Nougat 26

They heard God, for Y’shua is God.

They awaited God’s Spirit

They would bear witness, and …

They stayed in Jerusalem.

It matters that they stayed in Jerusalem because that was Y’shua’s instruction. It matters that none of them left, that they were together in one place. That’s what we explore together as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Acts 1:7-8 CEVDCI

[7] Jesus said to them, “You don’t need to know the time of those events that only the Father controls.

[8] But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.”

Acts 2:1 [1] On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place.

Sent! From the Same Place

Earlier in the chapter, we are told that Y’shua instructed the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until the Spirit of God came. [This was discussed in another Nougat on hearing God.] It is noteworthy that, as instructed, on that Pentecost, the disciples – soon to be apostles – were all together. Not one of them had left Jerusalem. Not Peter, not Nathaniel, not Y’shua’s beloved disciple. I suspect that even Cleopas was present. They were all there (save for Judas Iscariot, who was no more).

Self-Check

Would we have been able to wait for God’s Spirit without getting impatient for God’s next move?

Digging Deeper

We are not told of any arguments among the disciples while they awaited Y’shua’s promise. No one was worried about greatness, they weren’t even trying to determine who would take the leadership role. There was evidence of growth among the disciples.

Additionally, we note that their instruction was to wait in Jerusalem, not in Galilee and its environs. Yet some would argue that for much of His ministry, Jesus was in Galilee, Tyre and Sidon, Samaria, and even Decapolis. It is therefore noteworthy that the disciples awaited God’s Spirit in Jerusalem at Pentecost. For Jerusalem was the spiritual capital, it was the place where Solomon’s Temple once stood, and the home of the Second Temple. God was doing a new thing as God had indicated, right there in the space where the temple sat. In a sense, God’s prophecy was being fulfilled through the disciples (rather through the work that would begin with them).

Siblings, God’s timing is impeccable. The Second Temple had not yet been demolished, but God had raised a new generation of priests. They were not of literal Levitical heritage, they were ordinary civilians. But they would oversee the work of the new temples in which God’s Spirit would dwell. Being in Jerusalem would leave no doubt about God’s plan to those who were attentive. Notice was being given to the House of Israel.

Siblings, from these three points we can deduce that as we are being sent (as sheep among wolves), God will mature us as we await the move of God’s Spirit. Being in the place of fellowship, church, and united in our faith, places us ‘in the same place’ for us to be sent in the power of God’s Spirit. (The tangible effect of God’s anointing might not happen at the exact physical location, but we would be sent spiritually from the same place.) Of course, that requires patience and the maturity to wait on God’s timing and not our own.

Waiting to be sent demands that we are where God positions us. We might not be called to wait for God’s Spirit in a physical temple, as our bodies are now the temple of the Lord. No longer do we have to physically congregate facing Jerusalem as God might send us to Damascus to meet a Saul, or to ‘our’ Gaza to meet a spiritually hungry eunuch. With the destruction of the Second Temple, more so, with the outpouring of God’s Spirit, Christ is sending us to the entire world and not only to a specific nation.

We see God’s promise to Solomon being fulfilled, as the Second Temple has also been destroyed. But, there’s another element to being sent that is noteworthy with the Spirit’s presence at Pentecost. As we go forth, we are yielding to the Lord of the Harvest, opting to be the labourers in that vineyard (see Matthew 9:35-38). The Lord of the Harvest was working in the waiting disciples, for Pentecost is harvest season. With Christ’s return possible at any time, we must ensure that we are strategically positioned to be sent to the field of God’s choice. It begins with us being at the place where God positions us to await God’s plan. Are we where we ought to be?

Point to Ponder

Is there any discord among us as believers that could affect our effectiveness as harvesters today? Let’s move forward in faith.

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May all we seek be found in Christ