Waiting By Faith
Rev. Dr. Omar Williams Preached on 5/18/2025Hebrews 11:8-22
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Summary
Rev. Dr. Omar Williams explores the life of Abraham and the patriarchs to show that waiting is not lost time, but a period where God develops the 'hopeful endurance' necessary to receive His promises. The sermon encourages believers to trust God even when they don't know the where, how, when, why, or who of their situation.
Key points
- •Waiting is a deliberate part of Christian discipleship used by God to cultivate patience, which the speaker defines as 'hopeful endurance' (hupomone) rather than just passive resignation.
- •Faith requires moving in obedience even when the destination is unclear, as demonstrated by Abraham's journey to an unknown land.
- •When the 'how' of a miracle seems impossible, believers are called to trust in God's faithfulness and character rather than their own logical solutions.
- •The delay in God's promises should lead to an 'eternal perspective,' viewing ourselves as pilgrims and refusing to retreat to old comfort zones when things get difficult.
- •God often tests our hearts to see if we value the Giver more than the gift, requiring us to be willing to sacrifice our most precious things.
Scripture
Faith
Spiritual Growth
Purpose
Perseverance
Trials
Life application
This week, identify one area where you are currently waiting on God (a job, a relationship, or a promise) and intentionally replace your murmuring with the phrase 'not yet,' trusting in His sovereignty rather than your own timeline.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you been tempted to retreat to your 'comfort zone' because the wait for God's promise felt too long?
- How does defining patience as 'hopeful endurance' change the way you view your current trials?
- Are there 'images' of success or specific outcomes you have formed that might be preventing you from seeing the blessings God is actually providing?
- What is one 'not yet' in your life that you need to surrender to God's timing today?
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Full transcript
0:01[Applause]
0:02[Music]
0:18I will lift up your name.
0:22I will lift up your name.
0:27You are wonderful wonderful and I will
0:31lift up your name higher. I will call on
0:35your name.
0:38I will call on your name.
0:43You are wonderful
0:45and I will call on your name Jesus. So I
0:50will lift up your name higher. I will
0:55lift up your
0:57name. Great.
1:00You are wonderful. Wonderful. And I will
1:03lift up your name higher. Oh, I know his
1:08name. I know his name. He is a prince of
1:12peace. I know his name. You say I know
1:15his name. I know. I know his name. Yeah,
1:19he is the prince of peace. I know his
1:22name. I know his name. I know his name.
1:27His name is wonderful. I know his name.
1:30You say I know his name. I know. I know
1:34his name. His name. His name is
1:36wonderful. I know his name. I will lift
1:39up your name higher. I will lift up your
1:44name.
1:46Great Jehovah. You are wonderful.
1:49Wonderful. I will lift up your name
1:53higher. I will call on his name. Jesus.
1:58I will call on his name.
2:04He's wonderful. And I will call on your
2:08name Jesus. Oh, I know his name. I know
2:14his name. He is a prince of peace. I
2:17know his name. You say I know his name.
2:21I know. I know his name. His name. The
2:24prince of peace. I know his name. Oh, I
2:28know his name. I know his name. He is
2:32Emmanuel. I know his name. You say I
2:36know his name. I know. I know his name.
2:39His name. He is Emmanuel. I know his
2:42name. So I will lift up your name
2:46higher. I will lift up your name higher.
2:53You are wonderful and I will lift up
2:56your name higher. So I will call on your
3:01name Jesus. I will call on your name.
3:09He is wonderful. I will call on one more
3:13time. Praise Jesus. So I will call on
3:17your name Jesus. I will call on your
3:21name.
3:24Jehovah. You are wonderful. Wonderful.
3:27Ranging over. You are wonderful.
3:30Wonderful. Ranging over. You are
3:33wonderful. Wonderful. Ranging over. You
3:37are wonderful. Wonderful. And I will
3:41name Jesus. So higher,
3:44higher higher higher higher higher
3:48higher, higher. Lift Jesus higher. So
3:52higher,
3:53higher higher higher higher higher
3:56higher, higher. Lift Jesus higher. Sing
3:59higher higher higher higher higher
4:01higher higher higher higher higher
4:04higher. Lift Jesus higher. Jesus higher.
4:06See higher, higher, higher, higher,
4:09higher higher higher higher higher
4:11higher, higher. Lift Jesus higher. Jesus
4:15lower lower lower lower lower
4:17lower lower lower lower lower
4:20lower. Stand
4:23[Music]
4:26S lower.
4:29Stand.
4:31So I will call on your name, Jesus. I
4:36will call on your name
4:39Jesus. Great. You are wonderful.
4:43Wonderful. And I will call on your name,
4:47Jesus. Oh, I will call on your name.
4:51Jesus. I will call on your name. Jesus.
4:56Great. You are wonderful. Wonderful.
4:59Great. Great. You are wonderful.
5:03Wonderful. Great Jehovah, you are
5:06wonderful. Wonderful. Great Jehovah. You
5:10are wonderful. Wonderful. And I will
5:14name
5:15higher.
5:20Hallelujah.
5:22Hallelujah. Can we stand everybody
5:25everywhere?
5:26Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus. Thank you
5:29Jesus. Let's lift those hands to the
5:32Lord, everybody. And let's thank the
5:33Lord. Thank you,
5:35[Applause]
5:37Jesus. So
5:40sweet to trust
5:43in Jesus.
5:47us to
5:51take him at his
5:56word
5:59just to rest. Hallelujah.
6:03Upon his
6:07promise just to
6:10know
6:14the Lord. Let's do it again. Taste so
6:17sweet.
6:19Taste so sweet. Yes. To trust
6:25in Jesus. Wherever you are today, just
6:30to
6:31take him
6:34at his word.
6:36[Music]
6:39to
6:41rest
6:43upon his
6:46promise. Just to
6:50know the
6:54Savior,
6:56Lord.
6:59Jesus. Jesus.
7:02How I trust him and how I
7:10rule
7:12him and
7:15Jesus. Jesus.
7:18Jesus.
7:20Jesus. Yes.
7:23Gracious Jesus.
7:27Oh, for grace to trust him. Let's sing
7:34Jesus to one more time.
7:37Jesus.
7:40Jesus. How I trust him. How I prove how
7:47I prove. I prove him more and more.
