Praise While You Wait

Dr. Tim Rivers | March 16th, 2025

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Remember that old song that says he's an all time God? Yes, he is. I know the Johnsons know it. Don't do it, Elijah. You're tempting me to sing it. We're so glad that you're here. If you are a guest with us, we want to say welcome to Embassy City Church. Whether you're in this room or you're in the overflow or you're watching online, we are delighted that you are here. We love the opportunity to get to know you better. And so if you're a guest with us or you want to know more about Embassy City Church, we'd love to see you at our welcome center. Just go right out the doors after service, turn to the right, go all the way down the hall. We'd love to answer any questions you may have, get you plugged in. If you don't want to go down there. Maybe You're shy, you're an introvert, but you want to know more. There's a QR code right in the seat back in front of you. Just scan that and take your next step, whatever it may be. Maybe sign up to serve. Maybe it's generosity. Maybe you want to get baptized or you want to become a member.

But join in onto your next step because God always has something else for us to do. And everybody say amen. All of the young adults between the ages of 18 to 35, make some noise. Come on now. Come on now. Represent. I'm a little outside of that bracket, but we have something special planned for you. So I say March 28, we have a March mixer. It's going to be a Friday night. It's going to be really great. They've got a lot of things planned. Come get ready to make some friends. Enjoy great conversation. And let me just encourage you, if you're in that age bracket and you're looking for your boo thing, they may be there. So don't miss your opportunity for something supernatural to happen in your romantic life. I don't know what Bumble and all these other apps have got, but we want to hook you up with the right people. I don't guarantee that, but that's on you. All right. Stand to your feet all across this place. Let's go to Luke, chapter 17. I had a message prepared. I'm not going to preach that. I'm gonna preach something else because that's just what I feel like the Lord wants us to do.

So we're going to Luke, chapter 17, verse number 11 Luke chapter 17, verse number 11. You know, I say this all the time. We're spirit filled, spirit led church. And what that means is that whatever the Lord is doing, we just follow. So if he says turn right, we turn right. If he says go left, we go left. If he says go straight, we go straight. If he says stop, we stop. He says go backwards, we go backwards. And so I really feel like this is where the Lord led me just a minute ago. And so that's where we're going. Is that all right? All right. Luke, chapter 17, verse number 11. On the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by 10 lepers who stood at a distance and lifted up their voice saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When he saw them, he said to them, go and show yourselves to the priests. Now what? I'm gonna heal him. Why are you. I'm already at a distance. Why are you sending me away? But this is where obedience matters, even when it doesn't make sense.

And as they went, somebody say, as they went. Oh, so many nuggets in here. As they went, meaning with every step that they took of obedience, as they went, they were cleansed. Some of us are waiting for God to come to us, and we're actually living in disobedience. And as they went, they were cleansed. Then one of them, somebody say, one of them, one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back praising God. Check this out. With a loud voice. You know those people that say, you're supposed to be quiet in church, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at Jesus feet, giving him thanks. Now, he was a Samaritan. It's interesting that this is pointed out. Then Jesus answered, Were not 10 cleansed? Isn't it interesting that Jesus wasn't like, hey, thank you. He said, I thought there was 10 of y'all. Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner. And he said to him, rise. Go your way. Your faith has made you well. Okay, I'm gonna preach this thing the way I feel it, if that's all right.

I don't. I don't intend on preaching a long time but I need your help. If you don't help me preach, I will go longer. So if you want to beat the other church folks to Golden Corral or wherever you go to eat wings, get them chicken wings. Y'all better help me preach. Is anybody going to help me preach. I don't even have a title, so let's just pray. Thank you Lord for allowing us to be in your presence. I pray in the next few moments you would give us ears to hear, a heart to receive, and a mind to understand what the spirit would say to us. Help us to walk out here different than the way we walked in. We give you name, the praise, the glory, the honor, because you're worthy of it. In Jesus name and everybody say Amen. Look at your neighbor. Say neighbor. Praise while you wait. Look at your other neighbor and say neighbor. Praise while you wait. Now give God some praise in this place.

