Waiting on God: Faithful Preparation for Pentecost

Sometimes God says yes. Sometimes God says no. Sometimes you're just waiting. When you're waiting, what do you do? That's what your church family's for. They were in one accord. What do you do? You search the scripture. That's what they did. What do you do? You come under the authority that God has given to the church. That's normal. This is how it's supposed to work. What do you do? You pray. And that's what they did. [01:05:49] (27 seconds)  #ChurchFamilyPrayer

A divided church is the clearest witness to onlookers that we are not in fact committed to Jesus' mission but instead are committed to some alternate agenda. How does that hit you? A divided church is the clearest witness to onlookers that we are not in fact committed to Jesus' mission but instead are committed to some alternate agenda. The church is the is strongest when believers seek Christ together because we agree about everything that is important and that is the mission that he has commanded. [00:46:11] (43 seconds)  #ChurchUnityMatters

So the purpose is what? Get prepared to take the gospel to the whole world. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, uttermost parts. That's their mission. In preparation for that mission, Jesus said you have to have a power source, the Holy Spirit. While you wait, you wait in Jerusalem. And when they were doing that, what do you see? Camaraderie. Unity. And the unity is very important. Unity in all bodies of believers is crucially important. But I would commit to you that it is impossible humanly to be united as a large group of people unless we are united in purpose. [00:42:56] (46 seconds)  #UnitedForMission

And so Abraham's waiting and waiting and waiting. He takes some shortcuts and tries to help God. That doesn't work out well. Isaac and Jacob likewise. What is faithful waiting all about? It is about doing the right thing where you are in the time you're in. That's what faithful waiting is. Faithfulness is faith in action. Even when you see nothing happening, you trust that God is doing something. [00:38:33] (32 seconds)  #FaithfulWaiting

The early missional church was led by scripture, in unity, by leaders. To do what? Carry out the mission that Jesus gave them. That's how the church is supposed to operate. God is looking for faithful servants. Character matters more than charisma. Consistency matters more than popularity. Time tells a story that talk cannot tell. That story is proven credibility because time proves reality. [01:01:35] (40 seconds)  #CharacterOverCharisma

Instead of being discouraged, what do we do? We take the next step of obedience and that's what we see the disciples doing at this point. Unlike the last time when Jesus was crucified and they are three days wait and here he is, he's dead. They were thinking about going back to fishing and they were despondent and they were hopeless. This time they do something better. Jesus had said before he ascended, go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon you. So this time they do it better and they go to Jerusalem in obedience. [00:39:57] (40 seconds)  #ObedienceInAction

Sometimes God says wait a while. That's the hardest one. You can get over a hard no, but it's hard to get over silence. Silence isn't no by the way. Always. Sometimes it's gonna be a yes when the time is right. The Christian life is a life of waiting. You say, hey, God answers my prayers a lot. Well, he does mine too, but not always. Most of the time, I'm just a lot of the time, I'm just waiting. [01:04:41] (31 seconds)  #WaitingIsPartOfFaith

While they waited, I promise you believer, waiting is the hardest part. Some of you have been waiting for healing. Some of you have been waiting for a husband or a wife. Some of you have been waiting for a child. Oh, I hate the waiting. But let me remind you, though it difficult, it is the very essence of the expression of faith in your Christian life. Trust as you wait is the key to the life of the believer. [00:34:06] (40 seconds)  #TrustWhileWaiting