When Jesus Says Wait
Acts 1:4
(A Message for pastors, preached at a recent pastors conference)
Every man in this room possesses the honor of having been called into the Gospel ministry. We have been chosen by Christ to be His ambassadors in this world. We have been given specific instructions as to what He would have us to do while we are here. However, knowing the task that has been assigned, we often try to “make things happen” when we should actually be waiting upon the Lord to move.
Each of us wants to see lives changed, souls saved, backsliders restored, and Believers grow and mature in their faith. We want to see our churches grow. We want the budgets to increase and for the baptistery and the pews to be full. We all want to see revival & revitalization.
When we go through seasons when these things are not happening, we have a tendency to take control and implement processes that we think will be a catalyst for progress. Many times, even after much planning and great effort, nothing changes. When we fail to see the fruits of our labor, it isn’t long before discouragement comes.
There is an important lesson that we can learn from the Apostles during that period between Christ’s ascension and the arrival of the Holy Spirit. These men of God did something that was absolutely vital to the success of the early church. What did they do? They waited!
Waiting is not easy for those of us in ministry; we don’t want to wait, we want to work and we want to see results! Without a doubt, there is much work to be done, but there are times when God would have us to wait. Waiting does not mean that we are inactive or unproductive; in fact sometimes waiting is what is required for us to be obedient to the Lord.
Very often we reference Jesus’ command to His followers in Acts 1:8 where He says “you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." But we overlook the command that He gave them in verse 4; there He “commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me”. Jesus didn’t simply suggest that they wait in Jerusalem, He “commanded them not to depart” and He commanded them to “wait for the Promise of the Father”. Church history would have been much different if these men had not waited on the Lord.
After giving the Disciples these final instructions, “while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up…
Have you ever stopped to consider the emotions of Christ’s followers as they watched Him ascend to Heaven? After He departed, two angels confronted the Disciples and said “why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
I think there were several reasons that these men stood there gazing into the clouds. One reason was sheer amazement! Trust me, if you saw someone take flight into the Heavens, you would stand there in amazement as well. They also were likely overwhelmed by the Majesty of their Savior ascending to His rightful place in Heaven. But I also think that these men were filled with sorrow.
Just over a month earlier, Jesus had gone to the Cross and died. These men grieved and mourned for three days after His passing. Then, they were reunited with Him and had the great privilege of spending many days with the resurrected Christ. Not only was Jesus their Savior and Master, He was their friend. Can you imagine the sorrow they must have felt seeing Him ascend back to Heaven, leaving them behind? Though Jesus assured them that He would be with them, that He would not leave them as orphans, and He told them about the coming of the Holy Spirit, these men were certainly sad to see Him go.
Soon though, they would be filled with His Spirit and they would perform many wonders. The miracles that they had seen Jesus perform, they would perform themselves. The sick would be healed, demons would be cast out and the dead would be raised through the ministry of these Apostles. Even more important than the physical miracles was the fact that these men would be used to spread the Gospel and advance the Kingdom of God. However, it was not yet time for these things to take place. Before these marvelous things would occur, there was to be a period of waiting. I don’t think that waiting was easy for the Apostles, but it was necessary.
Keep in mind that these men knew what needed to be done and they had been told where to do it. They had everything they needed to be fruitful in their ministry for the Lord; everything that is, except for receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit.
As we see in the remainder of the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit was essential to the establishment and the growth of Christ’s Church. In fact, this book is more about the acts of the Holy Spirit than it is about the Acts of the Apostles.
It was the power of the Holy Spirit that enabled the Apostles to speak in other languages and communicate the Gospel to those Jews who were assembled on the day of Pentecost. It was the power of the Holy Spirit and faith in Jesus that caused the lame man at the Beautiful Gate to rise up and “walk and leap and praise God”. It was the Holy Spirit that saved 3,000 people at Pentecost and then 2,000 more at Solomon’s Colonnade. It was the Holy Spirit that enabled Peter and John to boldly preach the Gospel to the members of the Sanhedrin. It was the Holy Spirit that gave them the courage to declare that they would not cease preaching in Jesus’ name and to proclaim “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20) It was the Holy Spirit moving through these men that reached the crowds in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.
And it is that same Holy Spirit that indwells us and enables us to be fruitful in our service to the Lord. When we are filled with the Spirit and seek to advance God’s Kingdom and bring Him glory, then we will see amazing things happen. It is only when the Spirit moves in and through us that we will see lives changed, souls saved, backsliders restored, and Believers grow and mature in their faith.
Whether we like it or not, part of this process involves waiting. If the Apostles had not waited until the Holy Spirit descended, they would not have been successful in their ministry. In fact, they would have probably done more harm than good.
These men were not told how long they would have to wait, they were just told to wait. All they knew was that Jesus said “don’t leave Jerusalem” and He instructed them to “wait for the promise”.
- I fully understand that waiting is not easy. In fact, I would like to share a few truths about the difficulty of waiting on God to move:
WAITING IS NOT EASY WHEN YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED GREAT VICTORY IN THE PAST
The Disciples had already experienced the great joy and excitement that comes when you are involved in fruitful Gospel ministry. In Mark 6, Jesus equipped His men and sent them out in pairs to preach the Gospel. (Mark 6:12 they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.)
We are not told how long these men were on this mission. But we do know that they experienced some amazing things; for Jesus had given them the power to heal the sick, cast out demons and even raise the dead. Most importantly, the Disciples preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and many people heard and believed. Not only were multitudes healed physically, many were transformed spiritually.