That's gonna be my title. I just figured it out. Praise while you wait. We all in this place have limitations. We all are limited creatures. I know that your mom and your dad told you that you can do anything that you set your mind to. As you get older, you realize they was lying to you. When you're young, you are mainly motivated by your imagination. You imagine that you can fly. You imagine that you can be invisible. You imagine that you will be royalty. You imagine that you can run faster than the speed of light. But as you get older and start to test some of these imaginary things, you quickly find out I can't fly and I cannot go invisible. And mom and dad didn't tell me that when they said I was royal. They were talking in the biblical sense. Right? Because as you get older and you test your limitations, you realize that you have limitations. That no matter how fast you run, you cannot outrun a cheetah. No matter how strong you are, you are not going to defeat a full grown silverback gorilla. No matter how long your arms are, you will not be flying with the eagles. You have limits. Somebody say limits? Here's what a limit is. A limit is a point or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass.

We all have limits. And I think what we're challenged with as finite, limited humans is that we serve a very infinite, unlimited God. And so what can be very difficult, especially when we talk about the topic of miracles, it's very difficult to try to perceive that what you cannot do, God can do through you. That's a very difficult concept to try to wrap your brain around. How, how can I be limited? Serve a God who is unlimited? This is why the scripture says that his ways are above our ways and his thoughts are above our thoughts. But if you are going to believe in miracles, then you have to assume that God is able to exceed your imagination. This is why Paul said in Ephesians 3, verse 20, now unto him that is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh within us. If I experience a miracle, it's going to be because I have realized my limitations and I need to depend on God for His unlimited power. Because remember, a miracle is the intersection of your limited ability and God's unlimited ability. That a miracle happens when you have come to the end of your rope and you need God to intervene.

A miracle is when you don't know what to do, so you need God to do it for you. That's what a miracle is. And here's what I will say. We're created in the image and likeness of God. And yet God has decided in his infinite wisdom to create us like him, yet with limits, so that we would have a dependence on Him. When you're a child, this is why you need childlike faith. Because when you're a child, you're very well aware of your limitations. And so if you can't reach something, what do you do? You reach for the person that can reach it. Because as a child, you believe that your parents have the ability and the strength and the wherewithal to get the thing that you can't reach. But as you get older, you start to develop more of an independent mindset and you start relying more on you than you do on God. And this is why some people will not have miracles in their life, because they will not trust God to go beyond their own limitations. So their prayers are limited prayers, and their praise is limited praise, and their conversations are limited conversations and their openness.

You're praying for someone to come into your life, but you have limited God so much. He's like, I can't bring the right person in your life, and I would rather you be single than for you to be hooked up with the wrong person that you think is right for you. It's not even in the notes, but it's for somebody. But here's the thing about miracles. We all. How many want miracle? You need a miracle in your life. Remember the definition of a miracle. The definition of a miracle, as when the divine interrupts the mundane. So we all, we talked about this last week, should be praying for miracles every day. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now we have to check our motivations, though, because most of us pray for miracles for ourselves. We ask God to do something for us because we feel like we want it. But here's what you have to understand about miracles. Every miracle that God has ever and will ever perform is for his glory. Might I say this, and these are just my own thoughts. I think there are times where God will not give somebody the miracle that they're asking for because he knows that they will put it to their credit.

Isn't it amazing? How many times have you met somebody that's been praying, God give me the job, God give me the job. God give me the job. And they're not qualified for it. And then God gives them the job. And then they turn around and say, yeah, I went in there and I killed the interview. And it's like, wait a minute, did you just rob God Of praise knowing good and well that you were not qualified? But it was God. Miracles are actually signs of God's kingdom at work on the earth. In fact, there's this example in the scripture where John, John the Baptist, he is baptizing, he's preparing the way for Jesus to come. Jesus comes, he baptizes Jesus. And when he does, when Jesus comes out of the water, the heavens open up, a thundering voice comes out of heaven and said, behold, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. John looks at Jesus, says, now behold the Lamb of God. And John is very well aware of who Jesus is. Even though Jesus is his cousin, he knows that his cousin is the Messiah. But now this same John finds himself in prison awaiting his fate.

