Do We Need to Wait for the Spirit?

Mike Leake

Let’s imagine that you are attempting to do an in-depth study on the book of Acts. Today you are going to tackle Acts 1:1-5. You find yourself studying and applying Acts 1:4;

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father… –Acts 1:4

Clearly from this text we see that Jesus’ charge to his disciples—prior to his ascension and after his resurrection—was to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit before they took the gospel to the ends of the earth. So how do you apply this passage? What does this mean for the church of the 21st century?

The most obvious lesson for us to learn is that it is vital for us to wait on the Holy Spirit before doing things. The disciples needed the Spirit’s power before they were able to complete the mission of proclaiming the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We too would be fool-hearted to launch into mission without the Spirit’s powerful presence.

The Problem

The biggest difficulty with the above interpretation is that what Luke has written here is meant to be descriptive and not prescriptive. He’s telling his readers what happened, not what his readers ought to do in response. In fact if you keep reading through Acts you will discover that the apostles did receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And what is even more astounding is that when Gentiles become followers of Jesus they too receive the gift of the Spirit.

This means that the condition which Jesus mentioned in Acts 1:4 has already been fulfilled—always and forever. Therefore, believers do not need to sit around and wait for the “Spirit to come” before they engage in mission. He already has come.

The way, then, that we apply Acts 1:4 is to realize that the Spirit is vital to our mission. But we do not stop there. We celebrate the fact that Jesus has kept His promise and we have the indwelling Spirit. We have the Spirit that is needed to engage in the mission of Christ.

This isn’t permission to launch into out own missions, doing so upon a whim. This is permission to boldly engage in Christ-exalting mission because we know the Spirit is always present when Christ is exalted.

A Lesson

This little illustration shows why it is important to always read a text in its context; not only it’s immediate context but also read a text within it’s place in God’s unfolding story or redemption. If we fail to do this we will apply passages wrongly. We will find ourselves praying for things that God has already provided.

You and I don’t need to “wait on the Spirit” in the same way that the early apostles did. So let’s get busy.

Today in Blogworld 06.10.13

Mike Leake

What’s in “The Look”?

“The one who looks with lust has placed himself at the very center of the universe and functionally believes that others exist for his pleasure.”

No Whiners

“Nothing good comes from feeling sorry for myself when people don’t like my ideas, or misjudge my motives, or forget all the good I’ve done in the past.”

Is She Up For This? Questions for a Potential Pastor’s Wife

This is an important article.

Lay Aside the Weight of Sluggishness

Spiritual sluggishness has its roots in doubt. Jon Bloom gives some advice for laying aside our sluggishness. 

This is cool:

Painful Loss and Urgent Need for a Dear Brother & Sister in Christ

Mike Leake


My friend Brian and his wife Kassie are hurting right now. A few days ago Kassie wrote in response to John 5:

We’ve had some dark days lately. Honestly, sometimes we just don’t even know if a pool of healing exists for us. But something we do know is that a lot of you are lifting us up, and we really appreciate that. Eventually God will give us the comfort we yearn for, and we thank you for your part in pleading for us. 

One of those “dark days” is that Brian & Kassie are grieving the loss of their unborn child. This loss will be especially trying for the couple (and their three young children) because they are in Spain, away from family, serving the Lord.

To compound their problems they are without a vehicle. Now that’s not quite as bleak as it sounds. They do have funds available from their ministry fund to reimburse their travelling expenses. But what is happening is that a good chunk of their expenses are being soaked up because they have to buy train tickets or rental cars (which are quite a bit more pricey than here in the US).

I told Brian that it’d be easier to inspire people to help them with a car if I could tell people that they had to use pack goats to transport their young children. While that, thankfully, isn’t the case, their work is significantly hindered by a lack of personal transportation. As Brian told me, “it is a stewardship issue”.

Personally, I believe it will be vital for their healing to be able to “get away” from the crowded streets of Granada occasionally. They can’t do this at present. This family needs our help. Brian and Kassie are people that really love the Lord, they are raising three sweet children, and are attempting to share the gospel in a very dark place in Granada, Spain.

There are two ways that you can help. First and foremost dedicate to praying for this family. Pray for healing. Pray for a resolution to their car situation. And pray that the Lord would use them to further His kingdom in Granada, Spain.

Secondly, you can give. This gift is NOT tax-deductible because it will be for personal property. They need about $6,000 to get a dependable car for a family of five. Think outside the box. Don’t ask “what can I spare?”, ask “What it will take to get them a car?”

You can send checks to:

New Life Church
427 S. Highway 71
Anderson, MO 64831

In the memo-line be certain to put Brian & Kassie Car Fund

Let’s figure out a way to bless this family with a car.

The Gentleness of Jesus

Mike Leake

A couple days ago I shared a question that haunts men, young and old. Today, I want to tell you today about how gentle Jesus has been with me.

