Sunday Morning, September 29, 2019 AM

Walking by Faith and Not by Sight in Jeremiah 32

Brought together to hear a word from you from your holy scriptures. Help us to truly rely on your word as we so we wait for you to show us all that you have promised to to make our hope even more secure till it is finally realized in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Lord, I pray for those who are not able to be here, those who are traveling and away at work or sick. Lord, I pray that you would sustain them. I pray that you would bless them. I pray that you would help us to name them in our prayers and intercede for them and to go and minister to them.

And Father, in this moment, in this time, Lord, help us to make the most of it. Help us to truly consider the truths of your word, who you are. May we live in light of who you are. We pray for these graces in the name of Jesus Christ, the one with whom you are well pleased.

Amen. I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 32 and we'll be looking verses 16 through 25 this morning. Jeremiah chapter 32 verses 16 through 25. Last week we talked about walking by faith and not by sight.

This is something that we saw modeled in the life of Jeremiah as he bought a worthless property because he was the kinsman redeemer of his cousin. And then he placed the deeds of this property that he would never make any money off of and never use and would probably never ever see.

At this property, he put the deeds in a clay jar and preserved them for a generation yet to come. He was walking by faith, not by sight. Well, I'm going to read for us Jeremiah 32, 16 through 25. And I think as I do, we will discover that walking by faith and not by sight is not always the easiest.

It is the best, but it is not always the easiest. Well, if you would stand with me as I read God's Word, here are the words of our Savior Christ as in his spirit he speaks through his prophet Jeremiah.

After I had given the deeds of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I prayed to the Lord saying, Ah, Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm.

Nothing is too difficult for you, who shows loving kindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them. Oh, great and mighty God, the Lord of hosts is his name, great in counsel and mighty indeed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds, who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day, both in Israel and among mankind.

And you have made a name for yourself as at this day. You brought your children, you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror and gave them this land, which you swore to your forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do. Therefore, you have made all this calamity come upon them.

Behold, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it, and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. You fight against it because of the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and what you have spoken has come to pass.

And behold, you see it. You have said to me, O Lord God, buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses, although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. And this is the word of the Lord.

You may be seated. Walking by faith and not by sight is always the best, but it is not always the easiest. I know Christians who will give generously to God's work even when it makes no financial sense.

They walk by faith and not by sight. They also lose sleep over their checking account and pray for God to help them. I know Christians who will speak gospel truth to rebels they love, even if they are afraid of what the result will likely be.

They walk by faith and not by sight. They also doubt themselves in question if they used the right tone, the right words, or selected the right situation, and then they go drink Maalox. I know Christians who engage in church discipline, taking each step that Christ outlines carefully with love for their brother or sister entangled in sin.

They walk by faith and not by sight. They also sit alone at the coffee table weeping when the other party has stormed out. It's at times like these, having obeyed the instructions the best a believer can, acted in Christ obedience, that the born-again child of God then has this question come to mind.

God, what am I to think? What am I to think? You said, walk by faith, not by sight. And so I did, and here we are. What am I to think? What is Jeremiah to think? At the beginning and the end of our passage, it's focused on the obedience that he accomplished.

Verse 16, after I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I prayed to the Lord. Now notice in verse 25, that's the first 16, it's the beginning of the passage, now at the end.

You have said to me, O Lord God, buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses, although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. So when Jeremiah goes to God in prayer, he gets walked by faith, not by sight.

He has done what he is supposed to do, but when he goes to God in prayer, he says, now what? What am I to think? I think what we have here in Jeremiah 32, 16 through 25, all that happens in between verses 16 to 25, 17 to 24.

What is Jeremiah doing in verses 17 to 24? I think what he is doing is what Jude outlines in Jude 1 verses 20 through 21. And Jude says this, but you beloved brethren, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

Build yourselves up on your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep yourself in the love of God, wait anxiously for the realization of your hope. I think that's what Jeremiah is doing in verses 17 through 24.

The reason why he's doing it is listed in verses 16 and 25. I think we should follow the same arrangement. How are we to keep ourselves in the love of God? What does Jude say? There are three things that keep us in the love of God.

