Sermon Central
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Waiting On The Spirit
Contributed by Bishop Johnathan Hester on Mar 11, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: Think about how comical this must appear from the Lord’s perspective. The apostles (led by Peter) decide the 12th position is empty and therefore it needs to be filled (appropriately reasoned). The only problem is - it is they who chose the two men; cast
Waiting on the Spirit
So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Thoughts for Today:
In Acts 1: 4-5 Jesus tells the disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. He goes on to tell them they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.
While the disciples were waiting on the Spirit, Peter stood up and suggested the 12th Apostle position should be filled. Personally, I think this was a mistake on his part. "Wait a minute," you say, "Didn’t you just point out the positive attributes of Peter’s leadership?" Yes I did, however, I believe God intended the 12th Apostle to be Paul. Matthias (the one chosen by the Apostles) is never mentioned again. Yet we all know the tremendous influence of Paul in the New Testament.
Think about how comical this must appear from the Lord’s perspective. The apostles (led by Peter) decide the 12th position is empty and therefore it needs to be filled (appropriately reasoned). The only problem is - it is they who chose the two men; cast lots; then declare it must be the Lord’s will. Clearly, the Lord had a different man in mind that wasn’t offered as an option. How often are we guilty of asking the Lord, "Should I go here or there?" What if the Lord’s intent for my life is neither of those two choices? So what’s my point? My main point is: When the Lord tells you to wait, you should wait on all decisions, not just the major ones. My secondary point is: No matter how badly we mess up when we’re trying to "help" the Lord, He is always in control.
The Importance Of Waiting On The Spirit
Introduction – Jesus has just ascended to Heaven. Before His ascension He told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. This promise was the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Like always Peter couldn’t keep quiet. He once again exhibited his foot in mouth disease. Judas had betrayed Christ and Peter decided that it was time to fill the open position of Apostle.
Now you may look at this text and wonder where I am coming from. On the surface these verses seem to be describing a noble legitimate event. It is my opinion that this event should have never happened.
This text proves the fact that you must take the Bible in context. Many people make the mistake of just reading a portion of scripture and taking it for face value. We must look at the text within the context.
Jesus had told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait. He did not say go to Jerusalem and select another Apostle.
The sin of not waiting on the Lord is not a new one. It has been a factor in the lives of God’s people from the beginning and it continues today.
One of the greatest examples of this is a story in the life of King Saul. 1 Samuel 8:13-15 Saul became impatient and instead of waiting on Samuel he prepared a burnt offering himself. While this seemed like a good thing it was not his place to offer this sacrifice.
We are just as guilty as King Saul and the Apostle Peter. There are times in our lives when we do things that may not necessarily be bad. In fact they may even be good things. The fact of the matter we don’t always know what is best and we must wait upon the Lord!
A preacher friend of mine hired an associate pastor to work with his youth. The man seemed to be a Godly man and fit the description of what he was looking for perfectly. Another church was looking at this man as well and the preacher did not want to miss out on the opportunity to hire him. Not long after he was hired problems started and they never seemed to stop. My friend prayed to God to lead this man to resign. God told him “ I didn’t hire him you did” It was then that my friend realized that he had failed to pray about the hire and that he failed to wait upon the Lord.
Let’s look to our text to see “The Importance Of Waiting On God”
In These verses we will see some things that happen when we fail to wait on God. The first of these is:
