Sermon Central
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Expecting The Best
Contributed by Joel Santos on Sep 26, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: The Law of Expectations says that, basically, we get what we expect out of life. We tend to see what we expect to see, we tend to feel what we expect to feel, we tend to act the way we expect to act, and eventually, we tend to achieve what we expect to ac
Most people never take advantage of God’s abundant resources. Eph. 3:20 in the Amplified Version says, "God is able to do superabundantly, far over and above, all that we dare ask or think. Infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thought, hopes, or dreams."
We never tap into the tremendous resources that God has made available to us.
Matthew 9:29 said: "According to you faith, it will be done to you." The key to unlocks all God wants to do in your life is really simple: It’s Faith.
The Law of Expectations says that, basically, we get what we expect out of life. We tend to see what we expect to see, we tend to feel what we expect to feel, we tend to act the way we expect to act, and eventually, we tend to achieve what we expect to achieve. Your expectations influence your happiness, they influence your health. Your expectations influence your relationships.
I. TWO APPROACHES TO LIFE
There are two approaches to life and you get the choice. You can choose to life by fear, or you can choose to live by faith. You can be an optimist, or you can be a pessimist. By faith or by fear.
Job was sometimes a pessimist, and in Job 3:25, he says, "Everything I fear and dread comes true." You know anybody like that? They focus on what they don’t want, not what they do want.
Paul on the other hand, was an optimist. And in Phil. 1:20, he says, "I live in eager expectation while I’m going through all these trials." He was an optimist. He could be cheerful even when life couldn’t be perfect.
When you expect the best, you’re honoring God. It also increases your ability when you’re expecting the best. Athletes know that the winning edge is attitude, not ability. It’s how you see it. Do you know that Mohammed Ali only lost two fights in his lifetime? And both of these fights had one thing in common different from all the other fights: in a press conference prior to the fight, he said, "Now, if I lose this fight..." It’s the only time he ever said it, and he lost them both.
David went out to fight Goliath and he took stones with him. Super confidence! Everybody else was saying, "He’s too big! We can’t kill him." David was saying, "He’s too big. I can’t miss!" Expecting the best. Not only that, expecting the best encourages others. Optimism is contagious.
II. HOW TO STAY OPTIMISTIC
How do you stay optimistic when everybody seems to be going wrong? Let me give you six steps:
A. Start Your Day with Faith
In order to stay optimistic when everything else seems to be going wrong, whether it’s at work or at school or in my finances or with my relationships, start your day with faith. Now you know, studies have shown that the first ten minutes of your day sets the tone.
Some of you may feel like Eeyore. You remember Eeyore? I’m reading from that great theologian, Winnie the Pooh. Eeyore the old donkey stood by the side of the stream and looked at himself in the water. "Pathetic," he said, "that’s what it is. Pathetic." He turned and walked down the stream twenty yards, splashed across and walked slowly back to the other side and he looked at himself in the water again. "As I thought" he said, no better from this side. But nobody minds. Nobody cares. Pathetic, that’s what it is. Then behind him Winnie the Pooh came in. "Good morning Eeyore, said Pooh. "Good morning," Pooh bear, said Eeyore gloomy, if it is good morning. Which I doubt!
Any of you identify with Eeyore? Look at this verse, Psalm 5:3, "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning I lay my request before you and I wait an expectation." Start your day in faith. Dont start your day with the morning news.
B. Look for the good in your situation
Not everything is good, but look for the good in the situation. Romans 8:28, "For those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good." Circle that. "Pattern f or good." God specializes in bringing good out of bad.
You know that when Thomas Edison was sixty-seven years old, a great fire burned down his famous laboratories in New Jersey. And not only did he lose several million dollars in his equipment, he also loss his records to most of his life works. The next morning, he walked out among the charred embers and he said this: "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew." He turned a stumbling block into a stepping stone. Look for the good in your situation.
