The Power of PentecostSample

In preparation for Pentecost, Jesus told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait. These were people who followed Jesus as He went through His earthly ministry. They were aware of His teachings, His miracles, His crucifixion, His death, and His burial. Now, they were seeing Jesus—alive from the dead—and hearing Him speak to them.

It had to be exciting. It had to make them feel like they could conquer the world.

The power of God was displayed in their midst. The One they had followed was not only the Messiah, but God in human flesh; was now alive without the limits of human flesh. They were perhaps ready to charge out and tell the world what they knew to be eternal truth. Yet in that moment, Jesus instructed them, “wait.”

Sometimes waiting is difficult. It is often hard because we are fearful as we wait for an answer or because we must be patient to see what will happen. Other times, it is because we want to be active or engaged in some endeavor. It can be hard to want to do something—to do anything—and to be told to wait. Yet, Jesus told His disciples to wait. So, there can be power in waiting.

Waiting is an act of surrendering to God… when it is out of obedience to God. Waiting is not simply inactivity which can be a result of laziness, depression, uncertainty, or fear. When we wait in obedience, we are surrendering the desires of our flesh to God, saying to Him, “Thy will be done.” This was a necessary step for those first century followers of Jesus to experience Pentecost.

The same is true today. God’s presence and power comes alive and moves in those who live in obedient surrender to Him. “Stay in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on High.”

Pentecost is worth the wait.

The presence and power of God is worth the wait. Obedient surrender to God is always worth the cost of waiting.