It's building ourselves up on a most holy faith, it is praying in the Holy Spirit, and it is eagerly waiting for life everlasting by the mercy of Christ. This is how Christ would have us live. What Jeremiah does as a true believer in God, as someone who was truly born again and saved, is something that we are called to do in Christ.

This is how Christ would have us live, being built up in him, praying by his Spirit, full of hope for his kingdom's consummation. Jesus knows, Jesus knows that we can be weary. He was weary, but what did he do?

He would abide with his Father. He would keep himself in his Father's love. When it says in Jude to keep ourselves in the love of God, that doesn't mean keep God loving you, and that doesn't mean keep proving how much you love God.

Keeping yourself in the love of God is akin to what John said, abiding, abiding in God's love. And this is what we need when we are walking by faith and it wearies us. We are to rest in God's love. Doubting is starving, abiding is feasting.

When you're walking by faith and you're weary, rest in God's love. Now notice what Jeremiah does in the text, and we're just going to take one aspect of what he does and look at how Jeremiah prays, how he responds to his moment by addressing God and praising God for God's sovereignty in creation.

I think we'll be helped here. I think this theme of God's sovereignty in creation in this passage is kind of like icing on the cake, but it doesn't just stay on the top. It's the kind that melts down all through the cake.

You know that kind, right? It's the kind that those of us who can't eat it dream about. But notice in verse 17, God's power in the creation. This is a familiar verse to us. Some of us grew up singing a song that goes along these lines.

I'm not going to sing it for you. Our Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you. This is the way that Jeremiah responds, but remember the situation.

Jeremiah's coin pouch is significantly lighter, and he's still in jail. He's still shut up by the palace guard. He's still hated by the majority of his countrymen. He's still under persecution. The siege towers are closing in on the city.

Death is at hand. In a situation after walking by faith and not by sight, the only thing that's changed since then is the fact that he has less money now. And there just is not this moment of instant gratification in Jeremiah's soul, having done what God has called him to do.

But he's walking by faith. He's not walking sight. Here he is with his pouch much lighter, and he's still the hated, imprisoned, weeping prophet of a grieving God. Mature believers know what kind of a time this is.

This is not a time to listen to yourself. This is not a time to sample the brew of your feelings. This is not a time to give yourself a hug because no one else will. This is a time to preach truth to the self, to interrupt the mutter-grumble of the soul with an interjection of faith.

And that's what he does. What does he say? Ah, Lord God! There's the interjection of faith. In Hebrew, it's ah-ha! Adonai Yahweh. So he sits there, imprisoned. The weeping prophet of a grieving God, hated by his countrymen, and now 17 shekels of silver lighter than he was before, he says to himself in his prayer, ah-ha!

Adonai Yahweh. That is spiritual-mindedness. That is not earthly-mindedness. That is not fleshly-mindedness. That is spiritual-mindedness. Getting the attention off of the self, getting it on God.

That's what the interjection of faith does. It interrupts our doubts. It interrupts our self-centered woes. Jeremiah says, ah, Lord God! Behold! And when he says, behold, he doesn't say, behold my many miseries.

Let me list them for you. And so often our conversations run with others. He says, behold! And he's going to behold God. He's himself, he's going to behold God. And he begins to talk about who God is.

Why would the image of God ever focus on the self? The creature was made for the Creator. And so Jeremiah says, ah, sovereign one, self-existent one. That's what these names mean. Adonai Yahweh. Sovereign one.

Self-existent one. Why is he doing that? Because all of a sudden now, this puts it into perspective. He's basically starting this way in order to say this. What is my state in light of your being? What is my single deed in light of your deeds?

What is my name in light of your character? What are my limitations in light of your power? What are my thoughts in light of your thoughts? This is the interjection of faith. This is what mature believers do in times like this.

Having walked by faith and not by sight, still in the depths, yet having obeyed, here comes the interjection of faith. And what is Jeremiah to think? Well, he's to think about who God is. He's to think about God's power in the creation.

And he begins to remember God's actions. He says, you have made the heavens and the earth. Now, what does that have to do with what Jeremiah just did? God told him, your cousin's gonna come and sell you a piece of property.

You got to buy it. Okay. Here he comes. I buy the property. We're done. I've walked by faith and not by sight. I feel silly. I feel empty. This doesn't make a lot of sense. But what does he do? He gets his focus on God and says, you have made the heavens and the earth.

