Could you have waited this long?

Could you wait 8 or 9 more days?

In this year, 2018, Resurrection Sunday was on April 1st.

Easter.

As I write this, 42 days have come and gone since then.

If we were disciples of Christ’s, or among His very close group of followers, at this time we would be gathered together….as Luke wrote about in Acts.

Gathered together 

Waiting together

Hoping together.
After His Ascension, He told them to gather and wait on The Holy Spirit to come. 

They most likely had no idea how that would occur, they had no idea exactly when this would happen or what it would truly mean to and for them.

They had been changed somewhat after walking with Jesus for 3 years. 

They had been affected greatly by His Trial, Death and Resurrection and continual Appearances to them during His 40 day Affirmation period.

Most likely, Jesus told them many things during those 40 days. He most likely told them some of the things He told them He could not tell them before He died and rose from His temporary death.

I know He spoke encouragement to them.

I know He spoke Affirmation to them.

Even after seeing Him as Transcendant, they still could not acquaint all of this with what they were to do next.
After 3 years of close-up instruction they had no definite plan going forward.

They had heard and seen and walked and talked with THE WORD for over 1,000 days, but had no understanding about their future save that Jesus told them to go and wait and they would receive His Gift of The Spirit.

How close have we been to spiritual events and experiences, great teaching and maybe The Presence of Jesus at times……and not allowed It to change us.
I believe not one knew what was truly to come.

They had no prior experience with any inner presence of Power. They had seen, touched and heard It…but had no further access to It.
This is true in our lives….we can read the words, listen to the sermons, we can see other people do great work …..

but until we have been invaded by this same Spirit they eventually received…we are as they were before It occurred.

Not truly effective or not truly powerful spiritually.

At this point …..

it’s been two days since The Ascension.

As we would, they were hoping HE would simply return. After all…He did say He would.

We know from Scripture that 10 days after The Ascension they were visited by and filled with The Holy Spirit.

They still had 8 more days until that occurred.

Eight more days to wait.

They waited.

They received.

They changed the world.
Would you have remained in that place?

I have thought as to whether or not any followers did indeed give up and  leave the gathering before The Spirit made His Entrance.

Think…..

Don’t be quick to say you WOULD have remained.

I hope I would have.

It is a matter of not getting distracted by things that are not as profound or as eternal as His Voice.

Do we take Him at His Word…???

Do we believe what He says will take place…???

Have you heard His Instruction in some area…only to give up and go on about your way before The Answer made Its Entrance into your situation…???

Waiting.

Is hard.

Goes against our nature.

But it is another, better, higher Nature….

in the Person of The Holy Spirit that we can receive.

Those few that waited…

received….

and we are talking about It today.

Where were you a year ago???

Spiritually. Mentally. Emotionally. Relationally.

Consider where you were one year ago.

One year ago today I entered the hospital.
Feeling as if I had the flu I stayed home a few days. I had a place on my foot which had been rubbed raw …. and addressed it somewhat. However, I tended to it myself as my wife was tending to what I thought was the flu.

After about four days I had not improved…and the raw spot on my foot was infected. I finally showed it to my wife…. and she was not pleased with my keeping it to myself.

She was prompting me to go….and when my temperature climbed to over 101’ …”we” made the decision to go to the hospital.

After swabbing my infected foot…they admitted me quickly.

Staph infection in my blood.

Beginning that night I was “IV’d” continually with antibiotics. The infectious disease doctor came to see me and told me I was my own worst enemy regarding the cause of the infection.

He ordered a procedure to enter through my esophagus to look and see if the staph had gone to my heart. He told me that if that was the case…then my condition was life-threatening.

The test told him that was not the case.

For seven days there were constant IVs injecting antibiotics into my body. On the seventh day two nurses placed a PIC LINE through a vein in my arm which traveled 24” to a spot directly above my heart.

I was released from the hospital, but had antibiotics given me intraveiniously through the PIC LINE for 10 days.

