Wait a minute...

Well, we are continuing our series / / Life After the Cross: lessons to learn between easter and pentecost. And next week is pentecost Sunday, so we’ll be talking about what that is, we’ll be talking about the Holy Spirit, we’ll be wrapping up this series as well.

But so far we’ve really been looking at what needs to change in our perspective between our life before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and this date next week called Pentecost.

/ / Week 1: Law vs Fulfillment

The first week we looked at the fact that Jesus and the law aren’t opposites, but that the law is all part of the story of Jesus. Jesus says in Matthew 5:17, / / Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purposes.”

This is one of those things that comes up over and over again in the writings of Paul. He is always trying to get people to see that it is not possible for the law to justify us. We simply could not, can not and will never be able to prove we are good enough by doing things the right way. That doesn’t mean we don’t live right, it simply means our righteousness isn’t produced by us, it’s produced by the obedience of Jesus Christ through the work of the Cross. Paul says in Galatians 3:21-22, / / Is there a conflict then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we received God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

So, for us that means we have to come to a place where we understand that our work, our good deeds, trying to do what is right does not save us, but that we are empowered to do what is right through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, free from the bondage and burden of the law. Jesus said in John 14:15, / / “If you love me, obey my commandments.” Not, “If you want me to save you keep my commands.” or “If you want to prove yourself worthy, keep my commands” but instead he says, “Fall in love with me, and out of our relationship of love then follow what I have said you should do...” It works so much better that way. Allow yourself the permission to fall in love with Jesus. Spend more time in prayer, more time asking him to speak to you. Spend more time reading scripture and learning his heart and truth. Spend more time asking Holy Spirit to move in your life. Fall in love with God and a deeper desire will rise up in you to follow his way.

/ / Week 2: Regret & Redemption

Then in week two we looked at the journey that Peter needed to make from regret to rebirth. The trauma he would have endured internally because of his betrayal of Jesus when he was arrested, and then the redemption he experienced at the breakfast fire. Peter had to come to a place of complete resolve if he was going to be able to accomplish the good work that God had for him in establishing the church. And in the same way we can not move forward in our lives with Christ if we are holding on to the regrets of the past. We need the same moment Peter has at that fire. We need the regret that we heap on ourselves to be washed away and we need to understand that God is not holding that against us. Even in telling Peter that he would betray him, Jesus does not condemn him. This is an everyone but God issue. Whether we are feeling it from ourselves, other people or the enemy. The enemy will do everything he can to try and get you stuck in regret and shame. But Jesus is sitting by the fire saying, “Do you love me?” And when we respond, “You know I do...” Then his response is simply, “Alright, let’s get to work on the rest of your life then! I’ve got great things for you to live in.”

/ / Week 3: Finished work of the Cross

Third week was the finished work of the Cross, or more appropriately, the finished work of Christ on the cross and through his death and resurrection. We went through Isaiah 53 that tells us what to believe and pray for through what Jesus did:

/ / He carried our weakness. Or as Paul says, when I am weak, then I am strong. God’s power is made perfect in weakness.

/ / He took our sorrow on himself. All the sadness, sorrow, trauma, emotional damage we carry… Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19 when he says, / / “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Isaiah says it this way, / / “to comfort the brokenhearted...”

But, we have to be willing to walk the road of emotional and internal healing because Jesus is willing to walk that road with us. Toward healing. Toward being made whole. Jesus wants you to be whole, body, mind, soul and spirit.

On the cross Jesus / / was pierced for our rebellion and crushed for our sins. We can simply define that as, what he did covers all that we’ve ever and could ever do as humanity to neglect, turn away from, and miss how God has desires us to live, and now, as scripture so clearly states, is a free gift for those who believe.

And then the last thing we looked at that week was that / / Jesus was beaten so we could be made whole, and whipped so we could be healed. We pray for miracles and healing and breakthrough because we’ve seen it and we believe it.

/ / Week 4: Authority of Jesus’ Name

Then a couple weeks ago we looked at the authority in Jesus name. Peter says in Acts 4:12, / / “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

/ / Week 5: The Great Commission

And of course as we looked at last week, what we call the Great Commission, we carry over from the name and authority of Jesus when we read Mark 16:17-18, and this is Jesus speaking to the disciples, giving them this great commission:

/ / And these signs will accompany those who believe: (say, “That includes me”) in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues [languages]; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Last Sunday Cassandra was telling me at the end of the service that she had not slept an entire night since she had been sick. And although she wasn’t feeling sick anymore, the cough was sticking around and was keeping her up all night. So, before she left Kelley and I laid hands on her, prayed for healing, rest, and a full night sleep. I asked her the next morning how she slept and she said she didn’t wake up once.

