Jesus said “wait.” Waiting is difficult and most of us are not thrilled when we have to wait for anything. I get impatient when the microwave doesn’t sufficiently melt the cheese on my nachos in a minute or less. And yet, God says waiting on Him can be a very good thing. In fact, those that wait on the Lord:
Renew their strength
Walk without weariness
Run without fainting
It’s obvious Isaiah is prophesying poetically and we are talking about much greater things than the miraculous ability to suddenly run a 5k without being winded. He was saying something that perhaps went through the minds of the 120 believers who received the special command of Jesus to “wait in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.”
What was the purpose of this power Jesus promised to give to those who were faithful to wait as He instructed? It was the power to be a witness, in particular in cross cultural contexts. Yes, we see immediately in the first days of the primitive church that the commission of Jesus is to cross every cultural, linguistic and physical boundary in order to speak the Spirit-inspired message of Jesus Christ.
And so they waited.
Perhaps they got weary, but they waited. Maybe they were confused, but they waited. Maybe they were afraid and frustrated, but we read that they waited.
Finally, their waiting paid off, and they were not waiting for the “promise of the Spirit” anymore. On the day of Pentecost, which was the celebration of the giving of the Law on mount Sinai to the Israelites through Moses, a New Covenant was given. This time it would not be written with the finger of God on stones, but rather written on the hearts of those people Peter would eventually describe as “living stones.”
On this new Pentecost, the New Covenant was miraculously written on new hearts of new Christians and the Church was officially born! After waiting so long, the first miracle of God’s powerful promise of the Spirit was to prophetically demonstrate the commission of Jesus to cross every border and reach every people group with the Gospel. At least 3000 Diaspora Jews miraculously heard the “wonderful works of God” spoken in their own languages as 120 Galileans spoke in unknown tongues in the midst of the sprawling gathering of pilgrims on the Temple Mount.
I firmly believe that truly Spirit filled Christians will be motivated to cross cultural ministry. It is in our spiritual DNA. If we find ourselves with prejudices or even harbor the evil of racism in our hearts, we should wait on the Lord and ask Him for a fresh Pentecost. When He fills us with His Spirit, we will find ourselves drawn to the “nations” in one way or another. We will be filled with a passion to be a part of efforts that expand outward from our own "Jerusalems", through our "Judeas", into our "Samarias" and ultimately to the "ends of the earth" to reach every tribe and tongue with the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pray right now: Lord, today I position my heart to wait for your Spirit’s empowerment. As I continue to meet my daily obligations and fulfill my many responsibilities, my heart is waiting on You. What I wait expectantly for is your Spirit’s empowerment. Give me your passion to be a part of communicating Your Gospel to every tribe and tongue, and lead me to love them as you love them. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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