Written by Mark Driskill:
Tuesday November 16, 2010
Read Acts 2:1
We cry out for God to pour out His spirit upon us but are we in position for that to happen? In waiting for the Spirit to come the first disciples overcame obstacles that we face today. The first, as we see here, is the obstacle of space.
In verse one we read “they were all together in one place.” This is the issue of space. We see 120 men and women in a hot dusty upper room with no plumbing or electricity praying together without air conditioning, carpet, or even swivel chairs and a nice table to sit around. The city of Jerusalem is tightly packed together and the little room they were in likely didn’t allow for much personal space either. But they met there to wait on God, even when they weren’t exactly sure what they were waiting for. They knew it had something to do with a promise but beyond that all they knew was to wait and wait together.
In our lives one hindrance to revival and renewal is the issue of space. We struggle with the whole idea of coming together in one place. Even if we can manage to all get into the same place physically we struggle with being together spiritually. This one wants a revival based on signs and wonders. That one is looking for social justice as the real sign of God at work, while the other is praying for a return to some golden age of the past. No doubt the first disciples had their own opinions of what needed to happen in Jerusalem but somehow they managed to put their own ideas aside and simply ask God to show up in his own way. They managed to put away their personal preferences and agendas and just invite God to meet them. No doubt some wanted a moral revival, like the Pharisees, while others wanted a political change, like the Sadducees, and still others wanted a war, like the Zealots. But they put all that aside for the sake of seeking God together. Being together in one place meant that they all knew one thing; “God is our only hope and whatever he has for us is better than anything we want for ourselves.”
Friends let us come together in one place. We are no different from the first disciples, each having our own ideas of what revival is. Sometimes those ideas keep us from truly being in one accord. God wants to pour out his spirit afresh on a people who have put aside their preferences and want only God in whatever way he chooses to come. Where do we find that one place to stand? We find it at the foot of a cross where our true hope lies. Let us all , conservatives, liberals, charismatic and reformed, meet together in one place, the place of desperation where we all agree that on only God can satisfy.
Mark Driskill and his wife Mary are homeschooling community ministers in Breathitt County Kentucky. They have four children. They co pastor Emmanuel fellowship Church, serve as Camp Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Camp, and Mark Teaches at Oakdale Christian Academy. Mark is web minister for Begotten by the Word , a ministry of Helping Hands Christian Resources. Once a month he preaches on the local radio station through the “Lion of Judah” program.
Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.
Contact information:
Email: driskill@hillbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.