I believe not only because I have faith in what I have not yet seen, but because I have seen God do good things. She was still coughing…even Thursday at food distribution, but how many know it’s impossible to get better and function if you’re up all night coughing. So, we keep praying and asking for full healing, but also thank God for the work in the process.

Is it coincidence that maybe just maybe she had a full night sleep? Maybe.... but then again, Einstein said, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous...” And I don’t think you can ever go wrong with saying, “Thank you, God.” In fact, if you read scripture most downturns in society start after people stop thanking God.

So, that brings us to today. And we’re going to go back to one of the scriptures we read last week. Let’s read Acts 1:3-12 and then we’ll talk through some things:

/ / During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

Once while he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?

He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

Alright, let’s first just address the fact that even to this point the disciples are still struggling with the way that Jesus does things.

/ / “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

They are still thinking this is about getting out from under the oppression of the Roman empire. About the throne of David being reestablished. About Jesus being the literal king of Israel on the earth and them being put in charge here.

We need to learn this and learn it well: / / Beware the power game of religion and politics...

Jesus didn’t come to rule. He came to serve.

Jesus didn’t come to dominate. He came lay down his life.

It’s a completely upside down kingdom in how it relates to power and authority. He did not and we must not take power over people.

In Matthew 20 there’s this story where the mother of James and John asks Jesus if her sons can sit on his right and left hand when he comes into power and sets up his kingdom. First of all, Jesus says, “You have no clue what your’e asking. Can you drink the cup of suffering I’m about to?” And of course they both respond and say, “Yes, of course we can.”

Remember, these are the same two guys who wanted to call fire down on the Samaritan village for not allowing them to stay there for a night.

So, they have their mommy go ask Jesus about it and of course when the other disciples catch wind of this conversation, the bible says they were “indignant”, meaning, not so happy with James and John. And Jesus decides he better address the issue, and this is his response. Matthew 20:25-28 says, / / “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

And still, they don’t get it… Is it now you’re going to set up your kingdom? Now we get to be in charge? Can we…can we?????

And this gives us a simple encouragement. Maybe you’ve been following Jesus for a while now, maybe for years, maybe for most of your life. Maybe you’ve been coming to church and learning, and doing the best you can to apply the teaching and the way of Jesus to your life, but you’re still feeling a little slow on the uptake. This is permission to recognize that being a disciple of Jesus doesn’t mean we’re perfect, it means we’re learning. And part of learning is doing, trying, practicing and yes, even failing.

I was reading an article just yesterday that said this, / / “Discipleship is the refining process by which a Christian becomes more like Jesus in their day-to-day life. We “make disciples” by encouraging other people to follow Jesus’ example set forth in Scripture. It’s not a formula or a step-by-step plan. Eugene Peterson referred to discipleship as a ‘long obedience in the same direction’.”

I love that. A long obedience in the same direction. As many times as I have gotten it wrong, tripped, missed the mark, Jesus has never once given up on me. He gently and lovingly guides me back to center.... ya, sometimes he boldly and loudly gets my attention, too. But it’s always by his love. And following Jesus, being for yourself and helping others to be a disciple, is the greatest thing this earth has to offer.

Second thing I want to make a quick note on is the references here to Jesus coming back.

First, Jesus says in Acts 1:7, / / “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.” If it wasn’t for them to know, what makes us think it’s for us to know?

This has gotten me in hot water before, so I say this carefully and without any sort of putting down of anyone else’s beliefs or focus. I do not prescribe, at this point in my life, to a definite timeline or approach to what we would call the End Times Eschatology. If you hear that word, eschatology, it simply means the study of the end times, including death, the afterlife, judgment, heaven and hell, the second coming of Jesus. It’s a combination of two greek words that mean “the study of last things.”. And there are different beliefs on how it will all play out, and I don’t assume to know which one is correct.

That is not out of ignorance, but rather out of my own personal understanding at this time in my life. In response to people who ask me on this, I say this. IF the day comes that I have any sort of understanding on it, or if that day never comes, our goal in this life is to pursue Jesus and pursue people. To be a disciple and help others be disciples.