This has everything to do with what Jeremiah just did. In obedience to God, Jeremiah purchased a field. Which, you know, it's a lot of dirt, grass, critters, potential. Cattle could be raised on it. Crops might be grown in it.

Jeremiah bought it in faith. God told him to. Jeremiah did it because God told him to. What God told him to do that? Who is this? What kind of God told him to buy a field? The one who made the heavens and the earth.

That God told him to buy a field. God made the heavens and the earth by his grace and for his glory. Spoke it all into existence in the space of six days and rested on the seventh. That God told him to buy a field.

Not just a field, but you know, God says, buy my field. It's mine. I want you to buy it. Now, putting that in perspective, what has Jeremiah done? We have to consider the vastness of what God has made and the speck that Jeremiah bought.

The ocean of God's cosmos. The droplet Jeremiah holds. That's how to build faith. That'll build you up on your most holy faith. God tells me to do this. I do it. But let's put that in perspective of who God is.

Think of the power of what God did. Jeremiah just bought something. God is the one who made it. He brought it out of nothing. Creation ex nihilo. By the power of his spoken word, he made it. Now, Jeremiah wrote some words down on the deed.

God's word becomes his deed in creation. Look what Jeremiah is doing. What is my action? What is my obedience in light of who God is? So his actions are remembered in the creation. Also, God's attributes are revealed.

He says, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. He's talking about who God is, and we know who God is by how he has revealed himself. He has expressed his power in creation.

The power expressed indicates the power possessed. Did anybody see the clouds yesterday? People complain about how ugly Oklahoma is. I had a lot of friends in college who moved here to come to college, and they just complained all the time how ugly Oklahoma was.

And on days like yesterday, I would point to them. I would say, look, look at those clouds. See, we have a variety of mountain ranges every day, and they move. So beat that. But it reminded me of how great and powerful God is, the things that he has made.

What God has done speaks to who he is. He has great power. He is powerful. He accomplished creation by his outstretched arm. God is a spirit and does not have a body like man. But when we use that man-shaped word, when the Bible uses it to describe who God is, think of an outstretched arm.

This expresses who God is, how he has made everything by an outstretched arm. It reveals that this God, Adonai Yahweh, the Lord God, is not at all like other gods. He is not at all like the false god Allah that the Muslims worship.

Allah, they say, is too transcendent to ever stretch out his arm. In fact, the greatest sin in Islam is associating Allah with anything other than Allah. He's too far up and beyond and above and has no care for what goes on.

We also find that with an outstretched arm, Adonai Yahweh, God revealed in Scripture, is not at all like the false god Brahman, who is worshiped in various ways by Hinduism and Buddhism. And they say Atman is a Brahman, the many is the one, pantheism.

There is no distance at all between my arm and his in pantheism. He doesn't have to stretch it out at all. We're all God and God is all us in pantheism. So the outstretched arm is not at all like the false god Allah, not at all like the false god Brahman.

This true God in the Scripture is not at all like some false intersectional God whose first concern is, what color and gender is my arm? This God is not at all like the false gods of Jeremiah's countrymen, who they worshiped Baal and Asherah, the Queen of Heaven and Molech.

All these false gods were often and easily frustrated in their plans and power, often turned back by opposing forces. Now Adonai Yahweh has made all things, heaven and earth, by his outstretched arm. It has not been refused.

He has not been turned back. His will always succeeds. He always succeeds in accordance with his unstoppable power. So God's attributes on display here in his outstretched arm. He is not utterly transcendent.

He is not utterly imminent. He is never impotent. He is a great and mighty God. In verse 18, it says that he is great and mighty. He is God old and Gabor. He is great and mighty. Who can measure how great he is?

Who can measure his expanse? Who can calculate his strength? Verse 19 tells us that the expanse of his greatness is full of his counsel. As is his immensity, so is his wisdom. Countless are his deeds.

Every one of them reveal him to be most holy, most free, most absolute. And so we see his ascendancy recognized. In verse 17 concludes, nothing is too difficult for you. Nothing is too difficult for you.

Jeremiah says, it was a bit of a bother for me to buy this property and give away my money when things are bad. And the tendency, the instinct is to hold on to whatever you have because it may come in handy in terrible times.

