We continue in our series on discovering your destiny and today we are thinking about Exceeding your expectations.
What are your expectations?
Specifically, what are your expectations of God and what are your expectations of yourself this morning?
Consider these words from Ephesians chapter 3:
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NLT)
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
(Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV)
God is able to accomplish infinitely more or do exceeding abundantly more than we can ask or think.
Matthew Henry commenting on this truth wrote:
“There is an inexhaustible fullness of grace and mercy in God, which the prayers of all the saints can never draw dry. Whatever we may ask, or think to ask, still God is still able to do more, abundantly more, exceedingly abundantly more. Open your mouth ever so wide, still he has the wherewithal to fill it.”
What are your expectations?
God is able to do more in your life and mine than we can hope or think or imagine.
There may be many things we can not do in our own strength or our own ability as Jesus said in Matthew 19:26 “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
When we pray according to God’s will all things are possible.
Perhaps our problem when we pray is we often put limits on what God can do.
Often we can think our problem or circumstance or situation is beyond the scope of God’s ability.
If we think that our problems are bigger than God is able or willing to handle,
then we show a lack of faith in the God who loves us and cares for us.
A lack of faith may make us expect far less than God is willing to do.
Yet the Word of God is clear when it tells us to expect God to answer when we pray in faith.
Listen to these verses to encourage your expectation:
Matthew 18:19- “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
Matthew 21:22 - You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
Mark 11:24 - I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.
John 14:13 - You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
John 15:7 - But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
John 15:16 - You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.
John 16:23-24 - At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and He will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
James 1:5-6 - If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
James 1:17 - Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
1 John 3:22 - And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.
1 John 5:14-15 - And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.
Friends, when we pray, we need to pray in faith and we need to expect God to do infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think or imagine.
Be honest, when you pray, are there things you think about, that you do not pray about because you are worried that God will not answer?
Are there things that you do not pray about because in your heart you don’t want God to answer your prayer?
What? Let me give a couple of examples:
If the thought of sharing your faith with other people scares you, you may choose not to pray for God to provide opportunities to share the truth of Jesus with others.
If you are comfortable being in a small church where everybody knows your name, you will never pray for God to grow your church.
The truth is we may expect many things of God, but He also expects us to be willing to follow His purpose for us, our church and our community.
We need to pray in faith, trusting God, obedient to His plans, His precepts, His will.
We can expect God to answer prayer in the right way at the perfect time.
One thing God keeps teaching me through prayer is patience. His timing is perfect in every situation.
God will act at the right time and He is willing to do far more than we ever ask, or think, or imagine.
What is going on in your life right now that needs a touch from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
Your health... your relationships... your family...
your work... your prayer life... your faith...
your daily walk... your witness for our Lord.
Don’t try and carry it on your own, don’t let it draw your attention away from God.
Joseph Scriven wrote some very appropriate words in his hymn ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’:
What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer!
Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstances, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Pray and ask God to speak, to act, to move, to bless.
Pray in faith and expect God to move.
Here is another question:
How big is your expectation of God?
When you pray do you limit your expectation of what God can do?
Are you praying for someone in your family who as yet does not know God?
Are you praying in faith that God will change their heart? Or have you given up praying for that person because your expectation is they will never turn to Jesus and be saved?
The Bible is clear when it says God can do infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Don’t let your expectations limit your prayers.
Don’t limit what God can and will do!
Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:20,
“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
Throughout the Bible, we can read of many people who dared to ask God to do make the impossible possible.
God answered their prayers.
Maybe in your own life you have experienced God doing the impossible.
When you thought there was no hope,
when you thought the odds were against you,
when you thought it was impossible for circumstances to change,
when you expected the worst,
God stepped in and everything changed.
God stepped in and did infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think or imagine.
God is almighty, God is incredible, God’s mighty power works miracles in this world every single day.
God’s love and mercy is poured out into our lives every day; we are His children; our salvation is secure and certain in Jesus Christ; we are empowered by the Holy Spirit; God listens when we come to Him in prayer, God answers prayer.
God can exceed our expectation in every area of our everyday lives.
As I was reflecting on this message, God laid an important truth on my heart to share with you:
We must always make time to pray.
It is equally important for us to pray in times of joy as well as times of trouble.
Romans 12:12 simply tells us we should:
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying (Romans 12:12)
This is an essential command for each of us to follow isn’t it.
In good times and bad we are to speak to God,
we are to draw near to Him,
grow in our relationship with Him.
We can have a confident and expectant hope in God.
The fact that you are here this morning suggests that you have hope in God,
it suggests you want to know more of God,
that you want to draw closer to Him,
that you want to be in a real relationship with Him,
that you are expect God to be active in your life today.
How is your relationship with God?
Have you felt His presence and experienced His touch upon your life today?
When you woke up this morning was it with an expectant heart?
Were you thrilled by the thought that God would work in you and through you today?
Did you come to church today with an expectant heart?
Expecting to worship God...
Expecting to feel His presence...
Expecting to the Word of God speak into your life...
Expecting to see miracles...
Expecting to see lives changed and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit...
Expecting to be uplifted, refilled, renewed, restored, revitalized...
Expecting revival...
Did you come to church today expecting infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think or imagine?
Final point:
What is God’s expectation of you?
As disciples of Jesus, God expects our daily commitment to Him.
God expects us to trust Him.
God expects us to follow Him.
God expects us to love Him.
God expects us to serve Him.
God expects us to speak to Him in prayer.
God expects us to learn more about Him.
God expects us to think about the things of God.
God expects us to tell others about Him.
God expects us to give Him first place in our lives.
God expects many things of each and every one of us.
Are you meeting God’s expectation of you?
One more thing God expects is for us to fill our minds and our hearts with God’s word.
There was a young girl called Rebecca who told her mother that her stomach hurt.
Her mother replied, “That’s because it’s empty. Maybe you should try putting something in it.”
The next day, a friend came to their house for lunch.
The friend seemed in pain and said she had a very bad headache.
Rebecca quickly said, “That’s because it’s empty. Maybe you should try putting something in it.”
Just as we need to regularly pray in faith and expectation, we also need to regularly fill our minds and our hearts with God’s word.
Let’s be honest, there are parts of the Bible we skim over, things like the seemingly endless lists of people in the book of Numbers, or the genealogies that tell us this one begat that one, that one begat the other.
Then there are parts that we read but don’t fully comprehend, perhaps all of us have struggled at one time or another with the book of Revelation.
Then there are the parts of the Bible that we love to read,
words that bring comfort,
words that bring assurance,
words that bring encouragement,
words of promise that you claim for yourself,
examples of answered prayer,
and words that help us grow our expectation of what God is able to do.
I will close with a final encouragement to all of us, the verse we began with Ephesians 3:20-21 from
The Message paraphrase says this:
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!
(Ephesians 3:20-21 The Message)
Amen and Amen!
Let’s pray.
