Glorious Way Church
Glorious Way Church equips believers for the work of the ministry and stands for God’s truth in our culture. We serve as a regional center, where people from all backgrounds find refreshing worship and true communion of the saints.
Glorious Way Church
Habit of Expectation
What are you truly expecting in 2025? As we navigate the complexities of modern life, this powerful message on the "Habit of Expectation" challenges us to examine where we've placed our hope and how actively we're exercising our faith. Drawing from the story of the lame man healed by Peter and John, we discover a profound truth: God often has something vastly better than what we're asking for. The beggar merely wanted silver and gold, but received miraculous healing that completely transformed his life. Similarly, we often approach God with limited expectations while He stands ready to exceed our greatest hopes.
Pick up our Bibles. Sometimes I pray, sometimes we hold up our Bibles and confess. You know, pastor does this every Sunday morning and Sunday nights when he's in the bull, but he confesses. You know it's so important what we say out of our mouth, our confession, and so lift up your Bible. He says let's make Jesus glad and the devil mad. So say I'm glad to be watching through live stream today. I am hungry for your word. I am expecting great things tonight. I am expecting to receive all that you have for me. Thank you for loving me and equipping me in these last days, in Jesus name, amen, amen, amen.
Speaker 1:So if you're taking is because in the youth we've been teaching our theme is healthy habits. How many of y'all know it's so vital, so important. What we do daily. You know it's not enough just to read our Bible on Sunday morning at 10 am when we come to church. We need to be reading the word and confessing the word every day, and so it's our habits that make us or break us, and so we want to make sure that we have godly habits.
Speaker 1:Our youth theme scripture that we've been teaching on, is Ephesians 5, 15 and 16 says so be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but, like those who are wise, make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. So, God, god's not called us to be like fools. God's called us, god's called you to be wise, and you can choose. You can choose to act like a fool or you can choose to be wise. And so here he's saying hey, be careful how you live, live as those who are wise. And so, habit of expectation you know, uh pastor's been uh, preaching on the anointing within, the anointing upon. And this year is a monumental year. Big things are happening, and so I just want to ask you what are you expecting in 2025?
Speaker 1:You know a lot of people, you know, maybe you know New Year's came and New Year's went of people. You know, maybe you know New Year's came and New Year's went, and you know people talk about New Year's resolutions and you know you can start off really strong, but here it is March and what have we done? And so we want to make sure that we're expecting good God things. A lot of times we can expect, you know, if we've had certain patterns in our life and things haven't always panned out, or if we put our expectation in man but God wants it. Hey, we put our expectation in God. We want to make sure that we have a good expectation, that we have a positive expectation. We should always be expecting God to move, to operate in our lives, always believing the best, always hoping. And so maybe you know you're like oh well, I once upon a time I did expect some good things and I, you know, I did trust God and I hoped and it just didn't pan out. Well, no, we'll keep on expecting, keep on believing, keep on trusting God.
Speaker 1:Psalm 62, 5 in the New King James says my soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from him, for my expectation is from him. And so a lot of times people say, well, whatever will happen, whatever will be, will be sarah, sarah, sarah, whatever, whatever. No, we can't just say whatever will happen will happen. That's not a mature way to respond to how God has called us to believe. So we have this expectation from God that, hey, he, if it's in his word, it's going to come to pass. His promises are yes and amen. And so we have to make sure that our heart is, uh, pointed in the right direction, that our expectation isn't, isn't in our job, isn't in a man isn't in, a woman isn't, it isn't in government. Our expectation is on god and god alone. So we have to make sure, you know, a lot of times we can, we can give God lip service. Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm expecting some good things. But then there's this little two percent, you know where. Maybe, maybe your expectation is on somebody. Well, I'll, this will happen, or the I'll change this if, if, if that happened, no, your total 100 percent expectation and hope is in God and God alone.
Speaker 1:In Acts 3, in the New Living, the story of the lame man healed. I'm going to read a couple of verses, actually one through 11. Peter and John went to the temple one afternoon to take part in the three o'clock prayer service. As they approached the temple, a lame man from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the temple gate, the one called the beautiful gate, so he could beg from the people going into the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently and Peter said look at us. The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. So he was expecting some things. He was expecting some money, but Peter said I don't have any silver or gold for you, I don't have that. What you're expecting? I don't have any silver or gold for you, I don't have that. What you're expecting, I don't have that. But I'm glad the story doesn't end there, right? I'm glad the story doesn't end there. It says but I'll give you what I have. I'll give you what I have, in the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk.
