Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Madison Church Online. I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor, and today we are stepping into a brand new series called In the Waiting, and we're going to go to the book of Acts, which you might think would be after Luke. For some of you theology nerds who grew up in the church, you know that Luke wrote both of these, but it actually isn't. I'll talk about that some other time. I don't have a lot of time to unpack that, but you're going to go from Luke to John and then to Acts is where we're going today. But how did we get here? I mean, if you just jumped into Madison Church, let's say even the last year, you have not been part of this whole journey through Luke with us, because we've been in it for almost two years now. Well, last Sunday we celebrated Easter and we concluded our study through Luke. It was about the resurrection of Jesus, the culmination of those, verse by verse and word by word, this journey with Jesus through Luke's gospel. And to recap briefly, god broke the silence with a Savior who entered our world not in power but in vulnerability and hope. And then we read how Jesus was filled with the Spirit and tested in the wilderness. That showed us that real power comes through surrender. Jesus invites ordinary people to find their place in God's kingdom, and then he set his face toward Jerusalem, teaching that impact is marked by compassion, presence and prayer. And then, in our most recent series, we talked about how not even compassion, presence and prayer. And then, in our most recent series, we talked about how not even betrayal, suffering and death could stop Jesus. He rose again, bringing that hope that no power on earth could silence. And that was it. That was the last two years. We just did it in 20 seconds Could have saved all sorts of Never mind.

Speaker 1: 1:42

Today we're moving into the second half of Luke's writing. This is a continuation of Luke's gospel, so we should think about this as one story with two parts. Now I want to point out at the very onset of this study, as we're going to go now two years through Acts Acts is not a new story, it's not a different story. It is the continuation of the story that we have been in, and in that first story he describes what Jesus began to do and to teach. These were the opening signs, or signals, if you will, that something is important is happening, and as we go into Acts now, we're told that Jesus's work did not end with the resurrection or ascension, that it was just getting started. It was just getting started.

Speaker 1: 2:30

Luke writes in my first book, theophilus I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. So if you got done last week and read the Easter story and Jesus is alive and he raised from the dead, you might think, well, the story's over. But Luke is saying no, it's just beginning. Actually, and to the early readers, those people who converted to Christianity, who believed in Jesus after the resurrection not before his death, but after the resurrection predominantly Jewish and Gentile believers this would have been deeply encouraging, Because you would have. If you were walking with Peter, james and John. You were walking with people who walked with Jesus. You might feel lesser than these other folks, wouldn't you? I mean, they walked with Jesus, they heard Jesus, they got to witness it and I'm just kind of coming in at the tail end of something, but through the Spirit, luke assures them you are still part of the story, you are still part of the ongoing mission. You are not just remembering something that happened in the past, but you are participating in a present reality and we can find ourselves in a similar state today.

Speaker 1: 3:50

I mean, the series is called In the Waiting. We're talking about what happened from the time Jesus overcame death to the time that the Holy Spirit comes, a season of waiting. And I know from many of your prayer requests, from just conversations that we have over coffee, a lot of you are also waiting. You're waiting for a breakthrough of some kind. You're waiting for healing, maybe physical or emotional, or something in your family. You're waiting for what's next. God, I'm so eager to hear from you. What do you want me to do? And you feel paralyzed. But their waiting wasn't wasted, and neither is ours. See, a waiting season isn't a wasted one. God uses seasons of waiting to confirm what's true and to prepare us for what's coming. Okay, if you find yourself in a waiting season today, god uses that season to confirm what is true and to prepare you for what is next. And we live in a world not unlike theirs, as we look globally at what's going on Uncertainty, division, everyone desperate for hope and Jesus invites them. Remain in the waiting season. Step in to this ongoing mission, but not by your own strength, fueled by the same spirit and power that raised Jesus from the dead.

Speaker 1: 5:27

Luke zooms in on what happened in those crucial days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension. We read in verse 3, time to time. And he proved to them in many ways that he actually was alive and he talked to them about the kingdom of God. Once, when he was eating with them, he commanded them do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised. As I told you before, john baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1: 6:04

So Jesus spends a little bit more than a month with his disciples and he's doing the normal human things that he did before he died. He's eating with them, he's teaching them and he's proving to them he's really alive. And I kind of found that, as I read it, kind of humorous, because you can imagine you saw Jesus die and then he's back and he's eating. Can you just imagine, like the ninth time you're having a meal with Jesus and you're like, is this really happening? Like the ninth, 10th time? How ridiculous would it be? But like Jesus keeps engaging them in their doubts and their questions and it doesn't seem like he's rushing them beyond their grief or their confusion. It's in the waiting season he meets them and embraces them in it. Jesus knows that in waiting seasons we don't need inspiration, we need deep soul level assurance that can only come from above, soul assurance that he truly did defeat death and that he can do anything else.