And while he is in prison, he has a dip in his faith and he starts to have some questions. Is this really the Messiah? So being in prison, probably a little bit out of shape because his cousin hasn't even come to visit him, he sends several of his disciples to go ask Jesus, hey, wait a minute, Jesus, are you really the Christ? Because if you're really the Christ, why don't you get your cousin out of prison? So In Matthew, chapter 11, verse number two, it says, now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? And Jesus answered them, go and tell John what you have heard and what you see. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. It's interesting that when John was asking for proof that Jesus is who who he said he is, Jesus didn't give him a sit down, theological debated conversation about who he is.

He didn't sit the disciples down and say, yes, I am the fulfillment of all the Messianic prophecies that were foretold for hundreds of years before me. Jesus didn't sit there and have a one on one conversation with the, with the, with the disciples and say, you know what? Let me, Let me go tell John and prove to him who I am. You know what Jesus did? Jesus said, use your ears and use your eyes and go tell him what you see. Because what I'm doing can't no man do. What Jesus did is he said, go back and tell them that the blind have been given sight, the paralyzed can walk, the leopards are cleansed, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are now rich with the gospel. What Jesus demonstrated to those disciples is that what I'm able to do, you can't explain by words or intellect or argument. The things that you see are proof that I'm not just a carpenter. The thing that you see should prove to you that I'm not just a man. For no man can do these deeds except God. Miracles are signs that prove it had to be the Lord that I didn't do this by myself.

So when God gives you a miracle, the reason he gives you a miracle is to create out of you a testifier of the goodness and the miraculous works of God. I have to agree with David. If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side, I wouldn't even be here. Can I just take a moment and drive this home? Because some of y'all, some of us have gotten very comfortable taking credit for what God has done in our lives. We weren't smart enough. We didn't have the right hookups. We didn't have the right education. We didn't know how to do it. It all was the work of God. Every miracle, every sign, every wonder that God has ever done in your life, he's done it for his own glory. So if he's ever done a miracle in your life, can you just take five seconds and give him the praise that he's worthy? If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side, I wouldn't have made it through that trial. I wouldn't have made it through that test. That marriage wouldn't have been restored. You wouldn't have made it into that job.

You would have lost the battle. You would have lost the test. You wouldn't have escaped that temptation if it had not been, oh, my Lord, have mercy. Maybe I'm just preaching to myself, but I look back over all the events in my life, and I'm like, if it had not been for God, Janice, you and I, we wouldn't have had the house that we have. We wouldn't have the children that we have. We wouldn't have had the cars that we have. We were broke like a joke and had no money. But God showed up right on time. We applied for houses and had fifteen hundred dollars in the bank. And yet God saw fit. It's a miracle. So if you don't praise him, I will, because of what he's done in my life. It's a personal thing to me. My worship is personal. Praise is personal. I know you don't understand why I worship God the way I do, but if it had not been for the Lord who was on... Some of y'all ought to give God praise. That. That. God kept you. The divorce should have crushed you, but God kept you. You never would have left that toxic environment, but it was God.

You never would have endured that testing, but it was God. You never would have escaped that temptation, but it was God. You never would have survived that car wreck, but God. You tried everything else. Oh, my God, have mercy. It's a miracle that I made it this far. A miracle. Everything I have is because of God. Everything that I do is because of God. I'm not preaching about miracles because I'm trying to help you have a resume of miracles so you can brag on yourself. I'm preaching about miracles because miracles require you to stretch. Miracles require you to put your dependence on God. So let me go. Can I work this text in Luke? Luke, the writer of Luke, is writing about Jesus. And Jesus is walking, minding his own business. He's just going from one place to the next. And while he is on his way, some lepers, 10 lepers had heard about Jesus. And they had heard that he can work miracles. And because they believed that it was possible. It wasn't guaranteed, but it was possible. And to them, they were ostracized. They were outside of the city limits. They had to yell to everybody, their inefficiencies and all of their baggage.

