Wait is a word that we despise. No one likes to wait. We want what we want, and we want it now. It is even more frustrating when we do not know the time of the wait. Not knowing how or when is frustrating to our flesh. Waiting is painful, but it is not the wait that is painful. It is the humanity of our flesh in the waiting that is the problem. The word wait, or some form of it, occurs in the bible many more times than we realize. Our Inpatients is triggered when we have a goal, but it will cost much more than we anticipated to realize it. We do not want to go through the work, but we want the results that the work will yield. This waiting can cause us to change our goals, or our path to get there. Things were not happening the way that Abram and Sarah thought they would, so they tried to work it out on their own. That decision changed the course of the world, and not necessarily in a good way. God does not need our help in the process. If He does, He will let us know. We like the results, but we do not like the process to get there. God has a pace and a process that we do not understand. There is a reason for the waiting. The bible tells us that He is prepared a place for us. The place is prepared, but He is preparing us to receive that place. The waiting is necessary for Him to prepare us for His blessing. If we are not hearing from the Lord right now, it is likely because it is not time for Him to speak. His silence speaks volumes that we need to trust Him and wait until He does speak. God used the wilderness to prove the children of Israel. It was a testing place to demonstrate that He was enough and that they would trust Him. Israel perceived the waiting as punishment and they complained about the process. God used forty years of wandering in the wilderness to prove them and prepare them to take the promised land. The wilderness is not a place of exile, it is a place where He leads us while He works on us. Job, Moses, and Abraham all had to deal with the waiting in a wilderness. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. Jacob had to wait fourteen years for Leah. David did not become king the day that he was anointed. Joseph had to wait many years between the dream and Pharo’s house. We are tired of waiting for the promise. We expect God to work on our timeframe. God is not punishing us by keeping us waiting. The weight of the wait is heavy, but it is necessary to prepare us for the blessing that He has promised.

Wait is a word that we despise. No one likes to wait. We want what we want, and we want it now. It is even more frustrating when we do not know the time of the wait. Not knowing how or when is frustrating to our flesh. Waiting is painful, but it is not the wait that is painful. It is the humanity of our flesh in the waiting that is the problem. The word wait, or some form of it, occurs in the bible many more times than we realize. Our Inpatients is triggered when we have a goal, but it will cost much more than we anticipated to realize it. We do not want to go through the work, but we want the results that the work will yield. This waiting can cause us to change our goals, or our path to get there. Things were not happening the way that Abram and Sarah thought they would, so they tried to work it out on their own. That decision changed the course of the world, and not necessarily in a good way. God does not need our help in the process. If He does, He will let us know. We like the results, but we do not like the process to get there. God has a pace and a process that we do not understand. There is a reason for the waiting. The bible tells us that He is prepared a place for us. The place is prepared, but He is preparing us to receive that place. The waiting is necessary for Him to prepare us for His blessing. If we are not hearing from the Lord right now, it is likely because it is not time for Him to speak. His silence speaks volumes that we need to trust Him and wait until He does speak. God used the wilderness to prove the children of Israel. It was a testing place to demonstrate that He was enough and that they would trust Him. Israel perceived the waiting as punishment and they complained about the process. God used forty years of wandering in the wilderness to prove them and prepare them to take the promised land. The wilderness is not a place of exile, it is a place where He leads us while He works on us. Job, Moses, and Abraham all had to deal with the waiting in a wilderness. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. Jacob had to wait fourteen years for Leah. David did not become king the day that he was anointed. Joseph had to wait many years between the dream and Pharo’s house. We are tired of waiting for the promise. We expect God to work on our timeframe. God is not punishing us by keeping us waiting. The weight of the wait is heavy, but it is necessary to prepare us for the blessing that He has promised.

To be used by God is one of the greatest blessings that any man could receive. We say that we want to be used, but few understand the process that results in us being useful to God. The miracle of the loaves and fishes is told in all the gospels. That God could do so much with so little is so illustrative of how He uses things for His glory. All they had was a boy’s lunch that was five loaves and two small fish. Jesus used what they had. Even though it was so little, it was enough in His hands. The disciples knew that it was not enough, but they brought it anyway. How many of us say that we do not have enough? Many do not offer what they have, because they do not believe it is sufficient. None of us are adequate, but God uses what we have to serve his purpose. If the boy had not given his lunch, there would have been no miracle. God cannot bless what we do not give to Him. When we get to the place where we yield to Him, He will bless us. The bible says Jesus broke the bread. It had to be broken to be a blessing. For God to use us, we have to be broken. When we are willing to be broken and submit to God’s process, we position ourselves to be used for His glory. Nothing feels blessed when it is being broken, but it is the brokenness that leads to the blessing. If we cannot be broken, we cannot be used by God. We do not understand God’s process. We believe that if we are broken, we cannot be used, but it is just the opposite. There is a blessing in the brokenness.