Speaker 1: 6:59

Now, many of them, the disciples they were afraid, confused and even ashamed after the crucifixion and Jesus' appearances to them. Those weren't random miracles, they were acts of restoration. With every meeting, every conversation, every meal shared, he was rebuilding their faith, their courage and their calling. But he was also preparing them for what was to happen next. But he was also preparing them for what was to happen next.

Speaker 1: 7:29

Verse four tells us that Jesus commanded them. That's not a suggestion, that's a command. Do not leave Jerusalem, do not leave the waiting. My command is that you stay waiting. The word Luke uses for commanded was a military order. So you're thinking about like, how big of a deal did Jesus say he'll want you to wait? It was a military order. There were no ifs, ands or buts, there was no questions about it. It was not optional, it was mission critical. And that command was to do two things Wait. Wait in Jerusalem for the promised gift the Holy Spirit and then go. Before they could go, they had to wait. If you find yourself in a waiting season today, you're not being punished for something you did wrong. It's not some cosmic spanking. Sometimes it's. You're in the right place, you're doing the right things.

Speaker 1: 8:28

The disciples were exactly where God wanted them to be, in Jerusalem. And he says now, hold on. Oh, you're going to go, it's going to happen, it's going to be remarkable. But first we're going to do some unremarkable things. First, because Jesus knew that what he was calling them to the vision that he had, not just for their lives, not just for his community, but for the kingdom of God and earth, that they would not be able to do it by their strength alone. He knew that they would face persecution, hardship, enormous cultural barriers. They would need more than conviction. Okay, hear this. The disciples would need more than conviction. They would need more than conviction. Okay, hear this. The disciples would need more than conviction. They would need more than faith and they would need more than belief. Alone, they would not have gotten through what they were going to be put up against. Jesus knew they needed power. And if there was no spirit, there was no power. And if there was no spirit, there was no power and that meant there could be no fundamental transformation.

Speaker 1: 9:31

Now look again what Jesus says says John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And as we were getting started in Luke's gospel, I said you know, for those of you who want to dive deep, just circle, every time Luke says spirit or Holy Spirit, because it is a recurring theme in Luke's writings and this word to baptize in the Greek it was to immerse, to dip fully under the water, is to be completely covered in something. And Jesus was saying you're not just going to get a little touch of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit isn't going to come and pat you on the back or high you is. The Holy Spirit was going to come and take over from the inside out, top, bottom, everything, fully immersive, fully covered in the fullness of God's Spirit.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Luke uses language like this all the time to paint the picture. He doesn't just use baptized, to be fully immersed in the Spirit. He talks about being clothed with power. The clothes, just as your clothes, cover you, the Holy Spirit is going to clothe you in power. And he says you're going to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So Luke is grabbing from all sorts of analogies, which is just to say the Holy Spirit is going to be all-consuming, every part of your life. And this baptism is not just symbolic. It's not just symbolic, it's an experience, it's God's presence and it's God's power, meant to change everything about our lives.

Speaker 1: 10:58

And, of course, the disciples they do what they normally do, which is completely miss the point. We keep reading. So the apostles they're with Jesus and they kept asking him. Keep reading. So the apostles they're with Jesus and they kept asking him Lord, and this question is you can't even believe it. Has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom? How many times are we going to ask this question and have Jesus redirect the conversation? Jesus replied the Father alone has authority to set those dates and times and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power. Here's the redirect. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Again, the disciples though Jesus is like the Holy Spirit's coming, you just got to wait and when the Holy Spirit comes, you're going to go.

Speaker 1: 11:47

And is that when Israel gets put back on top? They wanted certainty, they wanted a timeline, they wanted comfort and, in their mind, their community, the biggest thing, was to be restored politically so their lives could go back to normal. But Jesus redirects them. It's not about knowing the timeline, it's about receiving the power they would need for what is ahead. Now, you and I, we can laugh and joke about how could these disciples keep asking questions about Israel's return to power.

