Introduction: Occasionally things happen in our world that is the result of a rare phenomenon. This was true with the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia several years ago. This was true when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast in 2005. When our family moved to Tuscaloosa in 2003 we experienced a rare phenomenon. We experienced a 12 inch snow in March, in central Alabama. Here on the eastern shore we occasionally experience a Jubilee event. It is a rare event that occurs in only two places in the entire world. All of these rare events occur when conditions are right. For instance, when a Jubilee occurs there are conditions that come together.
In 1960 a marine biologist named Harold Loesch did a study of the Jubilee phenomenon. This study is recorded in the journal Ecology. Loesch lists five observations that he reported as having a strong concurrence among witnesses of several jubilees:
1. Jubilees occur only in summer.
2. They usually occur in early morning hours, i.e., before sunrise.
3. The wind on the day previous and during the jubilee is from some easterly direction. If wind direction changes, the jubilee will cease.
4. There is a rising tide during a jubilee; a change to falling will stop the jubilee.
5. There are 2 water masses meeting, with the saltier water invading during a jubilee.
The point I wish to make is that occasionally rare phenomenon occur in nature when conditions are right. The same is true in the spiritual realm. When conditions are right we will witness a God event. I was there when the 12 inch snow storm hit Tuscaloosa. One of these days I want to witness a Jubilee, when it visits the eastern shore. Even more significantly, I want to be present when God sends a God event.
Today, I want you to look with me at a God event that occurred during Biblical days. This event is recorded in Acts 1 & 2. In Acts 1 conditions were right for a God event to occur. In Acts 1:15 we are told there were 120 disciples of Jesus. In Acts 2:41 we are told there were 3,000 disciples added in one day. Would you not agree that this was a God event? It is the yearning of my heart to be part of a God event. I want to see God show up and show out in a special God event. We have been praying for a “break through” here at Faith. That break through would be a God event. When this occurred in Acts, in the city of Jerusalem, conditions were right. Conditions had to be right when the tsunami hit. Conditions had to be right when the snow hit Tuscaloosa. Conditions must be right when a Jubilee visits the eastern shore.
I want to take a closer look at the scripture in Acts 1 to discover the conditions that contributed to this God event. In doing this lets take caution in a word of wisdom. We must be careful of name it claim it theology. Name it claim it theology implies that if I do certain things, God will do certain things. Sometimes we are guilty of trying to put God into a box. We preach our sermons, study our lessons, and read books subconsciously thinking we can predict what God will do. God does not work that way. The things that occurred in Acts 1 were never to be repeated again. We can grow and learn from these conditions but we cannot put God into a box. Therefore, as we examine these conditions lets keep this principle in mind.
Lets jump into the text.
Look at verse 4. The first condition I see is that Jesus was at work in the middle of the God event. These young disciples were confused, disoriented, and lacking direction. Jesus showed up in the midst of them. They were a broken group of people. I once heard someone say “The world throws broken things away. God never uses us until we are broken.” Jesus showed up and took this group of broken followers and shaped them into a band that shook the world.
These disciples had no answers. Look at verses 6 and 9-11. They were asking the wrong questions. In verse 6 they asked if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. They thought He came to set up a Jewish kingdom. They did not understand that He came to set up a spiritual and Heavenly kingdom. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, as recorded in verses 9-11, the disciples stood there bewildered and confused. When they were broken Jesus showed up. That is still true today. When we are broken Jesus shows up.
Are you broken? Are you filled with doubts? Are you confused? Are you looking for answers? I have discovered that at those moments when things look darkest is when Jesus shows up. There is a story recorded in John 20 about a failed fishing trip by Jesus disciples. They had fished all night and came home empty. They were tired, discouraged, and had no fish. Jesus was standing on the shore as they came home. He asked them if they had any fish. They answered in the negative. Jesus instructed them to go back and throw their nets again. They obeyed and found their nets bulging with fish. Life is often like that. Our nets are empty. We are short on answers and long on discouragement. However, Jesus is still there.
Illustration: I read about a heart-broken little girl who went to the front of her church, knelt, and began to pour out her heart to God. She did not know what to say. As she wept, she began to remember what her Father had told her, "God knows your needs even before you pray, and he can answer when you don’t know what to say." So she began to say her alphabet. A concerned adult knelt beside her and heard her sobbing and saying her ABC’s. The adult asked what she was trying to do. The little girl told this caring adult, "I’m praying to God from my heart." But the adult answered, "It sounds to me like you are saying the alphabet!" "Yes," she said, "But God knows more about what I need than I do, and he can take all these letters and arrange them in just the right way to hear and answer my prayers!"
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Toby Powers)
Illustration: Several years ago Judy and I made our first trip to China to visit our son. When landing in Beijing we were met by a group of thugs. They were dressed in blazers and looked as if they were acting in an official capacity. However, they wanted to extort money from us. They told us we must pay them some money so that they could get us through the airport. We were confused! They looked official but we did not know. About the time we were ready to cave in, an American business man saw our plight and stepped in. He asked “what is going on here.” He spoke both English and Chinese. We told him our story and the thugs quickly disappeared. He became our mediator. Jesus does the same for the believer. When things are confusing and we are without answers He steps in to intervene.
My point in examining these verses is to say that when God does a work He does it in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. (Jn. 5) Jesus understands us. Jesus wants to assure us. Jesus wants to encourage us.
The second condition I see present is that the disciples waited on God. Notice verse 4. The disciples were told “to wait for the Promise of the Father.” Waiting is such a difficult task for we active Americans.
Illustration: The other day I went to the bank. As I arrived there was one car in the first lane and none in the second. I thought to myself “I am not in a hurry so I will get in the first lane and wait for the lady to finish.” After this lady pushed and pulled the service bay about three times I got impatient. Waiting is okay as long as it does not place demands on us.
Consider these examples:
“Abraham learned to wait…At seventy-five years old, he was told he would be a father of nations. After eleven years of waiting, he took matters into his own hands and birthed Ismael through his maidservant Hagar. God forced him to wait another fourteen years before the promised child was born. The public and private humiliation he suffered transformed him into a father of faith for all history.
Moses learned to wait… After murdering a man, he spent forty years learning to wait on God. In the desert God transformed him into the meekest man on the earth.
David learned to wait…After a stunning victory over Goliath, David was forced to flee the mighty army of King Saul for ten to thirteen years, losing his dreams, family, reputation, and earthly security. In the wilderness God transformed him into a man after his own heart.” (Emotionally Health Spirituality. Peter Scassera. P. 131)
Let me share an interesting tid-bit. This word “wait” in the Greek language is a present active infinitive. A proper translation would be “keep on waiting.” The Bible has much to say about waiting. Waiting is a source of security for the believer but also a promise from our Heavenly Father.
a. Waiting is a source of security.
“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” Ps. 27:14
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Ps. 37:7
“Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.” Ps. 62:1
“Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7
b. Waiting is the believer’s promise from God.
“But those who wait on 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.” Is. 40:31
A man was walking through a supermarket with a screaming baby in the shopping cart. A woman nearby noticed that time and again the man would calmly say: “Keep calm, Albert. Keep calm, Albert.” Finally, in admiration for the man’s patience as the child continued to wail, the woman walked up to him and said: “Sir, I must commend you for your patience with baby Albert.” To which the man replied, “Madam, I am Albert!”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Guy McGraw)
Being patient and waiting on God is difficult. However, it is a source of security and a promise from God.
Do you need a God event? I cannot give you an exact prescription that works in every situation. However, I am certain that abiding in Jesus and waiting on God will make a huge impact on your life.
