"Wait for the Promise"

Several weeks ago I wrote some notes about “waiting” and the relationship between “waiting” and “hoping.” As those who “Believe!” We have the courage to wait because we have come to understand that “all things work together for the good of those who believe,” that “it’s all good.” And we know that nothing can separate us from God’s love. As a result, we are learning how to wait expectantly, even joyfully, knowing that God always has something good in mind for each of us. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

I’m very interested in the specific things we have been instructed to wait for. You’ll remember that when Jesus rose from the grave, “he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Jesus showed himself alive in a variety of interesting and convincing ways. He met them on the way to Emmaus, he repeatedly visited them in Jerusalem. He even followed them to the Sea of Galilee so he could feed them breakfast after a long night of fishing. In the end, according to Paul, Jesus revealed himself after the resurrection to as many as 500 people at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). During those days the disciples had a lot of questions for Jesus (I know I would). For instance, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). They still wondered about the nature of his Messianic mission. They had always assumed that the Messiah would restore the royal throne of David and lead the nation of Israel into a glorious future. They thought the kingdom of God was Jewish. The answer Jesus gave must have been frustrating: “It is not for you to know” (Acts 1:7). There was no good answer to their question because the question was beside the point.

Instead, Jesus gave his followers clear instructions: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5). Luke’s Gospel records these instructions this way: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The had spent three years with Jesus – witnessed his powerful ministry and teaching, seen him crucified, and now had spent forty days catching a whole new vision of Jesus and his mission. They wanted more specific instructions. They wanted a plan, a timeline, achievable goals. And what did Jesus tell them to do? “Wait!” In this passage, the word translated “wait” (Greek kathizo) simply means to sit down or to settle down. Jesus is simply telling the disciples to not move - don’t try to figure everything out, sit still, settle down, and wait . . . wait for what? They were to wait for the gift promised by the Father; they were to wait until they had been “clothed with power from on high.” Jesus did not intend for his disciples to adopt a mission statement and then to go out in their own strength to accomplish it.

The fact is this: human beings are not building the church. Jesus is building his church! And the primary partner with Jesus is not human but is the Holy Spirit. As the new covenant instrument of the Kingdom of God, the church is not primarily a human institution but is rather a divine organism. Jesus intended that the Holy Spirit would take the lead in the church at every point. The human partners in the church were to be completely dependent on the divine energizing and the daily leading of God’s Spirit. That’s why Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The idea of “power” is interesting: It is a translation of the word (Greek dunamis) that is related to our word for dynamite. It is the dynamic of God’s Spirit working in and through yielded human vessels. But is it not a tame dynamic – it is divine dynamite. (God showing up and showing out.) If human wisdom and human energy are guiding the church than it is not really the church at all but is rather just another social entity, unable to bear the powerful witness of the Kingdom God intends for it.

No wonder the disciples were commanded to “wait.” If they were to move forward without waiting to be clothed with power, the end result would be a weak, ineffective human organization, a “church” in name only.

Today marks the birthday of the church. It was on this day, 1983 years ago, that 120 Jesus-followers, having faithfully, obediently waited for 10 days, received the promise of the Father. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:1-4). And the rest, as they say, is history. We too are waiting. Come, Holy Spirit!