Mark’s sermon on the Holy Spirit this morning looked at how our attitudes matter enormously to seeing God move among us. If we approach God with the ‘bus stop syndrome‘, we are likely to come before Him with low expectations and desire, wondering if God will actually turn up (after all, buses don’t always…) or if we have somehow missed all He wants to do (we can miss the bus…) or if He will force us to do things we don’t want to do. We may well wonder how much longer it will take for the Holy Spirit to come or how long we have to wait, or even if we need the Holy Spirit anymore. These attitudes will hinder us, for often those who wait for buses do so with a complaining attitude, whereas God does not force Himself on anyone, but comes to those who genuinely hunger and thirst for God and who actively seek HIm.
Acts 1:4-8 gives us Jesus’s directed to His disciples as to what to do; they were commanded to wait in Jerusalem until the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit. Definite promises were made to them (that they would be baptised in the Spirit, that they would all receive power and be witnesses to Jesus.) The fact that we celebrate Pentecost at all is partly because of their obedience to this command to wait on God.
Instead of the bus stop syndrome, we need to ‘call for the cops’ (Acts 1:14): Continue in One accord (demonstrating unity) in Prayer and Supplication. God wants us to have a real desire for Him and to plead with Him, often with tears and emotion, if we are to see God pour out His Holy Spirit.
Waiting for God is not something we usually enjoy, any more than we enjoy waiting for a bus! Ps 27:13-14 reminds us that as we see God doing things and witness His goodness, we can be strong and take heart as we wait for Him. Is 40:31 reminds us that those who wait for (and hope in) the Lord will renew their strength and soar like eagles. We’re not supposed to be on a bumpy bus journey, but need to be waiting at the airport, for God to allow us to fly!
Lam 3:24-26 reminds us that the Lord is good to those who wait for Him and whose hope is in Him. He changes our souls as we seek Him, restoring and recharging us, always turning up at the right time to take us where we need to go. Is 25:9 reminds us that as we wait and trust in God, He will save us and we will see great things. The key to seeing the Spirit move in our midst is in our attitudes. Let’s ditch the bus stop syndrome and adopt the COPS syndrome instead!