What Do You Expect?

I want to talk about a subject this morning which can be positive,

but it also can be negative. And I want to talk about expectation.

Expectation.

Expectation, I want to try and explain to you this morning, is a crucial part of faith.

Expectation is a crucial part of faith that is deposited into our hearts when

the word of God is heard and believed.

And I'm here to tell you, and I firmly believe that there's no such thing of

living a life of faith without expectation, without expectation.

Let me read a couple of Bible verses as we start this morning.

First one is Numbers 13, verses 1 to 3, which says, The Lord now said to Moses,

Numbers 13:1–3

Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I'm giving to the Israelites.

Send one leader from each of the 12 ancestral tribes.

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

He sent out 12 men, all the tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp into the wilderness of Paran.

And if we jump forward a little bit, Numbers 13, verses 17 to 21, and I'll read on.

Numbers 13:17–21

It says, Moses gave these men, these 12 men, instructions as he sent them out

to explore the land. He said, Go north through the Negev into the hill country.

See what the land is like and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.

See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or is it bad?

Do their towns have walls or are they unprotected like open camps?

Is the soil fertile or poor?

Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the happen to be

the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.

Who knows at the moment you can buy some massive grapes.

Angela's been buying these grapes that are like that big. You'd appreciate this, you guys.

Massive. Anyway, I digress.

So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near Lebo-Hamath.

That's an interesting name that one. And then jump forward to verse 23, Numbers 13, 23.

It says, when they came to the valley of Eskol, they cut down a branch with

a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them.

They also bought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. Who wants one of those grapes?

Yeah, yeah, come on. What did you expect? Who's ever heard that said to them

before? What did you expect?

And have you ever heard that phrase? It normally comes right after you've done something stupid.

After you've done something stupid and you get an undesirable result.

It's like, you know, perhaps sticking a finger in a light bulb socket and getting

shocked. And then you look at your mum, because it's Mother's Day,

you look at your mum and you say, why did that happen to me?

And your mum looks back at you and goes, what did you expect?

What did you expect? It's like being at a campfire or something and putting

a hand into the fire and burning yourself.

And you go, oh, mum. Well, what did you expect? Who's ever heard that before?

That was one of my mum's favourite phrases.

What did you expect? Being a boy, being a son, these stupid things,

or what did you expect? Thanks, mum.

Thanks, mum. So that's why the title of my message is well this morning.

What did you expect or what do you expect?

Expectation is no small thing. Okay.

It's like these 12 spies that went out into the promised land to spy out the

land and bring back fruit from the land.

Expectation is just like that. It's expectation, I believe, goes before every promise.

It goes before every healing.

You know, when Angela called those forward with hearing issues this morning,

the expectation of that is you should have been walking forward going,

I'm about to get my hearing back. It's about to happen.

Expectation goes before every healing, every miracle.

Expectation goes before every breakthrough and every deliverance. Expectation.

Expectation is seeing with the eyes of the heart and tasting by the spirit what

is not yet seen, what is not yet heard, and what is not yet felt. expectation.

Expectation is like those spies again that invaded the land of giants and they

tasted the fruit of promise while it was still in the land and in the hands of the giants.

Expectation is so important. In other words, expectation touches the future

before it manifests in your today.

That's how important expectation is.

Expectation travels into the future and comes back with a good report.

God's word is true. It's all there.

Righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, signs and wonders,

miracles, gifts of the Spirit, they all come after expectation.

Expectation is breeding ground for miracles.

Expectation is actually the platform from where miracles are launched from.

I feel like I need to have a rocket ship taking off or something behind me at the moment.

Expectation is the posture for receiving from God, expecting it.

Expectation is, as I said earlier, an active ingredient of faith.

There's no such thing as faith without expectation.

Expectation is like the landing strip for the plane to land on.

Expectation is to be pregnant with the promise that you've been waiting for.

You may have heard a word for years with no expectation of it ever coming to

pass, but I'm here to tell you the moment that you begin to expect it,

you are then pregnant with the promise and a miracle to come your way.

Expectation creates focus in our eyes and in our minds and in our spirits and in our hearts.

Expectation creates focus, and focus then releases energy for the thing to come to pass.

When you begin to expect with focus, that's when energy to produce is released.

Expectation is the doorway that miracles enter through. That's expectation.

The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

When we hear the word of God proclaimed and it is received, it plants the seed

of belief and expectation in our hearts.

Expectation is not merely an attitude that you carry in your heart.

Expectation manifests itself through corresponding actions.

Before Jesus, ever listen to this, before Jesus fed the multitudes,

he had them sit down in groups of 50.

Why did he do that, do you think? You may say it was all about order and about

making it easier to get to the crowds with the food, and I don't disagree with that.

