Acts: Acts 1:4

Recap of Last Week

Dr Jeff Carrell gave one of the best explanations of the Holy Spirit and its role in our lives of believers you’ll hear.

He comes form a cessation background and offers a unique perspective!

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Recap of Week 2

Acts 1:3 NKJV

to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

Jesus had one sermon series…THE KINGDOM OF GOD

We dove into that concept a little further on Wednesday at Closer Nights

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Kingdom of God (Heaven)

Kingdom of God (Heaven). The sovereign rule of God, initiated by Christ’s earthly ministry and to be consummated when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Rv 11:15).

Jesus preached about the institution of a world where God was given total rule in the societal realms of which we have control.

The first society I control is me

The second is my family

The third is my circle of influence

Then city, state, nation, world etc...

We must be propagators of the kingdom of God - It starts tiny...

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Kayla’s Family and their Christmas Routine

Marriage is the only dynamic wherein you get to get a full view of each others family unfiltered.

ALL FAMILIES DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

We celebrate holidays differently

We do gifts differently - Kayla’s mom buys the gifts with you there…then wraps them and makes you wait.

I FIND IT EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING TO KNOW WHAT I’M GOING TO GET…AND NOT HAVE IT!

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1. I Love Go Time

Acts 1:4 (NKJV)

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem,

It’s important to remember that this narrative is taking place at the place of His ascension…They are outside of the city.

So His commandment “not to depart” carries with it an implicit…go to the city.

THEY START THEIR JOURNEY WITH JESUS WITH A “GO”

There are few times more exciting in your journey with Jesus than when He says “go...”

Go seasons are what dreams are made of (I’m a 7)

A go season seems to possess unlimited potential

I’m sure the disciples had some high level of expectation when they thought about what was going to happen in the city!

I have always been excited when God has given me a go...

New opportunities

New advancements…each time I’ve had some assumptions as to what it would look like.

We often have a prior concept when it comes to what our go will look like.

I had so many preconceived ideas about what a “go” season regarding church planting would look like.

100’s on Day one

100 on my launch team

ALL THE $$$$

WE ARE GULLIBLE WHEN IT COMES TO OUR GO’S - The disciples were pumped for the go…but it had a follow up task.

Acts 1:4 (NKJV)

but to wait...

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2. Walking through Waiting

They are attracted to a “go” but tasked with a wait.

We think spiritual maturity is marked by spiritual accomplishment and spiritual impact...

There is not a greater sign of spiritual maturity than an increased capacity to wait.

We need some wait gain in the body of Christ again!

Our generation has been robbed of privilege and affinity that is gained from waiting...

We don’t wait on purchases

Remember when you used to “save up” so you could buy something…NOW THERE IS A 0 DOWN NO CREDIT DEAL SOMWHERE!

We don’t wait on fame

There is no climbing the ladder…You can be unknown one week and tiktok famous the next.

We don’t wait on college

Kids have associate degrees when they graduate High school

We don’t wait on food.

We can drive through, microwave, uber eats, or door dash...

Our “right now” posture within society has moved into our posture as Christ followers!

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2 Prime areas of wait loss in the church.

(a) We don’t wait on the Lord in prayer

WE ARE ENAMORED WITH WORSHIP AND BORED WITH PRAYER...

I am as guilty as the next person…but we have become very entertainment driven in the church of Jesus Christ.

We like worship because we like music…(WORSHIP IS MORE THAN A SONG…)

We sing songs about Jesus but only participate when it is the style we prefer.

We have been conditioned to have our senses engaged at all times.

I believe the quality of your experience is tested in the quiet...

You want to see discomfort real quick…Call everyone to prayer and don’t have any music playing...

THEY DIDN’T HAVE A NORD OR SPOTIFY IN THE UPPER ROOM!

The fact that the sound was breaking news indicates to me there was a saturation of silence!

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Music has the capacity to shift an atmosphere immediately…THIS IS USEFUL TO THE KINGDOM...

But not everything God wants to do in your life is meant to me immediate.

Not everything God wants to do in our life is going to be emotionally driven...

What if waiting is the key to fully accessing what God has for us in the kingdom… (NO ONE HAS EVER RUSHED INTO REVIVAL)

Develop a Capacity for Unemotional Intimacy

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(b) we don’t wait on opportunity in submission

I mentioned the Tiktok and Youtube fame phenomena of Gen Z

We have are seeing gen z come into adulthood and begin to become contributors within our churches.

Gen z has been conditioned to believe in overnight advancement

We believe that MY TIME IS NOW

There has never been a more entrepeneural generation than this one...

Not many are willing to stay in a place that is not on top..

