Speaker 1: Hello, everybody.
Speaker 2: This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. If you're joining us
Speaker 2: for the first time or you've been listening every day
Speaker 2: for ten years, we just want to say welcome, We
Speaker 2: love you, and we pray for you every day. So
Speaker 2: we're continuing with this series called Daring Faith the Key
Speaker 2: to Miracles. And in this series you're learning how to
Speaker 2: have a bold, unshakable faith that gives you courage to
Speaker 2: impact the world around you.
Speaker 1: And if you're like me, you'd really like to be.
Speaker 2: More bold and have more courage to share your faith
Speaker 2: in Christ. And now let's join Rick as he shares
Speaker 2: the final part of a message called Daring to Wait
Speaker 2: on God.
Speaker 3: Many of you know the story about my year of
Speaker 3: depression nineteen eighty was started at the church. At the
Speaker 3: end of nineteen eighty I stood up to speak and
Speaker 3: I passed out while I was preaching, fainted flat out.
Speaker 3: And I went through nineteen eighty one. I was depressed
Speaker 3: the whole year. And I know my goal was not
Speaker 3: Oh God, build a great church. It was oh God,
Speaker 3: get me through Sunday. Can I put one foot in
Speaker 3: front of the others. I'd go and I'd preach a
Speaker 3: service and I'd go home and get in bed. In
Speaker 3: that entire year of darkness and depression, God taught me
Speaker 3: habits and skills that prepared me to handle enormous amounts
Speaker 3: of stress that I would have never had if I
Speaker 3: hadn't gone through that waiting period. And I learned in
Speaker 3: that year of down and discouragement and waiting to juggle
Speaker 3: more balls than you can possibly think of. And God
Speaker 3: was putting skills and habits in my life during the downtime.
Speaker 3: If you're going to lose, you want to lose in preseason,
Speaker 3: not at the super Bowl. It's okay to have some
Speaker 3: early losses in life because that's when you can learn.
Speaker 1: Don't put your life on hold.
Speaker 3: Instead, imitate the habits that grow strong faith.
Speaker 1: What are those habits? I'm glad you asked. Let me
Speaker 1: give you five.
Speaker 3: The Bible says there are five things you should keep
Speaker 3: on doing.
Speaker 1: Keep on, keep on, keep on keeping.
Speaker 3: And that means even in the wilderness, even in the
Speaker 3: waiting period, you need to keep on doing these things.
Speaker 3: Number one, keep on praying when you're in the waiting room,
Speaker 3: keep on praying. Matthew seven to seven says, keep on asking,
Speaker 3: and you will be given what you ask for. Keep
Speaker 3: on looking and you will find. Keep on knocking and
Speaker 3: the door will be open. That's actually the correct Greek
Speaker 3: because it's a participle. It's a continuation. It's a continuing
Speaker 3: a verb that says, keep on doing it, keep on asking,
Speaker 3: keep on seeking, keep on knocking, and you will get
Speaker 3: your answer. Keep on praying. Number two, keep on serving.
Speaker 3: Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.
Speaker 3: This sharpens your skill. You know, most of you guys know.
Speaker 3: I train pastors and I meet a lot of young
Speaker 3: pastors who they don't want to do the menial thing
Speaker 3: in ministry, and they don't want to serve God in
Speaker 3: a small way. They only want to serve God in
Speaker 3: a big way. Well, you don't get to serve God
Speaker 3: in a big way unless you've served God in a
Speaker 3: small way first. If you're faithful in little things, then
Speaker 3: you'll be faithful in much. And they want to say,
Speaker 3: I've had guys tell me this, actually use this phrase.
Speaker 3: I want a significant ministry. And I said, here's what
Speaker 3: you do. Forget having a significant ministry, going to significant ministry.
Speaker 1: Just make your ministry significant.
Speaker 3: Don't look for a significant ministry in life. Make your
Speaker 3: ministry significant. There are no great ways to serve God.
Speaker 3: There are only small ways to serve God, done with
Speaker 3: a great.
Speaker 1: Heart, and that's true greatness.
Speaker 3: And so you serve God with a great heart and
Speaker 3: you make the ministry service successful. Why do I say
Speaker 3: keep on serving because that's another meaning of the word wait.
Speaker 1: Wait doesn't just mean.
Speaker 3: Expect something to happen that hasn't happened yet. Wait also
Speaker 3: means to serve. Have you ever had a waiter at
Speaker 3: your table? Why do they call that guy the waiter.
