Part 4
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Acts 1:4-5
Before He was taken up into heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father. The Promise of the Father He was talking about was the Holy Spirit. He called the Holy Spirit the Promise of the Father. Many years before that particular day men of God prophesied about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh" Joel 2:28. "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced" Zachariah 12:10.
The instruction was that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait there for the Promise. As defined in the bible dictionary; waiting is to remain in readiness or expectation. The hundred and twenty heeded the command and assembled in one room and made themselves ready in expectation of the Promise. They; however, did not have any idea how this was going to be fulfilled but they stayed together in one accord and waited with expectation.
Remember, Jesus had already said this to them; "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15. He had already said to them "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations …teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-19. These are the same people He sent out two by two "…into every city and place where He Himself was about to go" to announce the kingdom of God. Luke 10:1. These are the same people He sent out with this command; "…heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons." Matthew 10:8. These are the seventy who came back with joy and reported that "even demons are subject to us in Your Name" Luke 10:17. BUT THEY WAITED.
You see this kind of CV makes people hate to wait. If you want to receive from God; if you want God's very best for you; be reminded that the CV you have and the CV God has about you are not the same – they are different. According to yours, you may be qualified; but according to the one God has, you don't. Your CV is in your hand printed with ink on paper; but God's CV about you is in your heart. These guys disregarded their first hand experience with the Lord and obeyed. They went to Jerusalem and waited.
What do you think would have happened to them if they did not obey and waited for the Father's Promise? During their time with Jesus something unusual happened to them. They were able to heal the sick; they were able to cleanse the leper and to cast out demons. Here's the truth we must pay attention to. They did all that because they were operating under Jesus' anointing. He had the Holy Spirit but they did not. Remember that day at the river Jordan? The Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. Since that day He was empowered to launch out His ministry. It is important to note that all the miracles Jesus performed in His earthly ministry He performed not as God. He performed the miracles as the Son of Man aided by the Holy Spirit who indwelled Him. His ability to perform such mighty deeds the world had never witnessed was as a result of the Holy Spirit's anointing.
When Jesus said to His disciples to go and wait for the Father's Promise, He was referring to the arrival of the Holy Spirit. They performed miracles, alright; but the power to perform those miracles was with Jesus who sent them. He allowed them to taste the power that was to come – the power of the Holy Spirit. But they could not continue with the same ability in the absence of Jesus. That is exactly why Jesus said; "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" Acts 1:8. Before they could go out and preach, teach, heal and make disciples they needed the Holy Spirit. This is the Promise of the Father the Scriptures talked about. It was crucial that they waited. Had they disobeyed and went ahead without the Holy Spirit's anointing; they would have attempted to do the work of the ministry with their natural talent backed by their previous experience. How many are attempting to do that today? The knowledge of the Word would be there, the skill would be there, the zeal and willingness would be there; but the power would lack. Knowledge, doctrine, skill, talent, fame, connections, power, money; all of these contributes, but none of such can take the place of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. All of these is counted but dung in the absence of the Holy Spirit. Trash it is without the Holy Spirit for it is the anointing that breaks the yoke.
Did you know that when you refuse or disregard the need to wait, you are in actual fact disobeying God? God does not work with disobedience. God does not bless disobedience. Saul lost it when he discounted obedience and from time to time ignored instructions to wait. The same man was later found seeking guidance from spiritual mediums. Spiritual power to accomplish what God has called us to do will be found nowhere but from the Holy Spirit.
After witnessing their Master being taken up into heaven and a cloud receiving Him out of their sight they returned to Jerusalem from Mount Olive. They went up into the upper room and continued with one accord in prayer and supplication. You see, they waited. Their experience with the Lord did not run to their heads. They remained obedient to His command and WAITED.
Don't miss what is rightfully yours just because you are in a hurry and can't wait. Every promise has to be waited for; everything good is worth waiting for. May we calm down and take time to wait? May we relax - may we know that He who promised will keep His promise? MAY WE TAKE TIME TO WAIT
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