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Take your Bibles and turn with me to the Book of Matthew 8:5-13. I have an expectation of what God is going to do in this place, not only what he's started but the work that God wants to do through this message and through this word and your heart. At the end there's going to be a chance to respond to this. How many of you are thankful for all that God has done for you?
I want to talk this morning a message entitled "Faith filled Expectation". Matthew 8:5-13 says, "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him pleading with him saying, "Lord, my servant is laying at home paralyzed and dreadfully tormented". Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him". The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof but only speak the word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me and I say to this one "Go" and he goes and to another "Come" and he comes and to my servant, "Do this" and he does it". When Jesus heard it he marveled and said to those who followed, "Surely I say to you, I have not found such great faith not even in Israel and I say to you that many will come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven but the sons of the Kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you", and his servant was healed that same hour".
Father, we thank you this morning that you are in this place. We thank you Lord for what we've been able to see of you, your beauty and your goodness through our time of worship. Lord, we still worship you. Holy Spirit, I pray for your anointing upon my voice, upon my lips that your word would be spoken clearly and powerfully. Father, I ask that all of us would decrease in this room and that you would increase. Amen.
A couple of weeks ago when we came to the time of prayer and we were anointing around the altar, the Lord had given me this word and the title of this message, "Faith Filled Expectation". As a matter of fact, I changed the message I was going to preach today, the Lord changed it and said we'll do it another time. Many of you know the Lord helps me plan these messages months and months in advance but the truth is when the Lord says he wants something done then we just put those things aside and we do what he wants. I believe that one of the things the Lord is speaking to this church is the idea of having faith filled expectation, of being a people who live and walk in faith everyday.
I want to ask you this morning, what do you expect from God? When you get into the word and when you come to prayer and in your walk with Jesus everyday, what is your expectation? You've known the Lord for awhile, you gave him your life and you may be going through a hard time or a great time, but I want to ask you, what is your expectation everyday? You serve Jesus, you gave your life to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has saved you, he has delivered you, he has set you free. I wonder if there's anyone in this room who's got a testimony of the good things that Jesus has done in your life? He is faithful.
What is your expectation? You have served God and when difficulties come your way, what is your expectation from the Lord? So many of us, as believers, we really have the same mindset as the rest of the world and we live in a world that has no hope. Right now, the economy isn't good and people are having problems with their houses. Alot of people are getting sick. There is evil and violence in our country, we know that. But what is your expectation from God? What is your hope? What is God doing in your life? What do you believe from him when you get up everyday? Do you expect him to touch you, do you expect to walk with him? Do you love him at all times? Do you know that he is your Savior and Lord?
I'm not worried about the economy because the truth is this, even if I lost everything, Jesus still promised he would take care of me. It doesn't matter, I have an expectation. Even if sickness hits my body, I have an expectation because his word says, "I am healed". I believe that God wants to change this nation. Jesus is a world changer, he came and he gave his life. Listen, alot of churches will be mourning about our country on this 4th of July. Listen, I am thankful that we live in the United States of America, there is no place I would rather live but I know that we are not in a Godly country and that God is not done with our country. There is still a marvelous work that he wants to do. Let me ask you, church, what is your expectation?
I believe that God is raising us up in this church, Harvest Community, each and every one of us. When I walk through the stores, when I walk through our streets, when I drive up and down our communities, I believe that we're going to see people saved, lives changed, people healed. For some reason Christians walk around like nothing good could ever happen, like everything is going to hell in a handbag. Listen, I'm not willing to let this world go to hell, it belongs to Jesus, it doesn't belong to the enemy. So what is your expectation?