7:57Jesus,
7:59Jesus,
8:02precious
8:04Jesus. Oh, for grace to
8:11trust him,
8:15Lord.
8:17Hallelujah.
8:20Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Lord, we thank
8:23you
8:24now that we can trust
8:26you, that we can take you at your
8:30word. Wherever we are, whatever we're
8:33going through, whatever our challenges
8:35may be, whatever our prayers are, we can
8:39take you at your word, Jesus.
8:43Jesus precious
8:45Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust you more.
8:50Give us that grace today through the
8:53volume of your word, through the working
8:55of your spirit in our hearts, that we
8:58might learn today how to trust you more
9:02than we have trusted you hither to.
9:04Thank you. Now, let your name be
9:07glorified and your people edified in the
9:10name of Jesus. And everybody say,
9:11"Amen."
9:13Hallelujah. The Lord bless you. You may
9:15be seated in the presence of our good
9:17and our gracious God. So good to see
9:19everybody in the house uh today. I got
9:24so many calls and and text messages uh
9:27this week from saints who had uh other
9:31engagements today. So if you don't see
9:34the person who would sit beside
9:36you, they're perhaps somewhere at
9:39another function. But let's continue
9:41praying for them. But it's so good to
9:44see everyone who has made it out this
9:46morning. Why don't you put your hands
9:47together for
9:49yourselves? Amen. Amen. Now, give your
9:53neighbor a smile and say, "Neighbor, you
9:55look
9:56good and you smell good." Come on, tell
9:59them. Yeah. You may not have said
10:01anything all service long, but tell them
10:03you look good and you smell good. Thank
10:06God you sat beside
10:08me.
10:10Amen. So, good to see shepherd Mother in
10:13the house. God bless you, Pastor Chris,
10:16Lady Leah, my darling wife, all the
10:18elders and their wives, leaders and
10:21their spouses, saints, guests, everybody
10:24salute you in the powerful and the
10:26mighty name of Jesus our Lord and our
10:31King. All right. Want to just point out
10:34that um this week uh this week a team
10:39from here will be going to St. Croy uh
10:42for the
10:44conference there at Faith of Flame.
10:48Faith of Flame. Uh so Elder Kirby and
10:51the team will be going. Those will be
10:52going just just stand so we can all see
10:55you. Uh Elder Rose prayed for you
10:57earlier, so we won't do it again, but
10:59we'll just ask the church just remember
11:01them in prayer as they go. I believe
11:04Brother Roberto Mala will also be there.
11:06He's also at a another function today.
11:10Amen. Lady Kenise will be going. God
11:11bless you. You may be seated. Uh
11:13remember them in your prayers. Let's
11:15pray for God to do a mighty work of
11:17revival over there in St.
11:20Croy on the 1st of June. On the 1st of
11:24June, everybody say June 1st. The 1st of
11:27June at 6:00 p.m. We're going to have an
11:30exciting book launch right here in the
11:34tabernacle at 6 p.m. Dr. Dwayne Stewart,
11:37one of our very own, is going to be
11:39launching his new book, Forward Still.
11:43And I want a copy of that and I want a
11:45signed copy as well. So, I want to
11:47invite us all to come on out. Let's be a
11:49part of that. Let's support our own.
11:53Amen. Let's support our own. June 1st at
11:576
11:58p.m. All right. So, I did mention to us
12:01a few weeks ago that uh we weren't able
12:05to have the JSAE
12:07uh adult tea party version of the tea
12:10party as we typically do. And of course,
12:12that's the main fundraiser
12:15uh that funds the scholarship, right?
12:19And so, we're going to return with that
12:20next year, bigger and better. What we
12:23want to ask us to do, however, because
12:25we still have graduates who will be
12:26going on to high school. And the help,
12:29the support that we give, uh, they'll be
12:32going on to college. Thank you so much.
12:34We got high schoolers who will be
12:36graduating. Thank you. And going on to
12:38college. And so we would love to be a
12:41support to them. And so what we'll ask
12:44us to do is if you could bring a special
12:47offering on June 8th and let's just give
12:49something, whatever you can give. We
12:51we're not going to tell you in any
12:53amount, but whatever you can give out of
12:56your your abundance. Yes. Let's put our
12:58hands together for that so that we can
13:03continue to bless young people who are
13:07going off to college and who could use
13:09some financial help. Right? So, let's
13:12let's plan to do that on Sunday, June
13:158th. on Sunday, June 8th, just to bring
13:18a special offering. If you choose to
13:20give it before, please indicate on the
13:22envelope or if you give online, just
13:25indicate in the comment section that you
13:27are giving this towards the JSAE
13:30uh scholarship fund. We want to continue
13:33the legacy of blessing young people. I
13:36want to thank God for brother Sha gifts
13:39today. I was so blessed and I have to I
13:42have to highlight him. He is he is one
13:45of those uh lowp profofiled high
13:49performers and we want to thank God for
13:52him. Thank you for the word of God
13:54today. All right. Now, if you could go
13:55with me in your Bibles, go with me to
13:57Hebrews chap 11. Again, we're going to
14:01continue our by faith series. Hebrews
14:04chap 11. And we'll be working through
14:07verses 8 to 22. It's a little bit of a
14:09read. It's the first time in the series
14:11that we're going to have such a long
14:13read, but we're going to try to get
14:14through it. Uh, I'll just read in your
14:17hearing again to get started. Thank you,
14:18brother Brandon, for reading for us
14:20earlier. I'll just read verses 8 to 10
14:22to get us started. By faith, Abraham
14:25obeyed when he was called to go out to
14:29the place which he would receive as an
14:32inheritance. And he went out, not
14:34knowing where he was going. By faith he
14:37dwelt in the land of promise as in a
14:39foreign country, dwelling in tents with
14:42Isaac and Jacob, the ears with him of
14:44the same promise. For he waited for the
14:48city which has
14:50foundations who was builder and maker is
14:55God. I want to speak to us today on the
14:57thought waiting by
15:00faith.
15:02Waiting by faith. And I thought to
15:04myself, it is not incidental that the
15:07longest section of the reading of
15:12Hebrews 11 is centered on
15:17waiting because the wait can be very
15:21long sometimes. Has anybody ever had to
15:25wait on
15:28anything? Yes. And wait on God. Some of
15:31us have been through waiting periods.
