Great Expectations
What expectations can we have? Should we have? Dare we have? I think it is okay for us to have certain expectations, after all I believe the Lord has some too!
We can see expectations…
From the Lord, for the saved
Watch and pray - Matt 26:36-46
Matt. 26:36-46 36Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
Stick and Stay - Jn. 6:60-69
John 6:60-69 60Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Put sin away - (from)Jn 8:11
… go, and sin no more.
We can find expectations…
From the church - for its members
Attendance for worship - Heb. 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Affection for fellow believers - 1 John 3:14-18
1 John 3:14-18 14We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Advancing of the cause - spread the word - Gadarean in Mk 5:19
…Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
We can see expectations…
From the unsaved - in our lives
Experience a taste of His reality in our lives - Acts 4:13b
and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Evidence of the difference salvation makes - Acts 16
Paul and Silas in jail sang hymns not call the bondman
Estimation of their worth - take time out for them
Woman at the well in John 4, the Gadarean in Mark 5, etc.
Christ also has great expectations…
For the Lost - He did not intend His death to be empty!
Acknowledge you are a sinner
Ask forgiveness from the Lord
Accept Him as your Lord and Saviour
Gary Marcum - New Beginnings Church - 042802am