Worth The Wait

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The Church can thrive in uncertain times.

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Acts 1:4-5

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Worth The Wait

Introduction

Where are all my impatient people at? Come on, loud and proud, raise that hand? I don’t have time to wait so you better raise your hand RIGHT NOW.
If you can’t already tell, I am a person who struggles with impatience. I am a decisive person. I have the gift of discernment, and so I don’t need a lot of time in order to make a decision.
And don’t you dare judge me… I have tested high for discernment, both as spiritual gift, and as a working genius. Shout out to Patrick Lencioni.
But here’s the sad truth about being impatient. You miss out on moments. You miss out on opportunities. So if you are not a patient person, you need to work on this or you are going to miss out on some special things in life.
I remember one time being impatient in High School… I got home from a school outing. It was late. I mean it was late late. I remember calling my Dad and telling him that I needed a ride home. Now my Dad, he wasn’t having it. He let me know that it was late (totally out of my control) and that I needed to wait. He wasn’t going to be in a hurry to come and get me.
So I’m thinking… OK, I’ll be here for a while. My Dad is flexing on me and I got to submit.
Well a friend of mine’s Mom saw me and asked if I needed a ride home. Since not much time had passed, I figured that I would jump in their car, get home with enough time to surprise my Dad and tell him the good news. I got a ride home and he didn’t need to come and get me.
Well, the problem was… what had happened was… my Dad wasn’t being completely honest with me. He was bluffing by telling me that I was going to wait. He left the house and was headed to school to come pick me up. When he got to the school, after being rudely awaken to come get me, he got there in time to see me hop in my friends car and he proceded to follow us back to my house.
Fam, can I just tell you that when I got home it wasn’t a happy reunion. I got in TROUBLE… Let me tell you, Pastor Josh got into trouble
Why? Because I didn’t want to wait.

Remain in Jerusalem

When Jesus asked his disciples to remain in Jerusalem, I need for you to understand what he was asking them to do.
Jerusalem is the Jewish political, social and religious capital. This religious climate was controlled by the Pharisees. They vehemently opposed Jesus and his followers. The Pharisees leveraged their knowledge of the scriptures and position in the Jewish faith to influence and shape the politics in their favor. It started booming profitable to be a Pharisee . There was significant money to be made at the temple.
Remember, it was Jesus who turned over tables in Jerusalem because of what he saw them doing. He knew that they had turned what was to be eternal into the temporary.
The followers of Jesus wanted to get away from Jerusalem. They had just crucified Jesus. Peter denied being a follower of Jesus because he did not want to be persecuted. Remaining in Jerusalem was the last thing that they wanted to hear Jesus say.
Jesus, standing on the Mt. of Olives is two miles outside of Jerusalem. They are far enough to be safe, but close enough to be in danger. They probably thought that Jesus was going to lead them away from Jerusalem, but instead, he tells them to remain.
The implication to them was that he was sending them right back into persecution. He was sending them right back into the struggle. He was sending them right back into the mouth of the lion.

Don’t Run When You’re Called to Remain

We have subscribed to a comfortable version of Christianity, where we equate easy with the will of God. We believe that remaining in Christ is going to be a life of ease, a life of perfection and a life free from challenge. But that’s not what we read about in the scriptures, and that’s not what Jesus was telling his disciples to do.
He knew what he was asking them to do, and yet he said, “Remain.”
Remaining has fallen on hard times, hasn’t it?
We have become increasingly mobile. We can work from the office, we can work from home, we can work from the coffee shop, and we can even work while we are on vacation. We don’t like to remain because it’s not cool. It’s not cool to put roots down. It’s very millennial to be on the move and always be running towards the next big opportunity, or the next open door. Loyalty is dying marker of the next generation.
I’m not saying that God won’t ever move you. He told Abraham to move away from Ur, so there is certainly Biblical precedent for that, but he also told the disciples to remain.
Just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean it’s not God’s will.
John 16:33 (NIV)
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
I am convinced that Christians have omitted this verse from their Bible reading. We forgot to put this verse up on our vision board. It’s not posted on your mirror with your other Pinterest sayings.
But just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
Illustration: Peek a boo with a baby.
This is how we approach the scriptures sometimes.
What are you going to do when God’s will requires you to do something you don’t want to do. Can you end the relationship because God said so? Can you quit the habit because God told you so? Can you change what you watch because God told you to? Can you stop treating your body (temple) the way you have, because God told you so?
Listen, don’t stop doing something because I told you to, or because you think a Christian shouldn’t do it. I want you lock yourself in a prayer closet and have a conversation with your heavenly father, and don’t come out of there until you know what he wants you to do.
And once you know, be ready to do it!
Tough places require strong Christians.
Hard callings require strong Christians.
This isn’t for everybody!
Illustration: Paul was deserted by John Mark and he called him out on it! Paul had a split with Barnabas over it. He said I won’t go on another missions trip with John Mark because he’s soft. Paul was a Gangster! He was an OG. I want to put a Thug Life meme over these scriptures sometimes when I read them.