After one other IV about a week later, I have been free of the staph infection.

Where were you one year ago?

I was going through these things because I had an issue I tried to take care of myself.

And failed.

Have you tried to take care of an issue that you might actually be trying to hide …and tend to yourself….???
You might be failing in that…as I did.

We cannot heal ourselves.

I needed the infectious disease doctor.

I needed the hospital.

I needed the antibiotics.

When we are dealing with health issues we need these things.

When the issue is spiritual…we need help in similar ways.

We need the people who know how to treat the issue.

The hospital we need is most likely a body of believers who can get us the attention we need.

The antibiotic we need is The Word of God.

The spiritual or emotional or marital issue you may be dealing with might not be life-threatening… however if these issues go unattended they can greatly negate any health or well being we may aspire to.

If you have a spiritual issue….it can be eternity-threatening.

If you have an emotional or marital issue…well, you know it’s life changing if it’s not addressed.

I encourage you to not hide these issues.

One year ago I hid an issue for a few days and came close to severity.

You hide an issue for too long ….it can end a part of your life.

When we say…”We’ll, I can take care of that”…..we may be entering a dangerous place.

Doctors, Hospitals and Medicines cost money because of the great value ascribed to them.

Ministers, Churches and Scripture cost only the time and effort to pursue them…..and the value ascribed is beyond price.

Well, as we will acknowledge in a week or so…

the price has already been paid.

The blue sky.

The air we breathe.

The regenerative elements in our epidermis after sustaining a cut.

The order in the universe.

The 23.5′ tilt of the axis of the earth and how it perfectly allows for the different seasons we experience and the proper exposure to sunlight.

Sunlight.

The gifts, talents and abilities we all possess in diverse degrees, and how they allow us to advance in life.

Stages of GRACE.

This grace is defined as
“the unmerited favor of God,
as manifested and revealed through the bestowal of blessings,
and the gift of salvation to all”.

Every creature has received a bestowal of blessings.

Through the life we live,
through the conversion of carbon dioxide to oxygen,
through the bending of light through the lens of our eyes,
through the quick change we go through at birth from living in fluid to breathing the prepared air He has given us.

These are all stages of Grace we live and walk and exist in.

My life has been spared three to four times.

The fact that I live in the Age in which I have been blest to live in has probably kept me from being a leper. The skin issues i have dealt with in the past most likely would have led to that.

The staph infection I experienced in 2017 could have gone to my heart and ended my life.

The wreck in which I was involved in 1988, could have taken my life.

There was not an injury to me or anyone else.

You have one or more stories such as that.

The Grace of Provision and Safety at those times preserved us.

There are many religious definitions of Grace.
It can be parsed as many ways as there can be denominations.

At the root of every varying definition is the fact that God,
in His Infinite Mercy has bestowed upon His Creation,

Grace.

This Grace takes all of the shapes we have mentioned here, and more.

God graced each of us with a conscience to be guided by and a mind with which to think and consider.

That gift allows us access to another form of Grace.

Revelation.

Understanding.

Through these gifts of Gods’ Grace we can experience Him……

not merely on a physiological and sensory level….

but in and through a deeper and spiritual relationship.

Before what The Bible calls the “fullness of time”…..
the world and every created being experienced God and His physical and natural gifts.

After that “time” arrived, the world and every human being has been gifted with the
life, words and salvation given us by Christ.

Every human has not heard, nor has every human being accepted….
but every life brought into being, before Him and since,
has been graced with 

His Gift of Forgiveness, 

of Salvation, 

and Redemption.

This initial stage of grace given by Him,

is or can be followed by ascending stages of

experiencing His Presence,

of understanding His revealed Word,

of fulfillment by His Spirit.

The Grace of His Presence brings a peace that His Words say “passes all understanding”.

That compares to knowing what love is or what beauty is….without being able to verbally define your understanding.

