Last week we began our adventure into the year-long study of the book of Acts.  We already discovered during the AC we are called to be witnesses of the resurrection.  (If you weren’t here last week, or you have short-term memory loss, you may not know that AC is my designation of our time while Jesus is ascended to the other side. AC is Ascended Christ.)  God must have a huge banquet table in the QC, (that is the time in heaven at the Banquet Christ.) because he has been gathering people for 1,970 something years.  Our job during the AC is to gather dinners for that really big table.  We are called to be witnesses who are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Luke lays out for us our purpose in the opening sentences of Acts.  I’m excited already.

Last week, as read the intro to Acts, we heard Jesus telling his disciples to go do something that for me is kind of difficult.  Jesus tells his disciples to go wait.  I don’t do “wait” very well. Tanya says, “Amen.”  “Git R Done” guys don’t do waiting.  We git r done.  We don’t doodle around.  We don’t procrastinate or piddle.  Don’t you hate it when people piddle?  But that is what Jesus told his disciples to go do; wait.

Acts 1:4  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.”

I wondered why Luke included the second half of chapter 1.  The first half is exciting.  The first half of chapter 1 builds the tension of the Spirit coming. Then we have Jesus going back to the other side and angels telling us Jesus is coming back.  But the 2nd half of the chapter is somewhat anticlimactic.  Chapter 2 is big and I am excited about getting there next week.  But why did Luke have 14 verses of just waiting around.  Why do we have half a chapter of piddling?

Then it dawned on me Luke is talking about my life again. Throughout the Gospel of Luke we found that he was not only telling the story of Jesus, but telling us how to live our lives. Bam, in the first chapter of Acts, we find him telling us how to function as a Christians.

There are times of waiting in my life.  There are times when I think something ought to be happening… and it’s not. 
-There are times when we are waiting for healing. 
-There are times when we are waiting for relationships. 
-There are times when we are waiting for a job. 
-There are times when we are waiting to retire.
-There are times when we are waiting for a loved one to come home or leave home.

There are times when we are waiting for a word from the Spirit, telling us what is next. It seems to be cycles in our lives. There are peaks and valleys, highs and lows, stressful times and times of relief.  There are busy times with lots of activity and times of waiting.  Part of life is waiting.  And that may be the hardest part.

In Acts 1:12-26 Luke shows us the importance of waiting.  “What good is waiting? Let’s Git Something Done.  Waiting around is wasting time.  Come on God let’s get moving. What are you waiting for?”  Even as I was writing this sermon, I wanted to say, “Here are four things you do while you wait.  Waiting is a good time to accomplish these things so we can be more effective in times of action.”  But I’m not sure that is the point Luke wants us to see.  While we are waiting on the Spirit to move in our lives, we don’t really prepare.  We can’t rush the Spirit. We just wait.  The Spirit does what he chooses to do WHEN he chooses to do it.  SO, instead of being impatient, we wait patiently upon God to accomplish his will in his time.  Waiting may simply be waiting. Before I go too far with my ranting, let’s read what Luke has to say and see what this waiting is all about. 

Acts 1:12-13   Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.  When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

While they waited they were together.  The Eleven, who had been closest to Jesus, did what Jesus commanded them to do, they went upstairs and stayed together.    

It’s an odd thing, this upstairs. The actual Greek says upper room.  They went to the upper room.  It seems, to Luke, this was a special place.  He mentioned it with the Last Supper in Luke 22.  Remember they held this special meal with Jesus, in the upper room.  Now, in chapter 1 of Luke II they are back in this upper room again; all together. 

Acts 9:36-41 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.  About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.  Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"   Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.  Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.  He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.

Wow, that’s exciting.  Twice Luke mentions the upper room.  A place of healing.  A place of sharing.  A place of taking care of the body.  One more.  I realize this is overkill but I like it. 

Acts 20:7-11  On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.  There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.  Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!"  Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.

