The Spirit Of Expectancy - Part 1 Series

The Spirit of Expectancy

Part 1 of a Series

TEXT: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

Most of us are familiar with this scripture. It is a really great verse that can be applied to many different situations in life. We could look at the thoughts and plans God has concerning you; plans that will bring good and not bad to your life. And it is true, God does want your life to be filled with countless wonderful things.

But, today, I want to concentrate on the phrase that says; to give you an expected end. You see many people have a lot of different ideas when it comes to what is expected. Turn to someone and ask them: What were you expecting?

So, the first thing we need to talk about is acquiring a baseline. By that I mean, before we can expect anything, we must know what to look for in the first place. I mean, some people do not even know what the standard ought to be.

Luke 11:9-13 KJV, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

God wants you to do three things here:

1. Ask

2. Seek

3. Knock

In return, God promises three things:

1. You will receive what you ask for

2. You will seek what you are looking for

3. You knock and it will be opened

Now to keep everything in balance lets refer to James 4:3 “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

I mean, some folks just miss the whole point because they look at God as a mail order catalog or something. Yes, its okay to pray for you needs and even your wants, as long as you keep everything in balance….. Lets keep reading in Luke 9……

Luke 9:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

I just don’t understand it and am afraid I never will; some folks just don’t get it. God actually wants to bless you. Yes you! He really does want to address your situation and turn it around.

Let me ask you, What is Poverty? Now before you even try to answer that let me tell you what it isn’t.

Poverty is not a lack of money

Poverty is not a lack of food, clothing, or quality house in a good neighborhood.

Poverty is a mindset, deeply rooted in a person’s heart that says, “Nothing good is ever coming my way and I should not expect anything good to ever happen to me.” Poverty is an acceptance of failure until failure becomes an established standard of normal living.”

Sometimes, good people go through difficult things but those people should never lower their baseline for their standard of living. Proverbs 24:16 says, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:"

What is the difference between a successful person and a failure? It is identified in the “Hang in there until you get it!” or in the “I quit!” The person who hangs in there often has to work much harder than the other guy. He may not be smarter than the quitter, tougher than the quitter, more qualified, more skilled, or anything.

What makes him a winner is the fact that he refuses to give up on the dreams until those dreams come true.

He may have to make some major changes to make it happen

He may even fail in the first few attempts

He may have to back up and take a run at it from a different angle.

He may have to go back to school and become educated or reeducated, but….. a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:

The poverty minded man tried and failed

He says, “The mess I know is better than the unknown.”

“I don’t want to embarrass myself”

“The risk is to great”

And lazy…… I DON’T EVEN WANT TO GO THERE.

Remember, we are talking about expectancies.

Let’s talk about FEAR

We all know that faith and fear are exact opposites. And, fear comes in lots of different packages, I mean in variety packs. Nor is fear always obvious, it can kinda sneak up on you when you aren’t looking. You will never experience your expectancy without having to overcome some form of fear.