Understanding His revealed Word is a gift which comes after a love and a pursuant desire

leads you to look for
and to seek out ALL He has for you.

The fulfillment of His Spirit comes twofold, to me.

It is gifted when we accept His Exercise of life, death, resurrection and the subsequent salvation.

Secondly, it comes in another measure after we pursue Him and desire more of and from Him….
for doing the work he has called and gifted us to do.

From the physiological grace of breath and blood,

to the sensory grace of beauty and nature….

to the Redemptive Grace of Salvation ……

God has allowed us to live in and experience Stages of His Grace.

And, there are more and bigger Stages to come.

Virus-free. www.avast.com

Jesus said many times that,

“The Kingdom of God is at hand”.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the phrase …”at hand”…as happening or present at the current time.

I have understood that,
in the past few years,
to mean He was telling those who were listening to Him that because He was present with them… The Kingdom of God was present with them.

IT was where HE was.

Wherever He was, IT was there.

The Kingdom was not merely high
up in the Heavens…
it was on the horizontal plane of Earth….
as He was on that horizontal plane of Earth.

When He instructed His Disciples to go and wait in the Upper Room… He was temporarily separating them from the horizontal world ….while awaiting a vertical intervention.

During those few days the Spirit had not come and He was not physically present with them.

The Spirit came to
and into them
and empowered them
to accomplish the work
intended for them to do.

It changed them.

Forever.

It changed the world.

Forever.

The Scripture tells the reader that
The Spirit is God and equal to God.
The Spirit is an equal entity of
The Trinity.

Since The Spirit of God came into the Disciples …..
He has never exited the Earth.

He is still here today.

Because He is here,
The Kingdom of God is here.

Christ’s words are still relevant…
“The Kingdom of God is AT HAND”.

Its not being prepared.

It is not waiting on us in Heaven.

It is present on the horizontal plane of Earth.

Therefore,
may we realize,
acknowledge and
going forward, live accordingly.

Let’s us live as though Christ is among us.

Because He is among us.

Happening and
present at the current time.

If you believe Scripture is true….
then you believe His Spirit is here.
And, consequently that He is here.

If you visually saw Christ
sitting at your table,
walking with you,
heard Him preaching to you from the podium…
would you live differently than you do ???

Would you serve any differently than you do???

He IS sitting at your table.
He IS walking with you.
He IS preaching to you from the podium,
through the person of your Pastor.

His Spirit is here.

He is here.

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Look up and read PROVERBS 18:16.

It might positively impact your life.

What is your “gift”…???

I would encourage you to think on this and seek the answer in prayer… if you cannot name your gift currently.

To know ones GIFT …
is to operate in a
Strength and a Capability
not present in everyone else.

Knowing it,
Exercising it,
Building on it…..

will give you access and potential not present before.

To me, it’s the secret to success.

It puts you at the intersection of
Ability and Opportunity.

Ask the few people closest to you what they see your gift as.

If married….ask your Spouse.

If you do not know it….
Ask, Seek and Knock regarding it …
in prayer to The Father.

You WILL get an answer…..soon.

Knowing your gift ….

IS a gift.

It will set you in places
you have not occupied before.

Take the writer of Proverbs at face value and believe it.

“A man’s gift maketh room for him,
and bringeth Him before great men”.

Know it
Walk it it
Touch the world with your gift.

This thought arose in me this morning.
You might hear it from me again.

The same God Who has touched so many is the same God Who we pray to and hears our prayers.

The same God Who spoke to
and made eternal promises to
Abraham…
speaks to you and me.

Read that again and consider it.

The same God Who anointed David
has anointed your Pastor as Shepherd of your Church.

The same God Who came to earth as Jesus…lives in all hearts who seek and pursue Him.

The same God Who prompted and led Martin Luther …
prompts and leads us.

The same God Who has led and directed preachers like
Charles Spurgeon and Billy Graham leads and directs the preacher who preaches to you.