15:34We've just coming out of it. Some are
15:36entering into waiting periods. And
15:39you're excited still because you think
15:41it's going to come tomorrow, but you
15:43don't know. It might take a while. And
15:46there are some who are in a waiting
15:48period and they know it. Here what God
15:51wants to say to us today.
15:54James and Bob Moore wrote a book about
15:57how
15:59believers pray for God's intervention in
16:03some of life's greatest
16:06challenges. They fittingly titled the
16:10book, quote, "Lord, give me patience and
16:16give it to me right now." Unquote.
16:20It may sound
16:23humorous, but it underscores the thesis
16:27of the book that humans are increasingly
16:32impatient even when it comes to dealing
16:37with
16:38God. Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton observed,
16:42quote, "We itch for the
16:45instantaneous, instant coffee, instant
16:49biscuits, instant cereal, instant
16:52credit, instant email. We are impatient
16:57people looking for near ways, shortcuts,
17:01quick results, simple solutions, and
17:04usually we want somebody else to do it
17:07for us."
17:08unquote. Patience, my brothers and
17:11sisters, is not natural to us. Hence,
17:15God's patience ways often perplex and
17:20bother
17:21us. We get anxious and erratic. But God
17:26is just deliberate and steady and
17:29longsuffering.
17:31We we want the fast track, the shortcut,
17:34the instant answer, the immediate
17:36solution, but God is into taking the
17:39long
17:40way. God refuses to be
17:45rushed. I found out that love is not the
17:48only thing that you can't hurry. You
17:52also can't hurry God. You can't hurry
17:55God. You just have to wait. And so a
17:59crucial part of our disciplehip is
18:03allowing God to teach us how to wait.
18:07Cuz if we do not know how to wait, we
18:10are always going to miss the work of God
18:13every
18:14time. God is never hurried. But can we
18:19be honest about this today that
18:21cultivating patience is
18:24difficult because it involves waiting. I
18:29I one time I was praying for God to give
18:33me patience. And the more I prayed for
18:37patience is the more trouble I found.
18:41The more difficult and challenging
18:43things became in my life. And I I told
18:47the story several times that for the
18:49first four uh years, the first three
18:51years of my teaching career, I became a
18:54journeyman teacher because I was looking
18:57for an easy job while praying for
19:01patience. I kept on leaving one school
19:04for another school, for another school.
19:06And every time I left one work job for
19:09another, one school for another, the
19:11Lord would somehow bring me deeper into
19:16the hood where my patience was tried
19:19even more
19:23until one day the Lord confronted me. I
19:26was crying on the roof. I'll never
19:27forget this is 2004. I was crying on the
19:29roof crying and and I just frustrated
19:32just at the end of my rope and I heard
19:35the Lord transmit this thought to my
19:37spirit. Tribulation workketh
19:41patience. This is why cultivating
19:44patience is so difficult for us because
19:47there is no shortcut to becoming
19:49patient. We do not become patient by
19:51osmosis. We do not lay our heads on the
19:54Bible and tomorrow we turned to Job and
19:58lay our head on the book of Job and
20:00tomorrow we wake up with a patience of
20:02Job. No, you can't hurry that. You just
20:05got to endure the process of waiting.
20:10got to go through waiting, enduring
20:14trials, facing suffering, bearing with
20:17the weaknesses and the provocations of
20:20others until we come to the place where
20:24we are matured in God. And as we mature
20:28in him through trials, we find that we
20:31become more
20:34patient than we were before.
20:38Hence, James puts it this way in chapter
20:421:es 2 to 4. My brethren, count it all
20:45joy when you fall into various trials,
20:49knowing that the testing of your faith
20:52produces patience. But let patience have
20:56its perfect work, that you may be
20:59perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
21:03You just have to go through trials and
21:08tribulations and delays and detours to
21:12have the kind of patience that it takes
21:16to really be a child of God with
21:20power. Waiting by faith. Patience.
21:24Patience. It means uh from the word a
21:27hoopamony, it means to have hopeful
21:30endurance. It is it is not just it is
21:33not just going through something with a
21:36bad attitude. No, you are not yet
21:39patient if you are waiting but you're
21:41telling off everybody while you're wait
21:44you you are not yet patient while you
21:47when you are grumbling while you're
21:49waiting. Am I talking to anybody? So if
21:50we're still grumbling, still
21:52complaining, God is saying, "I got to
21:54hold you in the waiting room a little
21:56bit longer." Because patience, hoopmon,
21:59it means hopeful endurance. It means to
22:02continue with steadfastness and with joy
22:05as we are enduring the challenges of
22:09life. That's patience. It means to go
22:13through with hope and expectations.
22:17It means to go through with a certain
22:20trust in the timing and the promises of
22:26God. That's why God has to allow us to
22:28go through some things until he gets the
22:31whining out of us, until he gets the
22:33complaining out of us, until he gets the
22:35murmuring out of us. He allowed the
22:38children of Israel to walk through the
22:42desert for 40 long years so that he
22:47could work out the murmuring and the
22:49complaining and the whining out of them.
22:51Let me give you a clue right quick. If
22:53you want God to do some things in your
22:56life in a hurry, then what we need to do
22:59is allow God to shape our patience in a
23:03hurry.
23:04Does that make sense to anybody in the
23:06house?
23:07Patience. Patience. It is not just
23:10resigning ourselves. It is not just
23:12throwing our hands up and saying, "Well,
23:14I can't do better. I just have to wait."