They had to say it out loud, unclean, don't even come near me. You can't even come close. So from a distance, they saw Jesus and said, if Jesus is passing by, I'm not going to let a miracle worker pass by me without asking for a miracle. I'm not going to let this opportunity go by me without requesting that he does something. They believed that it was possible. And because they believed that it was Possible, they begin to pray that they would receive a miracle. So they say, Jesus, have mercy on us. And Jesus looked at them, and Jesus didn't stop and run over to them. Jesus didn't go over there and say, hey, let me, Let me see what your issue is. Jesus didn't say, hey, let me see what the problem is. Let me see how far along the disease is. Jesus didn't ask any of that. Jesus simply said, go show yourself to the priest. Now, now, now, now, here's what's interesting, because in. In Jewish law, if you were pronounced to be a leper, you can read about this in the. In the first five books of the Bible, mentioned several times.

If you were diseased with leprosy, you had to declare, number one, that you are a leper. And the first thing that you had to do is you had to go show yourself to the priest. And what the priest would have to do is examine you to see how far along the disease is. And they would declare you unclean. And then they would declare before everybody, this person is now a leper. They're unclean. So now we have to ostracize them, put them outside of the city gates. And here's the reason why. Leprosy was a disease that was highly contagious. And if you had leprosy, it was very easy for you to transmit that disease to other people. So they had to live outside the gates. And when they lived outside the gates, the only thing that they could depend on was the arms of other people. So, so when other people felt like they wanted to help them, they would go out and they would toss bread at them. They wouldn't even get close. Even their family members wouldn't get close. And so God also, though, in that, in that law where he says, when you declare a leper to be unclean, God also provided a provision.

He said, if one of the lepers ends up being cleansed, then he needs to present himself again to the priest. And the priest is the only one who can declare them to be clean based on their knowledge and wisdom of the disease. So it was most likely the case that these individuals were familiar with that law. So when Jesus said, go show yourself to the priest, most likely they thought, okay, is Jesus giving us an opportunity to be declared clean by the priests? Now? Their healing hadn't happened. Their miracle hadn't taken place. Yet. There is no indication by scripture that when Jesus said that, all of a sudden leprosy was gone, all the fingers returned, everything returned like they were back to normal. The only thing the scripture says is that when they trusted in what Jesus said and they were willing to take the step of faith, that with every step of faith they were being cleansed. In other words, all the open source of leprosy, with every step begin to dry up. With every step that they took toward obedience that Jesus to the instructions that Jesus gave them, with every step they were, they noticed.

Wait a minute, the thing that was an open sore is now starting to scab up. And I can imagine that they were excited because here's what happens. Obedience is better than sacrifice. I know it doesn't always make sense when God asks you to do something. God, I asked you for a miracle and you're telling me to walk. God, I asked you for healing. You're telling me to pray. God, I asked you for this, but you're telling me to do that. It does not matter what Jesus asked you to do. Obedience is what he's after. And so in their obedience, when it didn't make sense, they were starting to be cleansed with every step that they took. And out of the 10, there was one, the Bible says he was Samaritan. Now I think that's interesting, because why does the Bible point out that he's a Samaritan? Could it be, and here's just my observation, could it be that he wasn't familiar with the Jewish laws? Could it be that he had no understanding of what this law actually meant to be declared clean? The priest. All I know is that while he was walking and he noticed God was working, he said, you know what? I may not have everything that I want, but I refuse to go any further without turning around and thanking Jesus for where he's brought me to so far.

And when he gets back to Jesus, here's what I think is interesting. Jesus doesn't go, man, thank you for giving me praise. Jesus doesn't say, oh man, you didn't have to get me that gift card. Jesus didn't say, oh man, you didn't have to give me that present. Jesus didn't say, oh man, this is a prize. Jesus literally looked at him and said, wait a minute. One I thought I cleansed 10. Why is there only one that came back to give me praise? Jesus said, wait a minute. I know I didn't ask for it, but it should be a natural response because you got something you didn't have before. I know I didn't say turn around and give me praise. But you did what you have now you don't deserve. And I'm just curious. If you got what you don't deserve, why wouldn't you turn around and be thankful? So Jesus said, you know what? I'm grateful that you came back and praised me, but I'm wondering, why are the other nine still. I know I'm going to cleanse them, but I'm going to do something special for you.

