“What I Can Do While Waiting On God”
Acts 1:1-4
OPENING JOKE: A group of travelers were being made to wait on their airplane, which was late due to another flight being canceled. The crowd looked horrible and impatient as the time went on and on. Finally an angry passenger pushed his way to the front of the line, slammed his ticket down and said, “I must be on this flight now and I must be in first class”. The flight attendant, trying to be nice said, “Sir, we will get to you as soon as possible, but you must wait in line like everyone else”. He quickly said, “Ma’am, do you have any idea who I am?”
Without hesitation, she smiled, picked up her intercom microphone and said, “We have a passenger here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to gate 17.”
INTRODUCTION: Have you ever been forced to sit and wait on something?
Did you know that if you lived on St. Paul Island in Alaska and got the urge for pizza it would take three days for the pizza to arrive?
Personally I can hardly stand waiting.
I would drive clear across town and probably pay twice as much to be able to get something today rather than order it and have to wait six weeks
I hate Post offices, Banks and, of course Hospital Emergency Rooms
But, you know, sometimes God makes us wait
God doesn’t always answer our prayers with a resounding (military salute) ‘yes sir! Right away sir!’
Sometimes He answers with an immediate ‘yes’, or an immediate ‘no’ based on His sovereign knowledge of what is best for us
But I find that more often He answers with His third response: ‘wait’
And while we don’t want to run out ahead of God, we also don’t want to remain idle and grow stagnant either
Today’s topic is ‘what we can do while we are waiting on God’
***We begin with the story of the Apostles having just seen Jesus for the final time before He ascended into the clouds
He commanded them to go into Jerusalem and wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:5 “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
They walked all day from the Mount of Olives where Jesus ascended back to Jerusalem and held up in an upper room to wait for the promise of God that Jesus had given them (v.12)
Scripture says that all eleven remaining Apostles were there along with Jesus’ mother, His brothers and some others
The total number of people waiting in the upper room was about 120 according to verse 15
All of them waiting on the promise of the filling of the Holy Spirit
The important thing to note in this story is that they didn’t just wait idly on the coming of the Spirit, but while they waited they did what they could do
Notice the three things that they did while waiting on God…
I. They Prayed
Acts 1:14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…”
a. It would have been easy for one of them to say, “what need do I have of prayer, Jesus has already promised the Spirit”
i. Or “I don’t need to pray, God already knows my needs, and He is sending me the Spirit”
ii. But they didn’t do that, they prayed as fervently as ever
iii. The word ‘supplication’ comes from the Greek word “Deesis (deh’-ay-sis)”
1. It means a seeking, asking, or an entreating to God
2. They already knew the Promise was coming, yet they still stayed fervent in their petition to God
b. We often forget the importance of prayer in our times of waiting on God
i. We will often pray about a subject once and then never bring it before God again
ii. The Scripture promises that God honors our persistent prayer
iii. Illustration: “The parable of the widow and the unjust judge” (Luke 18:2-7)
c. This story should be an encouragement to all of us who are waiting
i. Some are waiting for a loved one to come to Jesus – keep praying
ii. Some are suffering from an illness in which there seems no reprieve – keep praying
iii. Some have lost direction in their life and they seem to face many more questions than answers – keep praying
d. When we pray while waiting we are showing God that we have placed the matter in His hands
i. Not that we expect Him to fulfill our every wish
ii. Quote: God is not a genie in a magic lamp
iii. Our prayers show we trust that in God’s loving hands “all things will work together for our good” (Romans 8:28)
e. Quote: Billy Graham said, “Heaven is full of answers no one ever bothered to ask…God’s answer is ready; it’s just waiting for our personal and persistent prayer”
II. They Studied
READ: Acts 1:16-20
a. Imagine what all of the Apostles must have felt toward Judas Iscariot
i. I am sure they didn’t understand why this man had done what He had done
ii. That is a question that many still ask today
iii. But Peter began expounding the Old Testament Scriptures which foretold about the betrayal of Judas
iv. Their time of study allowed them to better understand that, while God did not cause Judas to sin, He foresaw its place in His plan of redemption
v. Quote: Peter used the most compelling proof, Scripture, to reassure the believers that Judas’ defection and the choice of his replacement were both in God’s purpose (J. Macarthur)