23:17No, it is it is firmly believing that
23:22God is sovereignly at work despite the
23:27absence of visible evidence. It is it is
23:31having patient faith to wait on God and
23:36to believe that God is working some
23:40things out. I may not see what God is
23:43doing. Today looks the same as
23:45yesterday, but to get up with faith and
23:47say, "Today is a little better than
23:49yesterday." Because today I'm a day
23:52wiser. I'm a day more patient. I'm a day
23:55stronger than I was yesterday. And God
23:58is closer to delivering on his promise
24:01as he was yesterday than he was
24:04yesterday. That's really cultivating
24:07patience. And we see this kind of
24:10patient faith demonstrated in the
24:14dispensation of the promise as Sarah,
24:18Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the patriarchs as
24:21they collectively waited on God for
24:25promises that had no precedence. the in
24:28the dispensation of promise, we see
24:31waiting by faith more most aptly
24:35displayed for us because they were
24:37waiting on God for promises that had
24:41never yet been done before. Can I tell
24:44you whatever it is that you are waiting
24:48on God for right now, there is a
24:51precedent. If you're waiting for a car,
24:53somebody has already waited and gotten a
24:56car. If you're waiting for the Holy
24:57Ghost, somebody has already waited and
24:59gotten the Holy Ghost speaking in
25:01tongues as the spirit of God gave the
25:03utterance. If you are waiting on a baby,
25:06somebody has already waited on a baby
25:08and now have grown children. Am I
25:10talking to anybody here? Whatever you
25:12are waiting for now, it has a
25:16precedence. But in the dispensation of
25:18promise, they were waiting on God for
25:21things that had no precedence. They're
25:25waiting on God for things that had not
25:28yet been seen and things that had not
25:31yet been done. They had never seen at
25:33this point a barren woman give birth to
25:37a child. They had never seen that happen
25:39at 99 years old. They had never seen
25:42that. But they waited on
25:45God for
25:47promises without precedence. That is why
25:51there are so many lessons we can learn
25:55from them in our context where we must
25:58wait on God. Number one, we learn from
26:02them how to wait when you don't know
26:05where. Hallelujah. We learn from them
26:09how to wait when you don't know where.
26:13In verses 8 to 10, which I read earlier,
26:15I won't read it again. Abraham was
26:17called by God to go to a place and he
26:21did not know where he was
26:24going. God told him in Genesis 12 and
26:27verse one, God said to him, "Get out of
26:31your country, from your family, from
26:34your father's house, and go to a land
26:37that I will show
26:39you." And Abraham went by faith, not
26:44knowing where he was going. I'm going to
26:46tell you the truth. This would be hard
26:48for me to do. I I I I just want to be
26:51honest with you. It would be hard for me
26:53to get up and to leave my house not
26:57knowing where we are going. I I don't
27:00even do vacations that
27:02way. Yeah. If if we are doing a
27:04vacation, you can best believe that
27:06we're planning that months in advance
27:08and we're working out all the details of
27:11all that we're going to do before we get
27:13there because it is hard. How many in
27:15here finds it easy to leave your family,
27:19leave your relatives, leave your
27:21country, and just go to somewhere you
27:24don't know where you're going, but when
27:26you get there, you just stop and you
27:27say, "I'm I'm I'm I'm depending on God
27:30just to show me where to stop."
27:36Waiting by faith when we don't know
27:39where. Abraham answered the call of God
27:43to leave his geopolitical location, to
27:47leave his cultural and his religious
27:50background, to leave his relational and
27:53his emotional setting. He journeyed to a
27:56place at 75 years old when he had set
28:01down roots in a place and had so much
28:03history there and had tithes and
28:05familiarity. The Bible says God said to
28:08him, "Leave where you are comfortable,
28:11where you know, and go to a place that I
28:13will show
28:15you." And
28:17Abraham went out not knowing where he
28:20was going. This I mean this really this
28:22really gets me here. Sometimes the call
28:26of God is going to require us to leave
28:29our comfort zones, to leave our familiar
28:33places. And sometimes it is not
28:35necessarily a geographical place that
28:38God might be asking you to leave, but it
28:41might just be a position of comfort, an
28:44attitude of comfort, a mindset that
28:46you're familiar with. And God is saying,
28:48if I am going to reveal the great works
28:51that I want to do in your life, I've got
28:54to break you out of that mold. So, you
28:57got to get out of that place.
28:59It takes faith to leave. What can we
29:02learn from Abraham? When God calls us to
29:07go to a place by faith and we don't know
29:09where, here's the first thing we can
29:11learn. Move in obedience. Everybody say,
29:13"Move in obedience."
29:15move in obedience to God. Thank you.
29:19Thank you, brother Sean, for saying
29:21this. A lot of people are in here
29:23waiting for a new word from God. I've
29:26got a new word from God. But the problem
29:28with a lot of us is we do not want to
29:30obey the first word of God. We don't
29:33want to obey the prevailing word of God.
29:36So, we are always seeking for a new word
29:38from
29:40God. Abraham moved in obedience. It says
29:43in verse 8, he obeyed. When he was
29:46called, he obeyed. He went out on the
29:50calling of God. I want to caution us
29:52here. Let us make sure that before you
29:54move, make sure it is God calling you.
29:57Make sure it is not just your own
29:59selfish ambition or your ego that wants
30:02to do something. But before you make a
30:04move, make sure it's God who is calling
30:06you. And when God is calling you, you
30:09may not know the where, but if you walk
30:12by faith, I promise you, you'll end up
30:14all right.
30:16Move in obedience to God. Second thing
30:20that Abraham did in when he did not know
30:22where he was going, he embraced a
30:25pilgrim mindset. Everybody say a pilgrim
30:28mindset. Look at this. It says that when
30:31he moved by faith, he dwelt in the land
30:34of promise. He went to the land, but
30:36while he was there, he had to live as a
30:38foreigner in the land. He dwelt in tents
30:41with Isaac and Jacob, the ears with him
30:45of the same promise. For for many years,
30:49Abraham lived as a stranger in the
30:53promised land. He he lived in tents. He
30:56did not try to set up a mansion. Though
30:59God had promised him prosperity and uh a
31:03legacy for many years of the life of
31:06Abraham, he had to live in a tent. Come
31:09here for a second. I need you to
31:11understand this that even when you obey
31:13God, there is no guarantee that
31:16everything is going to work out
31:19immediately. Sometimes you will just
31:22have to wait. Somebody holler, "Wait,
31:25you'll have to wait." They lived in
31:28tents. They were pilgrims and strangers
31:32in the country that they were in. And
31:35that is why, brothers and sisters, when
31:37God calls us, he says to us that we are
31:40pilgrims and we are foreigners. We are
31:43aliens and we are strangers walking
31:46through this world. as good as it gets
31:49where God has us now. We must maintain
31:52the mindset that I'm only a stranger in
31:55this country. I'm only a stranger here.
31:58I'm going home. Hallelujah. Does anybody
32:00know those old pilgrim songs? I I I am
32:03just a pilgrim through this barren land.