Because you learned how to praise even in the midst of your healing. The healing wasn't complete, but you would not go to the end without at least stopping to give me praise. And this is what Jesus did. Jesus said, because of your faith in worshiping me before the healing was complete, I will not only cleanse you, but I will make you completely whole. Now, now, now, now I have to teach this because here, when you look in Scripture, there is a major difference because between the word whole and the word cleansed. Cleansed means that it was dried up, but there were probably still scar tissue. There were still scabs. They probably still had fingers missing. They probably still had a nose that wasn't put back on. They were cleansed, but they weren't completely whole. But Jesus said, because you learn how to praise in the midst of getting to your miracle. Not only will I heal what has been broken you, but I will restore to you the things that you lost. Praise not only will heal you, but praise will restore to you the things that the enemy has taken from you. If you can learn the secret to praise God while you wait, there's no telling what will happen in your life.

The reason why I just felt that during worship is because When I heard the testimony of Stephanie talking about waiting on God for 11 years, one thing I will say. Janice and I have walked with Stephanie for eight years. One thing I will say, all through the eight years that we've known her, we have never known her not to come into the house of God and give God praise, knowing that she is going through trials and tribulations and testing and because she does that. God has done things in her life that she could not imagine. I wonder what is waiting on the other side of your praise. Some of us are trying to wait for God to completely give us everything that we want. And God says, if you praise me, I will do something in your life that walking by yourself will not do. If you can learn the secret of worshiping God in the midst of adversity, your life will be different. Can I keep preaching? I think there's a reason why when God said to the children of Israel, hey, children, of Israel. I'm going to give you that city. But you're not going to get it by might or power or by strategy.

You're going to get it through worship and praise. I think there's a secret that happens when you worship God. Because when you worship God, it's not about you. Sometimes we can get the miracle and show it off to people. Yo look what God's done in my life. And God's like, have you even returned to tell me? Thank you. When was the last time you came into the house of God? In the midst of waiting, in the midst of a trial, in the midst of a situation. I know I just preached about believing it's possible. I know I just preached about praying for a miracle. But if the miracle don't come, will you still praise him as if the miracle has already happened? Will you give him praise to the best of your ability? Will you give him 100%? Because you. What you have, you don't even deserve. And maybe I'm just preaching to myself. I'm thinking about Paul and Silas who were in prison awaiting execution. And they said, while we're in stocks and bonds and the prison doors are shut, we're not going to let our current circumstance dictate how we worship. And the Bible says that they praised God until the doors were open and they kept praising God.

I just wonder. I just wonder, maybe. Maybe it's just me, maybe it's just me wondering about myself. But I just wonder what stands on the other side of praise? What stands on the other side of your worship? What stands on the other side of your thanksgiving? And here's the thing. I know some folks are like, I ain't got nothing to be thankful for. I'm still waiting on my miracle. Are you here? Let everything that has breath, Are you breathing? Then you are qualified to praise the Lord. Why would you hold back your praise when you got breath in your lungs? Why would you hold back your praise when you know you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the hand of God? Why would you hold back your praise? It's not about the other nine. It's about you. It's about the one who returned and said, I will not go any further. What does praise do? It stretches you. It stretches you. Why? Because when you pray, somebody may ask you, what are you praising for? Can you praise and not have an answer to that? I started to think about, what do you do in the midst of waiting? I had a completely different message for you.

But I feel like. I feel like there's somebody here watching or listening right now that God is waiting for you to be thankful for what he's done thus far. And many of us get greedy for miracles when we've never even stopped to say thank you. And here's what I know about God. God wants your thanks. He wants your praise. Where are the other nine? I did the same thing in their life, but only one recognized that it was all me. I believe God's challenging some of us. I love giving God praise when things are going great. Am I the only one? Come on now. Somebody help me. It's easy to give God praise when everything's going right. It's easy to give God praise when you get the clean bill of health. It's easy to give God praise when the application went through you. It's easy to give God praise when. When the business deal closed. It's easy to give God praise when your idea was accepted by everybody. It's easy to give God praise when you're. When you masterminded something that completely turned the company around. It's easy to give God praise when you get the raise, when you get the promotion.

