Big God - Faith Waiting
Hebrews 11:11-12; Genesis 15:1-6
What’s this?
It’s a section of this Stack that reflects the content of a weekly small group Bible study that I lead. These posts primarily consist of a sermon outline used as notes during the meeting. A longer description can be found on the About page. If you subscribe to this Substack but don’t wish to receive notifications for this section, select Manage Subscription from the upper-right menu and turn the notification off there.
Audience
I prepare and present these outlines for an on-campus small group audience, adding explanations and additional questions during the meeting itself. Members of the group vary in their understanding, but are familiar with the Bible, can find references fairly quickly, and tend to believe what they read there. The beliefs we hold vary individually.
I have no particular expectations with regard to an online audience. Curiosity is enough, and perhaps patience if you understand things differently. The same goes for visitors to the church itself.
Questions and comments are encouraged.
Small Group Setting
Meetings are informal and conversational, although there is structure. We begin by taking time to arrive and connect, open in prayer, and then review a portion the message from the previous Sunday. There isn’t time to go through everything, but we go where we are drawn, following the outline or not.
There is considerably more to each message than what appears in the outline, and I suggest viewing it if you have the time and interest. Sermon videos typically run about 30-35 minutes. Take a few notes. Comment below.
Toward the end of our time we look at the “fill-in” sermon points, published with blanks in the bulletin but presented in full within the message and here. We also may glance at the questions for reflection (also from the bulletin) if there is time, and we close with extended prayer.
Note About This Session and Post
I have been running behind with getting these out. I never finished last week’s, but we didn’t meet in person. There’s much in my pipeline, including ongoing work on a planned post in the main section about the “sin problem”. The group did meet this week, and it was very small indeed. I wanted to complete and publish this post before Sunday, and it didn’t receive much proofreading, but I’ll fix things as I come across them.
Note About This Series
This “Big God” sermon series is based on the book Big God — What Happens When We Trust Him, by Britt Merrick.
Pre-Sermon Anthem
Sermon Video
Optional but recommended.
Sermon YouTube Livestream Link
Full Service YouTube Livestream Link
Sermon Outline
(“Slide:” indicates that the text following is projected on the sanctuary screens and displayed at the bottom of the livestream.)
Scripture Reading
Hebrews 11:11-12 - 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Genesis 15:1-6 - After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
(Mother’s day comments — Sarah was a mom who had to wait.)
Waiting on God:
Being present with Him
Your ways are more important than my ways
Waiting not easy. Becoming hard to wait for anything. Patient people really just those less bad at waiting. We live in a world that is getting better at saying “I can get you what you want, and I can get it to you now.”
(Examples)
World is screaming “get what you want / get it now”.
Moving toward more and more self-glorification, self-fulfilment, all about me, what I want, when I want it.
Slide: Waiting feels like work . . . but when you wait on God, it does work in your life.
Does something to you. Transformation. Closer to him. Draw into his image. Make us more like Christ. “There is a work that is going to be accomplished.Will see this in (Abraham’s and) Sarah’s story. (Review of preceding messages.) From the book Big God by Britt Merrick.
Slide: Abel was faith worshiping
Enoch was faith walking
Noah was faith working
Abraham was faith willingSarah is faith waiting
Slide: Hebrews 11:11-12 -
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.Because of her faith and trust in God, she was able to do the impossible and give birth to a child well beyond the years she should have been able to.
V. 12. “God did the impossible in them and through them and for them because of their faithfulness to him.”
Had to wait 25 years for the promise to begin to be fulfilled. Promise of all nations being blessed not fulfilled until Jesus. Showed great faith. But waiting changes us, draws us closer to God.
Non-Slide:1 Isaiah 28-30 - 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
Slide: Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) - but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
God is different from us, does not grow weary…
Waiting on God gives us strength, allows us to step forward when human natures wants to shut down.
Passage is about living the life we are meant to live, despite what pulls against doing that. Strength comes from God. Strength to face tomorrow.
Waiting is all about Him. Not about our accomplishments. God’s purposes fulfilled in our lives. Building his kingdom; trusing in him.
Was for Abraham and Sarah to discover. Promise to them was a blessing to them, but was really about accomplishing God’s purpose.
Slide: Genesis 15:1-6 - After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
v. 6 massively important, belief credited as righteousness. “Abraham was not righteous because of the good things he had done, but because of his trust in a Good God.”
“The Christian faith is not about what we do but about what has been done for us.” Trusting gift that Jesus has given to us, his death, resurrection, ascension, power, glory, might. Putting our trust in him, we too can be credited as righteous because of what he has accomplished.
Can dwell with him in eternity, life life he has in store for us, because we have received that righteousness, putting our trust in Jesus.
God’s purposes for us.
Have a relationship with him; to love him. Mt. 22:37 - And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
To love others. Matt. 22:39 - And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
“Who is our neighbor? Anyone we come in contact with.” Image bearers. Demonstrate image of God to them. Invited into relationship with God and others.To make disciples. Matt. 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…
Everyone putting trust in Jesus is a disciple maker. Giftet, equipped, called. God continues to provide what is needed to make disciples, make disciples who make disciples.To put our trust in Jesus Christ and be welcomed into eternity. To receive the inheritance, step into life he has in store for you.
Above are general promises for all disciples. Abraham & Sarah were to be used to build a family, to build a nation that would be blessing to the people, because it would ultimately be the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Through him all people would be blessed. God will bless them and use them, living out God’s purposes in their lives.
If we want to live God’s purposes in our lives, we need to wait on the Lord, because it can’t come from us; it has to come from him. A few rules to follow for waiting on the Lord.
Slide: Wait without being passive.
