Epistle for November 11, 2005
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Dr. Curt Scarborough, President
FreeWay Foundation November 11, 2005
Tarry Until Pentecost
(I Corinthians 16:8-9)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the words of the text
"I will TARRY in Ephesus until PENTECOST. For a great and EFFECTIVE door
has been opened to me, and there are many ADVERSARIES."
( I Corinthians 16:8-9)
II. Meditation: on the key words Paul used in this text
1. TARRY = a strengthened, intensive form of the word "abide" (John
15): to
persevere in abiding; expectant waiting combined with continuing spiritual
communion.
2. Pentecost = 50th day after Passover; the celebration day when the
Holy
Spirit empowered the church (Acts 2:1).
3. Effective = literally: "energetic" or "energized"; actively at
work producing
results, James 5:16; "powerful" as in Hebrews 4:12.
4. Adversaries = enemies; those who oppose or withstand a person.
III. Revelation: on the spiritual implications seen here
1. Tarrying is a prerequisite for receiving life and power. Jesus
commanded
the disciples to "abide" in Him (John 15). In Luke 24:49, He promised
believers that the Father would send the Holy Spirit, but that they should
tarry (continue abiding) until they were endued with power. This promise
was restated in Acts 1:4-5, 8.
2. Pentecost was an important day every year in Paul's calendar (Acts
20:16),
not just because it was a Jewish holiday. In fact, Pentecost took on great
spiritual meaning because of the day's significance to the Christian church.
In the text (I Corinthians 16:8), Paul again connects "tarrying" with
"Pentecost" . . . he expected a renewing of the Holy Spirit's power through
tarrying (waiting on and abiding in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.)
3. Paul's response to the great opportunity for evangelistic outreach
in the
city of Ephesus was to move through that open door under the powerful,
active, working ("effective") energy of the Holy Spirit. He "tarried" as
the
early church did; he received "Pentecostal power" (the Holy Spirit's
anointing) as they did; he "effectively" preached the gospel as Peter did
on the day of Pentecost.
4. Those "many adversaries" who opposed Paul's preaching and the
spread
of the gospel included Satan, our "adversary the devil (who) walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour," I Peter 5:8. The very
fact that we have spiritual enemies viciously attacking us bears witness to
and verifies that we are being used to accomplish the will of God,
II Timothy 3:12.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Tarry in the presence of Christ, abiding in Jesus, and waiting with
expectancy and confident hope for His promised spiritual blessings.
2. Pray for the Holy Spirit to anoint and fill me with His
(Pentecostal) power.
3. Effectively proclaim the gospel of Christ, confidently expecting
that people
will be saved and that lives will be transformed.
4. With courageous faith, stand faithfully and steadfastly against all
my
adversaries: the devil and those who follow the enemy of our souls.
(Dr. Curt
Scarborough, August, 2005
"Dates on a Tombstone"
Dr. Curt Scarborough
On the far side of the Benton, Illinois cemetery, near a row of cedar trees,
lie the
bodies of my father and grandfather. One headstone reads: "Alva C.
Scarborough
1887-1977; the other reads: "Curtis C. Scarborough - 1909-1953." Grandpa
lived 90
years; Dad only half that long . . . dying at the age of 44. Close by is my
final resting
place: "Curt Scarborough 1935-20__."I don't know what the other year carved
on
that stone will be, but God does.
Solomon observed that there is "A time to be born, and a time to die."
(Ecclesiastes 3:2) His father, David, wrote: "The days of our lives are
seventy years;
and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only
labor and
sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away," (Psalm 90:10) Job also
commented
on the brevity of life, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle . . .
my life is a breath."
(Job 7:6-7) And James asked, "What is your life? It is even a vapor that
appears for a
little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14)
Job further reflected upon a person's life-span set by God. "Man who is
born of
woman is of few days . . . He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he
flees like a
shadow and does not continue . . . Since his days are determined, the number
of his
months is with You (God); You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot
pass."
(Job 14:1-2, 5)
Jesus is a perfect example of this concept. Paul wrote of the Messiah's
birth:
"When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a
woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might
receive
the adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4-5) At age 12, already Jesus had some
perception of His divine destiny . . . to be about His Father's business,
Luke 2:49.
Christ always operated with a keen sense of divine timing. At the wedding
celebration in Cana, He exclaimed, "My hour has not yet come." When his
brothers derisively urged Him to show himself in Jerusalem, He said, 'My
time
has not yet come." But just before His arrest in Gethsemane, He prayed,
"Father, the hour has come." (John 2:4; 7:6; 17:1) His birth was
predestined by
the Father, just as was His death, because He is "the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8)
Prayer for the day: Lord, all our hours and years are in Your hand.
"So teach us to number our days, that we may
gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)
Pillsbury College & Seminary
Full Tuition Scholarships available for undergraduate
degrees (Bachelor of Biblical Studies) to the first 100
bi-vocational pastors who register in 2006.
You only pay a registration fee, graduation fee, and for
the text books used in the course ($20 per course)
Don't miss this once in a life time offer!
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If you have questions contact drcurt@pillsburycs.org or phone weekdays
1-314-739-1121 and speak to Dr. Curt Scarborough.
"How far that little candle throws his beams! /
So shines a good deed in a weary world."
-William Shakespeare
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