Many are convinced they deserve to reap many rewards for long periods of time after preparing for only a short amount of time. Have we really paid our dues to reap rewards for years? Moses spent forty years in the desert before leading God's people for forty years. We need to simply be patient. God is preparing us for a purpose. It's tempting to rush the preparation process but God knows what he's doing!



Audio Transcript

We need to practice patience with purpose even when everything seems small — even when it's so hard and some of us say, "But I've been here so long. I could do so much more. I've paid my dues." Really? I don't know.

You see, you and I, we look at things in a slightly skewed time scheme. We think that if we pay a little bit of dues here we should receive a huge dividend. Right? I suffered today so I need to be blessed for a thousand days or I prepared for one day so I'm ready for the rest of my life.

Moses walked with the children in the desert. He led them for how many years? Forty years. Now, let's just see before he led them 40 years, he was out in the desert himself for how long? Forty years. It was a one-to-one relationship.

And some go, "I don't want to prepare that long. I don't want to work that hard. I don't wanna..." I love you.

If you prepare small, you get small.

For somebody, I've got good news for you because you've been going through hell. You've been walking down hard roads, you've fallen down and had to get back up, you've hit obstacle after obstacle, I got news for you — for God works out everything for good for those who are called according to his purpose.

When you take those failures when you take those hurts when you take those stumbles when you take all that stuff and you put it in this and say, "God use that, not as a thing to draw me down but to lift me up, God take that stuff that's in my past and use it, teach me, I'm gonna be humble, and on my knees, before you and God, whatever you did from here on back from, this day and all my past I want to use it to learn from it, to be grown in it, prepare me, train me..." that God can use all that for whatever comes next. 

Is that good news for anybody?

You know who it's not good news for? Young people.

I love you but you know you're like "But it's my money and I want it now" to coin a commercial from our region. And it's not just about paying dues; it's about learning and growing and maturing and God preparing you to have the strength to hold what he wants to give you in the future.

So walk through the paces and understand that good bad and ugly in your past — when you put it in God's hands — he can use it all for the sake of what he wants to do.

Watch the full sermon here.


Andy Addis