Speaker 1:Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up, and as he did, the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk. Then, walking, leaping and praising God, he went into the temple with them. All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. When they realized he was this, that same beggar they had seen so often at the beautiful gate, they were absolutely astounded. And so then they all rushed out, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John. And so here you know, there was an expectation. The lame man was expecting something, he was expecting some money. He was a beggar, he, he couldn't work, he couldn't, he couldn't go get a job, he needed to survive, he needed some money and so, but Peter and John, they had so much more, surpassed what the lame man thought that he was expecting from them. Hey, I don't have silver and gold, but I have something better. I have something better Now.
Speaker 1:I think a lot of times we put God in a box. This is what I need, god. I need this. I don't have a job, or I don't have a husband or wife, or I don't have all my things aren't in line or aren't in order. You know working properly in my life. This is what I need and this is what will fix my problems. Uh-uh-uh, no, no, no, no. What are you expecting? God has so much greater and bigger things Like God's, like. Hey, I have, just like Peter and John, said, uh-uh, I don't have that, but I have what we have and who we carry. What we have is so much greater than what you're expecting. And then he was able to go get a job. I'm sure he walked, he leaped, he could walk, and so we have something that's way better.
Speaker 1:And so it has to be a heart change. You know, a lot of times we're just so busy, we're so busy trying to get the bills paid, we're so busy trying to fix these things, these problems. We're so busy doing this and focusing on this and what's not right and God's just saying, hey, I got this, I'm going to take care of it. Put your expectation on me, get your expectation off of everything else. And sometimes we just have to have a change of scenery. Sometimes we're just doing it where it's like a hamster on a wheel. We're just doing the same old thing. You know what that hamster is going to keep on getting the same results. You do, you do the same thing day in and day out bad habits. You're gonna get the same results results, bad results.
Speaker 1:But if you allow God to change your heart from the inside out and get and get a different perspective, um, our, our expect you won't be let down. You won't be let down. Your exit, when your expectation, your focus, your faith, your trust is in God alone, he'll never let you down. You won't ever be let down. But if your expectation is on your flesh, and what you can do, and you figuring it out and you reasoning, and that doesn't make sense, but this makes sense. And and that person said this, and that doesn't make sense, but this makes sense. And and that person said this and that no, our expectation isn't on man, it's on God alone. And so we have to make sure that our expectation is on God and God alone. And so, again, we should expect great things from God.
Speaker 1:So I have a couple of points. Number one expectation is a result of faith, right? So we have to make it a habit to strengthen our faith. Oh ye of little faith we don't want to be called. Oh ye of little faith. We want to make sure to strengthen our faith. And so expectation is the result of faith. If your expectation is on fire, your faith is going to be on fire. If your expectation is low you don't ever expect much, you don't ever. You know it's low your faith is going to be low.
Speaker 1:And so Hebrews 11, 1, and the New King James says now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The New Living Translation says faith shows the reality of what we hope for, it is the evidence of things we cannot see. The GWT Translation says faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see. Let me read that again Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see. And so the strength of one's hope is tied to our level of faith. Hope is defined as expectation right, it says right here faith assures us of things we expect.
Speaker 1:And so faith is more than just speaking the word. Our expectation, our faith is we do. There is the initial hey of speaking the word, but also, hey, when I pray, god hears my prayers, he answers my prayers, he knows every petition, he knows the desires of our heart, and so when we confess the word, he hears us. And so I anticipate my life to change. I expect my life to change. Oh well, I prayed, I prayed over my husband, and he didn't change. Or I prayed over my kids, and they didn't change. I prayed over my boss, and he got worse. Listen, god hears our prayers, and you have to, you need to have that hope and expectation that when he hears our prayers, if they're in line with his word, he answers them.
