Are you a Christian receiving this accusation?
Are you considered too "radical," criticized for having "too much faith in the Savior," or a recipient of the infamous accusation of being "extreme!?"
realistic: interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.
expectation: the act or state of looking forward to or anticipation.
(dictionary.com)
expectation: the act or state of looking forward to or anticipation.
(dictionary.com)
In relationship to the All Powerful Supreme Ultimate Being, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ:
What is practical?
What can a child of God or a follower of Christ reasonably look forward to?
Or putting all of this in my own words, using my own definition of realistic expectations, what acts of God in relation to His children are possible and probable?
It is written,
"Is anything to hard for the LORD?"
"With God all things are possible."
"All things are possible to those who believe."
So our expectations as God's children can't be "too high" for the Most High as far as His abilities and possiblitities go. We can't ask Him for anything that is beyond His power or resources. We can't expect from Him that which He cannot perform.
But most of us don't doubt this, at least in theory. What we doubt are probabilities, whether God WANTS to do certain things, whether it is His WILL, or His NORMAL course of action according to His character.
It is also written,
"God is not a man that He should lie,
Nor a son of man that He should change His mind.
When He speaks, He acts.
When He promises, He fulfills."
And now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to a STANDARD for realistic expectations of GOD:
- It is realistic to expect God to do what He says and promises to do!
- It realistic to expect people to do what God commands us to do!!
- It is realistic to expect things to be the way God says they are and should be!!!
Let's deal with each truth individually.
- Because God can do whatever He wants, with no one possessing the ability to force Him to act or to keep Him from acting, it is realistic to expect Him to fulfill His promises. He possesses all power to fulfill them, and His integrity as one who does not and cannot lie makes this expectation not only realistic, but absolutely certain!!
- Because God is our Creator, Lord, and Master, it is realistic to expect His creatures to obey Him.
- And because He gave His creatures freewill, it is reasonable to expect some will choose to obey Him while some choose to disobey Him. All should obey Him. All CAN obey Him. But not all choose to obey Him. Those who obey create an atmosphere of heaven on earth. Those who disobey Him create an atmosphere of hell on earth. Those who obey can expect opposition from those who disobey Him, because the disobedient are in opposition with God Himself, and thus in opposition to all who submit to God.
It is therefore realistic to expect what ever God says we should expect in the scriptures.
For example, as far as life on earth, it is reasonable to expect "God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven." The Lord Jesus Himself taught His disciples to pray this way. The Lord Himself brought about God's kingdom on earth by preaching and teaching, healing the sick and casting out demons. Wherever Jesus was, the kingdom of God was. Wherever His Spirit is, the kingdom of God is. This is a reasonable expectation.
As far as temptation, it is reasonable to expect God to "lead us not into temptation, but to deliver us from the evil one." Again, Jesus taught His followers to pray this way. The Apostle Paul said these words concerning temptation:
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. But God is faithful, and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with the tempatin will also make a way of escape, so that we can bear it."
Now, I see several beautiful realistic expectations about temptations:
1. They will be common. There will never be a new or unique or never before experienced temptation.
2. God will be faithful or trustworthy in times of temptations.
3. The temptation will never be more powerful than we have the ability to resist. There is no such thing as an irrestible seductress, tempter or temptress.
4. With EVERY temptation, GOD HIMSELF IS FAITHFUL, and has ALREADY MADE A WAY OF ESCAPE, A MEANS TO RESIST!!
Thus, it is REALISTIC to expect DIVINE DELIVERANCE FROM or ABILITY TO resist EVERY temptation!!!
Wickety wow!
So what now!?
Expect great things from GOD! This is realistic!!! Anything less is UNREALISTIC!
IT IS UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT GOD TO LIE, OR TO EXPECT A DIFFICULTY FOR GOD!!
Let me give more examples.
It is written,
"Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long on the earth."
"Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord."
So it is realistic to expect children to honor and obey their parents. This includes so called "teenagers." Now those who believe Satan would say that teen agers "must" go through some kind of "rebellious stage" by which they experiment with and establish their independence. I know of nowhere in the very word of the Living God where this expressed as a "realistic expectation" for parents and children? It's not in the Bible. It may be in the Satanic Bible, but not the real Bible!