Speaker 3: You're the one who's waiting. You're waiting on the food. Okay,
Speaker 3: you're waiting on him, not he's waiting on you.
Speaker 1: Well, it's two different meanings.
Speaker 3: When you say I'm waiting for something to happen, that's
Speaker 3: what you're doing. But wait also means to serve, and
Speaker 3: that's why servers are called waiters, and ladies in waiting
Speaker 3: are women who serve the queen. Because the word weight
Speaker 3: doesn't just mean to expect, It also means to serve.
Speaker 1: And when you're in the waiting room.
Speaker 3: In life, that's a good time to practice serving. To
Speaker 3: find a ministry and just get involved. Don't sit around
Speaker 3: doing nothing, waiting for your ship to come in. Get
Speaker 3: out there and just start serving.
Speaker 1: Number three.
Speaker 3: Keep on praying, Keep on serving number three. This is
Speaker 3: in the scripture. Keep on going to small group. Keep
Speaker 3: on going to small group. Hebrews ten twenty five says this.
Speaker 3: Don't give up your habit. Notice, small group is a habit.
Speaker 3: Don't give up your habit of meeting with other believers. Instead,
Speaker 3: keep on encouraging each other. Some of you got in
Speaker 3: a daring faith small group and you did it for
Speaker 3: all six seven weeks and then you go, Okay, well
Speaker 3: that was good. Now I'm gonna drop out a group
Speaker 3: that's dumb.
Speaker 1: Keep on going to small group.
Speaker 3: If you want to change groups, fine, you don't like
Speaker 3: the people you're in, I give you permission to change.
Speaker 3: Just say I need a different night. Fine, yeah, are
Speaker 3: you know, I'll go start a new group whatever I like.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: It's like if you're in a group and you didn't
Speaker 3: really like it's like, well, it's like a doctor. You
Speaker 3: don't like your doctor, So I'm never going to go
Speaker 3: to another doctor. No, you just find another one. You
Speaker 3: go to a restaurant, you have a bad meal, I'm
Speaker 3: going to give up eating.
Speaker 1: That's stupid. No, you just go to another restaurant.
Speaker 3: If your group didn't meet your needs, congratulations, you learn
Speaker 3: some love to love people.
Speaker 1: Maybe it were difficult for you to love.
Speaker 3: Get in another group, but whatever you do, keep on going,
Speaker 3: small group, don't give up the habit.
Speaker 1: Keep on.
Speaker 3: Number four, keep on sewing. Ecclesiastes eleven six says this,
Speaker 3: keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which
Speaker 3: ones will grow. Perhaps they all will. And then number five,
Speaker 3: keep on believing. Keep on believing. The Bible says you
Speaker 3: must keep on believing the things you have been taught.
Speaker 1: You know they're true. The point is stay at.
Speaker 3: The big point I'm trying to make is that waiting
Speaker 3: is not passivity. God cannot steer a parked car.
Speaker 1: I'm waiting God, We'll.
Speaker 3: Turn on the admission and just start driving where anywhere.
Speaker 3: God can direct a car that's moving, he cannot.
Speaker 1: Direct a car that's stalled.
Speaker 3: Get involved in the ministry, Get involved in service, Get
Speaker 3: involved in a small group.
Speaker 1: Do the things that you know you could be doing.
Speaker 3: Developing skills and habits now to prepare so that when
Speaker 3: that baby arrives you're not caught off guard.
Speaker 1: The delivery is a joy.
Speaker 3: Write down the lessons, act as though I already have it,
Speaker 3: Imitate the.
Speaker 1: Habits that grow strong faith.
Speaker 3: And the t we learn from Scripture in the waiting
Speaker 3: rooms of life is to trust God instead of panicking.
Speaker 3: Trust God instead of panicking.
Speaker 1: Now, there's a.
Speaker 3: Couple facts that you can trust about God. One, God
Speaker 3: is never in a hurry. You can know that for sure.
Speaker 3: And number two, God is never late. You can know
Speaker 3: that for sure. God's timing is always perfect. Now, what
Speaker 3: happens in those times where it appears that God is late?
Speaker 1: In the times where.
Speaker 3: It appears God is late, God is getting you ready
Speaker 3: for a miracle. I could give you so many examples
Speaker 3: of this in scripture. For instance, Mary and Martha in
Speaker 3: the Bible had a brother named Lazarus. Lazarus was one
Speaker 3: of Jesus' best friends. Lazarus got deathly sick, and he
Speaker 3: lived in a city called Bethany. Bethany was just a
Speaker 3: few miles from where Jesus was, maybe three four miles.