Wait for the Promise

Throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, he spoke to them about what was to come. So when Jesus gathered his disciples on Mt. Olive, he was affirming what was previously spoken to them. Furthermore, he was telling them that now its time.

Wait Until you See What You’re Hearing

The beautiful thing about being in relationship with our Father is he will talk to you if you will listen.
When he does talk to you, he will often talk to you about your future.
God will say to you, what he sees in you.
Romans 10:17 ESV
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Throughout the scriptures we see Jesus dealing this way with people:
He told Abraham that he was going to make him a father of many people, and Abraham had no children when he first heard this.
He called Gideon a mighty man of valor when he was battling with fear.
He called Jacob, Israel, which was speaking into his future. Jacob was far from God, and yet he said, “you have power with me.”
This happens again, and again in the scriptures because
your future is God’s past.
Let me take it a step further...
When you spend time with the scriptures, the written word of God, it will make you better.
When you read the word of God, it will lift you up.
When you read the word of God, it will encourage you.
When you read the word of God, it will strengthen you.
When you read the word of God, it will equip you.
When you read the word of God, it will only make you better.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Jesus ends this thought by saying that when they remained in Jerusalem, and were faithful to wait, they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
You see the remaining, and the waiting, is always for a purpose.
When you wait, you grow.
Something always happens when you wait. Always!
And if you don’t wait, you abort the process of God in your life.

The Holy Spirit Empowers Us

There are many things that the Holy Spirit does in the life of a believer. This is why it was necessary for Jesus’ followers to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit Is:
Comforter
Advocate
Convicts us
Inspire
Interpret
Empower
The reason that the believers had to remain in Jerusalem, and the reason they needed to see what they heard about, was so that they could be empowered for what God was calling them to do.
And what was God calling them to do?
Change The World
If you are going to change the world, you need the Holy Spirit. If you are going to change your world, you need the Holy Spirit.
I’m not talking about just coming to church and getting just enough of the feels to make you feel better about yourself. I’m talking about being Baptized the with Holy Spirit.
How do you know?
You may speak in tongues
A habit or addiction might be miraculously broken
Fear and anxiety will leave
You may be supernaturally healed if you are sick
There will be a tangible, outward experience based on a supernatural, inward experience

Conclusion

Here’s the crazy ending to the story that I need for you to get. 500 people were on Mt. Olive. Only 120 people remained.
380 people decided that whatever was coming, wasn’t worth the wait, the pain, the discomfort, or whatever other reason they had to leave. 380 people who heard from Jesus, left the room where the others waited and prayed.
Imagine being one of the 380 to find out about what happened that day. Imagine being one of the 380 who didn’t receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit on that day. Imagine being so preoccupied on the temporal that they lost sight of the eternal.
That is still the tension that we are navigating today.
You know what Sunday does for you? It should be a reminder that we aren’t living just for the here, and for the now, but we are living for heaven and we are living for eternity.
John 14:3 NIV
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
As Jesus Prepares a Place for Us, We Are Preparing People for Him
That’s what we are doing here at Lighthouse. While Jesus is preparing heaven for us, we’re down here on Earth inviting more people to come with us. We are on a mission to depopulate hell. We are on a mission to make sure that as many people as possible make the trip!
Do you want to know what makes waiting worth it?
Doing something. Or as we say here at Lighthouse, doing something that makes a difference, with other people who want to make a difference.
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