"Wait" Room.

"There is a time when people realize... that there is nothing more important than to seek the Lord until He comes" (Pastor Sam, during the first service's sermon this past Sunday.)

The disciples went to Jerusalem, as they were told, and they prayed. They did not put God under a time constraint, nor did they give Him a deadline. They waited, and they prayed.

My friends, remember the admonition from the sermon: we dare not attempt to handle the things of God without first waiting on Him in prayer! There are many instances where persons have "ministered" through preaching, music, teaching, or serving, but it has been done without the anointing of the Holy Spirit- and in the ensuing years there has been the indictment of no fruit resulting from the work that was done.

First Corinthians reminds us that all our work is tried by fire: "the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (see First Corinthians 3:10-15). The third chapter reminds us of the necessity of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the importance of humility, and the danger of engaging in a "cult of personality" situation where we are exalting men instead of exalting Jesus.

As Pastor Sam said on Sunday, "prayer is the proof of dependence on God, not ourselves": a concrete, obvious expression. When we approach God through prayer, in a spirit of humility, and with an understanding that we cannot place God on a timetable, we experience this grace of intercession. We come to God, we 'ask, seek, and knock' (Matthew 7:7), and we remain in His presence until His Spirit equips and empowers us to do the work of His choosing.

Friends, let us not end our days with the realization that our work was nothing but wood, hay, and stubble. I pray we will all wait patiently, and pray earnestly, to the glory of God.