Speaker 1:And so we have to make sure that, again, number one expectation is a result of faith, that we stir up our faith, that our faith is big, that we keep it going. So number two make it a habit to daily expect good God things. Make it a habit to daily expect good God things. And so I put here don't let expectation be replaced by routine. So many of the times, expectation just gets replaced by routine and technical things. And this is what I have to do, and in the midst of all life happening and all the things right, all the things, we have to make sure that our godly expectation isn't replaced by the routine of life. And it can be, it can be easily. And so our relationship with God is supposed to be an exciting one, our relationship with Jesus is supposed to be a thrilling one, an exciting one, and so our habits should include expecting God to move in our life, not giving up, don't give up, keep on, keep on, keeping on Right. And so we don't want to just an ordinary relationship with our father God. We want an extraordinary one, we want a radical one. We want to love God on Sunday. We want to love God on Monday, we want to trust him on Tuesday, on Wednesday, and so we don't want to just go through the motions, just play church, you know. We want to make sure that we expect good things, good God things, every day of our life.
Speaker 1:Matthew 23, 27, and 28 in the New Living says what sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness, ouch, ouch. So here he's saying hey, you look nice on the outside, you look good, you look like you got it all together on the outside, but inside, inwardly, your hearts are filled with hypocrisy. And so you're like whitewashed tombs beautiful on the outside, but inside just dead people's bones, rotten, stinky. And so here they lost their passion for the messiah. They dove into the law.
Speaker 1:The law says this and this is the rules and this is regulations, and you better do it this way and it doesn't, and you better not do it that way, and I'm gonna look at you wrong if you do it that way and you, and it has to be done that. No, no, he said you know what you stink? You stink on the inside, and I think christian people, people coming to church, can become that way if you allow it to, if you're not on fire for God, if you, if you've lost your first love, where you said I love you, jesus, thank you for what you did for me. I'm not gonna work. I may not know all the answers, but I'm not gonna judge to judge. I'm not going to allow my heart to become calloused. I'm going to make it a habit to stick close to the word of God, to keep my heart right, to keep doing the right thing on the daily, to expect you to move in my life, to expect you to to change my life from the inside out, right? And so here he's, just, hey, you, you've lost your passion for Jesus and you just keep in the law. He's saying I don't want that, I don't, I don't want that, we don't want religion, it stinks, right. So it's not about rules, it's not about obligation, it's not about religious routines, it's just about loving Jesus and allowing him to change you from the inside out. And sometimes things can be overwhelming. Where you're like man, there's this mountain in front of me and I got, and you're just looking at the mountain, and I don't have this and I don't have that person and I don't, and now I don't do the and this is missing in my life. Hey, look, you don't. Don't. Look at them. The Mount, speak to the mountain, declare to the mountain and then just take it day by day. When we do the right thing, when we do the godly thing day by day thing, when we do the godly thing day by day, step by step, one step at a time, do the right thing and then you'll start seeing change. And so we just have to make sure to keep our expectation on God. And then, number three, keep it stirred up. Second, timothy 1.7,.
Speaker 1:Paul's talking to Timmy. He says, therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands, for God has not given the spirit of fear, but a power of love and a sound mind, and I taught on sound mind not too long ago. But here Paul's telling Timmy to stir it up. How do you stir up your expectation? Well, you have to know God's will. First, john 5, 14.
Speaker 1:Now, this is the confidence that we have in him, this right here. This is the confidence we don't have. Confidence in our job we don't have. You can be the best, whatever at your job. That's great, that's wonderful. God's giving you gifts and talents, that's wonderful. But here he's saying this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, and so when we ask, we have to make sure that's according to his will.
Speaker 1:Right and so expectation I'm talking about expectation. Expectation, I'm talking about expectation. How to get stirred up, how to keep it, how to fan the flame and then keep it fanned is to know God's will, and so we just have to get in our prayer closet. We have to pray, we have to spend time with God in the morning or whenever you spend time with God, but take that time and spend it praying and reading his word. And so, to keep it stirred up, we know God's will, and then we have to act on God's will.
Speaker 1:James 2.17 in the New King James says that's also faith by itself. It does not have works. If it does not have works, is dead. And then, in the message translation of James 2. 17 says isn't it obvious that God talk without God acts is outrageous nonsense? I like that. Isn't it obvious? Is it obvious? I don't think. Sometimes it isn't. It's not, isn't it? Though? Isn't it obvious that God talk without God acts is is outrageous nonsense? And so we have to make sure that you know what. We can talk. We can talk a good talk, but without God acts, without acting, without expecting, without taking that leap of faith. Just like the lame man. Peter and John, they acted, they moved the lame man. He got their attention, he needed money, he was expecting something from them. But they're like ah, I got something better than money. I got Jesus, I have Jesus. And so here let me share Jesus with you.
