Greetings on this Thursday! It’s good to be with you in the Word and the Pastor’s Workshop today!
As you know today is when we draft Sunday’s message. We look at all our thoughts, notes, reflections and prayers from Monday through Wednesday, and ask “How do they all come together?” What is the “greater whole” emerging? Today we seek to “put it on paper” (or computer screen) and give that message a “voice”.
Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It is the celebration of God pouring the Holy Spirit on the followers of Jesus in ways they are empowered for witness. In fulfilling that promise the Church is “born” and our mission is begun. The Book of Acts narrates this new beginning.
We have selected Acts 1:1-9 as our Scriptural guide into this promise of Pentecost. It’s the prologue for Acts and provides a segue from the Gospel of Luke, which tells the story of what Jesus did in his ministry, to Acts, the story of what Jesus’ followers do in their ministry.
The focus verse I’ve selected for my message on Sunday is verse 4. This verse holds one of Jesus’ final instructions to his followers. Before they launch out into their mission, he tells them to “Wait”. They are to “Wait” until they receive the promise of the Father, the outpouring of the Spirit. Sunday’s message reflects on the role of “waiting” in being a witness for Jesus Christ.
Here’s how my message unfolds:
I’m not a great fan of “waiting”. It’s hard to wait. In fact there is a part of me that “hates to wait”. It seems like a waste of time.
And yet “Wait” is Jesus’ word to his first disciples and to me as a disciple today.
“Why Wait?” This Scripture and this sermon seek to answer that question.
I imagine the first disciples may have also had that same question. After all the “build up” in Jesus’ teaching about the coming Kingdom, they may have wondered, “Why Wait?” Was it because God was about to bring in the Kingdom in full glory? In one massive miracle God was about to inaugurate God’s new creation?
Jesus tells them such knowledge is “above their paygrade”. Instead of focusing on God’s massive miracle they are to turn their attention to God’s “mini- miracles”, to God’s daily workings, to how the Kingdom is coming right now. They are to be “witnesses”.
“Witnesses” know:
· In our days the Kingdom comes as life comes, in “bite size bits”, daily doses, choice by choice, decision by decision, word by word, work by work. God’s Kingdom emerges incrementally.
· This means everyday holds multiple opportunities to live God’s love in Christ with others, to leverage the minutes of life into moments for God.
· God wants to do something “great in grace”. That’s who God is and what God does. What God does may seem “large” or “small”, but as an act of grace it’s always great. God is always “creating in love” in Jesus Christ. A witness does not want to miss any of God’s working. In fact a witness wants to make the most of that working, to be a part of that working.
· It is our privilege and our purpose as witnesses to share in what God is doing in a personal way. In the relationships, situations, and circumstances of our lives we are God’s agents, ambassadors, representatives, vessels, and vehicles. God chooses to work through us in those moments. We are “there and then” for a reason. We serve Christ in living out His love now.
· Just as God doesn’t work on God’s own – God includes us, we don’t do this on our own. It takes God’s Holy Spirit with our human spirits to make “witness” happen. The Holy Spirit provides the continual “Kingdom Outlook” and the optimizing encouragement and empowerment we require to be the witnesses God would have us to be.
· Witnesses know we need to “Wait” on that outpouring and infilling of the Spirit. Waiting is never a “waste of time”. Waiting is when God is working in us and through us.
I can think of times in my life when if I had waited I would have been a better witness for Christ. Maybe you can too.
I can think of times if I had prayed, “Lord, I need your Holy Spirit to calm my heart, clear my mind, center me In your purpose, clarify my path and give me your courage” – I could have been a better witness. Maybe you can too.
I know God answers that prayer. This prayer leans into Jesus instruction, “Wait” and you will receive the Promise from the Father. You will receive the Holy Spirit.
That’s “Why We Wait”. The Holy Spirit is the key for us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ and live into how God’s Kingdom is coming in grace today.
Those are the “talking points” of Sunday’s message. Of course I’ll add a few illustrations to enrich and expand our thinking.
Now you know my thoughts. What are yours? What message would God be bringing to you through Acts 1:1-9. “Waiting” may not be your focus at all. Perhaps God has given you another “guiding light” that would speak powerfully for you. As always I encourage you to “listen for” and “give voice to” what God is speaking to your mind and heart through the Scripture.
Thanks for being with me in this week and in this word. I look forward to joining with you in prayer on Saturday and worship on Sunday. In that blessing I’ll see you then!
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for always for your Word. We are grateful for the ways You “speak” to us through your Scripture and by our faith. We are thankful for your Voice of Truth that guides us into your grace for life. In that blessing we ask you would pour out your Spirit that we might be strong witnesses for you today and always, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.