To be used by God is one of the greatest blessings that any man could receive. We say that we want to be used, but few understand the process that results in us being useful to God. The miracle of the loaves and fishes is told in all the gospels. That God could do so much with so little is so illustrative of how He uses things for His glory. All they had was a boy’s lunch that was five loaves and two small fish. Jesus used what they had. Even though it was so little, it was enough in His hands. The disciples knew that it was not enough, but they brought it anyway. How many of us say that we do not have enough? Many do not offer what they have, because they do not believe it is sufficient. None of us are adequate, but God uses what we have to serve his purpose. If the boy had not given his lunch, there would have been no miracle. God cannot bless what we do not give to Him. When we get to the place where we yield to Him, He will bless us. The bible says Jesus broke the bread. It had to be broken to be a blessing. For God to use us, we have to be broken. When we are willing to be broken and submit to God’s process, we position ourselves to be used for His glory. Nothing feels blessed when it is being broken, but it is the brokenness that leads to the blessing. If we cannot be broken, we cannot be used by God. We do not understand God’s process. We believe that if we are broken, we cannot be used, but it is just the opposite. There is a blessing in the brokenness.

It is easy for us to lose our bearing and direction in life. We are affected and confronted by so much, that we make mistakes and choices that complicate life even more. Everyday life has a way of causing questions to arise and can dislodge us from our comfort zone. On the road of life, we sometimes hit a pothole that causes our alignment to change. Like our cars, we have to maintain it to keep it in good working order. In God’s economy, the sanctuary is a place of maintenance. It is a place where people could recover from spiritual potholes and mistakes. The sanctuary is a place to regain balance and allow us to become centered again.

Troubles in life can push to make decisions and go in directions that we which we had not done. Abraham was called and was obedient, but still found himself in a place of famine. He had gotten in trouble with Pharo, but our text tells us that He knew where he needed to go to get straightened out. He went to the alter to get re-centered. The psalmist who penned our text today found himself in struggles while wicked people were blessed. He began to question why. It is easy to begin to make poor decisions to allow things in our life that should not be there. The psalmist found resolution when he went into the sanctuary of the Lord. There he experienced a great calm, and he had a revelation of his path. The took his eyes off the present moment and placed them on God’s vision.

We need a place of centering where we can regain our balance. We need to return to the centering place.

It is easy for us to lose our bearing and direction in life. We are affected and confronted by so much, that we make mistakes and choices that complicate life even more. Everyday life has a way of causing questions to arise and can dislodge us from our comfort zone. On the road of life, we sometimes hit a pothole that causes our alignment to change. Like our cars, we have to maintain it to keep it in good working order. In God’s economy, the sanctuary is a place of maintenance. It is a place where people could recover from spiritual potholes and mistakes. The sanctuary is a place to regain balance and allow us to become centered again.

Troubles in life can push to make decisions and go in directions that we which we had not done. Abraham was called and was obedient, but still found himself in a place of famine. He had gotten in trouble with Pharo, but our text tells us that He knew where he needed to go to get straightened out. He went to the alter to get re-centered. The psalmist who penned our text today found himself in struggles while wicked people were blessed. He began to question why. It is easy to begin to make poor decisions to allow things in our life that should not be there. The psalmist found resolution when he went into the sanctuary of the Lord. There he experienced a great calm, and he had a revelation of his path. The took his eyes off the present moment and placed them on God’s vision.

We need a place of centering where we can regain our balance. We need to return to the centering place.

Our text today is a foreshadowing of the gospel message. It defines the transforming power of God’s spirit in our lives. It is a passage of hope and a prophecy of better things to come. It declares an everlasting truth: that when God is our lives, there is a transforming power that is not found anywhere else. Isiah talks about thorns. This is a reminder to the result of the fall in the garden. Isiah mentions thorns. Thorns are difficult and painful. Our text says thorns would be replaced by something good. When we desire change, we make adjustments and alterations, but they do not work. We cut things out, but that does not solve the problem; they grow back. The changes we make do not result in the right outcome because the right thing did not change. The text does not say that he digs up the thorns and plants the myrtle or fir tree. The scripture says instead. Thorns are indigenous to the soil of life. This scripture tells us that the SOIL of life will change. If we can let God change the soil of our life, joy will replace pain, hurt, frustration. Real change happens in the soil, in the nature of life. God can change the circumstances, but unless we change, those changed circumstances will still result in frustration. All the self-help books will not result in real change. We have to yield to God and let Him change us. A physical change does not always result in spiritual transformation, but spiritual change will always result in physical change. We have to be changed from the inside out. That is where real change happens.

