Expectations!
I John 3:1-3
1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
OF ALL THE NAMES FOUND IN THE BIBLE FOR GOD, none seems to reveal more about His true nature than the term, “Father.”
The knowledge of God’s Father-love is the first and simplest, but also the last and highest lesson that we can learn concerning His designs for mankind.
Now, to speak of God as our Father is to say a great deal about Him. Jesus tried to help us understand this dimension of God. He spoke of His Father’s constant…
Unconditional love
Nearness
Generosity
Mercy
Our Lord also helped us to see that the Father forgives and forgets when we meet the conditions. And of course, as our Father, God disciplines us when we need it. He also rewards us—and protects us, and listens to us.
But as we think about God, seldom do we take into account the EXPECTATIONS that He has for us. I believe that God is the greatest visionary of all. There are certain hopes, dreams and plans the He has in mind for each one of us.
Most parents, if they truly love their children, expect certain things of them. They pray and work and do all they can to influence them in certain directions. They have high hopes, big dreams, certain lofty expectations.
Before my two sons were born, I began to form in my mind certain things I wanted them to achieve and experience.
Above all else, I wanted them to have a deep and lasting relationship with God—one that will see them through any crisis here on earth and give them absolute assurance concerning the future. And to that end I worked and prayed until I knew that both of them had received Christ as the Lord—one at his bedside and one at a summer camp.
The second goal I had in mind for them was that they abide in Him. What they do for a living, how much money they make, where they live, what kind of family they have, what kind of education they acquire—these things are really secondary in my mind. In fact, they are really meaningless if they are not in the will of God. As the Scriptures declare, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but looses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Here’s the point: THE BEST GOALS AND DREAMS THAT WE CAN HAVE FOR OUR CHILDREN ARE SPIRITUAL IN NATURE!
This is the legacy of parenthood! And just as we have certain expectations in regard to our children, so also God expects certain things of us. What are God’s expectations of us? I believe they can be summed up in four words.
1. KNOW. God expects us to know Him.
He’s done everything in His power to make it possible for us to know Him. He’s given us…
Evidence of His existence in creation
The Bible
His only begotten Son
The Holy Spirit to speak to us
The witness of the Church
A hunger within to know Him
A media blitz—TV, radio, literature
The witness of Christian friends and loved ones
What more could God do? We are all without excuse! None of us will stand before God on judgment day and say, “I had no idea that God loved me so.” God is not willing that any should perish. He wants everyone to know Him and to receive His promise of eternal life. That’s the goal and dream of God for everyone that is born.
The moment we are born, God begins to draw us to Himself. He expects all of us to know Him. Do you KNOW Him? Many folks know ABOUT Him. To know someone in this sense, means that we are intimately acquainted with them. It means that we commune with them and have a relationship of trust. To know God is to listen, love and obey Him.
Yes, God wants us to know Him—to know who He is—to know what His will is for our life—to experience His power in our lives.
Of course, I am aware that there are forces in our world under the control of Satan that will do everything possible to keep us from knowing God. But if a person truly seeks after God, he will find Him. Do you remember the promise of Jesus in Matthew, chapter 7? “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you…”
When John wrote the words found in our scripture lesson, he was addressing God’s adopted children. He was writing to those who already knew God. But he had more to say to them. He wanted them to have the assurance of their salvation.
Over in I John 5:12,13, we read, “He who has the Son has life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of god so that you may know that you have eternal life.
God makes a promise. Faith believes it. Hope anticipates it. Patience awaits it.
Illus.: “Get On With the Operation”
A soldier was badly wounded. A surgeon said to him, “I must operate right away. I think I ought to tell you that you have one chance in a hundred to come through. Have you anything to say?” The soldier answered, “No, doctor, get on with the operation! All is well with my soul. Which ever side I come out, there will be a welcome for me. If I come through this, mom will be there to greet me. If I don’t, Jesus will welcome me. So get on with the operation.”
Now that man possessed a “know-so” faith. God expects us to know that we are His and that our eternal destiny is fixed.
The second word or expectation of God is…
2. GROW. God expects us to Grow.
We shouldn’t be satisfied with “entry-level positions.
After Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, issued his famous "I do not choose to run" statement, he was besieged by reporters wanting details. One persistent journalist kept asking, "Exactly why don’t you want to be president again?" "Because," Coolidge replied, "there’s no chance for advancement!" We need to believe that there is always room for advancement!
Do you know what the largest room in the world is? ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT!
Some Christians who should be on the front lines are still in basic training!
II Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Ever been stuck in a holding pattern? Constant motion but no progress?
Growing as a Christian doesn’t just happen anymore than that plant you have in your home. Our potential for spiritual growth is unlimited, provided we pray and worship and study and witness and serve and obey.
Illus.: “Falling Out of Bed”
A little boy constantly fell out of bed. No matter what his parents did, the boy couldn’t sleep without rolling out of bed. An uncle came to visit and in the middle of the night the usual thump and cry was heard. In the morning the uncle teased the boy and asked him why he fell out so often. The little fellow thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t know, unless its because I stay too close to the place where I get in.”
That’s why so many Christians fall away from the Lord. They fail to move on in their growth experience. Someone has said that conversion is only 5% of the Christian life. The other 95% is going on with Christ.
GOD EXPECTS US TO GROW! What strategies have you developed to ensure your growth? Are you in Sunday School? Are you in a home church group? Do you have a daily devotional time? How are you managing to grow? The disciples spent three years in Sunday School with the Master Teacher.
GOD EXPECTS US TO GROW!
Illus.: “God’s Problem: Getting Our Mouth Open”
Ps 81:10: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”
3. GO! God expects us to go.
When Jesus delivered a man possessed of demons, a strange theing happened. The man was so taken up with the Lord that he wanted to immediately follow Him. But Jesus said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
So, then, God is expecting us to GO and tell our families, our peers, our fellow-employees, our classmates, what great things He has done for us—whether they listen or not—whether they scoff or not.
David Ben Gurion, former prime minister of Israel, was asked what it would take to establish his new nation. He laughed and said, “All I need starts with the letter A: a lot of planes, a lot of guns, a lot of money, and a lot of men.”
We, too, could say that all we need to be a vital witness for Christ starts with the letter A: a lot of faith, a lot of love, a lot of courage, a lot of wisdom, and a lot of determination. And God will give them to us if we ask Him.
Some years ago, Dr. Jonas Salk discovered the final phase of the polio vaccine. He had a means of freeing the world from suffering and pain. Suppose he had decided to withhold this vaccine. Wouldn’t you agree that it would have been a criminal act (morally speaking) to do so?
Well, we that are God’s people could be called spiritual criminals if we withhold the good news from those who need it. Amen? Just as the Father has sent His Son into the world, so God the Son sends each of us to communicate His love.
A lifeguard hears a cry for help from the ocean. What should he do?
Form a committee?
Shout to him, “Hang on, we’ll be praying for you!”
Tell him how to swim?
Look for someone else more experienced to help him?
What the drowning man needs is a LIFEGUARD—someone to help him. God expects us to GO to the drowning souls of this world.
Illus.: “You Never Know…”
The Lord uses the most unexpected situations and unlikely ways to bring people to Himself. Our responsibility as Christians is simple and clear: Share the gospel where a lost world can hear it.
Francisco Ramos, a missionary to Spain, is an example of one who was brought to Christ through unusual circumstances. A native of Portugal, he traveled to England to look for work. Because a dangerous aneurysm had been discovered in his father’s brain, Francisco had begun asking hard questions about life.
Ramos took a shortcut through Hyde Park one day, his heart aching and his mind filled with questions. A young man was preaching about Jesus, and Ramos stopped to listen. In straightforward, unmistakable terms, he heard the plan of salvation. Later that day he encountered another believer selling Christian books. He bought a copy of Billy Graham’s Peace With God, not knowing what it was. He read the book that night and trusted in Christ as his Savior. Now he and his wife Stephanie are serving the Lord as missionaries. Let’s find ways to tell others about Jesus and His love and power to save all who call on Him. We never know what God is doing in someone’s heart. The next person you meet may need to meet Christ.
4. GLOW. God expects us to shine for Him.
Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Philippians 2:14,15: “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”
Do you see in these two verses the glow in both inward and outward? Purity is the inward glow; good deeds are the outward glow.
Have you ever known someone who could walk into a room full of people and in a few moments completely change the atmosphere? How about that person who smiles and spreads love and cheer everywhere—shining out for Jesus. Glowing Christians possess certain characteristics:
They smile while others frown
They work while others worry
They sing while others sulk
They do while other doubt
Dr. Paul S. Rees tells of a story he read entitled, Gloomy Caesar and Happy Jesus.” The author contrasted what we know of Tiberius Caesar, with what we know of Jesus. They were contemporaries. Of Tiberius, with all his pomp, power and possessions, the historian, Pliny wrote, “He is the gloomiest of mankind.” But of Jesus we read that sitting in the shadow of the cross, He “took bread and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples” (Luke 22:19). And when the holy supper was over, Luke tells us that they sang a hymn and departed. If anyone had a right to be gloomy if was Jesus, but He didn’t portray that at all. He wanted to impart hope to His followers.
That’s what we are to do—follow Jesus’ example and spread joy and victory. Remember the children’s song, “Joy is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.”
So, there you have it. Four words that describe our Father’s expectations: KNOW—GROW—GO—GLOW
Why not warm the heart of God today by committing yourself to live out His dream for your life?
