Expect
God
Ephesians
1:1-2
There is an account
in the book of Acts that explains expectation perfectly. Acts 3:1-12 says:
One day Peter and John were going up to
the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was
lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he
was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw
Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight
at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his
attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do
not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly
the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to
walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and
praising God.
When all the people saw him walking and
praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at
the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement
at what had happened to him.
While the man held on to Peter and John,
all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called
Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites,
why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or
godliness we had made this man walk?
Did you notice two things? First, the
man expected to get something from Peter. He thought he was going to receive a
monetary blessing for the day. Instead, he received a miraculous blessing for a
lifetime.
When
Peter stopped and called to the man, the crippled man knew he was going to get
something. He expected Peter to do something.
Secondly, Peter
expected the man to be healed, because Peter had talked to God. He had been in
a constant relationship with God and knew that God was able to do anything if
Peter asked in the name of Jesus.
Expectation is what
is lacking for Christians in America. For one reason or another, Americans no
longer expect God to act on their behalf. Maybe Americans have been conditioned
by, so called, “men of God” to believe God no longer does the miraculous.
Maybe, lack of faith
on the part of Believers prevents them from calling on the name of Jesus. Maybe
trust in doctors, bankers, and government has convinced Believers that they no
longer need God to do the miraculous.
Whatever the reason,
Believers have stopped trusting in God and have begun to trust in society to
meet their needs.
When you come to God
you must come to him in expectation. If you are a Believer, you should expect
him to speak to you. Why? Because he has promised us he would. We must listen to what he has to say to us. If
we are speaking, we cannot hear what he wants to tell us. It is through his
Word that we receive his grace. His grace is everlasting, but can only be heard
by those who listen intently. Listening includes the written word of God. For
as we read, we hear the words in our mind through his Word.
The
grace we have has been promised to us already by the blood of Jesus. We can
expect God to manifest his grace to us through his promises. The wicked and the
righteous receive grace daily. Those who do not know Christ experience even
more grace.
Without
Christ we are filthy rags. If we see filthy rags in the garage they generally
get thrown away. They are not worth washing; they might destroy the washing
machine. Nevertheless, while we were filthy rags, God picked us up and cleaned
us up through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
There was nothing I
did, or can do, to earn his grace. He simply loves me because he is God. Jesus
tells us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. Without the
power of the Holy Spirit that is difficult if not impossible.
God loved us even though we were his enemies.
Sin is God’s enemy. He cannot abide sin. While we were steeped in our sin we
could not fellowship with God. Even so, he loved us enough to not give up on
us. Instead, he devised a plan of grace that was carried out on the cross of Calvary
in the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ.
Though
grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the
majesty of the LORD.
There
is nothing I have done to warrant the grace of God. Wicked man deserves
judgment. He does not deserve grace. However, God gave us mercy through his
grace instead of judgment that is earned by our sinful lives.
We can’t learn righteousness without
Jesus Christ. Grace is shown to the wicked; however, righteousness does not
come without the power of the Holy Spirit. Grace is given to all, but it is up
to the individual to accept it.
Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace
and peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
A
Christian is a saint. Perhaps like me, you have a difficult time considering
yourself to be a saint. There are many things in my life that would preclude me
from being a saint. The world believes that a saint is one who is perfect.
Nevertheless, God looks at Christians as saints. Why? Because, we are made perfect
through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. Paul was an apostle; yet he had
been a murderer.
Acts 9:13-16 says:
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have
heard many reports about this man and
all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the
Lord said to Ananias, “Go!
This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name
before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much
he must suffer for my name.”
Paul
was called by God through his Damascus Road experience. Jesus came to him and
chose him to spread the Gospel of Christ. Even though Paul was a murderer he
was a saint.
Christians are saints
because they are believers. Ephesians
1:1 says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: . . .” He
is writing the letter of Ephesians to the saints. Perhaps some think of saints
as angels; those who have died and have become an angel. Nothing could be
further from the truth. We do not become angels when we die. Angels are created
beings that God has made to be his messengers. Saints are those of us on this
earth who have accepted the message of Jesus Christ and have chosen to follow
him; those of us who are imperfect beings, but are seen as perfect from God’s
standpoint because of our acceptance of, and obedience to, Christ.
Want to Learn more: My latest book His Promised Grace is coming out March 20 on Amazon.
