou done? And Saul says, I saw that the people were scattered from me, and you didn't come within the time appointed. The day had not ended yet. His refusal to wait on God reveals a heart that sought to be sovereign. It is another way, friend, much in our life, of our carnal tendency to make the heavenly Father our slave. We demand that he gives us what we want and when we want it. We would, listen, we would never speak of God as a cosmic genie, that he responds to our every wish as soon as we ask him, but listen, by the way we treat him, we manifest that disposition oftentimes in our refusal to wait. For example, to make it very practical, a very practical level, think of the girl who refuses to wait on God for a life's partner because she fears she will become an old maid. So what does she do? She compromises the word of God and she starts to date an unsaved guy. He's charming, he's good-looking, he's athletic, he connects with everybody. Certainly he's a good prospect for the kingdom, but what she does is she lowers her standard and she starts dating this guy because she's afraid that she's going to grow old and never get married. Billy Sunday said this, there are a lot of things worse than being an old maid and one of them is marrying the wrong man. Can I tell you, I'm meeting kids from around the world who jumped the gun, who compromised their conviction, who became unequally yoked together with an unbeliever, and I tell you, it's a nightmare. You have no idea what you're asking for. And look, we complicate this thing of courtship and whatever you want to call it, dating, courtship, and I think if we can narrow it down to this one simple thing that a young man or young woman needs to look for, you look diligently for a member of the opposite sex. If you're looking for a prospect for marriage, that you can see the vital signs of everlasting life in the work, the fruit of regeneration, because that is what will sustain your marriage. That's what sustained my marriage in almost 39 years. Here's another reason why God's so slow in answering our prayers and that is to bring glory to himself. Think about it. It would do us good to remember that God's timing in his economy is not the same as ours. What appears to be slowness from our point of view is perfect timing from his point of view that he might be glorified. Now, you remember the story there in John chapter 11. Lazarus is deathly ill and it seems as if he's going to pass away. His sisters, Mary and Martha, are extremely anxious. And it's interesting that Christ is informed of this and it's like he's in no hurry to get over to Bethany. I mean, the scripture speaks in furloins, which basically it was approximately two miles away. He could have easily gone over there and touched and healed Lazarus, but he delays. And in chapter 11 of John, in verse six, it says, and when he heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. How insensitive, how careless. Doesn't he love our brother? But he's just slow. He's not moving in that direction. In chapter 11, verse 15, as you continue to read, he says this, this is profound. Jesus said, I am glad for your sakes that I was not there to the intent that you might believe. Nevertheless, let us now go unto him. And as he's going to the residence, he's met by both sisters. In verse 21, then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou has been here by this time, this man's died. Lazarus is dead. Lord, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died. And then Mary meets him in verse 32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not died. Now, friend, why was Christ so slow in going and touching Lazarus and raising him up off his bed of sickness? The sickness has culminated, he's died. Why? Perhaps it's because he knows that he'll get more glory out of raising the dead than healing the sick. That's the thing we've got to recognize, Brandon. Perhaps the delay, the reason for it is so that he gets more glory. Say this to you. It's worth the wait. It's worth the wait. Secondly, to give you a couple of examples in passing for those who waited upon the Lord, you remember the story of Simeon there in Luke chapter number two, turn there with me if you would, Luke chapter two for a moment. Note verse 25, and behold, there was a man, Luke 2 verse 25, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting, waiting, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, feel his enthusiasm, brethren. Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation. This is what you promised that I would see. Now I behold this, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. I remember being down in Bentley. Some of you have heard of Conrad Merle, and he used to have a camp three times a year. And one year we were down there, and this seasoned pastor, Roy Cook, came up, and he brought his great grandbaby with him, this little tiny infant. And they had one kind of bright light over that pulpit. And I'll never forget, as Roy was preaching from this very text, he took on the role of Simeon. And he held this little child right there in that bright light and just beheld it. And he just talked about just how this enraptured the heart of Simeon, and it was a fulfillment of what God had promised. And in his waiting, now his waiting culminates in such glory as he sees the Lord's Christ, the consolation of Israel, the salvation of Jehovah. Glorious. Here's another example from church history. What is amazing to me is I was reading, by the way, if you've never read them before, tremendous books, Revival and Revivalism and Pentecost Today by Ian Murray. But what he says in those great awakenings is there were many of those godly pastors, whether it was Puritans up through the 1950s, in those glorious revivals or spiritual awakenings, many of those pastors and many of the saints were not even praying for revival. They were content to walk with God and wait upon the Lord. And if God chose to send revival, there were times they did pray passionately for it. But if you look at their journals, they said revival came in a moment that I least expected it. We were not praying for it. We're not assembled to believe God corporately for it, but God sent revival. They just rested in God and they were content just to carry out their ordinary disciplines and their walk with God each day. Now, here's some of the tragic examples of those who didn't wait. Biblical examples would include Abraham. You remember? I mean, he's getting up in years. I mean, the wrinkles are beginning to show and he keeps having this promise of God ringing his ears that through his seed, all the nations of the world would be blessed as the sands