Tuesday, September 28th, 2021
"For He says, and it happens; He commands, and it exists." (Psalm 33:9) When God says, He does. God always watches over His Word and He has His eyes fixed on those who are His. "For you will not deliver my soul to Sheol" (Psalm 16:10) God cannot abandon us. We are grateful to this Savior. It strengthens and encourages us. The Master Himself referred to this passage because this verse has a deep weight for each of us.
"As He was with them, He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, for what I had spoken to you, He said to them" (Acts 1:4) When God calls, He also gives obedience. When He said wait, they waited. God also works through patience.
Acts 1:3-8, 12-14
They were there, not playing cards, but in prayer. Card playing is not a good thing for Christians, it is attached to demons. Fortune tellers use cards, magicians use cards. They kept themselves in the blessed atmosphere because they were waiting for the promise. Your inner man is conditioned for that. Prayer had a big part for them.
God also made a promise to us, "I will prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) We, too, are waiting for the promise. God had given the disciples a place: Jerusalem. They could not be anywhere else. God does not change his way. In the days of Noah, God had provided a place to be saved. With Moses in Egypt, the people were to be gathered and have the blood on the lintels. God has made a promise to us. We must be conditioned for it. When you're predestined, your insides are conditioned, you're going to do everything to get there.
There was no distraction in the upper room, they persevered in prayer. But, you and I, how do we prepare ourselves? Pay attention because we don't know when the Lord is coming back. When He comes, you will cry! There is nothing that will remain. God is watching over His Word, He is going to fulfill it.
We have found it a grace that in this world of darkness with all possible distractions, God has revealed Himself to you. "All of us also were of their number" (Ephesians 2:3), it took God's grace to get out of that. Satan is really clever and cunning. His problem is not others but you. He only targets those who want to get out of his clutches. The disciples had not received anything but the truth. They had obedience to what the Master had said. The Holy Spirit followed the Word.
"When you see Jerusalem being taken over by armies, then know that its desolation is near." (Luke 21:20) All the Jews saw the Romans coming but for them it was usual. But why was it different for the disciples? It was not they, but the Holy Spirit who showed them this. When you walk with the Word, God has His eyes on you. "What do you see, Jeremiah? I said, 'I see an almond tree branch. And the Lord said unto me, Thou hast seen well; for I have kept my word, to do it." (Jeremiah 1:11-12) We have to be sure we have received the Word. If God says, then I do, no matter what the world says. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) From that point on, they had power. At Pentecost, they all received the Holy Spirit. The disciples did not pay attention to the people, they were said to be drunk. This is what we want for ourselves. Not the theory but the life. God still does because He is watching to fulfill His Word. "In the last days," says God, "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams." (Acts 2:17)
Acts 2:16-18
This was not for the time of Joel, but something had to happen before. God is perfect. "The Lord is not slow in fulfilling the promise, as some think, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but wanting all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) God is patient. Prophecy is going to be fulfilled but be patient because God is working, He is pruning during this time.
When God gives you patience, it is so that you may have patience also with others. "Therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. Bear with one another, and if one has cause to complain about another, forgive one another." (Colossians 3:12-13) To bear with is not to compromise. If the person is in the wrong, then tell them. The wrong spirit always influences more. When someone has an evil spirit, they always think they are superior and you can't say anything. But when you have the Spirit of God don't go in there. Pray for the person to open their eyes. God has not called us to condemn people but to pray and forgive. Love that person and surround them. If the person is of God, they will change; but if they are not of God, they will run away. Let's not fall into the trap. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this dark world, against evil spirits in high places." (Ephesians 6:12) I must be above demons. "After that God spake in time past in many ways unto our fathers by the prophets," (Hebrews 1:1) But today God speaks to everyone.
Here Peter places something important and central. We see these people who were to be in the court, we see them in the Most Holy Place because God is there. We are clothed to go into the Most Holy Place. The veil has been torn. The people could be in the Holy Place because they were sanctified. Then in the Most Holy Place because they received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus changed the course of history. He simply walked, He was despised but He made history. "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:10) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim a year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19) If we could realize what God has done for us. God can never fail. Everything God does is perfect. When He was at the Cross, He said, "It is finished," so it is finished for us. "For by one offering He has brought to perfection forever those who are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14) You can't be imperfect. When you are of God, you must come to perfection because God has made it possible. I don't rely on myself but on what God has said. If God has said it, He will fulfill it.
There can be no animosity among us, but only love. God has given us brothers and sisters. "Behold, oh, how pleasant, how sweet it is for brothers to dwell together! ... For there the Lord sends blessing, life, forever." (Psalm 133: 1 and 3)