Hurry Up and Wait
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Turn to Acts 1:12-26.
In verses 1-11, we learned that Luke was writing this book so that Theophilus could be a witness of the Lord Jesus. A witness is someone who can affirm with confidence what he himself has seen or heard. Since the time of Christ, every generation of Christians have been called to witness of Christ. The apostles were the very first witnesses. They witnessed of Jesus Christ to their generation. Today, we are called to witness of Jesus Christ to our generation.
Message
Message
In verse eleven, we left the apostles on the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem. Jesus has just ascended to His Father and that is where He will make His return at the Second Coming. Let’s pick up the story in verse 12.
Read Acts 1:12-14.
I remember vividly a conversation I had one time with a friend of mine who served in the US Army. He served for several years and he said that there was one thing you could always count on with how the Army operated. If you were in training and conducting drills, it was like this. If you were on duty and at some oversees station, it was like this. The soldiers quickly learned that the Army’s mode of operation was this: “Hurry up, and wait.”
My friend told me that there were plenty of times during training that they would be told, “okay guys, tomorrow morning, be at this location with all your gear ready. So the next morning, they would hustle and get their gear together and be at the assembly point right at dawn…only to stand around for an hour waiting for the transportation to arrive. Finally, the trucks would come and they would pile into the trucks, get out to the training grounds to meet up with another group of soldiers and what do you think they would do next…they would wait.
I remember my friend saying sometimes it felt like the command was doing it just for the fun of it. “Hurry up, and wait!”
From a purely human perspective, that’s how the disciples would have been tempted to feel as we read what happens here.
Remember, verse three indicates that Jesus has just spent the last forty days coming and going and teaching His disciples and preparing them for this transition. Jesus has risen from the dead and here’s some the things that He has said to them:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” - Matthew 28:19-20.
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” - Mark 16:15.
“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” - Luke 24:47–48.
“Ye shall be witnesses unto me…” - Acts 1:8.
Our Lord Jesus told them time after time, “get ready, you are going to go out and witness of me! You will go forward together, but first, you wait.”
“Wait for the promise of the Father” - Acts 1:4.
If I were one of the disciples, there were some questions I would have wanted to ask the Lord:
How long are we going to be waiting?
What are we supposed to be doing in the mean time?
When will we know that the promise of the Father has come?
Where should we wait while in Jerusalem?
We’ll find some answers to these questions in verses 12-26. The first thing we find them doing is…
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Waiting and praying - Acts 1:12-14.
And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
So Luke ends his Gospel account by saying that after Christ ascended, the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy. They were regularly at the Temple and worshipping God there, but notice what Luke adds in verse 13. They reenter Jerusalem and “they went up into an upper room.”
Now where have we heard about an upper room before? At the last supper, when Jesus was celebrating the passover with His disciples just before His death on the cross. Here’s an interesting detail: In verse thirteen, the Greek has a definite article, so it could be translated “they went up into the upper room.” It’s likely that this was the same place where they gathered with the Lord for the Passover around forty days earlier. This is likely the same upper room where Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:16-17…
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Where did the disciples go to wait for the Comforter, the promise of the Father, also known as the Holy Spirit? The text indicates that they returned to the upper room - the very place where Jesus had promised the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Application: Church family, when God has you in a season of waiting, don’t leave the place where God last commanded you to be. Go back to Jerusalem. Go back to the upper room. Go back to the last place that He last made His will plain and stay there. Don’t give up because of pressure. Don’t leave it because you’re antsy or restless. Stay there and wait.
Are you caring for a loved one? Keep at it - one day at a time. “My grace is sufficient for thee...” Jesus said to Paul. That’s true for you also.
Are you waiting on a job promotion? Are you waiting on different housing? Are you waiting to take the next step in life - in your education, in your career, in a relationship?
Don’t shortcut God because of pressure or because of impatience. Stay where God last showed you He wanted you to be…and wait.
Notice what they were doing in that upper room. They weren’t twiddling their thumbs. They weren’t saying, “oh woe is us! I wish God would hurry up already and send us the Spirit!” No! Look at verse fourteen!
Read Acts 1:14.
While they were waiting, they were praying! If it seems like you’re waiting on God for something but you’re not praying, then you’re not waiting on God. God’s waiting on you.
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Continued: to be devoted to, to be busily engaged in, to give constant attention to something, or to persevere
The word is in the imperfect tense - it’s just another emphasis that Luke slips into the Greek text that indicates they kept at it.
We’ve been thinking about prayer in the context of the individual, but notice: they prayed with one accord - simply means that the entire group was united in this. They had one mind. They were moving forward together.
Application: Church family, if we want to see God do great things in our church, then we must be united together in prayer for it. We need to pray specifically together for it.
The book of Acts teaches us the fundamentals of a local church. One of those fundamentals that we will see over and over again is united, corporate prayer. You don’t have to have all the bells and whistles and all the bright lights and fancy programs to have a church, but you must have united prayer. Your personal prayer life and our times of prayer together on Wednesday night are vital to the health of this church. If Satan wants a church to fail and close its doors, all he has to do is stop it from praying.
