Anticipation
By Rev. James may
Very early this morning I awoke to a single word going over and over in my mind. I immediately recognized it as a “Word from the Lord” because it was nothing that I had thought of or dreamed of that brought it forth. That single word was “Anticipation”!
Anticipation is a powerful thing if it is directed in the right manner toward the right thing. Anticipation can either destroy your peace and your faith through worry and anxiety over what is, or even might happen, or it can spur you onward in faith and joy, looking for the fulfillment of God’s plan for your life.
Satan loves to cast wrongful anticipation into the heart of a Christian. That kind of anticipation is born of fear! And that kind of fear is never of God.
I’m not going to spend much time talking about that kind of anticipation because it only tends to glorify the working of Satan to bring fear, doubt and despair into the hearts of God’s people. That’s not God’s message to us this morning, and in fact, it’s never God’s message to his church.
No less than 63 times we find the Lord speaking to his people concerning this idea of not allowing the devil to cast fear upon you. 63 times, at least in the King James Version of the Bible, the Lord says, “Fear Not!” One of those verses I know we hear of and speak of all the time is found in Luke 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
How many songs to we sing that have those same words in them? How many sermons do we hear where God speaks to us to say, “Don’t be afraid! Lift up your heads and your hearts in faith and just believe for the victory over whatever you will encounter in life!”
Why should we allow any kind of doubt, worry, or anxiety born of Fear to get a grip on our hearts when we know that God is in control and watches over us with such great care! When I consider God’s ways, His Nature; His character; His faithfulness in all His ways, the negative impact of anticipation will disappear! No weapon that Satan forms against me shall prosper. I talked about that last week and so I won’t go into that any further.
There’s also a good sense of anticipation that we can experience. I would even say that we must have a great anticipation of the blessings of God that we know are coming according to God’s own promises in the Bible! The right kind of anticipation will always drive us, or lead us to do something right and good as we wait with great expectation and anticipation for something to happen.
There are so many good things in life that our God provides that I cannot speak but concerning only a few. No matter what you may be facing we have to confess that God is our Provider and that he brings more blessings upon us that we can count.
In the best times of our lives it’s not hard to see the hand of God leading us onward from mountaintop to mountaintop. But when we are going from valley to valley, through the worst of our circumstances in life, Jesus is there too, helping us to cope with it and bringing a peace that only He can give. Sometimes we lose that sense of His presence for a moment but then the Holy Spirit gently leads us back to the foot of the cross so that we can find that peace again.
Thank God for that peace in the midst of the storm. Whether it’s a storm that comes from the wind and weather, or it’s a storm that arises in your spirit, Jesus still walks in the storm, above the tempest, and He will enable us to walk there with him to if we just keep our eyes on him!
As I thought on this word “Anticipation”, the Spirit of the Lord began to speak to me saying that the anticipation level of His people is something that every one of us must be aware of and seek to make ever greater! When we have great expectations; when we are aware that there are things coming; and when we are fully persuaded that God’s promises will happen – anticipation of those things will force us to ever be prepared to receive them! When we lose that anticipation, we are headed for trouble, and we may even miss out on receiving God’s best!
We all have things we love to do. Some love to travel to distant places as a time to rest, relax and get away from the everyday troubles if only for a few days. Some here I know like to go camping, hunting, fishing or take in the great outdoors, while other’s seek to find a place of perfect comfort and you’ll do your camping in the nicest hotel you can afford and the amenities of shopping centers and restaurants. Some love to be in places where music not only entertains you but lifts your spirit from the doldrums of life. Whatever you like to do, there’s always the anticipation of preparing yourself to have it! It’s called planning!
I enjoy going to see my children and grandchildren and I’m grateful that most of them life nearby. But I always look forward to going to see those that live far off too, and it takes a lot more planning for that to happen. It’s just not possible to jump in the car, drive 21 hours, with all the expenses and time involvement, without giving it some planning. Half the journey is in the anticipation and preparing.
The Bible tells us of some times of anticipation when God’s people were forced to prepare for the journey.
One of those was the journey that the Children of Israel were about to take from Egypt to the Promised Land! It was the journey of a lifetime.
400 years of anticipation had come down to one last night of preparation! On this night, the death angel was going to pass through the land, and if the Children of Israel did not allow their anticipation to force them to get fully prepared, they could easily find themselves in an Egyptian grave and never see the Promised Land. I’m sure it was with some anxiety, but mostly with obedient faith, that they anticipated the passing of this long night!
God’s personal directions for preparation were given to them in Exodus chapter 12. Their preparation concerned the killing of the lamb and the first observance of the Passover! It’s a clear picture in the Old Testament of the sacrificing of Jesus, the Lamb of God, for the deliverance of all men from the grips of sin and death, and a symbolic picture of the Rapture of the church.
God’s directions were very clear and absolutely important! No man could deviate from following God’s commandments without facing God’s judgments. God was very explicit in his instructions.
Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S Passover.
Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
This was no casual preparation. The anticipation of both the deliverance from Egypt and the judgment of death that was coming was more than enough to spur the Israelites into doing the right thing, and they did it quickly, exactly and with great attention to detail. The cost of allowing themselves to be lulled into a sense of comfort was too high. Their lives, their freedom and the future of their nation were at stake.
• Be dressed and ready to go on a moment’s notice. There’ll be no time to get ready when the time comes to leave!
• Shoes had to be on your feet. You can’t put them on when that time comes and walking without shoes in the desert won’t happen.
• Your robes had better be on and fastened tightly for there will be no time to tie on your belt and secure them then.
• You had to hold on to your staff and never set it aside, for you’ll not have time to pick it up when the time comes to go, and that staff will be your help along the way.
• Last but not lease, you must consume the lamb, leaving nothing behind, and consume it while standing on your feet, as though it would be the last meal you tasted for a long time because you will need the strength that it gives for the journey ahead! Chew it quickly and swallow it all, for it is the Lord’s lamb and you must eat it all!
This anticipation of a journey of a lifetime for the Children of Israel brings to my mind the picture of a great journey that we must be preparing for right now!
It’s the Journey of an Eternity for the Church, the Bride of Christ and we must anticipate it so much that we are not caught when we aren’t ready!
In Revelation 3:11, the Lord walks among the Golden Lampstands, which represent the church that bears His name and witnesses the gospel to the nations. He says to Sardis, “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
The fake News media; ungodly men and women on the job, or at school, or even among your circle of friends who love to persuade you to think their way; heathenistic politicians who deny God; atheists who deny the very existence of God; all of the worldly wise men do their best to steal your crown of life in Christ! Jesus say’s “Hold on tight to your faith and the truth of God’s word!” Let no man steal your Journey of an Eternity from you!
In Revelation 16:15 Jesus reveals the fact that His coming will be in a time and manner that will catch many off guard and unprepared.
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Those who did not anticipate and continue to prepare will find themselves being judged at Armageddon.
The parable of the Ten Virgins, 5 wise and 5 foolish, is a reminder to me of what we said just a few days ago about statistics in the modern church where 55% of people who sit in church every week aren’t even Born Again! These deceived folks aren’t even anticipating the arrival of the Bridegroom at all! Their lamps were either never filled with oil and lit, or they’ve allowed them to burn completely out and now they just live in the darkness of sin.
Anticipation of the arrival of the Bridegroom had waned in the hearts of half those virgins who were waiting for His arrival. Their sense of anticipation had grown so weak that they had lost the excitement and fell asleep! The fire in their hearts had gone out long before the fire in their lamps! They had failed to prepare sufficiently and found themselves shut out in the dark with their dark lamps and cold hearts.
That parable is more than a picture of the missing of a wedding feast. It’s the picture of a soul losing out on the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and being left behind to face the wrath of God that is coming on this earth! It’s about souls that end up in the Lake of Fire because they lost their anticipation of the Lord’s coming and the things and cares of this world lulled them to sleep spiritually.
They awoke to the Bridegroom’s arrival but they were not ready to go. No time to get oil then! No time to borrow fire! No time to do anything but arise to the knowledge that it was too late! When they did try to enter in, even with their dark lamps, and wedding attire on, they could not enter and were told that they were not even known to the Bridegroom!
Anyone left out, left behind, not ready, having lost your anticipation will find himself out in dark where there is weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth in anger and in pain, but with no hope of redemption.
Now is the time to prepare! There will be no other that I can see in God’s word! Don’t allow your anticipation to be brought so low as to think that you “might” get a second chance after the Rapture! This is your time of preparation! This is the time that the Holy Spirit is speaking and drawing you to get ready! There’s no promise that He will ever do so again, especially when we’ve disobeyed and cast aside the time we have now!
When the cry went forth, the 5 foolish virgins heard it. Could it be that when the Trump of God sounds that you will hear it, but your feet will never leave the ground! You heard that great Shofar of God blast but everyone else left and you’re left standing alone. Oh what a terrible feeling that’s going to be for those left behind.
And because you weren’t ready the first time, there will be no second time. There will no more anticipation of a rapture; only an anticipation of the wrath of God to come and the fear. There will be a great spirit of unbelief and deception that will be released on the earth and it will destroy your faith completely.
There will be a lot of people who will be cast out into darkness in that day who thought they had it made! Their anticipation of His coming had disappeared and they were too caught up in the wisdom of men, their own deceitful hearts and the love of the world more than Jesus.
Disobedient and unfaithful servants who loved the world more than they anticipated the arrival of the Bridegroom will be cast out! Look at the fate of three classes of servants who won’t be in Heaven.
The first was a man who tried to get in without the Robes of Righteousness that comes only from Jesus. He tried to use his own robes of self-righteousness and good works. It didn’t work! Those are works of pride and pride is sin, and sin cannot remain in us if we are going to be a part of the Bride of Christ. It must be cleansed by the blood of Jesus through repentance.
Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The second was a servant who had been given authority and a work to do, but he lost his anticipation of the return of his Lord and began to injure God’s people and to do his own thing having a good time! He loved fun and parties and celebrations with his friends but didn’t fulfill his duties that had been given to him.
Another’s fate is described in Matthew 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The unprofitable servant is next. He is one who was given work to do for his Lord but hid his talent and did nothing. He was too fearful to make a move and didn’t trust in the Lord’s ability to multiply what he had been given.
Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Weeping and gnashing of teeth is just another way of saying the Lake of Fire and eternal separation from God!
Our anticipation of the arrival of the Bridegroom to catch his Bride away in the Rapture must be no less than that of the Children of Israel awaiting the passing of the death angel and their deliverance from Egypt!
• Always ready; ever watching; always filled with the presence of the Lamb;
• Always dressed in the Robes of Righteousness given when we accept Christ;
• Always ready to walk with Jesus;
• always with the staff of God’s Word and his authority and presence in our lives;
• Always consuming everything we can so that we may be transformed into the image of Christ
– that’s what it will take to be ready to go out to meet Jesus in the air!
Are you anticipating His coming that much? Are you excited about the fact that it could be at any moment? Are you prepared to go?
What if it had happened 5 minutes ago? Would you still be here? Just as surely as you are here right now, that time is coming, and I believe it could be at any moment! Are you anticipating it? Plan for it! Jesus is coming soon!
Now is your time! Do you anticipate the arrival of the Bridegroom enough to even come to the altar and get prepared now? If not now, When? When must be NOW! Get your running shoes on!
