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
 
 
I believe many genuine Christians in our day are in grave danger! It’s the danger of treating the Lord’s order as an option, opinion or a mere suggestion. How many take the above instruction seriously? Where are you on this one, dear saint, in these last days?
 
Observe that in anticipation of the imminent Outpouring, the Lord Jesus issued a twofold command to His disciples. The first part was a PROHIBITION! It was about what NOT to do. Scripture here states categorically that Jesus commanded the disciples not to leave Jerusalem yet. How many lives have been ruined because some zealous but unprepared disciple was presumptuous? How much damage is happening in Christendom nowadays because of ministers, members and leaders who have jumped the gun? Lord have mercy!
 
The second part of the command the Lord Jesus gave the disciples was in the form of a PERMISSION. It was about what to do in preparation for the Outpouring. He instructed them to WAIT for the Promise of the Father. He assured them that the waiting wasn’t going to be indefinite. It was going to happen “not many days from now”. The same applies to us beloveds. If we are truly hungry and thirsty for the Holy Spirit, we are guaranteed a breakthrough “not many days from now”.
 
If anyone had a good excuse not to wait for the Spirit baptism, the first apostles had a few! For three whole years they had sat at the feet of the greatest leader, prophet, pastor, mentor, teacher, trainer and professor. They had been deployed on short term missions with phenomenal results. They had healed the sick, cast out devils and led many to Christ. They knew the Scriptures. They genuinely loved the Lord and had left everything in order to follow Him. They had lived with the Son of God on close quarters for years. They had remarkable ministerial experience. Their spiritual CVs were quite impressive.
 
Yet Jesus expressly commanded them to wait! The same applies to you, my friend. No amount of education, experience, exposure or intelligence is a substitute for the direct baptism in the Spirit. Don’t settle for less. Don’t be satisfied with your knowledge of the Bible. Don’t assume that your duration in church can be a substitute for a fresh anointing. Believe you me, such was my story. But the Lord instructed me not to take shortcuts. I couldn’t rely on my late mightily anointed father’s encounter. I had to wait for my own Pentecost. I’m so glad I did. And I still do. How about you?
 
Pastor Josh