The Danger Of Living With Low Expectations

The Tragedy of Living with Low Expectations

Acts 3:1-9

Introduction

I am constantly surprised and bewildered and honestly sometimes even disgusted at how persons who claim to love God and claim to have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and even testify of the moving of the Holy Spirit in their lives, live so far beneath their privilege as children of the king.

I am disturbed over the fact that many of us have been in church longer than we have been in anything else and yet while we excel and achieve and grow and enhance in other areas of our lives we keep flunking out of spiritual development 101. We are seemingly hooked on holy happy meals and addicted to spiritual junk food. So much so that whenever an attempt is made to wean us off of the bottle so that we can be introduced to table food we rebel and must be given a nipple, I mean a pacifier to suck on. I am disturbed. So I have tonight to talk to you about the tragedy of living with low expectations.

If we are honest tonight many of us who have entered into this holy place, this place that is sanctified and set aside unto the worship of our God have come in satisfied with our present spiritual level. Even though this place, the church, is a place that is pregnant with possibility and potential many have come tonight not expecting to get anything and have absolutely no intention of taking anything with us.

Oh yes, we came ready to hear good singing, we are prepared to hear powerful praying and some are even hoping that the preacher will put on a good show, but few have come expecting to leave here tonight challenged, changed, different, stronger, better, more stable, more secure, more confident, loosed, healed, delivered, set free. Few have come saying God, “my storage is empty and I am available to you.” Few have come saying.” Is there a word from the Lord.” Few have come saying, “ Lord, I come to you knee bent and body bowed before thy throne of grace and I am asking you to fill my cup Lord, and let it over flow.” Sadly, for one reason or the other we have become content to live our lives daily with low expectations.

Now, I am not suggesting that we don’t go to church.

I am not suggesting that we don’t love the church fellowship.

I am not suggesting that we don’t read our bibles from time to time.

But what I am suggesting is that over a period of time we have become accustomed to not seeing much, so therefore we don’t expect much. Then the enemy comes in and tricks us into believing that not much is to be expected anyway and that this is just the way it is supposed to be.

Perhaps I have shared this story with you before, but it fits good right here. (tell story of man and bird)

This lame man reminds me of the bird.

He had become so accustomed to doing what he had always done, that even when an opportunity to came to change his direction and destiny, he was content to stay where he was.

So I have come tonight to challenge someone here to move out of your spiritual comfort zone. I just wanted to create an atmosphere that will make someone uncomfortable with where you are and cause you to become with dissatisfied with your current low level of living.

I would tonight that someone would admit that you are tired, I mean sick and tired of always having your head hung down, tired of always being broke, alone, contemptible, miserable, insignificant, inadequate, insufficient, incapable, imperfect, sad, despondent, defective, deplorable, disgraceful, depressed, in despair, mad, flawed, substandard, pitiful, pathetic, poor, defensive, bringing up the rear, never the head and always the tail, always on the bottom and never on the top.

Tired of always moaning and groaning, tired of always crying and complaining, tired of getting life’s left over. Is there anybody that is tired of living with low expectations?

This text tonight is a very familiar one and I won’t dare tonight to try to unpack it all. You know this story (summarize it)

However, on my way to my seat, let me lift just a few points for your closer consideration and so that you might be aware of the symptoms of and suggested solutions to living with low expectations.

I read an article on yesterday that was entitled 7 signs of a stroke. The writer suggested that knowing the signs of a stroke may save someone’s life. I want to tell us tonight that understanding both the symptoms of and the solution to living with low expectations could very well save someone’s life and in fact the life you save just may be your own.