Alone & Waiting

Allen Jackson

Part of Weekly Sermons

June 30, 2021

Ephesians 6:10-13 (NIV®)
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

I. Learning “To Stand”

Fear of Facing Adversaries When Alone
Deuteronomy 31:5-8 (NIV®) (Moses’ Instructions to Joshua)
⁵ The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. ⁸ The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

The Pursuit of God
Exodus 24:1-2 (NIV®)
¹ Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, ² but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near.

Authority & Responsibility
Esther 4:15-16 (NIV®)
¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

The Isolation of Suffering
Psalm 102:1-8 (NIV®)
¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you.
² Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.
³ For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
⁴ My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.
⁵ Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse.

Solitude of Intercession
Jeremiah 13:17 (NIV®)
But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the LORD’s flock will be taken captive.

Separateness in Waiting
Lamentations 3:22-28 (NIV®)
²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
²⁷ It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him.

Forsaken Because of Rebellion
2 Kings 21:13-15 (NIV®)
¹³ I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. ¹⁴ I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their foes, ¹⁵ because they have done evil in my eyes and have provoked me to anger from the day their forefathers came out of Egypt until this day.”

Samson’s Presumption
Judges 16:20 (NIV®)
Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

II. An Assignment to Stand Alone (With God/On God’s behalf)

A. Moses

Exodus 14:10-14 (NIV®)
¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” ¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

B. Elijah

1 Kings 18:21-22 (NASB®)
²¹ Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

C. David

1 Samuel 30:6 (NIV®)
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

D. Ezekiel

Ezekiel 3:24-27 (NIV®)
²⁴ Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵ And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

E. Jesus

Matthew 26:31 (NIV®)
Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

F. Paul

2 Timothy 4:16-18 (NIV®)
¹⁶ At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2 Timothy 4:9-11 (NIV®)
⁹ Do your best to come to me quickly, ¹⁰ for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

III. The Promise & Faithfulness of God

Psalm 34:18 (NIV®)
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV®)
¹³ I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Romans 8:37-39 (NIV®)
³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Daniel 3:24-26 (NIV®)
²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” ²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” ²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,

Nehemiah 9:19-21 (NIV®)
¹⁹ “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. ²⁰ You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. ²¹ For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.

Psalm 27:9-10 (NIV®)
⁹ Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. ¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Acts 2:25-28 (NIV®)
²⁵ David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. ²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, ²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. ²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

1 Chronicles 28:20-21 (NIV®)
²⁰ David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. ²¹ The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”

2 Chronicles 32:6-8 (NIV®) (Assyrian Threat to Jerusalem)
⁶ He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: ⁷ “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. ⁸ With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

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