“‘And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.'” Luke 24:49 (ESV)
Jesus instructed the believers to wait in Jerusalem until they had received what His Father had promised, namely, power from on high. Jesus had to ascend back to the Father so that He could send the Counselor, the promised Holy Spirit (John 16:7). Yet, Jesus did not give them an exact time or date for the Holy Spirit’s arrival. They had to wait!
- “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)
The 120 believers waited ten days to be clothed with power from on high (Acts 1:15). Have you ever wondered why it took ten days? During that time, they replaced Judas by adding Matthias to the eleven apostles (Acts 1:26). But why did it take ten days? Perhaps the 120 believers had some internal issues to resolve. Maybe they had to confess sin and remove jealously, bitterness, and envy. Maybe it took ten days to come to the place of complete unity as a community of Christ-followers.
Are you currently waiting for God to reveal His next step for your life? Is there anything in your life that God wants you to deal with before He shows you what’s next? Ask the Lord to search your heart (Ps. 139:23).
Drawing Near,
Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell