WAITING BRINGS POWER

In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples:

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

In other words, He was saying, "Wait and you'll receive the power that comes from on high when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Don't you try to go out and do mighty works until you've received that power." And they knew that if they didn't wait that they weren't going to have power. So His disciples waited, and they did what He told them to do.
Now this isn't just something His disciples should do. It is a principle that applies to us today. It is a spiritual law. Once again I'm not saying, "Don't step out in faith"; I'm saying to actively wait for the promises of God by listening for what He is telling us to do instead of running out there and doing something in the flesh. We must wait for the promises of God.

Ishmael was the child of Abraham and Sarah's fleshly works. Ishmael was a man of war. Genesis 16:11,12 says of Ishmael: "And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. and he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethern." But the child of promise was Isaac which means laughter.
We can get an Ishmael any time we want, but if we want an Isaac, we will have to wait because we have to wait for the promises of God. And don't forget that when we get impatient waiting and have an Ishmael instead, we may spend the rest of our life changing his diapers! So let's us think twice before we decide to rush ahead of God's timing. If we wait, we will receive what God has promised with power. Amen!