But I also believe that it was to create an expectation in their hearts that

they were about to receive a miracle.

Expectation. Proverbs 10.24 from the New King James Version says,

The fear of the wicked will come upon him, and the desire of the righteous will be granted.

The Passion Translation says it this way. It says, Proverbs 10,

24, The lawless are haunted by their fears, and what they dread will come upon them.

But the longings of the lovers of God will all be fulfilled.

Such a good communion message about love. Such a good communion message.

The longings, the desires, the expectation of the righteous will be granted, the Bible says.

Where do we get our expectation from, you ask? Good question.

I think it's from two places.

Two places. We can either get our expectation from what we see and what we hear

and what we feel in the natural physical circumstances.

Or second of all, our expectations will come from what the word of God says.

They're the two options. And that's why I spoke earlier about the fact that

expectation can either be positive or negative.

Elaine could get up here right now and speak for hours about negative expectations

and how they can come to pass just as easily as positive expectations can come to pass.

So we need to be careful of that. But.

If our expectations come from what the Word of God says, we can't go wrong. We can't go wrong.

You have to choose in our life. Who knows we've got choices in our life?

Well, we've got to choose what are you going to look at and what are you going to listen to?

Isaiah 53 verse 1, the prophet asked this question, who has believed our message?

Isaiah 53:1

To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?

The first part of that question I believe the prophet is asking is about where

do you get your information from?

Where do you get your information from? Because what you continually hear,

you will eventually believe. Okay?

That's why you have to guard your ears, especially for those who now have no

problems with hearing, but you have to guard your ears and also your eyes.

You have to choose what you're going to set your affection and your attention on.

Expectation creates energy in our lives. Where there's expectation, there's energy.

Where there's expectation, there's reaching.

There's reaching. Where there's expectation, there's preparation in our lives

as well. Where there's expectation, there's intention.

Where there's expectation, there's stretching. Who needs a good stretch?

Where there's expectation, there's stretching. Where there's expectation,

there's bold confession as well. There's bold confession.

True expectation always has a bold confession because expectation expresses

itself in a confession of faith, of faith.

What you expect, you think about.

What you expect, you dream about. What you expect, you talk about.

When you expect something, when you expect something, you walk differently,

you think differently, you talk differently, you don't fit in where you used to fit in.

You don't fit in with what you used to fit in with, okay?

Because you're carrying a promise in your life.

You're carrying the promise of Jesus in your life.

He's on the inside and he's changing your desires and he's changing your appetites.

It's Christ in you, the hope of glory, the hope of glory, the expectation of glory.

It's Christ in you and it's creating the hope and the expectation of every good

thing that is prepared for you.

If you're in Christ, he is creating something in you.

He's creating in you a new creature.

That's why you have to guard your eyes. And that's why you have,

what you look at creates expectation and expectation creates energy to produce.

In Psalm 101 verse 3, David said, I will set nothing wicked before my eyes because

Psalms 101:3

David knew what comes through the eyes goes to the heart.

One of the greatest revelations of this principle is found in Genesis,

when Jacob wanted his sheep and cattle and goats to produce speckled and striped

offspring. Who's read this?

Yeah, yeah. Here's what the Bible says. Genesis 30 verses 37 to 39 says,

Genesis 30:37–39

then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar,

almond and plain trees, and he peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks in them.

Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink,

for that was where they mated and when

they mated in front of the white streaked branches they

gave birth to young that were streaked speckled and spotted wow so this is what

happened when the flocks came to drink they stared in the water at those white

streaked branches and they conceived after the nature of what they were looking at.

So don't look at and don't listen to anything that you don't want in your life.

Here's the essence of my message this morning. Don't look at and don't listen

to anything you don't want in your life.

I'm preaching today to create expectation, expectation in you,

because if I can get an expectation in you, I know there can be a manifestation in you as well.

This is how it works. I'm proclaiming things right now. Proclamation produces expectation.

Expectation, as we've spoken about, produces preparation.

Preparation produces manifestation, and manifestation produces demonstration.

Do you need me to read that again, Margaret? I can see you trying to Right on that tear.

Listen to the podcast.

So if you listen to negative reports around you, you will be filled with worry,

stress, anxiety, fearfulness, and even paranoia. Amen?

You've been staring at the wrong

things in your life. You should have been staring into the word of God.

That's what you should be staring into. Start listening to and looking at the word of God.

And if you start staring into the word of God, you'll start expecting the promises

of God and you won't be worried about what the devil's doing around you.

Josh, come on up for me. Quick message this morning. Quick message.

You weren't expecting that, were you? Yeah.

Okay, so what I'm going to do now, this is what I'm going to do now.

I don't know what you guys are expecting, but I'm going to invite you into what I'm expecting.