Indeed, God expects, AND IS PLEASED WHEN, children honor and obey their parents. In fact, God promises long life to such children. Long life means one of two things:
1. Long life! Meaning they will live out the fullness of their days, reaching 70 to 80 years, a normal life span.
2. A completed life, meaning they will fulfill the purpose for which they were born. John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Himself are examples of this. Both died in their 30s, but their life purposes were such that their full life span was fulfilled in their 30s.
It is a realistic expectation for children to honor and obey their parents, and to live out their full life spans.
Or how about this:
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16
Now look at all of those REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR CHRISTIANS!!!
1. It is realistic to expect there may be Christians "in trouble." But it is also realistic to expect that troubled Christians will pray.
2. IT IS ALSO REALISTIC SOME CHRISTIANS TO BE HAPPY!! IMAGING THAT! Those Christians should sing song of praise to God, the source of their happiness. That too is realistic.
3. It is realistic to expect some Christians may be sick. No problem there. BUT IT IS ALSO REASONABLE TO EXPECT SUPERNATURAL HEALING BY THE ANOINTED HANDS OF ELDERS, CONFESSION OF SIN, AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH. This is realistic, perhaps more realistic than going to a doctor!!!
4. It is a realistic expectation for a righteous person's prayer to be powerful and effective. It is therefore UNREALISTIC to expect a righteous person's prayer to be powerless and ineffective. A powerful and effective prayer is one that brings significant results when it is answered. To pray effectively is to pray in such a way that one receives exactly what one asks. To pray powerfully is to pray in such a way as to be spiritually immovable and unstoppable.
Believers in Christ must resist the lies of the enemy in terms of what is deemed as "reality." We must not expect small things from God, as though He is weak or limited. One thing is no harder than another in prayer.
Believe.
All things are possible for those who believe.
Thus, it is REALISTIC to expect DIVINE DELIVERANCE FROM or ABILITY TO resist EVERY temptation!!!
Wickety wow!
So what now!?
Expect great things from GOD! This is realistic!!! Anything less is UNREALISTIC!
IT IS UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT GOD TO LIE, OR TO EXPECT A DIFFICULTY FOR GOD!!
Let me give more examples.
It is written,
"Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long on the earth."
"Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord."
So it is realistic to expect children to honor and obey their parents. This includes so called "teenagers." Now those who believe Satan would say that teen agers "must" go through some kind of "rebellious stage" by which they experiment with and establish their independence. I know of nowhere in the very word of the Living God where this expressed as a "realistic expectation" for parents and children? It's not in the Bible. It may be in the Satanic Bible, but not the real Bible!
Indeed, God expects, AND IS PLEASED WHEN, children honor and obey their parents. In fact, God promises long life to such children. Long life means one of two things:
1. Long life! Meaning they will live out the fullness of their days, reaching 70 to 80 years, a normal life span.
2. A completed life, meaning they will fulfill the purpose for which they were born. John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Himself are examples of this. Both died in their 30s, but their life purposes were such that their full life span was fulfilled in their 30s.
It is a realistic expectation for children to honor and obey their parents, and to live out their full life spans.
Or how about this:
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16
Now look at all of those REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR CHRISTIANS!!!
1. It is realistic to expect there may be Christians "in trouble." But it is also realistic to expect that troubled Christians will pray.
2. IT IS ALSO REALISTIC SOME CHRISTIANS TO BE HAPPY!! IMAGING THAT! Those Christians should sing song of praise to God, the source of their happiness. That too is realistic.
3. It is realistic to expect some Christians may be sick. No problem there. BUT IT IS ALSO REASONABLE TO EXPECT SUPERNATURAL HEALING BY THE ANOINTED HANDS OF ELDERS, CONFESSION OF SIN, AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH. This is realistic, perhaps more realistic than going to a doctor!!!
4. It is a realistic expectation for a righteous person's prayer to be powerful and effective. It is therefore UNREALISTIC to expect a righteous person's prayer to be powerless and ineffective. A powerful and effective prayer is one that brings significant results when it is answered. To pray effectively is to pray in such a way that one receives exactly what one asks. To pray powerfully is to pray in such a way as to be spiritually immovable and unstoppable.
Believers in Christ must resist the lies of the enemy in terms of what is deemed as "reality." We must not expect small things from God, as though He is weak or limited. One thing is no harder than another in prayer.
Believe.
All things are possible for those who believe.
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