We would all testify that the greatest joy in Christian ministry is seeing people transformed by the mighty hand of God. Once you have experienced this, there is an intense desire to see it happen again. We don’t want to wait; we want to do whatever is necessary to see lives changed. However, we must remember that the Disciples did not have the ability to heal the sick, cleanse lepers or cast out demons; it was God who performed those miracles, the Disciples were merely the vessels that He chose to use to accomplish these things.
We do not possess the power to grow a church, or to revitalize one. We do not have the ability to save a single soul or rescue a fallen brother or sister; we are merely vessels that God chooses to use to accomplish these tasks. And He is the one who decides when and where this will happen.
It must have been difficult for the Apostles to have already experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and to have already been fruitful in Gospel ministry and then to be assured that more is to come and then to have to sit and wait to experience these things again.
If you have ever experienced a great move of God and then gone through a season where it seems that your labor is in vain, then you know that it is not easy to wait. But sometimes waiting is necessary.
- As we move further, I would also submit to you that:
IT IS NOT EASY TO WAIT WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
These men knew what Jesus expected them to do. They knew that they had been called to “be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth”. Keep in mind that we are talking about eyewitnesses of the risen Savior. They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah and they certainly wanted their fellow Israelites to know what they knew. They wanted to see the Kingdom advanced and they knew that they would spend the rest of their lives proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But it was not yet time for this mission to commence, Jesus told them to wait.
We know exactly what needs to be done; we know this because God has given us clear instructions in His Word. There is no question that we must be actively involved in the Gospel ministry. We should spend each day faithfully serving our Savior. We should never cease our labor and we should seize every opportunity to share Christ with others. But there are times when we have to wait to see the fruits of our labor.
There will be season when we do not see much (if any) progress. In these times we will be tempted to “take the bull by the horns” and “make something happen”. It is in these times that we must remember that we do not possess the power to save anyone. We cannot force a prodigal to return to the Fathers’ house. We cannot make professing Christians live devoted lives. We cannot coerce them to attend church, read their Bible, spend time in prayer, give tithes and offerings, share their faith, or serve in the church. Not one of us possesses the power to “grow a church”. But we can be faithful to our calling and leave the results up to God.
Earlier this week I heard John MacArthur say “when you have preached the Gospel, you have done all that you can do; when you have been faithful to do this, then trust God to do the rest”.
- It is not easy to wait when you have experienced victory in the past; it is not easy to wait when you know what needs to be done; furthermore:
IT IS NOT EASY TO WAIT WHEN YOU COMPREHEND THE URGENCY OF THE MESSAGE
The Apostles had a preoccupation with the establishment of the Kingdom. They had asked Jesus about this subject many times. In fact, it was part of their final conversation with the Savior. (v6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?") Rather than giving them a detailed timeline of future events, Jesus sought to turn their attention to the present. In verse 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
When you read the Gospel accounts and the Epistles of the Apostles, it is clear that these men expected to see the return of Christ in their lifetime. I think that knowing His return is imminent, was a major motivating factor in their devotion to their calling. They knew that time was short and they wanted to reach as many people as they could with the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the same way, we know that time is short; we know that His return is imminent and we have an intense burden to reach people while there is time. The reality is, it may be thousands of years before Christ returns, but we only have a few decades at best to do our part to advance His Kingdom. Because of this, it is extremely difficult to pray, prepare, preach and pastor in the midst of those seasons where it seems that our labor is in vain. This is why discouragement is a constant battle for the Gospel preacher. But we must always remember that we are called to “plant” and “water”, but it is God who “gives the increase”.
When I speak of the important of waiting, I am not promoting being inactive. There is no excuse for us to be complacent, apathetic or lethargic. We have been called, the task has been assigned, and we are expected to be active in the work of the ministry. These Apostles were instructed to wait on the Promise of the Holy Spirit before their mission was to commence. We have already received the Holy Spirit, therefore we can (and should) be “about the Father’s business”. But we must do so while knowing that there are times when we have to wait and trust that the Spirit will move and that our labor is not in vain. What should we do in those difficult seasons of waiting? We should do exactly what the Apostles did.
- Luke reveals that: THEY WAITED OBEDIENTLY.
Christ’s followers stayed in Jerusalem and waited on the promise just as Jesus had instructed them to do. (v12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey.)
- Not only did they wait obediently: THEY WAITED HUMBLY
(v13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.) All of the saints listened to His command. None of them went out on their own and began the work before it was time. They did not swell up with pride and say “I’m not waiting any longer; I am going out to make something happen”.
- It is also apparent that: THEY WAITED PRAYERFULLY
(v14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.) The entire ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost, the Believers were assembled together, spending time in prayer. It is because of this that they were prepared when the Spirit descended.
- They waited obediently, humbly, prayerfully and finally: THEY WAITED STEADFASTLY
They didn’t know it, but it would be ten days before the Spirt arrived. On the day of Pentecost, they were all still gathered together waiting on God, just as Jesus had commanded them. (Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.) Because of their obedience, they were in a position to be used by God in a mighty way. This handful of followers turned the world upside down in Jesus name.
We have the same opportunity to have a tremendous impact for Christ as well. If this is our desire, then we must trust God and wait on Him to move. Like the Apostles, we must be obedient, humble, prayerful and steadfast. In His perfect timing, God will move and you will have the opportunity to see Him glorified and His Kingdom advanced. It is important for us to listen, “When Jesus Says Wait”.
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