I'm going to give you a sneak peek into my mind.

Whoa, that's scary. And what I'm expecting. Okay, here we go.

I'm expecting to win. I'm expecting to win.

I'm expecting everything I put my hands to, to prosper.

I'm expecting the best days of my life are ahead.

I'm expecting to walk in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

I'm expecting miracles, signs and wonders and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I'm expecting supernatural health. Hallelujah.

I'm expecting a great harvest of souls.

I'm expecting a greater anointing than ever before. all.

I'm expecting, are you getting this? I'm expecting to lay my hands on the sick

and seeing them recover. Amen, Andrew?

Yeah. I'm expecting to see you rise up in the spirit and take back what the

devil has stolen from you.

I'm expecting this church to grow.

I'm expecting hungry and thirsty people to walk in through those doors and be filled.

I'm expecting that every person who walks through those doors,

those doors right there, will have a personal encounter with the presence and the power of God.

I'm expecting that while I'm preaching, miracles will happen.

While I'm preaching, the power of God will be falling on you guys.

While I'm preaching, sickness and disease will shrivel up and die through the power of God.

I'm expecting an answer to every prayer that I pray.

I'm expecting to make the devil pay for everything he has ever put me through.

I'm expecting that every plot and

every scheme or assignment that hell has invented will be turned around,

come back on the devil, and everything that he's tried to do to work out,

will work out for good for me and you.

I feel like God has sent me here today to help some people receive a promise.

I've been waiting a long time, but you need to get past expectation to manifestation.

Who am I talking to today? Who is ready for manifestation in their lives?

I heard a story once. It's not a J. John story, but it's a good story.

I heard a story about this town that was in the middle of a heat wave and a terrible drought.

Okay. There hadn't been any rain for a long time.

All the rivers and streams were dried up All

the crops had withered and died Everyone in the city All the city officials

And spiritual leaders Decided to call a town prayer meeting In the town square

Hundreds of people turned up For this prayer meeting But only one little boy Came with an umbrella,

Only one little boy Came with an expectation That if they're going to come together

And pray for rain, then it will rain.

And I need to bring my umbrella and be prepared. It's like a lane.

Whenever we go out, have you got your coat? Have you got your umbrella?

You don't know what's going to happen.

And it happens every Sunday, every Sunday across the country,

thousands of people show up at church to pray and to sing and to seek the Lord.

But I wonder, I wonder how many people really come expecting that God will manifest,

will manifest and manifest His presence and His power.

I want us to be that one. I want us to be that one.

If we're going to show up at church and we're going to expect God to show up,

then we will see that manifest.

We will see that manifest.

I'm not the one that not only prays and not only seeks, but I want to be the

one that makes preparation for manifestation as well.

Expectation makes preparation for manifestation. Let me say it again.

Expectation makes preparation for manifestation. Who receives that this morning?

Good. Excellent. Let's pray then. Let's pray.

Lord, we're praying to you right now. And what we're going to pray,

Lord God, I believe, Lord, we should be expecting to happen.

What I'm praying for this morning is all of those things that I read out a few

minutes ago, all those things that I'm expecting.

Lord, what I'm praying this morning is that all those things that I'm expecting,

that we're expecting will come to pass. It's like going to a prayer meeting

for rain and not taking an umbrella with you.

Lord, we take our spiritual umbrellas with us this morning because we believe,

Lord God, that what we're praying for will manifest itself to us through our expectation of that.

Lord, we expect that this morning. We expect that with humble hearts,

Lord God, knowing that it says in your word that you will grant the desires of your people.

So Lord, we desire, Lord God, a manifestation of your Holy Spirit to fall on

this place this morning.

Lord, a manifestation of healing power, a manifestation of overcoming power,

a manifestation of anointing to fall on every person here this morning. Lord, we receive that.

And any wonder people in church hold their hands up.

It's an expectation that it is going to fall on us and we're going to get every

bit of it as it falls on us.

So Lord, that's what we pray this morning, and expectation of glory to fall on us in Jesus' name.

In Jesus' name, receive that this morning, church. Receive that anointing. Receive that blessing.

Receive that encouragement this morning that comes from God himself.

I will grant the desires of my people. I will grant the desires.

So if we have desires that come from God and they're in line with the word of

God, we should be expecting to receive.

And Lord, that's what we do this morning. We stand, we sit, we pray,

Lord, with expectant hearts, waiting for that manifestation of what we want to come into being.

In Jesus' name we pray. Hallelujah.

Touch every person here this morning with a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit.

I pray, Lord God, and I expect that to happen with a humble heart.

Thank you, Lord. Praise your name. Lord, again this morning, I bless our mothers.

We celebrate our mothers this morning.

We bless them and we honour them. We love them.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.