Worth the Wait

Bobby: Thank you! Thank you! Hello, Nashville! Are you ready to ROOO...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (falls over onto the Leader, asleep)

Leader: Agh! Bobby! Wake-up! You're crushing me! WAKE-UP!!

Bobby: (wakes up with a jerk) Whoah! Sorry about that, bayyy-buh, I guess I'm just a little tiredzzzzzzz (goes back to sleep, falling onto the Leader)

Leader: Bobby!!!

Bobby: (wakes up) THANK YOU, LONDON! GOODNIGHT!

Leader: Bobby, you're not in London! You were having a dream! Why are you so sleepy? You're usually so hyper!

Bobby: Well my band, ExSCREAM, is getting ready to kick off it's world tour. We decided that if we're gonna be the most extreme metal band ever we're gonna have to spend our time doing some extreme stuff!

Leader: Like what?

Bobby: Well, yesterday at around 5 in the morning, we started off with a 3 hour band practice! Then after that we decided to go bungee jumping!

Leader: That's pretty cool..

Bobby: Out of an airplane, bayyy-buh!!

Leader: You went bungee jumping out of an AIRPLANE?!

Bobby: YEAAAAAAAAAH!! It was AWESOME!!

Leader: Wow, what'd you do next?

Bobby: After that we did some alligator wrestling! It was pretty boring at first.

Leader: Boring??

Bobby: That is until we started using live alligators, bayyyy-buh!!

Leader: Bobby, that's insane!!

Bobby: No, it's EXTREME! But, after that we were kinda tired, so to relax we did some quilting.

Leader: (sighs in relief) Okay, quilting, at least that's normal and safe – (Bobby interrupts)

Bobby: QUILTING INSIDE A FIREY VOLCANO! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!

Leader: Extreme quilting? Inside a volcano? That's nuts!

Bobby: Hahaha, yeah it was! But after doing all that stuff, I'm exhausted!

Leader: Well have you found any time to get into God's presence?

Bobby: God's presents? I ain't gonna open any of God's presents before he gets to open them! I did that once to my little brother at Christmas and I got a HUUUUGE spanking!

Leader: That's not what I'm talking about. I mean God's PRESENCE. Getting to hang out with God, getting to know Him better, feeling his love and power.

Bobby: Well, I ain't got time for that with all the extreme stuff my band and I are doing!

Leader: You have to MAKE time, Bobby! If we don't make time for being in God's presence in our lives, we lose focus. We have to spend time daily reading our Bible and worshiping God! He'll give us rest and energy to do the great things he has planned for us!

Bobby: So instead of doing all of this crazy stuff to help me be more EXTREME, I gotta spend time in God's presence and He'll give me strength!

Leader: That's exactly right.

Bobby: Wow! Thanks, baaayy-buh! I better go tell the band what I just learned before it's too late!

Leader: What do you mean?

Bobby: They were talking about riding a roller coaster through the world's largest jello statue! (yells this towards offstage) HOLD ON, BOYS! DON'T GET ALL STICKY! (turns back to the kids) I'll see you later, boys and girls! My name's Bobby ROCKIT! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! GOOD NIGHT!!

“Good things come to those who wait.” Have your parents ever said that to you? Doesn’t it make you mad sometimes? I used to get so frustrated when my parents would tell me that. It just seemed like an excuse to not give me what I wanted. I like good things, but I don’t like to wait. I want it right now!

(hold up the clock) Nobody likes waiting. Waiting in line—stinks! Waiting on Christmas to get here ”Why can’t it be December RIGHT NOW?” Waiting to be sixteen and be able to drive a car seems like it takes FOREVER! Waiting is not fun, but many times it is necessary. And sometimes, what we end up getting at the end of the wait makes the waiting worth it!

We have been talking about how Joshua had to go through a season of preparation before he could become the leader of God’s people, Israel. He wasn’t born ready to lead an entire nation. He had to be prepared. Today, we are going to learn about one of the most important things he did to prepare to be the leader of the nation of Israel.

In Exodus 33:7-11, the Bible says, “It was Moses' custom to set up the tent known as the Tent of Meeting far outside the camp. Everyone who wanted to consult with the LORD would go there. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in their tent entrances. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. 9 As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at the entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Then all the people would stand and bow low at their tent entrances. 11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”

WOW! Can you imagine that? God would speak to Moses face to face, just like you would talk to your best friend. Turn to the person next to you, and look at their face. Now, imagine that this person is actually God Himself. How cool would that be? Well, Moses got to experience exactly that. But, I bet you are wondering where Joshua comes into this story, huh? Well, the next part of verse 11 tells us something pretty amazing. “Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, stayed behind in the Tent of Meeting.”

When Moses was done talking to God face to face, he would leave and go back to camp. But, Joshua, his assistant at the time—would not leave God’s presence. He would stay behind and continue to spend time with God. Why would he do that?

How long did Joshua stay? We don’t know. We just know he stayed longer than Moses. When Moses left the tent of God’s presence, Joshua stayed. He just couldn’t get enough of God. Joshua must have believed “good things come to those who wait.”

Boys and girls, we can learn a big lesson from Joshua. Joshua knew that he needed to spend time with God if he was ever going to become the man of God that he needed to be in order to eventually take over for Moses and lead God’s people. Joshua understood: If I Want God To Use Me Tomorrow, I Must Spend

Did Joshua stay in the tent because he knew he was going to be the leader one day? Or – did Joshua become the leader because he stayed in the tent? We really don’t know. But, in that tent, I believe God was teaching Joshua patience, faith, trust, courage and confidence – in the presence of God. Joshua was being prepared to do what God had for him in the future right then—in God’s presence. It’s simple. (pick up the hammer) If you want to learn to be a carpenter and know how to build houses and things like that—who are you going to spend time with? (allow response) You will spend time with a carpenter, of course. (pick up the paintbrush) If you want to learn to be an artist, paint beautiful paintings, and create amazing pieces of art—who are you going to spend time with? (allow response) You will spend time with an artist, learning everything you can about being the best artist possible.

In the same way, if you want to learn how to become the man or woman God wants you to be, you have to spend time with God. Not just a few minutes a week—not just at church. You have to be like Joshua, and be willing to WAIT in God’s presence. Make time for Him. Pray every day. Ask God to change you and make you into the person He wants you to be.

God WANTS to spend time with you. He’s waiting on us to choose to put Him first, spend time in His presence, so that He can prepare us to become who He has planned for us. We know that “Good things come to those who wait.” The question is, “Are you willing to wait in God’s presence to receive the good He has planned for you?”

1. What was today’s Big Idea? Answer: “I Gotta Spend Time With God—Every Single Day!”

2. Who was trying to help Ban Daid prepare today in the video? Answer: Dr. Boing

3. What was Ban Daid trying to jump over in the video today? Answer: a man getting a tan

4. What was the name of the place where Moses went to spend time with God? Answer: Tent of Meeting

5. Who went with Moses to the Tent of Meeting? Answer: Joshua

6. After Moses was done meeting with God, what would Joshua do? Answer: stay at the tent

7. Did Joshua understand the importance of spending time with God? Answer: yes

8. In our lesson, we learned “If I Want God To Use Me Tomorrow, I Must Spend Time In His Presence _______.” Answer: today

9. True or False: We must MAKE time to spend with God daily. Answer: TRUE

10. Where was our Power Verse found? Answer: Psalm 26:8