The centurion came to Jesus with a deep need for a friend of his, someone who meant the world to him and he expected when he came to the Lord that this man was going to be healed. Jesus looked at the crowd and he praised this man because of his faith and he said this, "I haven't seen such faith in all of Israel". Now listen, I don't believe in replacement theology, Israel is Israel, and the people of God are the people of God. I believe today God is saying, "I haven't seen this kind of faith even in all my people". I want to ask you, Christian, do you have the kind of faith that this centurion has? Are you growing in your walk with the Lord where you believe that when you come to God and you just simply ask, believing that he is able to do the miracle that you expect? What he was saying is, this man who isn't even a Jew, this man who hasn't even followed our ways and our teaching is coming to me because he knows who I am and he believes even greater than my people believe, and I haven't found such faith. Let me ask you Christian, what is your expectation?
The truth is that people, even in God's kingdom, run here and there, this way and that way. How many of you are thankful that Jesus has already come today? I want to tell you Christian, we are called to take Jesus to the world. We are called to be his light, we are called to be his hands extended. The truth is that all you and I need to do is go to Jesus ourself. Jesus is alive and well. "All you have to do is say the word" and Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way and as you have believed, so let it be done for you", and his servant was healed that same hour.
Listen, you will never become more than what you will believe and you will never have more than what you will believe. Christian, I want to tell you, If you are walking around depressed and your life is discouraged and you are heavy hearted, I want to tell you that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus wants to bring light into that dark place. Will you dare to believe that what God said in his word is true, that he will bring life and refreshing to your heart and will bring you out of that darkness?
Some of us are going around with other things in our life, with sicknesses and troubles. But listen, the Bible says, "As you have believed so it will be done". People come to me and say, "Why does this not happen?" Many times the answer is this, because we don't really believe that Jesus is who he said he is and that he will do what he said he will do and that he can and wants to do what his word says. The Bible says, "As a man thinks in his heart so is he". You are what you have believed. Jesus said to the centurion, "As you have believed so it will be done". This is faith and trust in God. This isn't taking dice and rolling it and hoping it comes true. The reason you are saved is because you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. If Jesus can save you then why don't you believe he can heal you? What is the greater stretch? That he can forgive the sin of mankind or that he can come and touch? So many of us can trust him for salvation yet we don't trust him with other things that are so easy. It's not about positive thinking but it's about our expectation from the Lord. Our expectation effects everything including what we do because the truth is, if you believe something you will do it.
I learned to ride a bike when I was just a little boy, I started on a tricycle. My daddy helped me and put me on a two wheeler and I started to learn to ride that thing. Now when I get on a bicycle I'm not hoping it's going to take me where I'm going. As a matter of fact I now have a 750cc motorcycle, I sure hope that I believe that when I get on that thing I know how to drive it. If I didn't believe it I wouldn't be on it.
"As you believe", Jesus told the centurion. That word believe means to be fully convinced, to rely on, to trust in. Our belief in God, our trust in him expresses a personal trust that produces obedience, it produces obedience in our life. Faith and obedience to God always go hand in hand. If you love the Lord, if you trust him, if you believe in Him as your Savior, that obedient life will always be evident in what you have believed in your life. As a matter of fact, our expectation is directly tied to our obedience to the word of God. Our obedience not only effects the outcome of our desire, it effects the level of our trust in Jesus.
Obedience deals with our living and our works, what we do and what we say, everything that we do from the time we wake up to the time that we go to sleep. Truly even our obedience to God will effect your sleep. How many of you believe that the Bible promised rest? Some of you haven't been sleeping well at night. So many people are taking pills for insomnia, taking this and taking that, breathing machines that are louder than your snoring actually is. My faith not only effects my waking hours but it effects my sleep because I can rest in the Lord.
Listen, our response to our trust in God's word is directly linked to our obedience because when we know we are obedient to God then we know that we have a right to receive what his word says. My kids have a different expectation of me as their dad when they are obeying me than when they aren't. If I have instructed my boys to go outside and mow the lawn, I expect that when I come back an hour later that the grass will be cut and my job is going to be easier as the dad. If you're a dad and you have teenage boys and they're not helping you around the house, then start putting your boys to work. Our teenagers need to learn a good work ethic, they need to help. Then when they come and ask me for something I can say, "Absolutely". As a matter of fact many times I want to bless my boys before they even know it. But if I walk out an hour later and my grass hasn't been touched and my boys come and ask if they can go to the beach it's not going to happen. Some parents take them to the beach anyway, I think they're crazy when that happens, you need to teach your kids right.