of the seashore, as the stars of the heaven, that God would multiply his seed. And it's just not happening. So what does Sarah do? She comes in and she recommends that he lie with her handmaiden Hagar. And they bore an Ishmael, a child of the flesh, a child of the bondwoman. And as a result, friend, of Abraham's not waiting, we're still reeling from the curse of that event to this very day. Do you see your decision not to wait? Many times will affect generations to come. You remember Aaron, man of God, Moses is going into the mountain to commune with God face to face. And there is Aaron anxious. The people come up, make us a God that shall go before us. And he creates this molten image of this golden calf. And the people's hearts are turned from Jehovah and they make as the object of their devotion, this golden calf. It incites a lot of commotion as they're dancing around in their act of worship around this golden calf. And then the man of God comes and judgment falls because of Aaron and the people's refusal to wait. You see it also in history. I remember years ago there was a friend of mine, precious brother, still is a dear, dear friend. But I mean, he was a solid preacher and and he preached the word faithfully and he encourages people to pray and believe God. He availed himself to the basic means of grace. But suddenly some people started leaving his church regularly. People were leaving his church. The finances were going down as folks were moving on. Some of them had problems with him, some of them problems with the church, some of them just moving away. But all of a sudden he's very anxious about it. And what he does is he implements the world's methodologies and strategies with hopes that maybe this will jumpstart the work, which it did. They got more people coming, but they were coming for the wrong reason. And when I got with him, I said to him in love, brother, why? He said, because we were losing people. And I said, do you think that was a good excuse? He said, well, what would you have done? I said, I would have gotten my leadership together and gone to the mountains to separate myself from the press of this world. I would have gotten my leadership together, call for a solemn assembly and saw the face of God in search of scriptures until God showed me the reason why we didn't see the blessing of God in our midst. One man, I mean, I've been in evangelism now for 41 years, friend, and going from church to church. And I really try when I go to church, not to sit there as a judge to analyze what's going on or analyze the leadership. I really seek not to do that. As I preached yesterday, I really seek to love and earn the right to be heard. So maybe if God does show me something, you know, I can approach a brother or an elder born about something. But I've seen some things, I mean, it's just unbelievable. I was in a church one time, many years ago, that the pastor, he was trying to hold both congregations together. He had a traditional crowd and he had a contemporary crowd. And so what he would do is, is the early service was a traditional crowd and he came in and he had his three piece suit on with a tie and all. And it was a very traditional old hymn type service. And and then the next service was the contemporary service. And he would run back to the back and change his suit and put on a. A golfing outfit, you know, and he would come out and act real suave and cool, you know, for the sake of the kids. And during the week, you know, they had one of the youth services that night and they had these strobe lights up, you know, just as they're singing, you know, just blinking on and off. I had to go out to the car for something. I look back in, I look through the church windows and I mean, I was wondering what in the world is the world think of this? I mean, these red and green and yellow lights just flashing on and off as they're singing this raucous music and and they're up there jiving and entertaining. And I'm saying I told my wife, I said. I hate to tell him this, but I said all he's doing is setting his church up for a split. Two months later, it's split. That's the beauty of the gospel, friend. It ought to enable us to come together, both young and old, rich and poor, all different races we worship together. You don't accommodate the world. Once again, it's an evidence of not waiting on God, seeking God and waiting on him to show you why the kingdom of God is not being advanced through your ministry. So. Let me wrap things up with this. Here's just a few thoughts on the importance of waiting on God and how to do it. First of all, brothers and sisters, define success from a biblical view. Divine success. I know some people don't like that word success because that sounds so worldly, doesn't it? But but I'm talking about, you know, we've sung songs like the success of God's word. The success of God's ministry, there's nothing wrong with success as long as it's mentioned in the proper context, but define success from a biblical vantage point. First Corinthians four, verse number two says, moreover, it is required in us as stewards that a man be found fruitful. Huh? Is that what it says? Faithful. Faithful. See, the thing is, even if things are not happening, even if there's not a huge amount of excitement and you're not seeing a massive amount of conversions, are you willing to stick by the stuff and be faithful in your relationship with God? Are you willing to be faithful, waiting upon him? God did not call us to be successful, but faithful. John MacArthur says it like this. Real success is not getting results at any cost. It is not prosperity, power, prominence, popularity or any of the other worldly notions of success. Listen to this. Real success is doing the will of God, regardless of the consequences. Are we willing to do that? Are we willing to obey God and do the will of God, even if things are not happening the way we read about in church history? Secondly, here's another thing is learn to rest completely in the Lord's time, in the Lord's time. In Ecclesiastes chapter three, verse number 11, he has made everything beautiful in his time. Also, he has set the world in their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Notice he makes all things beautiful, not in our time, but his time. Micah says this in Micah seven and verse seven. Therefore, I will look unto the Lord. I will wait out. Notice, I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. And you remember two years ago when I was here, you look at that wonderful passage there in Hebrews chapter four on prayer, gospel driven prayer friend. He always answers prayer. Every time we come, we obtain grace to help in