32:08When you don't know where, obey. Move in
32:11obedience. Embrace a pilgrim mindset.
32:14And then verse 10, when you don't know
32:16where, remember the promise. Everybody
32:20say, remember the promise.
32:22Yeah. Remember the promise. Abraham,
32:26Isaac, and Jacob. Hear this. They
32:28prospered in the land where God had
32:32them. Everywhere they went, they
32:34prospered. When they went down to Egypt,
32:36they prospered. When they went to other
32:38foreign places, they prospered. When
32:40they came back to Canaan, they
32:42prospered. But they did not allow the
32:45other places they went to to blur their
32:49vision of the promise of God. Somewhere
32:51in the promise, they began to realize
32:54that wherever God can bring us pales in
32:58comparison to where we think really God
33:01really wants to bring us. They looked
33:03for a city that had foundations whose
33:06builder and maker was God within their
33:10hearts. They knew that wherever God
33:13could bring them on the earth, it would
33:15pale in comparison to the ultimate
33:18destiny God had for them. And that is a
33:22city, hallelujah, that has foundation
33:25whose builder and maker is God. I want
33:29to say this to us here. When we have
33:32that kind of mindset, when we have the
33:34kind of mindset that anywhere that God
33:37can bring me on earth, no matter how
33:39much he blesses me there, nothing of
33:43time and earth can compare to the
33:46promise of God, which is only fulfilled
33:50when I get to heaven.
33:53When we have that mindset, we are able
33:56to be more fluid in the hand of God. Let
33:59me share a testimony right here. When
34:01the Lord brought me here to the United
34:04States, it was somewhat of an Abrahamic
34:08call. Yes, I had a good job. I was
34:13assistant principal. I was not one of
34:15those Jamaicans that was belly aching to
34:17come to
34:18foreign. And foreign is our name for
34:21everywhere that is not Jamaica by the
34:23way. Going to Bahamas, foreign. Going to
34:26Cayman, foreign. Going to Africa,
34:28foreign. Going to America, all right,
34:30you get the idea, right? So, I was not
34:32one of those Jamaicans, I'll be honest
34:33with you, that was belly aching to get
34:35out of Jamaica because of everything,
34:38right? I had a decent job there. I was
34:41doing
34:43well. And God started wrestling with me.
34:47The Lord began to wrestle with
34:51me and eventually I came to the United
34:55States for a vacation. I came for a
34:57vacation. Everybody say vacation. I came
35:00for a
35:01vacation but boy by the sec it like the
35:04Lord gave me one week of
35:06vacation but by the second week of
35:09vacation I was in Connecticut in this
35:12remote area. I thought that if I was
35:14going to go somewhere and get asked to
35:15preach, it would be uh in a more
35:18Jamaican circle where people know me.
35:20But I'm in I'm in Connecticut, lady
35:22story, in Waterberry, Connecticut uh in
35:25a church that was predominantly
35:27Caucasian. There may have been about uh
35:31five black families in the church. And I
35:34had a friend attending the church. And
35:36so I was there. And the pastor invited
35:40me out for breakfast after prayer on the
35:43Saturday
35:44morning. And he said to me after
35:46breakfast, he said to me, "Hey, why
35:48don't you plan to preach tomorrow
35:53morning?" And that was my first
35:55preaching engagement in the United
35:57States on vacation. My second Sunday on
36:01vacation. And from there, every Sunday,
36:05my schedule was full, right until my
36:09father passed away and I had to end my
36:11vacation short and go home. Am I talking
36:13to anybody here? And when I got home,
36:15the Lord said to me through a prophet
36:18who was waiting at church, he said to
36:20me, "God has called you for an
36:23international ministry." He said,
36:25"You'll have to leave your job." I
36:26didn't want to do it, but eventually I
36:28had to walk away from all of those
36:30things. came here not knowing what was
36:32going to happen. But I told the Lord two
36:34places I don't want to live in the
36:35United States, South Florida and New
36:37York
36:40City. I'm I'm going somewhere with
36:44this. So the Lord he heard my prayer and
36:46I thought this was good. He gave he a
36:49church in Atlanta I I came up to preach
36:51again and a church in Atlanta offered me
36:53a job and said they would file an R1
36:56visa for me to work for the church. And
36:58I was like, I was I was like, "All
36:59right, I'll take this. Atlanta is nice.
37:01My family is here. My mom, my sister are
37:03there. I love Atlanta. It's very rustic.
37:05It's very country. I like that it's not
37:08city. No graffiti on the
37:11buildings."
37:15Huh. But the Lord only brought me there
37:18because he knew that that's what would
37:20get me out of my comfort zone. But very
37:22soon, very shortly after I had now began
37:25to sever ties with Jamaica and relocate,
37:27in my mind I had now relocated. The door
37:30just shut in Atlanta. And if you know
37:31about the R1 visa, you need a sponsor.
37:34And the only door that remained open for
37:36me was New York
37:38City. So I had a choice, brothers and
37:41sisters. But God worked with me. God I I
37:45I hated moving to New York. I was
37:47depressed. But can I tell you, I found
37:50the will of God, including my wife. And
37:53here's the deal. God worked with me
37:55there in New York City until he had
37:59changed my heart, changed my mind, got
38:01me to understand that the calling is not
38:05for me to become so comfortable in a
38:07place that if he decides to move me, I
38:09can't move. He said to me, you are a
38:12soldier and you go where I send you. Am
38:15I talking to anybody here? So by the
38:16time Bishop Stewart came in, my heart,
38:19my mind had already been changed and
38:21renewed. I will serve wherever it is
38:24that I believe that God has called me to
38:26serve. And ultimately, my greatest goal
38:29is to be with him in heaven.
38:33Hallelujah.
38:35Trust God when you don't know where your
38:37life is going. Number two, trust God
38:41when you don't know how.