My kids have an expectation, they have faith when they come to Dad that they've done what I've asked and they know that they'll receive.
In John 8:31, " Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed him, if you abide in my word you are my disciples indeed". Abide means living, that's an action word and action will always follow belief. If you believe something you will do it, if you don't believe it you won't do it. The centurion went to Jesus because he had belief that his servant would be touched by God and when Jesus said to him, "Your servant is healed", the servant went his way. He didn't hang around Jesus asking him over and over again. Sometimes we think Jesus is schizophrenic. How many know that when you say his name, he will answer you? Do you believe he hears your voice or don't you? The centurion went his way knowing that his servant was healed. His belief and his faith resulted in works. He just went home knowing that his servant was going to be well.
Sometimes you just want to stay around the feet of Jesus and keep asking for the same thing when he's already done the work. It's good to be at the feet of Jesus, it's good to love Jesus but I want to tell you when you come to the Lord, he's living inside of you, he abides in you so that you can go about your everyday life believing that he's with you and working in you. It's good to go to prayer and you need to be in prayer. The Bible says to pray continually but that doesn't mean you put the rest of your life off and stay at the altar of God. How many of you can do that in your heart and still live in Him? That's faith.
James 1:21-22, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does". Lay aside everything, lay aside all those things that hinder. What is that? Obedience. If you're having trouble with some sin, something that is displeasing God, lay it aside, be obedient. That's it, it's that easy. The truth is someone sitting next to you this morning might look all good and Christiany but there might be some stuff going on in their life that you don't even know about. We should be able to come to the house of God and let the Lord speak. So lay aside all filthiness. Those who receive and do the word have a great expectation of receiving the blessing of the word because those who believe and do are blessed. This is the expectation of those who have an implanted word.
Look at verse 21 again, "And receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your soul". When the word of God is implanted in you, it is a part of who you are, not just something you know. Why? Because that word is not just something, it is somebody and his name is Jesus. He is the word of God implanted in us. The reason we can have that expectation, the reason we walk in that faith, the reason between a Christian or someone who just knows this word and someone who has this word implanted in them understands this, "Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world". That's why we walk with an expectation. This isn't just a mindset of something that we know, this is somebody, the person of Jesus who lives in us and works through us and is in us so that when we walk and we live and we breathe and we obey the word, he is being glorified in us. We are obeying that implanted word that is there. That's the difference of someone who knows and someone who expects.
Faith is our works coming into agreement with our belief. James 2:17-22, "Also, faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead but someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works". There's a lot of people who say they have faith in God. I'm here to speak into your heart because there's a lot of lip service going on and not a lot of life service going on. When God is alive our talk moves to walk. I want to tell you that I believe the world is longing to see a faith that is real, that is lived, that is expressive. As a pastor, there are so many times that I hear a lot of talk going on but the moment that these people who say they have faith have something happen to them in life, they are not living what they believe.
Now all of us get discouraged but my faith isn't predicated on a feeling, it's what I believe. The truth is what I believe will always override what I feel but if my feelings and my belief are the same I will live that. If I know what that implanted word is inside of me I will live what the word says. Lets go back to verse 17, "Thus faith by itself without works is dead, but someone will say, you have faith and I have works, show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works". Listen, this is a challenge, James just didn't play games.
You all love talk but I'm going to show you by how I live that my faith in God is true. You want to be a super Christian, I'm not interested in that, I just want to be a Christian. "You believe that there is one God, you do well, even the demons believe and tremble. But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he offered Isaac, his son, on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works faith was made perfect".
Listen, we are not saved by our works. How many are thankful for that? Because the truth is this, you and I could never do enough, we are saved by grace, not of works, lest anyone should boast. God is full of grace and mercy. After you have received the grace of the Lord by faith, your faith will believe that God will give you the grace to do the works that his word has made alive inside of your life. It always follows that way. It's a marvelous thing, faith working together with works.