Speaker 3: It's just out of town, out of Jerusalem, and they
Speaker 3: sent word to Jesus. Jesus, can you come over to
Speaker 3: our house in Bethany. Best friend Lazarus is sick, he's
Speaker 3: deathly ill, and it takes Jesus three days to go
Speaker 3: about five miles.
Speaker 1: What's going on here?
Speaker 3: When Jesus finally gets there, he could have easily got
Speaker 3: there in an hour or two. It takes him three
Speaker 3: days to go a few miles to see his best.
Speaker 1: Friend who's dying. And when he gets there.
Speaker 3: They say, too late, Jesus, he's already dead. We've wrapped
Speaker 3: him up and we've buried him in a tomb. You're
Speaker 3: too late. Sorry, you're a little late. You missed the
Speaker 3: timing on your best friend. Well, Jesus wasn't late, because
Speaker 3: Jesus had already in his mind what he was going
Speaker 3: to do. His goal was not to heal Lazarus. His
Speaker 3: goal was to raise him from the dead. His goal
Speaker 3: was not to just make him well. His goal was
Speaker 3: to do a miracle of an astronomical purpose. Sometimes God
Speaker 3: lets the situation get so bad only a miracle will do.
Speaker 3: Don't give up your faith, hold on, hang on, do
Speaker 3: the things I've just taught you how to do, because
Speaker 3: you're getting ready for a miracle. Jesus walks up the tomb, says,
Speaker 3: roll the stone away. They roll the stone away and
Speaker 3: he says, uh, Lazarus, come forth. Now I'm glad he
Speaker 3: said Las, because if you just said come forth, every
Speaker 3: dead person in Seyringer is going to come out at
Speaker 3: that point.
Speaker 1: But he calls him by name, Lazar, come forward. He
Speaker 1: comes out, and.
Speaker 3: It's interesting when he walks up to the tomb, he says, Father,
Speaker 3: they overheard him praying this.
Speaker 1: Father.
Speaker 3: I thank you that you've already heard me. Father, I
Speaker 3: thank you that you've already heard me. And I'm even
Speaker 3: saying this just for the people around me. He already
Speaker 3: knew what he was going to do. God already knows
Speaker 3: what he's going to do in your life next month,
Speaker 3: next year, in next decade, and his plan for you
Speaker 3: is good.
Speaker 1: And you need to trust him, and you need to relax.
Speaker 1: And when you're in the.
Speaker 3: Waiting room, you need to just say, Okay, he's not early,
Speaker 3: he's not late. He's always on time. And I will
Speaker 3: trust God and I will do these things. I'll write
Speaker 3: down the lessons and lack as though it's already happened,
Speaker 3: and I'm going to keep on doing the habits. I'll
Speaker 3: keep on sewing, and I'll keep on sharing, and I'll
Speaker 3: keep on serving, and I'll keep unbelieving, and I'll keep
Speaker 3: on going to a small group, and I'll keep on
Speaker 3: praying because God's timing is perfect.
Speaker 1: He's not too late. A close of this.
Speaker 3: Many years ago, in my backyard, I planted bamboo around
Speaker 3: our pool area. I'm kind of a student of bamboo.
Speaker 3: Some bamboos grow very very slow, and some grow very fast,
Speaker 3: and some grow slow, slow, slow, and then fast. Here's
Speaker 3: how you take how you grow a typical piece of bamboo.
Speaker 3: You cut a piece of bamboo off like this and
Speaker 3: cut it in half, and you stick it in the ground,
Speaker 3: and you water it for a year, and nothing happens.
Speaker 1: Nothing.
Speaker 3: And you water it for the second year the bamboo
Speaker 3: and nothing happens. And you water it for the third
Speaker 3: year and nothing happens. And you water it for the
Speaker 3: fourth and the fifth year and nothing happens, and you
Speaker 3: fertilize it. And on the sixth year you water it
Speaker 3: and nothing happens. And on the seventh year it sprouts.
Speaker 3: But once it's sprouts, it takes off. Some bamboo can
Speaker 3: grow one meter or three feet in twenty four hours.
Speaker 3: Some bamboo can grow to nine feet in about four days.
Speaker 1: It just when it takes off. It takes off.