After telling his disciples that it’s just not theirs to know, he says, BUT, you’ll receive power through the Holy Spirit, and you’ll witness about me all over the world.

Essentially saying this. Here’s what you should focus on and IF and WHEN all of these things happen you will be more than prepared.

But I would also caution us to not be ignorant of the truth and scripture. I want to live in a healthy balance of what is to come and how to handle it. I don’t want to focus on it to the point of it consuming all we are and missing what we are meant to be in the here and now, but I also don’t want to be ignorant of the signs and times. Jesus had these Pharisees come to him demanding that he show them signs and miracles to prove his authority and this was what he said to them in Matthew 16:2-3, / / “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!”

I don’t want to be that either. Jesus saying, “You ignored the signs...”

There is a tension to be held here. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:51, Let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed. He’s talking about the return of Christ. But, I’m pretty sure everyone who he wrote that to did in fact die...

And as I was preparing for this Sunday I got an email from a Christian Book Store that was advertising a new book titled, Has the Tribulation Begun? Avoiding confusion and redeeming the time in these last days…

So, it seems that for 2,000 years the church has been quite confident that the current time is the last days. And that’s ok. It’s not bad to look at the world and say, “Huh, wonder if Jesus is coming back soon. Seems like now would be a good time.” But, as I said, I believe whole heartedly that if we focus on honoring God with our lives, following the way of Jesus, and being led by the Spirit, we won’t miss it.

And now to what might be the most challenging thing Jesus says to the disciples in Acts 1, he says, / / “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

We have this 40 days where Jesus is proving he’s alive, teaching them about the Kingdom of God, he gives this passionate delivery of the Great Commission, “Go into all the world....” and then we have this big ol’ pause button, “BUT WAIT.... until you receive the Holy Spirit.”

Next week we’ll focus on that moment the Holy Spirit comes, but today I want to talk about the pause in between.

/ / How do we handle silence?

How do we handle waiting?

How do we handle the unknown and when the promise seems to be taking too long?

And what do we do in that time?

For this we need to read past what we have already read just a little bit further. Continuing in Acts 1:12-26, / / Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile. When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus, Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

And it finishes the chapter talking through the disciples deciding on who would replace Judas, who betrayed Jesus, and then Chapter 2 starts the story of Pentecost, which of course we’ll be reading next week, but the first verse of Chapter 2 says this, / / On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place...

Where a lot of translations say it that way, “together in one place”, the KJV says, “in one accord” - because that word place means of one heart, of one mind of one intention. It’s not just a physical place.

So, the first point I want to make this morning, and I’ve got a whopping two points for you this morning. So if you want to take notes, this is the morning to do it, it’s an easy one! Ok, First point this morning is:

/ / 1. Recognize the Season

What Acts 1 doesn’t say is what kind of time frame there is between vs 4, where it says, Once when [Jesus] was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised...” and vs 7 where they talk about Jesus setting up his kingdom, to vs 9 where it says, After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching.

Acts 1:4 says they were eating dinner when he told them not to leave Jerusalem. Mark 16 says he appeared to them eating dinner, then gave them the great commission and then ascended, and Matthew 28 tells us they met him on a mountain where he then ascended into heaven.

And that’s not meant to be confusing, but rather to point out that there’s no indication of timeframe here. We don’t know if Jesus said stay in Jerusalem right before the great commission and the ascension, or days or weeks earlier. We just know that he told them that during a dinner at some point, and also, he commissioned them, and also, he ascended into heaven.

What we do know is the gap of time between his ascension to heaven and pentecost is 10 days.

And so the first thing the disciples have to recognize, as soon as Jesus is no longer there with them, is that they have just entered a new season. An unknown season. They don’t know how long they will be in this particular season of waiting, but, I would say scripture shows us clearly that they did at least understand this, because Luke makes a point of it in Acts 1. He wrote that Jesus had told them not to leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came, that’s in vs 4 and then in vs 12, right after the angels tell the disciples Jesus has left them, it says, / / Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives - Which also shows us that Luke agrees with Matthew, the dinner where Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem is not where the ascension happened. They had to return from the mountain after the ascension, even if it says it is only half a mile away.

What’s important here is what Luke points out in vs 12, Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem.

