Waiting…

“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32:1-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Waiting…

We humans are impatient, and desirous of instantaneous gratification. We want everything right now, and are unwilling to wait, even when what we are waiting for is glorious.

Reading in Exodus 32, this morning, that lack of patience was more than evident, as Moses had gone up. Mount Sinai to commune with the Lord. He had been gone for a long time, and the people became restless. They began to do what was right in their own eyes.

They pressed Aaron to make them an idol of gold, that they could worship. It was a god of their own making, on which they attributed their freedom from bondage in Egypt. Ironically, they used the gold and jewels that they had been provided by the Lord, who had moved on the Egyptians to give all manner of treasure as they left.

They had rejected the God who freed them, led the them out of bondage, and provided for them, for a god of gold, who could not deliver anything.

Nearly two thousand years ago, a small group of disciples stood at the Mount of Olives watching intently, as Jesus, who had led them for over three years and turned their lives upside down, ascended into Heaven. Those who saw Him go, were expecting Him to return soon.

“And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.””
Acts 1:10-11 NKJV

The congregation gathered in the upper room and waited for the promise of the Helper to come. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit fell upon them, and the work began. During the time that the generation who saw Him go were alive, the church grew, as many saw the great work done by the power of the Helper, the Holy Spirit.

Over time, those who had seen the Lord began to move from the scene, as they were martyred and died, leaving those who did not have first hand knowledge of Jesus, to come to the forefront. Unlike the children of Israel, their forerunners, they did not see the glories of Jesus, but heard only echos of distant past.

They had the letters and epistles, they had the Holy Spirit, but they opted for the traditions of men, hoping for a more immediate outcome.

The past two thousand years are a story of impatient people losing faith, and creating new gods for themselves. In modern times, we have created our own gods of gold, as we have begun to worship everything of the world, and have forgotten that Jesus said that He would return.

The more time has passed, the more we have become impatient, even though the signs of His soon coming are being magnified day by day. We have sought to create our own heaven on earth, through wealth, through politics, or through worship of ourselves.

We have pressured pastors to give us the gods that we desire, as many have compromised and helped us to create our own golden idols, in place of Jesus.

In these latter days, it has become difficult for a church leader to remain steadfast to the correct teaching and preaching of the Word.

Paul urged Timothy, and He urges us:

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
II Timothy 4:2-5 NKJV

Brothers and sisters, let us not be in the business of creating idols. It is God who has delivered us from bondage to sin, and given us eternal life, where there was only eternal death. Let us remember that we have a Helper. We are not left alone with no leader, for the Holy Spirit is always with us, and we also have knowledge of the mind and heart of God in the Holy Scriptures.

My people, Jesus is coming again. Each passing day confirms it to my heart all the more. Even as I write this, I am sadly aware of the great falling away that is occurring right before our very eyes, as many who previously called upon the name of the Lord have fallen and are now going after other gods.

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
II Thessalonians 2:1-4 NKJV

We are almost there…

Have a blessed Sunday!

https://www.allaboutgod.com/the-roman-road.htm