“And you shall receive the Promise”
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This afternoon, I would like to speak a message that I believe the Lord has placed upon my heart.
Now before I get into the points that I would like to point out from this portion of scripture, I would like to give you a background of this scripture.
This scripture was written after Jesus had resurrected from the dead.
We have the crucifixion, then we have the resurrection, then we have the ascension, then we have the Pentecost.
The disciples received these words from Jesus after the crucifixion and before His ascension.
Shortly after Jesus gave the disciples this promise He was ascended into heaven.
Let’s keep that in mind.
There are a few things that I would like to point out and then I will be done.
- The disciples were in a tough situation.
Why were they going through a tough time?
Because Jesus, the one whom they were able to hang out with, the one whom they got to spend a lot of time with, and the one they even saw Him do many miracles was now ascended to heaven.
They had spent the last 3 years of their life with Jesus.
Now all of a sudden, He is not with them anymore. He has been ascended to heaven.
[Act 1:7-9 NKJV]
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 “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.”
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
They could have been thinking what are we going to do now?
They could have thought, are we really going to receive the promise?
What if the promise doesn’t come to pass?
What are we going to do without Jesus being with us in the flesh?
The had spent the last 3 years of their life seeing Him perform miracles, open blind eyes, heal the sick, raise the dead, casting out demons and meeting the needs of people.
Now He is no longer with them in the flesh.
So they found themselves in a tough situation.
What if we don’t get to see Him anymore?
So they found themselves in a tough situation.
Now even though they were in a tough situation, Jesus told them to stay right where they were at, until they receive the promise.
That leads me to me second point.
- Jesus told them to stay right where they were at.
[Act 1:3-4 NIV]
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about..
Even though the disciples were going through a tough time, Jesus told them to stay right where they were at.
He told them “Do no leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised”
How many know that when you and I are going through tough times we want to make certain moves?
This job isn’t working out, let me move to a new one.
This church isn’t working out, let me move to a new one.
This school isn’t working out, let me move to a new one.
This isn’t working out, let me move to a new one.
How many know when things aren’t going our way, we usually look for another way to get things done.
When things don’t look like they are going to work out, we want to make moves and try something different.
That is where we get the saying.
The grass is greener on the other side.
But sometimes the other side may not be God’s will.
In order for a plant to grow, it has to stay rooted.
That is the situation the disciples found themselves in.
They had a decision to make.
They could take Jesus at His words and wait for the Promise, or they could lean on their own understanding and try to find something different to do.
They could have went back to their old way of living before they came to follow Jesus.
The disciples could have left Jerusalem, they could have said Jesus has been ascended and we don’t know if He is coming back.
He told us to stay here and wait for a promise. Uhhmm I think I am going back to what I used to do before.
Let’s be honest.
The challenge for many of us is to stay in the will of God, even when the promise hasn’t come yet.
The challenge is to stay in the place where God has us, even when we don’t see the vision that God has promised us coming to pass.
When things don’t pan out the way we thought they were, we want to do something else.
But the disciples had a promise.
Jesus told them to stay still. Stay right where you are at and the promise that my Father gave you will come to pass.
How many know even when the situation may not look good, God is still faithful to His promises.
They stayed in Jerusalem and were obedient to Jesus. The next thing you know they are experiencing the Promise of God and the Power of God at another level.
Somebody is about to get their Promise.
I don’t know what God has Promised you.
I don’t know what you are believing God for you.
I don’t even know how long you have been waiting, but today you Promise is coming to pass.
I wish I had a witness.
That leads me to my next point
- The disciples received the Promise.
Even though the disciples were going through a tough time and didn’t understand why they needed to say in Jerusalem they were obedient to the words of Jesus.
They stayed in Jerusalem and experienced the power of God at another level.
Today there may be someone here who is going through a difficult time, and you are not sure what decision to make.
We may be waiting on a promise and haven’t seen it yet.
Well, I just wanted to stop by and encourage you.
Even though we might not understand the situation or the circumstance, stay in God’s will and He will come through.
Not only will He come through, but He is going to take you to another level and fill you with a fresh Power.
You might be a little discouraged.
You might be thinking of making a move.
You might be thinking that the Promise isn’t going to happen.
We may have even stayed where you were to supposed to stay, but we don’t really believe the Promise anymore.
Can I encourage us with the day of Pentecost.
That is the day when the Promise that the disciples were waiting for came to pass.
Somebody is about to walk into a Pentecost Promise.
Maybe you are believing God for the salvation of a loved one.
Maybe you are believing God for a Promise that He has given you.
Maybe we are believing God for a breakthrough.
Maybe we are believing God for a healing.
I may not know what you are believing God for, but the Promise is here.
Yes, you get discouraged but you stayed.
Yes, you may have felt like giving up but you stayed.
Yes, you may have felt like leaving Jerusalem, but you stayed.
Tell your neighbor, I can hear the wind.
[Act 2:2-4 NIV]
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
God wants to take you to another level.
He wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit that will allow you to do things for Him that you haven’t ever done before.
- You are about to start that business.
- You are about to use your talents and gifts.
- You are about to get that financial blessing.
- You are about to walk in Power.
Somebody say Power!!!
God is about to show you why He has you where you are. He is about to pour out His Power.
Today what we need our Christians who are filled with the Power of the Holy Ghost.
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The same Peter who was found denying Jesus, was not boldly proclaiming the Gospel message.
– He went from being Flaky to being on Fire
– He went from wishy washy to being Radical and Addicted
– He went from saying who is Jesus to preaching to thousands
– He went from denying Jesus to leading thousands to Jesus
Somebody say Power!!!
You are about to tap into the Power that is available to you and I to do what God has called us to do…God is about to use that situation to bring Him some Glory.