Why? Because someone in the group must have said, “Hey, remember when Jesus told us that we had to stay in Jerusalem until his Father sent us the Holy Spirit? And he just said that we would receive that gift of the Holy Spirit and power so that we could go be his witnesses. So, we should get back to Jerusalem right away…Do you think it’s going to happen today???”

This is the key, / / they recognized they had transitioned into a season of waiting. Jesus said, Wait until you receive…

Like I did last week, talking to the introverts and the extroverts separately. This is going to have a similar impact on people based on their temperament and just who they are as a person. Some will be inclined to wait patiently… Some will be chomping at the bit to get going on mission...

There’s bound to be at least one disciple that’s like, “Guys, he said go preach, let’s go preach! Let’s get to the mission!!!”

And there’s guaranteed someone saying, “No, wait, he said to wait. Slow down. We don’t want to mess this up!”

“Mess it up? He told us to preach, how can we mess that up? He’s sent us on this mission before, we already have the power, we’ve seen people get healed, we preached the good news of the gospel. I think we’re ready...”

“No, I don’t think so, I think this one is different. I think he really meant stay in Jerusalem until we see something new happen.”

And maybe that’s the conversation on day one...

But, how many know that as time goes on it gets harder to wait, doesn’t it?

I think this happened 1 or 2 or 100 times this past week. Kaylee would ask me something, I would say, “Not right now...” And she would be standing there about 2 minutes later, “How about now?” “How about now, what?” “The thing I asked, you said not right now, but it’s not not right now anymore...”

But you know she’s not so different that we are, right? How often do we come into church and the pastor preaches about blessing, or healing, or something good that you are praying for and hoping for and waiting to experience. But it just doesn’t seem to be happening.

You’ve been praying for a new job.

You’ve been asking God to work in or restore your marriage.

You’ve been believing for healing.

And you have faith, you’re pretty sure you do, but you haven’t seen his power at work in your life yet. Or at least not this time. Maybe he’s done it before, but will he do it again? It’s been a few days.

How many times do you think Peter and John turned to each other and said, “What do you think? Do we need to pull the plug here?”

“No, let’s just keep waiting. Let’s be as faithful as we can be.”

I want to encourage you this morning. If you are in a season of waiting, do not lose hope. Do not lose faith. Don’t stop, believing...

In John 11 Mary and Martha wait a few days for Jesus to come heal their brother, and then wait another 4 days after he dies for Jesus to at least come to visit them in their mourning… Yet we know the end of that story, don’t we? Lazarus walks out of that grave very much alive.

There’s a story in Luke 8 that tells of a woman who had suffered from constant bleeding for twelve years. Scripture says she could find no cure. She had spent all of her money on doctors and cures but nothing had worked. Until Jesus. I encourage you, read the story.

John 5 tells us another story of a man who had been lame for 38 years. He was depressed, broken, hurting and had zero hope. Until Jesus. Read that one too.

John 9 has another story of a man who was blind from birth. Until Jesus.

Listen, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been waiting. It doesn’t matter how long the season is. Recognize that the season is not a season of torment, but a season of waiting. A season of torment will cause you to go inward, seek natural comforts to get your mind off of the situation, it will cause you to doubt and question. But if you are in a season of waiting then you know something is coming and when you know something is coming your whole demeanor and outlook change. You begin to do things differently.

And so here is my second point for you this morning.

/ / 2. Don’t Waste the Season

This is the last thing the disciples are learning between easter and pentecost. Jesus is now gone, they recognize that the season they have just stepped into is a season of waiting and so what do they do? Do they go and sit on their butts and wait and do nothing?

Nope, not even close. Like I just said, the enemy will try to use a season of waiting to develop a heart of doubt, resentment and discouragement. So how do you push that back, how do you ward that off?

Let’s look at what the disciples did.

A refresher on what we’ve read from Acts 1 this morning:

/ / Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.

Ok, so, first things first, / / they were obedient.

Continue to be obedient. Continue to follow what Jesus has said. I’ll never forget, a good friend of ours, Isabel Skulason, who is incredibly prophetic, meaning she hears the heart and voice of God for other people and operates in the most love you could imagine to speak to people and encourage them with what God shares with her. And she said while preaching one time, “Many people want a fresh word from God, a new direction, something new to follow. And when they don’t get it, they get discouraged, and they come to me, asking for a word form God because they don’t seem to be hearing anything new for themselves. And often times I ask them, ‘Did you do the last thing He told you?’ and they look at me like, ‘But I want something knew...’”