The same God Who moved in Mother Teresa to give a life to minister to multitudes who could never return the favor…. can move in you and me.

The same God Who changed the life and work of Peter,
Who used the zeal
but changed the intentions of Paul…
can change and use us today.

The same God Who has grown great churches…
and deepened the walk of His Followers…
is the same God Who spoke
to me this morning,
and might be speaking to you
right now.

Therefore……

If it’s the same God …

the only different variable is you…
and me.

I pray that I take what
God gave to,
and did in,
all the above people…
as much as He allows me ….
and walk,
in Him,
towards similar results.

I pray that for you this morning.

 

I have fallen five times in my life as an adult.

I can recite the place and year.

Actual hard physical falls.

Once I slipped and hit pavement really hard….
it requires several stitches over my left eye.

Stitches are something my body has had great experience with.

 

Another time I was pulling a vine out of the ground, it was not cooperative, so I used my legs and hips.

When the vine broke, I fell backwards off of the four foot waterfall in my backyard and fell onto the rocks and boulders in the creek below.

When I landed on my back I rested between two jagged and protruding boulders which could have broken or cracked important places in my spine.

I was between those jagged edges.

I lay there looking at each boulder,
realizing I felt no pain but was in awe that I landed where I did, having fallen blindly.

These falls were not laying down in green pastures.

They were full body hard falls.

But I was not injured with any long-lasting severity from any of them.

 

I have fallen spiritually more times than are described above …. and have been protected in seemingly greater ways than I was when I fell physically.

Gravity has pulled me to the Earth when I have physically lost my balance.

Bad decisions,
and the gravity of the weight which accompanies them,
have thrown me off of the proper path already laid out for me and dropped me to my knees and my face more times than I can count.

The shame of these falls and failings,
like the time I lay on my back in the creek between the boulders…                                  were terrifying and frightful…
but because of The Light that is a “lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”…….

I have been kept from long-lasting and severe harm.

Just as the stitches,
of which I have had many,
heal my skin and leave only a small mark, if any trace at all…..
The Word which was spoken and written long ago constantly heals my heart and has redeemed the life I am blest to live.

What kind of messages are you giving out at this time???

Or over the past few weeks?

Not merely the verbal communication you engage in…
but the looks and unspoken messages you convey.

You probably set the tone for your house and family.

Are you sending out vibes that are
peaceful, pleasant, positive??

Or are the messages
going out from you
and being received by those
closest to you …
Irritating, negative, burdensome??

If you do not know…
ask your wife.

Ask your closest friend.

In the middle of struggle and strife you can still give off messages of peace and positivity.

Pilots call it an “even keel”.

Scripture calls it a
“Christ-like nature”.

Momentary messages can be across the board …..
but the constant and consistent
vibe coming from us should be that of what Christ exhibited on the boat with His Disciples…

in the middle of the storm.

The definition is to exert force
or pressure to something.
It’s the root word of pressure.

To press in or exert pressure is to force an issue.

In my basketball days,
a press was put into place to
change the tone or tempo of a game.
It was added to potentially force a change in momentum.

The Apostle Paul referred to pressing in a spiritual manner, to push toward a better result.

You press something
to change something,

You press in on a relationship
if you desire more closeness,
more intimacy.

You press in,
you force the issue.

In business,
if goals have not been met
and time is short…
measures are many times put into place to lead everyone to press a bit harder to achieve the desired results.

If you press in on your walk with Christ….
you are seeking a better and desired result.

No matter how long the walk has been, no matter how mature the walk has become… pressing in toward Christ will deepen and enhance one’s walk with Him.

If you do not desire a
deeper or more meaningful walk…
I would think you are not in possession of a deep and meaningful walk.

Press in with your thoughts.
Think of and about Him.
Think on Him.

On and of His Words.

Be still and KNOW HIM.

Pressing there will move you in closer.

