WAITING AND TRUSTING

(INTRO) TIRED OF WAITING (Me/We)

[1]WELCOME: Good morning Church. If you’re new with us this morning on campus or online, my name is Nic Cook. I’m one of the pastors along with Joe and the other elders here. We’re glad you chose to worship with us today. We’re continuing in our teaching…

SERIES: called ANCHORED that’s based on the book of Hebrews. It was written to encourage Christians who were tired, weary, and doubting. The main theme of this book is, no matter how hard or bad it gets, keep your eyes focused on Jesus. When it gets hard, don’t give up. Jesus is both able to help you get through it, and he’s worth running the marathon to get to be with. It’s funny to me how time hop on Facebook reminds me of experiences at just the right time. Earlier this week, it popped up with this picture. [2]Two years ago, I was waiting in the DMV to get my driver’s license renewed. The quote I posted was “I don’t personally believe in purgatory, but if I did, I think waiting in or working in the DMV would count as time served! Edit: there was a sign that said no profanity or abusive language is tolerated. I can’t imagine why they would need a sign like that in this place.” It’s crowded, it doesn’t seem very efficient, and it feels like you literally sit there and do nothing until someone finally calls your number. The longer you wait, the more irritated you get. I was surrounded by irritated people who were tired of waiting. Now here’s where this gets even better. This was the second day I had to come back, because after going through all of this once, I got up to the counter and they told me I had to have 3 forms of valid ID and I only had 2. GRRRRRRRRR. So this picture was taken on my second time around. [3]The truth is, that’s what 2022 feels like. We’ve been through this before! It makes us want to cuss thinking that 2022 is pronounced 2020 too. [4]

· TIRED OF WAITING: We find ourselves saying, God what in the world are you doing in all of this? When is it going to be over? We’re tired of this God. We’re struggling and feeling like it’s hard to keep going. We can only take so much uncertainty. However, this has been a pretty common situation for God’s people. Every generation has found themselves asking: How long God? I feel like I can’t do this much more? Can I really trust you? And every generation has had to wrestle with [5]THE PROCESS OF WAITING WHILE HOPING. And the writer of the Hebrews has been a source of wisdom and strength for thousands of years. This morning, God wants to speak to us through this letter and show us that he can be trusted and that we can find something to hold on to that will give us hope and endurance in the middle of all of the chaos. [6]So If you’ll turn in your bibles to [HEBREWS 6:12-20], we’ll listen to the voice of God and ask for the power and joy that come from turning to him and trusting him. Let’s pray.

(TEACH/APP) DO YOU TRUST ME WITH YOUR FUTURE?

BACKGROUND: Before we get to talking about this awesome image of an anchor, the author of Hebrews has been continually taking us back to major stories in the history of the Jewish people because many of the people who heard this letter the first time had grown up in Jewish homes and had heard these stories their entire lives. Because the author is trying to help encourage them to trust in God even when things don’t make sense, they use an example from the life of Abraham. [7]They quote God speaking to Abraham in verse [6:14] where it says, “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” For Jewish people, they would have heard this line and immediately gone back to the story of Abraham being told to sacrifice his son Isaac in Genesis 22. It’s like me saying “toto, I’ve got a feeling” and you immediately know the last part of the line and can see the movie in your head. Well, these Christians would have heard God says, I swear by myself, that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants. So, let’s see what is happening in this story that helps us to trust God even when it’s hard and we can’t see how he can possibly be at work. In Genesis 22 we see that…[8]

· ABRAHAM IS ASKED TO TRUST GOD BEYOND THE PRESENT MOMENT: This is one of the most famous stories about the life of Abraham. Abraham was the father of the Jewish people. The entire Jewish people point back to him as their ancestor. They are all descended from him and are part of his family. In [Genesis 12] God calls him to leave everything behind and go to a land that has been promised to him that he’s never seen before. Okay. So, he does it. In [Genesis 15] God promises Abraham that he’ll have a son even though up until that point it hadn’t happened. Abraham says, okay God. I believe you. Then in [Genesis 17], Abraham is 99 years old and still hasn’t had a child through his wife Sarah. At this point, he’s got his doubts, but he says, okay God. I’ve got a tiny bit of belief still that it’s possible. Then in chapter 21, His son Isaac is finally born. The one he has been waiting for and longing for longer than he can remember. He had spent a lot of time waiting, hoping, and trusting. And just when it seemed impossible, God delivered on his promise. And Abraham and Sarah lived happily ever after with their son Isaac and nothing strange or difficult ever happened to them. Nope! In [Genesis 22], God does something that doesn’t seem to make sense. God basically says to Abraham…[9]

