Welcome and congratulations for seeing the end of the first quarter of this year.In the fourth week of September 2016, we said this “There is a lot to thank and praise God for. In this year alone, the Lord has preserved us all from so many dangers than we can possibly count. He has also provided for us abundantly so much that there is no way we can accurately estimate His provisions for us. For these reasons and a lot more, I want us to acknowledge God’s faithfulness with a song of thanksgiving and praise for at least three minutes”.We all can testify that God has not changed from being good to us.

A LONG WAIT: Romans 4: 3 & 18; Galatians 3: 6 and James 2: 23. From the time that God gave Abraham the promise that He would give him a heir (child), the waiting for the manifestation of that promised child was testy. Please let’s attempt the following questions:

  1. How many years did Abraham wait before Isaac was born?
  2. Mention significant events that happened in the process of waiting?
  3. Discuss how the mishaps above could have threatened the promise?
  4. How common are these mishaps in the life of believers today?

Faithful men/women wait (Romans 8: 24; It is not desirable to want to hurry God (Isaiah 5: 18 – 20). We all know that waiting for an answer or manifestation can be difficult for most humans because whoever would please God must wait in faith: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” - Hebrews 11:6NIV”.

As it was in the days of the Bible, our God is a living God and as such, He still speaks to His people today. He gives us visions and gives us promises just as He did in Bible days. Has the Lord promised you anything? He has promises for all believers as in the Bible. We are God’s children and therefore heirs of HIS Kingdom. Please discuss some of the promises of God to us His children:

  1. To us as individuals and (b). to us as His people.

What Must We do While Waiting for God’s Answer:

When we pray to God, we are exercising faith that HE is real and that HE is God who answers prayers. Therefore, we want to do our best to please the One who is going to give the answer to our petitions.

  1. One thing we must do while waiting for God is to have and exercise FAITH. What then is this faith that we need to have? Discuss Hebrews 11: 1 in relation to this question.
  2. Fight TEMPTATION - 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4: 7, 1 Peter 5: 9
  3. Fellowship with others. Dig deep in your fellowship with God through the word (Bible study), fellowship with other believers and prayers to God. Make sure you have a role you play in your local church and determine to honour God faithfully. Honour the Lord with your Worship; Your substance; Your offerings; and Your service / whole life -Hebrews 10: 35 – 39. Let this be your desire Hebrews 6: 11.

We continue next week …

Written by Pastor Kola Tayo of New Life Churches Int.