In The Meantime

Acts 1:12-14 / In The Meantime

12Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.

13And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

14These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

There are a lot of people who do not know how to live without excitement and stimulation. Whether it comes from pleasure or crisis, good or bad - they thrive on activity, on doing things – on adrenalin rushes. So the time that exists between one crisis or another, between one activity or another is regarded to them as boring.

You’ve never seen so many restless people as you do today. There is a lack of contentment w/ peace and silence. The Bible labels these people as busy bodies. (LAB)

Folk who just can’t be still, and even people who are not busy bodies find it difficult sometimes, to face a period of time when not much is happening.

In our text today the disciples found themselves in this kind of situation. They found themselves facing a period when not much was happening. They found themselves waiting – waiting for Christ’s promise to come true. Jesus had visited his disciples on several occasions after his resurrection, we dealt w/ that on the 3rd Sun. @ 11 o’clock.

And on the day of his ascension into heaven, instead of telling the disciples when his kingdom would be established, instead of telling them when the next installment of his divine plan would take place – which is what they wanted to know. But rather he tells them to go back to Jerusalem and wait - wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, wait for the power they would need to be his witness – he tells them to wait.

For many, waiting is awful thing.

· Remember being a child and being told to wait.

· As parents when you tell your children to wait.

· As adults when we have to wait. Traffic – Lines – Income tax Refund – God

We hate to wait.

But listen the prophet Isaiah said, “they that wait on Lord shall renew their strength”

God knows that we too need periods of rest – it is while we rest that we’re being changed – refreshed – and renewed, so we don’t burn out.

You hear people say, I’ve been running for Jesus a long time and I’m not tired yet…they a lie. Church folk will make you tired – family – job – educational pursuits – the consistent onslaughts, attacks of the devil will make you tired.

· Jesus would go off and pray (LAB) Where is the blessedness I knew when I first saw the Lord, where is the soul refreshing view of Jesus and his word? What peaceful hours I once endured how sweet there memory still but they have left an aching void the word can never fill. That doesn’t sound like the words of a sinner, that’s sounds like who loved the Lord but got tired.

Waiting is a time of refreshing – a time in which we gain strength – a time in which we can grow and are prepared for what will come next.

Waiting is a positive thing, beneficial to our development. Think about it there are some things you would have never learned if you didn’t have to wait. You wouldn’t be who you are, where you are if you hadn’t learned to wait for something’s.

So how should we live in the meantime?

FIRST - we need to remember the times in between are meant to be active times - not passive times; times in which we are to deal with which is at hand - rather than at that which is yet to come.

When Jesus ascended into heaven an angel visited them and asked them: “…why do you stand looking up in heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you will come again.” Our attention is not supposed to be focused so much on Christ’s return - or on the next thing that we want to happen in our lives that we end up forgetting what else is going on around us.

· We are called to live right now - not wait until we get in glory.

· The biggest lie that’s ever been told is when I get myself together. When I get a few things straight. Well what if the Lord came before you got it together- straight.

The Bk of Eph. Says we must “Redeem the time…” Proverbs says, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow…” (LAB)