A Mighty Movement

by Rocky Fleming

Day 2: Obedience

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1:4-5 (ESV)

As I read this verse, I wondered if those people who heard Jesus leave this last instruction would have missed the experience of Pentecost if they hadn’t obeyed Jesus’ instructions to wait for the Holy Spirit to baptize them?  Consider if you will that the disciples were mainly from the northern towns of Israel in Galilee.  They had been away from family, friends, the warmth of their homes, and had gone through a roller-coaster ride with Jesus from His crucifixion to His ascension.  Don’t you know that just like you and me would be, they were homesick to be out of the rat race of Jerusalem and back in their own culture around the Sea of Galilee?  To eat the bread baked and fresh fish caught there, and to watch the sunset over the big lake also called Tiberias and Gennesaret, would have been in their thoughts.  They would have longed for it.  These are typical homesick thoughts, and I am sure that some of those people who heard Jesus tell them to stay longer might have silently moaned when He said it?  But they obeyed, and as always, they benefited from following the guidance of Jesus by obeying Him.

I also wondered if they had not obeyed, would Pentecost have happened?   I am convinced that it would have happened, although it would not be with those people who disobeyed, and it might have happened at a different place or time with other people.  You see, God is in absolute control, and there is nothing that man can do that will wrestle this control from Him.  He has a plan and we are invited to join Him, even though He leaves it up to you and me to obey.  We have a choice and because of it we can miss out and not join His work even though He invites us and He wants us to join Him.  

This brings an interesting observation of something happening in other parts of the world, but not here.  The Holy Spirit is working mightily in other parts of the world that may be similar to the great outpouring of Pentecost, even though we do not see it here in this country except on rare occasions.  Now understand that it is the same Holy Spirit of Pentecost that is working, with the same mission, and with the same invitation that He has given to his family throughout the ages to join His work.  But why is it that something magnificent is happening in other nations and not here?  Is it because God is not interested in showing Himself mightily here or that we have not been invited by God to join His work?  

Those are some thoughts to consider.  But it doesn’t make sense that it is our Savior or the Holy Spirit who is limiting us when He instructed us to be filled by the Holy Spirit’s power and then make disciples?  Could it be that He has invited us but we have not all accepted His invitation?  Could it be that we are preventing a great awakening in this country because we are not seeking and waiting for the Holy Spirit to fall on us and empower us?  Could it be that we have “gone back home” in our minds and hearts to our personal comforts and interests, and our objective is not about making disciples but rather how to make life better?  It’s like the single guy I once heard pray, “Lord I want to talk to You about me.  I know I’m not much, but that is all I think about.”  Maybe we do not join the Holy Spirit because we are all we think about.

If we hope to see a great and magnificent work of God, we must understand that we cannot make it happen.  It is His choice and within His planning.  But I believe that we can keep it from happening … if our life is driven only for self.  If you want His work to manifest in your life in a major way, it begins with seeking His filling, obeying what He reveals to you, and to wait with expectations that He will show up.  Start there, and see where it leads.