Recently, I was given the opportunity to preach at our home church. Since God has been working on my own heart regarding my waits, this study was a natural pick for me. I pray God can use His awesome Word in your life as well. If it can be of any use, I have included links to 2 file types of the recent Keynote Presentation entitled, “Embracing the Waits in Life.” One file type is a movie file of the slides with transitions. The other file type is a .pdf with the slides and full sermon notes.

Blessings,
Derek

Embrace the Waits Video File

Embrace the Waits PDF with Notes

Well, I wanted to share with you some thoughts on some truths God has recently taught me! The subject: the waits in life. We are on this process termed “deputation,” where we are seeking ministry partnerships to reach remote Alaska with the Gospel. Notice I called it a process. We praise God for our current 40% level of needed support raised in this past year and we are grateful for that amount in a struggling economy! We recognize that many missionaries are on the deputation trail for 3 to even 5 years these days. Being totally honest, I often struggle with the whole deputation process period. It sometimes is difficult for me to see this model as valid, when compared to the apostles of the early church and other great faith infused missionaries of the past like Hudson Taylor. I don’t see these great missionaries spending 3 to 5 years traveling from church to church soliciting support. I also recognize that we live in a more complex society today. I also recognize that just because we don’t see these previous missionaries doing what we call “deputation,” doesn’t mean that this process is wrong. I see great validity and necessity in the church’s support role in missionary endeavors. I also see the life Christ calls His followers to live through faith in the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. I think of Paul’s faith in his various missionary journeys. He did receive financial support, but he also cared deeply to not burden financially struggling churches (1 Thessalonians 2:9). It is very apparent to me today that America’s current churches are financially struggling. On the flip-side Paul also believed that those who lived for the ministry of the Gospel were worthy to be supported by God’s people (1 Corinthians 9:14).

You may be asking at this point, What is my point? Well, I am not saying that the current model of raising missionary support is wrong. I also believe the apostle Paul’s “tentmaking” approach can be a valid support basis. I do, however believe that we may need to look at some of the deeper motivations and intentions at the core level of our support raising efforts. What is our motive for raising support? What is our intent for raising support? These questions must be answered in terms of God’s calling on our lives and the faith we are to hold as we endeavor to fulfill that calling. I have learned that it is so easy to lose one’s focus in deputation. It can quickly turn into being all about meeting our budget or providing money for our needs. Obviously, the meeting of our financial needs is kind-of important! But, we must retain our perspective to the calling of God on our lives to live for the Gospel! What is missions all about? Christ commissioned us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and disciple believers into local assemblies of Christ’s body, the church. Missions is all about the proclamation of the Gospel and it’s outworking for the church. We are called by God to stand in the gap for these Gospel purposes throughout remote Alaska. This is our God-given calling. Now, we are presented with bridging the reality gap between life at home to life on the field. There are obviously certain financial realities that must be met to make this transition possible. This brings us back to the options of “tentmaking” (working a trade on the side to meet financial needs) or “deputation” (raising a monthly committed budget to meet financial needs). Both can be valid, but both must be undergirded with the proper perspective and faith. Our perspective must remain on our calling to proclaim the Gospel and our faith must be rooted in God’s provision to fulfill that calling. We must work in ways that God provides to meet the reality of our financial needs, while also being sensitive to His faithfulness to provide. It cannot be all about what we have to do to meet our budget. What other side job can I take? What else can I do to make some extra cash? What else can I do to get more church meetings? What can I do to get pastors and missions committees to support us? You see what I mean? If we are not careful, our support raising efforts can easily drift from seeking God’s support through faith in His provision to seeking support any possible way that we can acquire it. So as we continue this transition journey to full-time Gospel service in Alaska, please continue to pray for us to retain this proper perspective and faith!

I also really believe these truths that God recently taught us can apply to you as well! Often God takes us down roads in life that require us to find our complete refuge in His limitless resources. You don’t have to be raising financial support amidst a struggling economy to learn about faith in God’s provisions. In our past and partially in our present, we are learning to trust God regarding finances, jobs, housing, family issues, contacts, ministry opportunities, timing, and general leading throughout life. I am sure that you too can track ways that God is teaching you to trust and wait on His provision. Life often involves a series of waits, whereby we must learn patience to acquire the desired result. I recently read through a small-group study booklet on the subject of life’s waits. Through the study, the author develops the premise that God often takes us through periods of waiting for His master purifying purposes. You see, the Gospel is far more than just a prayer we pray. The Gospel is far more than just fire insurance and a home in heaven. The Gospel gives us freedom, a joyful life, an abundant life in Christ now! While faith in Christ (the Gospel of salvation) brings us eternal life in heaven, it enters us into a lifelong journey for God’s full redemptive purposes. God is working with you and me to develop us into the restored image of God, the very image of Jesus. Therefore, everything in the believer’s life occurs for our sovereign Lord’s redemptive purposes. Romans 8:28 and the surrounding context speak to this sanctifying purpose. Hebrews 12:5-11 also speak to this sanctifying purpose of God in the lives of the redeemed. When we come to the subject of waiting in life, we must view these periods through the lens of God’s sanctifying redemptive purposes. The study booklet I read pointed to the faith-exemplified waiting examples of Joseph, David, and even Jesus. Joseph endured a lengthy process of waiting for that which he did not know. As he was faithful to God and rested in His purposes, he became the redeemer of all Egypt and his own family (the very family that would birth the nation of Israel)! David, likewise endured much waiting. He was promised a kingdom. God called him to this crucial purpose. David knew his calling and yet he patiently waited for God’s timing in making this calling a reality. In fact, he waited for 17 years before God promoted him to king of Israel. David learned what it meant to find a refuge in God throughout life’s waiting periods! Even Jesus endured a 30 year wait for the mission to which He was born. Jesus, being God and man, willingly subjected Himself to the Father’s timetable and means of fulfilling His purpose. Satan even gave Jesus an opportunity to short-circuit this wait, but Jesus faithfully waited on the Father’s timing in the Father’s way. In the Old Testament Isaiah beautifully writes to the exiled Israelites regarding God’s faithfulness through their wait. Isaiah 40 exalts God in all of His majesty and glory. The chapter then ends by pointing Israel toward a full reliance on God’s faithful hand of guidance, protection, and provision amidst their wait.

I trust that by now (if you’re still reading at this point) you can see the relevancy and applicability of this waiting thing to our everyday lives! All of us have just finished waiting for something, are currently waiting for something, or will soon enter into a waiting period in life. I mutually encourage you to view your waiting period through God’s purifying perspective and the Gospel’s full redemptive outworking in your life! God is on a mission to conform you to the image of Jesus. He loves you so much that He providentially orchestrates all of life to your greatest Christ-like benefit. As we wrap our minds around this glorious truth, we gain great confidence and unshakeable faith regardless of the surrounding circumstances!

Thanks for reading! I trust God will use this in your life!

Embrace the wait!
Derek

Additionally, I was given the opportunity to preach at our home church recently. Since God has been working on my own heart regarding my waits, this study was a natural pick for me. I pray God can use His awesome Word in your life as well. If it can be of any use, I have included links to 2 file types of the recent Keynote Presentation entitled, “Embracing the Waits in Life.” One file type is a movie file of the slides with transitions. The other file type is a .pdf with the slides and full sermon notes.
Blessings!

Embrace the Waits Video File

Embrace the Waits PDF with Notes