Speaker 1: 12:29

But that human instinct, what's making them ask the question you struggle with, because I struggle with it and I know from talking to you, we all struggle with it. What am I talking about? Certainty. We crave certainty. We want safety, not just physical safety, but psychological safety. We want safety, not just physical safety, but psychological safety, spiritual safety. And we want simple answers. What's the time and date? How do we get there? When do I take a left? When do I take a right? When do I stop? When do I go? And Jesus oftentimes redirects us. He says I know, I know, I know you want that, but only God knows these things and it's not for you to know no clear timelines, but it will give you power in the meantime.

Speaker 1: 13:20

Everything in Acts that we are going to read about the miracles, the sermons, the church's growth, it all flows out of this one promise you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And if we, today in Madison, watching or listening online from wherever you're at if we want to live the kind of life that Acts is going to describe and I think it's the most attractive kind of Christian life that we can see or experience we have to hold two things together and naturally, based on who you are, you're going to drift to one side or the other, but we need both. And the first thing that we need is objective truth. We need objective truth. Becoming a Christian starts with believing the truth about Jesus he lived, he died, he rose again, he is the Lord. Following him means growing deeper in that truth, learning, studying and understanding more of who God is and what he's done. But that's not all. So, again, some of you, you really resonate with that, some of you don't. Some of you resonate more with personal experience, and that's the other side of this coin. It's the lived reality of God's spirit filling us, empowering us and leading us. Jesus didn't just give the apostles more information. He didn't just throw a manual at them or drop a map and then peace out. He empowered them and he led them through experience. He ate with them, he was with them, he did the human things. He prepared them for an encounter with the living God, and I love that. And that experience isn't just reserved for certain traditions or a time period long ago. It's reserved for all believers of all time. Everywhere Throughout Christian history, believers have described the Spirit's work in different ways and because at Madison Church a non-denominational church, I know you all have a variety of faith backgrounds and so talking about the Holy Spirit, depending on your background, might be making you really uncomfortable right now, and some of you, depending on your background, are ready to jump on your seat and start clapping for me, right, and then we're just going to all kind of live in that tension right now.

Speaker 1: 15:39

But throughout Christian history and through your backgrounds, the Holy Spirit has been emphasized in different ways. Some emphasize that the Holy Spirit's role is to produce holiness and sanctification. I'm going to be a better person. The Holy Spirit's going to help me do the right things and help me stop doing the wrong things. Some religious traditions emphasize that the Spirit's power is for bold witness and spiritual gifts, specifically charismatic gifts, and others emphasize the Spirit's strength to serve whoever God calls. Well, god's going to call you to be a missionary in Madison, or missionary in China, and wherever God's called you, his Spirit's going to empower you to be a missionary. I don't think you have to choose one.

Speaker 1: 16:23

From where I sit, I think Acts is going to make the argument that all of these things are important and happen. I believe it all matters. You see, baptism of the Holy Spirit isn't about fitting into one box. I'm not going to sit up here and say this is exactly what your experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit should be like. You can read blogs on that or watch YouTube videos. A lot of people have set off to do that. I want to do something different. I want to convince you, regardless of how you grew up in the church. I want to convince you to be open to the full experience of God's presence, holiness and power, gifts, service, transformation.

Speaker 1: 17:08

The challenge for us is to not settle for knowing facts about God without experiencing God in his fullness. That's why we do the music and the different things through creative arts. It's not just about coming here and getting more facts about God and hearing more Bible stories, but it's about experiencing God and when the band is up here or when we're praying or when we partake in communion together, these different elements, it's about experiencing God. And when the band is up here or when we're praying or when we partake in communion together, these different elements, it's about experiencing God. I don't want you to just know God, I want you to know God. Aw Tozer once said the spirit-filled life is not a special deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for his people. Every Christian is invited to experience the fullness of the Spirit, not just to know about it, not just to read about it happening to someone else.

Speaker 1: 18:07

Next week we're going to talk about Peter. Not just about Peter, but for you to live a spirit-empowered life, full of God's presence, power and mission. So a few simple steps that you could take to live that out this week. The first thing is maybe just spend some time just reading Acts 1 and 2 this week. If you're looking to pick a Bible up this week and start doing a devotion or reading the Bible, let's just start with Acts 1 and 2. Don't go beyond that. Just read a couple verses here and there. Perhaps it's not part of your devotional life. That's okay. I know many of you already have something in place.