The point is this. If God told you to do something before, and you haven’t followed that direction, what makes you think you’ll get new and fresh direction now? Go back to what you know you were meant to do.

I’m doing this all the time with Kaylee, because she’s 9 years old. And her memory is a little slippery sometimes. I tell her to clean the living room of her toys. She gets through putting 3 or 4 things away and then picks up the 5th thing and sure enough there she is sitting there playing.... and then, “Can I have a snack?” … “Kaylee, have you finished what I asked you?” “oh.... I’m working on it..”

“Ya, sure you are.”

If you feel God has directed you to do something, and you’ve been ignoring it for something else, go back to what you know He’s told you to do.

Now, that being said, not all of us have had a prophet come tell us something directly. Not all of us have had a personal direction given to us by the Lord. Don’t worry. That is ok. Let me be very clear to you. God speaks, is speaking, and is leading us, but if you in are what feels like a season of silence, always, always, always go back to scripture. Look at what we have that is the written direction from Jesus Christ on how to live and operate in this life and you can NOT possibly go wrong with that.

Yes, continue to pray, and ask God for direction, but I’m going to be honest with you. This book. These red letters on the page. They contain all the things in it that will provide an endless amount of direction and focus for your life. Don’t just start there and think you get to move on. Start there, stay there and end there!

Ok, let’s continue in Acts 1 with the disciples… They go back to Jerusalem and then what.

Acts 1:13-16, / / When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying… They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus...”

Ok, so the first thing they were was obedient. But I want to add to this, / / what they were obedient to? Yes, they actually listened to Jesus and went back to Jerusalem. But their obedience involved things.

So, what where the disciples obedient to:

/ / meeting together

praying

teaching / reading / hearing scripture

/ / Meeting Together

We see, right away, they arrive at the house where they were staying, but then it also says they were with Mary, some other women and the brothers of Jesus. And then it also says that during this time 120 of them were together in one place.

So, in a few verses we see three different groups of people gathering. The disciples together as they go back to Jersualem and stay at the home they’ve been staying at. Then add Mary, other women and Jesus’ brothers. Then up to 120 people at at least one point.

This is where it is often said that on Pentecost Sunday there were 120 believers in the upper room, because of this scripture.

But look at what is important here. Jesus is gone. Holy Spirit isn’t there yet. Life COULD look like it’s just not going their way. But what do they choose to do? They make meeting together the highest priority. They won’t miss what’s coming. There’s an anticipation and expectancy in being obedient to gathering together.

Waiting does not mean stopping. The disciples continued to meet together. Not knowing how long they had to wait for the promise. They did not grow weary.

The writer of Hebrews encourages the church in Hebrews 10:25, / / And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Well, there’s a nod to our earlier point of every time period there are those who think Jesus is coming back in their time. But that’s a side point. The main point being, in every time period there are those who double down on meeting together, even if church can be messy and people can get hurt and things aren’t always perfect, they see the value and purpose of meeting together as the church and are obedient to the instruction of Jesus. And there are those who neglect it. Who decide not to. And to me, that’s a tragedy. I see meeting together as the church, both for spiritual instruction and purpose, and also community engagement and growth in relationship to be one of the greatest needs of our lives.

/ / Praying

Second thing Luke tells us in this scripture is that they were praying together. First, it says in Acts 1:14, / / They all met together and were constantly united in prayer.

And then second, after they have a conversation about replacing Judas, they nominate two guys as potential replacements and vs 24 says, / / Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry...”

I think that lends itself to two different functions here. / / Prayer in unity, and prayer with purpose.

There are times we pray and worship in a general sense, waiting on and pursuing the presence of God. And sometimes we are focused in our prayer toward a specific goal or purpose. Both are important, and both are necessary.

Also, it helps to be meeting together so we can pray together.

I’ve said this many times before, one of my biggest frustrations is when people feel they need to isolate when they are going through hard times, when the exact opposite is true. You should be with the body of Christ so that you can be built up in encouragement, prayed for and not having to endure hardship and suffering alone. I get sometimes we need a minute, that’s not what I’m saying. But I’ve seen people disappear for extended periods of time and unfortunately that often is giving in to the enemies desire to isolate you.

The Bible says that the enemy is out there prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour. Do you know how lions hunt prey that live in packs? I read this yesterday morning as I was finishing up preparing for today. / / “The lions cover the heard of buffalo and make chaos among them to separate them…After separating and chasing, they attack the far separated one...”