But here I go spending 17 shekels of silver for a piece of land I cannot use. And that was difficult for me. But you've given us these promises. But all this must be placed into the context of who God is.

Nothing is too difficult for him. If imprisonment in a doomed city, following seemingly inane instructions with no immediate gratification seems too difficult for Jeremiah, it does his faith wonders to pray in accordance with the Holy Spirit, nothing is too difficult for God.

If it seems unlikely to impossible that the property that Jeremiah bought will be repossessed 50 years from that point by returned exiles in a kind of special jubilee, the God who promised it is the God who made everything, cannot be thwarted by anything who is subservient to nothing.

Nothing is too extraordinary for God. Nothing is too miraculous for God. Nothing is too marvelous for God. Nothing is too wonderful for God. Nothing is too difficult for God. What a statement that Jeremiah begins his prayer with.

Nothing is too difficult for God. In their stultifying idolatry, the Jews have become real dunces about God. They really didn't know who God was anymore. They had become what they worshipped. Psalm 115 says that if you worship idols, you become like them.

You become like whatever you worship. Blocks of wood, obelisks of stone. You become like whatever you worship. And so the Jews, Jeremiah's countrymen, had become block-headed, stiff-necked, stone-hearted.

And they worshipped Adonai Yahweh as they would any other God. Jeremiah 11, 11 through 13, we hear this. We might as well turn there. Jeremiah 11, 11 through 13. A remarkable indictment from God upon those who would pray to him.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, behold, I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape. That particular message is the reason why Jeremiah is in prison right now. He said, there's coming a disaster that you will not be able to escape.

And Zedekiah said, that's enough of that. You're now in prison. Behold, I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape. Though they will cry to me, yet I will not listen to them.

That's a startling thing when you think about it, because the God that so many people believe in today has never had any problems with you, never has any problems with you, will always do whatever you want him to.

And whoever, whenever, for whatever, praying to him, he'll always hear them. That's the God that most people believe in today. Well, it's not the God of the Bible. He says, I will not listen to them. Why?

Verse 12, then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense. But they surely will not save them in a time of their disaster. This is God's point.

You see, they were just thinking of Yahweh, the true God, as just another God. We have all these options. We could, we're in tough times. Let's try praying to the Lord. Okay, that doesn't work. Let's pray to Baal.

Okay, that didn't work. Let's try Asherah. They just go down the list. They were treating God like just one of the other gods. Verse 13, God says, for your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

What Jeremiah prays here is in direct contrast to what the people thought about the Lord. They thought of him cheaply. The other gods, to their eyes, to their experience, sometimes appeared to have power.

These false gods seem to sometimes succeed in their requests, either by demonic power or misinterpreted providence. But these false gods were also often frustrated that things didn't happen that the people thought should happen.

But Adonai Yahweh, the Lord God, is not the same. God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, and nothing is too difficult for him. Jeremiah prays praise to God. He voices praise to God in prayer.

Does so according to the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah is building himself up on his most holy faith. God's sovereignty in creation is not only true in the creative acts that he does, but also his governing over his creatures.

We see that in verses 18 and 19 as well. And at this point, we're looking at some language in our passage we'll look at, Lord willing, next week. There's a lot of language here that particularly pertains to God's covenant with Israel.

The historical situation of Jerusalem, after all, is the fallout of them breaking covenant with God. And God's severity in covenant is the bitter cake that the sweet frosting, icing of God's sovereignty in all things is blending through.

So I want us to see that. I want us to see, first of all, God's sovereignty in creation. Look at the way he governs over all his creatures. He owns everything. He owns all. Verse 18 says, the Lord of hosts is his name.

The Lord of hosts is his name. Yahweh Sabaoth. What does it mean that God is the sovereign over hosts? Of what faith-building significance is this name? The term Sabaoth does not mean Sabbath. I used to think that.

I thought it meant Sabbath. I would sing, a mighty fortress is our God, and I would sing Sabaoth, and I thought that meant Sabbath. But it doesn't. Sabaoth is plural for army. It's armies. That's what it means.