time of need. Perhaps sometimes it's grace to wait. Grace to wait. Do we not know it is either yes or no or wait when we ask of him. Thirdly, another thing that perhaps would be a help in this process of waiting is find your contentment in Christ alone. Some men are not content to wait on God for a wife. They'd once again rather coerce or manipulate. Girls are the same way. They get out of their nature. They do things, you know, that are assertive when a woman should not be assertive in pursuing a man. It's hard for them to wait in these days of waiting. Whatever you're waiting for, find your contentment in Christ. Paulson Philippians four and verse 11. Not that I speak in respect of won't, for I have learned in what service state I am there with to be content. Brothers and sisters, years ago, Roy Hession, who wrote the Calvary Road, was in the United States in a church in Georgia. And my friend who was pastoring a very tiny church in the area, a very small church, went over to hear Roy Hession in this large church in the city of Columbus, Georgia. And he said, Don, I was so blessed, I was so encouraged. But he said, before you came to our church, he said we were seeing God do some things, some mercy drops. Some people that had professed Christ for years had come to Christ, had gotten genuinely born again. We'd had some key families. We had no idea that they were going through what they were going through in their marriage. And God touched and healed their marriage. And it had a rippling effect to the church. There was a sense of God there. And he said, I went over to hear Roy Hession. He was speaking on revival. And I told him, I said, Brother Hession, this is what we're seeing God do. Lost church members come to Christ. Marriage is being being touched. We're waiting for God to send a powerful revival. All we're seeing right now is mercy drops. Why is it that we're not seeing this massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit? And he said, Roy Hession, this humble man looked at him, which at the time Roy Hession was just shy of 80 years of age. He looked at my friend Carl and he said, Carl, even if God chooses not to send that mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit, isn't Jesus enough? And brothers and sisters, I ask you this morning, you're seeking something or someone in your life. But I ask you in the process of waiting, isn't Jesus enough? Even good things can become idols. We chase these butterflies to the exclusion of worshiping Jesus Christ. And then finally, another thing to encourage you in your waiting process is live and pray, expecting God to answer prayer. Don't be passive in your weight. Waiting on God is not passivity for him. Waiting on God is not passivity. You need to be diligent in your disciplines, reading the scripture, meditating upon Christ, praying, fellowshipping with believers, keeping yourself accountable to spiritual authorities. You need to do these things. They are good. God has given them to you for your own spiritual growth and maturity. But at the same time, we wait upon the Lord. And in that waiting, are we really anticipating God to send an answer to our prayer? Many of us are like the church back in the book of Acts. We're praying for the deliverance of Peter, and when he shows up at the door, we question it. But God, in his mercy, sends the request anyway. Matthew 21, verse 22, And all things, Jesus said, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing you shall receive. And in James chapter 1, verse 6, But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavers is like a wave of a sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord's. I heard the story of a pauper that lived in a realm of a very affluent and wealthy king, and the king had great compassion on his people. And he sent out a summons to everyone in his kingdom, said, if you'll just send your petitions to the to the castle, we will do all we can to answer those petitions. But there's only one condition in you receiving an answer to your request. You must keep your door open, your window open, and be on the lookout for it. Well, this pauper sent in one petition after another, asking the help of the king, never came. One day inquired, I've asked and asked, the king is not faithful to his promise. Why is it my petitions are not being responded to? So when they began to investigate, they came to his, his little abode. And they took him to a warehouse just outside the palace. And as they entered the door, there to the immediate corner was a pile of packages, gifts with this guy's name and address on them. Why were they not delivered? They said, because when we came, you were never on the lookout for them. And I ask you, friend, you're asking God for things, but are you on the lookout? Are you being proactive to be on the lookout for answers to prayer? You're not trying to make it happen, but you're anticipating that the one that's impossible to please without faith, that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think is anxious to answer prayer, that he might increase your faith even more. Are you on the lookout? Are you waiting on God? But are you on the lookout as you see God? The slowness of God's ways. Let's pray together. Father and our God, we thank you, Lord, this morning for the gathering of your people. Thank you for the sufficiency of your word. We're thankful, Lord, today that you do carry out your plan much of the time in a very slow and deliberate way. And there are reasons for it, Lord, and perhaps some of the reasons we'll never know until we get to eternity. But I, for one, am content with that. Yes, I'd like to see you more than anything else pour out your spirit in a massive revival here in the British Isles as well as our own country. I'd love to see, Lord, your glory manifest in such a real and powerful way. The Lord, I recognize that there have been men far more sanctified, far more anointed, far more diligent in seeking God in prayer, night and day, that have asked for this awakening, and you've chosen not to bring it. And then there are other times when men are content with their God, content with their Christ. They just wait and wait. But in the process of waiting, they're carrying out those disciplines of walking with you. And suddenly, you're in the heavens and you come down. Father, we rejoice today in your promise that you make all things beautiful in your time. And I pray, God, that you will continue to do your work, whether it's quickly or deliberately, very slowly. May you be glorified, Lord, not only in the outcome, but also the process. Teach us, Lord, to wait. Teach us, Lord, to wait upon you. In Jesus' name, amen.