38:45Trust God when you don't know how. Here
38:51it is in verses 11 and 12. By faith
38:54Sarah also received strength to conceive
38:56seed and she bore a child when she was
38:59past the age because she judge him
39:01faithful who had promised. Therefore
39:03from one man and him as good as dead
39:06were born as many as the stars of the
39:08sky in multitude innumerable as the sand
39:11which is by the seashore. when you don't
39:14know how Sarah and Abraham what are they
39:18doing talking about having a child when
39:21they are uh what is it 99 and 100 or was
39:25it 90 and 100 I think it was 90 Sarah
39:27was 90 Abraham 100 what are they doing
39:30at this point talking about a child when
39:34God told Abraham and Sarah that at this
39:38age of your life you are going to have a
39:41son. Here's what they did. And what they
39:44did is not much different from what we
39:45would do. Genesis 17. Abraham laughed
39:49and told God, "God, are you serious? I'm
39:53too old to have another child." "Come
39:56on, Lord. Just just change your mind and
39:58accept Ishmael as my ear." Sarah laughed
40:02at God and says, "God, can my husband
40:05and I really find pleasure and
40:08possibility in having a child?" They
40:11could not see how it was going to be
40:14done. Come here for a second. Maybe
40:16you've got something that God has called
40:18you to or place in your spirit or you're
40:21praying and believing God for and you
40:23don't see how it is going to be done.
40:26But can I tell you trust God's
40:29faithfulness because I hear God saying
40:31to Abraham and Sarah, is anything too
40:35hard for God?
40:39It may be hard for you, but nothing is
40:42impossible with God. If you believe in
40:45God, there is nothing called impossible
40:49in God's
40:52vocabulary. When you don't know how,
40:54trust the faithfulness of God. When you
40:57don't know how, stand on the word of
40:59God. The Bible says that Abraham and
41:02Sarah, they did not waver at the promise
41:05of God. They stood on the promise of
41:07God. And God was able to rewind Sarah's
41:11biological clock. God was able to give
41:14strength to Abraham's dead body and to
41:17give him the strength to produce a son
41:20in old age. I want to say to somebody in
41:22the house, can I challenge you? When you
41:24don't know how, you don't have to know
41:26how. God is the how maker. Leave the how
41:29to God. You stand on God's word and
41:32trust God's faithful
41:35character. Hallelujah. I believe we got
41:38some testimonies in this house. They
41:41didn't see how it was going to happen,
41:43but they stood on the word of God and
41:46they told themselves, "If God's word
41:48says this is going to happen, I'm just
41:51going to wait until God makes a way for
41:54it to happen to bless me and to bless my
41:57church and to become a testimony to the
41:59faith of others."
42:02Hallelujah. When you don't know how,
42:05trust his
42:06faithfulness. Stand on the word of God.
42:11Stand on the word of God and wait on God
42:14to figure out how it is going to work
42:16out. You don't try to figure it out. You
42:18let God figure out the how.
42:23Hallelujah. He's able. When he gives you
42:26a promise, he's already had it worked
42:28out in his mind. You may not see how
42:31it's going to happen, but he sees the
42:33how. And if you trust him and wait by
42:36faith, you will find out soon enough.
42:39When you've got to wait by faith, got to
42:42wait by faith. Trust God when you don't
42:45know where. Trust God when you don't
42:47know how. But trust God thirdly when you
42:50don't know when.
42:52Oo, this one is hard for us. God, if you
42:55could tell me when this is going to be
42:58over. Has anybody ever been there? God,
43:01I I could I could hold on if I had some
43:05inkling, some some kind of idea when
43:08this is going to be over, when the trial
43:10is going to be done, when the trouble is
43:12going to be over. If I just had some
43:15idea, I could hold on by faith. The
43:18hardest part of waiting and what tries
43:21us the most is when we don't know when
43:24it is going to happen.
43:27But I heard one old preacher said,
43:30"Hallelujah. He may not come when you
43:33want him, but you will want him when he
43:36comes." Am I talking to anybody here? He
43:39may not come when you want him, but I
43:41tell you this, whenever he comes
43:43through, you are going to want that
43:45healing. You're going to want that
43:47deliverance. You're going to want that
43:48provision. He may not come when I want
43:51him, but I still want him when he comes.
43:55You don't know when. Hallelujah. Here's
43:58what the Bible says. When they did not
44:01know when, they just developed an
44:04eternal perspective. Hallelujah. They
44:07said, "An eternal God made me this
44:09promise. This God is never going to die.
44:13He's never going to rust out. He's never
44:15going to change his mind. He is the Lord
44:18God Almighty."
44:22That is to say there is no changing
44:24time. There is no changing economy.
44:27There is no changing job market. There
44:29is no changing scientific process in our
44:32bodies. There is no changing biological
44:34process. Nothing can stop the promise
44:36and the plan that God has made to us. As
44:39long as we are faithfully following the
44:42Lord, he will come through even when you
44:45don't know when. Has anybody ever been
44:48there who can just raise wave your hand
44:50in the house and say, "I know something
44:52about trusting God when I did not know
44:55when he was going to see me through."
44:57Hallelujah. When I didn't see how when I
45:00didn't see when this was going to stop,
45:02but I trusted God and God came through
45:05for me.
45:07They developed an eternal mind. The
45:09Bible says they saw his promises a far
45:13off.
45:14It looked far away from them. But though
45:17it looked far away and they did not know
45:20when it would be fulfilled, the Bible
45:22says they embrace the promises. Amen.
45:25I'm in verse 13 and 14. They embrace the
45:28promises of God and they confess. They
45:31open their mouth and they confess. I'm
45:33only a stranger and a pilgrim. If I have
45:37to walk for a while until God brings a
45:40promise to pass, I am going to hold on
45:43to God. I'm going to hold on to God.
45:45They lived in tents and they would not
45:48settle. They declare plainly that they
45:51seek for a homeland. They would not
45:54settle. They decided to wait on God
45:59until God delivered on his promise.
46:02Develop an etern an eternal perspective.
46:04Number two, do not give up or turn back.
46:09That 1985 movie starring uh
46:14Vanam. No
46:16retreat. Yes. I I got a witness in the
46:18house. No retreat. Sha. No retreat. The
46:23one thing I'm not going to do, I'm not
46:25turning back to what God brought me out
46:28of. I'm not turning back to where God
46:30called me out of. That's what they said
46:32in verse 15. It says if they were
46:34mindful, they could go back to where God
46:37called them from. But they said, "The
46:38one thing I know when I don't know when
46:40it's going to happen or where or how,
46:43what I'm going to do is I'm going to
46:45keep on going forward
46:48still. I feel the Holy Ghost in this
46:50place." Slap somebody high five and say,
46:53"No retreat, no surrender. When life
46:55gets uncomfortable, I refuse to go back
46:58to my comfort zone. I refuse to go back
47:01to where I wasn't growing. I refuse to
47:04grow back. I'd rather stay out here.