He's the Lord of armies. That's who this God is. It's a word that particularly pertains to war and warfare. And this is a name, the Lord of hosts, that is used as a royal name. Very often in the Old Testament, when we read that God is enthroned above the cherubim, it is the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim.

God on his throne with all the hosts as his armies. In regal ownership, the Lord has a multitude of armies at his command. We see references to God's power over Egypt. God's power over his own people.

God's power throughout all the earth. In what ways did he show himself Lord of the hosts? Well, he's the Lord of the locusts. He's the Lord of the hornets. He's the Lord of the frogs. He's the Lord of the vipers.

He's the Lord of the gnats. He's the Lord of the storms. He's the Lord of the hailstones. He's Lord of the rocks upon the mountains. He's Lord of the cracks of the earth. He's Lord of the scorching sun.

He's the Lord of dry winds. He's the Lord of hosts. And with all of these, he makes his war. He makes his war on Egypt to deliver his people, and then he makes war on his people when they break covenant.

And Psalm 2 reminds us that if any host would ever rage against him over such a laughable horde, God remains the Lord of them as well. The Lord of hosts, who told Jeremiah to make these deeds for this property, is the same Lord of hosts who promised to bring his people back to this place, and since he marshals all the hosts of heaven and earth, Jeremiah can be sure that the plan will come to pass.

Jeremiah may have a very small, ungratifying part in what God is doing, but when he walks by faith rather than by sight, he must then build himself up on this most holy faith and remember who it is who has called him to do this.

God owns all and he observes all. Verse 19 says that he observes, his eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men. That's really important for Jeremiah to remember. If he wants to build himself up in his most holy faith, it's really important that he prays in this way.

God sees what evil the King Zedekiah is up to in his palace and in his heart. God sees the malice that grows around the city walls of Jerusalem. God saw the captain of the guard who falsely accused Jeremiah the reason why he's in prison now.

God saw that happen. God saw the mob beating Jeremiah before they threw him into jail. God saw his servant there in prison. He observes it all. His eyes are open to all the deeds of man. This is exactly what Jeremiah needs to pray, according to the Spirit, building himself up on his most holy faith, keeping himself in the love of God.

God has not abandoned me. He sees it all. He knows what is going on. God has seen every last grain offering spread on the hills to Baal. God has seen every sexual abomination performed beneath the green trees to the false goddess Asherah.

He has seen every libation poured out to the Queen of Heaven on Judah's housetops. He has seen every little child burned to death in the glowing metal arms of Molech. He saw it all, and he brings war against his people for them breaking the covenant.

And if we know his Creator, if we know his perfect power, then we know that he sees all, and he will deal with all. And we can give thanks to God and leave room for wrath. Vengeance is his. He will repay.

He sees it all. He also orchestrates all. It says he gives to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. He gives to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.

God orchestrates his strong hand, his outstretched arm. He brings great terror, calamity, signs, and wonders to bring up, to bring down. He brought down Egypt to raise up Israel. He brought up Babylon to bring down Israel.

And then he will, after 70 years of Babylon's power, bring Babylon down to bring Israel back up. And everything that he does in his orchestration is good and right and true. It matters a great deal that as we follow Christ, walking by faith rather than by sight, we think of God's power in Christ.

By praying in the Spirit through our mediator, Jesus Christ. By tuning our expectations, our hopes, our dreams, tuning those to the frequency of eternal life in Christ. This this is how we're supposed to live, as we walk by faith and not by sight.

And why should our attention be upon Christ? Because Christ orchestrates it all. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He has been given a name which is above all names. He is at the right hand of the Father, King of kings and Lord of lords.

He is the judge of the quick and the dead. He is the one in charge. All of our work should proceed from that rest. That our walking by faith is not in vain, precisely because we are in Christ, our risen Lord, who will raise us up from the dead as well.

We must put our attention in building ourselves up in our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the appearing of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Keep our attention to this one Lord. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. We're not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Just ask who that might be. Christ Jesus, it is he.

Lord, sabbaoth his name from age to age the same, and he must win the battle. Walking by faith, not by sight, we find ourselves in situations where we say, what am I to think? What am I to think? I did what he said, I tried to do my best, and here's what am I to think?

And what are we to think? We are to think of God's power in Christ. We are to think God, his sovereign power, and all of creation revealed in Christ. When walking by faith wearies you, rest in God's love.