Don’t allow the enemy of our souls to separate you from the pack! If you’re going through something, get with the body of believers and allow us to believe with you, pray with you, and encourage you through the season that you are in.

Plus, I would imagine these disciples together were praying for the coming promise as well. Yes, we pray for individual needs. Yes, we pray for God to work in our church and our families. But how often are we praying, together, as a group for God to accomplish his purpose and his will in this earth? I would suggest we aren’t actually doing it enough. This is why I love what my friend David Futrell is doing over at IHOP. He has dedicate his life to worshipping and praying for God to move in this earth.

/ / Teaching / Reading / Hearing Scripture

The last thing this passage of scripture in Acts 1 tells us the disciples did was that they reflected on and expounded on Scripture.

Acts 1:15-22 says that while the 120 of them were gathered together Peter stood up and explained, / / “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas… This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David… This was written in the book of Psalms...”

So Peter takes scripture and says, “You know we’re living in what was already shown to us in Scripture.” But then it also says that in his explanation of the Psalm he’s referring to, / / “…It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’”

And so he puts forward the idea that another person should be chosen to take Judas’ place in the ministry.

So, there’s both the study and teaching of the scripture, but also the application of it as well.

There’s revelation of scripture, showing that where they are and what has happened is part of God’s purpose.

And there’s application of scripture, they use scripture to inform their decisions.

Man, we can learn from that right there…that’s a whole other message within itself.

Read and Study scripture so that the things that happen in this life don’t work to separate you but that you see them for what they are. Listen, I hear so many people say that this is the darkest time the world has ever seen and it’s so bad.... I’m sorry, have you read the bible? Have you read what humanity has done over the last 7-10,000 years. Ya, there’s evil. Yes, most definitely there are things going on that are an absolute affront to the nature and purpose of God, but honestly, I’m going to have to go with Ecclesiastes 1:9, / / History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

We just happen to all hold a stupid little window and stuff our faces with it’s content over and over all day long so we’re filled with the darkness MORE than we are filling ourselves with the light.

You want to offset the darkness in this world in your life? Pay less attention to the darkness and focus more on the light, so that when the time comes, when you have opportunity, you’re a shining light in the darkness and you impact your surroundings rather than your surroundings impacting you.

So, Peter reads and explains scripture to show that what has and is happening shouldn’t be a surprise, and that it also informs our decision making process.

And the more you study scripture the more you won’t be surprised and the more you’ll know what next steps you need to take. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27, / / “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is build on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Two super important things in that little passage of scripture. First, you have to hear the words of Jesus so that you can follow them and apply them to your life. If you’re not listening, you’ll never have the opportunity to follow. So first you have to ingest the words of scripture and then you apply them to your life.

Hearing is necessary, but hearing isn’t enough. You have to use what you hear and learn to apply it to your life so that you will be able to stand when trial and wind and rain come! James 1:22 says, / / But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

So, these three things, regardless of what season you are in. If you are in a season of waiting, I would suggest to you that these are even more important, but no matter what season you are in, these three things are key to being led by God to his purposes for your life:

/ / meeting together

praying

focusing on scripture

We can learn this from the disciples. They didn’t stop doing and just simply wait for God to send the Holy Spirit, and neither should we, regardless of the season we are in.

I’ve seen so many people give up because they don’t see what they want or what they felt had been promised, and so they stop waiting. Instead, / / while you wait, worship. While you stop, pray. While you are quiet, reflect on and meditate on God, his word, and his promise. Don’t allow the enemy to ruin the time of silence. The time of silence can actually be a beautiful gift. It may just be the break you need before God launches you into something great.

Have you ever looked back at a season that seemed quiet, and then think, “Wow, I’m glad I had that before I jumped into all that I’m doing now!” And sometimes we actually long for that again, or we wish we would’ve taken better advantage of the quiet season, recognizing that we didn’t utilize it quite as well as we could have. / / The quiet seasons of our lives are equally, if not even more important than the busy ones.

The question to the disciples is the question we hear today. / / What will you do in the time between the promise spoken and the promise fulfilled?

If you’re in that season right now. Maybe it’s been a long season, and you feel discouraged, heartbroken, or confused. I want to encourage you this morning, and I want to speak to your heart. Have courage. Keep going.