Don’t Do Anything!
Don’t you say a word! Many of us may have heard this from our parents. During a time of correction, they saw that we were about to open our mouths in excuse or denial. Or they had prepared some things, and you and your siblings were told “Don’t touch anything”! Their
instructions were for our benefit. “Freeze!” Said many an actor portraying a police officer. A raised fist by a military patrol leader brought this response at once. In both these situations there is a danger present. Not complying could produce severe results. Instant obedience brings the benefit of protection from that which could cause harm to oneself or others.
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18b-20
Go therefore.
Sometimes zeal pushes us to move out, speak up, and tell everything. This is seen in both spiritual and natural things. There have been instances in my secular trade, where I figured something out, and said, well yes, it is right there, everybody ought to be doing it this way. Thankfully, there were people that reigned me in and got me to consider the effects or outcomes. In my new life in Christ, I was the same. On Thursday, I cared little for the things of God, or becoming a Christian. On Friday I was born again, and on Saturday I wanted to go and tell everybody. I bounced from pillar to post through my family and friends wanting to tell everybody. The problem was not everybody was ready for me.
The Father loves His children, and the Lord Jesus Christ loves His Church. They were not going to leave its growth and care solely on people that were prone to seeking titles and positions and were discriminating against those that were different or did not follow them and their teaching. In Matthew 16 the Lord told His disciples how He would build His Church. It would not be on the doctrines or words of men. So, after He posed the set-up question of, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” He brought it home to them, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered from what he had heard in his heart, not what he had heard with his ears. The Church would be and will continue to be expanded and nurtured through the revelation of Him as the Christ. A confession that is just repeating what others say simply does not cut it. A relationship with the Lord would not be enjoyed vicariously, and it is no different with The Holy Spirit.
Don’t Go, wait.
Luke 24:49
…But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
Acts 1:4
… “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before.”
When the Lord told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit, He knew the significance of what He was calling them to. Their own strength and intellect were not going to cut it. Having talked with them for forty days about the Kingdom of God, the Lord knew precisely what they would need to fulfill this. While the expanding and nurturing of His kingdom would start with the apostles, it continues with us today.
Waiting is always easier when done with patience. While I am in no way perfect or complete, one of the first fruits of the Spirit worked in me was patience. As a young adult in the military, I learned and began to grow in the “Hurry up and wait.” This waiting goes crossways with worldly thinking. The world would argue that if you got something new you got to move quickly to get it out. Network, advertise, and sell, sell, sell. This attitude was in His brothers when they urged Him to go to the festival and perform like a recording artist on tour. (John 7:3,4) My military mindset would be to strike hard, strike fast, and keep pressure on the target.
The apostles did wait. Having spent three years with Jesus, I imagine the disciples had some experience in waiting. They had waited when the news of the death of Lazarus came, and saw the man come out of the grave! There were many a times they waited as Jesus went off by Himself to pray. Most recent to this instruction of the Lord, they had waited in the garden…well no, they slept…and after seeing the arrest, trial, and crucifixion, which only brought more waiting, three days later they saw the Lord come out of the grave.
Pondering the things that the Apostles saw firsthand, the feeding of thousands, the healing of the blind, lame, deaf, and people with leprosy. They saw Jesus destroy the works of the enemy, outwit the religious leaders, and calm the wind and the waves. As a young Christian, I would often find myself caught up in the wonderful things Jesus did. The spectacular actions kept me from seeing the supernatural truths. After some growth and maturity in the Word, I saw what they heard from the Lord in Acts 1:5.
In a few days they would receive the anointing, an anointing that would empower them to destroy yokes, remove burdens, heal, and deliver for the purpose of expanding and nurturing His Kingdom. In a few days they would walk out of weakness and into the power and authority of the Christ. Just as the apostles and others such as Philip and Stephen, went out and preached the good news and fulfilled what the Lord had told them in John 14:12.
As Pentecost approaches, the day in which Christians remember the infilling of the Body of Christ with the promised Holy Spirit, it was not a single event in time. On that day, the outpouring of the Spirit gave purpose and power for the spreading of the good news that the New Covenant has been established in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God is here. Today as Spirit filled Christians, we can be empowered to overpower the rise of evil in these last days. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can all be used to bring reconciliation and the blessings of adoption as children of God to the lost!