b. Sometimes we seem to have many more questions than answers in life
i. We pray and pray for an answer and seem to never find it
ii. Many times the answers to our questions are obviously held within the scriptures
iii. We don’t find the answers because we don’t look at the instructions
iv. Illustration: “Putting together a bicycle” When my brother was three he got his first bicycle for Christmas. Being much older I stayed awake with his father to put it together on Christmas Eve. My mother held the instructions. He and I began putting together pieces that seemed to fit and after about an hour we realized we were not doing it right. Mom, who had the instructions, kept trying to tell us what we were doing wrong, but we didn’t listen and it caused us to be up even longer, now having to disassemble the bike and then put it back together properly
1. Life is like that many times
2. We bypass reading the instructions of God’s Word and then wonder why we get ourselves into situations that require us to ‘back up and try again’
c. If you are waiting on God for an answer, the very best advice I can give you is to consult His instructions
i. By not doing so many Christians, churches and even whole denominations have gotten themselves so tied up in error that it would take almost a miracle to get things right again
ii. We have the responsibility to study God’s Word
iii. II Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
d. The study of God’s Word helps us to more fully understand His character – and when we do we will better understand why He does what He does the way He does – and may even help us realize why we are being made to ‘wait’ if indeed we are
e. Quote: John Wycliffe said, “To be ignorant of the Scriptures is to be ignorant of [God]”
III. They Worked
Acts 1:21-26
a. The Apostles were one man short because of Judas’ betrayal and suicide
i. The Scriptures in Psalms had called them to choose a successor
ii. Quote: They had the first Church Business Meeting
iii. There were two requirements for the successor
1. He had to have had a part in Jesus’ early ministry
2. He had to have been a witness to the ascension
iv. The apostles used the method of casting lots, a common Old Testament practice, to determine which of the two men who were nominated would be chosen
v. Matthias became the one who would take the place of Judas
b. NOTICE: Not only did the Apostles PRAY and STUDY during their time of wait, but they also took care of the business that needed to be done
i. If we have called on God for something, and He is causing us to wait, that does not take away our responsibility of doing what needs to be done now
ii. Illustration: “Building Project” If we are going to build a building, like the one we just got outside, we begin with prayer and supplication and then get to work. Some people say, “Well we will just pray and leave everything up to God.” And never make any plans to raise money or hire a builder
c. Well that’s wonderful, but it isn’t scriptural – Jesus always allowed those with Him to do what they could before He intervened
i. Some great examples of this:
1. He told the men to fill the water pots at Cana – then He did what only He could do
2. He told the Apostles to put the nets down in the water – then He did what only He could do
3. He told the people to remove the rock in front of Lazarus’ tomb – then He did what only He could do
ii. God always expects us to do our best and then He will do the rest
d. Illustration: “David and Solomon” David wanted desperately to build a temple for the Lord, yet God told him that it would not be him, but his son Solomon who would build it. David could have sat and did nothing, but instead he began gathering all of the materials his son would need to build God’s temple (Story in 1st Chronicles 28, 29)
e. Quote: Waiting on God’s future blessings does not give us a license for complacency to not do the work He has called us to in the present
CONCLUSION: Sometimes God, as a loving Father, makes us wait on Him
Illustration: “Parent and Child” A good parent often makes his child wait for things because the parent knows that this will help to teach the child patience.
***Some might say, “Well, I have made no recent petition to God, I am not waiting on Him, so how does this apply to me?”
The greatest thing all born again believers are waiting on is Jesus’ return
And it has been this way since Jesus ascended
Acts 1:11-12 “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, 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.”
And while we all wait for this most glorious hope, we should take a lesson from the Apostles
We need to spend time with God in prayer and supplication
We need to study His Word, our life’s manual
And we need to continue in the work that He has called us to do now, in the present
QUOTE: Waiting for God doesn’t mean sitting around doing nothing… it means doing what we can, while we can, as best we can…while always being careful to not run ahead of God
(Let us pray)
