What Doth the Lord Require

THE “TAKES” OF JESUS

Bishop Forrest Ray Nance, Jr  October 18, 2016 Psalm 130:1-8 (KJV) 1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.2  Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.3  If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?4  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.5  I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.6  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.7  Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.8  And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. “WAIT” (Author Unknown) Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried: Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate, and the Master who gently said, “Child, you must wait.” “Wait?” You say, wait!,” my indignant reply. “Lord, I need answers, I need to know why! Is you hand shortened? Or have you not heard? By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word. “My future and all to which I can relate hangs in the balance, and You tell me to wait? I’m needing a ‘yes’ a go-ahead sign, or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign. “And Lord, You promised that if we believe we need but to ask, and we shall receive. Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry: I’m weary of asking! I need a reply!” Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, as my Master replied once again, “You must wait.” So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, and grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting… for what?”  He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine, and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign. I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun. I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run. “All you ask me I could give, and pleased you would be. You would have what you want – but, you wouldn’t know Me. You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint: You’d not know the power that I give to the faint. “You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair: You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there; you’d not know the joy of resting in Me when darkness and silence were all you can see. “You’d never experience that fullness of love, as the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove; you’d know that I live and I save… (for a start), but you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart. “The glow of My comfort late into the night. The faith that I give when you walk without sight. The depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked of an infinite God, who make what you have last. “You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee, what it means that ‘My grace is sufficient for Thee.’ Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true. But, Oh, the loss! If I lost what I’m doing in you! “So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see that the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me. And though oft‘ may My answers seem terribly late. My most precious answer of all is still, ‘wait.‘” Ps 5:3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Ps 17:17 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. Ps 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Ps 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. Ps 38:15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O LORD my God. Ps 119:84 How many are the days of thy servant? When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?