How do we do that? We do it by building ourselves up on our most holy faith. It matters. It matters how we build. It matters how we build, and with what? Holy faith. So what we build cannot be an unholy faith.

What is an unholy faith? It is some polluted synthesis of worldly philosophy and demonic teaching. We can build ourselves up in a most holy faith in very simple ways. For example, if someone ever calls those made in God's image some kind of mammal or animal, rebuke them.

No, sorry, we're not animals. We're made in God's image, mankind. If someone ever talks about Mother Nature and venerates her, rebuke them. I'm so sorry. Mother Nature's a false god. She doesn't do nothing.

We must build ourselves up on our most holy faith, and I mean this down to the basics. How is it that we're talking? How is it that we're operating? What are our assumptions? Let us rest in the loving providence of a sovereign God who gives to us life and breath and all things.

This is the message that Paul preached to the idolaters in Athens. Who gives us life and breath and all things? God does. We live in a pagan age full of witchcraft and magic, so let's give thanks and praise to God when rain comes.

It's God when food comes. It's God for a cool breeze. Who gave it? God did for clear thoughts. Why do I have it? Because of God for health and healing and all that he does. Let us give thanks to God, and let us speak boldly about the God who has an outstretched arm, who is involved, and who is at work in this world, and Christ who reigns in all.

Let us not speak and plan and observe as atheists. Not a single sparrow, not a hair on our heads, not a drop of rain should be considered without reference to the sovereign God. And do you know how much worry would instantly evaporate before the heat of that truth?

This is the way we build ourselves up on our most holy faith. We build and we pray. We pray in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit means praying like Jeremiah did, praying according to the truth of God, praying according to the revealed truth of God, in agreement with the Spirit-breathed Word of God.

That's how you pray according to the Spirit, according to the Spirit's exalting ministry. Christ is our creator. Thus says the Scriptures. He's the sovereign ruler. Thus says the Scriptures. He's our judge.

Thus says the Scriptures. Do we pray like that? Is that the way that we pray? Is this the name in which we pray our prayers? When we close it in the name of Jesus? Is that what we're thinking? Is that what we're confessing?

We cannot rest in God's love unless we pray in Christ's name. And I don't mean that some meaningless repetition that we always say at the end. You need to build and pray and wait. Build and pray and wait.

Jeremiah had to wait. What was he waiting for? What was he looking forward to? Destruction? Chaos? Misery? Death? It was all on the near horizon. But that's not what he was waiting for. That's not what he was waiting for.

He was waiting for the city that had foundations, built by God the architect, Christ his Son. What was Christ waiting for? Our Savior knew what it was like to wait. Did he not wait upon his Father? 30 years is a long time to wait.

Have you ever thought about what Jesus was up to before he was revealed in public at his baptism with John the Baptist? It's a long time to wait. Scripture says he's about 30 years old when he began his ministry.

So what was he doing? He was waiting. All kinds of fancy wonderments and stories out there over church history, trying to guess what it would be like to be Jesus's family or neighbors and all the things that he might do.

But the truth of the matter is, he waited. He waited patiently until the time that his father said, go and do this and speak this and reveal the gospel in this way. He knew waiting. 30 years is a long time to wait.

So also is the three and a half years of his ministry. Waiting, knowing that the day was coming when he would die on the cross. Waiting for that as it loomed closer and closer. So also is three days in the grave.

It's a long time to wait as well. But always waiting is about submission to God's timing, trust in God's goodness, a leaning into God's good promises, an unrelenting hope in the mercy of God. How is it that we are to wait?

I think that we wait primarily by, as we build ourselves upon our faith, as we pray in the Spirit, trying to keep ourselves in the love of God, we wait by characterizing what lies ahead of us in terms of what has been promised.

That we keep ourselves oriented in the right direction. If we are called to sail a ship in a particular direction, it's best that we have the rudder turned the right way. I can't do anything about the wind blowing or not.

I'm not in charge of that. But as I wait for the wind to blow, I'm going to have my rudder turned the right direction. And this is what it is like waiting upon the Lord. God, until you move, until you answer, until something happens, I'm going to keep building myself up in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, waiting anxiously for what you have in front of me.