To Luke there is this upstairs time when we break bread, fellowship, share, this time together where we take care of the body. It seems Luke is encouraging us to spend our waiting time together.  Part of the answer as to the importance of this waiting time, is time spent together.  There is something mystical and spiritual and life-giving that happens when we are together in the upper room.  I’m not only talking about our worship times but sharing our lives together.  Perhaps Luke wants us to see the importance of upper room time. 

Let’s keep reading. What else does this waiting mean?

Acts 1:14   They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Not only were the apostles together, also the women who had been involved in the ministry and Jesus’ family.  Let’s not too quickly skip over this.  Here, in a time when women were second class humans, Luke continues his theme of the role women played in the church.  These women were involved in prayer with the apostles.  Wow.  Waiting time is a time to include everyone.

What do you suppose they prayed about?  I am tempted to say, “Nothing great ever happens in the kingdom of God that is not preceded by prayer.” I read that on the internet so it must be true.  “The big event is coming we need to prepare in prayer.”  But I may be letting my Git R Done mindset be coloring all this.  I don’t know what they prayed about.  But a lot has just happened.  Jesus died. Jesus was resurrected.  Jesus, in the new flesh, has taught about the kingdom for 40 days.  Now he has gone to the other side. There is a lot there to comprehend.  The disciples had plenty to absorb. They were sad, and happy and confused and filled with anticipation and full of emotions.  Maybe waiting is about sorting through emotions and bringing them before God.  Waiting is about getting our heads together in prayer.  I know I need that.  But there’s more.  

Acts 1:15-20   In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus--  he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."   (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.  Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)  "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "'May another take his place of leadership.'”

We kind of blow through the story of Judas and write him off as a bad guy that nobody liked.  But I doubt that was the case.  He was one of the 12.  He was part of their group.  He was loved by Jesus and by them as well.  His betrayal, his pain, his terrible suicide had to be dealt with.  Maybe that is a lesson for us.  Waiting is about closure.  It is about dealing with loss.  It is about getting over stuff.  Without these breaks in life the accumulative stress and pain would overwhelm us.  We need understanding.  We need to get it. We need closure.  Psychologically, we sometimes need timeouts.

One more waiting thought. I like this one best.  It is doing something.  Peter continues his thoughts.

Acts 1:21-26   “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."  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.

I’m not sure why it was important to God to have 12 apostles.  Perhaps it has to do with the 12 tribes of Israel; the completion of Judaism.  Maybe it is 12 is a cool number.  Unless you are playing football, then 12 is better number than 11.  Whatever the reason it was necessary to choose another leader, one who would be a witness to the resurrection.  Two guys were nominated and one was selected.  God was involved in the selection of Matthias. 

Isn’t it cool? Luke is talking to us this morning. We are in a similar situation this morning. I don’t want to press this analogy too far, Wade has gone to where he belongs and the lot has fallen upon Deanna to take his place. 

In our times of waiting, as a congregation, there is time to work on our ministry positions.  We need to have our congregation strong as we move from a time of waiting to a time of activity in the Spirit. 

I feel we are on the edge of the Spirit moving in our congregation.  It seems that we have been in a time of waiting.  A time when not much has happened, but now we are on the verge of the activity of the Spirit within our church.  Over the last several months God has brought us 8 new families; people who we are including into the family.  This is a sign that we are ready for the Spirit.  Do you think I am right?

Let me end this sermon with a warning here which may be the bottom line.

Acts 1:4  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.

The Spirit is a gift, not something we can demand.  It is given, or not, in God’s time.  As a Git R Done guy I don’t much like this piddling time but I working on waiting, if that is possible.  I am working on…
-seeing the importance of our bonds together in the upper room,
-on processing my emotions in prayer,
-on closure of things that hinder my service,
-on incorporating Deanna into our congregation
-on learning to wait upon the Spirit.

The 2nd half of chapter 1 is important. My prayer, which I hope is your prayer, is for the waiting time to soon be over and the promised Spirit to come upon us in power.  But more on that next week.