Garden Valley
Community Church
Pastor Shane Moffitt
September 7th
2014
“HOW GOD BUILDS YOUR FAITH” series
Step #3: God’s
Waiting Room
“So humble yourselves
under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up
in honor.” 1 Peter 5:6 NLT
v Your test of spiritual
maturity is how well you handle waiting….
“Remember how the Lord your God led you
through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing
you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey
his commands.”
Deuteronomy 8:2 NLT ~ Exodus 13:17
#1. When Waiting ~ Don’t Fear
“Don’t be afraid,
for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 NLT
v To Combat fear ~
focus on God’s Presence
v There are 365 "fear
nots" in the Bible ~ that's one for every day of the year
#2. When Waiting ~
Don’t Fret
4….But the people
grew impatient with the long journey, 5 and they began
to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to
die here in the wilderness?” they complained….
Numbers
21:4-5 NLT
Resting
in God ~ is an act of Faith
Be
still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.”
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.”
Psalm
37:7-8 NLT
#3. When Waiting ~ Don’t Faint
“So let’s not get
tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a
harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 NLT
v Never
undo in doubt what you have done in faith ~ Don’t 2nd guess your
decision
v This
stage makes us idealize the past
“One day Jesus told
his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never
give up.” Luke 18:1 NLT
#4. When Waiting ~ Don’t Forget
“Let all that I am
praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.” Psalm 103:2 NLT
may I never forget the good things he does for me.” Psalm 103:2 NLT
During
the delay, time causes us to forget many things.
When
there is a delay, we tend to forget our God given vision.
We
tend to forget what God had done in our life.
We
tend to forget God's goodness to us in the past.
We
tend to forget that God is with us.
We
tend to forget God's power.
We
tend to forget how important it is that
we stay in God's strength
and we start focusing
on all our problems
than on what He has done for us. The
Bible says, Don't forget.
27Jesus spoke to them at
once. “Don’t
be afraid,”
he said. “Take
courage. I am here!”
28 Then Peter called to
him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the
boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves,
he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.”
Matthew 14:27-30 NLT
v The promises of God
in His Word are always greater than the problems you're facing
7Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by
the
Lord’s miraculous deeds. They
soon forgot his
many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they
rebelled against him at the Red Sea.
8 Even so, he saved
them — to defend the honor of
His name and to demonstrate his mighty power.
13Yet how
quickly they forgot what he had done!
They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
Psalm 106:7-8 &
13