Speaker 3: I tell pastors, some of you are in bamboo churches,
Speaker 3: and you're in little church and you've been watering it
Speaker 3: and watering it and watering it and watering and water
Speaker 3: and about year six you say, I give up. This
Speaker 3: isn't going to work, and you leave. And the seventh
Speaker 3: guy comes in the seventh year and it's sprouts, and
Speaker 3: he gets all the credit. But you did all the cultivating.
Speaker 3: Your life is like bamboo. And you may have been thinking,
Speaker 3: I have been.
Speaker 1: Working on this and working on this and.
Speaker 3: Working on this, and I have been I have been
Speaker 3: studying the Bible, I have been serving, I have been tithing,
Speaker 3: I have been believing.
Speaker 1: I have been planning seed. You may be in year six.
Speaker 3: Don't give up, because when that thing sprouts, it could
Speaker 3: grow nine feet in about three days, and it just
Speaker 3: takes off, and you go, wha, what just happened? God
Speaker 3: just did what he wanted to do last verse on
Speaker 3: the screen Galatians six'. Nine so let us not get
Speaker 3: tired of doing what is right for after a, while
Speaker 3: at the right, time we will re a harvest of.
Speaker 1: Blessing but here's the.
Speaker 3: Condition if we don't get discouraged and give. UP i will,
Speaker 3: not as your, pastor let you give. UP i will beat.
Speaker 1: You i'm just giving.
Speaker 3: Up i'm giving up On, god And i'm giving up
Speaker 3: on The, bible And i'm giving up a small, group
Speaker 3: And i'm giving up a. Tighta Then i'm coming to
Speaker 3: your house and i'll take you by. That you are
Speaker 3: in year three of The bamboo. Story you have no
Speaker 3: idea what you're gonna. DO i am so glad that
Speaker 3: in the darker days of my LIFE i did not
Speaker 3: give up On. God But i'm even more. Glad i'm
Speaker 3: more glad that he didn't give up on. Me he
Speaker 3: knew what he was gonna do in my, life AND i,
Speaker 3: didn't AND i had no. Idea but during the dark,
Speaker 3: DAYS i was learning the, skills AND i kept on,
Speaker 3: praying AND i kept on, giving AND i kept on,
Speaker 3: serving AND i kept on, believing AND i kept on,
Speaker 3: trusting and the bamboo. Sprouted So i'm fifty sixty. Three
Speaker 3: even When i'm, afraid even When i'm, AFRAID i will trust.
Speaker 1: You that's daring.
Speaker 3: Faith even When i'm, AFRAID i will trust. You that's daring.
Speaker 3: Faith now, listen some of you think you've been waiting On,
Speaker 3: god And god is waiting on.
Speaker 1: You what you have been thinking Is i'm waiting On.
Speaker 3: God but what you're really thinking Is i'm waiting for
Speaker 3: the fear to go, away and Then i'll do. It
Speaker 3: i'm going to wait for the fear to go, away
Speaker 3: and Then i'll make this. Commitment i'm gonna wait for
Speaker 3: the fear to go away and Then i'll do go
Speaker 3: after my. Dream i'm gonna wait for the fear to go,
Speaker 3: away and Then i'll start tithing or give the daring.
Speaker 3: Faith i'm gonna wait this fear go away and Then
Speaker 3: i'll whatever you got on your. Mind let me tell
Speaker 3: you a little. Secret it's not going. Away it's not going.
Speaker 3: Away god's not gonna take that fear. Away the only
Speaker 3: way you get through that fear is you must move against.
Speaker 3: It you must move through, it you must move against.
Speaker 3: It you must do the thing you fear the. Most
Speaker 3: it's not gonna go away ever until you move against
Speaker 3: it and you do the thing that you're, anxious you're,
Speaker 3: scared you're worried about, doing and you step out on,
Speaker 3: faith and when you jump out into the, air you're
Speaker 3: gonna find you land safe in the arms Of. God
Speaker 3: let's bow our. Heads would you pray this? Prayer Dear,
Speaker 3: GOD i realize that the waiting, room my, men maybe
Speaker 3: you're waiting on me to demonstrate. Faith And i've been
Speaker 3: afraid to trust. You i've been afraid to commit to.