(Seminary degree story) Waiting without doing anything will be waiting for all eternity. Not God’s goal on our life. Instead, to wait actively, do things for him and with him, while waiting on ultmate fulfillment of promise of eternity.
Waiting on job, relationship, direction on what’s next, but there are things we can do that will glorify God today.
Reading scripture daily
Be in prayer
Showing up to worship weekly
Things we can all live into. Wait actively, not passively.
Slide: Philippians 2:12-13 - 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Work out salvation — not working “for” salvation (free gift from God). But our faith is not faith that is alone. Transforms, leads to action. Living in obedience, glorifying God, waiting for ultimate fulfillment of the promise. Not trying to earn salvation, but we live a life that glorifies God. We live for him. Loving him, loving others, making disciples. Dwell in and reflect his presence, to world around us. Wait actively, not passively.
Abraham and Sarah were still actively doing things while waiting for the promises. Still worshiping, establishing future dwelling place of God’s people. Not waiting passively. We need to wait actively in our relationship with God.
But need to be careful, being active but making sure we are doing what God has desired, designed for us to to do, not doing things our own way.
Slide: Wait without causing problems.
(Examples: restaurant impatience, driving frustration)
Abraham and Sarah’s error…
Slide: Genesis 16:1-2, 15-16 - Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Encouraging that these people made massive mistakes.
10 years of waiting so far. Sarah wants Abraham to have a child through Hagar.
This would be a time to tell your wife that she is wrong.
Ishmael was born. But promise was meant for Abraham and Sarah together. They got tired of waiting. Ishmael was act of the flesh. Many problems resulted.
Wait without causing problems. We are looking forward to eternity, but can lose our way while waiting, turn to own pursuits. (examples.)
Can happen to churches. Start doing things their own way. Dilute the gospel, softening word of God. Avoid the challenging parts — sin, submission, Jesus the one and only way. Seek to increase attendance, be loving and nice thinking that is all God desires.2
Trying to accomplish God’s purpose our way. Causing problems while we wait.
If waiting on the Lord, are trusting him, trusting his plan, ways, timing. May look different for different people, but some things are in common:
Spend time in God’s word
Spend time in community, for discernment — doing things my way or God’s way? Running ahead, or trusting him with my life?
Slide: Wait with our eyes on God’s promises.
Keep our eyes on God and on his promises.
All through scripture are examples of people not doing this, focusing instead on other things. Disaster resulted.
In Genesis, Adam and Eve in the garden. Sought knowledge and power. Brought sin into the world.
In Exodus, Israel refused to enter promised land. Enemies too big, powerful, strong — we can’t take the land. An entire generation missed out.
In Gospels, Apostle Peter walks on water while focused on Jesus, took eyes off and look at storm, began to sink.
Keep our eyes focused on God and his promises.
Abraham and Sarah were distracted, but they refocused.
Slide: Genesis 21:1-5 - Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Never too old to be a part of serving God.
Too old to give birth to a child, but with eyes on God and his promise, saw a miracle in their life, through them.
We need to keep our eyes focused on God.
Non-Slide: Hebrews 12:1 - 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Slide: Hebrews 12:2 - 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.Verse 1 is how we do verse 2.
How do we do what God has called us to do? We keep our eyes on Jesus, trusting in his strength, power, goodness, love, truth, timing, plan, ways, not our own.
As followers of Christ we need to daily submit ourselves to the Lord, over and over again, refocusing eyes on him and saying Jesus it is all about you.
If we can do that, have faith that stays focused on Jesus, that’s a faith that can move mountains. To have it, we need to wait on the Lord, dwell in his presense, worship him, spend time in his word, be in prayer, get away from everything else, say “God, nothing else compares to you”.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, pioneer and author of our faith, the one who started it and will perfect it in us.
If we want to stand before God in eternity, hear words “well done, good and faithful servant”, then every day need to take our eyes off of all the things of this world, all distractions, everything else we can put our eyes on, and place our eyes on Jesus and say ‘I’m going to wait on you’. Not passively but actively. Without causing problems. Keeping eyes on the promises. Keep going where God has called you to go.
(Comments about the local church’s mission.) Can’t do it on our own. Be a people who wait on and trust Him each and every day.
[Prayer]
Sermon Points
Waiting feels like work . . . but when you wait on God, it does work in your life.
Sarah is faith waiting.
Wait without being passive. (Philippians 2:12-13)
Wait without causing problems. (Genesis 16:1-2, 15-16)
Wait with our eyes on God’s promises. (Hebrews 12:2)
Questions for Reflection
How hard is it for you to wait for things?
As you wait on the Lord, what are some things you can do to wait actively?
Which promises of God do you need to keep your eyes on?
This is an “oops, forgot to include this” passage that was added during the sermon but not included in the side set, and for which the screens operator (me) received no warning. This happens a second time near the end of the sermon, with Hebrews 12:1.
Sermons are not rehearsed, and screens operators draw cues from what is said, observing certain rules. We do, however, receive the written sermon notes in advance, and while they often do not closely reflect what is actually said, they help us with anticipating when slide changes are going to occur. There are “cue conventions”, and you may notice a slight delay when a new slide appears. That’s the time it takes to recognize and respond to the cue. It is very easy to “jump the gun”, and the delay is necessary to prevent that from happening.
Since Ryan had already cued the slide, I simply left it up while he talked about the previous verse(s). Occasionally some pastors will stop by screens when they are there early for sound check and mention things like this, but that hasn’t happened in quite some time now and it is not required of them.
I sometimes write about running screens in the Anthems section. It’s a rather unusual volunteer job.
One of my former churches, a “mainline” church, was like this and still is. Long-time members of my present church find this hard to believe.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful and uplifting message.