Faith is spiritual and practical, it is both. Faith is not faith until you do something. Abraham, when he offered Isaac, knew that God had given him his son and there was Isaac on the altar. Something that Pastor Ralph says all the time around here, "the ram is in the thicket". What does that mean? There is a miracle at the moment of your obedience when you trust God so much. Time and time again I have watched God, listen, here's Abraham, the knife is raised and ready to plunge into Isaac. How many know God is not into human sacrifice? He's into your personal sacrifice but you don't have to kill your own kids. Just at the moment when he was ready to plunge the knife, God said "wait, here's what you need to do". Abraham's faith, even when God was asking him to do something so difficult and didn't even make sense but he trusted him and God made the way.
Faith and works, but faith was made perfect by the works.
Abraham didn't panic, when God told him to leave his house and to leave his land and to go somewhere else that he didn't even know about, he trusted God and God made the way. Abraham had an expectation from God and because he did, his faith was made perfect by his actions. Demons believe in God but their actions do not match their belief. Demons believe in God but they don't worship him and they do not obey him. Christians say, "Well I believe in God". People all over America believe that there is a God. Well, congratulations, so do the demons of hell. That means you have intelligence, obviously you've looked around and realized that there is a God but the difference between faith and obedience is that those who know there is a God obey his word and live for him and their faith by their actions are now made perfect by their works. Americans need to hear that message more than ever before, the world needs to hear it.
Listen, when Abraham trusted God, doors opened for his life that he didn't even know about. Obedience and faith go hand in hand. If you're looking for those doors to open and you're in an impossible situation and you have the expectation from God, continue to obey him and trust him. As a matter of fact I want you to hear me, disobedience to God is a true sign of faithlessness. Those who obey are the ones who have the right of expectation. Anyone who has ever done anything great for God with their life, things that people did that were bigger than themselves, had to first do what he said by walking in faith. These were people who believed God's promises and they obeyed him, expecting to see the fulfilment of those promises.
Hebrews chapter 11 is the Hall of Fame in the Bible or should we say the Hall of Faith. Each person listed, it starts like this when you read, By faith Enoch walked with God and was no more. By faith Abraham obeyed and he received not only a new land to live in but descendents that were more numerous than the seashore. Do you realize that the nation of Israel today are still Abraham's descendents? Do you realize today that Abraham has adopted families, sons and daughters, because we've given our life to Jesus? Abraham dared to step out and believe God. By faith Noah went and built an ark when they hadn't even seen rain before. Some of you say, "Well God would never ask us to do something that didn't make sense". It had never rained in the history of mankind and Noah was building the first and the biggest boat in all of history on dry land.
By faith, do you trust God? By faith, Joshua, when he came into the promised land, faced people so innumerable and he began to march around the walls of Jericho. It must have looked a silly sight, all this nation walking round the walls but he heard the voice of God and after the seventh time around, the walls came down. How many of you believe if God can bring the walls down for Joshua he can bring the walls down in your life by faith?
World changers operate by faith. Listen, I believe this, how many of you believe that God wants to see Palm Beach County come to Jesus? I believe he wants to see the crime rate come down and I believe he wants to see lives changed for his glory. When we look around, how in the world can Harvest Community do that? By faith, one step at a time, one day at a time, one person at a time.
Hebrews chapter 11, I'm going to close with this. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". That centurion heard the word from Jesus that said his servant was healed. He turned around after Jesus said it and started walking back knowing it happened before he saw it. "For by it, the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the world's were framed by the word of God so that the things that are seen were not made of things which are visible.
By faith, Able offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts and through it, he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him".
I want you to see verse 2, "For by faith the elders obtained a good testimony". Everything in this word is an example for you and me by faith. Do you realize that we are following in the footsteps of those great men and women of God, each and every one of them? And by faith, they obtain a good testimony.