Speaker 3: You i've been afraid to step out in. Faith and
Speaker 3: the waiting room is really one of my own. Making
Speaker 3: and in some, Sense i've put my life on hold
Speaker 3: because of the. Fear but no, more BECAUSE i realize
Speaker 3: the fear is not going to go away by me
Speaker 3: just hoping it goes. Away and SO i commit myself
Speaker 3: unreservedly to. You and even WHEN i am, AFRAID i
Speaker 3: will trust in. You And i'm going to keep on
Speaker 3: praying and keep on, serving keep ongoing to my small,
Speaker 3: group keep on, sewing keep on. Believing i'm going to
Speaker 3: write down the lessons that i'm. Learning i'm going to
Speaker 3: act as Though i've already got that answer to, prayer.
Speaker 1: And like the expectant My i'm.
Speaker 3: Going to start preparing by learning the, habits learning the,
Speaker 3: skills and trusting.
Speaker 1: You instead of.
Speaker 3: Panicking if you've never opened your life To Jesus, christ
Speaker 3: Say Jesus, christ please come into my. Life right now
Speaker 3: and make yourself real to. ME i want to learn
Speaker 3: to love you and trust, you AND i want to
Speaker 3: dare to wait on you and trust that your timing is.
Speaker 3: Perfect AND i asked this humbly In jesus's. Name. Amen hi,
Speaker 3: everybody this Is rick AND i hope you enjoyed today's.
Speaker 3: Broadcast you, know if you just prayed that prayer for
Speaker 3: the very first, time or you just recommitted your life
Speaker 3: To jesus again, today would you let me know about.
Speaker 3: It there's something real about sharing your. Commitment so write
Speaker 3: Me rick at Pastor rick dot com and, Say, RICK
Speaker 3: i prayed that prayer to, COMITMENT i gave my life To.
Speaker 3: Christ And i'll send you some material that will help
Speaker 3: you on your journey With. Jesus And i'll also pray for.
Speaker 3: You god bless.
Speaker 2: YOU i don't know about, you BUT i am encouraged
Speaker 2: after that. Message and let's keep the encouragement going with
Speaker 2: a letter from one of our. Listeners Here's.
Speaker 3: RICK i started This Daily hope ministry BECAUSE i want
Speaker 3: to help you fulfill the great commission and the great
Speaker 3: commandment Of Jesus christ to Love god with all your,
Speaker 3: heart love your, neighbors yourself to make, disciples to teach
Speaker 3: them to, grow and to baptize them and bring them
Speaker 3: into the family Of. God and all of these things
Speaker 3: happen when you do What god tells you to. Do
Speaker 3: you were part of the. Effort we are a team
Speaker 3: here At Daily. Hope let me read your letter From,
Speaker 3: jeff who listens To Daily hope In, alabama and he's
Speaker 3: using all of the resources that we produce in addition
Speaker 3: to these broadcasts to help disciple other people and the.
Speaker 3: Word he, Wrote Dear Pastor, rick our adult classes At
Speaker 3: Green Valley Baptist church here In, Hoover, alabama just finished
Speaker 3: your six week study kit for the Series Daring. FAITH
Speaker 3: i just wanted to drop you a line tell you
Speaker 3: how much we enjoyed that study and the. Video many
Speaker 3: of our class members have been going through a lot
Speaker 3: of personal, tragedies, problems and difficulties, lately and your video
Speaker 3: spoke so strongly to how we need to depend On
Speaker 3: god in our faith to help us get through both
Speaker 3: the good and bad times of. Life, well Thanks jeff
Speaker 3: for writing in first. Place, Second i'm so excited to
Speaker 3: hear that you're using these resources in addition to the
Speaker 3: broadcast that we're preparing for groups and individuals and even
Speaker 3: churches and my prayers that was we put together these
Speaker 3: resources like The Daring Faith, kit that they will be
Speaker 3: used by thousands of small groups around the world to
Speaker 3: help people grow in faith and in knowledge Of Jesus. Christ,
Speaker 3: now for those of you who are listening, today there
Speaker 3: are a lot of different resources That Daily hope, Produces bible, studies, kits, manuals,
Speaker 3: scripture memory, cards all kinds of things that you need
Speaker 3: to be aware. Of so go to my website today
Speaker 3: pastorick dot. Com if you've never been, there take a
Speaker 3: minute and go to pastorick dot com and see all
Speaker 3: of the resources that we've prepared to help you grow
Speaker 3: in your faith and share your faith with.
Speaker 1: Others we did it for. You god bless.
Speaker 2: You please join us next time as we look Into
Speaker 2: God's word for Our daily. Hope this program is sponsored
Speaker 2: By Pastor Rick's Daily hope and your generous financial.
Speaker 1: Support