—

At a very early age I developed an unhealthy view of human sexuality. A whole combination of factors caused me to view sex as something that gave someone value and identity. Combine this with easily accessible pornography and the curiosity of young boys and I didn’t stand a chance.

At the age of 15 I committed what felt like the unpardonable sin. And I did it knowingly and willingly. I was not a victim of my circumstances. I knew that I was doing something wrong—but I didn’t care. What I desired more than the pleasure of God was the pleasure of creation. For me it had less to do with sex and more to do with identity and value. I had finally proven to myself, the world, and all my buddies that I wasn’t a loser.

I continued in this downward spiral for a couple of years. Then I was saved by Jesus.

On Being Chocolate Cake 

A flood of guilt washed over me. I sat through youth group lessons where we passed around a piece of chocolate cake where everybody would take a bite. At the end the leader would point to the disgusting looking, crumbled, and barely recognizable piece of cake and say—“who wants a bite now?” Nobody likes a chocolate cake once it has been passed around. In the same way nobody truly wants someone that has been “passed around”.

I was that chocolate cake.

As the gospel began taking root I learned that God starts over and rebuilds cakes. He makes me desirable again. What a relief. I was being built up into something beautiful; something desirable. I was a new creation. My past no longer had to haunt me. I wasn’t that half-eaten chocolate cake anymore. I was a new piece.

Then I fell again.

What now? Would Jesus rebuild that cake? Could I be made whole again? I struggled with all of these questions. And I struggled with them as I was going to school to prepare for ministry. I had a nagging sense of guilt and shame and worthlessness.

During this time I met my future wife. For the past year God had really been shaping me and changing my views of sexuality. I had grown leaps and bounds. But I still had the nagging guilt and the nagging questions. The goal in our relationship was purity. For the first time in my life I was in a relationship dedicated to godliness and purity in this area. I hoped to marry her.

One day in class all of my fears were confirmed. In an ethics class we were discussing sexuality. In that class the professor made this statement: “If you have engaged in sex outside of marriage you have forfeited every chance for a godly marriage!”

There it was. He had given voice to every fear that I had in my heart. I must have turned white as a ghost sitting in my chair, trying to hold back my sobbing. After what felt like an eternity in the purgatory of that Ethics class, we were finally dismissed. I ran back to my dorm room, feeling dirty, ashamed, and hopeless.

Washed

My only refuge felt like taking a shower. And there in the depths of that pain, Jesus welcomed me. The Spirit brought to my mind verses that I had memorized. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus…” “If any man is in Christ he is a new creation, behold the old has gone the new has come”… “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…”

I hadn’t forfeited any chance for a godly marriage. This was one of the most painful days of my life, but it was necessary. This was the day that I began actually believing that I was accepted. Had that professor not voiced that hellish view I doubt I would have been brave enough to confront those feelings below.

For the next several months I grew in understanding who I really am in Christ Jesus. The past seemed to lose its grip on me. During this time I married the girl that I supposedly had forfeited. In my case, true love didn’t wait—I blew it time and time again—but the Lord still provided for me the helpmate that he had created for me years before.

I’d be lying if I said that things from the past didn’t still occasionally haunt me, and those feelings of guilt and shame creep up from time to time. Like when I felt certain that the Lord would have my son be born with some sort of disease, just to teach me a lesson that sin has consequences. Jesus rescued me from those dumb thoughts as well.

It took years (maybe I should say it is taking years) for me to really feel and believe that I am deeply accepted and loved by Jesus. But I am and that truth is pretty firmly established in my heart.

End of story…right?

If you have stuck around—and I hope you have—this is actually where I show the gentleness of Jesus. It took about ten years for the Lord to uproot those feelings of guilt and shame from my past sin.

He began His gospel work by firmly planting my identity in Himself. By helping me see that I am forgiven…no matter what. That I am accepted by Him…no matter what. It took times of pain for him to accomplish this, but He has done it well. At times I’ve been brought to what felt like the pit only to be met with His loving acceptance.

Once he firmly established in my heart His love for me, THEN he began some deep gospel work. For almost ten years he didn’t really confront the idolatry in my heart. He very gently assured me of His love and care…

And then he started ripping me to shreds.

He started killing me. Rocking my worldview. Exposing my faulty identity. Taking it all away until I had nothing left. I had developed a view that I was sexually pure because I didn’t do the bad stuff. Through the Lord’s help I had conquered sexual immorality, pornography, and all of that. That is to be celebrated, but not rested upon. He kicked down this self-righteousness as well.

Purity isn’t simply not doing the bad stuff—it’s so much more. And here I began seeing that for ten years the Lord convinced me that He wants that tattered and broken and detestable chocolate cake. Once I became convinced of this the Lord gently began his work of throwing away that old cake and rebuilding something whole and new in its place.

The throwing away hurts. So does the rebuilding. But He has done it and is doing it. With the delicacy of a surgeon, the love of a Father, the gentleness of a Mother, the tenderness of a doting Husband, and the power of a resurrected Messiah, the Lord is making me whole.