One burden on my heart for this year, like I’ve told you, is that we would see God save one soul. We need to make that request a priority in this church. Christian, I challenge you, every day, just start asking God that one of us in this church would get to lead someone to Christ. The saving of a soul is a supernatural thing. I cannot do it. You cannot either. But we can be faithful in witnessing for Jesus and asking God to do the work in hearts. As we wait, let’s all continue with one accord in asking God for just one soul.
Verse fourteen tells us who was praying together. The eleven disciples, yes, but there were others also! There were the women - no doubt, the ones that went to the tomb after Jesus’ burial. There was Mary, the mother of Jesus. This is the last time that she is mentioned in the Bible. She wasn’t worshipped. She wasn’t treated as having a place of prominence. The others weren’t praying to her. She simply was there praying with the others. I’m sure that Martha was there also, cooking up a storm in the kitchen! Somebody had to feed all these people!
This is a side note, but don’t miss the fact that the women were counted as part of the group. Biblical Christianity values women! Throughout human history and across many cultures, women have been devalued and treated as property. Biblical Christianity sees women as a valuable and unique creation of God.
Application: Ladies, we thank God for you here at CIBC. There are some servant leaders here among our ladies. There are some prayer warriors among our ladies. There are some godly encouragers here among our ladies. You encourage me. All of you faithful ladies are an essential part of this local church. God has gifted you in unique ways altogether different from how He has gifted the men in this church. We need your continued ministry.
But then notice the last three words of the verse - “with his brethren.” Wow! These were Jesus’ brothers and sisters! These were the very ones that had rejected Him during His earthly ministry! But now they had believed! Now they were counted among the core group of those who were following the Lord!
Verse fifteen indicates that altogether, there were about 120 in that upper room. I’m sure that Martha was busy! Those were the humble roots of the early church - roughly 120 souls, waiting and praying.
Not only were they waiting and praying, but secondly, they were waiting and preparing.
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Waiting and preparing - Acts 1:15-26.
Read Acts 1:15-26.
Verse fifteen starts out saying, “in those days”, in other words, while they were waiting in the upper room, Peter stands up, gets everyone’s attention, and starts talking. He reminded them that the Old Testament prophesied concerning Judas and his role in betraying the Lord. Specifically, Peter referenced Psalm 69:25. Everyone in Jerusalem knew what had happened to Judas. His death, and the mystery surrounding Christ’s resurrection, was the talk of the town. Peter said that there was a need to select another to take Judas’ place among the number of the apostles, the “sent ones” of Jesus.
This is an interesting passage of Scripture because there is some disagreement over a few things.
The first disagreement is over what they did. Should they have appointed Matthias to take Judas’ place as an apostle?
The second disagreement is over how they did it - by casting lots.
I’m not going to spend much time on the disagreement because the Bible doesn’t major on whether it was the right or wrong decision. It simply tells us what they did. In this case, since the Bible doesn’t condemn them, I would exercise caution in doing so.
Keep in mind that these were all Jews who were gathered in this room. It seems that the number twelve was significant to them as the people of God because Peter sought for only one replacement for Judas. Just as there were twelve patriarchs and twelve tribes, Jesus had selected twelve apostles. That picture was broken if there were only eleven or if there were more than twelve.
But perhaps there was also a practical reason for this appointment. Verses 21-22 indicates that an apostle was someone who had followed Christ from His baptism by John all the way until He ascended to the Father. Such a person would serve as a designated, verifiable, trustworthy source concerning the facts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In a time before any of the New Testament was written down, the witness of these twelve apostles would serve as the ultimate authority concerning the events that happened during that fateful time. By their definition, there are no apostles (no “sent ones”) today. There are not eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, nor do we need them. We have all the witness we need in the Word of God and we accept it by faith.
Application: While they waited, they prepared for the unknown days that lie ahead. The high priests and the elders of Israel had proven themselves to be the enemies of Christ. Jesus promised that His enemies would hate His followers also. These twelve apostles, who would soon be hunted and scattered across the Empire, would testify of the infallible proofs of the resurrection.
So they had their way. The number twelve was complete. Nothing was left to be done [and no more preparation to be made] except turn the world upside down for Christ. But this they could not do. They were powerless to witness. They could gather in fellowship, they could pray, they could act in unity, they could make decisions regarding the corporate life of the assembly, they could have assurance among themselves that their actions were right, they could talk to each other about Jesus, pool their expenses, share their stories, memories, and impressions. But they were powerless to witness. A hostile world lay beyond the walls of their upper room. They were powerless to impact that world for Christ. For that they needed the Holy Spirit, and for Him they had to wait. - Exploring Acts, John Phillips, page 31-32.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Sometimes, life feels like the Army - “Hurry up, and wait!”
Child of God, when you are in a season of waiting, do like the apostles. Make sure that you are exactly where God last placed you. Make sure that you are doing what He wants you to be doing in that place. Keep praying and keep preparing. God will make His move in His time.