Our text today is a foreshadowing of the gospel message. It defines the transforming power of God’s spirit in our lives. It is a passage of hope and a prophecy of better things to come. It declares an everlasting truth: that when God is our lives, there is a transforming power that is not found anywhere else. Isiah talks about thorns. This is a reminder to the result of the fall in the garden. Isiah mentions thorns. Thorns are difficult and painful. Our text says thorns would be replaced by something good. When we desire change, we make adjustments and alterations, but they do not work. We cut things out, but that does not solve the problem; they grow back. The changes we make do not result in the right outcome because the right thing did not change. The text does not say that he digs up the thorns and plants the myrtle or fir tree. The scripture says instead. Thorns are indigenous to the soil of life. This scripture tells us that the SOIL of life will change. If we can let God change the soil of our life, joy will replace pain, hurt, frustration. Real change happens in the soil, in the nature of life. God can change the circumstances, but unless we change, those changed circumstances will still result in frustration. All the self-help books will not result in real change. We have to yield to God and let Him change us. A physical change does not always result in spiritual transformation, but spiritual change will always result in physical change. We have to be changed from the inside out. That is where real change happens.

The sermon on the mount is the subject of many sermons. Matthew’s recording lets us know that this message was not a single occurrence. The Greek word taught that is used, is continuous action. The illustration of building a house that Jesus uses is powerful. The difference between the two houses is the foundation on which it is built. The illustration of the rock and the sand is often portrayed as the rock being stronger. Dr. Hughes points out that sand is actually more stable than rock, but the true difference is sand’s location. Sand is in the lowlands, or by the seashore. The rock on which one of the men built his house, was actually a tall cliff. The house on the sand is in the lowlands. When the storms of life come, the house in the lowlands can become overwhelmed. The choice to build a house on the sand in the lowlands is convenience. It takes more effort to build a house in the high rock, but that man never has to worry about the storms of life flooding his house. The choice to build the house in the lowlands is based on it being easier. It takes the minimum effort. When the man built his house with minimum effort, he chose how much chaos he could live with. He allowed minimums to define his life. That same concept has crept into our culture. We have learned to take the easy path, and similarly choose how much chaos we can live with. When we are hearers of the word, but not doers of the word, we start trying to figure out the easiest way to get by. We are blessed with great preaching in our church, but if all we do is hear that preaching, but do not put it into practice, we will only find chaos. This was such an issue in Jesus’ time, he repeated the sermon on the mount message at least five times, and perhaps many more. When we start accepting minimums in life, we begin to accept lower standards, and can easily become spiritually lazy. The bible is clear that by doing the minimum, we invite chaos into our lives. When the storms of life come along, the man with minimum standards can easily be washed away.

The sermon on the mount is the subject of many sermons. Matthew’s recording lets us know that this message was not a single occurrence. The Greek word taught that is used, is continuous action. The illustration of building a house that Jesus uses is powerful. The difference between the two houses is the foundation on which it is built. The illustration of the rock and the sand is often portrayed as the rock being stronger. Dr. Hughes points out that sand is actually more stable than rock, but the true difference is sand’s location. Sand is in the lowlands, or by the seashore. The rock on which one of the men built his house, was actually a tall cliff. The house on the sand is in the lowlands. When the storms of life come, the house in the lowlands can become overwhelmed. The choice to build a house on the sand in the lowlands is convenience. It takes more effort to build a house in the high rock, but that man never has to worry about the storms of life flooding his house. The choice to build the house in the lowlands is based on it being easier. It takes the minimum effort. When the man built his house with minimum effort, he chose how much chaos he could live with. He allowed minimums to define his life. That same concept has crept into our culture. We have learned to take the easy path, and similarly choose how much chaos we can live with. When we are hearers of the word, but not doers of the word, we start trying to figure out the easiest way to get by. We are blessed with great preaching in our church, but if all we do is hear that preaching, but do not put it into practice, we will only find chaos. This was such an issue in Jesus’ time, he repeated the sermon on the mount message at least five times, and perhaps many more. When we start accepting minimums in life, we begin to accept lower standards, and can easily become spiritually lazy. The bible is clear that by doing the minimum, we invite chaos into our lives. When the storms of life come along, the man with minimum standards can easily be washed away.