47:06It's hard, but I'm growing. It's hard,
47:08but I'm stronger. I'm going to go
47:10forward. The one thing I know I'm not
47:12turning back.
47:18They refused to turn back from where?
47:22From going in the direction. Let me tell
47:24you this. When you can't figure out the
47:27wins of your life, whatever it is, when
47:30you can't figure out when it's going to
47:31happen, I want to teach you. I want to
47:33teach you two words that ought to be in
47:35your vocabulary while you're waiting on
47:37the when. Here are they. Not yet. Am I
47:40talking to anybody? Are you pregnant?
47:43Not yet, but I'm still waiting on the
47:45time. Do you have the Holy Ghost? Not
47:47yet, but I'm still praying. Am I talking
47:49to anybody here? Are you baptizing them?
47:52Not yet, but I'm still going to be
47:54baptized. Oh, God. Are you in ministry?
47:57Not yet, but I'm waiting until the time
48:00when God gets ready. Somebody shout not
48:04yet. Not yet. I feel the Holy Ghost in
48:07this place. My single brothers and
48:09sisters in the house. I had to learn how
48:11to say not yet to avoid that kind of
48:13discouragement. When people would keep
48:15on badgering me about getting married,
48:18how comes you're not married? I say I'm
48:20not yet married. I'm not married yet. Am
48:21I talking to anybody in this house? I
48:23said you ought to have a not yet in your
48:25vocabulary for all the things and the
48:28timing of God that you're waiting for by
48:31faith. It hasn't happened yet. But I
48:34believe in the timing of God. It is
48:36going to happen. Do I have a witness in
48:38the house? Not yet. Have the house. Not
48:41yet. What the things that I Oh, I feel
48:43God in here. But all in the timing of
48:47God. Hallelujah. Do not give
48:51up. Focus your mind on what God has
48:55revealed to you. Focus on what God has
48:58revealed to you. Put blinders on. Be
49:01like Elisha that when Elijah was about
49:03to be taken from him, he refused to be
49:06distracted. Every time somebody would
49:07come with distracting gossip, he would
49:10say to them, "Uh, keep quiet. Stay keep
49:13quiet." Because he did not want anything
49:15to take his eyes off the prize. Some of
49:18us, we've got to learn that when that
49:20person calls you and they begin to talk
49:22smack, you've got to learn to tell them,
49:24"Look, I have something else to do
49:26because I cannot allow anybody else to
49:29talk me out of waiting on my timing. I
49:33can't allow anybody to talk me out of my
49:36destiny that God has set." Am I talking
49:39to anybody in this house? Be focused on
49:42what God said.
49:46Hallelujah.
49:48focused on what God has revealed. They
49:50stayed focused. They desired a heavenly
49:54country. They desired a better place.
49:56And God was not ashamed to be called
49:59their God. Why? Because God had actually
50:01prepared for them a place. Come here.
50:04Whatever God had promised you, if you're
50:06sure it is God, and if it is God, you
50:08can rest assured God has promised you
50:11that. And that is always better than the
50:14quick fix. What God has for you is
50:16always better than the quick fix. What
50:19God has for you is always better than
50:23the quick fixes of this world. Wait on
50:26God by faith.
50:28Wait on God by faith. Hallelujah. Number
50:32four, I'm almost through here. When you
50:35don't know
50:36where, when you don't know how, when you
50:40don't know when, wait. But number four,
50:43wait on God and trust God when you don't
50:47know why
50:56Shana by faith Abraham when he was
51:01tested when God said to Abraham your
51:05only son my God the son that I promised
51:09you and you've waited for him for 25
51:12years. You waited for 25 years for him
51:14to be born. Take that son and go and
51:17offer him to
51:19me. Why,
51:22God? Why couldn't you ask me, God? Why
51:25couldn't you ask me to offer
51:27Ishmael? Why? Why couldn't you ask me to
51:30give you all my wealth and all? Why do
51:33you want my only begotten son? Sometimes
51:37faith in God is going to be tested and
51:40God will not tell you why you are going.
51:44Am I talking to anybody here? Why you
51:46are in the storm? Has anybody ever tried
51:48to figure it out? What? What did I do?
51:50Has anybody ever sat down and tried to
51:52reason out what did I do? Where did I go
51:55wrong? I hear Job. I hear Job. I hear
51:57Job trying to figure out. Did I curse
51:59somebody? Did I mistakenly overlook
52:02somebody? Why am I going through this
52:05mayhem in my life? Why is everything
52:08breaking down when you don't know why?
52:10And when you look back and you can't see
52:12God, look ahead and you can't see God.
52:14Look around, you don't feel God and you
52:17pray and it bounces off the wall and
52:19comes back to you and you don't know
52:21why. Job said, "He knows the way that I
52:25take and when he has tried me, I shall
52:29come out as pure gold." When you don't
52:31know why you are going through the test,
52:34I'm going to tell you what to do. Be
52:35willing to make the sacrifice.
52:40Hallelujah. Be willing to make the
52:43sacrifice. This is where we find Abraham
52:45in verses 17 and 18. Abraham did not
52:48know why God was testing him. He didn't
52:50even know that God was just testing him.
52:52You see, what we know of God is God does
52:55ne does not God never asks for human
52:58sacrifices. God doesn't believe in that.
53:00So, Genesis 22 and verses 1 and 2 makes
53:03it clear to us that God was only testing
53:07Abraham. God was seeing if Abraham
53:10valued God more than he valued the gift.
53:13Come here for a second. There is a lot
53:15of us in here. As long as God is
53:17supplying the things we need, we can
53:20have bold testimonies. We can even dare
53:23say, "I'll bless God at all times." But
53:25you're only blessing him at all times as
53:27long as those all times are good. But
53:29the only way for God to really allow you
53:32to see what's in your heart is to put
53:34you in a test when you really have to
53:37bless him. And am I talking to anybody
53:39here? But are you ready to make the
53:41sacrifice? Are you ready to say to God,
53:44I will walk away from that relationship
53:47if it doesn't give you glory? Are you
53:50ready to say to God, I'll give up the
53:52car if it doesn't give you glory? Are
53:54you willing to say to God, I am willing
53:57to make the sacrifice.