o YOU’VE TRUSTED ME IN THE PAST, WILL YOU TRUST ME WITH YOUR FUTURE? God tells Abraham, “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” [Gen. 22:2] Now, for us we can’t possibly imagine God saying this, but you have to remember that throughout the Old Testament there is evidence that the gods that were worshipped by the people living in the area like Molech, were given sacrifices of children. Abraham, although undoubtedly troubled by this command, would not have considered it as strange as we do. Again, God is in the early parts of revealing himself to Abraham, so Abraham doesn’t have the luxury of the rest of the bible to see how different our God is from the rest of the false gods around him. We aren’t given the details of the process that Abraham went through that night. Whether he prayed, asked God if there was another way, or maybe doubted his goodness. What we are told is that the next morning sets out with his son to sacrifice him. He’s trusting God because God’s fulfilled his promises so far. We get hints that Abraham trusts God even though he doesn’t understand why he’s going through this. [10]First, we see him tell his servants to stay behind at the bottom of the mountain. He tells them, “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” [Gen 22:5] We see another glimpse of it when his son, who has obviously participated in offering sacrifices before, looks around and sees wood and a knife, but no animal. [11]So, he says “Dad, where’s the sheep?” and Abraham answers 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” [Gen. 22:8] And as he ties his son up, lays him on the stone altar, and raises the knife to kill his son, he’s essentially saying, God I trust you with everything that is dear to me. I trust you with the the son that I was promised! I trust you with the son who is supposed to take care of me in my old age. I trust you with the son that you’re supposed to make a nation out of that will bless the entire world. All of my hopes and dreams for the future, I’m giving those back to you. You’ve been good to me this far, I trust you with what’s next. And God stops him, and provides an animal as a substitute. Then we hear the line that the writer of Hebrews quotes [12]“16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants” [Gen. 22:16-17] If you fast forward, God’s promise to Abraham came true both literally and spiritually. Through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came the entire Jewish people. It’s almost impossible to count how many descendants there are of Abraham. Additionally, we are told in [13][Galatians 3:29] Jesus who was a descendant of Abraham, made it possible for those who believe in him to be part of God’s family. That all of the promises made to the Jewish people, apply to us as well! [Heb. 6:17] uses the word “heirs”to describe anyone who is part of God’s family. The promises made by God to the Jewish people, are handed down to each generation that surrenders their life to King Jesus, including us. The writer of Hebrews says, when things get hard, when you want to give up, look back at the example of Abraham. Did life look like Abraham expected? No! Was his life exempt from trouble? No! Did he have doubts? Yes! Did God always come through on his promise? Yes! Were his plans better than even Abraham dreamed? Yes! He says, be patient like Abraham! Hold on to God’s promises. Now, it’s taken a bit to get here, so stick with me! This is where this gets really really powerful and practical! The author of Hebrews shifts from Abraham and gives us a picture of what it looks like to trust Jesus even when it’s hard. He says…[14]

(JC) HANG ON TO THE ANCHOR (JC)

[Heb. 6:19-20] says we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. If you don’t know anything about Melchizedek or the temple, don’t worry, We’re going to cover that a lot in the next few weeks. It’s really beautiful. However, it mentions that the anchor is anchored behind the curtain, or veil. This is a reference to the curtain in the temple in Jerusalem. It separated something called the Holy of Holies in the temple from the rest of the building. This is the place where God had promised that his presence could be experienced directly here on earth in a way that wasn’t possible anywhere else. The problem is, that because of our sin, we couldn’t enter in. Once a year, a preist who has gone through a lot of purification rituals, has been fasting and praying, went through and made a sacrifice to ask God to put off for another year the punishment of everyone’s sins. However, there is promise after promise that one day God’s presence would be experienced by everyone all the time, not just a single special person once a year. And as we explore the book of Hebrews over the next couple of weeks, you’re going to see that all of the ceremonies, rituals, and symbols are God’s way of telling us about his grand plan. [15]The deep longing of God is to be with his people, directly in their presence. He truly wants us to trust him and want to be with him too. He doesn’t want to be separated from us. He doesn’t want us to believe we know better than he does or that we’re smarter than he is. The entire bible is one giant story about God teaching us to trust him, and about us getting back into his presence and his creation being restored to the way he intended it to be. But it doesn’t just happen overnight. There is a journey we go on where we learn to trust. There is a journey we go on that drives us to seek out being in the presence of God. There is a journey where God makes promises, and we have to trust him and not in ourselves. These promises anchor us to God! When the world gets crazy, things hurt, we have a decision to make. Do I trust God and his promises or do I try to do this on my own? Do I run into the presence of Jesus or not? And we’re told that this anchor is tied directly to Jesus, in heaven. We have an anchor not in this world, but…[16]

· AN ANCHOR TO JESUS ABOVE: Now you finally get to understand why there has been a chain hanging from the ceiling all morning. It’s because we need something that we can cling to when the world around us seems like it’s falling apart. When that feeling of, I can’t go on starts to build. We have a choice. Do I try to handle it on my own, or do I hold on to the promises of God. I will not leave you or forsake you. All Things work together for the good of those who love him. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. You notice what happens when I grab onto the anchor? The world doesn’t disappear. THIS ISN’T A ROPE ON A HELICOPTER THAT WILL TAKE ME FAR AWAY. IT’S AN ANCHOR TO GOD HIMSELF, STEADY AND UNCHANGING. THE GOD WHO NEVER LIES, WHO NEVER CHANGES. WHOSE PLAN AND POWER CAN’T BE STOPPED. So when I grab the anchor, My circumstances may not change. It may stay crazy, but I’ve got something to hold onto. Something solid. You know what else? This isn’t easy. Holding on to this anchor is hard, it takes strength to cling to it. It takes effort. But you know what else happens? The more we do this, the stronger God will make you. You’ll get better at holding on to him and his promises. This life is a journey, and God WILL FINISH WHAT HE’S STARTED IN YOU. HIS PLANS ARE GOOD. But He also uses what we’re going through to teach us to run to him. To cling to him. To seek his presence. And as we get stronger and continually running to God’s presence, clinging on to the anchor we have of his promises, we get to be a source of strength and wisdom for those around us.

· People who have learned to wait and cling, become a source of strength for those around them. We can give them a picture of what it looks like to wait and trust that God is good and God will see us through. THIS IS WHY I BELIEVE THE PRACTICE OF SILENCE AND SOLITUDE IS SO POWERFUL. [17]