Church on Fire Part 3
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“Church On the Move”
“Church On Fire Part 3”
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; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
PRAY
For the past couple weeks we have been in a series within a series.
Truth be told, I just keep seeing more that I want to unpack from the passage of Scripture I first read 2 weeks ago and reread this morning.
When we look at Acts 1:4-8 we see a significant event in the history not only of the Bible, but a significant shift in the way the Bible will affect the entire world.
Now not only will this tiny country affect the people directly adjoined to it, but from the smallest of communities in one of the smallest nations, a Savior, promised from almost the beginning of time will begin to affect the entire world.
In this passage of Scritpure we see the value of legacy. While the message of the Savior will change lives over the course of the next 2 millennia, the nature of the Savior’s presence is about to change.
For 3 ½ years He has walked with them physically. His presence has been very natural.
For the past month and a half the disciples lives have been rocked like never before, and that’s saying A LOT. For 3 ½ years the disciples lives have been turned upside down. They were told “Follow Me.” In obeying that, everything they knew changed. They left their families, their professions, their hobbies….they left everything.
Then Jesus says, I know I’m only 33 years old, and you are all expecting something far different than what you are going to get. NEVERTHELESS, this is the plan.
At 33 years old, I am going to die on a cross, be resurrected from the grave, return to give you some final instructions, then ascend to heaven.
THEIR LIVES WERE RADICALLY CHANGED!!!
This passage of Scripture is a major transition in the change!
So what do you do in the periods of transition?
Multiple times moving towards this point Jesus had informed, instructed, and even warned the disciples that this was coming.
He had promised that He was going to build a church, an organization that would change the world.
Along with the Promise to build the church, He gave the people Purpose.
Everything we are looking at and have been studying is moving towards the POWER that IS the PROMISE from the Father.
BUT, I made a statement last week that we can never forget…
POWER WITHOUT PURPOSE IS POINTLESS.
Repeat!!!!
That is why I am spending so much time getting to the POWER Part.
Even coming up to this point my plan was to really start preaching on the Power today, but God has continuously repeated a word in my heart…
WAIT!!!
Let me tell you that WAITING to preach what I want to preach is hard, but when God tells us to wait…
Well, when God tells us anything, IT’S BEST TO LISTEN!!!
What we never want to do is try to manufacture a resemblance of Power.
We don’t want to fake it until we make it.
What we DO want is for God to show up in such a miraculous way that we all leave with a WOW God epiphany.
We want to leave not only knowing that we have been in the presence of God, BUT THAT THE POWER OF GOD IS GOING WITH US.
If we look back to John 20:22 we see that The disciples had felt the Breath of God. They had received a measure of the Holy Spirit.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
The had been given the promise
They had been given purpose
BUT THEY STILL WEREN’T READY…
The Fact is no matter how ready we think we are, we’re not truly ready until God says so.
SO, I’ll repeat a question I asked earlier…
What do you do in periods of transition?
What do you do in those awkward times when you know you have just left something GREAT, or something GREAT seems to have just left you, and you are going to the next GREAT Thing?
What do you do in periods of transition?
The disciples had been with Jesus, but Jesus told them to WAIT for the Promise of the Father.
He didn’t give them a time schedule.
He didn’t tell them what the Promise would look like, feel like, or sound like.
He Just said wait!
When those periods of transition come into your life, let me encourage you this morning to do this very thing…
WAIT!!!
I. What to do when we are waiting on God.
a. Identify WHAT you are waiting on!
i. Abraham… Had to wait like 25 years for the Promise of a son. Genesis 21:5 “Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.”
ii. David…waited 25 years to become king. He was anointed King in 1 Samuel 16, but it was in 2 Samuel 2 before that actually happened.
iii. Acts 1:4 The disciples had been prepared before hand that Jesus would send “another”
The disciples were waiting on something very specific. They were waiting on “The Promise of the Father.” They weren’t waiting on PromiseS, but the Promise.
iv. All of these KNEW WHAT THEY WERE WAITING FOR!
b. Address it in Prayer
i. Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
ii. John 14:13-14
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
c. Recall Past Blessings
i. WRITE THEM DOWN!!!
ii. TALK ABOUT THEM!!!
iii. THANK GOD FOR THEM WHILE BELIEVING HE WILL DO IT AGAIN
iv. When David was going to face Goliath, He recalled God’s faithfulness in the past to deliver him from the beast in the field. 1 Samuel 17:34-36
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
d. Praise Him and Worship Him
e. Watch with Expectancy
f. Have faith that He hears you Micah 7:7
But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
II. WHAT DO WE GAIN BY WAITING?
a. We prosper Psalm 37:3-11
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
b. We Exalt Him Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
c. We Are Delivered Psalm 39:7-8; 40:1-2
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
d. We are Saved Isaiah 25:9
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
e. We are Strengthened Isaiah 40:28-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
f. We Get Direction Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
g. WE RECEIVE WHAT WE ARE WAITING FOR Acts 1-2:4
I could go into sup points on sub points about the benefits of waiting on God.
The Bottom line is, we are created to be in relationship with Him, and when we are doing what we are made to do…well, things just seem to work out better.
So, what do you need from God?
Last week I asked you to spend time EVERYDAY This week in prayer.
I don’t think I guided that prayer as much as I wanted you to spend time with The Lord seeking Him, and gain a growing anticipation of His presence.
I believe that He can and Will baptize and refill people this morning… IF YOU WANT IT
Totally organically… I haven’t preached or guided you towards what that means, how to do it, or even what to expect.
Jesus told the disciples, Acts 1:4-5
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; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
This morning, Just you and God at the altar.
Just you desiring Him more than another Sunday Sermon.
Just you wanting God to take the promise you’ve heard, the purpose He’s Given you, and the instruction to WAIT, and to organically, miraculously Baptize and refill you with His Holy Spirit!!!
Maybe there is something else that you need to wait on God for.
Maybe its a health need, a financial need, a relational need.
Maybe it’s emotional, mental, or MAYBE IT’S SPIRITUAL.
MAYBE YOU NEED TO RECONNECT WITH GOD ON A RELATIONAL LEVEL.
Maybe it’s unconfessed sin that needs to be dealt with so you can restore fellowship with the Lord.
Whatever it is, this altar is a place to meet with God. A place to pray and receive prayer.
It’s not a place for me or anyone else to pry into your business. I MAY ask you how I can pray for you, and you can give me a detailed answer, or the most generic answer you can think of.
I may not ask you how I can pray for you, but you can stop me and tell me how I can pray for you.
The point and purpose is to take time to meet with God. To tell Him what we need. AND TO STOP FOR AWHILE AND WAIT TO HEAR FROM HIM!!!