We want to get trained on day one and be the boss on day 2

WE EQUATE GIFTING WITH QUALIFICATION...

The issue is not the time frame…the issue is what is missed when you bypass waiting.

You can’t have a finished product without a faithful process!

When you wait on opportunity in a godly way…you submit your gifts (that might be more impressive than the leader God has assigned you to) to that leaders vision.)

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Submission is not about right and wrong

God blesses a person who walks in full understanding of authority!

We have a church world that tries to take authority without having ever been under authority.

God won’t allow sickness, darkness, and disease to submit to the sound of your voice when you haven’t learned to submit yourself to those in authority over you!

WE HAVE A CULTURE THAT DOESN’T VALUE AUTHORITY...

We tear down every authoritative institution.

No regard for the police

No regard for our national leaders

No regard for parents

I believe one of the greatest things we could do in order to see a greater level of the power of God in our churches is to walk in godly submission!

In order for me to submit…I have to do what I don’t agree with...

Obedience out of agreement is not submission

What is really learned in seasons of waiting is not patience…it is submission.

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London - I didn’t Submit, New Life - I did....the outcome was vastly different.

NEW LIFE & LONDON WERE SUBMISSION EDUCATORS

I am a progressive, fast acting, impulsive person

GOD HAS HAD ME SERVE UNDER TWO OF THE SLOWEST MOVING INDIVIDUALS THAT I’VE EVER MET.

When I came to New Life, I had been a senior pastor...

When I went back as an associate are our church in Kentucky…I had been a senior pastor

in both cases…I wanted to do things differently at times than my leadership...

In the case of Kentucky I jumped ship because I didn’t want to submit

In the case of New Life I submitted.

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Know what you’re waiting for (Remember what He Said)

Acts 1:4 (NKJV)

for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;

While it is important for us to submit to earthly authority…in seasons of waiting we must understand that we are really submitting to God and His timing.

We aren’t just waiting to wait…we are waiting on the promise of the Father.

When I understand this I understand that waiting is less about timing and more about trusting.

Patiently waiting is a sign of trusting.

In order for me to wait on the Lord I have to fully trust in his goodness.

Learning to wait on the promises of God means we have to trust in the goodness of our God in the midst of the badness of our circumstances.

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That was a rough room - LESS THAN STELLAR CIRCUMSTANCES

Jesus sent them to a room to patiently wait on the Holy Spirit.

This particular room was not full of good memories.

The last time they were there the treasurer stormed out and the pastor had led an eat my body and drink my blood worship set.

This is the picture of a circumstance they would not have chosen…but their willingness to wait in this circumstance is a testament to the high level of trust they have in God.

Do you trust the goodness of God to wait on Him to work out your negative circumstance?

SOMETIMES I DON’T

Can I be honest…sometimes I have substituted wait it out with work it out.

If God doesn’t move fast then we need to figure something out.

I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTOR IN THE UPPER ROOM! ( I can’t handle silence…I can’t handle awkwardness…I think I might have ADD)

Saul gives us a glimpse of how well it works out when we try to hurry up God’s process...

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A Word will Get You Through The Wait

The way that Jesus prepared them for the struggle of the process was to remind them of the significance of the promise.

Yes, they were heartbroken that Jesus was gone

Yes, they were scared about what the future held

Yes, they were unsure about what to even be expecting.

Fearful, confused, and hurt…that’s a cocktail that has caused many a bad decision

Jesus didn’t send them into their season of waiting without reminding them of what God had said.

Sometimes we allow what we see to cause us to forget what God has said.

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Trusting the Word when I was scared.

We heard God tell us at Forward 2019 that we were going to have a healthy baby.

We believed it whole heartedly

But as much as I believed it there were times I would hear Kayla sneeze or cough from across the house and I would run into the other room saying “what’s wrong.”

Every time she would call or text…a twinge of anxiety would spark.

I knew what we had heard....but I also knew what I had seen.

It’s easy to let our experience detract from our expectation.

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God can redefine any area of your life

GOD GAVE BIRTH TO REVIVAL IN THE SAME ROOM THAT HAD JUST WEEKS EARLIER GIVEN BIRTH TO BETRAYAL

God can redefine any area of your life!

I know what that area of your life has meant in the past.

The addiciton

The relationship

The mistake

BUT IF YOU WILL WAIT ON HIM AND SUBMIT THAT THING TO HIM…GOD CAN GIVE BIRTH TO REVIVAL FROM THAT PLACE OF YOUR BETRAYAL.

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It’s my hope today to encourage someone in a season of waiting

Waiting doesn’t mean you are out of the will of God

We need to remember the promises God has given us

We need to trust His goodness in the midst of our badness