In St
Paul Island, Alaska it
takes three days to deliver a pizza. I
wouldn’t be ordering much pizza.
Have you ever been forced to
sit and wait for something?
pa·tience n. The capacity, quality, or
fact of being patient.
SYNONYMS long-suffering, resignation,
forbearance. These nouns denote the capacity to endure hardship,
difficulty, or inconvenience without complaint. Long-suffering is long
and patient endurance, as of wrong or provocation. Resignation
implies acceptance of or submission to something trying, as out of despair or
necessity. Forbearance
denotes restraint, as in retaliating, demanding what is due, or voicing
disapproval.
Unfortunately in our
relationship with God, sometimes we must wait and be patient. Not everything we want happens with a
command. Things take time. We have committed to renew our lives, to live
our faith, to continue to revive and build this congregation, but many ask, “So,
now what?” The disciples must have felt
much the same as they returned to Jerusalem
after Christ ascended. What can we do
while we are waiting?
Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I
wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said
good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and
was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in
many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings,
he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God.
As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account
to leave Jerusalem
but "must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from
me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And
soon." Acts 1:1-7
Jesus’ last instructions to
his disciples were to go to Jerusalem
and wait for the Holy Spirit. They
responded in obedience and returned to Jerusalem
to wait for something they knew nothing about.
It takes a lot of faith and plenty of patience to wait for
something. Eleven apostles and Jesus’
mother and brothers waited along with others in the upper room in Jerusalem. Luke counts their total number at one hundred
and twenty. So there they all sat and
waited. They waited. How many times did someone ask, “Now what?”
Scripture tells us they did
not just twiddle thumbs while they waited.
They prayed. It would have been
easy to say “it is already promised so let’s just wait” or Jesus knows what is
coming so why do we need prayer. Instead
they prayed as before seeking, asking, and entreating the Lord. We often forget the value of persistent
prayer. How often do we pray and discard
our request after one time? Our prayers
are also an act of faith in showing God our faith and trust in Him. (Romans
8:28) Prayer is the only mechanism God
has chosen for us to access His power.
God is the one with the power – not the act of praying.
The group also studied (Acts 1:16-20). They studied scripture and reviewed prophecies. It would appear they were attempting to understand
the actions of Judas. It was their study
that helped them gain understanding of what was happening. Sometimes the answers are in our grasp if we
would only look in the places provided and take the time to study.
The group also worked and took
care of business - they replaced their missing committee man (Judas). The structure that they had was a ‘man’ down,
so they conducted the business of filling the vacancy. We have a responsibility to work while we
wait for God’s prompting and leading.
Scripture is filled with examples of this:
1)
They filled the
water pots then Jesus changed the water to wine
2)
Apostles lowered
the nets then God filled the nets with fish
3)
The people moved
the stone and then Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead
Sometimes we must wait. In the entire book of Acts, this first
chapter is the only chapter that is not filled with volumes of activity. I find it interesting that a book entitled
Acts begins with a period of waiting.
That is exactly where we are
today. We are waiting. We wait for the changes to
come in our lives and our church. We
wait and in many ways we wait without knowing what is coming. So we ask in this period of
waiting, “Now what?” While we wait we
can learn from the adventures of the early church and we can:
1)
Pray
a.
Pray for the
church.
b.
Pray for those
that will come to all the new activities.
c.
Pray for your
involvement.
2)
Study
a.
Become involved
in a small group
b.
Become involved
with iBelieve
c.
Begin a personal
study time
3)
Work
a.
Volunteer in our
education programs
b.
Volunteer to
serve in worship
c.
Volunteer to work
in out outreach efforts
It’s up to you. What will you do in the coming weeks?
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