NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, the sound level on this recording is very low.
We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting for things. We wait at the doctor's office, we wait for the bus or the train, we wait in traffic jams, and so on. Unfortunately, much of the time we spend waiting is wasted--surfing the web on our smartphones, reading old magazines, or maybe just twiddling our thumbs and fuming to ourselves.
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples had to wait ten days for Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They did not waste these ten days of waiting. They did the most important thing they could do--they prayed to the Lord to send the Holy Spirit. This waiting period taught the disciples that the strength they needed to preach the Gospel comes from the Lord, and from him alone.
Waiting is very much part of the lives of today's disciples, as well. We are waiting for Jesus to return in power, to make all things new. However, we are not to waste the time we spend waiting, just staring into the sky looking for him to return. Instead, we are to do the work our Lord commanded us to do. Just like the disciples, we get our strength from the Lord, and from him alone. We are to wait for the Lord, and to pray to him to send us the Holy Spirit.
To see this sermon in the context of the larger entire worship service, please open this bulletin.