Speaker 1: 18:44

But what would it take for you to then say, hey, every morning I'm going to pray. Holy Spirit, fill me today, lead me to your mission, god, I want to experience the fullness of you. Are you willing to pray that? And maybe, most importantly, will you respond? I've talked about kind of how we made up our hour together, our gathering, and we do it with music and we end with communion. But the reason we end with communion is for that response, because discipleship isn't just about learning things, it's not just about experiencing God, but it is about doing something. And so we stop and we respond, even in small ways.

Speaker 1: 19:21

Acts is going to show us a world absolutely transformed by the Holy Spirit. The question for you and me today is are we willing to be part of it? Are we willing to be transformed? Do not live the Christian life on your own strength. Do not hope things will get better if you just try a little harder. None of these things are things Jesus promised. The early church didn't change the world because they had better information, better Bible studies, they weren't involved in more small groups. They changed the world because they were filled with the Holy Spirit again, immersed in God's presence and empowered for his mission.

Speaker 1: 20:04

I think about when we started Madison Church back in 2014. We had visions, we had dreams, all these things that the church could be. We had visions, we had dreams, all these things that the church could be. But, most importantly, like my heart, as the person kind of leading this, was that Madison Church would be the kind of church we read about in Acts. We would be a spirit-filled community where lives are changed and transformed. And it's been good. I mean we're coming up on 11 years. It's been good, but many of you know it's also been hard Not bad, but definitely hard at times.

Speaker 1: 20:39

There have been seasons where we have felt stuck, where we have felt like we are in this waiting season and perhaps we're just going to be in a waiting life. Seasons where let me paint a better picture for you seasons where we would pray and pray and pray and those prayers would just seemingly go unanswered Selfless prayers God, do something here, all about your glory and what you want to do. There are times where the path was unclear. I don't know if you know this, but sometimes there's not a good and a bad option, it's a bad and a worse option, and sometimes there's just two bad options or two worse options and you're like God are we missing something here? Are we so far out of your will that there's no good thing to choose?

Speaker 1: 21:25

The only thing that has kept us going I truly believe this at Madison Church, whether it's our leadership referring to me, my family, our community the only thing that has kept us going has been the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We've been living in the waiting, and not as a theory, but out of obedience, and I can confidently say that God has been faithful throughout all of it. I can confidently say he's shaped Madison Church to be the church we are today, and not just a gathering on Sunday mornings, but your life and what you do with the rest of your time. That I don't see, that the person next to you doesn't see, but what you do with the rest of it. That is how God is shaping and preparing and sustaining us, and it continues to get better. Look, you don't have to manufacture anything when it comes to a spirit-filled life, and I don't have to force anything. We just have to be open together and individually, open to a deeper work of God in us, open to being prepared for what he would have for us to embrace being an empowered people who are sent at this time to Madison, wisconsin, because the Holy Spirit is essential to our mission and the mission is critical to our understanding of the Holy Spirit. We have to keep them together, mission and Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1: 22:51

You were never meant to follow Jesus alone. You were never meant to carry the weight of your calling alone. You were never meant to figure out life and faith and purpose on your own. And I'm not even about to say you're supposed to do those things through community and you are. But we're supposed to do those things with the Holy Spirit, with the Spirit of God in us, immersed in the Spirit's power and love. And this isn't just Acts 1. This is all over the New Testament.

Speaker 1: 23:19

Paul writes since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. It's just more proof that the Spirit isn't how we start the Christian life. It isn't. I say a little prayer and God moves into my little heart and he shuts his little door. But it is that the Spirit will continue to fill me day in and day out and moment by moment, and in seasons of waiting and in seasons of thriving and living on mission. And just imagine as Madison Church keeps walking into it. You don't always have to imagine.

Speaker 1: 23:55

We talked about some of the things that we're doing. Some of you have been here for some of the things that we've done, but we are a church community where people don't just talk about Jesus. We live in that power and that boldness that can only be explained by being a people filled with the Spirit. We're a faith community where I've heard it over and over again, especially a lot recently, that love is tangible, that prayer here is powerful, that the generosity of this community is contagious and hope is breaking into ordinary lives. Perhaps your situation and circumstances haven't changed from the time you came to Madison Church, but a lot of you are saying, but something inside of me is changing. Out there might not be changing, but in, here is. That's the invitation, that's what's possible. This is our vision, but it starts with us waiting on God and receiving His Spirit so that we can step out in faith and do as those first disciples did. And we'll continue this story next week.