Read His Words.
Pressing in through a consistent study will deepen your walk and your relationship.

Pressing is a form of seeking,
and seeking over a period will
sell-sanctify you in that the press will set you apart as you seek after Him. It will increase your thirst
for Him.

As you seek after Him
and His Presence,
He will set you apart and sanctify you.
His sanctification will satisfy you fully….. and satisfy your thirst.

In a group of believers
I am involved in currently,
it is time for all of us to press in.

There are times when we are led to press in, and there are times one can sense the importance of pressing in toward Christ.

For me,
this is a time when I can sense the importance of pressing in … for myself,
for the flock I walk with.

Individually,
I will press in toward Christ.

I will press in toward relationships I have in this flock.

I will press in toward those I do not know well.

As well,
I will pray that every member of this flock will press in on their individual relationship with Our True
Shepherd.

This press will change the tone and tempo of our personal lives.

This press will deepen the corporate walk of this group
and the walk of those around us.

Pressing in requires effort.

Pressing in arises out of desire.

If the press of our desires and efforts are vertical in nature, toward The One above….
there is no limit to the
width and depth of the horizontal effect on all of the lives around us.

What makes you get up and go after something?

What is it that changes the course of a business, a relationship, an individual life?

In most instances,
it’s the desire for something.

The desire to get something,
to change a circumstance,
to get away from something,
or to get somewhere….
is what propels us from where
we are to where we want to get.

What are your desires?

Whether you are young or old,
7 or 70, you most likely have desires.

At 7 you cannot always put words to it….but you want what you want. At 70, you can and should have words for it.

What is your deepest desire?

Some desires are not deep.

Wanting something to nibble on while you watch television is not a deep desire.

Looking In a dumpster or standing in a food line at a shelter after having not eaten for days… is a deep desire which has developed into a physiological need.

What is your deepest desire?

Has it become a need yet?
The desires that are so deep no bottom has yet created satisfaction or comfort …..
are the desires that change lives and can change the world.
A desire to improve ones life may lead to a diet,
it will lead to changing a behavior.
It might lead to changing jobs.

As a businessman,
a desire to grow or expand will lead to decisions about commitment and if that commitment is strong enough it will lead to the spending of money. That step evidences the desire is serious.

As a spiritual person,
do you have a desire to grow deeper in the spiritual life you have?

Do you desire it seriously enough to go after it?

If you wish to get better,
you will change a behavior.

When the simple wish becomes a desire, one may begin going to Church. It may involve volunteering to help.

Those are steps toward meeting the desire. Some get satisfied there.

Are any of us there….
content or satisfied?

I would challenge myself and anyone to consider that being content and satisfied will restrict us from growing further and from going deeper.

At the table, we put the utensil down and push away when we get full. After that, satisfaction comes and can lead to a sedentary period.

The challenge is to not get satisfied.
There have been times in your life when you were not easily satisfied.

You did not “settle”.

Do you get easily satisfied when it comes to spiritual matters?

Be careful that it does not come quickly.

Spiritual growth has no bounds.

There is no ceiling,
There is no floor.

It’s deep and wide.

No matter where we have grown to….
there is more.
Some people work for,
and get money
and cannot ever get enough.

If that pursuit is dominant it can create continual feelings of frustration.
From experience,
many can tell you that the unceasing pursuit of spiritual growth does not lead to frustration, but to escalating levels of Joy, Understanding, and a fulfillment that comes with the excited anticipation that there is so much more to receive.

Read that again. It’s true.

The streets of Alabama were mostly empty last Saturday afternoon. Desire kept people indoors and in front of a television.
Very little, if anything, would have kept fans from watching that game.

May very little, if anything, keep us from pursuing a deeper spiritual walk.

What we truly desire…
we work toward,
we go after,
we get up,
refuse to give up,
change circumstances
and make sacrifices.

May unceasing Desire drive us toward a deeper life with The One Who gives us that very life.