The Answer That Came Late

02 Dec The Answer That Came Late

Posted at 10:57h in English Service, Featured by Preacher Huijun 0 Comments

Preacher Huijun - 9 January 2016

Practically Enter Into New Progress

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It is another new year. We just bid farewell to 2015 and now we are at 2016, a new year. Have you ever felt that, despite wanting to start anew all over again in this new year, certain things just continue to follow us and weigh us down in life? In Isaiah 43, God said, "forgot the former things, do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!.. do you not perceive it?" Why is it that we're always unable to have a breakthrough in the old failures, old problems and old mindset; and why is it that we are unable to see the new things that God claims He's doing? The answer could be very simple. We could be still putting the new wine into the old wineskins. We could still be holding onto our fixated mindset about people and things, the condemnation we have programmed into ourselves that guarantees failure and inferiority , the beliefs that magnify our weakness more than the omnipotence of Christ the Savior. We could be so used to holding onto them, to the point of making them absolute and truth in our lives. As a result, we do not see the new things that God's doing, because we are so "trapped and locked" in our own fixated assumptions. Yet, God is doing a new thing even when we're holding onto our "old" because His promise stands forever, and His mercies and grace are new every morning! Since God gives us new grace, rather than drowning ourselves in the voices of the Evil that we will still be the same, start taking practical actions by putting our lives into new wineskins today! God is giving us new grace, new mercy, new heart, new doors, new challenges, new tests this year. Believe, and start praying deeper in His promise so that we begin doing, confirming and living in the promise of God in the daily fields He sends us today!

From Series: "All English Service"

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Waiting is usually agonizing for most people. And often when we are made to wait, we tend to feel that God has singled us out for this unwanted process and we always ask, “Why me, Lord? How long, O Lord?” Yet, waiting is a frequent lesson observed in the Bible. In fact, “wait” could be the most precious answer God has given us. For during the wait, we are forced to confront this question: “What is our chief treasure and joy?” Is what we are waiting for more than God Himself”? If our chief joy lies in the final outcome at the end of the wait, then we will surely be miserable during the wait; but if our highest delight is in the Lord, who is present with us even right now, our hearts will find strength as we wait.

Verses to read:
<Gen 21:1-7>

1. The Lord did just as He had promised.

Faithful.
Did the impossible.
God will make us laugh, eventually.

2. But it takes time…

1) Understand what God does in the waiting process.

Repeatedly affirms His promise.
Waits till all human factors failed.

***We are most concerned about the outcome, but what God values more is the process of moulding the recipient.

Wants us to desire God more than a son [or any other desire].

***Something actually happens when nothing seems to be happening.

Before the most important answer comes, there needs to be better preparation.

***“Wait” could be the most precious answer God gives us. The wait can make us cherish God more than cherishing a particular outcome.

2) Our response during the wait.

Continue to wait for God, even if nothing or the opposite of what we hope for happens.
Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” <Jn 5:17>
Our faith in His goodness today can help us trust His faithfulness tomorrow.
Let our waiting be a testimony.
Give thanks that God is a “waiting” God.
Confirm little graces >>> restore greater faith.
Seek out what God wants us to submit.
<Ps 118:24> This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. [ESV]
Do not take shortcuts.

***What is our chief treasure and joy?

***Is what we are waiting for more than God Himself?

3. Our response after receiving the long-awaited answer is important.

Obedience.
Persistent trust in God.

Reflections:

Share your experience in your waiting process. How do you sustain your faith and hope?
How have you confirmed God’s work even when things appear contrary to God’s truth/promises?

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Preacher Hui Jun

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Huijun serves as Secretary of The Blessed RUN Ministries. She is also the Preacher at The Life Church and Missions (Singapore). She graduated from Singapore Bible College and currently lives in Singapore with her husband, Chengji.