Speaker 1:And so our expectation we have to make sure to keep it stirred up, to know God's will, but then to act on God's will, to be doers of the word. That sounds so simple. Pastor preaches it all the time, but we're going to keep on preaching it until we see the doing. We have to keep doing the word of God. We have to keep acting upon the word of God. It doesn't matter what arrow, what storms of life, what mountain comes your way. I'm confident, I'm expecting that God is working in me, he's working on my behalf. And so you know if you're fully committed. You know you can tell if your heart is fully committed to God or not. Nobody has to point it out, nobody. You know, you know, you, you. So we have to make sure that we're fully committed, that we're expecting, that our expectation is on God and so our. Am I fully stirred up? Am I fully committed to doing the will of the father? Am I expecting great things in my life? And so we have to make sure to ask ourselves those questions and to stay stirred up.
Speaker 1:Philippians 1 6 in the message says there has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep it at in you, excuse me, would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Let me read that again there has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. You want to have a flourishing finish. You don't want to, at the end end of your life, just pass out and have so many regrets.
Speaker 1:God is the God of second chances, third chances, right, but again, we don't want to frustrate the grace of God. There is grace, but we don't want to frustrate the grace of God. We want to make sure that we're doing right, that we're obedient to his word, that we're obedient to the will of God and that we say yes to the will of God. And so here he's saying, hey, there's no slightest, and this would be a good one to turn into a confession. I thank you, lord, that I don't have any doubt in my mind. I thank you that the good work that you started in me it will. We will complete this. It'll be a flourishing finish.
Speaker 1:Every day I choose not to have doubt. There is no doubt. There is no seed of doubt in my mind. There will never be a seed of doubt in my mind. When words come at me, I know, I know where those words are coming from. I got the shield of faith up. And so you just take a scripture and you confess it. Right, when it, when it becomes from reasoning, when it becomes from just logos to rhema, nobody can talk you out of that. Nobody can talk you out of that confession that you've been confessing. And so Philippians 1, 6 here he's saying, hey, it's going to be a flourishing finish for you. And so I just pray that over you guys, that it's going to be a flourishing finish for you.
Speaker 1:And so we have to make sure to quit doubting what God can do and start expecting. Start expecting some great things, right. If you expect nothing, what do you get? Nothing, and so that's not us. Though Don't give up on what God has told you. You know, in 2025, maybe you're expecting for your kids or your grandkids or your work, or you're just expecting for some things you know to move in your life, some mountains, some things you know to to move in your life, some mountains, some hurdles that you don't know what to do. You know what. Expect God to do wonderful things, but our expectation, you know again, that requires knowing the will of God but then acting upon the will of God.
Speaker 1:We want to make sure we're not just like the scripture says. It's nonsense. We don't want to. God acts as, so God talk without God acts as outrageous nonsense. No, we want to declare the word of God, but then we also want to act upon the word of God, because then, if we don't, we're just deceiving ourselves, right, and so that's a whole nother message, but we want to make sure to keep it stir.
Speaker 1:So I just want to encourage you with that tonight have the habit of expectation, whatever you're believing God for, whatever it is in your life, don't give up. Don't speak to that mountain, declare your kids just confessions and declare the word of God over your kids, over your home, over the health of your body, over your organs. Speak to your bones. We have to, we have to confess the word of God and so you have to have a good expectation. You know, even when the situation, even when storms of life look bad, don't look at the storms of life, just speak to the storms of life and have the habit of a good expectation, a positive expectation. Right, a positive expectation.
Speaker 1:We don't want a negative expectation. We want to make sure that our words are words of life, that our words aren't cutting. They're not, they're not confusing, they're not questionable, they're. We want to make sure that our thoughts and our words are lined up with the word of God and so you can choose to do the right thing today. So I hope that blessed you today on habit of expectation. I know it blessed me. I know there are areas in my life that you know I can put more expectation on that area, and so we want to expect good God things and also expecting again, we can't, we're, we're the stewards of our own self, we can't make anybody else do the right thing, but we can expect good God things to work in them. We can expect God to change their situation and what they're going through, and so you can be a light. Everywhere you go, you can be a light, you can be a source of hope to your neighbor, to your friends, to your family.