Don't Just Do Something, Stand There
Wait
"I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."
Luke 24:49 (NLT)
"Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5 (NLT)
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Do you ever speed ahead with your life, perhaps even asking God to bless your plans, only to discover in retrospect that an accurate rendering of your prayer was probably, "God bless my mess?"
Jesus wants us to be patient and learn the discipline of waiting for the direction of God through the Holy Spirit. One saint in our church family, whose prayers have been foundational for our church for four decades, says she prays before doing anything. Sound extreme? Jesus' teaching is that if we try to live the Christian life on our own we will end up frustrated.
It is interesting to me how this instruction from Jesus dovetails with the importance He gives to obedience. Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the leadership of Jesus are essentially one in the same. In John 14, Jesus had taught that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. In John 15, he taught that we are his friends if we obey him. He also said that the Holy Spirit will remind us of everything he said and did.
But the Holy Spirit offers more than directions and commands to obey. Something gets triggered when we choose to obey. When we wait for the Spirit's leading and then obey it as well as we can then the power of God is activated.
Is there a more important discipline for believers to cultivate?
Wait
"I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."
Luke 24:49 (NLT)
"Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5 (NLT)
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Do you ever speed ahead with your life, perhaps even asking God to bless your plans, only to discover in retrospect that an accurate rendering of your prayer was probably, "God bless my mess?"
Jesus wants us to be patient and learn the discipline of waiting for the direction of God through the Holy Spirit. One saint in our church family, whose prayers have been foundational for our church for four decades, says she prays before doing anything. Sound extreme? Jesus' teaching is that if we try to live the Christian life on our own we will end up frustrated.
It is interesting to me how this instruction from Jesus dovetails with the importance He gives to obedience. Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the leadership of Jesus are essentially one in the same. In John 14, Jesus had taught that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. In John 15, he taught that we are his friends if we obey him. He also said that the Holy Spirit will remind us of everything he said and did.
But the Holy Spirit offers more than directions and commands to obey. Something gets triggered when we choose to obey. When we wait for the Spirit's leading and then obey it as well as we can then the power of God is activated.
Is there a more important discipline for believers to cultivate?
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