But can you praise God while you wait? For the promotion? Can you give God praise while you wait? Wait on the healing. Can you give God thanks before it happens? Because this is what I can tell you. You will be tested in the waiting. Sometimes the miracle is God's grace on your life while you wait. Can you thank God for the grace? Can you thank God for the grace to endure the storm? Can you thank God for the grace to go through with the situation that you're in? Sometimes the deliverance isn't the miracle. Sometimes the fact that you're making it through is the miracle. Can you thank God for that? Because if you can, thank God for just keeping you while you're in the midst of the fire, you're coming out. So what do you do while you wait? You worship. You learn how to praise. You know why? Because it's confusing to the enemy. Not only to the enemy, but it's confusing to you. Have you ever praised God and wondered, why am I doing this? And maybe it's just me. There are times when I'm like, but you know what? I will not let my flesh lead me.

I will not. I will not surrender to circumstances. I will not render myself to my. To my human feelings. I will render myself to what I know about God. And with God, all things are possible. So sometimes I praise and it don't match my circumstance. Yeah. Amen. I'M closing, but let me say this I feel that there are people listening right now that you believe it's possible. You've prayed for the miracle. You even came up last week and it didn't happen. You're like you said, miracles will happen this week. And guess what? We got quite a few reports of miracles happening. And you may be like, not my time, not my season. So I'll wait some more. And let me just commend you for coming back even if you didn't get what you asked for. And while you're back, the Lord gave me a word to give to you. Praise him in advance. Praise him in advance. Stretch your faith by worshiping him before it happens. While you wait, while you're going through it, while the cleansing is happening, but you're not whole yet, while you still got some fingers missing and the scabs are still healing and you're still going through it.

It's the, the marriage isn't 100%. The job application hasn't been accepted yet. The business deal hasn't gone through yet. The ministry hasn't opened up yet. Can you still worship? Can you still be thankful? Can you still give God praise in the midst of waiting? Because it does something to your soul. It takes the spotlight off of the circumstance and puts it back on God. This is what the scripture says, that he praised God with a loud voice. Yep. That's where there's sometimes what I feel now. May tell Anna. Stephanie, turn it up. You're like, why is it so loud? Because sometimes while you wait, you have to hear yourself praising God. Sometimes you gotta hear yourself be thankful. You gotta hear yourself praising. No kind of shy, timid type of worship. I'm talking about bold. I don't care what anybody thinks. I don't care what I look like. I don't care what anyone's going to judge me for. I'm giving God praise because of what he's done in my life. And I'm sorry if it's offensive to you. I'm sorry if this is making you uncomfortable. I. I'm sorry if this is bothering you. I'm sorry if I'm in your personal bubble.

I'm sorry if I'm in your space. But. But God has worked a miracle in my life and I know he's still working. So, you know, while I'm waiting, I'm gonna give him worship and praise. Would somebody be willing to do that right now? Just give God worship and praise while you wait? I prayed for it. Now I'm gonna Praise for it. Come on, somebody. Give God worship and praise. No matter the circumstance, no matter the situation, no matter the waiting period. Give God praise. We bless you, God. We bless you. F if it had not been for the Lord who was on my side. If you give him what you have, he'll do something spectacular with it. If you give him what you have, he'll do something spectacular with it. Abraham, if you bring the wooden the fire, I'll provide the ram in the bush. If Israel, if you give me your shout, I'll tear down the wall. Samson, if you bring the jawbone, I'll help you defeat the Philistines. David, if you're willing to bring your sling, I'll help guide the stone and kill Goliath. Noah, if you'll build the ark, then I'll spare you in the flood.

Elijah, if you'll build the altar, I'll send the fire widow if you'll bring the pots, I'll fill them up with oil. Little boy, if you bring your lunch, I'll feed a multitude with it. Peter, if you get out of the boat, then I'll help you walk on water. Paralytic if you will take up your bed, I'll help you walk. Blind man, if you open your eyes, I'll let you see. If you give me your praise, I will open up the doors. Come on, somebody give God worship. Somebody give God praise. Think about what God's done in your life.