54:01Hallelujah.
54:03The Bible says that
54:05Abraham offered Isaac. Now, that's
54:08unique because he didn't actually offer
54:11him. So, what do you mean by Abraham
54:14offered Isaac? In other words, this is
54:17saying that Abraham literally sacrificed
54:19Isaac. Can I tell you what the text is
54:22saying? The text is saying to us,
54:24Abraham was so resolved on obeying God
54:28that in his mind the sacrifice was
54:31already done. Am I talking to anybody
54:33here? Ah, God. And that's what God
54:36wanted. He's looking at your heart. Your
54:38mouth can say anything it wants to say.
54:41But God is watching your heart. When God
54:43saw that Abraham was willing to make the
54:46sacrifice, God said to Abraham, "Okay,
54:49you can stop now, Abraham. I feel the
54:51Holy Ghost in here. But why was Abraham
54:53willing to make the sacrifice? Because
54:55Abraham trusted that God has a purpose.
54:58The Bible says he reasoned within his
55:01heart that if God asked him to sacrifice
55:05Isaac, then God has to have a plan to
55:08resurrect Isaac. Am I talking to anybody
55:10here? Come here, Zion. Anything that God
55:14ask you to give up, he'll give you more
55:17than he asked you to give. Somebody in
55:19here, you holding on to that little
55:21thing and you think it's the best thing
55:23since sliced bread. And God is saying,
55:25"If you could only see what I have for
55:29you. If you just give that up and trust
55:33in me, I've got more for you than eyes
55:37have seen and ears have heard. I've got
55:39more for you than has entered the hearts
55:42of men. But are you willing to make the
55:44sacrifice
55:46for me?
55:49Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Trusting God
55:53when you don't know where, when you
55:55don't know how, when you don't know
55:57when, when you don't know why. Lastly,
56:01my God, all of these could be a sermon
56:03by themselves. Each of these points
56:04could be a whole sermon by itself.
56:06Number five, lastly, trusting God when
56:11you don't know who.
56:15Lean in.
56:16I'm going to take my time with this
56:18here. Trusting
56:20God when you don't know who. There are
56:22some words that if we just read them,
56:24they just kind of roll off the tongue.
56:26We gloss over them. Verses 20 and 21. By
56:29faith. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau
56:32concerning things to come. By faith,
56:34Jacob when he was dying blessed each of
56:36the sons of Joseph and worshiped leaning
56:39on the top of his staff. Let me talk
56:41through these here.
56:43The patriarchs were
56:46imperfect. They were not perfect. They
56:48were not more spiritual, more powerful
56:51than you. No, they had many of the same
56:55struggles and trials and faults and
56:59flaws that you and I have. Right?
57:01One area of struggle for each of these
57:04patriarchs was discerning who was God's
57:10chosen heir for them because they had to
57:13pass. They had to pass the birthright to
57:16every generation. Every generation
57:19needed to have the birthright. There had
57:21to be an heir. There had to be a
57:23successor of the promise of
57:25God. And this is where they struggled.
57:27So the Bible points out to us that by
57:29faith Isaac blessed Jacob. Why would it
57:33take faith to bless Jacob? God had said
57:38while they were in the womb in Genesis
57:4025:23 that there are two nations in your
57:43womb, a twin. And the older will serve
57:46the younger. In other words, the younger
57:49is the one that I am looking at. I see
57:51something in the heart of the younger
57:54one. He's not perfect, but I see
57:56something in his heart that will make
57:59him the man to carry on the legacy.
58:03But come here for a second. I want you
58:05to lean in
58:08now.
58:10Isaac decided in his carnal
58:13mind, I do not want to bless Jacob. I
58:17don't want to give the birthight to
58:19Jacob. I want to give the birthight to
58:20Esau. Why? The Bible tells us why.
58:23Because Esau is a more manly man. Esau
58:28has those rugged
58:29looks. Esau is chiseled in all the right
58:33places. Esau has the right profession as
58:36a hunter. That's what Isaac said to
58:38himself. Now, I want you to hear me in
58:42today's modern language because a lot of
58:45us in here have overlooked men and women
58:48who God could use as blessings in our
58:51lives because they did not have the look
58:54and the profession that we want them to
58:56have. Am I Am I talking to anybody in
58:59here? Come here. Don't be offended. A
59:01lot of you singles are still single
59:03because you are like Isaac. You know
59:06when you prayed what God showed you in
59:09your spirit but you keep on looking at
59:11the material things. Now I'm not saying
59:14those things are not important. I am
59:15saying those things are not the most
59:17important because a lot of those things
59:19will fade with time. God is trying to
59:22bless you with some timeless values in a
59:25man or in a woman and you keep on
59:27missing the blessing of God because like
59:30Isaac you are overlooking the who.
59:35[Applause]
59:41They don't have the
59:43package. Well, go on with your single
59:45self.
60:00I pray God gives us the strength to live
60:03and hold on because you can serve God
60:05single. You
60:07can. But we've got to deal with this.
60:09Hear me. I was challenged many years
60:13ago. I never met this man. He is from
60:17Ethiopia. Oh my goodness. Uh not
60:20Teclamarian.
60:21Uh he's he's a very renown apostolic
60:26preacher. Not not brother Telmiran. Um
60:30somebody else I his name will come back
60:32to me. But I never forget hearing him
60:35say the image you
60:38form is the image you pay. I wish I
60:42could remember his name. My God. And
60:45that thing grabbed a hold on my heart
60:47because a lot of us in this house, we
60:50are about to miss out on the plan of God
60:53because you have formed an image in your
60:56mind of what the perfect man is or the
60:59perfect woman is. And sometimes it is
61:01far from what God is looking at for you
61:05and for your life.
61:07I feel the Holy Ghost in here. I feel
61:09like preaching in this place. somebody.
61:12Maybe that's why God has got to let some
61:15of us wait for a while until he can
61:17destroy some negative thinking out of us
61:20so that when he blesses us with who he
61:23has for us, we can find the blessing and
61:25the enjoyment that God has for us. Am I
61:28talking to anybody in this place? And
61:30who God has for you is always better