Those with faith have an expectation that because of their work and their belief in God their obedience will be rewarded. Those who do not walk in faithful obedience to God see great things happen and think its a big deal, healings, miracles, provision, and they are big deals. In no way do we ever want to diminish God but I want you to hear me, those with faith see something miraculous happen and are glad but are not surprised because it is what they expected by faith.
When we see healings in church, Christians sit back and say, "Wow, that was unusual". No, it's what God promised. The reason why you and I have difficulty walking out and grabbing someone's hand and praying for them to be healed is because we don't expect them to be healed and then when they are we think it was amazing. It is amazing but the expectation is that it will take place.
When we witness to people who are hard of heart we may have no expectation that there will ever be a turn around. Listen, there is not one person that I share this gospel with whether the hardest gang member or the wealthiest person who just believes they have no need for God, that I don't believe that this word will not start to get planted inside of them. There is that expectation that something will happen and when they give their life to Jesus I'm excited. Usually I'm more surprised at how quickly it happened but I expected it to happen because that's what his word will do.
Every September I sit back and prepare, I get with the Lord for a couple of days and ask him what he wants me to preach over the next year. There are very few Sundays like this where God changes the message, usually what God has told me a year before is exactly what God is wanting to do in the church at that time. To me that's a lot of fun. I was sitting in my office and looking at the file because preachers have helps that they use, they don't usually steal other preachers sermons but alot of times there are other things that help quicken your heart, things that you can read that just inspire and spark. I remembered looking at that folder and thinking, "Lord, I don't have a whole lot in there, I really would like some illustrations of things that would spark my heart". So I prayed very quickly. I prayed and forgot about it because I knew God would take care of it. I looked in that folder the other day and it's taking up half a drawer. The truth is I have enough sermon material in there for the next 5 years but I expected God to do that for me that quick. It's amazing what God will do if you just ask and you will receive.
Anything that we can do ourselves is not faith but anytime we must trust God beyond ourself takes faith. Obedience is doing what I can do. Faith is when I do what I can do and God can do what only he can do. When God asks us to do something that is beyond ourselves, faith is knowing that he will help. The truth is God loves to stretch us so that you and I will constantly be walking in faith. I pray that there will never be a time in my life when I get to the point where I can just coast. How many know God will allow you to go on vacation and take a break but walking by faith is a daily thing. It's not so much work as it is wonder. It's a joy to walk in that life, to trust him and obey him and to see him do time and time again. God loves to stretch us.
Romans 1:17 says, "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith for as it is written, the just shall live by faith".
What are you trusting God for? What is it in your life right now that you are believing the Lord for? What is it that God has asked you to step out and do for him? The truth is, Christian, if you're living for God everyone of us has a ministry. Whether you wanted one or not you've got a ministry. My ministry is to pastor this church, what's yours? What has God called you to? The reason why most people don't step out and fulfill everything that God has for there life has to do with what they believe. Listen, do you need healing in your life? What are you expecting? Does your marriage need a touch from God? What is your expectation? Do your finances need a miracle? What is your expectation? Do you have a loved one who is far from the Lord and you've been praying? What is your expectation? As a church at Harvest Community we're expecting great things, miracles that will happen weekly, salvations happening daily, a transformed city where lives will be changed.
It's a vision that God has given that I believe is way bigger than everyone of us. Can I ask you church, what is your expectation? We're part of the body of Christ, this isn't like the Marvin Nemitz show, we're the body of Christ, we're Harvest Community together. God brought us together for a purpose, to reach this city, not only so you can come Sunday mornings and be blessed and healed although that's cool, I love that. Good things are happening here this morning but it goes beyond that, together we reach this city, together we reach the community. So the expectation isn't just mine, it's ours. What's your expectation? What's our expectation? What are we believing God for? Look around this church, it is the last Sunday in June and I know of at least 5 families that are on vacation and this place is full. I want to see us reach into so many places where no one is going, changing lives. What is your expectation? All we have to be is obedient.
I love Psalms 62:5, "For my expectation is from Him". I don't have to wait on myself, I don't have to wait on anybody else, I just have to wait on God and He never disappoints.
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